The clashes in Tripoli follow a deadly attack last week on a checkpoint in western Libya [Reuters]
Heavy clashes between armed groups have erupted in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, since Sunday evening, officials said.
Two people were reportedly killed while several others were wounded in the clashes on Monday, as the health ministry declared a state of emergency in the capital, according to local media.
It remains unclear who the armed groups are affiliated to.
The National Committee for Human Rights in Libya said in a statement on Monday that it was deeply concerned over the outbreak of the violence, Libya News reported.
The statement called on all parties to the conflict to put down their arms and cease fighting immediately.
The incident follows a deadly attack last week on a checkpoint in western Libya, in which six soldiers loyal the Government of National Accord (GNA) were killed.
On Saturday, an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed responsibility for the attack in Zliten, a town that lies 170km from the capital.
Libyan authorities announced the arrest of the suspected perpetrators.
“Soldiers of the caliphate assaulted the ‘Wadi Kaam’ gate, on the Zliten-Khoms road two days ago, targeting a gathering of apostate security elements” loyal to Libya’s UN-backed unity government, the armed group said via its Amaq media arm.
In an interview on Saturday with Libya’s private al-Ahrar broadcaster, the unity government’s Interior Minister Abdelsalam Ashour said “the perpetrators of the attack were apprehended”, without specifying how many people were arrested.
Seven years after the 2011 NATO-backed ouster of Muammar Ghaddafi, Libya remains divided between the UN-backed GNA in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east, backed by military leader Khalifa Haftar.
A myriad of armed groups and people traffickers have taken advantage of the chaos to gain a foothold in the North African country.
Iran’s top defence official has met Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and the country’s defence minister in Damascus, pledging to contribute to the war-torn country’s reconstruction.
Tehran has provided steady political, financial and military backing to Assad during the civil war which is in its eighth year.
On Sunday, Iranian Defence Minister Amir Hatami met his Syrian counterpart Ali Abdullah Ayyoub as well as Assad and said it was agreed with Syria that Iran would have “presence, participation and assistance” in reconstruction “and no third party will be influential in this issue”.
“Syria is at a very, very important juncture. It is passing through the critical stage and it is entering the very important stage of reconstruction,” said Hatami, in comments carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
Since it erupted in 2011, Syria’s war has cost it approximately $388bn, according to the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Eid in Syria: ‘No joy of feast, but only pain, death and war’
Last month, President Assad said reconstruction was his “top priority” in Syria, where more than 350,000 people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes.
World powers, who long called for Assad’s removal, insist reconstruction aid should only come with political transition, but fellow regime ally Russia is pressing them to provide support.
According to comments carried by the state media, Assad told Hatami that Damascus and Tehran should set “long-term cooperation plans”.
Minister Ayoub also championed the two countries’ special relationship, saying that “Syrian-Iranian relations are a model for bilateral ties between independent and sovereign nations”.
The two countries have had strong ties for years – Iran has dispatched military forces to Syria but insists they are advisors, not fighters.
Iran-backed armed groups, including the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah movement, have also backed Assad’s troops.
With help from them and Russian warplanes, Assad has recaptured around two-thirds of the country and is now eyeing the northwest province of Idlib.
“Idlib will return to the nation’s bosom, and all Syrian soil will be cleansed of terrorism, either through reconciliation or ground operations,” said Ayoub who also slammed the US, which has established military bases in Syria to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.
“The Americans are looking for a way to stay east of the Euphrates River to lock in their presence in this region,” said Ayoub.
The comments came a day after a senior US diplomat, ambassador William Roebuck, visited territory around those bases and said the US was “prepared to stay” in Syria to defeat ISIL, but was also “focused” on ousting Iran.
A foul-mouthed taxi kingpin with a history of defrauding state government. A salon owner who ran a prostitution ring before running for governor. A comedian who was the voice of H.R. Pufnstuf.
They’re all longstanding New York fringe characters, and they’ve all been pulled into Robert Mueller’s web, giving the wide-ranging investigation that has Washington on edge a distinctly New York tinge.
“They’re kinda exactly the trio you would expect at the New York politics version of the Star Wars bar,” said Neal Kwatra, a Democratic political consultant, referring to the Mos Eisley Cantina on the fictional planet of Tatooine. “Weird, wild and par for our current course.”
Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is forcing the special counsel and his colleagues to wade into a New York tabloid swamp, a habitat where outlandish behavior flourishes, particularly if it’s accompanied by ambition and greed. It’s all very New York — “the irresistible destination of all those who insist on being where things are happening” that Tom Wolfe wrote about in `The Bonfire of the Vanities’ and Donald Trump helped popularize.
That habitat is populated by those who have been nationally prominent for months now — Michael Cohen and Roger Stone, two of Trump’s closest confidants — as well as more local celebrities like one-time taxi overlord Evgeny Freidman, former flesh-peddler Kristin Davis and comedian Randy Credico. In recent months, they’ve gotten a taste of national fame too.
Freidman, for one, reportedly cooperated with the federal investigation into the business dealings of his former colleague Michael Cohen.
Trump’s former lawyer pleaded guilty this week to eight felony counts and implicated the president in helping to orchestrate hush money payments to two women who alleged they’d had affairs with Trump.
Medallion Maverick
Evgeny Freidman
Freidman, aself-described “ short, little, insecure, chubby, Jewish guy from Jackson Heights,” rose to local fame and fortune through his ownership and management of taxi medallions. InMay, he pleaded guilty to criminal tax fraud for failing to pay some $5 million in state taxes. Hereportedly cooperated with the federal investigation into his former business associate, Michael Cohen.
Freidman made his money on taxi medallions — a business interest he shares with Cohen. Before Uber wreaked havoc on yellow taxis, Freidman parlayed that wealth into political power and low-level prestige. He bundled money for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio andconsidered him a friend. Page Six wrote up his daughter’sbabynaming ceremony and a barbecue at his French Riviera estate.
He had “manic energy,” recalled David Yassky, who was New York City’s taxi commissioner when Freidman was still riding high on the hog. The man was ”charming,” he said, “but could turn on a dime to aggressive, verging on nasty and bullying.” Were it not for his force of personality, “he would just look like an oddball.”
“U talking about me or POTUS?” Freidman emailed, when asked about Yassky’s comments and the thrust of this article.
In a subsequent email, Freidman called Yassky an unprintable profanity, and said he “turns tricks on the corner and brings daddy the money! There is no respect and honor in that!” (Yassky responded with a “Ha Ha” bitmoji.)
Like Freidman, Kristin Davis has a penchant for self-promotion. Earlier this month, shereportedly met with Mueller’s team and testified before a grand jury. She leveraged the news into TV appearances on CNN and Fox.
“Manhattan Madam”
Kristen Davis
In the aftermath of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s fall from grace, Davis earned the “Manhattan Madam” sobriquet by insinuating (without apparent proof) that she provided him with prostitutes. It was a move straight out of the playbook of Roger Stone, the godfather to her son who advised her subsequent gubernatorial bid (she lost). She recently leveraged her appearance before a Mueller-related grand jury D.C. into a national TV tour. “I tried to make my appearance in Washington with as little fanfare as possible and to avoid a media circus,” she says. “I do feel I was treated badly and bullied by the special counsel and said so in a limited number of interviews because it needed to be said.”
In the early aughts, she claimed she’d provided former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer with prostitutes through her call-girl company, Wicked Models, although no law enforcement sources verified her claim. She ran novelty campaigns for governor and New York City comptroller on a platform of legalizing drugs and sex work and was arrested in 2013 for dealing Adderall and Xanax to an undercover FBI agent. Her child’s godfather is Roger Stone, the Trump adviser with the Nixon tattoo who a New Yorker writer called “the sinister Forrest Gump of American politics.”
“As Cindy Adams would say ‘only in New York,’” said Davis in an email.
Finally there’s Randy Credico, another Stone satellite and a fixture around New York’s capitol who once smoked a joint inside of the Albany Times-Union’s capitol bureau, interrupted a state ethics board meeting wearing a rubber mask and claiming he was a long-dead Greek philosopher (Diogenes) and is infamous in certain circles for his impressions of New York political figures. He does an entirely unconvincing Al Sharpton and tested out his Rudy Giuliani on a reporter in a follow-up interview for this story.
Political Provacateur
Randy Credico
“A lot of people describe me as a ‘character,’” Randy Credico told POLITICO. He describes himself in other terms. “I’m a showbiz person,” he says. He’s also a political provacateur, a gadfly, a New York political fixture, and, since 2002, an associate of Roger Stone (they met during Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano’s failed campaign for governor of New York State, Credico says). He’ll testify before a grand jury in the Mueller probe in September. In the meantime, he’s writing a book. “I am co-writing a book about this whole experience,” he says, “and that will explain a lot more about the relationship with Stone.”
When Credico received a subpoena last fall to testify before the House Intelligence Committee about Russian interference in the 2016 election, he appeared astounded by his sudden elevation to the realm of the nationally relevant.
“I’m in the middle of this quagmire that features people like Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, ‘Papa-lop-o-lous’ or however you pronounce his name, and others,”Credico told the NY1 cable news channel.“So my name is now out there with those names.” He also insisted he wouldn’t travel to Washington to testify without his therapy dog, Bianca.
What people know about Credico’s background is largely threaded together from apocryphal stories and a 2003 documentary — he is a comedian who flirted with success before his career stalled.m More recently, Credico has fashioned himself a radio journalist. He managed to score an interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Stone, in turn, has said Credico was his backchannel to Assange, and Credico has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in the Mueller probe on Sept. 7.
When POLITICO reached Credico for an interview, he described his current predicament as “Kafkaesque” and said he is growing a beard so fewer people will recognize him. He very much considers himself a made-in-New York product.
“Thirty-seven, 38 years here have certainly turned me into the type of person that only this state or this city could possibly come up with, you know?” he said. “Same as a guy who does 38 years in prison becomes either very good at prison art or breaking and entering.”
Freidman and Davis rejected the idea that they fall under some sort of archetypal New York “character” rubric.
“Sorry will not indulge in u stereotyping people and boxing them in My parents brought me here to the USA from Russia so we can avoid having ‘Jew’ or ‘Chechen’ or ‘tarter’ etc stamped in our passports!” Freidman emailed.
“Please don’t put me in a category with Randy Credico!!!” emailed Davis.
But they do share a certain commonality, argued Steven Cohen, a former top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who now serves as general counsel at Ronald Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes.
“They’re all people who wannabe, and are brash and want to push their way in, and have managed one way or another — with enough money or relationships to get closer to the flame — but never close enough,” Cohen said, in an interview.
Until recently, that description could have applied to Trump, too. In New York, he was never the towering real estate titan he subsequently made himself out to be. The New York real estate titans preferred to build buildings, not brand them. They metered their interactions with the press. They manipulated the levers of power behind closed doors, not on TV.
“We always thought he was kind of a nice guy but a joke, light, a dilettante,” said Darren Dopp, who attended fundraisers that Trump hosted for his then-boss, Eliot Spitzer. “You couldn’t not have that feeling, because you’d walk into his home, and he’s got a picture of himself on his own wall. We’d look at each other and say who the hell has a picture of himself on his own wall?”
Now he is president of the United States of America — and Freidman, Davis and Credico have been drawn into a federal investigation that is likely to the country’s future.
Dopp said he wonders: “What do the decent people of St. Louis think when they see (these folks) saying and doing things that really don’t comport to any notion of fair play or common decency?”
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have spent more than eight months in prison [Myo Kyaw Soe/Reuters]
A court in Myanmar has postponed the verdict against two Reuters journalists accused of illegally possessing official documents in a case that has drawn attention to the faltering state of press freedom in the troubled Southeast Asian nation.
The verdict in the case of Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone was expected to be handed down on Monday but was rescheduled for September 3.
The judge who announced the postponement said presiding Judge Ye Win could not attend because he had been ill since Friday, the Associated Press reported.
The two reporters have pleaded not guilty to violating Myanmar’s colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
They were arrested in December and have been detained since then after being denied bail.
The reporters contend they were framed by police while reporting on Myanmar’s brutal crackdown on Muslim-majority Rohingya in the western state of Rakhine that has drawn international condemnation.
“We will not be afraid for whatever decision or situations we are in,” Wa Lone said after the postponement was announced.
“It is because the truth is already on our side. We will not be frightened or scared because we didn’t do anything wrong.”
Reuters expressed disappointment that the verdict was not delivered as scheduled.
“Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have already spent more than eight months in prison based on allegations of a crime they did not commit,” the international news agency said in a statement.
“We look forward to receiving the verdict next week, when we very much hope that they will be acquitted and reunited with their families.”
Abuses against Rohingya
About 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after the crackdown began last August, and Myanmar’s army has been accused by human rights groups and UN experts of committing massive human rights violations amounting to ethnic cleansing, and possibly genocide.
The two reporters had been investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya by soldiers, police and Buddhist civilians.
In a rare instance of security forces being punished for extrajudicial killings, Myanmar’s government later announced that seven soldiers had been sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labour for the killings.
The government has denied any widespread abuses but continues to restrict access in Rakhine.
It insists the crackdown was a justified response to coordinated attacks by Rohingya fighters that killed a dozen security personnel.
This article contains spoilers for the finale of HBO’s Sharp Objects.
By the time audiences got to the finale of Sharp Objects it was pretty clear that the central mystery of the show wasn’t exactly the point. Yes, the murders of Natalie Keene and Ann Nash were the reason Camille returned home to Wind Gap and incremental advancements in the case pushed the plot along, but the story was always more about Camille Preaker, her trauma, and the tragedies that have left physical and emotional scars on her entire person.
However, in a shocking twist that only unfurls in the last few moments of the series, Camille learns that the murders and her family’s painful legacy are in fact the same issue — both her mother and her sister are killers, with Adora killing Camille’s sister Marion and Amma being responsible for the murders of Natalie and Ann.
Adora’s murder was of course brought forth by her Munchausen by proxy disorder, which caused her to slowly poison her daughters in order to feel needed and otherwise reap the social and emotional rewards of being a constant caregiver.
In the finale, Camille finally experiences her mother’s deadly brand of caring when she allows herself to drink the “medicine” Adora gave to Amma and Marion, but is saved when her editor Frank Curry forces the Wind Gap police to search the Preaker mansion and rescue her.
From there, the case seems open and shut. After the police deduce that Adora poisoned her daughters, the police find bloodstained pliers like those used to remove Natalie and Ann’s teeth, in the house and arrest her for homicide. Adora goes to prison, Amma moves in with Camille in St. Louis…and everything seems as good at things get for Camille, who can finally begin to heal from her mother’s horrible nature.
Except technically, terrifyingly, not.
In a whiplash-inducing ending, Camille becomes suspicious when one of Amma’s new friends in St. Louis goes missing and takes a closer look at Amma’s dollhouse. There, in the replica of Adora’s famously ivory-floored bedroom, she sees dozens of human teeth laid into the dollhouse floor, proving that Amma was the real Wind Gap murderer.
The finale ends before explaining exactly why and how Amma killed her former friends, but her final line, “don’t tell Mama,” insinuates that Adora’s years of abuse may have damaged her grip on reality and perhaps even her ability to feel empathy.
It’s a shame that Sharp Objects ends before the audience has a chance to see what happens to Camille if not Amma in the aftermath of this revelation, especially since the book does go into what happens to both of them once Amma is outed as the murderer.
Still, as far as TV ending shots go, Sharp Objects‘s twist is a horrifying and appropriate cap on a miniseries that set out to prove the dangers that lie inside seemingly happy homes.
Two games Sunday put the finishing touches on the all-important third full week of the 2018 preseason.
OK, as important as exhibitions ever get.
In most cases, this is the week in which starters see the most action. And sure enough, the Cincinnati Bengals left the first-team offense on the field for a while in Buffalo against a Bills team with a major question to answer.
The Bengals were in midseason form. The Bills are trying to decide who their quarterback is—and if it matters.
The nightcap featured the Arizona Cardinals traveling to Dallas to face the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. In a game in which Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and David Johnson all took the night off, offense was optional.
By optional, I mean nonexistent—especially for Dallas.
However, it wasn’t all bad news for the Cowboys. A youngster who has made more appearances on the suspended list than in the box score stole the show early, and we’ll begin our rundown on the final day of dress rehearsals with that pass-rusher.
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Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press
Since the Cowboys selected him in the second round of the 2015 draft, Randy Gregory has been more of a cautionary tale than an impact player. Over the last two seasons, he has played in a grand total of two games. He has more career suspensions for failed drug tests than career sacks.
The NFL reinstated Gregory this summer, and per Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the defensive end credits the team for helping him get his career back on track:
“The team they are on a whole another schedule. They want to help you. I am thankful I had the team as opposed to being on another team where they would say, the kid’s messed up, let him go. I think the team has dealt with enough players in similar situations and mental states that they are kind of used to it and know what to do about it.”
It looks like the Cowboys may be about to get some return on their investment and patience.
In Sunday night’s matchup with the Cardinals, Gregory was next to unblockable. He blew past left tackle D.J. Humphries for a first-quarter sack and was in the backfield more times than you can count.
The showing made a believer of Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “If Randy Gregory plays a full season,” Machota tweeted, “he’ll finish with double-digit sacks.”
It’s a big “if.”
Gregory hasn’t played in a regular-season game since January 2017. And he’s on thin ice with both the Cowboys and the NFL. If he fails another drug test, his next suspension could be measured in years—plural.
But Gregory’s clean now and looked fantastic against the Redbirds. If he can generate consistent pressure opposite Demarcus Lawrence, that Cowboys front four could get frightening quickly.
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John Grieshop/Getty Images
No player in NFL history has run a faster 40-yard dash at the scouting combine than Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross. His 4.22 a year ago got the young burner drafted in the first round.
Making a grand total of zero catches as a rookie got him labeled a bust.
Ross is trying to shake that classification in Year 2. He’s had a good enough summer that the Bengals parted ways with veteran Brandon LaFell.
Ross kept that momentum going into Sunday’s dress rehearsal at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
It didn’t take long for him to make an impact. On Cincinnati’s first play from scrimmage, Ross got behind the defense, caught a long pass from Andy Dalton, put on a couple of moves and scampered into the end zone from 57 yards out.
It wasn’t a perfect day—Ross dropped a catchable pass later in the first quarter. But with two receptions for 66 yards and that score on four targets in the first half, Ross demonstrated his ability to take the top off a defense while playing opposite A.J. Green.
Plus, he’s dirt cheap in fantasy football drafts this year—like last-round cheap.
Cincinnati’s defensive front gave the Bills fits—to the tune of five sacks in the first half alone. The Bengals were all up in Josh Allen’s business from the get-go, whether it was veteran stars such as defensive tackle Geno Atkins or youngsters like Carl Lawson and Jordan Willis.
This is a defensive front that could do some real damage. It’s not just the talent level of guys like Atkins and end Carlos Dunlap. The Bengals are also deep along the defensive front. They can churn players such as Lawson, Willis and rookie Sam Hubbard in and out of the lineup to keep them fresh.
Being able to unleash rested players throughout a game can make a big difference—especially when those players are good at what they do.
Allen found that out the hard way in Sunday’s 26-13 defeat.
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Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
Sunday’s matchup was supposed to provide some clarity regarding the Bills’ cloudy situation at quarterback. With AJ McCarron nicked up (collarbone), rookie Josh Allen got the start.
If he played well, Allen could’ve made up head coach Sean McDermott’s mind.
It didn’t take long to realize this plan had hit a snag.
At first glance, it appears as though Allen blew his audition. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 draft completed just six of 12 passes for 34 yards in the first half. He was sacked five times.
That last part is the big takeaway. Simply put, Allen didn’t really have a chance. The Bengals destroyed Buffalo’s offensive line, and the rookie dropped back just in time to get hit.
Nathan Peterman had a better go of it, connecting on 16 of 21 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. That performance came with the twos, but it may have been enough to insert Peterman back into the mix to start against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 9.
Of course, unless the line starts playing a lot better in a hurry, it won’t matter if it’s Allen at quarterback. Or Peterman. Or McCarron, for that matter.
The result will be the same—and it won’t be good.
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Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press
This one comes with a Texas-sized caveat—the Cowboys rested both Prescott and Elliott on Sunday night.
Even so, the Arizona defense deserves some credit for feasting in the first half.
It wasn’t that Dallas managed just 116 total yards before halftime. Or that Arizona held the Cowboys off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. It’s that the Cardinals played the takeaway game with aplomb—again.
The Cowboys turned over the ball three times in the first 30 minutes alone. Both of Arizona’s touchdowns were the direct result of turnovers—a fumbled punt recovered in the end zone and a Patrick Peterson pick-six.
Peterson and linebacker Deone Bucannon were especially good. In addition to that interception, Peterson forced a fumble. Bucannon led all Cardinals in the first half with eight total tackles and chipped in a sack.
The first-half takeaways lifted the Cardinals’ total tally to 11—in 10 quarters of exhibition action.
If that carries over into the regular season, look out.
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Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press
Extended playing time for youngsters is one of the things fans can look forward to in preseason games—a glimpse into the future, if you will.
In that regard, Cardinals fans expected to get another long look at No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen on Sunday night.
They wound up disappointed.
As Adonis Dees of Arizona Sports reported, after injuring his thumb, Rosen was scratched from the game against the Cowboys. Veteran Mike Glennon backed up Sam Bradford.
Considering how Glennon played, Rosen’s grip on the backup job may have been solidified.
A strong argument can be made for playing it safe with the 21-year-old quarterback the Cardinals hope is the future at the position, but Rosen’s opportunities for game reps were already limited. Now, they’re just about gone.
Given Bradford’s extensive injury history (and the real possibility Rosen will play in 2018 as a result), the kid can use all the practice he can get.
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Charles Krupa/Associated Press
Over eight years in the NFL, Eric Decker caught 439 passes, piled up over 5,800 yards and found the end zone 53 times. He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in a season three times.
There won’t be a fourth. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported, Decker announced his retirement Sunday on Instagram:
“It has been my childhood dream and my passion to play the game of football. I was very fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to have those dreams fulfilled and to have played with such extremely talented and hard-working teammates, coaches and staff. This has been a passion inside of me since I was a little boy but I know now it is time to hang my helmet up and start a new chapter in my life. I love football and always will. It will continue to be a part of my life.”
The Los Angeles Rams are a trendy Super Bowl pick in many circles after they added several veteran stars in the offseason. But a dark cloud has been hanging over the team—the contract holdout of defensive lineman (and reigning Defensive Player of the Year) Aaron Donald.
It looks like the sun is finally about to break through.
As Mike Florio reported for Pro Football Talk on Sunday, Donald and the Rams are nearing an agreement on a megadeal that will make Donald the highest-paid defensive player in league history. The contract is believed to be in the neighborhood of $22 million per season, with $80 million in guarantees.
It’s nice work if you can get it.
On one hand, paying any non-quarterback that sort of cabbage puts a unique strain on a team’s salary cap. The Rams have handed out several big contracts of late (Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks), and there’s still the matter of Jared Goff’s looming whopper of a deal.
Still, Donald’s arguably the most dominant defender in the game—a terror rushing the passer and dominant against the run.
Getting him on the field puts the Rams that much closer to their goal in 2018—a trip to Atlanta for the Super Bowl.
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Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press
The last thing any team wants is to see a player get seriously hurt in a preseason game.
That’s what happened Saturday night at EverBank Field to Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee, who took a helmet to the knee against the Atlanta Falcons and had to be carted off the field.
If Lee’s not done for the year, it’ll be a near-miracle.
The injury (and how it happened) was a big topic of conversation Sunday, and Jags cornerback Jalen Ramsey (who isn’t known for being shy) made it clear he’s not happy.
But as Ryan Day reported for SB Nation’s Big Cat Country, Ramsey doesn’t blame Falcons safety Damontae Kazee for what occurred. He blames the NFL—and the new rule regarding leading with the helmet:
“It sucks. We are going to have to play for him. You can’t be mad at 27 [Damontae Kazee]. You have to be mad at the NFL; not mad at them but that is how the rule is. People are scared to tackle normal because I guess they don’t want to do helmet-to-helmet and get flagged. That was not even flagged and [you could] potentially get thrown out of the game. Game-changing stuff could happen. You don’t really want to blame anyone, but you feel bad for him. I don’t know, man, that’s just tough to see it happen to one of my teammates, period. But you can’t really blame 27.”
Ramsey does have a point. If players are afraid to go high for fear of drawing a flag, that leaves…going low. And when tacklers go low, injuries like Lee’s are going to happen.
If there’s anyone on the face of the Earth who doesn’t hate the new rule, they’re keeping a low profile.
The following article contains spoilers for the season finale of HBO’s Sharp Objects and its post-credit scene.
First of all, if anyone happened to miss the post-credits scene in Sharp Objects, that’s OK. It’s tacked on waayyy at the end of the credits after the production company stingers and it’s entirely forgivable that the ending was so traumatizing as to dissuade people from watching to the end.
That said, definitely watch it.
The spooky scene shows Amma Crellin (presumably in flashback) standing at the edge of the woods in a white dress, staring at the camera as if to lure it to follow her into the forest. Even though the scene is only a few seconds long, it confirms a few things about her short-lived career as Wind Gap’s resident child-killer.
Amma’s white dress makes her resemble the Woman in White, the local legend that 8-year-old James Capisi claimed took victim Natalie Keene from a park. Camille interviews James about what he saw, but the Chief of Police tells her to discount his statement because the Capisi family aren’t well regarded in the town.
As an aside, Chief Vickery is the worst cop ever, right? Like he’s 0-2 when it comes to catching murderers and both of those murderers lived in the same house.
The post-credits scene also makes a few of Amma’s throwaway lines reflexively sinister, including the time she told Camille she stopped being friends with Natalie and Ann because they still wanted to do “kid stuff” like play in the woods — it’s possible Amma told Natalie she wanted to play with her again, which probably sounded great to Natalie, who had recently lost her best friend to the killer.
For anyone hoping for a longer scene that explained more about what Amma did and what happened to her after, the scene may come as a bit of a disappointment. Sharp Objects seems content to let a few of its mysteries lie, such as whether or not Amma had help in pulling Natalie and Ann’s teeth out, and how she moved Natalie’s body to the windowsill in the center of town (signs point to her friends helping her but there’s no confirmation of their involvement).
Still, the post-credit does add some creepy context to Amma’s clearly pre-meditated and heinous crimes and definitely places her as one of TV’s most terrifying teens.
USC head coach Clay Helton is going with a true freshman at quarterback to begin the season as JT Daniels was named the Week 1 starter, per the team’s official account:
USC Trojans @USC_Athletics
OFFICIAL: @USCCoachHelton named true freshman @jtdaniels06 the USC starting quarterback. #FightOn https://t.co/uA5j73BMDX
According to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, Daniels is only the second true freshman to start the season at quarterback for USC after Matt Barkley in 2009.
The 5-star prospect was considered the second-best pro-style quarterback in the 2018 class and the No. 16 overall player in the country, per 247Sports.
Despite Daniels’ obvious potential, he was involved in a three-way battle for the starting job throughout camp alongside redshirt freshman Jack Sears and redshirt sophomore Matt Fink.
Helton was also patient in choosing a replacement for Sam Darnold, delaying his announcement for another week.
“I wanted to continue the process because I want the guys to continue to compete,” he said on Tuesday, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). “They all need to progress. And I want to make sure that I’m right, too. Another week does not hurt to be able to put us in that situation. We’re getting plenty of work with all three, and I think it makes all three of them better players if called upon in the season.”
With none of the contenders having much game experience—only Fink has appeared in a college game and has thrown nine passes—the coach apparently went with the most talented player.
USC has one of the youngest offenses in the country now with several freshmen expected to play major roles and sophomore Stephen Carr likely to be a featured running back.
Still, expectations remain high for the Trojans in the upcoming season as a top contender in the Pac-12.
With Khalil Mack still holding out for a new contract, the Oakland Raiders remain open to the idea of trading the defensive end.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Raiders “haven’t slammed the door on the possibility of trading” Mack, with about 12 teams considering a possible deal.
Four teams are reportedly serious about potentially adding the defensive star.
According toManishMehtaof theNew York Daily News, the New York Jets are one of the teams that have reached out to the Raiders about a trade.
Mack is seeking a long-term deal as he heads into the final year of his rookie contract, but ESPN’sAdamSchefterrecently reported there is “no end in sight” to his current holdout.
Meanwhile, head coach JonGrudenhasn’t let his absence affect him in training camp.
“Going to try to get him here as soon as we can,” the coach explained, perPaul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. “In the time being, you’ve got to move on. You’ve got to get up and go to work.”
On the field, the 27-year-old is one of the top players in the entire NFL. Mack has earned a Pro Bowl selection in each of the past three years, totaling 36.5 sacks in that stretch.
If the Raiders don’t want to pay him, there are plenty of other teams interested in adding the impact player.
Lee exited the game in the first quarter after Falcons safety Damontae Kazee hit him low. Ramsey didn’t place the blame for Lee’s injury squarely on Kazee, though, per ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco:
“You can’t be mad at 27 [Kazee]. You have to be mad at the NFL; not mad at them, but that is how the rule is. People are scared to tackle normal because I guess they don’t want to do helmet-to-helmet and get flagged. … Game-changing stuff could happen. You don’t really want to blame anyone, but you feel bad for him. … I don’t know, man, that’s just tough to see it happen to one of my teammates, period, but you can’t really blame 27.”
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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