Piling On: This is going to get interesting. President Trump’s team has, as everyone knows, cast China as the evil empire for the November election campaign along with the usual suspects like President Obama and the FBI. Then you have potential Republican 2024 presidential candidates weighing in on China, and not in a friendly way, such as Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. But Newsweek’s own Bill Powell tells me that the real action may end up behind the scenes as Washington and Fortune 500 companies duke it out over China policy....

The way they got that first one did not suck. Just ask their coach. MORE: Playoff race as of Saturday morning | Overtime issues discussed at GM meetings The Lightning, after tying the game with 1:22 left on an amazing individual effort from Ondrej Palat, were burned by a too-many-men penalty in overtime and wound up losing 4-3. The overtime loss, though, means that Tampa managed to take five of six points on a road trip against Pittsburgh, Toronto and Ottawa....

Government officials say he is behind a string of assassinations, including the killings of professionals and women, the latter apparently because they were not maintaining strict codes for modest dress and behavior. They also accuse Mussawi of ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. But some see the recent wave of arrests as an attempt by leading government Shiite parties to neutralize Shiite rivals.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said on Twitter that the plane, which was carrying three people, crashed at 8500 Monterrey Pine Place in Tomball. KTRK in Houston reported that the plane had engine-related issues that led to the crash. The SR-22 single-engine fixed-wing plane took off in Tennessee and stopped to refuel in Louisiana to fly to its final destination at Hooks Airport in Spring, Texas, KPRC in Houston reported, adding that the plane reportedly lost power before it crashed....

Hersh and his adversaries will have their day in court–where the real issue, in all probability, will be the credibility of a shadowy Israeli exile named Ari Ben-Menashe. Ben-Menashe, a former translator for the Israeli government who now lives in Australia, was Hersh’s primary source for the allegations against Davies and Maxwell. He is a compulsive and compelling talker-intense, persuasive and seemingly knowledgeable about some of the most sensational international intrigues of the past decade....

That’s right: He said who wins and who loses should be more important in reaching the NCAA Tournament field than the teams’ margin of victory. “In the NBA or NFL,” Pomeroy said, “your record is your record.” FAGAN: NCAA should be applauded for embracing metrics in selection process If you pay attention to this sort of stuff, well, you wouldn’t have predicted that, would you? It was refreshing to hear, given the animus that has accompanied so many Twitter discussions on the topic....

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which represents 1.7 million members across the country, told Newsweek that the labor union is awaiting COVID-19 vaccine authorization for kids under age 12 before mask requirements are lifted in schools. “It’s great news that the vaccines are now so effective that vaccinated folks can take their masks off,” AFT President Randi Weingarten wrote to Newsweek on Friday. “The specifics on how you make that happen will take a minute to figure out—but we are encouraged by these guidelines and can’t lose sight of the bigger picture: this is a huge incentive for more and more people to get vaccines and push our country towards herd immunity....

That is how the Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Oath Keepers, who refer to themselves as “guardians of the republic.” On the group’s website, it describes itself as a “non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police, and first responders, who pledge to fulfill the oath all military and police take to ‘defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’” The Oath Keepers posted an alert on their site on Saturday stating volunteers were needed to “protect Trump supporters” at Trump’s rally....

Four dual-threat quarterbacks from the 2011 recruiting class, all ranked ahead of Trevone Boykin. It’s hard to imagine any quarterback from that class — minus Oregon’s Marcus Mariota — being rated ahead of Boykin now. But in that class, Boykin was the 24th-best dual-threat QB. Let that sink in after watching Boykin on Saturday lead TCU past Kansas State, 41-20. A week ago, Boykin fell way down the Heisman charts with a 12 for 30, 166-yard performance against West Virginia — albeit a victory....

New Malaysia U22 head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said that he will make minimal changes to the squad set up and plans made by former head coach, Frank Bernhardt. The German coach had earlier been tasked with preparing the team for the U22 Asian Cup qualifications and the SEA Games which will be held this year, but new Malaysian FA (FAM) president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim last weekend replaced Kim Swee with former Johor Darul Ta’zim head coach as the Malaysia senior team boss, with the Malaysian being reassigned to the junior team....

Growing up, I didn’t understand the full meaning of the adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” until I was diagnosed at 10-years-old with psoriasis, an autoimmune disease. To most people, I looked like a vibrant kid with a big smile and a bright personality. But within a year, 98 percent of my body was covered with six scaly patches that itched like chicken pox and would leave me constantly bleeding or flaking....

One online gaming company in New Jersey offered Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks $88,800 to legally change his name to "888.com." In order to have the money directed to the charity of Nicks's choice, the name change would have to be reflected on every last one of his legal documents — driver's license, passport, bank accounts, etc. — and also on his jersey and in all Giants-related dealings. Moreover, he'd have to keep the "888....

New polling published Sunday by NBC News showed that 53 percent of Americans approve of Biden as his administration passed the 100-days-in-office mark last week. But the survey revealed stark partisan divides. While 90 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independent voters said they approved of the president, only 9 percent of Republicans said they approved. Biden’s approval rating stands significantly higher than that of former President Donald Trump after his first 100 days in office....

I’ve been in the country less than an hour and already some geographic distinctions are asserting themselves. The war, which has surged in its sixth year, is felt most strongly outside the capital, where Afghans live under the threat of Taliban suicide bombers and allied reprisals (which have lately killed civilians). In Kabul, the strain has more to do with the shortcomings of the reconstruction: projects that inch along, the corruption that now taints Hamid Karzai’s government and the tense juxtaposition of poverty and urban development....

Moore, the controversial left-leaning director behind “Farenheit 9/11” and “Bowling for Columbine,” could not be immediately reached for comment. But a spokesperson at The Weinstein Company, Moore’s distributor, tried to put a positive spin on the apparent piracy. “Health care impacts everybody right in their homes, and it is not surprising that people are eager to see ‘Sicko’ and become part of a larger movement,” Sarah Rothman wrote in an e-mail to NEWSWEEK....

The tournament is named in honor of U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Lamar Hunt, who was a long-time owner, investor and supporter of the game on American soil. The last team to hoist the cup was Atlanta United in 2019, when they beat fellow MLS side Minnesota United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Since the launch of top-flight Major League Soccer in 1996, the Open Cup has been won by an MLS side in every year but one....

The orchestra on Wednesday assembled a small crowd in the square, where they played the anthem along with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. Dozens watched the orchestra perform as they called for peace and prosperity in Ukraine. “We would like to support our president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who called, calls and will call to all governments of the world [to] stop the war in Ukraine,” Kyiv-Classic conductor Herman Makarenko said. Although temporary corridors have been opened for Ukrainian civilians fleeing the invasion, reports said Wednesday that Russia bombed a children’s hospital in Mariupol, resulting in “a lot of dead and wounded women” and unspecified number of children and newborns....

Karen Stokes sent an email to the university’s counseling staff Thursday, saying she had been dismissed from her role as an executive assistant to the center’s director, according to the Register-Guard. MORE: Bettors losing faith in Kentucky | Wisconsin player has a crush on stenographer “I am disappointed that the UO has chosen this course of action. I, along with Jenny (Morlock), had hoped that our letter of concern regarding the medical records that we believe were unethically and illegally disclosed would promote positive changes,” Stokes wrote in the email....

The state reported a record 146 newly confirmed and presumptive cases on Sunday, the highest single-day rise in cases since the outbreak began, the OHA reports. Presumptive cases are cases that have tested positive in a local lab but have yet to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The high number [of new cases] is tied to several factors, including more widespread testing, increased contact tracing and active monitoring of close contacts of cases....