Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday that he couldn’t speak to specific details of calls that took place or meetings that were held during the previous administration but that the Department of Defense hasn’t discovered anything untoward about the revelations from the forthcoming book Peril. Then-President Donald Trump picked Milley to serve as the top military officer in 2018. He has remained in the role since President Joe Biden took office in January....

“The NBC story is inaccurate and misleading in many ways. To be clear, Secretary of Defense Esper has no plans to resign, nor has he been asked to submit a letter of resignation,” Jonathan Hoffman, Esper’s assistant secretary for public affairs, told Newsweek. The news first appeared Thursday in a story by NBC News which cited three unnamed defense officials. The outlet said such letters were not uncommon in the wake of an election, a gesture giving the president an opportunity whether or not to approve a cabinet member’s continued tenure....

Specialist Michael Isaiah Nance, 24, of Chicago, Illinois, who is the great-grandson of Sam Forest Jr., had been killed alongside Private First Class Brandon Jay Kreischer, 20, of Stryker, Ohio. The two young men—one not even old enough to buy a beer legally—were gunned down in Afghanistan in an apparent insider attack perpetrated by an Afghan National Army soldier who opened fire on the two paratroopers from a guard tower while they were inspecting a new base of operations in the Shah Wali Kot district in southern Kandahar Province....

Wooseok, Kino, Hongseok and Yuto, four of the group’s nine members, spoke at length about how heavily involved the band was in the making of their 12th mini album, especially their title track “Feelin’ Like.” Alongside the members who spoke to Newsweek, the K-Pop band is comprised of Hui, who is currently doing his military enlistment, Yeo One, who was recently involved in a car accident and has taken a break to recover, Yan An, who is currently visiting his family in China, and Jinho and Shinwon, who tested positive for COVID-19 and were unable to attend the chat....

With less than a month and a half left in the year, an ensemble of Iraqi paramilitary factions known as the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Commission shared with Newsweek a message Friday expressing disappointment with the lack of U.S. military drawdown. Following talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in July, President Joe Biden had promised an end to the U.S. combat mission in the country by year’s-end. The message expressed skepticism in the original commitment, noting that roughly four months later, the commission had “not yet seen any manifestations of withdrawal, despite that only 42 days separate us from 12/31/2021....

Odell’s cousin Terron Beckham is a fitness model and physical trainer who hasn’t played football since high school. But he’s training for the NFL Draft in hopes of using his impressive physique as an NFL running back, USA Today reported. MORE: Mock Draft 2016 | Combine time, date TEST Sports Clubs CEO Kevin Dunn, whose facilities trained dozens of NFL players — including Patrick Peterson and Joe Flacco prior to the draft — said he’s never seen anything like Terron....

The same can be said for Odesa, Ukraine’s historic Black Sea port, where visitors can enjoy a plate of locally sourced cheese pancakes topped with thick sour cream and wild blueberries at a sidewalk cafe near an eerily calm Catherine’s Square for the hryvnia equivalent of $4. But there are few visitors to be seen. Odesa city councilman Petro Obukhov, who finished third in the 2020 mayoral race, described what has become the “new normal” in his city....

In a summer of mutants, terminators and pirates, Ross’s $80 million drama about the runty, 1930s Thoroughbred that became a national sensation is one of the more dangerous movies around. It is epic, intelligent and sincere–a movie for adults, about to be released during the most teen-centric season of the year. “Seabiscuit” doesn’t have a Pink single on the soundtrack. It will not be coming to a PlayStation near you....

The county’s final count, which was announced on Sunday, found another 45 votes for President Donald Trump. However, between Dane County’s recount and that of another in Milwaukee County, President-elect Joe Biden still won the state with a net gain of 87 votes—further increasing his margin in Wisconsin to approximately 20,600 votes, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “What this recount shows was there was absolutely no evidence of voter fraud,” Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell told the Wisconsin State Journal....

But the Seminoles’ 45-38 victory over Florida wasn’t without controversy. Indeed, on the Gators’ final offensive play from scrimmage, the SEC officiating crew missed what appeared to be an obvious facemask penalty by Jammie Robinson on Anthony Richardson: The penalty, had it been called, would have resulted in an automatic first down, placing Florida halfway to the goal line (at the 13-yard line). As it stood, Richardson’s last-gasp heave toward the end zone fell incomplete, resulting in a turnover on downs and giving FSU the ball at its 26....

The Chemtool lubricant production plant, located at 1165 Prairie Hill Road in Rockton, Illinois, caught fire at around 7 a.m. Monday. When firefighters arrived, the blaze had already made its way through the roof. “At this point in time the building is pretty much consumed, we’re thinking that this is going to be a several-day event to have all this product burned off,” Rockton Fire Protection District Chief Kirk Wilson said in a news conference Monday....

“The governor is right. The governor is spot on,” DeWine, who is also a Republican, told NBC’s Meet the Press of Burgum’s comments, which urged North Dakota residents to put political affiliations aside and regard face coverings as a necessary contribution to public health. “I’ve watched that clip a couple times, and this is not about politics. This is not about whether you’re liberal or conservative, left or right, Republican, Democrat,” DeWine continued....

University Hospitals of Cleveland said in a statement that two caregivers are on administrative leave after an error led to one patient receiving a kidney intended for another. The incident occurred on July 2. The patient is recovering as expected as the kidney was compatible, while the other’s transplant has been delayed, according to the health care system. For a kidney transplant to go ahead, the donor must be matched according to factors including their blood type....

Senator Terry Johnson’s bill is similar to the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors’ Protection Act,” which passed the U.S. Senate in April but was blocked from vote in the House multiple times. The bill says that a doctor must “preserve the health or life of a child who is alive when removed from the uterus of the pregnant woman.” Otherwise, the doctor may face manslaughter charges, a first-degree felony in Ohio. The lawsuit also gives the person who gave birth in this instance the right to sue the doctor for failing to give life-saving measures....

Liddell posted screenshots of the social media messages that he received from multiple fans on Friday. The messages included racist and homophobic slurs and threats of physical violence. “You are such a f—ing disgrace,” one fan wrote. “Don’t ever show your face at Ohio State. We hate you. I hope you die. I really do.” In response to the messages, Liddell tweeted, “Honestly, what did I do to deserve this?...

Ohio State beat Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon, and Alabama’s Amari Cooper en route to a national championship. True to form, some of the Buckeyes wanted to make it known their team faced and beat the three finalists. Linebacker Darron Lee and defensive back Tyvis Powell had a little fun on Twitter, game show-style, trolling the three. Powell is a bit of a jokester by nature, tweeting about roommate Cardale Jones when he was announcing whether he would stay in school or enter the NFL draft....

While defensive end Chase Young riffed on how the No. 4 Buckeyes came together in the aftermath of their loss to Purdue on Oct. 20, Meyer looked at his quarterback and smiled. Haskins tried not to laugh. Call this the moment where coach and quarterback could finally relax after a turbulent season that ended with the program in its standard spot. After Young and Haskins exited the podium, Meyer was asked what this team — a 12-1 team that won the program’s third Big Ten championship in seven years but will likely have to settle for the Rose Bowl instead of the College Football Playoff — means to him....

This might be a problem somewhere else, yet Ohio State coach Urban Meyer showed calm — if not confidence — in this year’s team at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday. “The issue would be if it was a non-talented young team,” Meyer said. “That’s not the case at all. So it’s a very young team, but talented. Probably the most critical coaching month that our staff will — I’m speaking for myself — that I’ve ever been through....

Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer left the spring game in a good mood after watching the Gray team beat the Scarlet team 28-17: Some of those holes have been replaced. MORE: What to watch Saturday | OSU breaks spring attendance record Here’s a look at seven Ohio State players who stood out: Joe Burrow Burrow, a redshirt freshman quarterback, finished 14-of-23 passing for 196 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Gray team to a victory....

President Bush spent most of last week urgently trying to improve his standing on environmental issues before Earth Day, and before Cheney’s secret Energy Task Force next month unveils proposals that are sure to make greens see red. But all politics is local–and, in the Bush world, familial. Bushes have a history in the gulf. Dad made his grubstake there 40 years ago as a pioneer in offshore drilling. As president, he stopped the development of some already-leased tracts in the gulf....