The Ryder Cup is 24 days away. The games already have started

The Ryder Cup is 24 days away. The games already have started

TheRyder Cupis still three weeks away and it feels as though it already has started. The opening shot was not from the first tee at Bethpage Black in a foursomes match. It was 1,600 miles (2,575 km) away in Frisco, Texas, where Keegan Bradley kept golf fans in suspense overwhether he would be the first playing captainin 62 years. Bradley knew all along he wasn't playing. He said after announcing his six picks last Wednesday — four of them are below him in the world ranking — the decision "was made a while ago that I wasn't playing." This was four days after he was asked at East Lake if he had clarity on his choices and replied, "No, because I think no matter what decision that I make here, I could have gone the other way." But he sent a clear message when he made his picks. It was about team first. The Americans, 1 up. And then it was Europe's turn on Monday, with no suspense at all. CaptainLuke Donald is bringing to Bethpage Black the same 12 faces— Rasmus Hojgaard replaces his identical twin, Nicolai — that conquered the Americans in Rome two years ago. The strongest image from the announcement at Sky Sports studio in London were the faces of the six captain's picks, all of them wearing smiles wider than Augusta National fairways, sheer joy at being part of Team Europe. It didn't take long fordual images to appear on social mediaof the team's picks. One showed beaming Europeans who had been brought in one at a time for brief interviews. The other had six American on a video call for the entire Q&A with Bradley, all of them looking like they were at a policy board meeting to discuss how to distribute FedEx Cup points. Europe no doubt picked up on this. No detail is too small when it comes to the Ryder Cup. "It's probably not that easy to have a smile on your face for a total of an hour's time," Donald said. "But yeah, very happy to obviously see our guys look very interested and excited about the challenges ahead for the Ryder Cup." Back to all square. The actual competition will get here soon enough. All the last six days did was fuel the anticipation over the Ryder Cup. Already one of the most high-charged golf events, this one has a little extra juice given the location — Bethpage Black, the public course on New York's Long Island with its notorious fans, regardless of ticket prices. "Quite unusual, I suppose, to have such continuity from two years ago, but I think it's hard to argue with these 12 guys," Donald said. The matches, of course, will be decided inside the ropes and judged after the fact whether the captains got the picks and the pairings right, and whether the crowd was over the top. This is New York. Depending on how it goes, Europe might not be the only team that hears from them. There will be second-guessing with Bradley only if the Americans lose. There is little argument the 39-year-old Bradley, who grew up in New England and played college golf nearby at St. John's, would have been playing if he had not been captain. Rory McIlroy had suggested the Americans might not be fielding their 12 best players if Bradley did not play (he also said the Ryder Cup had become too big for a captain to play). It's hard to find fault with Donald's picks because whether they earned a spot or were chosen, they represent the top 11 players from the Ryder Cup standings. The other is Jon Rahm, the two-time major champion and former world No. 1 who was unbeaten in four matches last time. But it's the first time a European team has brought back 11 players from the previous team. There is little risk of complacency because this is enemy territory, but the challenge now falls to Donald to make sure what feels like the same team gets a new experience without a change in the outcome. "You want to embrace what a Ryder Cup represents, and then part of that is embracing the crowd and embracing that atmosphere," Donald said. "And I think certainly these guys will be ready for that." Rookies, though, can be key. Sam Torrance famously said after his European team won in 2002, "Out of the shadows come heroes." That was the year two of the biggest points came from Ryder Cup rookies — Philip Price taking down Phil Mickelson and Paul McGinley delivering the clinching putt. Europe has a history of getting big performances from rookies, whether it was Philip Walton (1995), McGinley (2002), Jamie Donaldson (2014) or Tommy Fleetwood (2018). Gone are the days of determining which team is better on paper. It's too close. The Americans have six major champions. Europe has five. Team Europe has a collective 148-95 edge in worldwide victories on main tours. Europe could only be considered the underdog because of how difficult it has become to win on the road. It has only one victory on U.S. soil the last 20 years, and that one required the "Miracle at Medinah" in 2012. Even with (mostly) the same team, Donald said this wasn't a "rinse and repeat from Rome." "It's a different animal. It's a different challenge," he said. "Having the chance to do it again doesn't mean we're going to do the same things we did in Rome. I've really tried to look hard at exactly what this will require. I'm very aware that we have lost three of the last four away Ryder Cups by significant margins, and it's a tough challenge. It's a tough environment. But I've tried everything I can to give our team the best opportunity." The trick for the Europeans is to still be smiling when it's over. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

byAlpha World

in

September 02, 2025

The Ryder Cup is 24 days away. The games already have started

The Ryder Cup is 24 days away. The games already have started TheRyder Cupis still three weeks away and it feels as though it already has st...

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MLB playoff picture: Wild card standings, bracket, 2025 division standings

MLB playoff picture: Wild card standings, bracket, 2025 division standings

Coming out of Labor Day weekend,Major League Baseball's playoff races look a lot more interesting than they did just a week ago. The American League wild card standings have tightened, with the Rangers' six-game winning streak vaulting Texas to fourth place, chasing down theSeattle Marinerswho cling to the third and final postseason spot. In the NL Central, theChicago Cubscarved a few games out of the Brewers' division lead over the past two weeks and while a comeback probably isn't the cards, they're in good position to make Milwaukee sweat a bit into September. Here's a look at the latest MLB standings: Top three reach playoffs New York Yankees(76-61):+3.5 games Boston Red Sox (77-62): +2.5 games Seattle Mariners (73-65) Texas Rangers(72-67): 1.5 games back Kansas City Royals(70-67): 2.5 GB Cleveland Guardians (68-68): 4 GB Tampa Bay Rays (68-69): 4.5 GB Top three reach playoffs Chicago Cubs (78-59): +5 games San Diego Padres(76-61): +3 games New York Mets(73–64) Cincinnati Reds(69-68): 4 games back San Francisco Giants (66-69): 5 GB Arizona Diamondbacks (68-70): 5.5 GB St. Louis Cardinals(68-70): 5.5 GB Toronto Blue Jays (79-59) New York Yankees (76-61): 2,5 games back Boston Red Sox (77-62): 3.5 GB Detroit Tigers(80-59) Kansas City Royals (70-67): 9 GB Houston Astros (75-62) Seattle Mariners (73-65): 3 GB Texas Rangers (72-67): 4.5 GB Philadelphia Phillies (80-58) New York Mets (74-64): 6 GB Milwaukee Brewers(85-54) Chicago Cubs (79-59): 5.5 GB Los Angeles Dodgers (78-59) San Diego Padres (76-62): 2.5 GB Byes to ALDS: Tigers, Blue Jays Wild Card Series Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox(Boston wins tiebreaker) Byes to NLDS: Brewers, Phillies Wild Card Series New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MLB wild card standings, 2025 playoff bracket, AL and NL standings

byAlpha World

in

September 02, 2025

MLB playoff picture: Wild card standings, bracket, 2025 division standings

MLB playoff picture: Wild card standings, bracket, 2025 division standings Coming out of Labor Day weekend,Major League Baseball's playo...

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‘Trump’s private army’: inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers

'Trump's private army': inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers

The last time the US dramatically expanded its force of immigration officers, major problems arose. Some border agentsrecruited in the 2000sturned out to becartel members. Onekidnappedand raped three women in his custody. Two others were convicted ofoff-duty murders. Now, asDonald Trumpvowsto build "the largest deportation operation" in history and kicks off a massive recruitment spree, human rights advocates and former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials are warning that misconduct and violence by officers could increase as a result. Bolstered by anunprecedented $170bn in fundingfor Immigration and Border Enforcement, the DHS is seeking tohire10,000 new Iceofficersand 3,000 Customs and Border Protection (CBP)agentsby theend of the year. In its desperate race to staff up and meet Trump deputy Stephen Miller's aggressive goal of3,000 immigration-related arrestsa day, the DHS is now advertising substantial incentives for Ice recruits. That includes asigning bonusof up to $50,000 and as much as $60,000 in student loan repayment. Related:Mother of boy, 15, held at gunpoint by US immigration agents files $1m claim It has expanded the officer recruitmentage, which was generally 21-40, to all people 18 and over, and hasshortenedtraining periods to get agents in the fieldfaster. It has launched a prolific social media campaign, featuring memes and imagery that critics say echo white supremacist ideologies. In the past, US officials have repeatedly dismissed misconduct, or even crimes, by immigration officers as anomalies. Watchdogs, however, arguecorruptionandabusewithin Ice and CBP is rampant – and that the White House's hiring tactics threaten to supercharge problems. "Abusive practices, misconduct and a sense of impunity have long existed within these agencies," said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee's US/Mexico border program, whichtracksofficer misconduct. "There are systemic problems with accountability … and a culture of violence." When border patrol nearly doubled its workforce between 2005 and 2011, expanding from 11,300 to 21,400 agents, hiring guidelineswere changedand training requirements were loosened, according to the Associated Press. Agentswere rushedthrough the academy before background checks were done. Ralph Basham, George W Bush's CBP commissioner,told Politico Magazine in 2014: "We made some mistakes. We found out later that we did, in fact, hire cartel members." Reports of misconduct by immigration officers increased.Nearly one CBP officerwas arrested for misconduct every day from 2005 to 2012, Politico found. CBP shootings and use-of-force complaintssurged from 2007 to 2012. In 2018, a border patrol agent wasarrestedforkilling four women, the same year another agent was arrested forkilling his girlfriend and their babyand three other CBP officers wereaccusedof sexually assaulting a colleague on office furniture they deemed the "rape table". In 2019, dozens of border patrol agents werecaughtin a racist Facebook group. In recent years, former agents were convicted ofkidnapping, sexual assaultandaccepting cartel bribes, and there were continuedreportsofsexual assaultbehind bars. "The problems of overreach, abuse and weak accountability at DHS stretch across presidential administrations," said Spencer Reynolds, senior counsel for the liberty and national security program at the Brennan Center, a non-profit. "These issues are baked into a department that has very broad mandates and operates with significant discretion." The hiring spree could exacerbate those problems. In addition to expanding the age eligibility, the DHS was speeding up onboarding for new hires by condensing training from 13 weeks to eight, officials recentlytoldNBC News, and reducing Spanish classes, firearms courses and classroom instruction. The existing training, advocates say, was already failing to prevent misconduct. Michelle Brané, the former immigration detention ombudsman under Joe Biden, said that she was concerned that it appears that some Ice and CBP officers have "a very poor understanding of the law – when you're allowed to arrest somebody, when you need a warrant, what is a valid warrant, or even basics about how people are supposed to enter the country" – and that was before training periods were shortened. Some agents wrongly believed people could apply for asylum from Mexico or cross the border at ports of entry that CBP had, in fact, blocked off – ignorance that could fuel agents' anger at immigrants, she said: "It creates resentment among staff, and that's when people start to get dehumanized and you get really horrific treatment." The DHS's hiring incentives and expanding eligibility suggest it could be struggling to meet the White House's recruitment goals, though Ice said last month it hadreceivedmore than 100,000 applications in two weeks. Lilian Serrano, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, an advocacy group, said the DHS has long recruited in low-income communities where there are minimal prospects for good jobs: "Some see border patrol as a way of getting a well-paid job that will lift them and their families out of poverty, even though that job means targeting their own communities." Serrano was particularly concerned that Trump's recruitment was targeting youth, with events atschoolsin border communities. Serrano's coalition has tracked border patrol misconduct and killings for years – and has seen agents' behavior worsen this year, she said: "The shift has been immediate, with agents being more emboldened to openly violate their own policies even when they know they're being recorded." Rapid recruitment will worsen those problems, she said. Scott Shuchart, a former senior Ice official under Biden, said he was concerned about white supremacists and violent extremists getting hired as the DHS lowers its standards and speeds up enrollment: "The scary ones are the people who want to be Trump's private army, the insurrectionists, the Proud Boys, the Klansmen and others who might be coming out of the woodwork." Historically, efforts to prevent the hiring of officers prone to crimes were more focused on cartel ties, though the January 6 insurrection, which sawoff-duty officersfrom across the country joining rioters, made officials more aware of the threats of far-right infiltration in recruitment, Shuchart said. While background checks might still block the hiring of white supremacists with criminal records, he said he doubted there were any efforts targeted at weeding out these ideologies in recruitment. Those fears have been exacerbated by the message in the DHS's online recruitment efforts, and as the DHS has celebrated its harsh treatment of immigrants, whether with the department's secretary, Kristi Noem,filming herselfat an El Salvador prison with men jam-packed into a cell, or the DHS posting amemeof alligators as Ice agents in Florida. Recent DHS recruitmentadvertisementshave usedlanguagelike "Defend your culture!", "Secure the Golden Age" and "Want todeport illegalswith your absolute boys?" One X.com recruitmentpostfeatured an Uncle Sam image and said, "Which way, American man?", which observers quickly pointed out was similar to the title of a 1978 white nationalistbookthat defended Hitler. The DHSsaidit was conveying that Uncle Sam was "at a crossroads, pondering which way America should go". "The message is: 'We are intentionally causing harm in order to encourage people to leave voluntarily,'" said Brané. "Cruelty is the point, and they seem proud of it. I worry you now have [recruits] coming in with the idea that they are there to harm immigrations and be as cruel as possible … It is clearly going to lead to more violations of human rights. There will be more abuse and mistreatment, whether physical or verbal, and less concern for people's wellbeing and due process." Spokespeople for the DHS, Ice and CBP did not respond to interview requests and detailed inquiries about its recruitment strategies and officer misconduct. Experts see the developments as reflective of larger systemic shifts. "Cutting back on training goes along with the complete collapse of the rule of law in this country," Shuchart said, noting that Trump's immigration crackdown has relied onunconstitutionalpractices andillegal actions, including racial profiling in Los Angeles andunlawful deportations. "You don't have to spend weeks teaching someone immigration law if you've decided the law just means the president gets to deport anyone he wants. Direct monarchical rule without law doesn't require a lot of training by the king's foot soldiers." That lack of accountability is exacerbated by the erosion of oversight. Noem hasshut down DHS oversight officesmeant to uncover and prevent misconduct, efforts that advocates said were already inadequate. Related:'I'm not coming home': Trump policy holds people in Ice custody without bail "They are rushing the hiring of these sensitive positions while gutting the institutions responsible for ensuring oversight and spewing incredibly dehumanizing rhetoric about the people who are subject to these policies," said Noah Schramm, policy strategist for the ACLU of Arizona. "It's a recipe for disaster." Advocates are particularly worried about reductions in accountability as Trumpdeploys border patrol agents to cities,including Los AngelesandWashington DC. "Border patrol is not trained in crowd control. And some agents see themselves as a military force," said Reynolds. In LA, border patrol agents werecaught making false statementsabout protesters they arrested in June. A judge earlier this year also criticized the border patrol for conducting warrantless immigration stops,saying: "You just can't walk up to people with brown skin and say, 'Give me your papers.'" Reports ofracial profilingby CBP and Ice in California havecontinued. "There will be an increased level of civil rights violations, and the public has no recourse to address them," Rios said. Stacy Suh, program director at Detention Watch Network, an immigrants' rights coalition, said the vast expansion of Ice and CBP will have far-reaching consequences. "No amount of training or slowing down hiring will address Ice's culture of secrecy and impunity," Suh said. "What we're really concerned about is how difficult it is to shrink the system once it is expanded. This hiring spree will have a devastating impact on our communities for years to come. It means more people will be targeted and detained, more people will be coerced in detention to accept deportation, and violence inside prisons will get worse."

byAlpha World

in

September 02, 2025

‘Trump’s private army’: inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers

'Trump's private army': inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers The last time the US dramatically expanded its fo...

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Explainer-Why would the US government shut down?

Explainer-Why would the US government shut down?

By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Congress has until the end of September to pass legislation keeping the federal government open or trigger a partial shutdown. WHY WOULD THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN? Congress is supposed to allocate funding to 438 government agencies before October 1, the start of the fiscal year. But lawmakers rarely meet this deadline and routinely pass temporary spending bills to keep the government operating while they finish their work. If they let that funding lapse, government agencies must stop all work not deemed "essential." Democrats and Republicans are typically at odds over spending, and it is not unusual for negotiations to run right up to the point where funding is due to expire. Those tensions have been amplified under President Donald Trump. Since taking office, he has dismantled several government agencies, overseen the departure of hundreds of thousands of civil servants, and refused to spend billions of dollars authorized by Congress. Trump's fellow Republicans have applauded those moves, even though they erode Congress' power over fiscal matters, while Democrats have been unable to stop him. Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but they will need at least seven Democratic votes in the 100-seat Senate to pass spending legislation. This gives the minority party some leverage, and some Democrats insist that any spending bill must contain safeguards to prevent Trump from cutting programs without authorization. Republicans say Trump should be allowed to run the government as he sees fit. WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN? There have been 14 shutdowns since 1981, according to the Congressional Research Service, many lasting only a day or two. The most recent one was also the longest, lasting 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019, during Trump's first term in office, due to a dispute between the president and Congress over border security. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed without pay and a wide range of services could be disrupted, from financial oversight to trash pickup at national parks. Other workers deemed essential would remain on the job, though they also would not get paid. In the past, federal workers have been paid for their time off retroactively. Shutdowns that last only a few days have little practical impact, particularly if they occur over a weekend, but the broader economy could suffer if federal employees begin missing paychecks after two weeks. The 2018-2019 shutdown cost the economy about $3 billion, equal to 0.02% of GDP, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This time, a prolonged shutdown would create more turmoil as Trump's trade wars and battles with the Federal Reserve have already injected uncertainty into the global economy. WHAT FUNCTIONS ARE CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL? Each department and agency has a contingency plan to determine which employees must keep working without pay. The 2018-2019 shutdown furloughed roughly 800,000 of the federal government's 2.2 million employees. In the 2018-2019 shutdown the Trump administration kept the 63 national parks open, though public restrooms and information desks were closed and waste disposal was halted. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea Ricci)

byAlpha World

in

September 02, 2025

Explainer-Why would the US government shut down?

Explainer-Why would the US government shut down? By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Congress has until the end of September to ...

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Joe Bugner, heavyweight boxer who went the distance with Muhammad Ali twice, dead at 75

Joe Bugner, heavyweight boxer who went the distance with Muhammad Ali twice, dead at 75

Joe Bugner, a former heavyweight boxer who foughtMuhammad Alitwice in his career, has died. Bugner was 75 years old. "It is with great sadness that the Former British, European Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion and World Championship contender Joe Bugner has passed away at his care home in Brisbane, Australia," theBritish Boxing Board of Controlconfirmed on Monday. "The British Boxing Board of Control passes on its condolences to Joe's family." Click Here For More Sports Coverage On Foxnews.com Bugner was atalented boxer, but he wasn't in the good graces of those in his native Britain after sending Henry Cooper, a boxing legend in the commonwealth, into retirement after beating him in 1971. The victory gave him the British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight titles. Bugner didn't hold on to those belts after losing them later in 1971. Read On The Fox News App Hulk Hogan Netflix Documentary Was In Production Before His Death; Wrestler Did 20-Plus Hours Of Interviews He went on to face off against Ali for the first time in 1973 when they entered the ring in a non-title fight inLas Vegas. Bugner was able to go the distance against the boxing icon, though Ali would get the win by points. Just five months later, Bugner was in the ring against the legendary Joe Frazier, this time on home soil at Earl's Court in London. Like the fight against Ali, Bugner was able to go the distance, but he came up short as Frazier won by points. The most thrilling fight, though, came between Bugner and Ali in Kuala Lumpur in 1975, their second time fighting each other. In front of a packed-out crowd, Bugner and Ali went a full 15 rounds on the canvas, though the former came out as the loser by points once more. Bugner fought for 32 years, ending his career in 1999 before relocating to Australia. He spent the final years of his life in an assisted living home after being diagnosed with dementia. Bugner went 69-14 over his 83 fights, 41 of which ended inside the distance. Bugner was a Hungary-born boxer who moved to Britain as a child refugee amid the 1956 Soviet invasion. Follow Fox News Digital'ssports coverage on X, and subscribe tothe Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. Original article source:Joe Bugner, heavyweight boxer who went the distance with Muhammad Ali twice, dead at 75

byAlpha World

in

September 02, 2025

Joe Bugner, heavyweight boxer who went the distance with Muhammad Ali twice, dead at 75

Joe Bugner, heavyweight boxer who went the distance with Muhammad Ali twice, dead at 75 Joe Bugner, a former heavyweight boxer who foughtMuh...

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