Maybe Fred Thompson should have stayed in after all. His droll one-liners might have enlivened what was one of the flattest performances yet from a group of GOP candidates who have done battle on the debate stage 18 times before. Familiarity is breeding contempt-not among the combatants, but perhaps among members of the viewing audience. As the Democratic field has narrowed to a two-candidate contest, the back-and-forth has grown more intense, as evidenced by the sharp sticks Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama poked in each others’ eyes last Monday, during a Martin Luther King Day smackdown in South Carolina....

The donor, Dan Eberhart, who is also the CEO of oilfield services company Canary, warned that GOP candidates focusing on the 2020 contest and Trump’s election fraud claims could hurt the party’s outcome in the 2022 midterms. On Friday, CNN host Erin Burnett asked Eberhart about recent comments made by Republican candidates who decline to say that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Burnett mentioned a debate in Minnesota this week during which five Republican candidates for Minnesota governor avoided saying that Biden won the election in 2020....

Some issues are always top of voters’ mind, such as jobs and the economy. Other issues can be influenced by specific events. Two such issues are abortion and immigration. The rolling back of the Roe v. Wade decision earlier this year made abortion a headline issue and sparked wide protests. Equally, the flying of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, instigated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, pushed immigration to the top of the news cycle....

Using the tagline, “2020 Democrats should listen to 2016 Democrats,” the video features short clips of Democrats including Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi speaking in the past on the subject. The Biden clip shows him arguing that “the American people deserve a fully-staffed court of nine.” Clinton is featured saying: “The president nominates and then the senate advises and consents or not, but they go forward with the process....

Cramer made the remarks during an interview with CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, during which anchor Jake Tapper asked the GOP senator, who represents North Dakota, pointedly whether if it was “appropriate” to seek foreign assistance to damage a political rival. “It’s not like Donald Trump has been exactly covert about this,” Cramer responded. “There’s great integrity in his authenticity, which is something that people out here in the heartland appreciate about him....

The Republican senator said U.S. commanders and generals have privately complained “there is no mission” in Afghanistan, Iraq or other Middle East nations for more than a decade. Paul was joined by fellow GOP Senator Mike Lee last week in criticizing the Trump administration’s attempt to sideline Congress after the president decided to kill Iranian general Qassem Soleimani without congressional approval. Paul told NBC News’ Meet the Press Sunday that he and Trump both want to bring troops home, but the president continues to surround himself with people who believe “the Iraq War was just great....

Gordon did make it interesting. Gordon needed 292 yards to catch Sanders, who rushed for 2,628 yards in 1988. Gordon finished with 2,587 yards after rushing for 251 yards and three TDs in a 34-31 win against Auburn. MORE: Rose Bowl tradition in trouble? | Why do we hate Saban, Meyer? Gordon also left an impression on the NCAA record book. Here are five amazing stats: Gordon is just the third running back to rush for 2,500 yards in a season....

This is one where seeing is believing. Gordon has been one of the top drivers all season. But for much of the last four weeks, he has been the very best. He won the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway three weeks ago. A week ago, he won the pole at Watkins Glen and threatened for the win before a short in the battery in his car dropped him from contention....

It’s ugly, no doubt. But for teams aiming for October games and October seeding, it’s an opportunity. Somebody’s got to collect all those wins being offered up by teams (well, front offices) not trying as hard as possible to win games in the 2019 season, right? So which contenders are doing the best job of that? Let’s take a look. MORE: Here’s how to watch “ChangeUp,” an MLB whiparound show, for free on DAZN...

The Panthers already missed the veteran kicker in their preseason finale Thursday against the Steelers, and the team announced Friday that it has now placed Gano on injured reserve. Panthers coach Ron Rivera was optimistic Gano would be ready by the start of the regular season after he missed the final four games of 2018 with a plant leg injury, but the knee soreness he has been dealing with started to escalate the team’s concerns when it kept him out of practice this week....

The mom, thought to be from the U.K., claimed that her parents have never offered practical support to her eight-year-old son, who has additional needs, but they want to spend time with her five-year-old daughter, who is neurotypical. She explained her son isn’t violent, is able to use the toilet, and while he may get anxious in new situations, he does not lash out physically or run away, describing him as a “brilliant boy” who “deserves the extra effort needed to accommodate him....

His rankings by recruiting analysts haven’t been erased merely because he has obliterated them with nearly three seasons’ worth of performances for the Tennessee Volunteers. A few simple keystrokes, and there it is: Grant Williams, three stars, No. 191 in the class of 2016. MORE: Duke’s Zion Williamson the runaway POY favorite Being reminded of this does not seem to provoke Williams. Unlike so many athletes before him, he does not express that such an obvious and enduring slight has driven him to rank among the very best college basketball players of 2019, to stand as the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and the star player of the nation’s No....

The most opulent designs come from California-based Kreiss. The Gatsby Chair and 1/2, made from polished mahogany and cream wool, makes a larger-than-life statement ($3,300). So do its hand-carved rosewood dining chairs ($2,140 each; kreiss.com ). The glitter of 1920s Hollywood is reflected in new collections of mirrored furniture. The White Company’s new Halston offers a mirrored dressing table, stool, bedside table and chest of drawers ($176-$1,475; thewhitecompany.com ). Laura Ashley has added a mirrored cocktail cabinet to its Gatsby range ($1,113; lauraashley....

On July 12, the shark tracker hosted by ocean research organization OCEARCH pinged with Breton’s location at 11:07 p.m., not far from Palm Bay, a city of 119,760 people. Breton is a huge shark, measuring over 13 feet and weighing almost 1,500 pounds. OCEARCH tags great white sharks to learn more about the species and their behavior—the tagged sharks “ping” on the tracker when their dorsal fins come close to the surface of the water....

The shark, which they have named Unama’ki, measures 15 foot, five inches in length and weighs more than 2,000 pounds. Readings from the shark’s tracking device indicate that the shark is swimming further into the mid-Atlantic, after having passed the island of Bermuda. It left waters off the U.S. east coast at the start of April, and has been heading further into the open ocean ever since. This path is unusual for great whites, with just a handful of these journeys being recorded with OCEARCH’s satellite tracking in the past....

That was the old Greece. The new Greece is far different. Led by Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister George Papandreou, the son of Andreas, Athens has adopted a dramatically new approach to relations with Europe, America and its Balkan neighbors. Educated in the West, modernist and Europe-oriented in outlook, Simitis and Papandreou head a group of technocrats who seek to make Greece a more dynamic and reliable democracy–and a force for stability in the region....

Abbott, a Republican, said the bill does not mandate they do so, as it allows abortions up to six weeks. However, reproductive rights advocates have pointed out that many pregnancies are not detected within six weeks. “Let’s make something very clear. Rape is a crime,” Abbott said. “And Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets....

After the Cowboys’ 33-27 overtime loss to the Eagles on Sunday night, Hardy didn’t go the “no comment” route like he’s done in the past. Instead, he just avoided the media altogether by hopping in the passenger seat of a Ferrari. MORE: Jerry Jones’ history of enabling | Eagles linemen hate on Hardy Hardy also declined to speak with reporters on Friday when the pictures were made public. While Hardy refuses to talk, his coach Jason Garrett and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have tripled down on their support....

The Spurs’ Gregg Popovich will replace Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of the USA Basketball men’s program, the organization announced today. Popovich’s tenure will begin in 2017 and run through at least 2020, according to the release, and he will be working with USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo. Krzyzewski will continue on as a special adviser. MORE: Predicting the Team USA roster for the 2016 Rio Olympics “I’m extremely humbled and honored to have the opportunity to represent our country as the coach of the USA national team,” Popovich said in the release....