newyorkpost--2020-07-18--DJ LeMahieu returns to Yankees with Opening Day status uncertain

Clint Frazier was widely praised for saying he would wear ...

The Yankees’ outlook got a little better on Friday, when DJ LeMahieu reported to spring training 2.0 following his battle with COVID-19.
The All-Star took grounders on the field at Yankee Stadium and Aaron Boone said he worked out and hit in the batting cage, but the manager added he’s not ready to say whether LeMahieu will be available for Opening Day in Washington on Thursday.
“I don’t want to commit one way or the other,’’ Boone said. “We’ll just welcome him back to the building and see where we are the next couple days.”
The manager added LeMahieu would work out and hit at Yankee Stadium again Saturday and the team had mapped out the next four or five days to help get him live at-bats “probably in the next couple days.”
Boone acknowledged it would be tough for LeMahieu to be ready so soon after missing all of spring training 2.0.
“That would be a pretty quick turnaround, obviously,’’ Boone said. “First and foremost, we want to make sure we bring him back safely and smartly and when he comes back, he’s ready to roll.”
LeMahieu was placed on the injured list before camp officially opened. He’ll get as many live at-bats as possible over the next week to determine whether he’s up to facing ace right-hander Max Scherzer right out of the gate, but the Yankees feel the bigger challenge might be seeing if he’s up to the rigors of playing every day after being out.
“A lot of it is, ‘Where are his legs built up to?” Boone said. “Can he play day-in and day-out nine-inning games. … I don’t worry so much about DJ finding his timing. I’m pretty certain that will come back quick.”
LeMahieu’s approach at the plate gives the Yankees confidence he won’t be impacted as much by the layoff as some others might be.
“It’s an individual thing, but when you’re one of the best in the world at bat-to-ball, you build up quicker,’’ Boone said LeMahieu, whose .893 OPS a year ago was behind only Aaron Judge’s .921 among everyday players in the Yankee lineup.
Submit your Yankees questions here to be answered in an upcoming Post mailbag
Hitting coach Marcus Thames agreed with Boone’s assessment of LeMahieu, with a caveat.
“He’s a baseball rat,’’ Thames said. “He knows his swing and knows what guys are trying to do to him. That part will help him, but he’s still human. He’s got to get some reps.”
LeMahieu wasn’t allowed to be at Yankee Stadium for spring training 2.0 until he tested negative twice. The Yankees have three exhibition games coming up before the regular season begins.
And the Yankees’ primary concern is that the 32-year-old stays healthy.
“We’re gonna take our time and make sure he’s healthy,’’ Thames said. “We don’t want to rush him. DJ worked really hard even when the shutdown [was happening] in Tampa. He was there getting work in. We’ll take it slow and he’ll let us know when he’s ready.”
That’s no easy feat considering the unknowns of the coronavirus.
“We’re learning like the rest of the world and medical industry more and more about this virus and the effects of it,’’ Boone said. “It affects so many different people in so many different ways. I guess it’s some comfort in DJ’s case, even though he continued to test positive, he felt normal throughout.”
For now, Boone is encouraged just having the Yankees’ most consistent hitter around.
“Obviously, everyone is excited to see ‘The Machine’ back in the building,’’ Boone said.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Bryson DeChambeau out at Memorial after epic 10-stroke meltdown

DUBLIN , Ohio — The first hole at Muirfield Village for ...

DUBLIN, Ohio — Bryson DeChambeau was the betting favorite to win the Memorial Tournament this week.
Now he’s going home without a tee time for Saturday or Sunday at Muirfield Village Golf Club because he missed the cut on Friday thanks to an epic meltdown on the par-5 15th hole, where he took a 10.
DeChambeau’s implosion actually played a part in helping Tiger Woods and other players who were 3-over par make the cut. Him missing the cut helped move the cut line from 2-over to 3-over.
DeChambeau, who’s been the talk of the PGA Tour for the past six weeks with his bulked-up physique and the gigantic drives he’s producing, was 1-over par entering the 15th hole and walked to the 16th 6-over par with no chance to make the 3-over-par cut.
The stunning carnage began with a 279-yard tee shot into a water hazard on the left side of the fairway. He took a drop in the rough and hit his next shot out of bounds.
He then hit his next shot against a fence, where the ball was ruled by a PGA Tour official to be out of bounds. DeChambeau protested and asked for a second opinion. So, a second rules official was brought over and he, too, ruled it to be out of bounds.
DeChambeau then hit his eighth shot onto the green and two-putted for 10.
After the round, he refused to comment to reporters or a PGA Tour media official.
The missed cut ended an impressive streak of success for DeChambeau, who had gone his previous seven tournaments with no finish worse than a tie for eighth. That included a win at the Rocket Mortgage Championship two weeks ago.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a leader of civil rights movement, dead at 80

A masseuse claims to have given several entirely non-sexual massages ...

Civil rights icon and 17-term Rep. John Lewis of Georgia died Friday in Atlanta, The Associated Press has reported.
He was 80.
Lewis, the son of Alabama sharecroppers whose fight for racial equality spanned seven decades, had waged a long battle with advanced pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis he shared in December, 2019.
“All of us were humbled to call Congressman Lewis a colleague, and are heartbroken by his passing,’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement confirming the death.
“May his memory be an inspiration that moves us all to, in the face of injustice, make ‘good trouble, necessary trouble,'” she said, using a favorite quote of the lawmaker.
First elected in 1986 and lauded as the “conscience of Congress,” Lewis, a staunch Democrat, commanded respect from both sides of the aisle.
But he forged his reputation in the 1960s, most notably during the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, during which he suffered a skull fracture at the end of a police billy club.
“There is still work yet to be done,” he urged during a 50th anniversary event at the bridge in 2015.
“Get out there and push and pull until we redeem the soul of America.”
As one of the original Freedom Riders, in 1961 he joined with black and white protesters in challenging segregation at a Mississippi bus station, spending 37 days in a sweltering, Jackson jail after using a “whites only” bathroom.
Two years later, Lewis was a keynote speaker at the March on Washington in 1963, which he helped organize as a 23-year-old.
“We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of,” Lewis said back then, during the march from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
“For hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here. For they are receiving starvation wages, or no wages at all.”
He continued:
“We are tired. We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again.
“And then you holler, “Be patient.” How long can we be patient? We want our freedom and we want it now.”
Previous 1 of 10 Next Advertisement Six leaders of the nation's largest black civil rights organizations pose at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York. From left, are: John Lewis, Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King Jr AP John Lewis, front left, and his wife, Lillian, holding hands, lead a march of supporters from his campaign headquarters to an Atlanta hotel for a victory party after he defeated Julian Bond in a runoff election for Georgia's 5th Congressional District seat in Atlanta AP Advertisement Pete Buttigieg, Reverend Al Sharpton, Senator Elizabeth Warren listen to US Representative John Lewis AFP via Getty Images US Representative John Lewis and members of the Congressional Black Caucus gather for the memorial for Democratic US Representative from Maryland, Elijah Cummings. AFP via Getty Images US President Barack Obama walks alongside Amelia Boynton Robinson (R), one of the original marchers, the Reverend Al Sharpton (2nd R), First Lady Michelle Obama (L), and US Representative John Lewis (2nd-L), and also one of the original marchers, across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement Rep. John Lewis is arrested by U.S. Capitol Police after blocking First Street NW in front of the U.S. Capitol with fellow supporters of immigration reform Getty Images President Barack Obama presents a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. Rep. John Lewis Getty Images Advertisement
Lewis, who was mentored by King, once recalled the civil rights leader’s “great sense of humor.”
“He would tease and mock individuals all the time,” Lewis told The Post in 2017, during the Gordon Parks Foundation Awards.
“On one occasion, we were riding in a car in Mississippi and we saw this old restaurant — a small hole-in-the-wall,” said the veteran activist.
“Martin said we should stop, get arrested, and we would go to jail on a full stomach. We all started to laugh.”
Lewis had remained active in politics throughout the spring.
In April, he endorsed Joe Biden’s bid for the presidency, telling reporters, “It is my belief that we need Joe Biden now more than ever before.”
He said in a statement at the time, “I have stared down the deepest, and darkest forces in this nation.
“Vice President Joe Biden and I both believe that we are in a fight to redeem the soul of America.
“I know Joe Biden as a man of character and dignity — a man who can not, and will not rest when he sees injustice in our American home.”
Touchingly, fellow pancreatic cancer victim Alex Trebek had in January challenged Lewis to join him in surviving 2020.
With Post wires


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--23-year-old man shot before start of nearby peace rally in NYC

Maybe it wouldn ’ t make the slightest bit of difference across ...

A 23-year-old man was fatally shot in Crown Heights Saturday just minutes before Mayor Bill de Blasio took the stage at a peace walk blocks away.
The man was shot twice in the leg and once in the stomach in front of 662 Nostrand Ave. at 4 p.m., said police, who offered no motive for the gunfire.
The victim, whose injuries were initially not believed to be life-threatening, was taken to King’s County Hospital, police said.
Saturday night, police said he had succumbed to his injuries.
The brazen shooter, decked out in dark clothing, fled the scene on a motorcycle, authorities said.
Police recovered shell casings outside the Fly E-Bike store, according to witnesses. Police radio reports described the suspect as in his 50s.
Meanwhile, about five blocks away and 30 minutes later, the mayor took the stage for the start of Saturday’s Cease Fire Peace Walk, organized by New York Knicks player Taj Gibson.
Gibson’s foundation is paying for the funeral of 1-year-old Davell Gardner Jr., whose life was tragically cut short by a hail of bullets in Brooklyn late last Sunday.
The peace walk went on as scheduled, traveling from Broadway Junction from Brooklyn to Fulton Street and Marcy Avenue, the site of the first Black Lives Matter mural painted on New York City streets last month.
De Blasio was joined onstage by Gibson, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, City Councilman Robert Cornegy and Eve Hendricks, the heartbroken mother of slain 17-year-old high school hoops star Brandon Hendricks, who was gunned down last month.
Hendricks was at a friend’s birthday cookout when gunfire broke out and he was shot once in the neck. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to a chilling account of the hoop star’s final moments, a friend told The Post that the teen’s final words were, “Call my mom.” Hendricks was captain of the James Monroe High School team for two years.
On Saturday afternoon, Eve Hendricks wore a large picture on her chest with the NY Post June 30 front page — “God is crying” — headline of the senseless slaying of her son.
Additional reporting by Paul Martinka


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--NHL’s masked men have chance to deliver key safety message

Let ’ s be honest .
We don ’ t know whether this is going ...

Maybe it wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference across this country, but maybe it would. Maybe some of those invited to participate would decline because they do not believe in the message. Shame on them, but that would not scuttle the initiative.
Because when 12 NHL teams convene in Toronto in just over a week, their 24 goaltenders will all be wearing masks when they go to work. And when the 12 other tournament entrants convene in Edmonton — guess what? — their 24 goaltenders will also all be wearing masks.
So why not open each telecast to what should be impressive (and perhaps even impressionable) audiences with a PSA in which goaltenders, one by one, simply say, “I wear a mask. So should you.” Or, “I wear a mask. I’m asking you to wear one, too.”
(I don’t get paid to write ad copy, you may have noticed.)
The NHL could have Ben Bishop deliver the message to the Dallas market and Andrei Vasilevskiy to the Tampa market and Sergei Bobrovsky, or maybe even Roberto Luongo, to the Panthers market. Tuukka Rask could speak to Boston and Carter Hart to Philadelphia, and Jordan Binnington of the Stanley Cup champion Blues to St. Louis.
The league could have Henrik Lundqvist, Carey Price, Marc-Andre Fleury and Martin Brodeur addressing the audience before national games. Maybe Bernie Parent and Patrick Roy. But it is a natural for the NHL, which has the opportunity here to do more good than perhaps lifting its fans’ spirits by getting on the ice in the midst of a pandemic.
Never has silence signaled such good news as this week’s smooth opening week of Phase 3 training camp did for the NHL. Perhaps there is some good fortune involved, but that is surely at least partially the residue of the design the league and the NHLPA created through weeks of intense dialog.
I don’t care for the CBA, which became locked at the hip to return to play. I think the players were taken advantage of by the league and by the owners, and partly because for years the players had improperly fixated on escrow as a bug of the unyielding hard-cap system rather than focusing on the hard-cap system itself. But I have previously said that once or twice. This is the system and all will learn to live with it.
The return to play, though, the painstaking and methodical approach taken by both the league and the union in crafting protocols for four different phases dealing with COVID-19, well, it couldn’t have been more impressive. Gary Bettman had time and he used it wisely. Neither party got ahead of itself.
And though there are no absolutes in July 2020, the methods adopted give the NHL a chance to pull this off. It still all lies ahead, and there is no guarantee next week won’t bring bad news, but there is reason for more than hope. There is reason to believe this might work.
So, in two years when he becomes eligible, does Luongo become the first NHL goaltender elected to the Hall of Fame without winning a Stanley Cup since — who do you think? — Tony Esposito in 1988! That was one year after Ed Giacomin, also without a Cup on his résumé, was enshrined.
In fact, Esposito, Giacomin and Chuck Rayner, who incredibly never had a winning season in two years with the Americans and eight with the Rangers, are the only three NHL goaltenders inducted into the Hall post-1950 without a Cup notch on his belt.
There is a fourth post-1950 Hall of Fame goaltender without a Cup. His name is Vladislav Tretiak.
So if Sean Day, released by the Rangers with a year to go on his contract, somehow turns into an NHL caliber defenseman after having signing with Tampa Bay, there will be some explaining to do.
Yes, I know, the Rangers need to conserve contracts to stay within range of that 50-max number, and they have all these alleged lefty defensemen prospects waiting in line, and that Day, in his third year in the organization following his third-round selection in 2016, played 36 games in the ECHL and just 16 with the AHL Wolf Pack last season.
And with the consensus among talent evaluators that Day simply does not have the hockey IQ necessary to make it, despite his innate skill and skating ability, it was probably the judicious move.
Still — and this might not be fair given that the Lightning have won the same number of Cups and have gone to the same number of finals as have the Rangers since the introduction of the hard cap — seeing Tampa Bay sign Day, and so quickly, well …
As Robert Plant once sang, ooh, it makes me wonder.
Sixth Avenue did it again, tweaking a regulation or reversing a ruling to benefit a favored franchise or owner. This time the NHL redrew the cap-recapture clause of the CBA in order to help Nashville avoid ruin in the event of an early Shea Weber retirement in Montreal.
This is the league, you recall, that reversed the Devils’ forfeiture of a first-rounder tied to the Ilya Kovalchuk circumvention finding when the current ownership group took control. This is the league that created cap-recapture carve-outs for Mike Richards and Jeff Carter of the late “Mr. Snider” for no reason other than — the Flyers.
In the word of Tevye: Tradition.
Finally, the next time that Jere-ME Roenick attends an NHL game, hopefully he will have to buy a ticket to gain admission.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Jon Rahm can become No. 1 golfer if he can finish off Memorial

DUBLIN , Ohio — It ’ s a tradition like no other .
And ...

DUBLIN, Ohio — Jon Rahm is one good round away from realizing a lifelong dream.
Rahm, the 25-year-old Spaniard who seized a commanding four-shot lead in Saturday’s third round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, can elevate himself to No. 1 in the world rankings with a victory Sunday.
Rahm, in treacherous course conditions, shot the low round of the day Saturday with a 4-under 68 to get to 12-under. Ryan Palmer and Tony Finau are tied for second at 8-under, and Danny Willett is 6-under.
Sunday has delicious potential to be a fitting and memorable day for Rahm, because winning the Memorial would be the biggest victory of his career, the No. 1 ranking would come with it and it would join him with legendary Seve Ballesteros as the only Spanish players ever to reach that rarefied air.
“Oh, it’s extremely important — No. 1 in the world,’’ Rahm said. “It’s obviously a big deal. I can’t sit here and try to diminish it and avoid it because it would just be lying to myself. But it is a consequence of me winning [Sunday].’’
Asked about joining Ballesteros, the late king of Spanish golf, Rahm grew emotional.
“It’s always tough to put it into words,’’ Rahm said. “Seve is a huge influence of mine. Thanks to that Ryder Cup in ’97 [in Spain] and his captaincy and the way he inspired many not only in Spain but in Europe, he’s the reason why I’m playing here today. And any time I can do something remotely close to what he did, it’s pretty emotional. I can’t lie. It’s something that deep in my core as a Spaniard and as a player I would love to achieve.’’
A Rahm win coupled with current No. 1 Rory McIlroy finishing worse than in a tie for second would allow Rahm to leapfrog McIlroy, who’s 10 shots off the lead at 2-under.
Rahm missed the cut in his only other Memorial appearance, in 2017, when he shot 73-77. He didn’t play well in the first three days of last week’s Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, either, though he closed with a final-round 64.
Rahm clearly has found something in the dirt the past few days to help him solve Muirfield Village, because he’s handling the firm-and-fast conditions that have made the Memorial represent a major championship better than anyone in the field. The course is set to be torn up and reconstructed as soon as the final round is complete Sunday, so the tournament staff is pushing it to the brink.
“I told Adam [Hayes, his caddie] walking down 18 that they should just allow people to come tomorrow in the same conditions we did, cut the greens, make sure they’re the same speed, flags on the same spots, just for people to see,’’ Rahm said. “We were thinking the scratch club champion might not break 80 here today. It’s that difficult a golf course. And I can say, because of that, [Saturday] could be one of the best rounds of golf I’ve played in my life.’’
With the players around him staggered by the conditions, Rahm made a power move on the back nine and seized control of the tournament with a run of birdies on Nos. 13, 14, 15 and 16.
Before that, Finau looked like he was on the verge of separating himself from the pack. The 30-year-old Finau, who has only one career PGA Tour victory, was 12-under as he walked to the 12th tee with four-shot lead at the time and made double-bogey.
He followed that with a bogey on 322-yard 14th, where he tried to drive the green hit his tee shot into the water. That cost Finau his lead, dropping him to 9-under, one shot behind Rahm.
The final dagger to Finau’s day came on No. 17, which he double bogeyed to tumble to 8-under, four shots behind Rahm, whom he’d led by four shots some 90 minutes earlier.
“It was good … and then it wasn’t good,’’ Finau said of his round. “Man, this golf course can get you in a heartbeat. We had a little bit of flashbacks to Shinnecock while we were out there. That’s how firm and fast the greens were.’’
Finau was grouped with Rahm the first two days, so he knows what he’s up against Sunday.
“He’s a world-class player,’’ Finau said. “I don’t think he’s that far off ever. Obviously, he’ll be the guy to catch.’’
Good luck with that.
“My mission [is] just go play good golf and hopefully have a good cushion coming down the stretch, especially on 18 so I can just enjoy that walk,’’ Rahm said.
And his No. 1 ranking.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Taj Gibson not worried about big Knicks decision as he rallies in Bed-Stuy

While five of the Knicks ’ 11 coaching candidates are in ...

Knicks big man Taj Gibson and Mayor Bill de Blasio shared a stage in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Saturday in the blazing sun, wearing masks, preaching a theme of Black Lives Matter and about stopping gun violence.
Perhaps soon, Gibson, the Fort Greene native, will share a podium with another leader, Tom Thibodeau, his former coach in Minnesota and Chicago.
Gibson, who has not spoken to the media since the pandemic shut down the season, said he can’t speak to Thibodeau as he has not been offered the job.
In the past, Gibson has glowed about Thibodeau, defending his stint in Minnesota with passionate words.
“I really don’t want to talk about the coaching situation but I’m sure they will make the right decision,’’ Gibson told The Post. “I’m just focused on what my foundation is doing.”
And that’s a lot. Gibson’s foundation staged Saturday’s event in which hundreds of Brooklynites marched down Fulton street for 30 minutes, and it drew de Blasio’s attention.
“It’s always great when someone remembers where he came from,’’ de Blasio said of Gibson.
During the pandemic, Gibson stayed in New York throughout and his foundation threw a free lunch in April for needy families in his old neighborhood.
“I’ve been able to go to the [Tarrytown] practice facility and before that, I was working out in a gym every day,’’ Gibson said.
Two of his foundation associates insisted Gibson was not permitted to talk about basketball, but when asked if he was disappointed the Knicks did not get invited for the Orlando restart, Gibson said, “Of course. Any competitor type would want to be out there and competing, but we’re not and I’m just working hard in the gym getting ready for next season.’’
Gibson will be a free agent if the Knicks don’t exercise his $9.5 million option. They could decline and still re-sign him, especially if Thibodeau is calling the shots.
But instead of talking about his Knicks’ future, Gibson said he wanted to focus on the future of youths on the streets of Brooklyn.
“This is about young kids losing their lives because of gun violence,’’ Gibson said. “The city’s gun violence rates have gone up. I’m trying to step up in the community and calm the tensions. And we’re going through tough times with the pandemic.’’
With social unrest raging in the country because of George Floyd’s death while in custody of the Minnesota police. Gibson praised the NYPD during his onstage speech.
Gibson made 56 starts at center, posting a career-high 58 percent shooting percentage. He was promoted after the Knicks started 1-7.
His foundation has worked closely for years with Bed-Stuy councilman Robert Cornegy, former St. John’s backup center on the 1984-85 NCAA Final Four team. “He’s a humble hero,’’ Cornegy said.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Legal sharks looking to feed off New York’s COVID-19 pandemic

When Janice Esposito ’ s husband showed symptoms of the coronavirus while ...

New York trial lawyers, and the lawmakers who drool for their donations, see a fresh chance to cash in big on the coronavirus crisis with two horrific pro-lawsuit bills slithering through the Legislature that would wallop taxpayers, businesses and consumers.
One bill, which zoomed through two Assembly committees last week, would let private lawyers sue insurers based on vaguely defined “bad faith” claims and provide fat rewards if they prevail. It also invites third-party plaintiffs to sue.
That opens the doors to “every kind of damages that one could think of,” warns the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. The bill would also force insurers to pay the plaintiff attorneys’ fees and other costs.
This would lead to a mad rush of new cases — that’s the point. And because the bill contains no safeguards against meritless suits, insurers might simply pay bogus claims or bump up payouts just to avoid expensive lawsuits that risk costing them even more.
Indeed, “every two-bit lawyer will tack on one of these lawsuits to every insurance claim,” predicts Tom Stebbins of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance.
Don’t think insurers alone will bear the extra tab: They’ll pass most of the costs on to the people and businesses they insure — in the form of higher premiums. Opponents cite research projecting a jump of at least $7 billion a year.
A similar third-party bad-faith law in Florida boosted bodily-injury costs 30 percent. In California, following a court ruling allowing such suits, premiums rose by between 32 percent and 53 percent.
And the hit would come at a time when many New Yorkers are already suffering under the COVID-socked economy.
Meanwhile, policyholders who feel cheated by insurers already have the right to file claims with the state’s Financial Services commissioner.
The other bill’s just as bad: It would make it easier to target government agencies in class-action lawsuits — in which lawyers truly clean up — and boost allowable awards. With state and local tax revenues ravaged by the pandemic, this will mean new tax hikes or service cuts, or both.
If either of these bills passes, Gov. Cuomo will surely veto it pronto — if, that is, he puts the interests of average New Yorkers over those of greedy lawyers.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--As Israelis give up on peace deal, Democrats’ ‘solution’ would destroy Jewish state

As Israelis increasingly write off the chances of a peace deal with Palestinian Arabs any time in the foreseeable future , the US Democratic Party is increasingly in thrall to a fantasy “ solution ” that would destroy the Jewish state .
Top Democratic Mideast-policy people like Obama-era National Security Council officials Ben Rhodes and Robert Malley — the folks likely to set the agenda for a Joe Biden administration — actually praised writer Peter Beinart ’ s outrageous call last week to strip Israel of its status as a Jewish nation in order to ( theoretically , at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Palestinians and Jews alike , as Jonathan Tobin noted in these pages .
It ’ s certainly true that Palestinian leaders have turned down countless proposals for a “ two-state solution , ” but that hardly justifies any hope that they ’ d live peacefully with Israelis in a unified state — not after decades of propaganda about the inherent evil of the Jews .
Israelis have grown deeply skeptical ( and weary ) of efforts to find a viable peace deal .
That ’ s a key reason why the Labor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that voters last March overwhelmingly backed coalitions headed by a security hawk , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , and a centrist , Benny Gantz , shows that voters there have little hope that any genuine agreement is possible for now .
Yet for Jews all over , it ’ s hard to imagine a greater blow than what would be , in effect , the destruction of modern-day Israel , a nation set up to protect them after the Holocaust and after centuries of anti-Semitic persecution across the world.il With no military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one-state solution , ” and birth rates that would soon make Arabs the clear majority , Jews would be back to their pre-Nazi days , politically .
That fits fine with the dreams of a rising Democratic faction of young Israel-haters and anti-Semites , like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib .
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( NY ) is also part of the group .
She and a dozen fellow Dems last month called for restrictions on US military aid to Israel if it annexes areas of the West Bank .
Folks can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aid should be a bipartisan nonstarter , given the threats Israel faces and its importance as a US ally .
New York Democratic voters ousted staunch Israel-backer Rep. Eliot Engel last month in favor of AOC-backed Jamaal Bowman , whose pro-Israel bona fides are dubious , at best .
Hostility toward Israel isn ’ t new among Democrats .
At their 2012 convention , the floor booed the idea of recognizing the reality that Jerusalem is Israel ’ s capital .
In 2016 , they fought over Palestinian rights , with Sen. Bernie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hostility has grown , as top presidential contenders boycotted the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference and threatened to use aid to pressure Israel .
Biden , meanwhile , was part of the team that forged an Iran nuclear deal that put Israel ’ s very existence at risk .
If he wins in November , he ’ ll likely undo all President Trump ’ s pro-Israel steps .
What ’ s most notable , though , is that US Democrats aren ’ t just parting with US Republicans — but @ @ @ @ @ @

As Israelis increasingly write off the chances of a peace deal with Palestinian Arabs any time in the foreseeable future, the US Democratic Party is increasingly in thrall to a fantasy “solution” that would destroy the Jewish state.
Top Democratic Mideast-policy people like Obama-era National Security Council officials Ben Rhodes and Robert Malley — the folks likely to set the agenda for a Joe Biden administration — actually praised writer Peter Beinart’s outrageous call last week to strip Israel of its status as a Jewish nation in order to (theoretically, at least) make it a “home” for Palestinians and Jews alike, as Jonathan Tobin noted in these pages.
It’s certainly true that Palestinian leaders have turned down countless proposals for a “two-state solution,” but that hardly justifies any hope that they’d live peacefully with Israelis in a unified state — not after decades of propaganda about the inherent evil of the Jews.
Israelis have grown deeply skeptical (and weary) of efforts to find a viable peace deal. That’s a key reason why the Labor party has collapsed. Indeed, the fact that voters last March overwhelmingly backed coalitions headed by a security hawk, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a centrist, Benny Gantz, shows that voters there have little hope that any genuine agreement is possible for now.
Yet for Jews all over, it’s hard to imagine a greater blow than what would be, in effect, the destruction of modern-day Israel, a nation set up to protect them after the Holocaust and after centuries of anti-Semitic persecution across the world.il
With no military force of their own under a “one-state solution,” and birth rates that would soon make Arabs the clear majority, Jews would be back to their pre-Nazi days, politically.
That fits fine with the dreams of a rising Democratic faction of young Israel-haters and anti-Semites, like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) is also part of the group. She and a dozen fellow Dems last month called for restrictions on US military aid to Israel if it annexes areas of the West Bank. Folks can disagree about such plans, but restricting aid should be a bipartisan nonstarter, given the threats Israel faces and its importance as a US ally.
New York Democratic voters ousted staunch Israel-backer Rep. Eliot Engel last month in favor of AOC-backed Jamaal Bowman, whose pro-Israel bona fides are dubious, at best.
Hostility toward Israel isn’t new among Democrats. At their 2012 convention, the floor booed the idea of recognizing the reality that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. In 2016, they fought over Palestinian rights, with Sen. Bernie Sanders leading the anti-Israel charge.
But the hostility has grown, as top presidential contenders boycotted the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference and threatened to use aid to pressure Israel.
Biden, meanwhile, was part of the team that forged an Iran nuclear deal that put Israel’s very existence at risk. If he wins in November, he’ll likely undo all President Trump’s pro-Israel steps.
What’s most notable, though, is that US Democrats aren’t just parting with US Republicans — but with the people of Israel.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Determining the best owners of New York-area sports teams

The Yankees ’ outlook got a little better on Friday , when ...

You know the difference between a good owner and a bad owner?
Actually, it’s a trick question. The people who own sports franchises aren’t judged on anywhere close to a judicious fashion. If you were a stockholder in the team, and that team sold almost every seat and maximized every dollar, like a certain pro basketball team based in Manhattan, you probably feel differently about the person at the top than others might.
Of course, we only care about wins and losses in sports, so that tends to be the filter through which we judge owners. The Mets — you may have heard — are up for sale, and so there is massive speculation about what kind of owner Steve Cohen might be, or Alex Rodriguez might be, or any of the others.
What makes a good owner? Let’s see if we can determine the best of the best who have owned the nine teams we currently call our own.
Yankees: It is a two-horse race. Jacob Ruppert, under whose watch the Yankees became the Yankees, who purchased Babe Ruth and began a stretch between 1921-64 unparalleled in team sports history. And there is the Steinbrenner family, beginning with the 1973 deal that brought George to New York, an often tempestuous reign but one that has also included seven championships (remarkable given the era), a TV network (unthinkable in ’73) and a new stadium that guaranteed decades of staying in The Bronx, also unthinkable for much of the ’70s and ’80s. No. 1: Steinbrenner.
Mets: There are three choices, really: The original — started by Joan Whitney Payson and finished by her daughter, Lorinda de Roulet, which included the ’69 and ’73 miracle boys but started with 120 losses and ended with an attendance for 1979 of 788,905. There was the Doubleday/Wilpon partnership, which delivered so many giddy times (but only one World Series win) in the ’80s. And the Wilpon/Wilpon/Katz consortium, since 2002, which included the Madoff mess on one side and the 2015 World Series on the other. No. 1: Doubleday/Wilpon.
Giants: An intramural family affair! Tim Mara was the mastermind, of course, buying into the NFL for $500. Jack, the older son, was the heir apparent but died young, and so it mostly fell on Wellington (along with Jack’s son, Tim) and, later, to John, who furthered his father’s partnership with the Tisch family, begun in 1991. It has mostly been a dignified run, but the fact Wellington was the driving force behind the NFL’s revenue-sharing lifeblood has to give him the edge. No. 1: Wellington Mara.
Jets: He was a product of his times, so it is hard to imagine another time when Sonny Werblin could’ve owned the Jets and done it as flamboyantly as he did than the ’60s. But facts are facts: Werblin changed the team name, paid $427,000 for Joe Namath, saw Shea Stadium stuffed year after year in the good times and, though he departed a year before Super Bowl III, it was his team. Who’s in second place? Whew. No. 1: Werblin.
Knicks: This has been a mostly complicated and corporate ownership history since Gulf and Western took over the team in 1974, and though there was a spasm in the mid-’90s when things ran smoothly, it has mostly been chaotic in the 46 years since team founder Ned Irish handed things off. And it’s hard to argue with two titles and the modern Garden being built on his watch. No. 1: Irish.
Nets: Such a complicated history, including the star-crossed Roy Bow (under whom the Nets won two ABA titles, acquired then jettisoned Julius Erving), the Secaucus Seven, Mikhail Prokhorov, Joseph Tsai. But the team’s highest and most fleeting prosperity came thanks to a brief partnership between Steinbrenner and Lewis Katz, the old YankeeNets, which yielded two NBA Finals appearances and Lou Lamoriello in charge. No. 1: YankeeNets.
Rangers: Like the Knicks, there is a complicated history here, including a time when the majority stockholder of the team also owned the Red Wings. But the team was named after Tex Rickard (as in Tex’s Rangers) and won three Cups under him. No. 1: Rickard.
Islanders: Easily the home of maybe the worst owner of all time (John Spano), this one is pretty cut-and-dry. You win four Stanley Cups in a row when you’re signing the checks, you get to be remembered as the best boss. No. 1: John Pickett.
Devils: Another easy one. He brought professional hockey to his home state, kept it there after flirting with Nashville, and won two Cups as owner. And had one of the greatest of all sports one-liners from his past life as partner with the Yankees: “Nothing is so limited as being one of George’s limited partners.” No. 1: John McMullen.
Vac Whack’s
I’m not sure I’ve ever been quite as disappointed by anything as I was by the “30 Rock” reunion this week.
I think we are officially close enough to where you can start looking at that Mets lineup and start allowing your motor to hum a little bit. Same deal with the Yankees batting order, especially with DJ LeMahieu back in the fold.
I’m not entirely convinced we aren’t going to see Billy “The Whopper” Paultz and Larry “Mr. K” Kenon in the lineup when the Nets line up with the Magic on July 31.
2020 is the worst “30 for 30” ever. Ever.
Whack Back at Vac
Steven Schafler: I was thinking of purchasing one of those cardboard cutouts of myself for the Mets games at Citi Field. That’s until I found out they don’t supply umbrellas during rain delays.
Vac: They also haven’t yet mastered a way to get virtual Pat LaFrieda’s delivered to the cutouts. That’s a key.
Dennis Murray: Mike, who will be the first Yankees player to walk up to Tommy James’ “I Think We’re Alone Now?”
Vac: Whoever it turns out to be, it will be easy in the cavernous stadium to gear me applauding from the press box.
@TS_MagnumIII: Some will find this type of season fun. I will not be among them, save for the fact I’m watching baseball … hopefully. A 60-game baseball season just can’t be taken seriously.
@MikeVacc: I think the seriousness of the season will be an absolutely subjective view, and I don’t think there’s a wrong answer.
Mel Gross: I read some teams are considering canned stadium sounds for games. I think they should play loud music during the game so the players will be subjected to what the fans endure at every game.
Vac: Hey, if we’re able to go with baseball 4-for-4 in the WhackBacks, you know we are achingly close to a season …


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Yankees’ Domingo German says he isn’t retiring: ‘I am very sorry’

Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn ’ t have much to offer on ...

The strange career of suspended Yankees right-hander Domingo German took another turn Saturday, with German reversing course and insisting he isn’t retiring from baseball.
“Baseball is my life and I promise I am not walking away,’’ German posted on Instagram on Saturday, a day after the 27-year-old strongly hinted his career was over.
On Friday, German — who is serving the remaining 63 games of the suspension he incurred last year for violating the league’s domestic violence protocol — wrote a post on Instagram in Spanish that translated to: “I left baseball. Thanks my people.”
It followed an earlier post that also led to speculation about German’s future.
But on Saturday, German insisted he is still committed to the game and blamed his retirement posts on a lapse of judgement. He deleted both posts late Friday night.
“To my teammates, the Yankees organization and our fans, I am very sorry for the unsettling post [Friday] night,’’ German wrote. “This past year has been very tough for my family and myself, for which I take full responsibility. Not being with my teammates while they get ready for the season, knowing that I have let them down, has taken a toll on me and [Friday] night I let my emotions get the best of me.”
Before Saturday’s exhibition game against the Mets at Citi Field, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t have much to offer on German’s situation.
“It’s very unclear,’’ Boone said. “Obviously I have seen the Instagram stuff, but I don’t have much more clarity. I know there hasn’t been much between the club and him about what exactly is going on.’’
Though the 2020 season has just 60 games scheduled, the league previously said German would be eligible to play at the beginning of 2021 because he also sat out last year’s playoffs.
German was 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA over 143 innings last year before his season ended in September following the incident. He agreed to an 81-game suspension that included 18 games served last fall. Had this season progressed normally, the right-hander would have been eligible to return to game action on June 5.
“I am using this time to get stronger, become a better person and father and I can only hope that I will get to join my teammates once again to make them proud,’’ German wrote Saturday. “Please forgive me for this mistake.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Bloodbath unfolds on Jersey Shore as sharks attack dolphin

Beware , beachgoers : Social-distancing violators might be the least of your ...

Here is the disturbing moment a bloodbath unfolded only feet from Jesey Shore bathers, as sharks viciously attacked a wounded dolphin at popular Brant Beach, in Long Beach Island.
The massacre was recorded Thursday at 7 a.m. by Sean Donohue at the 106th street beach, and uploaded the same day to YouTube.
Early morning beachgoers evacuated the shallow surf, according to the Barnegat-Manahawkin Patch.
They could be seen looking on in horror as multiple dorsal fins swirl and cut through the roiling, crimson waters only a shell’s throw from the sand.
Unconfirmed reports said the dolphin was originally injured by a boat propeller and the bloody wound attracted the maneaters.
Dolphins are generally able to defend themselves by using their long, hard snouts to ram into the soft underbellies of threatening sharks, and usually travel in pods that help them gang up against predators. But this this dolphin did not have a swimming buddy, and appeared to be compromised.
Certain types of sharks do occasionally prey on dolphins — great white, bull and tiger sharks — but it is unusual for such an encounter to occur so close to shore.
Researchers were unable to find the dolphin’s remains afterward, so bite marks could not be used to determine what kind of sharks were involved.
The Post reported last week that as many as five great-white sharks have been satellite-tracked in the ocean off Long Island and New Jersey. But scientists said this is normal and that the apex predators pose far less danger to humans than the drive to the beach.
The 106th street beach has been reopened, and there has not been any sign of sharks close to shore.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Trump plays the outsider incumbent in fan-made video he shared on Twitter

President Trump may be the incumbent — but he ’ s still portraying himself as the ultimate outsider as he @ @ @ @ @ two-minute , fan-made video clip that Trump posted to his Twitter feed Saturday revolves around @ @ @ @ @ address , including his vow to start “ transferring power from Washington , D.C. , @ @ @ @ @ you , the people.
” The video , keyed to the soundtrack of Linkin Park @ @ @ @ @ “ In the End , ” paints Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden as a member @ @ @ @ @ It culminates with images of Attorney General William Barr — juxtaposed with another shot of @ @ @ @ @ crescendos .
Trump accused the former vice president of having “ spied on my campaign @ @ @ @ @ tweet .
A Department of Justice investigation into the origins of the FBI ’ s @ @ @ @ @ .

President Trump may be the incumbent — but he’s still portraying himself as the ultimate outsider as he runs for reelection.
A two-minute, fan-made video clip that Trump posted to his Twitter feed Saturday revolves around quotes from his 2017 inaugural address, including his vow to start “transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.”
The video, keyed to the soundtrack of Linkin Park’s apocalyptic rap-rock song “In the End,” paints Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden as a member of the Washington elite.
It culminates with images of Attorney General William Barr — juxtaposed with another shot of Biden — as the music crescendos.
Trump accused the former vice president of having “spied on my campaign” in a July 9 tweet. A Department of Justice investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia collusion probe is ongoing.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--NYPD Lt. Richard Mack released from hospital after violent protest attack

Rihanna , Jay-Z , Charlize Theron and other celebrities are calling on ...

This time, NYPD Lt. Richard Mack felt the love – not the pain.
The hero cop headed home Saturday afternoon after being released from New York-Presbyterian-Weill Corner Medical Center, three days after suffering blows during a violent protest.
“It’s pathetic that they let out the person who attacked us,” he told The Post, adding that the protester who injured him had swung at his head with a fistfull of heavy rings — using them like brass knuckles.
Mack, sporting a patch over his left eye, exited the hospital in a wheel chair down a hallway flanked with his fellow officers, who were wearing masks as they applauded his recovery. Mack later walked under his own power.
“I bled for this city. I’d do it again tomorrow,” an emotional Mack said, thanking his NYPD comrades and asking we “remember all the people who died on 9/11.”
Mack was among a group of officers who were attacked while making an arrest Wednesday on the Brooklyn Bridge.
A New Jersey woman was arrested and charged in the assaults after the NYPD officers were bloodied and battered by anti-cop activists.
NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan was among those injured during a scuffle with protesters.
Clergy and community members were among those who joined Mack’s family to say “thank you.”
Previous 1 of 5 Next Advertisement NYPD SRG Cop Richard Mack Robert Miller Robert Miller Advertisement Robert Miller Advertisement
The organizers of the Jericho Unity March known as the United Clergy Coalition were on hand to thank Mack “for his service and unselfish sacrifice of his own safety to protect them and their right to march.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu was stunned by ‘frustrating’ coronavirus

If the Yankees ’ most complete player isn ’ t ready for Opening Day on Thursday in Washington , he believes it won ’ t take long to join the band .
“ It ’ s a possibility , I don ’ t know if it is realistic or not , ’ ’ DJ LeMahieu said Saturday about being ready for the first game after joining the Yankees ’ spring training 2.0 following a bout with the coronavirus .
“ It ’ s up to the trainers and [ manager Aaron Boone ] .
I think it will be pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first few games .
For me it is going to be live at-bats.
’ ’ After spending a lot of the shutdown working out in Tampa , LeMahieu went home to Michigan , where he tested positive for COVID-19 .
“ It was a test on my own .
I had been in contact with someone who was positive , so I got a test , ’ ’ LeMahieu said .
“ I wanted to see my dad , but I didn ’ t want to see him until I got tested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later , and obviously I was shocked .
It was unreal.
’ ’ LeMahieu , who was able to visit his father on the porch and shared that his wife tested negative , described the testing process as weird and frustrating .
“ It was a test almost every other day .
It was weird .
I tested negative , positive , negative , negative , ’ ’ LeMahieu said .
“ It was frustrating because I was feeling 100 percent normal .
Pretty much every other day for two weeks.
’ ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus , LeMahieu said , “ I have no idea .
I don ’ t know.
’ ’ He did , however , feel scared .
“ It was shocking news to get that , definitely a scary thing .
There is no cure for it , so it is scary , ’ ’ LeMahieu said via a Zoom call from Yankee Stadium .
“ After the first few days I felt fine.
’ ’ With the Yankees facing the Mets at Citi Field on Saturday night , LeMahieu was at Yankee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ready for a 60-game season by taking batting practice and running the bases .
Asked about participating in live batting practice , LeMahieu said , “ Live pitching , I don ’ t know , we will see .
[ Boone ] has been great making sure I am ready .
Hopefully , another good day [ Saturday ] and see about [ Sunday ] .
’ ’ Though LeMahieu said he won ’ t wear a protective mask during the games , he understands others will and is more than fine with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to wear a mask .
For me the game is really hard , to wear a mask , I don ’ t know , ’ ’ LeMahieu said .
“ For the guys who are wearing it , I definitely respect .
We have guys going back to their families .
I have no problem .
I have no problem with guys opting out , either .
I know how scary this thing is.
’ ’ The Yankees ’ lineup is deep enough to cover for a player who is missing .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yankees won the AL East despite Giancarlo Stanton playing in just 18 games and Aaron Hicks in 59 .
However , LeMahieu ’ s first season in The Bronx was terrific in every way .
He batted .327 with career highs in homers ( 26 ) and RBIs ( 102 ) and posted a .893 OPS .
He was an All-Star for a third time and finished fourth in the AL MVP race .
A duplication of that by the 32-year-old second baseman , who also can play first and third , will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a free agent after the World Series .
LeMahieu was the bargain of the free-agent class following the 2018 season , signing a two-year deal for $ 24 million and leaving the Rockies .
In the past six years LeMahieu has averaged 146 games played .
Now , he is preparing for a 60-game season .
“ It ’ s going to be weird .
It is definitely a sprint this year , ’ ’ LeMahieu said .
A sprint he is excited to a part of .

If the Yankees’ most complete player isn’t ready for Opening Day on Thursday in Washington, he believes it won’t take long to join the band.
“It’s a possibility, I don’t know if it is realistic or not,’’ DJ LeMahieu said Saturday about being ready for the first game after joining the Yankees’ spring training 2.0 following a bout with the coronavirus. “It’s up to the trainers and [manager Aaron Boone]. I think it will be pretty close. If not Opening Day, the first few games. For me it is going to be live at-bats.’’
After spending a lot of the shutdown working out in Tampa, LeMahieu went home to Michigan, where he tested positive for COVID-19.
“It was a test on my own. I had been in contact with someone who was positive, so I got a test,’’ LeMahieu said. “I wanted to see my dad, but I didn’t want to see him until I got tested. I got a call five days later, and obviously I was shocked. It was unreal.’’
LeMahieu, who was able to visit his father on the porch and shared that his wife tested negative, described the testing process as weird and frustrating.
“It was a test almost every other day. It was weird. I tested negative, positive, negative, negative,’’ LeMahieu said. “It was frustrating because I was feeling 100 percent normal. Pretty much every other day for two weeks.’’
Asked if he knew where he contracted the virus, LeMahieu said, “I have no idea. I don’t know.’’
He did, however, feel scared.
“It was shocking news to get that, definitely a scary thing. There is no cure for it, so it is scary,’’ LeMahieu said via a Zoom call from Yankee Stadium. “After the first few days I felt fine.’’
With the Yankees facing the Mets at Citi Field on Saturday night, LeMahieu was at Yankee Stadium easing into the routine of getting ready for a 60-game season by taking batting practice and running the bases.
Asked about participating in live batting practice, LeMahieu said, “Live pitching, I don’t know, we will see. [Boone] has been great making sure I am ready. Hopefully, another good day [Saturday] and see about [Sunday].’’
Though LeMahieu said he won’t wear a protective mask during the games, he understands others will and is more than fine with their decisions.
“Probably not going to wear a mask. For me the game is really hard, to wear a mask, I don’t know,’’ LeMahieu said. “For the guys who are wearing it, I definitely respect. We have guys going back to their families. I have no problem. I have no problem with guys opting out, either. I know how scary this thing is.’’
The Yankees’ lineup is deep enough to cover for a player who is missing. That was the case last year when the Yankees won the AL East despite Giancarlo Stanton playing in just 18 games and Aaron Hicks in 59.
However, LeMahieu’s first season in The Bronx was terrific in every way. He batted .327 with career highs in homers (26) and RBIs (102) and posted a .893 OPS. He was an All-Star for a third time and finished fourth in the AL MVP race.
A duplication of that by the 32-year-old second baseman, who also can play first and third, will set him up for a comfortable contract as a free agent after the World Series. LeMahieu was the bargain of the free-agent class following the 2018 season, signing a two-year deal for $24 million and leaving the Rockies.
In the past six years LeMahieu has averaged 146 games played. Now, he is preparing for a 60-game season.
“It’s going to be weird. It is definitely a sprint this year,’’ LeMahieu said.
A sprint he is excited to a part of.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Acting CBP commissioner defends agents’ actions at Portland protests

The acting head of Customs and Border Protection Saturday defended his officers and denied claims that they hid their identities and were worsening tensions in Portland , Oregon “ It ’ s just outrageous and it ’ s reckless , ” Mark Morgan said Saturday on Fox referring to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler ’ s complaints about his agents .
“ The argument that the mere presence of federal officers and agents causes violence , that is outrageous and it ’ s ridiculous , and I believe that most American people do not believe that.
” Oregon officials said they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including Morgan ’ s , for sending in masked agents to seize and detain protesters .
Demonstrations against police brutality have been going on in Portland for almost two months .
Morgan denied federal officers had done anything wrong , particularly in using unmarked vehicles during arrests .
“ What ’ s happening right now are absolute criminals .
They are willfully organizing , planning and coordinating , and preparing themselves and bringing weapons to these areas with the intent to destroy federal property and harm federal agents and officers .
That is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .

The acting head of Customs and Border Protection Saturday defended his officers and denied claims that they hid their identities and were worsening tensions in Portland, Oregon
“It’s just outrageous and it’s reckless,” Mark Morgan said Saturday on Fox referring to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s complaints about his agents. “The argument that the mere presence of federal officers and agents causes violence, that is outrageous and it’s ridiculous, and I believe that most American people do not believe that.”
Oregon officials said they plan to sue several federal agencies, including Morgan’s, for sending in masked agents to seize and detain protesters.
Demonstrations against police brutality have been going on in Portland for almost two months.
Morgan denied federal officers had done anything wrong, particularly in using unmarked vehicles during arrests.
“What’s happening right now are absolute criminals. They are willfully organizing, planning and coordinating, and preparing themselves and bringing weapons to these areas with the intent to destroy federal property and harm federal agents and officers. That is criminal and that cannot be justified,” he said.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Push to rename Edmund Pettus Bridge for John Lewis gains momentum after his death

Past presidents , members of Congress and numerous celebrities delivered an ...

A Democratic political strategist is pushing for the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to be renamed for the late Rep. John Lewis, who marched across the span when he was a young civil rights activist.
The “John Lewis Bridge Project” petition on Change.org had nearly 437,000 signatures by Saturday, the day after Lewis died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.
On March 7, 1965, at the age of 25, Lewis helped lead thousands across the bridge in a sweeping demonstration for voting rights for Black Americans.
The peaceful protesters were confronted by state troopers and local police officers, all with billy clubs and tear gas. They fractured Lewis’ skull. Because of the violence, the day came to be called “Bloody Sunday.”
Edmund Pettus, namesake of the bridge, rose to the rank of general in the Confederate army and was a leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama.
Michael Starr Hopkins, who worked on the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, created the petition, directed at Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, before Lewis died, but the Georgia congressman’s death along with the broader conversation that the country is having about Confederate monuments and symbols re-energized the project.
“John Lewis was alive long enough to hear us start this process, unfortunately he is no longer with us and won’t see us finish this. But we will finish this,” Hopkins told MSNBC.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, a close friend of Lewis, is all for renaming the bridge.
“It’s named for a grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and for them to rename that bridge, in John’s honor, would be great,” Clyburn said, according to CNN.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Jay-Z, other celebs ask feds to probe student’s 2010 killing

Rihanna , Jay-Z , Charlize Theron and other celebrities are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the death of 20-year-old Danroy “ DJ ” Henry Jr. , a Black football player at Pace University killed by a white police officer in New York nearly a decade ago .
In a letter sent this week to Attorney General William Barr , the entertainers say Henry , who was from Easton , Massachusetts , “ lost his life for no good reason and with absolutely no good explanation.
” The case remains an “ unhealed wound ” for Henry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York , they wrote .
“ The DOJ must truthfully determine whether a pattern and/or practice of discrimination played a role in the case of DJ Henry — and if it did — deliver the justice that restores this young man ’ s name and reputation , while giving hope to other young black men who are just like him and desperate for change , ” they wrote .
Others who signed the letter are Pharrell Williams , Taraji P. Henson , Odell Beckham Jr. , Michael K. Williams , Kerry Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
An email seeking comment was sent Friday to DOJ spokespeople .
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York announced in 2015 that they would not bring civil rights charges , saying a thorough review of evidence did not show that Pleasantville officer Aaron Hess acted with deliberate and specific intent to break the law .
The officer was previously cleared by a grand jury .
Hess shot Henry as Henry drove through a parking lot , away from a disturbance that spilled out of a bar in October 2010 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suburb .
Hess has said Henry was trying to run him down and that he fired through the windshield to stop the driver .
The Henrys have said Hess jumped front of the car , got onto the hood and shot their son for no good reason .
Another officer , Ronald Beckley , shot at Hess , later saying he did so because he believed Hess was “ the aggressor.
” Prosecutors said Henry ’ s car struck the officer and injured him before Hess fired his weapon as he made “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ danger , conditions under which the law generally allows latitude to a police officer ’ s judgment.
” The Henrys reached a $ 6 million settlement with the town and the officer .
The celebrities said the facts of the case “ reek of local conflict of interest , racial bias and even false testimony.
” “ Justice , it appears , has been denied , ” they wrote .
Henry ’ s father said new information that has come out since the criminal case was closed warrants a reexamination of his son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple witnesses who contradicted the police department ’ s initial account of what happened , including Beckley .
“ We ’ re hoping that anyone who can reopen this will reopen it , ” Danroy Henry Sr. told The Associated Press on Friday .
“ All we ’ re asking for is what we asked for from the very beginning — it ’ s just a fair review of the real evidence , not sort of a fake presentation of a false narrative , which is all that we believe happened so far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should reopen the case and shouldn ’ t wait for calls for the family or others to take action .
“ That ’ s sort of the old moment , ” he said .
“ There ’ s a new moment that ’ s emerged that requires them to be better .
That ’ s why people are in the streets.
” Jay-Z has also called for justice in the case of Ahmaud Arbery , a Black man who was shot and killed as he ran through a Georgia neighborhood .
The social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nation entertainment company in May called on the state ’ s attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to help achieve a fair trial .

Rihanna, Jay-Z, Charlize Theron and other celebrities are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the death of 20-year-old Danroy “DJ” Henry Jr., a Black football player at Pace University killed by a white police officer in New York nearly a decade ago.
In a letter sent this week to Attorney General William Barr, the entertainers say Henry, who was from Easton, Massachusetts, “lost his life for no good reason and with absolutely no good explanation.” The case remains an “unhealed wound” for Henry’s family and the people of New York, they wrote.
“The DOJ must truthfully determine whether a pattern and/or practice of discrimination played a role in the case of DJ Henry — and if it did — deliver the justice that restores this young man’s name and reputation, while giving hope to other young black men who are just like him and desperate for change,” they wrote.
Others who signed the letter are Pharrell Williams, Taraji P. Henson, Odell Beckham Jr., Michael K. Williams, Kerry Washington, Mary J. Blige and Gabrielle Union.
An email seeking comment was sent Friday to DOJ spokespeople.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York announced in 2015 that they would not bring civil rights charges, saying a thorough review of evidence did not show that Pleasantville officer Aaron Hess acted with deliberate and specific intent to break the law. The officer was previously cleared by a grand jury.
Hess shot Henry as Henry drove through a parking lot, away from a disturbance that spilled out of a bar in October 2010 in Mount Pleasant, a New York City suburb.
Hess has said Henry was trying to run him down and that he fired through the windshield to stop the driver.
The Henrys have said Hess jumped front of the car, got onto the hood and shot their son for no good reason. Another officer, Ronald Beckley, shot at Hess, later saying he did so because he believed Hess was “the aggressor.”
Prosecutors said Henry’s car struck the officer and injured him before Hess fired his weapon as he made “a split decision under conditions of extreme danger, conditions under which the law generally allows latitude to a police officer’s judgment.”
The Henrys reached a $6 million settlement with the town and the officer.
The celebrities said the facts of the case “reek of local conflict of interest, racial bias and even false testimony.”
“Justice, it appears, has been denied,” they wrote.
Henry’s father said new information that has come out since the criminal case was closed warrants a reexamination of his son’s death. He pointed to multiple witnesses who contradicted the police department’s initial account of what happened, including Beckley.
“We’re hoping that anyone who can reopen this will reopen it,” Danroy Henry Sr. told The Associated Press on Friday. “All we’re asking for is what we asked for from the very beginning — it’s just a fair review of the real evidence, not sort of a fake presentation of a false narrative, which is all that we believe happened so far here.”
The elder Henry said officials should reopen the case and shouldn’t wait for calls for the family or others to take action.
“That’s sort of the old moment,” he said. “There’s a new moment that’s emerged that requires them to be better. That’s why people are in the streets.”
Jay-Z has also called for justice in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was shot and killed as he ran through a Georgia neighborhood. The social justice arm of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company in May called on the state’s attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to help achieve a fair trial.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Former world junior skating champion Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya dead at 20

SYDNEY — The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed the death of former world junior pairs figure skating champion Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya in Moscow .
The cause of the 20-year-old Alexandrovskaya ’ s death on Friday has not yet been disclosed .
She was born in Russia but in 2016 obtained Australian citizenship and competed for her adopted country at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics with skating partner Harley Windsor .
The pair won the 2017 world junior title .
Alexandrovskaya retired from the sport in February after sustaining several injuries .
Windsor , Australia ’ s first Indigenous athlete to compete at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ devastated ” by the news of Alexandrovskaya ’ s death .
“ The amount we had achieved during our partnership is something I can never forget and will always hold close to my heart , ” he said in an Instagram post .
Ian Chesterman , chef de mission for the Australian team in Pyeongchang , said the news was a terrible blow for all those who knew the skater .
“ It is enormously sad to lose Katia , who was a vibrant and talented person and an incredible athlete , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quiet and humble in her manner but incredibly determined to be the best she could be .
Life since the Games has not been easy for her and this is another timely reminder of just how fragile life is.
” It is the second death of an Australian Winter Olympian in 10 days .
Alex Pullin , a two-time world champion snowboarder and three-time Olympian , drowned while spearfishing on July 8 on the Gold Coast north of Brisbane .
“ Katia ’ s death is another blow to our winter sports community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ‘ Chumpy ’ Pullin , ” Chesterman said .
Geoff Lipshut , chief executive of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia , said Alexandrovskaya has a special place in the country ’ s sports history .
“ Katia and Harley were Australia ’ s first figure skating world champions , ” Lipshut said .
“ She came to Australia to fulfill her sporting dreams .
“ The news today is so sad , my thoughts are with Katia ’ s family in Russia , Harley and the skating community in Australia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ person of great talent and remarkable potential .
”

SYDNEY — The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed the death of former world junior pairs figure skating champion Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya in Moscow.
The cause of the 20-year-old Alexandrovskaya’s death on Friday has not yet been disclosed.
She was born in Russia but in 2016 obtained Australian citizenship and competed for her adopted country at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics with skating partner Harley Windsor.
The pair won the 2017 world junior title. Alexandrovskaya retired from the sport in February after sustaining several injuries.
Windsor, Australia’s first Indigenous athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics, said he was “devastated” by the news of Alexandrovskaya’s death.
“The amount we had achieved during our partnership is something I can never forget and will always hold close to my heart,” he said in an Instagram post.
Ian Chesterman, chef de mission for the Australian team in Pyeongchang, said the news was a terrible blow for all those who knew the skater.
“It is enormously sad to lose Katia, who was a vibrant and talented person and an incredible athlete,” Chesterman said. “She was quiet and humble in her manner but incredibly determined to be the best she could be. Life since the Games has not been easy for her and this is another timely reminder of just how fragile life is.”
It is the second death of an Australian Winter Olympian in 10 days. Alex Pullin, a two-time world champion snowboarder and three-time Olympian, drowned while spearfishing on July 8 on the Gold Coast north of Brisbane.
“Katia’s death is another blow to our winter sports community who are still reeling from our loss of ‘Chumpy’ Pullin,” Chesterman said.
Geoff Lipshut, chief executive of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, said Alexandrovskaya has a special place in the country’s sports history.
“Katia and Harley were Australia’s first figure skating world champions,” Lipshut said. “She came to Australia to fulfill her sporting dreams.
“The news today is so sad, my thoughts are with Katia’s family in Russia, Harley and the skating community in Australia. I will remember Katia as a young person of great talent and remarkable potential.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Tony DeAngelo can’t help but think of next Rangers contract

This is the second season for Kaapo Kakko , whose four-month ...

Before the start of the 2019-20 season, Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo signed a team-friendly one-year deal with a cap hit of $925,000. And now that this bizarre season has an end in sight, DeAngelo said he’d be lying if he said thoughts of his next contract weren’t in the back of his mind.
“I won’t touch too much on that, because I think it’s affected a lot of people a lot worse than it’s going to affect myself and other player across the league. We’re all in the same boat,” DeAngelo said on a Zoom call following camp Saturday. “But there’s a lot of people that are unemployed and stuff. So we’re pretty blessed to still be able to play.
“Obviously, we’ll take care of that in the offseason. Kind of just focused on the playoffs right now. I won’t lie [and say] that’s not in the back of everyone’s mind, I think its human nature.”
The 24-year-old defenseman, who the Rangers acquired from Arizona in June 2017, was on the heels of a breakout season when play was suspended in March. A new-found offensive groove allowed DeAngelo to collect career-highs in goals (15) and assists (38), while chipping in three game-winners throughout the season.
He even matched Brian Leetch’s franchise record for points by a defenseman in a regular-season game with a three-goal, two-assist performance against the Devils on Jan. 9.
And when the Rangers shipped defenseman Brady Skjei to Carolina in February after signing him to a six-year deal in 2018, it appeared the organization was giving themselves room to negotiate a longer deal with DeAngelo.
“I think Tony for the first time is in a situation two years in a row — where he’s got the same coaches, the same environment — it’s a similar situation to what he had last year,” coach David Quinn said. “Tony is a guy that’s got world-class skill, and he continues to hone his skills defensively.”
Quinn said he’s seen a lot of improvement in the defensive side of DeAngelo’s game. He finished the regular season plus-12 and nearly cut his total penalty minutes from last season in half.
During the 2018-19 season, DeAngelo was a healthy scratch roughly 20 times and battled with an ankle injury. Considering the team was carrying eight defenseman at the time, DeAngelo often found himself the odd man out. He ended up appearing in just 61 games last season.
However, DeAngelo was ultimately satisfied with the way his game wrapped up by the end of last year, and he noted he had more confidence coming into this season.
“I was pretty happy to finish last season, obviously, I only played 60 games out of the 82. But I think I played almost 30 in a row to finish off, and I thought I played well, had a lot of confidence coming into this season,” he said. “Struggled a little bit early on [this year], maybe the first five or six games I wasn’t happy where my game was.
“From there, I kind of picked it up, started feeling real confident. Quinnie and [former assistant Lindy Ruff] kept playing me and kept instilling confidence in me, which was good, I thought that helped me a lot. My game kind of opened up and offensively, the numbers kind of took off.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--House Dems seek to limit Trump’s pardon power with new bill

House Democrats are pushing ahead with a bill designed to stifle President Trump ’ s pardon power .
“ Congress must act , ” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler ( D-N.Y. ) said Friday as he laid out plans to mark up the two bills next week , Fox News reported .
The announcement came one week after Trump commuted the prison sentence of his longtime pal Roger Stone , who avoided a 40-month jail stint after being convicted of lying to special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s Russia investigation .
The bill would require the Justice Department to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pardons tied to investigations of the president , allowing “ a measure of transparency ” into the president ’ s Constitutionally-guaranteed pardon power , Nadler said .
Another bill aimed at Trump would put a hold on the statute of limitations for any crime that the president is accused of committing before or during his term in office .
“ Re-election should not be a get-out-of-jail-free card , ” Nadler said .
While both bills are likely to pass the Democrat-controlled House , their chances of coming to the Senate floor are slim @

House Democrats are pushing ahead with a bill designed to stifle President Trump’s pardon power.
“Congress must act,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Friday as he laid out plans to mark up the two bills next week, Fox News reported.
The announcement came one week after Trump commuted the prison sentence of his longtime pal Roger Stone, who avoided a 40-month jail stint after being convicted of lying to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
The bill would require the Justice Department to give Congress internal files and records regarding pardons tied to investigations of the president, allowing “a measure of transparency” into the president’s Constitutionally-guaranteed pardon power, Nadler said.
Another bill aimed at Trump would put a hold on the statute of limitations for any crime that the president is accused of committing before or during his term in office.
“Re-election should not be a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Nadler said.
While both bills are likely to pass the Democrat-controlled House, their chances of coming to the Senate floor are slim.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--Ghislaine Maxwell was ‘a sexual predator,’ alleged victim says in new testimony

`` After Maxwell I think Sarah ’ s next , '' Kellen 's mom , Mary Kellen , ...

Ghislaine Maxwell had to find three girls a day to be sexually abused by her longtime associate, convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to blockbuster new testimony by an alleged victim who has waived her anonymity in the case.
“She was a sexual predator who abused me and countless other children and young women,” Annie Farmer told a federal judge who denied Maxwell, 58, bail Tuesday and ordered her to spend a year awaiting trial at the Brooklyn Detention Center, where she has been held since shortly after her July 2 arrest in New Hampshire.
Farmer, now 41, is believed to be one of three victims — all of them minors at the time of the alleged abuse between 1994 and 1997 — in the case against Maxwell. She is is charged with helping Epstein sexually abuse girls as young as 14. If convicted, Maxwell faces up to 35 years in prison.
Maxwell has denied any wrongdoing.
Although prosecutors have not revealed all of Farmer’s evidence, details of her abuse, which began when she was 16 and flown to Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, were contained in a civil lawsuit filed last December.
Papers filed in Maxwell’s case on Saturday allege that “Maxwell spent years overseeing and managing Epstein’s sex-trafficking network . . . Epstein’s preference was to have three different girls a day for his sexual pleasure and Maxwell was in charge of recruiting the girls,” according to a report in the Sunday Times of London.
The documents say that Farmer’s parents divorced when she was young and her “mother struggled financially to support Annie and her siblings”.
“Maxwell appeared charming and friendly to Annie. “Upon arriving, Maxwell and Epstein took Annie shopping and lavished her with gifts, including beauty products and a pair of brand new cowboy boots.” Annie’s older sister Maria, an artist, also claims that she was abused by Epstein.
Maxwell and Epstein also took Farmer to see a movie while she was in New Mexico. While they were standing in line, Maxwell “pulled down Epstein’s sweatpants, exposing part of his buttocks. Both Epstein and Maxwell repeatedly fondled each other in front of Annie, trying to normalize sexual behavior to a child.”
“Upon returning [to the ranch] from the movie, Maxwell repeatedly told Annie that she wanted to give her a massage . . . Maxwell directed Annie to take off all of her clothes and lay on the massage table.
“Maxwell touched intimate parts of Annie’s body against her will for the sexual benefit of Maxwell and Epstein. Maxwell exposed Annie’s breasts and groped her. Annie was extremely distressed and afraid. She was a child in a massive ranch, away from her family, and isolated from any source of help.”
The following morning, the court papers say, Epstein went to Farmer’s bedroom got into bed demanding a “cuddle” and sexually assaulted her.
Farmer’s lawyers claim that she decided to go public with her allegations only after Epstein’s apparent suicide in a Manhattan federal lockup in August: “Until his death, the plaintiff feared that Epstein and his co-conspirators, including Maxwell, would harm her or her family, or ruin her life, if she came forward.”
Maxwell, who has claimed that she only has $1 million left in her bank accounts, used to keep a “sex swing” and would hang upside down “like a bat” on another device in an attempt to look younger, the newspaper reported.


newyorkpost--2020-07-18--6-year-old in serious condition after crocodile attack in Mexico

A six-year-old boy is in serious condition after being attacked by a 10-foot crocodile near a beach in Mexico this @ @ @ @ @ his sister were playing near the El Palmar Beach in Ixtapa , Guerrero , when @ @ @ @ @ parents and began exploring an estuary , home to numerous crocodiles that hotel staff routinely @ @ @ @ @ according to Mexico News Daily .
The boy was playing under a bridge when the @ @ @ @ @ head .
Onlookers including tourists , a lifeguard and a parachutist threw stones at the @ @ @ @ @ it released the boy who was immediately taken to hospital with wounds on his head @ @ @ @ @ and legs .
He is in serious condition .

A six-year-old boy is in serious condition after being attacked by a 10-foot crocodile near a beach in Mexico this week.
The boy and his sister were playing near the El Palmar Beach in Ixtapa, Guerrero, when they wandered away from their parents and began exploring an estuary, home to numerous crocodiles that hotel staff routinely feed to entertain tourists, according to Mexico News Daily.
The boy was playing under a bridge when the croc grabbed him by the head.
Onlookers including tourists, a lifeguard and a parachutist threw stones at the crocodile for 10 minutes before it released the boy who was immediately taken to hospital with wounds on his head, chest, arms, and legs. He is in serious condition.


newyorkpost--2020-07-19--Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly thinks Epstein was murdered, fears the same fate

Ghislaine Maxwell believes her ex-lover Jeffrey Epstein was murdered behind bars and lives in fear of facing the same unfortunate end , according to a new report .
“ Everyone ’ s view including Ghislaine ’ s is Epstein was murdered .
She received death threats before she was arrested , ” an unnamed friend told The Sun .
A federal judge denied Maxwell bail on Tuesday and ordered the 58-year-old to spend the next year awaiting trial at the Brooklyn Detention Center , where she has been held since shortly after her July 2 arrest in New Hampshire .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as “ in regular contact with Maxwell at her secret New Hampshire hideaway , ” said the death threats spurred the British socialite to hire security guards , and led her to believe she may not live to see her trial .
The daughter of disgraced British medial mogul Robert Maxwell cried in court as federal Judge Alison Nathan refused to let her out on bail .
Maxwell faces charges that she conspired with Epstein to sexually abuse young women .
Her ex-beau Epstein died in custody Aug. 10 — after prison guards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him despite a previous suicide attempt .
New York City ’ s chief medical examiner later ruled the death a suicide .
Maxwell , like Epstein , is expected to expose celebrities and world leaders when she finally stands trial .

Ghislaine Maxwell believes her ex-lover Jeffrey Epstein was murdered behind bars and lives in fear of facing the same unfortunate end, according to a new report.
“Everyone’s view including Ghislaine’s is Epstein was murdered. She received death threats before she was arrested,” an unnamed friend told the Sun.
A federal judge denied Maxwell bail on Tuesday and ordered the 58-year-old to spend the next year awaiting trial at the Brooklyn Detention Center, where she has been held since shortly after her July 2 arrest in New Hampshire.
The friend, whom the Sun described as “in regular contact with Maxwell at her secret New Hampshire hideaway,” said the death threats spurred the British socialite to hire security guards, and led her to believe she may not live to see her trial.
The daughter of disgraced British medial mogul Robert Maxwell cried in court as federal Judge Alison Nathan refused to let her out on bail.
Maxwell faces charges that she conspired with Epstein to sexually abuse young women.
Her ex-beau Epstein died in custody Aug. 10 — after prison guards reportedly failed to keep an eye on him despite a previous suicide attempt.
New York City’s chief medical examiner later ruled the death a suicide.
Maxwell, like Epstein, is expected to expose celebrities and world leaders when she finally stands trial.


newyorkpost--2020-07-19--‘Really weird’ phantom high fives: This Yankees-Mets game was different

Imagine trying to forecast a season when you can ’ t even , ...

There were cardboard cutouts in the stands, piped-in crowd noise and air high-fives following the Yankees’ 9-3 scrimmage win over the Mets on Saturday night at Citi Field, the first action for either club since the pandemic shutdown.
It was a preview of what baseball will look like in New York — and throughout the majors — in this strange season.
Aaron Boone called the phantom high-fives “really weird, really awkward” and said it wasn’t rehearsed.
And he wants to see something different once the games start to count.
“Hopefully, we can get a little creative, especially in the regular season,’’ Boone said of the celebration. “It’s a big deal when you win a game and I don’t want to lose that.”
The players, for the most part, made the most of the situation, pleased simply not to be facing teammates in intrasquad games following three weeks of spring training 2.0.
“Without fans, it’s noticeable,’’ Zack Britton said. “I didn’t really think about it too much once the game got started.”
Right-hander Mike King started the game for the Yankees and was initially thrown off by the pictures of fans behind home plate.
“The little cardboard cutouts were weird,’’ King said. “When I first walked out to the mound, I thought, ‘Jeez.’ But once you’re out there facing hitters, you block it all out. You get in the zone with you and the catcher and you’re working. You don’t notice it after that.”
Despite the change in environment, rookie Mets manager Luis Rojas said it was “exciting to take the field. … I know there was a lot of energy flying throughout the game.”
Rojas noted there were “definitely a few differences.”
One he noted was the socially distanced pitching change he executed.
But Britton didn’t think any of it impacted the product on the field.
“The game itself felt fairly normal,’’ the left-hander said. “The cutouts behind home plate were a cool idea. It breaks up just looking at seats back there. The pumped in crowd noise, you can’t duplicate a real crowd, but it breaks up the silence and makes it easier to go out there and get some adrenaline.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-19--Son’s health gives Giants’ Nate Solder different coronavirus perspective

Nate Solder inside the building is viewed far differently than ...

At a time of such uncertainly, add this to the questions facing the Giants and rookie head coach Joe Judge: Does Nate Solder report to training camp with his teammates at the end of this month?
Solder, the 32-year old left tackle, is the Giants’ representative to the NFL Players Association. As such, his voice carries weight. Still, given his non-confrontational, non-controversial aura, it was surprising to see him take to Twitter recently to post, “If the NFL doesn’t do their part to keep players healthy there is no football in 2020. It’s that simple.’’
Solder is a special case when it comes to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. When his son, Hudson, was an infant, he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his kidney, and for most of Hudson’s four years, it has been a battle for the Solder family. Nate, his wife Lexi and Hudson traveled from New Jersey to Boston every Tuesday during the season for chemotherapy sessions.
This is certainly a reason Solder needs every assurance possible it is safe for him to play football for the Giants this season. He will not stay away from his family all season, nor will he put his son, with a compromised immune system, in harm’s way. Solder has not given the Giants any indication he is thinking of sitting out, but there is some concern in the building that could happen.
The Patriots nominated Solder for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, for his charitable work and service in the community. The Giants did the same.
Deeply religious, Solder has visited Puerto Rico to assist in aid following Hurricane Maria and visited Uganda with Compassion International, a faith-based nonprofit that builds child development centers.
When Solder was with the Patriots, Tom Brady called him “such an incredible man and person.’’ The Giants feel the same way, though Solder has not won much for them and his play deteriorated last season. They hope he is around for a third year with them, feeling confident he can play and keep his family safe at the same time.


newyorkpost--2020-07-19--How to Watch Donald Trump’s Interview with Chris Wallace on ‘Fox News Sunday’

President Donald Trump generally avoids the Sunday talk show rounds , but today , he will be sitting down with Fox News host Chris Wallace to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic , his reelection campaign , and more .
The Fox News interview marks President Trump ’ s first Sunday show appearance since June 2019 , and his first spot on Wallace ’ s Fox News Sunday since November 2018 , just a few weeks after the midterm election .
As the 2020 election rapidly approaches , Trump ’ s interview with Chris Wallace is essential viewing for political junkies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What time is the Chris Wallace Trump interview ?
How can I stream Trump on Fox News ?
Here ’ s everything you need to know .
WHEN IS THE CHRIS WALLACE TRUMP INTERVIEW ?
President Trump will sit down with Chris Wallace today , Sunday , July 19 , on Fox News Sunday .
However , because Fox News syndicates the morning news show , it airs at different times in different markets .
Trump ’ s Fox News interview will air at the following times in the 10 largest U.S. markets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To find the exact time and local Fox News affiliate in your area , click here .
WHAT CHANNEL IS THE CHRIS WALLACE DONALD TRUMP INTERVIEW ON ?
Chris Wallace ’ s exclusive interview with President Trump airs on Fox News across the country .
To find the exact Fox News channel number , head to your cable provider ’ s website .
Viewers looking for a Donald Trump interview live stream can watch on Fox News , online via Fox News , or through the Fox News Go app .
Simply log @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streaming !
Additionally , Fox Nation viewers with a cable log-in can access live Fox News content via the standalone streaming service .
Instructions about how to watch Fox News on Fox Nation can be found in Fox ’ s Help Center .
HOW ELSE CAN I FIND A FOX NEWS LIVE STREAM FOR THE CHRIS WALLACE TRUMP INTERVIEW ?
If you don ’ t have a cable log-in , you can find a Fox News Channel live stream with an active subscription to Hulu + Live TV , AT & T TV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV ( the Blue package ) .
All four services carry Fox News live and offer free trials to new users .
CAN I WATCH THE TRUMP INTERVIEW ON FOX NEWS AGAIN ?
Yes , Chris Wallace ’ s Trump interview will be replayed on Fox News Channel throughout the day .
The interview will re-air at 2 p.m .
ET , 7 p.m .
ET , and 2 a.m .
ET , so if you missed it the first time around , be sure to tune in .

President Donald Trump generally avoids the Sunday talk show rounds, but today, he will be sitting down with Fox News host Chris Wallace to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, his reelection campaign, and more. The Fox News interview marks President Trump’s first Sunday show appearance since June 2019, and his first spot on Wallace’s Fox News Sunday since November 2018, just a few weeks after the midterm election.
As the 2020 election rapidly approaches, Trump’s interview with Chris Wallace is essential viewing for political junkies on both sides of the aisle. What time is the Chris Wallace Trump interview? How can I stream Trump on Fox News? Here’s everything you need to know.
WHEN IS THE CHRIS WALLACE TRUMP INTERVIEW?
President Trump will sit down with Chris Wallace today, Sunday, July 19, on Fox News Sunday. However, because Fox News syndicates the morning news show, it airs at different times in different markets. Trump’s Fox News interview will air at the following times in the 10 largest U.S. markets (all times are local):
New York, NY: 10 AM Los Angeles, CA: 8 AM Chicago, IL: 9 AM Philadelphia, PA: 9 AM Dallas-Fort Worth, TX: 8 AM San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA: 10 AM Washington, D.C.: 9 AM Houston, TX: 8 AM Boston, MA: 10 AM Atlanta: GA: 9 AM
To find the exact time and local Fox News affiliate in your area, click here.
WHAT CHANNEL IS THE CHRIS WALLACE DONALD TRUMP INTERVIEW ON?
Chris Wallace’s exclusive interview with President Trump airs on Fox News across the country. To find the exact Fox News channel number, head to your cable provider’s website.
HOW TO WATCH DONALD TRUMP’S FOX NEWS SUNDAY INTERVIEW FREE ONLINE
Viewers looking for a Donald Trump interview live stream can watch on Fox News, online via Fox News, or through the Fox News Go app. Simply log in with your cable provider and begin streaming!
Additionally, Fox Nation viewers with a cable log-in can access live Fox News content via the standalone streaming service. Instructions about how to watch Fox News on Fox Nation can be found in Fox’s Help Center.
HOW ELSE CAN I FIND A FOX NEWS LIVE STREAM FOR THE CHRIS WALLACE TRUMP INTERVIEW?
If you don’t have a cable log-in, you can find a Fox News Channel live stream with an active subscription to Hulu + Live TV, AT&T TV NOW, YouTube TV, or Sling TV (the Blue package). All four services carry Fox News live and offer free trials to new users.
CAN I WATCH THE TRUMP INTERVIEW ON FOX NEWS AGAIN?
Yes, Chris Wallace’s Trump interview will be replayed on Fox News Channel throughout the day. The interview will re-air at 2 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET, and 2 a.m. ET, so if you missed it the first time around, be sure to tune in.


newyorkpost--2020-07-19--Rick Porcello’s Mets outing hurt by bad pitch to Clint Frazier

Before the Yankees ’ first spring training 2.0 game Saturday night ...

Rick Porcello’s first game for the Mets at Citi Field was going smoothly enough until he hung a slider in the fourth inning Saturday.
The masked Clint Frazier crushed it into the second deck in left field, a thunderous two-run blast that essentially defined Porcello’s night. The right-hander lasted through the fifth inning and was the losing pitcher in the Mets’ 9-3 exhibition loss to the Yankees.
Porcello’s night consisted of 68 pitches over five innings in which he allowed three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Porcello later threw 20 additional pitches in the bullpen to build up his count for the season.
In the fourth, Porcello surrendered a leadoff double to Giancarlo Stanton and recorded two outs before Frazier smashed a slider on the first pitch of his at-bat that quickly disappeared into the second deck in left.
“I was able to cover five innings relatively efficiently, obviously the slider to Frazier wasn’t where I wanted it, so definitely a pitch I would like to have back there,” Porcello said. “I think for the most part how things were working I felt pretty solid. A couple of things I can be a little bit better at, get ahead of hitters a little bit better, get in more advantage counts early on, but other than that first time seeing guys in a new uniform in a couple of months, so it felt pretty good.”
Porcello allowed 31 homers for the Red Sox last season, a significant factor in the 5.52 ERA that was the worst of his career. He arrived to the Mets on a one-year deal worth $10 million last winter and will be counted on, along with another new addition, Michael Wacha, to anchor the middle-to-back end of the rotation.
Where Porcello will slot in the rotation is unclear. Beyond wanting to pitch Jacob deGrom on Opening Day against the Braves on Friday, manager Luis Rojas hasn’t starting pitching plans. DeGrom is scheduled to throw a simulated game Sunday that will determine his availability for the opener after leaving his last start, in an intrasquad scrimmage, after only one inning because of back tightness.
Rojas indicated it’s possible Porcello could pitch a final preseason tune-up on Thursday.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” Rojas said.
Porcello’s slider was effective early, as he used it on strikeout pitches to Gio Urshela, Frazier and Mike Ford. The Yankees had scored a run against Porcello in the first inning on Gleyber Torres’ RBI single off Robinson Cano’s glove.
“I think we may have fell into a little bit of a pattern tonight, but [the slider] is a pitch that I need,” Porcello said. “That is a pitch that I struggled with a little bit last year, so to go out there and throw it and get the results that I want and keep throwing it and trust it, I need to do that.
“I definitely have other weapons that I can mix in, but for the most part other than that one I threw Frazier I felt pretty good with it and got some good swing and misses, and some weak contact.”
Jeurys Familia was sharp over 1 ²/₃ innings in which he allowed only an unearned run, following two throwing errors by third baseman Max Moroff. Edwin Diaz was charged for two runs (one of which was unearned because of a Luis Guillorme error) and the Yankees piled on against lefty Daniel Zamora, who allowed three runs on four hits.
With fans absent from the ballpark because of coronavirus restrictions, Porcello says he adjusted to the serenity.
“It was definitely different, just walking out to the bullpen and there’s no fans in the stands and it’s quiet,” Porcello said. “It’s just not something that we are used to. After the first couple of minutes, you roll with it.”