Puerto Rico’s path to restore power shifts after Whitefish exit

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Efforts to restore electricity to Puerto Rico nearly six weeks after Hurricane Maria are shifting as the island’s utility and its regulators, along with U.S. authorities, removed a key contractor and moved to triple the funding of another.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the federal power restoration effort, said it plans to boost the size of a key contract awarded to Fluor Corp by $600 million, to $840 million, according to a government filing.

The Army Corps said it was modifying the contract to ensure “continued execution of the critical repair and restoration of the electric power grid in Puerto Rico.”

It comes a day after Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) said they would cancel a $300 million contract with Whitefish Energy Holdings, after an uproar over the deal’s provisions and the tiny Montana company’s lack of experience with projects of such a large size.

Fluor, which declined comment, was already in the process of bringing in people to help restore transmission and distribution of power to the U.S. territory. Hurricane Maria knocked out power to all 3.4 million residents of Puerto Rico, and only about 30 percent of power has been restored nearly six weeks later.

The Army Corps’ action on Monday signals that Fluor is now the primary contractor on Puerto Rico. The Army Corps awarded the original $240 million Fluor contract. The more controversial Whitefish contract was handled directly with PREPA.

The Whitefish deal came under fire after it was revealed last week that the terms were obtained without a competitive public bidding process. Residents, local officials and U.S. federal authorities all criticized the arrangement.

Conflict over who should lead the process of restoration and oversee PREPA has hampered efforts. PREPA, the island’s bankrupt power utility, and the governor have argued that the utility should maintain control, while a fiscal control board created by U.S. Congress last year to restructure the island’s finances has also jockeyed for control.

“PREPA and the governor of Puerto Rico and the administration here need to make a decision on who is in charge of PREPA,” said Ariel Horowitz of Synapse Energy Economics, a consultant to Puerto Rico’s energy regulator.

Puerto Rico’s energy commission, a small regulatory board tasked with overseeing PREPA, has the option of assigning an independent adviser to monitor progress in restoring the grid, but has not done so yet.

ISOLATION A PROBLEM

Currently, there are about 400 subcontracting crews on the island working to bring back power. Rossello said he wants to have 1,000 crews by Nov. 8, leaning on so-called mutual aid from utilities in New York and Florida, which have crews on the island.

Getting assistance from other utilities, which usually help one another after storms, may continue to be complicated by Puerto Rico’s isolation and lack of investment in its system.

A private sector source, who could not be named, said the transition from Whitefish, should it be handled smoothly, will hopefully accelerate the restoration of power. He said PREPA‘S goal of restoring 95 percent of power by mid-December – a full three months after the hurricane – is slow for a typical utility.

PREPA did not respond to a request for comment.

Whitefish said it has completed significant work on two major transmission lines that crossed over the mountains of Puerto Rico. A person familiar with PREPA’s operations said on Monday that Whitefish would complete work on critical lines despite the cancellation of the contract.

Several other utilities are on the island, as well as private contractors that include Southern Co’s PowerSecure unit and Fluor.

An Army Corps spokesman said the Corps is not currently planning on hiring those reporting to Whitefish, but the subcontractors – Fluor and PowerSecure – might. Officials at Fluor and Southern did not comment on that possibility.

JEA, the municipal utility for Jacksonville, Florida, said it would keep its crew of about 40 people on the island, even if it no longer reports to Whitefish.

Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Scott DiSavino; Additional reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by David Gaffen and Leslie Adler

Google offers new findings on Russian disinformation across its products

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Just a day before tech’s big Russia-focused Congressional hearings begin, Google is out with a new report on the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election across its platforms.

“While we have found only limited activity on our services, we will continue to work to prevent all of it, because there is no amount of interference that is acceptable,” Google wrote in its latest blog post on the issue, titled “Security and disinformation in the U.S. 2016 election.”

Google’s report appears to be limited to accounts with observable ties to the Internet Research Agency, a Russian state-affiliated organization that produces political disinformation and sock puppet accounts. That narrowed scope is possibly an effort to appease Congress with some hard numbers, so it’s worth keeping in mind that we don’t yet know the scope of these disinformation campaigns beyond those pre-defined parameters.

Google reports that in an examination of its ad products, it discovered only two accounts with ties to the Internet Research Agency. The two accounts had invested $4,700 into Google’s ad network (search and display ads) during the timeframe of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Google doesn’t specify how it defined that timeframe in this particular batch of numbers.

Unlike razor-sharp ad targeting on a platform like Facebook, these ads weren’t even targeted by location or by political affiliation. Google does offer political ad segments that face “left-leaning” and “right-leaning” audiences, though in this instance the Internet Research Agency did not appear to use the feature.

Google’s report breaks its YouTube findings into their own category. Here, it found 18 channels it believed to be linked to the Russian government that featured public political videos in English. While that isn’t very many channels, they did create a cumulative 1,108 videos with 309,000 views in the U.S. from June 2015 to November of the following year. The vast majority of videos had fewer than 5,000 views.

The report also included Google’s other products, though those examinations didn’t turn up much. There’s no evidence (yet, anyway) that state-sponsored accounts used “improper methods” to boost search rankings, though anyone who’s seen fake news featured high up in their search results might rightfully have questions about how the company decides what flies in search and what doesn’t.

To wrap up its report, Google even did an analysis of Google+ that seems to suggest that Russian state actors might be posting vacation pics on the mostly abandoned social network:

“We ​found ​no ​political ​posts ​in ​English ​from ​state-linked ​actors ​on ​Google+ (there ​were some ​posts ​in ​Russian ​and ​a ​very ​small ​number ​of ​non-political ​posts).”

All three companies set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate and House Intel Committees this week put out an early report previewing their expected testimony. Google’s relatively small scale findings put into perspective Facebook’s new assertion that similar content reached 126 million users on its own platform, though the situation on Twitter also appears to be at least somewhat worse than previously reported. 

We’ll be following tech’s testimony to Congress this week as the companies expand on their own unwitting role in foreign disinformation campaigns during the 2016 election.

Judge denies request for injunction by Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott

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Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott lost an attempt to block his six-game suspension Monday when U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied a request for a preliminary injunction after hearing arguments from the NFL and NFLPA.

Judge Failla, in her ruling, stayed the decision for 24 hours to afford parties the opportunity to consider appellate options.

With the ruling in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Elliott’s six-game suspension would again be in effect and he would be ineligible to play until the Cowboys’ game against the Oakland Raiders on Dec. 17.

Without Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys’ season likely to take turn for worse

The Cowboys will turn to a group of running backs and their acclaimed offensive line to keep the ground game churning.

  • Tyrone Crawford blocks field goal to spark Cowboys victory

    The Cowboys had contributions from all three phases against Washington, but it was special teams that changed the tenor of the game.

  • Sources: Jones, owners try to halt Goodell deal

    The Cowboys’ Jerry Jones was a leading voice among 17 NFL owners on a conference call Thursday that discussed the possibility of halting commissioner Roger Goodell’s pending contract extension, sources involved with the call told ESPN.

    • Elliott and the NFLPA have the option of appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, and could seek a stay that would allow him to continue to play while the appeal process plays out.

    In her ruling, Judge Failla said “the NFLPA has failed to demonstrate a substantial question warranting the extraordinary remedy of injunctive relief or a balance of hardships that decidedly weighs in its favor.”

    She added that while there may be a difference of opinion on the arbitrator’s ruling on his suspension, “the arbitrator gave Mr. Elliott ample opportunity, in terms of both proceedings and evidence, to challenge the Commissioner’s decision.”

    The Cowboys said they would not have any comment Monday night after the ruling. Coach Jason Garrett had said earlier Monday the team had taken Elliott’s situation into account in regards to the roster.

    “We have some veteran running backs,” Garrett said during his weekly news conference. “We have some depth at that position. It’s not like we’re just living this day and we don’t think about the future at all. You have to do that. I think you build your team that way at all positions. If this guy is not able to play, who’s your backup? Who can go in? We try to do that with our offensive line, receivers, running backs, all throughout our defense. That’s the way you construct your team, and you’re always thinking about those scenarios.

    “We’ll take it one day at a time and we’ll see what his situation is,” Garrett added. “Regardless, we’re going to go forward and try to play our best football.”

    Elliott received the six-game suspension on Aug. 11 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy relating to domestic violence allegations by a former girlfriend. He was never charged with any crime by authorities who investigated the allegations.

    Elliott was in the courtroom on Monday. The second-year running back had been granted a temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty on Oct. 17, but that order is expiring.

    The NFLPA had been granted a preliminary injunction by a federal judge in Texas on Sept. 8, but a federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled with the NFL on Oct. 12 and lifted the injunction.

    The NFLPA then went to the Southern District Court in New York, where the case now resides.

    Elliott has said he is fighting for his name after the NFL handed down a six-game suspension for violating the personal conduct policy with what the league believes is persuasive evidence that he committed domestic violence against a former girlfriend in July 2016. The Columbus, Ohio, authorities did not press charges against Elliott. The court fight has been more about the process involved that led Commissioner Roger Goodell to levy a suspension.

    Information from ESPN’s Todd Archer was used in this report.

    Who’s who in the George Papadopoulos court documents

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    Newly released court documents show that Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos communicated with several senior campaign officials about his outreach to the Russian government over a period of months. The recipients of Papadopoulos’s emails are not named in the filings, but The Washington Post has identified several individuals based on interviews and other documents. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty this month to lying to federal agents about his outreach to Russia.

    “The Campaign Supervisor”: Trump campaign national co-chairman Sam Clovis

    Victoria Toensing, an attorney for Sam Clovis, confirmed that several references in court filings to “the campaign supervisor” refer to the onetime radio host from Iowa, who served as Trump’s national campaign co-chairman.

    At one point, Papadopoulos emailed Clovis and other campaign officials about a March 24, 2016, meeting he had in London with a professor, who had introduced him to the Russian ambassador and a Russian woman he described as “Putin’s niece.” The group had talked about arranging a meeting “between us and the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump,” Papadopoulos wrote. (Papadopoulos later learned that the woman was not Putin’s niece, and while he expected to meet the ambassador, he never did, according to filings.)

    Clovis responded that he would “work it through the campaign,” adding, “great work,” according to court documents.

    In August 2016, Clovis responded to efforts by Papadopoulos to organize an “off the record” meeting with Russian officials. “I would encourage you” and another foreign policy adviser to the campaign to “make the trip, if it is feasible,” Clovis wrote.

    Toensing said Clovis “always vigorously opposed any Russian trip for Donald Trump and/or the campaign.” She said his responses to Papadopoulos were courtesy by “a polite gentleman from Iowa.”

    “High-Ranking Campaign Official”: Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski

    Emails previously described to The Post indicate that the “high-ranking campaign official” described in court documents is onetime campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. The emails were among more than 20,000 pages that the Trump campaign turned over to congressional committees after review by White House and defense lawyers.

    Lewandowski, who was pushed out of his post in June 2016, did not respond to requests for comment.

    Papadopoulos wrote to Lewandowski several times to let him know that the Russians were interested in forging a relationship with the campaign, court filings show.

    In one email on April 27, 2016, Papadopoulos wrote “to discuss Russia’s interest in hosting Mr. Trump.”

    “Have been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host him and the team when the time is right,” he added.

    In May, Papadopoulos forwarded to Lewandowski an offer of “cooperation” from a Russian with links to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Is this something we want to move forward with?” he asked.

    There is no indication if or how Lewandowski responded to those messages. But in June, when Papadopoulos emailed him again about Russia, Lewandowski referred him to Clovis because he “is running point,” according to court documents.

    [Top campaign officials knew of Trump adviser’s outreach to Russia]

    “Another high-ranking campaign official”: Campaign chairman Paul Manafort

    The court filings indicate that Papadopoulos emailed “another high-ranking campaign official” on May 21, 2016, with the subject line “Request from Russia to meet Mr. Trump.”

    The Post has previously identified this official as Paul Manafort, who was indicted Monday on unrelated criminal charges.

    Manafort forwarded Papadopoulos’s email to another campaign official, stating: “We need someone to communicate that DT is not doing these trips,” referring to a trip to Russia. “It should be someone low level in the campaign so as not to send any signal.”

    Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni in August told The Post that the campaign chairman’s response indicated that “any invitation by Russia, directly or indirectly, would be rejected outright.”

    “Another campaign official”: Manafort deputy Rick Gates

    The Post has previously identified the official who received the May 21, 2016, email from Manafort as his deputy, Rick Gates. Gates was indicted Monday on unrelated criminal charges.

    “Senior Policy Advisor”: Unknown

    The court filings indicate that on April 27, 2016, Papadopoulos emailed a “senior policy advisor” and wrote, “Have some interesting messages coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right.”

    The Post has not identified this official.

    “The Professor”: Joseph Mifsud, director of the London Academy of Diplomacy

    According to emails previously described to The Post, the London-based professor who was a key contact for Papadopoulos in his Russian outreach is Joseph Mifsud, who formerly served as a government official in Malta.

    Mifsud did not respond to a request for comment Monday. In an email to The Post in August, he wrote that he had “absolutely no contact with the Russian government” and said his only ties to Russia were through academic links.

    Papadopoulos met Mifsud in March 2016 while traveling in Italy, according to court records. The professor “seemed uninterested” in Papadopoulos until he learned that he was a campaign adviser, according to court filings.

    Five days after Trump named Papadopoulos as one of his advisers during a meeting at The Post, Papadopoulos and Mifsud met in London. The professor brought with him a Russian woman who was introduced as a relative of President Vladi­mir Putin who had connections to senior Russian government officials.

    The following month, Mifsud told Papadopoulos that he had just returned from Moscow, where he had learned from high-level Russian government officials that Russia had “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, including “thousands of emails.”

    “The Female Russian National”: Unknown

    Court documents show that Papadopoulos corresponded with a “female Russian national” whom he initially believed was Putin’s niece.

    At one point, she wrote to him, “The Russian Federation would love to welcome [Trump] once his candidature would be officially announced.”

    The Post has not identified the woman.

    “A Russian National Connected to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs”: Ivan Timofeev

    In April 2016, Mifsud introduced Papadopoulos over email to a man in Moscow who told Papadopoulos that he had connections to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, court records show.

    Emails previously described to The Post indicate that the man is Ivan Timofeev, a program director at a Russian government-funded think tank called the Russian International Affairs Council.

    Papadopoulos communicated via Skype and email with Timofeev to discuss establishing ties between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.

    On Monday, Timofeev declined to comment, referring a reporter to a statement the Russian International Affairs Council posted in August in response to a Post story. The statement said that Papadapoulos had contacted the council and “put forth the idea of a possible visit to Russia by Mr. Trump or his team members.”

    “Given the RIAC’s established practice of hosting public meetings with prominent politicians and public figures from the U.S. and other countries, the U.S. initiative was a matter of routine for the Council,” the statement said, pointing out that among the council’s guest speakers was former U.S. ambassador Michael McFaul.

    Timofeev told The Post in August that the idea of a meeting with Trump officials was dropped after he received no official request from the Trump campaign for a meeting.

    David Filipov in Moscow, Karla Adam in London, and Tom Hamburger and Robert Costa in Washington contributed to this report.

    Asian Stocks Nudge Higher on Global Growth Outlook: Markets Wrap

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    Asian stocks rose as better-than-expected U.S. growth data added to evidence of improving global economic health, with investors awaiting key earnings results and an announcement on who will helm the Federal Reserve.

    Equities in Australia and South Korea climbed and Japan’s Topix index hovered around the highest since 2007 following another record for the SP 500 Index Friday. Profit reports due this week from some of the world’s largest companies may show if there’s enough juice in the earnings season to propel another leg higher for global shares. Bond and currency markets continue to be gripped by speculation around who U.S. President Donald Trump will choose as the next Fed chair, with Governor Jerome Powell said to be the front-runner.

    Trump last week stoked the sense of drama surrounding his choice, tweeting a video teasing an announcement he said would come this week. The president is leaning toward appointing Powell, according to three people familiar with the matter. Meantime, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda looks favored to steer monetary policy for another five years after his current term ends in April, the Nikkei newspaper reported, without citing anyone.

    Earnings are coming thick and fast. Sinopec and PetroChina probably improved earnings in the third-quarter as higher oil prices helped refining margins, analysts said. Their results are in focus after Exxon and Chevron each posted double-digit profit increases on Friday. Three of China’s big four banks report on Monday, after China Construction Bank earnings last week fueled optimism that interest margins and asset quality are improving. Shares have jumped this year on optimism a regulatory crackdown has eased and growth will boost earnings.

    Buggy crash kills 3 kids, injures 6 others in Michigan

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    BUSHNELL TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Michigan State Police say a collision between a buggy and a pickup truck has killed three children and critically injured six other people.

    WOOD-TV reports that State Police say the pickup truck crashed into the rear of the buggy about 8:30 a.m. Sunday in Bushnell Township, just southeast of the village of Sheridan in central Michigan.

    State Police say the buggy was carrying nine people. Children ages 7, 9 and 12 died in the crash.

    The six other people who were riding in the buggy were taken to a hospital in critical condition. Troopers say their injuries are life-threatening.

    The driver of the pickup was not injured, and troopers say he was cooperative following the crash.

    The crash is under investigation.

    2 Navy SEALs Under Suspicion in Strangling of Green Beret in Mali

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    No one has been charged in Sergeant Melgar’s death, which a military medical examiner ruled to be “a homicide by asphyxiation,” or strangulation, said three military officials briefed on the autopsy results. The two Navy SEALs, who have not been identified, were flown out of Mali shortly after the episode and were placed on administrative leave.

    The biggest unanswered question is why Sergeant Melgar was killed. “N.C.I.S. does not discuss the details of ongoing investigations,” Ed Buice, the agency’s spokesman, said in an email, confirming that his service had taken over the case on Sept. 25.

    Neither the Army nor the military’s Africa Command issued a statement about Sergeant Melgar’s death, not even after investigators changed their description of the two SEALs from “witnesses” to “persons of interest,” meaning the authorities were trying to determine what the commandos knew about the death and if they were involved.

    The uncertainty has left soldiers in the tight-knit Green Beret community to speculate wildly about any number of possible motives, from whether it was a personal dispute among housemates gone horribly wrong to whether Sergeant Melgar had stumbled upon some illicit activity the SEALs were involved in, and they silenced him, according to interviews with troops and their families. Other officials briefed on the inquiry said they had heard no suggestion that the Navy commandos had been doing anything illegal.

    When contacted separately by telephone on Saturday, Sergeant Melgar’s widow, Michelle, and his brother, Shawn, declined to comment.

    Lawmakers have criticized top officers and Pentagon officials for offering a shifting timeline of the events in the Niger attack, and for failing to respond with timely, accurate information about the American military’s role on the continent at a time when President Trump has loosened restrictions on the armed forces to intensify attacks against the Islamic State and Al Qaeda around the world.

    Sergeant Melgar, a graduate of Texas Tech University who joined the Army in 2012, was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg, N.C., the same unit whose soldiers were attacked by a much larger and heavily armed group of Islamic State fighters near the border between Niger and Mali on Oct. 4.

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    According to military officials, Sergeant Melgar was part of a small team in Bamako assigned to help provide intelligence about Islamic militancies in Mali to the United States ambassador there, Paul A. Folmsbee, to protect American personnel against attacks. The sergeant also helped assess which Malian Army troops might be trained and equipped to build a counterterrorism force.

    Sergeant Melgar, a native of Lubbock, Tex., was about four months into what military officials said was a six-month tour in Mali, and was living with three other American Special Operations troops in a house provided by the American Embassy.

    Staff Sgt. Logan J. Melgar

    Two of those housemates were members of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, which has over the past decade carried out kill-or-capture missions in Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, as well as the one that killed bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

    According to two senior American military officials, the two SEAL commandos were in Mali at the request of Mr. Folmsbee in a previously undisclosed and highly unusual clandestine mission to support French and Malian counterterrorism forces battling Al Qaeda’s branch in North and West Africa, known as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, as well as smaller cells aligned with Al Qaeda or the Islamic State. The Americans helped provide intelligence for missions, and had participated in at least two such operations in Mali this year before Sergeant Melgar’s death.

    Much is unknown about what happened around 5 a.m. on June 4 in the team house. The initial reports to Sergeant Melgar’s superiors in Germany said he had been injured while wrestling or grappling with the two Navy commandos, according to three officials who have been briefed on the investigation.

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    According to one version of events, one of the SEALs put Sergeant Melgar in a chokehold. When the sergeant passed out, the commandos frantically tried to revive him. Failing that, they rushed him to an emergency clinic, where he was pronounced dead.

    Spokesmen for the Africa Command, the Special Operations Command, the Defense Department and the Army and Navy investigative services declined to comment, citing the continuing investigation, or did not respond to emails and phone calls on Sunday.

    A spokesman for the State Department’s Africa Bureau and Mr. Folmsbee, Nicholas A. Sadoski, directed all questions to the Pentagon. Mr. Sadoski declined to answer questions about what kind of oversight the ambassador exercised over the American military personnel in Mali, how frequently was he briefed on Special Operations missions there and when he learned about Sergeant Melgar’s death.

    Why American Special Operations forces are in Mali at all is a story in a nutshell of the American military’s successes and failures in Africa.

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    Mali had been one of West Africa’s most stable nations before 2012, and was held up by the Pentagon as a model partner in combating Islamic militants. But when secular Tuareg separatists began an uprising, as they had done in the past, insurgents linked to Al Qaeda took advantage of the deteriorating security situation.

    When the militants surged across Mali’s northern desert in 2012, American-trained commanders of the country’s elite army units defected at a critical time, taking troops, trucks, weapons and their newfound skills to the enemy. A confidential internal review completed by the Africa Command after the debacle concluded that there were critical gaps in the American training for Malian troops and senior officers.

    With Mali’s army in collapse, the rebels were pushed out by French and Chadian troops early in 2013, and the United Nations established a peacekeeping mission. But the chaos continues today. Various armed insurgents regularly attack Malian forces and the United Nations peacekeepers. To date, 149 peacekeepers have been killed in Mali, making it one of the most dangerous peacekeeping missions in the world.

    And terrorists continue to mount deadly attacks, including an assault in June on a resort outside Bamako that killed at least five people.

    For the 3rd Special Forces Group, the past year has served as a reminder that Africa remains a dangerous assignment. In addition to Sergeant Melgar and the four soldiers killed in Niger, one soldier committed suicide in Kenya last October and another died in a vehicle accident while on patrol in Niger in February.

    Those who knew Sergeant Melgar described him as a soldier’s soldier — he deployed to Afghanistan twice on training missions between July 2014 and February 2016, according to his Army service record — and a devoted father of two sons, 13 and 15, who texted and talked via Skype multiple times a day with his wife while serving overseas.

    More than four months later, his death still has many at Fort Bragg and in Lubbock reeling. An online community bulletin board in Lubbock stated: “A Melgar family representative shared that ‘Staff Sgt. Melgar did what most only dream of and excelled at every turn! His life was epic! He is missed dearly every single day.’”

    Sergeant Melgar was also honored at the high school he attended in Wolfforth, Tex., Frenship High, during the homecoming football game on Oct. 6.

    A final tribute awaits Sergeant Melgar: He is scheduled to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 20.


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    NFL Week 8: Wilson, Watson electric, as Houston-Seattle play game of the year; most Texans kneel to protest owner

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    Most Texans players took a knee to protest owner Bob McNair’s comment calling them “inmates.” (Elaine Thompson/Associated Press)

    Top story lines | Protest news | Injury news
    Fantasy football | ATS betting tips/Picks

    Just as players’ national anthem demonstrations were, for the most part, giving way to pure football matters, an NFL owner’s ugly comment raised the ire of his players, who, after an emotional weekend in which they considered their options, responded with the majority taking a knee in protest during the national anthem.

    Bob McNair, the Texans’ nearly 80-year-old owner, triggered an emotional weekend that culminated in the team-wide protest, with most linking arms and kneeling. Previously, Texans players had chosen to stand, partly out of respect for the owner. But after meeting and rejecting options like removing the decals from their helmet and remaining in the locker room for the anthem, they came to the sideline, many took a knee and linked arms before the game against the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.

    [Blackistone: Bob McNair, other NFL owners demonstrate their true intent: Controlling black athletes]

    McNair triggered this with his comment, reported in an ESPN expose of the recent players-owners meeting over the anthem, about “inmates running the prison.” Some players considered a walkout and about 10, including wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, left the facility Friday. Although most were talked into returning by coaches, Hopkins’s absence was directly related to McNair’s comment.

    [Anti-protest owners in the NFL are fighting a losing battle]

    McNair has sought to clean up his mess, offering yet another statement Saturday after meeting with players. However, his apology to players did “not go over well,” the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports. McNair’s effort at damage control included a statement in which he said:

    “As I said yesterday, I was not referring to our players when I made a very regretful comment during the owners meetings last week. I was referring to the relationship between the league office and team owners and how they have been making significant strategic decisions affecting our league without adequate input from ownership over the past few years.

    “I am truly sorry to the players for how this has impacted them and the perception that it has created of me which could not be further from the truth. Our focus going forward, personally and as an organization, will be towards making meaningful progress regarding the social issues that mean so much to our players and our community.”


    A Texans fan came to CenturyLink Field with a message for the team’s owner (Otto Greule Jr. / Getty Images)

    McNair’s inflammatory comment came during the Oct. 17 meeting in New York in which players and owners sought to find a way to take their anthem demonstrations into community action after their message about social injustice and police brutality was lost in tweets and comments by President Trump and others.

    [Redskins decline comment on report that Daniel Snyder is a ‘pro-stand’ owner]

    The ESPN story showed how divided owners are on the topic of the anthem and, during that meeting, McNair reportedly said, “We can’t have the inmates running the prison,” and Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder was quoted as saying that “96 percent of Americans are for guys standing.” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said that players for his team will be benched if they do not stand.

    McNair’s comments reminded a number of athletes of Donald Sterling, who was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers because of racist comments a few years ago. Richard Sherman of the Seahawks believes players would boycott if they had guaranteed contracts. “I appreciate when people like that show who they really are,” Sherman said of McNair’s comments. “More people in the world have to be that kind and that open about how they really feel so you can identify them — and make sure you stay away from those kind of people, and keep those people out of power.

    “But, you know, of course they have to sit back and apologize, because it’s politically correct to apologize. But eventually you have to take people for their word and for who they are. For most players, even when once we apologize they still take what we said and judge us by it. So you should do the same with him.”

    [Players invite McNair, Goodell, Kaepernick to meeting over McNair remarks]

    Against that backdrop, owners and players had planned to meet again this week and on Saturday night invited NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and McNair to join them Monday in Philadelphia. “Many players have been deeply troubled by the disturbing comments made by Texans’ owner Bob McNair,” the players said in a statement. “It is ironic that such a quote would emerge in the midst of an ongoing struggle to highlight injustices suffered by people of color, including our nation’s deeply flawed approach to criminal justice and inhumane treatment of imprisoned people.” However, the meeting reportedly was postponed to a later date Sunday afternoon.

    As far as anthem protests go, the San Francisco 49ers continue to lead the way, with seven active or inactive players taking a knee. For the Philadelphia Eagles, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod raised a fist, with teammate Chris Long standing with them in support.


    Top story lines

    After the pregame demonstrations, the game that followed was nothing short of spectacular. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw for a career-high 452 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winning score with 21 seconds remaining, in what easily becomes a midseason candidate for game of the year, a 41-38 Seattle victory. Wilson accounted for all but three offensive yards for the Seahawks.

    In the loss, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson nearly equaled his Super Bowl-winning opposite and became the first rookie to throw for three or more touchdown in four consecutive games. He finished the day with four touchdowns, 402 yards passing and 67 rushing yards, but also had three interceptions. Watson has thrown 15 touchdowns and ran for two more since taking over for Houston in the second half in Week 1.

    Seattle’s Earl Thomas and Houston’s Marcus Williams, who both returned interceptions for touchdowns, were the only non-quarterbacks to find the end zone during the game.

    With the win, Seattle moves to 5-2 and into a tie with the Rams atop the NFC West. Houston falls to 3-4, trailing the Tennessee Titans (4-3) and Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3) in the AFC South.

    Elsewhere in the NFL, 21 teams began the day a .500-or-better record, which meant the week’s slate of games featured no matchup in which both teams had a winning record.

    In New Orleans, Bears tight end Zach Miller suffered insult and injury on the same play. He hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell Trubisky, but his leg bent in a gruesome way as he came down and he was taken off on a cart. (You can see the injury here, we’re not including the image because it’s actually nauseating.) As he was leaving, review showed that the ball had hit the ground and the touchdown was nullified. (Pity the officials who had to look at the injury over and over.)

    The Saints improved to 5-2 with a 20-12 victory and Drew Brees joined Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as the only NFL passers with more than 6,000 completions. Brees completed 23 of 28 passes on the day for 299 yards.

    With their quarterback once again making more headlines for his petulance than his playmaking, the Carolina Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 17-3 victory over Tampa Bay. Cam Newton, who earlier this month apologized to a female reporter and last week skipped media availability, walked off the podium Wednesday after getting a question he didn’t care to answer from a different reporter. On Sunday, though, he completed 18 of 32 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers improved to 5-3.

    The Falcons, who failed to convince anyone that the Patriots don’t still remain in their heads after last week’s loss in a regular season rematch of Super Bowl LI, got past the New York Jets, 25-20, on a wet MetLife field. The victory ended a three-game losing streak and put the Falcons back above .500. The loss is the Jets’ third in a row.

    In New England, Patriots came away with a 21-13 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers and take a 6-2 record into their bye week, snapping the Chargers’ three-game winning streak and dropping them to 3-5. Tom Brady passed for 333 yards and a touchdown; Philip Rivers passed for 212 and a touchdown.

    Pity Travis Benjamin, who had one of the worst punt returns you’re likely to see.

    The Bills kept pace with the Patriots in the AFC East, moving to 5-2 with a 34-14 victory over the 3-5 Oakland Raiders. In Cincinnati, the 3-4 Bengals eked out a 25-24 victory over the 2-6 Indianapolis Colts.

    The NFL’s best team, at least at the moment, continued to be the Philadelphia Eagles, who topped winless San Francisco 33-10. Carson Wentz passed for 211 yards in that game.

    [The Eagles aren’t perfect, but they’re above and beyond the NFC’s best team]

    The day began with a business-as-usual game from the Cleveland Browns, who flew to London and lost 33-16 to the Minnesota Vikings. Although the winless Browns led 13-12 at the half, the Vikings had no trouble after that, with Case Keenum completing 27 of 43 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns (with one interception). The Browns’ DeShone Kizer completed 18 of 34 passes for 179 yards.

    In the other late afternoon game, the Dallas Cowboys played safe enough in slick, rainy conditions to beat the Washington Redskins, 33-19, and reach 4-3. The Redskins drop to 3-4, losers of two straight in their division. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for two touchdowns and nearly had a third, if not for a holding penalty. Kirk Cousins threw for 263 yards and a touchdown, but also threw a pick-six late in the fourth quarter. More injuries piled up for Washington, as well, which was already dealing with plenty of ailing bodies.

    Sunday night’s game promises a little more competitive matchup than last week’s New England-Atlanta affair, with 5-2 Pittsburgh playing Detroit, trying to end a two-game losing streak and make noise in the NFC North. The Steelers have been a soap opera this season — imagine how much Coach Mike Tomlin loves that.

    Wide receiver Martavis Bryant will not play after a week in which he repeated a trade request on social media, a decision that ended with him on the scout team pretending to be a Lions receiver for the defense during practice. “He just has to earn his way back,” fellow wide receiver Antonio Brown said. “Obviously, we need him. We know what he’s capable of. We’re going to need him down the stretch. He made a mistake, and he’ll learn from it.”

    On Monday night, the 3-3 Denver Broncos play the 5-2 Chiefs in Kansas City in an important NFC West game.

    In other news…

    A Martellus Bennett bombshell: The Packers tight end writes on Instagram that he’s “pretty sure” this will be his last NFL season. (Read more.)

    No review really needed: Game officials are supposed to eject players for hits like the one Kiko Alonso delivered on Joe Flacco. (Read more.)

    It’s Barr vs. Rodgers II: Anthony Barr hits Aaron Rodgers again, saying “this guy got y’all fooled,” in what is now a he said-he said over just what happened when the Packers quarterback’s collarbone broke two weeks ago. (Read more.)

    NFL worries: Mark Cuban predicted an NFL “implosion” because of greed. Now, he sees it “accelerating.” (Read more.)

    What to make of the Redskins? It’s still too early to write off the Redskins or to declare them playoff-worthy. (Read more.)

    Don’t crown ’em just yet: The Seahawks aren’t ready to cede the NFC West to the Rams. (Read more.)

    Still in Beast Mode: Marshawn Lynch spent part of his suspension putting a big hit on a high school player. (Read more.)

    Week 8 byes: The Cardinals, Packers, Jaguars, Rams, Giants and Titans are off.

    Injury News

    Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly has cleared the concussion protocol and, although he was still listed as questionable Friday, he is expected to play after practicing all week. Kuechly was injured in the Oct. 12 loss to the Eagles and missed last week’s game.

    The Redskins’ injury report is extensive and, on Saturday, the team signed offensive lineman Orlando Franklin and guard Arie Kouandjio, placed linebacker LB Mason Foster on injured reserve and waived running back Mack Brown.

    1 p.m. inactives include:

    Ronald Darby (ankle)

    Jordan Poyer (knee)

    Alex Armah (hamstring)

    Inactive players for 4 p.m. games:

    C.J. Prosise (ankle)

    Luke Joeckel (knee)

    Fantasy football advice

    Best/worst matchups: At either end of the spectrum, we have LeGarrette Blount and Dez Bryant. (Read more.)

    The Atlanta conundrum: Should fantasy owners keep faith in the Falcons’ broken offense? (Read more.)

    Week 8 cheat sheet: The choicest tips for Week 7. (Read more.)

    Week 8 Start/Sit: Expect Kareem Hunt’s “struggles” to continue. (Read more.)

    The Fantasy Football Beat: The Post’s fantasy football experts run down the trade fixes for your fantasy — and reality — teams. (Listen.)


    ATS Betting Tips/Picks

    The top trends and insights from Las Vegas. (Read more.)