The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins on Sunday said reports the Trump administration wants to fire infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is an “unimaginable concept.” Collins told NBC News he’s particularly incensed that a basic public health action - like wearing a mask in public - has instead become fodder for political spats and viral video meltdowns. The NIH director said an alien coming to Earth would be “astounded, puzzled and amazed” by the country’s political divide over facial masks....

Seems to be the most logical choice after seeing this insane trick shot he put into the net during the league’s skills competition. MORE: Photos: NHL Skills Competition | Flying V As Gusev approached the net, he stuck the puck between his legs. He then spun to his right while scooping the puck up with his stick. As he twirled around, he used his momentum to fire a shot right past goalie Stanislav Galimov, who had no chance of stopping it....

The league MVP was guarding Rudy Gobert when the pair clashed knees, sending Jokic to the floor in significant discomfort. Jokic would leave the court and the team later announced he would not return because of a bruised knee. The Denver big man was putting up a monster performance at the time of injury, tallying 24 points, six rebounds and six assists in just 15 minutes of court time. A contender in the Western Conference, the Nuggets are already without star guard Jamal Murray, who continues his recovery from a torn ACL during the 2020-21 season....

Members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed the bill in a 4-2 vote on Monday after hearing the moving testimonies of undocumented immigrants and advocates who say the measure is decades overdue. However, it was the testimony of a 9-year-old boy, still years away from being able to earn a driver’s license of his own, that sent shockwaves through the room, with young David Flores, whose real surname has been withheld as a precaution, demanding answers from lawmakers on why this legislation has taken them so long to push forward....

Loot boxes are a virtual item sold in many video games which dispense randomized in-game items, including weapons, armor and cosmetic items like character clothing. Originally developed to monetize free-to-play mobile games, loot boxes have become more common in full retail releases, appearing in games like Overwatch, Call of Duty, Middle-earth: Shadow of War and NBA 2K18. The Entertainment Software Association announced the new policies on Wednesday, with chief counsel of tech policy Michael Warnecke describing the approach at the Federal Trade Commission’s Inside the Game loot box workshop....

Durr has never held political office, but was leading Sweeney by over 2,000 votes on Wednesday night despite running a barebones campaign that included spending only $153 during the primary. Sweeney, the longest-serving New Jersey Senate president, announced that he was postponing a meeting to determine the leaders of the next Senate session earlier in the day. “Due to the closeness of several State Senate elections, the leadership caucus scheduled for tomorrow will be delayed,” Sweeney said, according to the New Jersey Globe....

Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu has led the league in ERA pretty much all season; he allowed more than two earned runs just one time in his first 22 starts and still tops the NL at 2.45. His past four starts, though, have been rough, and he has a 9.95 ERA in those games. Max Scherzer is doing typical Max Scherzer things. The three-time Cy Young winner leads the NL in FIP (2....

The San Francisco Giants and New York Mets each took unconventional roads to the 2016 MLB postseason but after near-disasters in the second half they can start again with new life. The Giants owned the best record in MLB at the All-Star break (57-33) and appeared well on their way to dethroning the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West, but a cold spell in the lineup paired with a franchise-worse 32 blown saves left the club with a worse second half (30-42) than the dismal Rays, Braves and Reds....

Manager Mike Matheny opened himself up to second-guessing all winter, bringing in Wacha for the first time this postseason and putting him on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning with Game 5 of NL Championship Series tied. MORE: NLCS photos | Giants’ formula works again | Ishikawa walks it off | MadBum NLCS MVP | World Series schedule Travis Ishikawa wrecked the move, hitting a three-run homer off Wacha with one out that sent the Giants to a 6-3 win over the Cardinals on Thursday night and into the World Series for the third time in five seasons....

The Cardinals ace had barely answered his first question from the media on Thursday’s workout day when a fire alarm began screeching in the interview room. “I have this effect on people,” Wainwright joked. The alarm continued wailing and a female voice announced that an emergency was occurring. “There is smoke in the hallway,” Wainwright said, smiling. The voice encouraged people to exit the stadium. No one in the interview room budged, and the moderator said the group would be advised if they needed to vacate....

Headlines such as “Huge asteroid is set to hit the Earth this week” have appeared online. Tweets racking up millions of views have been posted to social media indicating that a large space rock is on a collision course with our planet. To be clear, no known asteroid is predicted to collide with the Earth this week, or indeed, in the foreseeable future. The tweets and articles are referring to an asteroid known as 2023 BU that is set for an “extremely close” encounter with Earth on Thursday, according to astronomer Gianluca Masi with the Virtual Telescope Project....

In 1992, it was a big-eared Texas tycoon, Ross Perot, lifting ballots from Bush 41’s pocket. In 2000, it was Ralph Nader, clipping enough votes from Al Gore to make him a wanted man among liberal Democrats. It’s too soon to tell who will be the “spoiler” candidate for 2008, but at least one new 527 group is in the running to supply one: Unity08. The organization’s long list of “founders” is an odd mix of high-school and college students and veteran political operatives–including Doug Bailey, a former Gerald Ford strategist, and Hamilton Jordan, once Jimmy Carter’s chief of staff....

Liriano, who made his third straight opening day start, looked in control from the beginning. After striking out four of the first six batters he faced, Liriano ran into some trouble with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. But he struck out Kolten Wong to end the threat. MORE: Jessica Mendoza ready for Sunday Night Baseball | Opening Day ticket stubs Gregory Polanco led Pittsburgh at the plate with two hits, two runs scored and a walk....

Multi-National Corps - Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory APO AE 09342 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20070224-06 Feb. 24, 2007 Soldier makes a friend Multi-National Division - Baghdad PAO BAGHDAD - 070216-A-5016J-001 Spc. Brian Helms, an infantryman with Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, shares a smile with an Iraqi child while on a break from providing security for a patrol on the roof of the child’s home....

The appeal of vocational schools is growing partly in response to the growing realization that a Chinese university degree can be a ticket to nowhere. When China’s schools reopened after the Cultural Revolution, there weren’t enough universities to accommodate a generation of disenfranchised scholars. Now the opposite is true. In the last seven years the number of Chinese college graduates has quintupled, reaching 4.1 million this year. But the National Development and Reform Commission reports that at least 60 percent of these graduates can’t find work....

You could call the soap “No Guiding Light.” Many of these leaders came to power on the heels of generals and strongmen toppled by the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and ‘98. They were welcomed as the “New Generation,” the one that would usher in something more like a functioning democracy. Now they are barely clinging to power, tripped up by their own mistakes and their opponents’ machinations at the most inopportune time: economies are slowing or stalling throughout the region, raising fears that Asia may be hurtling into another full-blown crisis....

Mou explains Zlatan absence So the reaction was somewhat curious on Sunday when Mourinho was widely slated on social media upon the release of a similar-looking teamsheet for the league clash with Antonio Conte’s side at Old Trafford. Despite this time having 28-goal Zlatan Ibrahimovic available for selection, the Portuguese again went for a back three and counted on the pace of Marcus Rashford in attack. But his most crucial decision was employing Herrera as a man-marker on Eden Hazard, and the midfielder delivered his most telling contribution of the season in leading United to a 2-0 victory over the league leaders....

O.K., that’s not exactly how the phrase goes but it seems to be what’s on the agenda for some of the newlyweds on Married at First Sight’s 11th season. Now that couples are living together and settling into their marriage, some of the cast members have expansion on the brain. Woody is completely down for adding another member to his little family. The only problem is, he isn’t too fond of the means in which his wife Amani wants their family to grow—with a dog....

Back in March, Ireland entered their home game with Wales in control of Group D, having beaten Austria away and taken a point from Serbia in Belgrade. Both were impressive results that disguised inadequate performances from a team managed by a pragmatist who believes - rightly - that football is a results business. Man United 16/1 to win Premier League Against Wales, Ireland suffered a huge blow as captain Seamus Coleman had his leg broken by defender Neil Taylor....