The foreign ministers will likely go home disappointed. Senior Clinton aides say the Democratic nominee can’t spare the time for the meetings. “If we granted all the requests, we’d keep Bill in New York for two or three days,” said a top Clinton adviser. “We’ve got a lot of other things to do with that time.” As it turns out, the diplomats won’t be meeting with Bush either. Newly appointed chief of staff James Baker issued a no-meetings order to the State Department shortly after Labor Day....

As we head into the season, there’s no clear No. 1 team. Kentucky and North Carolina — two of college basketball’s blue-blood programs — tied for the top spot in USA Today’s preseason Coaches poll. MORE: SN’s preseason Top 25 Though the two received the same total number of points, UNC got 12 first-place votes to Kentucky’s 11. Maryland, Duke and Kansas round out the top five (in order). The rest of the poll:...

Entering his start Friday night against the Nationals, Noah Syndergaard had held opposing hitters to a .243/.286/.356 line this year, numbers inflated at least a bit by the batting average on balls in play against him rising from .282 in 2015 to .336 this season. Whereas last year, Syndergaard had a 3.24 ERA and 3.25 FIP, he came into this game with a 2.55 ERA and 2.31 FIP. MORE: Best pitcher last names of the past 100 years...

While Noonan syndrome is not life-threatening, if you have the condition you may experience associated illnesses, including heart disease, bleeding disorders, and some types of cancer at some point during your lifetime. These associated health problems are anticipated in association with Noonan syndrome Your outcome will be much better if you schedule medical visits to monitor your health and obtain timely treatment for any medical issues that arise before they advance to cause serious consequences....

The Line: Duke -6, Total: 66.5 Line movement: Duke opened as a 6.5-point home favorite at The Wynn on Sunday and stayed at that number during early wagering, while other shops were dealing -6, and William Hill moved from -6 to -5.5. For updated spreads and totals from around Las Vegas, visit our live odds page. Trends that matter: North Carolina is 1-10 SU and 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games as a road underdog…....

During a press conference on Wednesday, the Emergency Service Director of North Carolina’s Haywood County, announced the county currently has “30-plus people unaccounted for,” following the flash floods. “Ongoing search and rescue efforts are happening in Lake Logan and the Cruso areas,” Haywood County Emergency Services Director Travis Donaldson said during a press conference. Donaldson noted that emergency services personnel is currently conducting welfare checks on the 30 individuals that are unaccounted for....

The cheerleaders at North Stanly High School were pictured with the Trump flag at their football team’s game on August 30 where the evening’s theme was “Red, White and Blue.” They posed with the flag’s owners Carson Palmer and Matthew Mangham, both juniors at the same school, in an incident that landed them all in front of the principal a few days later. Following a probe by the Stanly County Board of Education, the students were found to have breached the rules banning the distribution of political campaign materials on school grounds, WCNC reported....

Walker Kessler has verbally committed to the Tar Heels, announcing Sunday that after visiting UNC’s campus over the weekend that he wants to play there. “Honestly, I just felt like I could see myself playing for Coach Roy [Williams],” Kessler told 247Sports . “He’s a great man and the coaching staff was a great coaching staff. The facilities were great, the campus was great. I felt like even if I didn’t play basketball I could see myself being a student there....

It’s a distinction that isn’t lost on the 24-year-old Republican running for North Carolina’s open 11th District seat, but it does make it more jarring when he describes a darkly existential reason for seeking office. “My biggest fear in life is lying on my death bed and looking back at the world and not seeing any relevant change that I personally created to help my fellow man,” he told Newsweek in a recent interview....

Tangela Parker and her husband Eric Parker went on the run after she shot 51-year-old Phelifia Marlow at the TCS Design furniture plant in Hickory on Wednesday. Police said the shooting took place after an argument between the two workers on Wednesday. Officers found Marlow inside the premises suffering from gunshot wounds. She was transported to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, where she later died of her injuries....

As of Wednesday, Missouri had a 14-day average of 1,419 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases a day, North Dakota had a 14-day average of 295 new cases a day and Wisconsin had a 14-day average of 1,160 new cases a day. A White House “red zone” report released last week listed Missouri as the fourth highest state in the country for having 100 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 state residents, according to KMIZ-TV....

The state lawmaker told the Bismarck Tribune he thought the video was “a message from the president that he couldn’t get to us any other way,” but he added, “Turns out it isn’t what I thought it was, and so I apologize.” Jones told Forum News Service in a phone call Saturday, “I sent it to legislators for information purposes and we get information from all kinds of different sources at times, and we try to stay as informed as we can so we can properly represent our districts and the people that we are working for....

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement Friday offering to resume talks, but only if certain conditions are met. In her statement, Kim Yo Jong mentioned arranging talks to create an official declaration ending the Korean War. Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University in South Korea, said North Korea is attempting to indirectly pressure Seoul into lifting sanctions as South Korea is pushing for officially declaring the war’s end....

The public has always loved his style. Chagall’s cheerful pictures of floating brides and animals have been popular among museumgoers since his first retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art more than 50 years ago. But Chagall has not always been a favorite of art students: no one has aspired to be the “new Chagall.” Art critics have long dismissed him as a sentimentalist whose creativity dried up by the time he was 40....

To be sure, there is a sense in which Clinton did indeed move to the center. He abandoned some of the more liberal items of his first two years, such as health care, and he advocated a balanced budget–a vital issue for many voters. But if personnel is policy, there’s little evidence that Bill Clinton has become conservative. Former chiefs of staff Mack McLarty and Leon Panetta were centrists. So is the new West Wing boss, Erskine Bowles....

A lot like the original recordings, it turns out. Superfans needn’t have worried: “Love” neither adds to nor detracts from the brilliant music four lads from Liverpool recorded nearly a half century ago. It sounds beautiful. But revolutionary—or even particularly interesting—it ain’t. The Beatles catalog has never been fully remastered for CD or sold anywhere as online downloads, which may help explain why the gorgeously crisp “Love” debuted at No....

Morgan Webb on Tuesday pleaded guilty to buying the cards. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the cards were sent from China and had an accurate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) insignia and looked similar to officially distributed COVID-19 vaccination cards. Webb admitted to knowing that the cards were counterfeit and purchasing them anyway. The newspaper reported that Webb ordered the cards in September, about five months after becoming an official notary public....

Nothing seems to make Gorbachev and Yeltsin happier than causing each other pain. It all started when Yeltsin openly criticized Gorbachev at a Politburo meeting five years ago. Since then, no swipe has been too low, and no slight has been forgiven, When Yeltsin had a heart attack Gorbachev didn’t call him in the hospital. When Yeltsin made a comeback in popular elections, Gorbachev had the KGB tap his phone....

The report noted Armstrong could be out “up to two months, with a five-week layoff” being the optimistic timeline. Should that timeframe stick, Armstrong could be ready to return Oct. 5 against Bowling Green. A two-month recovery, on the other hand, would push his comeback to Nov. 2 against Virginia Tech. Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly confirmed Armstrong underwent further testing and evaluation Tuesday. “Felt some discomfort in the groin, ab area,” Kelly told reporters, per NBC Sports....

But in South Bend, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will look to hang onto their quietly impressive 6-1 season, taking on a dangerous N.C. State team that has elite talents on both sides of the ball. And the winner of this matchup may ultimately become a trendy College Football Playoff contender. WEEK 9 PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread Here are the matchups and keys to victory for both teams to come away with a victory....