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FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026 / Mostly sunny, 78° / Weather: P. 34 • • LATE CITY FINAL nypost.com

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Moment burqa-clad convert buys bomb parts in Home Depot to 'blow up Albany': feds

'HOME' GROWN TERROR

Albany woman Jessica Bowie, 35, "went from a little girl waving an American flag after 9/11 to now having stickers of the falling towers," she told an FBI informant, as she pledged allegiance to ISIS and plotted to blow up the state Capitol in Albany — buying supplies at Home Depot in a full burqa.

SEE PAGE 7

Cathy Images

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By PATRICE PECK

New York City's hottest gym isn't a gym at all.

For decades, New Yorkers have turned the city's urban clutter into makeshift workout equipment, especially for pull-ups. Whether scaffolding, subway rails or crosswalk lights, if they can hang from it, they'll pull up on it.

The tradition isn't new. But women have become the new face of it on social media, film-

ing themselves doing pull-ups throughout the city on girls' nights out.

Paige Bullard, a professional athlete and founder of Bar Proof — a calisthenics and street workout event series — has amassed more than 150,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, where she shares vid-

eos of herself doing pull-ups on crosswalk lights and tree branches.

"A lot of men don't expect us to be strong in that area," Bullard, 36, said. "So when you go up there and you bust out, like, 15, 20, they're like, 'Oh my goodness, I can't even do that.'"

Rose Joseph, 29, a project

manager and fitness creator from Long Island, was inspired to start documenting her own.

"Every time we be out and about in New York City, every time I see little poles — or, you know, maybe like a traffic light — I would at least try and get some pull-ups in," she said.

"Like, the gym games don't

stop," Joseph achieved her first unassisted pull-up in 2025 after trying for about two years.

"I'm just doing it for the girls who think that they can't do it. I once thought that," she said. "I was once that girl — until I just kept on going, and here I am now doing pull-ups anywhere and everywhere."

Wanted: new Gracie cook A hopeful hair-raising Rx

Hizzoner is looking for someone to seize the means of production — in Gracie Mansion's kitchen.

Mayor Mamdani is seeking to hire a new chef who can whip up South Asian and Middle Eastern meals for him and the first lady — for a salary of $64,500.

The "cook" job listing ear-

lier this month, seeks someone to serve "high-quality" meals to the mayor, his family and guests who is willing to "maintain strict confidentiality."

The ad said, "the role requires experience with multiple cuisines with a focus on South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine."

Specific dishes weren't listed but Mamdani named biryani, paan and lamb adana laffa as some of his favorite meals when asked about his "go-to" Big Apple restaurants last year.

A previous cook left Gracie Mansion for a restaurant gig. Another four staffers remain. Katherine Donlevy

For some people, the quest to restore lost strands may be behind the pharmacy counter — but the bottle won't say anything about hair or scalp care.

A drug approved to treat arthritis can spur dramatic hair growth in people with severe alopecia areata, a new study has found.

Upadacitinib, commonly sold under the brand name Rinvoq, works by blocking proteins called Janus kinase (JAK). When the JAK pathway becomes overactive, it can trigger inflammation and contribute to autoimmune diseases like arthritis. When testing the drug on people who'd lost hair on at

least half of their scalp due to the condition, the results were promising.

After six months, 45% of participants taking the lower 15-milligram dose regained enough hair to cover at least 80% of their scalp, compared with 55% of those taking the higher 30-milligram dose. Allie Yang

Emmy Pink for NYPost

3

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THE RED APPLE

70 WONDERBOY

New grocery giveaway?

$$ for private biz

By MATT TROUTMAN, HANNAH FIERICK and CRAIG MCCARTHY

Clean up on aisle free. A leader of Mayor Mamdani's socialist grocery store project suggested that the Big Apple could funnel taxpayer money to shop owners losing business to the city-owned supermarkets, which are already projected to cost at least $70 million.

The gobsmacking comments from Waverly Neer, senior vice president of groceries at the project-leading Economic Development Corporation, sparked City Hall to furiously attempt to backpedal Thursday after furious backlash.

'Different options'

Neer (inset), during an NYI interview on Wednesday, said that "grants" could be used to support independent businesses alongside city-owned grocery stores, prompting a reporter to ask whether she meant private outlets.

"Something on the table," she said. "We're exploring a lot of different options and opportunities.

"I think there's a whole host of levers that the EDC is able to work within to make sure everyone has equitable and equal access to opportunities here."

The prospect of using tax dollars to prop up private grocers hurt by competition from Mamdani's city-owned supermarkets — a program anticipated to cost $70 million for five stores across the boroughs — prompted many New Yorkers to blow their gaskets.

Many carted their rage to X, where an interview clip with Neer was viewed 1.6 million times as of Thursday afternoon.

Some X users wondered why Mamdani would invest millions of dollars into new grocery stores — with $30 million slated to build a shop on an East Harlem vacant lot

— instead of directly into hard-scramble shoppers themselves.

EDC officials eventually tried to walk back Neer's government free-for-all, but left the door open for a whole menu of other options.

The group's grocery task force is evaluating program and policies to support local grocers, along with the effort to open five city-owned store by the end of 2029, an EDC spokesperson said.

The spokesperson then added, "However, we are looking at the potential for tax abatement, incentives, and zoning benefits through existing City programs to ensure that the City is doing everything in our power to alleviate cost pressures for small businesses across the city."

By STEVEN VAGO and CRAIG MCCARTHY

Lefty wunderkind Morris Katz allegedly stiffed his Brooklyn landlord for months — racking up $14,000 in unpaid rent — and left the Williamsburg pad stuffed with trash when his lease was up, The Post has learned.

Katz — the 27-year-old nepo baby credited with fueling socialist Mayor Mamdani's meteoric rise — missed multiple rent payments and bounced checks during his six-month lease on the top-floor duplex on Lorimer Street, according to two sources with knowledge of the dilemma.

"I don't get him. He don't have his priorities in order, that's for sure," super Felix Barbosa told The Post Thursday while hosing down the sidewalk outside the four-story building.

"When you come from a rich family, you don't have your priorities in order," he said. "He's not a bad guy, but his priorities are all f-ked up."

Barbosa also alleged: "He owes Con Edison money. He owes the gas company money. He owes everyone money."

$6,500 a month

Katz signed the short-term lease last November, agreeing to pony up $6,500-per-month for a two-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment with a private roof deck, according to documents reviewed by The Post.

But the in-demand far-left political strategist was late on his rent for the first three months, forcing building reps to hound him for the payments, a source said.

Eventually, Katz allegedly stopped paying entirely, according to the source.

At the time, the co-founder of lefty consulting group The Fight Agency, was coming off a big-time win after playing a key role in propelling Mamdani — a formerly relatively unknown, backbench state lawmaker — into City Hall.

He was also offering his advice to several congressional candidates running in New York's June Democratic primaries, including Democratic Socialists of America firebrands Dariaiza Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, as well as

Brad Lander and Micah Lasher.

The young operative had also taken on advising former Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner (inset left), whose campaign later imploded when he faced a rape accusation,

leaving Katz embroiled in controversy after he allegedly threatened a whistleblowing ex-staffer. It wasn't until Katz was set to move out on April 30 that he offered up the full payment of back rent, after initially bouncing a

check, the sources said.

"It was one of those things, to get the rent you had to pull out his f-king teeth," Barbosa said. "But then he came back and paid everything, $14,000. I don't know where the money came from."

In shambles

Katz, though, left the place in shambles for weeks after he was supposed to clear out, according to photos obtained by The Post.

The snaps show a loaded bar cart, junk-filled closet, random

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THE RED APPLE

WAS A STIFF

Tish foe: Shoplift defense just nuts

The socialist state lawmaker who claimed that ripping off stores for "biological need" goods is OK is off her rocker, GOP attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy said Thursday.

Komatireddy, who hopes to unseat Democrat Attorney General Letitia James in November, told reporters that theft of any kind hurts hard-working retailers and ultimately consumers — and said state Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, a Brooklyn democratic socialist, just hasn't done her homework.

"The scenario that you're hearing from people like Emily Gallagher, that's not what is actually happening," Komatireddy said outside a South Ozone Park gas station mart. "If you look at the cases, the people who are stealing from stores, they come here with a big truck.

"They go in there with garbage bags, and they swipe everything off a shelf, put it into a garbage bag, load it into the truck, and then they drive down a couple of blocks into a different neighborhood or a different city, and they resell it," she explained. "That's the kind of crime that is affecting small business owners."

Gallagher shockingly suggested last week that shoplifting for products like soap and toothpaste should be fair game for thieves, claiming they are being stolen by needy New Yorkers who can't afford them.

The socialist lawmaker whined that the criminal justice advocacy group Court Watch NYC had monitored 360 arraignments over four days and maintained that most of the petty thieves needed the items they were stealing.

"We are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies like CVS and Walgreens over the people who are struggling to get by," Gallagher told reporters.

But Komatireddy, a veteran prosecutor, said the lefty pol was off the mark.

"People make comments like that, it's because they haven't done the work," Komatireddy said. "I've done the work." Georgetts Roberts

furniture and a fridge packed with takeout boxes and wrapped-up leftovers.

"He has too much on his plate that he can't handle, that's what happened with him. He didn't clean up the place at all. He didn't clean up any of his s-t," the super said.

The apartment wasn't cleaned out until early June, according to the sources.

Katz, reached by The Post Thursday, claimed the super's comments were being taken out of context — but didn't dispute any of the claims, only saying he

stayed in "communication" with the landlord during the months he wasn't paying rent.

He blamed a snafu involving a new bank — and said he eventually got relatives to help make good on the rent.

No checkbook

"When it came time to settle the balance, Katz didn't yet have a checkbook with his new bank, so he sent his family the funds to use theirs and paid the balance in full," a Fight Agency rep said in a

statement on Katz's behalf.

"When he returned from traveling for work, he cleared out his remaining belongings."

The progressive rising star, the subject of glowing magazine and newspaper profiles, grew up in a $5 million apartment with his famous screenwriter and TV producer father, David Bar Katz, and mother Julie Merberg, a children's book author.

His parents' careers gave him the opportunity to rub elbows with big-time actors, and most notably his godfather was the late

Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The privileged upbringing was similar to his pal Mamdani, who grew up in the Upper West Side and whose mom is an award-winning filmmaker and dad is a renowned academic who teaches at Columbia University.

The rent dodge is just the latest instance of folks in the mayor's orbit brushing off landlords.

A key initiative of City Hall — led by tenant advocate Cea Weaver, who has called for the seizing of private property — has been to target allegedly bad landlords.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

5

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Zo's towering order

700K homes needed

By HANNAH FIERICK

Mayor Mamdani's administration estimated the city will need to build an eye-popping 700,000 new housing units over the next 10 years to keep up with demand — even as tens of thousands of affordable apartments sit vacant.

The draft report from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is the first to be released under a 2023 City Council law requiring regular assessments of the Big Apple's long-term housing needs.

Analysts at HPD determined the five boroughs have an immediate need for 290,000 housing units to address current shortages and ease the city's measly 1.4% apartment vacancy rate.

Another 240,000 homes are needed to keep up with population growth over the next decade, according to the first-of-its-kind "Fair Housing Growth Strategy" report.

On top of those 530,000 units combined, an additional 170,000 will be necessary to meet "future need," the report said.

'Underproduction'

The report makes no mention of the city's 57,000 rent-stabilized housing stock vacancies and the over 6,200 empty public housing units under NYCHA.

It references Mamdani's "Block

by Block" housing plan announced this year — which seeks to build 200,000 low- and middle-income homes over the next 10 years, as well as preserve 200,000 existing affordable units — but those were not included in the 700,000 goal, either, an HPD spokesperson confirmed.

The findings released Wednesday blamed the city's housing shortage on "decades of underproduction," finding that the majority of neighborhoods have added only 240 units or fewer in the last 15 years.

But real-estate industry insiders

said if the city is serious about addressing the housing shortage, it needs to make it easier to ramp up production.

Union labor

"This report puts an even bigger number on New York's housing shortage and confirms that supply is at the heart of the affordability crisis," said James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.

"If New York is serious about producing 700,000 new homes, policymakers must confront the

issues still holding housing back," Whelan said.

He mentioned fixing the 485-x property tax incentive, which mandates union labor be used on buildings larger than 100 units, leading to many smaller developments.

Whelan also said empty rent-regulated units should be put back on offer at market rate.

"The question is no longer whether we need more housing. The question is whether the government is willing to make it possible to build it," he said.

hferick@nypost.com

'Prickly' situation in trash

Sanitation workers are being needled.

The rise of GLP-1 drugs has led to a sharp uptick in injuries among Big Apple sanitation workers — thanks to needles being carelessly tossed in the trash.

So far in 2026, 57 needle-stick injuries have been reported among city Department of Sanitation workers — already exceeding the 51 recorded in all of 2025 and the 37 reported in 2024.

Only 25 workers were pricked in 2019.

Brooklyn has reported the most cases this year, with 16, followed by The Bronx and Queens with 11 each.

Staten Island, despite being the city's smallest borough by population, has recorded 10 injuries.

Manhattan has recorded nine.

New York's Strongest now wants to boost the fine for careless disposal from $100 to $250 to discourage users from placing loose needles in household trash.

While DSNY does not keep data on the types of needles involved in the injuries, a department spokesperson said the GLP-1 craze could be to blame.

A Gallup survey conducted from May through June found that 11% of US adults were currently taking a GLP-1 for weight loss.

Trilliant Health analyzed claims for three popular weight-loss drugs — Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjarro — across 34 New York City neighborhoods in 2022.

It found the city's highest rate of GLP-1 use was in the Upper East Side down to Gramercy area, where 231 people per 10,000 residents were using the drugs.

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Islam convert's ISIS Capitol bomb plan foiled

By VAUGHN GOLDEN, ANTHONY BLAIR and ZOE HUSSAIN

A New York woman plotted to bomb the state Capitol in Albany, transforming from a "little girl waving the American flag" to pledging allegiance to ISIS and celebrating the 9/11 terror attacks, the FBI said Thursday.

Jessica Bowie, 35, from Albany, allegedly began strategizing the attack in July — and planned to place the bomb in a Door-Dash food delivery bag, taking apparent glee in the bloodshed it would cause, the feds wrote in a criminal complaint.

"Blowing kafirs [non-Muslims] brains out is beautiful," she told someone who turned out to be an FBI informant, the complaint said.

She allegedly purchased bomb materials from a Home Depot on Aug. 5 and planned the attack with the help of FBI informants for two weeks, the feds said.

Bowie, who converted to Islam five years ago and was going by the Islamic name "Aisha Saif," also allegedly tracked the Capitol building for weeks, taking pictures from various vantage points including an "observation hall nearby," according to the complaint.

On fed radar for weeks

Law enforcement had Bowie on their radar for five weeks leading up to her arrest and believe she was "radicalized online," First Assistant US Attorney John A. Sarcone III said at a press conference Thursday evening.

She sent one of the informants pictures of downtown Albany with the Capitol circled, indicating it was the building she wanted to target, telling them she would do it on a "day when we know senators will be meeting," according to the FBI.

In a message, she said she wanted to "target my State Capitol ... ideally in a way I could get away with and hop on a plane after," the complaint said.

The ISIS-inspired militant planned to escape to Syria after the attack, according to the feds.

She allegedly messaged an informant on July 29 that she wanted "to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting. I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well.

"I don't want to take this kind of risk and have it kill what, two or three people. What good is that?" Bowie also allegedly quipped.

On Aug. 5, she even boasted to informants that if she was successful, she would return to plan more attacks on US soil — and target "New Year's Eve in Times Square," according to the complaint.

She would have preferred bombing the White House "with the president," but Bowie allegedly whined to one of the informants that it's "an even harder job."

"Maybe in the future we go back for that but I figured this is the biggest thing I can do. I can get to it easy, you know," she said, according to the complaint.

A search of Bowie's social media revealed many fanatical pro-radical Islamist and anti-American posts in the weeks leading up to her planned attack, according to the complaint.

'There's no helping me'

On May 28, an account linked to Bowie posted, "Praise be to Allah for September 11th," according to the FBI complaint.

On May 8, another account believed to be Bowie's told another user in Arabic, "I will poison these infidels," the complaint alleges.

She also discussed her belief that "jihad is an obligation," and

recorded herself reciting a pledge of allegiance to ISIS, according to the FBI.

The FBI informants met Bowie Wednesday and gave her an inert explosive device and an inert handgun, along with instructions on how to detonate the bomb, the complaint said.

During that meeting, Bowie chillingly admitted that she "went from a little girl waving an Ameri-

can flag after 9/11 to now having stickers of the falling towers."

"Folks, let that sink in," Albany Field Office FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli told reporters.

"Again, Ms. Bowie didn't just want to kill lawmakers; she wanted a complete destruction of our government."

She was arrested Wednesday

near a McDonald's not far from the Capitol building and appeared to offer a partial confession during her interview with FBI agents, according to the complaint.

"There's no helping me, you guys know enough, there's no helping me, I'm ... going to prison for the rest of my life," she allegedly said.

"Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before; I know I'm going to jail."

Wanted to hit NYC, White House

The would-be terrorist had New York City and the White House in her sights.

Jessica Bowie, 35, arrested in Albany Wednesday, told informants of her desire to attack "New Year's Eve in Times Square" — the annual spectacle where as many as 1 million tourists visit the Big Apple and where the loss of life in a terrorist strike could potentially be staggering.

She also spoke of hitting the "White House with the president" — but assessed "that's an

even harder job," according to a federal criminal complaint. "Maybe in the future we go back for that," she allegedly said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Hochul thanked the FBI and law enforcement.

"While there is no immediate threat at this time, we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to protect New Yorkers and keep our communities safe," the governor said. Zoe Hussain

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8

THRONE BACK!

AN EGO FIT FOR

AFTER all that, Harry and Meghan are returning to England.

It's a hell of a reversal. In 2020, the pair not only bid goodbye to the country and their official royal roles, they took a flame thrower to everything they had left behind — reserving extra gasoline for Harry's family.

The whole place wasn't safe for them. The media was trying to get them killed, they claimed over the years. And the House of Windsor was made up of bigots upholding institutional racism.

After such a fuss, one might feel at least a wee bit of shame moving back.

The shameless Sussexes, however, are incapable of such self-reflection, as we were reminded Wednesday when the pair announced they would be leaving California for the UK.

I fully expect that, like AOC, they might chalk it up to "Woke I was crazy."

Whiny liberals

After all, Harry and Meghan are the perfect avatars for the era defined by illiberal group think, BLM and DEI — elevated not just for their willingness to spill state secrets but because of their racial grievances and embraced victimhood.

Upon their arrival in North America — and their campaign to take down the British royal family in favor of creating their own rival institution — the Sussexes were lavished with praise and resources from the likes of Tyler Perry, who loaned them a luxurious place to stay and Oprah, who gave them prime-time access to exact their revenge on the institution that didn't indulge their every whim.

Every possible door was flung open for them and a red carpet promptly rolled out.

The duo reportedly signed a $60 million deal with Netflix and a Spotify one worth $25

US wasn't grifters' cup o' tea

million. Meghan launched her self-righteous "Archetypes" podcast. Harry wrote his whining memoir, "Spare."

In a stunning F-you to Queen Elizabeth II as her husband, Prince Philip, was then on death's door, Markle, who is bi-racial, complained to Oprah that her in-laws questioned how dark her unborn son's skin would be.

She also falsely claimed that the child, Archie, was denied a title like his cousins. (Why one would want their son to have a title from a racist family is beyond me.)

For their "work" on racial justice, Harry and Meghan were given the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award.

All this while declaring they just wanted privacy, dammit.

As for the Oprah interview, so much of it was either provably false or stretching credulity. But at the time — the spring of 2021 — even questioning a woman of color was asking for a public flogging. Capitulate to anti-racist dogma or else.

When Piers Morgan called Meghan "Princess Pinocchio," it led to a clash with his "Good Morning Britain" co-host. He was told he would need to apologize. Instead, he walked from his job.

Sharon Osbourne came to his defense and was accused of bigotry and cast off "The Talk."

As media and entertainment came apart at the seams for

these grifters, most things they touched were a bust.

Failing all over

Netflix gave Meghan a lifestyle show where her tips included opening a bag of store-bought snacks and loading them into another plastic bag. It was canceled after two seasons.

Her podcast, "Confessions of a Female Founder," also went bye-bye — her second to suffer such a fate.

Not only could the couple not find a hit, they couldn't hold onto staff. Thus, the "Sussex Survivors' Club" was born.

The point is, they weren't just handed the opportunity to make their own American Dream through hard work and talent. They were handed the whole damn thing on a silver platter.

Still they fumbled it all: money, influence, goodwill. It's almost impressive.

Harry and Meghan are clearly launching a last-minute bid to get their feet in the door just before it closes on them for good. It's almost like they were full of it all along.

Meg California pipe dream for Kam Sen. seat

By EMILY GOODIN and SARA NATHAN

Delusional Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sought US political clout far beyond the dreams of any British royal since King George III. The Post has learned, with the Duchess of Sussex angling to take over the Senate seat held by Kamala Harris ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Weeks before Democrat Joe Biden's win over President Donald Trump, a source says, Markle requested a sit-down with California Gov. Gavin Newsom because she "wanted to be considered to be appointed" to the seat held by Harris, which she vacated just before becoming vice president on Jan. 20, 2021. The source added the discussion was publicly described as a welcome-to-California chat to head off potential inquiries.

It is unclear just how far Markle's appeal got with Newsom, who appointed California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to

replace Harris two days before her swearing-in as Biden's second-in-command. Padilla subsequently won election to a full six-year term in 2022.

A Sussex source firmly denied Markle wanted to take over the Harris seat, while a rep for Newsom did not respond to a request for comment.

Biden meet denied

A memorandum from Newsom's office that surfaced in February 2021 confirmed the governor had an "introductory meeting" with the royal couple on Oct. 19, 2020, though the specific topics discussed were not disclosed and the Democrat's team characterized it as a social occasion.

Had the Duchess of Sussex been appointed to the world's greatest deliberative body, the move likely would have been challenged on constitutional grounds. Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the founding document states that "no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust ... shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

A British royal serving in the Senate, even a non-working one, would also have

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THRONE BACK!

A QUEEN

flown in the face of America's republican tradition, as Alexander Hamilton — the founder of The Post — wrote in "The Federalist Papers" that "the importance of the prohibition of titles of nobility ... [is] the cornerstone of republican government; for so long as they are excluded, there can never be serious danger that the government will be any other than that of the people."

The ill-fated Senate maneuvering wasn't the only time Harry and Meghan dipped their toes into US politics while trying to achieve the same prominence they enjoyed in the UK.

In late 2021, the couple requested an Oval Office meeting with Biden, as well as accommodations at nearby Blair House — a perk reserved for foreign leaders on state visits, multiple sources say.

White House staff quickly rejected the idea, with one source noting the spectacle of Harry and Meghan sitting down with the leader of the free world "would have caused a major diplomatic kerfuffle" with 10 Downing Street and the British royal family.

Another source, a former Biden aide, said the president and First Lady Jill Biden — long-standing admirers of Queen Elizabeth II — "didn't want to get into a family squabble" by hosting the rogue royals.

Had their pitch been successful, Harry and Meghan would have gained immeasurable prestige and stature at a time when they were struggling to find their identity following their January 2020 "Megxit" from royal duties.

DELUSION: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (above) were denied an Oval Office visit with Joe Biden (far left), in a meet with Gov. Gavin Newsom (left). Markle angled toward replacing Kamala Harris in the Senate.

Need it to reign money. Couple royally $pent

By SARA NATHAN

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shocking move back to the UK is fueled, at least in part, by them having more money going out of their bank accounts than coming in, sources tell Page Six.

"I am sure there are a lot of reasons [for the move], but I do think cash is a big one," said one insider.

"They are not out of money," stressed a source in the know — a sentiment echoed by another source as well, who pointed out that Harry has inherited a fortune from various relatives.

But, we are told, their expenses — including two mortgages on their $14.5 million Montecito, Calif., mansion, plus costs for household staff and a vacation home in Portugal — are so enormous that, as the insider said, "Anything that comes in instantly goes out."

$6M a year

The couple, who have yet to announce how long their stay in the UK will be, also pay around $3 million a year for security.

As Page Six has previously reported, funds have been so tight that the Sussexes slashed staff. They are now down to four full-time members of staff, apart from their spokespeople. Previously, they are believed to have had around 17 to 18 staffers.

With their current costs, they

need at least $6 million a year to live in the US, we're told.

She and Harry have made more than $100 million from book deals and contracts with Netflix and Spotify.

But the couple now face a multi-million-dollar legal bill after Harry lost his recent privacy battle against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the Daily Mail.

A two-day costs hearing took place at the end of July, as Associated sought up to $47 million in legal fees, but the formal written costs judgment is pending.

Harry could be liable to pay around $2.6 million.

Harry, who received $20 million from Penguin Random House for his 2021 memoir "Spare," has griped about cash in the past.

In 2020, he told Oprah Winfrey the royal family had "literally cut me off financially," saying, "I've got what my mum left me, and without that we would not have been able to [move to the US]." Harry said.

In her will, Princess Diana left both Harry and his brother, William, $8.85 million to be held in trusts until their 30th birthdays, The Telegraph reported. Harry's trust gathered interest, and he reportedly received $13.6 million when he turned 30.

Harry is also believed to have received an inheritance from the late Queen Elizabeth II, who had an estimated personal fortune of $500 million, alongside the late Queen Mother.

Prince's visa mystery

The mystery of whether Prince Harry fibbed on his immigration papers will likely remain unsolved, as a pair of federal court cases seeking to compel disclosures about the terms of his visa stalled in the months before he and wife Meghan Markle announced Wednesday they would be returning to the UK. Lawyers sued the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department in 2023 to crack open the Duke of Sussex's immigration file after Harry admitted in his memoir "Spare" to taking drugs.

Upon emigrating to the US in 2020, the black-sheep royal should have disclosed his substance abuse in a document that would have made its way to DHS. Josh Christenson

David Cameron/Seby Studio

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10

Sex-rap ex-pol phone confiscated

FBI mutes

Swal of the wild

By ZAIN KHAN and JOSH CHRISTENSON

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, the disgraced California politician accused of rape, was confronted by FBI agents at San Francisco International Airport, where they seized his electronics as part of a federal criminal probe.

Agents served Swalwell with a search warrant Saturday after he arrived in California and seized his cellphone and other electronics, a source confirmed to The Post.

Swalwell's iPhone and MacBook Pro, along with a charging cable and wall adapter, were taken at 8:25 p.m., according to an FBI search warrant.

Agents also executed additional warrants at Swalwell's Washington, DC, home Sunday, where they seized other potential evidence, the source said.

Swalwell, 45, was cooperative during the airport encounter.

The warrant says agents executed the search at 8:25 p.m. and left a copy of the warrant and an inventory of the seized property with Swalwell.

Agents took a white Apple

iPhone, along with its charging cable and wall charger, and an Apple MacBook Pro, according to the inventory. The return was signed by FBI Special Agent Kyle R. Biebesheimer, who certified under penalty of perjury that the inventory was accurate.

Four accusers

The San Francisco Standard was first to report the details of the warrant.

The investigation comes as the former California congressman faces multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including claims from a former staffer who alleged that Swalwell raped her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent.

Following four women's public accusations, Swalwell ended his front-running campaign for governor of California.

One woman has accused him of drugging her before sexually assaulting her in 2018.

Two other women alleged that he sent them unsolicited images of his genitals.

Swalwell announced his resig-

BAD CALL: Ex-Rep Eric Swalwell, facing accusations of rape, had his cell phone and other electronics grabbed by the fedsin California.

nation from Congress on April 13 amid a looming House Ethics Committee investigation looking into misconduct and sexual assault involving an employee working under his supervision. He maintains his innocence.

The Department of Justice opened an investigation into the former congressman in April. The Post has reached out to the DOJ for comment.

Swalwell was also facing scrutiny from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

He has largely stayed out of the spotlight since then, including

Monday as newly declassified records were released detailing his past interactions with the Chinese spy known as "Fang Fang."

The documents, released by the White House Transparency Task Force, show Swalwell told the FBI that he had "occasionally hooked up" with Fang.

The Post has reached out to the FBI and Swalwell for comment. Swalwell's wife, Brittany Watts, has not made any public statements herself. However, sources close to the couple reported that she was completely blindsided by the allegations and his "double life," felt deeply hurt and is currently living separately from him.

Hot seat

for Luigi 'styling'

Marc Jacobs sparked outrage after the fashion designer said he would style Luigi Mangione for his potential state trial in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Jacobs, 63, made the bold admission during a lie detector test for a Vanity Fair interview that aired Tuesday.

After the interviewer noted that the New York City-born designer's outfits had been worn by celebrities including Lil' Kim, Courtney Love and Winona Ryder at their respective trials, Jacobs was asked if he would be open to styling 28-year-old Mangione.

"Yes," said Jacobs, adding, "I think he looks pretty good the way he dresses," in response to a follow-up question about how he would style the confessed killer.

His comments sparked a huge response online, with reactions ranging from ridicule to fury.

Representatives for Mr. Jacobs did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

It comes after Mangione pleaded guilty Friday to federal stalking charges and admitted killing father-of-two healthcare CEO Thompson by shooting him outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024.

Anthony Blair

Kat ad's

new 'slice'

It's so cheesy. Gov. Hochul launched a multimillion-dollar ad blitz Wednesday touting her record while standing in a pizzeria — and kneadlessly links her Republican rival Bruce Blakeman to President Trump in the race for governor of New York.

In one 30-second campaign ad — released a week after an independent poll showed Blakeman closing in on her in the deep-blue state — Hochul stands in a Westchester pizzeria and boasts that her first job was slinging slices, while claiming her leadership has provided relief to New Yorkers.

Carl Campanile

BBQ killer pressed vic for sex: cops

The man who stabbed a 30-year-old mom to death at a Brooklyn park barbecue was enraged because she turned down his sexual advances — and carried out the horrifying attack in front of the victim's 7-year-old son, police said.

Shakeema Davis, 30, was stabbed repeatedly in the

head and body in Lincoln Terrace-Arthur S. Somers Park in Crown Heights at around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

The violence unfolded during a gathering that Davis herself had organized — and the killer had called her to learn where it was hap-

pening, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

"He shows up to the location," Kenny said. "Our eventual stabber keeps soliciting her — our victim — for sex. She keeps saying no. They're arguing.

"After she throws a drink on

him, he begins to assault her," the chief added. "She actually picks up the barbecue in an attempt to get him away ... Once he's struck with the barbecue, he pulls out a knife and stabs her three times, causing her death."

Investigators have identified a strong person of in-

terest, as well as the car he used to flee the scene, but have not yet reached probable cause to arrest him, Kenny said.

Between 15 and 20 people — including Davis' young son — were on the scene when she was killed, Kenny said. Amanda Woods

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SEN. JON OSSOFF Hurls Trump innuendos.

Pol still

'Off' his rocker

WASHINGTON — Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff doubled down on the boorish remarks he made about President Trump and his executive assistant Natalie Harp — and even gloated about the frenzy he sparked.

At a Sunday rally in the Peach State, the Democrat lawmaker quipped that the president wants to "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie," insinuating that the pair were romantically entangled.

The inappropriate joke was referencing reports that indicated that Harp was one of the few who joined Trump on his secret flight out of Turkey for the NATO summit last month amid concerns about an Iranian attack.

Conservative critics quickly accused Ossoff of peddling an offensive and sexist innuendo — but the Dem has dug in. "It's been amazing to watch this White House melt down," Ossoff relished on MS Now Wednesday. Ryan King

Open and

'shut' case

Atlanta's Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens has sparked outrage for telling a constituent to "shut up" in a bizarre response to being pressed on his policies.

Dickens lashed out at Jonathan Brimer, who responded to a video the politician shared by calling on him to expand the city's transportation network.

"Wow, a mayor telling a constituent to shut up for asking him to uphold voter mandates," Brimer said. "Stay classy Andre."

Chris Bradford

GEN Z

SUMMER SLACKERS Seasonal job clock out

By NATALIE O'NEILL

So much for scooping ice cream, if you're in Gen Z.

Only about a third of American teenagers had summer jobs this year, compared with more than half three decades ago, new research shows.

Fewer Gen Zers are donning embarrassing uniforms to work for peanuts in the heat, with just 35.5% of 16- to 19-year-olds holding gigs this summer, according to the Pew Research Center.

By contrast, more than half of teens had summer jobs in 1996, according to the researchers, who analyzed federal unemployment numbers.

More opting for classes

Still, the amount of teens with jobs in June and July was up a couple of percentage points from last year's 33.8% — with roughly 19,500 more teens working, the data show.

Economists blamed the overall summer-job slump on the fact that there are fewer low-skill, entry-level jobs than in past decades, according to the report.

More teens are also taking high-school and college classes over the summer instead of suffering through the sweaty, character-building gigs, they said.

This summer, most teens worked food-service jobs, followed by jobs in the sales and transportation trades, according to the data.

Teen summer employment has shrunk dramatically over the past quarter century — especially after the dot-com bust and during the Great Recession of 2008, researchers said.

During the pandemic in summer 2020, the teen employment rate dropped to 30.8% as stores and restaurants shuttered.

Data from the past roughly 50 years show the most teenagers worked in the summer of 1978 with 58% holding jobs.

Margaret lets

the 'Dogs' out

AP Photo/Millie Turner

Margaret Qualley hit the red carpet at the "Dog Stars" London premiere in head-to-almost-toe Chanel Thursday. The 31-year-old actress turned heads with her choice of heelwear — Chanel's "barefoot cap heel" flats, which leave feet entirely exposed except for the heel. The unusual shoes made a runway debut in April to widespread mockery, with Elle calling the concept "flat-out subversive." Qualley — in a V-neck, fringed black Chanel gown — and Jacob Elordi co-star in "Dog Stars," a post-apocalyptic movie due out Aug. 28.

11

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12

THE PINK ARMY'S

OUTSIDE Plymouth Superior Court in Massachusetts this week, Americans are witnessing something resembling a mass psychosis event.

Hundreds of women have assembled to support Lindsay Clancy, the mother on trial for murdering her three young children. Clancy does not deny killing 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan with her own hands.

Her defense argues that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and therefore cannot be held criminally responsible.

The women outside the courthouse, holding babies while cheering for Clancy, have no such excuse. Unless, that is, we want to talk about what social media has done to women's ability to process tragedy, assign responsibility and distinguish between victim and perpetrator.

Victimhood amok

Imagine the conversation at home as Mom puts on pink and heads off to spend the day with hundreds of other women cheering as members of Clancy's defense team drive past.

"Mom, who's the woman you're making heart hands at?"

"A woman who strangled her three children!"

For the families of these women, alarm bells should be ringing. For the rest of us, it's worth asking how we reached a cultural moment in which the woman who killed three children has somehow become a more compelling victim than the children themselves.

Some of Clancy's supporters aren't coming to rally for her alone; they're bringing their own kids along.

Those children look at their mothers the way children always have: as the person charged above all others with loving, protecting and caring for them.

The last image Cora, Dawson and Callan saw was that person violently taking their lives.

Whatever Clancy's mental state, that is the horror at the center of this case.

Yet somehow the three dead children have receded into the

Madness of rooting for a killer

background — while an online community obsesses over the suffering of the woman who killed them.

She's no folk hero

There are serious questions to ask about postpartum psychosis, psychiatric medication and the medical care Clancy received before the murders.

Her mental state is central to the criminal case, and a jury will decide whether it absolves her of legal responsibility.

But compassion for mental illness does not require turning a woman who killed three children into a folk hero.

Clancy's supporters insist that "the system failed her," a phrase that conveniently transfers agency from an individual to an amorphous collection of individuals and institutions. But by every available account, Clancy had extraordinary support.

She saw multiple medical providers who prescribed and adjusted psychiatric medications.

Both sets of grandparents were involved. The family used daycare and a nanny. Her husband took months of paternity leave and later worked from home so he could help his struggling wife.

Then, on the day her children died, Clancy asked her husband, Patrick, to leave the house to pick up dinner and medication. While he was gone, she killed all three of their children.

The women standing outside the courthouse have inexplicably assigned Patrick as the villain of the story. There is something especially strange about watching women who consider themselves feminists embrace Lindsay

Clancy. Women have spent generations demanding to be treated as full moral actors: capable of making decisions, accepting consequences, holding positions of authority and being judged by the same standards as men. Yet confronted with a woman who committed one of the most horrific acts imaginable, suddenly agency becomes negotiable.

A woman can run a corporation, command soldiers, perform surgery, raise children and lead a country — but when she commits an atrocity, an army of women materializes to explain that "the system" did it to her.

Loss of morality

Cora, Dawson and Callan cannot tell us what happened in their home that night. They cannot explain their fear or ask strangers to remember them.

They cannot organize rallies, make TikTok or wear matching colors. Their mother has an entire movement doing that for her.

And it's worth noting that she's not asking them to stop or to shift their sympathies to the children she killed.

A culture that extends compassion to a mentally ill woman while forgetting the three children she murdered has not become more empathetic; it has lost all sense of morality.

When mothers gather outside a courthouse with their own children in their arms to cheer for a mother who strangled hers, perhaps the most disturbing question isn't what happened to Lindsay Clancy's mind.

It's what has happened to ours. Bethany Mandel writes and podcasts at The Mom Wars.

By PRISCILLA DEGREGORY

Hundreds of women dressed in pink turned up outside a Massachusetts courthouse Thursday in support of Lindsay Clancy — whose heart-wrenching triple murder trial has sparked discussion over maternal health care across the country.

Many of the demonstrators — wearing supportive buttons and shirts that read "Peace for Lindsay" and "Justice for Lindsay" — erupted into applause and cheers as the 36-year-old mother's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, arrived at court Thursday.

"We love you Kevin," one said, as another yelled, "Reddington is fighting for women's rights."

Reddington has argued Clancy was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis and hearing voices when she used elastic exercise bands to strangle Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan before she tried to kill herself in their Duxbury, Mass.,

---

CLANCY INVASION

Back troubled ma who killed 3 kids

home on Jan. 24, 2023.

The case has garnered national attention, leading Clancy to gain a loyal army of supporters who sympathize with the mother and her postpartum mental health struggles.

Viral conversations

Women have opened up online about their own experiences with postpartum — while others have spread wild and unfounded conspiracy theories suggesting Clancy's then-husband, Patrick Clancy, carried out the heinous acts and framed her for it.

Hayden Panettier's death over the weekend and her openness about her past struggles with postpartum have also fed into the online discourse about the condition.

Renee Kimball, the advocate who organized the rally, trusted that Reddington was fighting for Clancy.

"It's important that we just be still, have a moment of silence and

know that God is working through us for Lindsay and for the rest of the world that are going through similar things she is going through," she said.

April Vincent, a 52-year-old paralegal who traveled to the Plymouth, Mass., courthouse from Providence, RI, said: "Women are being dismissed, neglected and ignored when we speak up."

"We're scared because nobody takes us seriously. Nobody wants to hear us and really we just need to be heard. I've been dismissed plenty of times," she added.

At one point during the rally, supporters formed a prayer circle and made hearts with their hands that they lifted into the air. Some of the allies flew flags from other countries, an apparent show of global support for Clancy.

Moms also brought their own children to the demonstration — and some supporters were even seen donning pink in the courtroom.

One retired nurse, Jeanne Zabor-

ski, 72, said she hoped Clancy's case would shine a light on postpartum health.

"It's very sad," said Zaborski. "I am a mother. I am a grandmother. I have a sister who had problems after birth and it's just very sad. I hope Lindsay gets the care she needs and deserves and other women will come together like we did today."

Desperate struggle

Leading up to the killings, Clancy sought help from a psychiatrist, called a suicide hotline twice, checked herself into a mental institution for five days and tried many psychiatric medications to help her deal with crippling insomnia, anxiety, depression and intrusive thoughts, according to testimony.

During that time, the mother had been given 30 prescriptions for 13 medications and had six of those in her blood after the deaths, jurors were told.

SHOW OF SUPPORT: A crowd of women, including Page Rayner (bottom left), gathers Thursday outside a Massachusetts courthouse where Lindsay Clancy (right) is on trial for killing her three children, Cora, Dawson and baby Callan (above). Clancy's lawyers have argued that she suffered from postpartum depression before the killings.

But prosecutors have claimed that Clancy carefully planned the murders and wasn't suffering from psychosis at the time.

The trial has been unfolding over the past four weeks with jurors hearing from roughly 80 witnesses.

Reddington revealed to reporters on his way into court Thursday the toll the grueling trial has taken on Clancy — who has cried during multiple days of testimony.

"She is so beat up and just so sad," Reddington said in a Fox News video, noting the supporters "will really help her out, I think."

Reddington also said he hopes her case brings attention to problems with the healthcare industry generally and specifically with mental health care.

"A woman is going through what so many people do, and they go to a doctor and they give them this pill and give them that pill, treat them for 15, 20 minutes and send them on their way. It's just not right," Reddington said.

Before the trial began Thursday, the jurors were questioned one by one at sidebar by the judge. It was unclear what they were being asked and what the outcome of the inquiry was.

Jurors heard briefly from one witness, Sheila Cavanaugh, a chaplain who has met with Clancy over 200 times since the killings, before court was adjourned for the day.

She testified that Clancy told her just days after the killings that she was "glad my children are safe."

Closing arguments could be delivered as soon as Monday.

With Wires

13

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14

Not the end of the world

WHAT DOES IT AMOUNT TO?

The national debt equals $117,000 for each person in the nation. Other heavyweight and impossibly tall graphic comparisons are illustrated at right.

$40T in gold would be 276,000 metric tons, more than the 212,000 metric tons of gold mined in history. Equivalent to the weight of more than 1,800 adult blue whales

$40T debt won't kill economy

$117,000 for every man, woman and child in the US

NY Post Design

IF you're worrying about a pending fiscal Armageddon over the country's debt, it's time to waste your cortisol spikes on something else.

True, the country hit a couple of seemingly scary milestones this week that no one really wants to brag about: A total debt load of $40 trillion and interest rates spiking to levels not seen in two decades.

Interest rates on the 30-year bond are well above 5%, and those on the 10-year seemingly heading toward the dangerous

5% marker.

On its face, the debt situation appears pretty bad. The US can't stop spending (neither side, Democrats or Republicans, seem interested in entitlement reform) and buyers of our debt want a higher interest or risk premium "yield" to be compensated for government profligacy.

The higher yields suggest inflation is about to spike as well. Bonds are long-term fixed-income investments, meaning they get hit hardest when inflation eats away at their principal.

The Iran war is stoking higher gas prices; Trump's tariff schemes don't help. As one top bond investor told me: "Given what's going on, [the spike in yield] underestimates" the problem.

The doom-and-gloom scenario is that the US is facing a debt crisis, one that will spur crippling interest-rate hikes and a massive sell-off in stocks.

But sources tell me that's unlikely.

No fan of deficits

For the record, I'm no fan of deficits, particularly ones that run more than 100% of GDP. In theory, there's only so much capital to go around. The people with the money — foreign investors (aka the Chinese), hedge funds, US pensions — can't keep buying our debt forever.

And Uncle Sam now competes with Open AI, Anthropic and every tech company involved in the

AI rollout for financing. There are other places to park your money.

Meanwhile, who wants the Chinese to own so much of our debt and have the ability to press the sell button and send rates soaring?

On the other hand, it's exactly because of AI and those investment options that our economy is humming along. The United States is still an innovator.

Plus I'm not convinced — and neither are my market sources, people like my "Risk and Return" podcast partner Bob Sloan of S3 Partners — that long yields are historically high.

They may be the highest since 2007. But go back a bit further, say to 2002, and both the 10-year and 30-year were trading in the same range.

And yet the debt at the time was just $6.41 trillion; we basically had a balanced budget. Our debt-to-GDP ratio was half of what it is today, around 57%. So bond yields then weren't an indicator of economic disaster.

The Chinese could sell all their holdings of US treasuries, but they bought them for a reason: The dollar is still the world's reserve currency. Selling them would cause massive losses, not just their holdings, but to worldwide markets, hurting China's export-driven economy.

The government needs to make smarter choices, that's certain. In the meantime, though, don't panic. A $40 trillion debt is nothing to crow about. But at the end of the day, it's a figure, not a harbinger.

$550K for dangling ride duo

Two Oregon teens who were among 28 people left dangling upside down on a broken-down amusement-park thrill ride were awarded a combined $550,000 as compensation for the traumatic event.

Xitlali Gomez-Salais and Evie Yannotta, who were just 13 and 14 at the time,

both feared they would fall 100 feet to their deaths when they got stuck on the pendulum swing ride AtmosFEAR at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland in June 2024, the Oregonian reported.

Nine people filed lawsuits against the park — with seven people settling, all for

different amounts.

A jury ruled Wednesday that Gomez-Salais and Yannotta, both now 16, should be awarded $275,000 each after the pair had sued the park and the ride's manufacturer Zamperla for $2 million.

More than 900,000 people visit Oaks every year. Chris Bradford

Missing hiker's body found

An 18-year-old Australian hiker was found dead eight days after she vanished during a solo trip.

Lily Hooper was last seen leaving her Oakdale, New South Wales, home last Wednesday ahead of a hike at the Nattai National Park some 60 miles away but failed to return home that

night, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Hooper's Hyundai was found at the bottom of one of the protected area's more challenging trails at 11 p.m., an hour after her family reported her missing.

Around 1,000 people — including volunteers, law enforcement and military

personnel — searched for Hooper over the past week before her body was found Thursday.

It's not clear how Hooper died and if she was injured.

"[Her body] . . . was some significant distance away from where the vehicle was parked," police said.

Chris Bradford

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From a building, watermelon/2020

Oct. 7 survivors tie the knot

LOVE IS THEIR VICTORY

By CHRIS NESI

Mazel tov!

An Israeli couple separated by Hamas for more than a year following the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack have gotten married, closing one dark chapter in their lives as they turn the page to a bright future.

Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud, who were attending the Nova Music Festival when the Iran-backed terror group launched their cowardly attack, tied the knot Wednesday at Ronit Farm in Israel in front of 1,000 jubilant guests.

The couple arrived at the festival the day of the attack with Ziv's nephew, Amit Ben Avida, and his girlfriend, Karin Schwarzman, and fled to a roadside shelter on Route 232 along with dozens of others who sought refuge when the bullets started flying.

Avida and Schwarzman were among the 17 people murdered inside the shelter, which came to be known as the "shelter of death."

Abud hid among the dead bodies to evade capture, but Cohen was snatched by Hamas along with two other hostages — including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was executed by Hamas terrorists in August 2024.

Many months in hell

Cohen was held captive in Gaza for 505 days, enduring being chained, tortured, starved, burned and hung by his feet — all while suffering from an untreated bullet wound from the attack on the festival, where 370 innocent Israelis were slaughtered by Hamas gunmen and dozens were taken hostage.

Gruesome video released last June showed Cohen covered in

blood in the bed of a white truck as the terrorists gleefully brandished their weapons and celebrated the capture of festivalgoers.

"[The terrorists] started taking people out, including Cohen, and then the shooting began. A lot of people fell on top of me and basically saved me. Only after three hours did I dare to get up, and then I saw Amit and Karin dead," Ziv recalled to Ynet Global.

"I looked for Eliya and couldn't find him. I thought they had murdered him, and only later did I see on Telegram the video showing that he had been abducted alive to Gaza."

He was finally released in February 2025.

After Cohen's abduction, Abud learned he had been planning to pop the question.

"His mother told me he had bought a ring — and told everyone except me. He wanted to surprise me."

WEDDED BLISS: Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud celebrate their marriage in Israel. Cohen was held 505 days by Hamas. Abud, who survived the 2023 massacre, holds a poster (right) urging his release.

15

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16

New York Post, Friday, August 21, 2026

By JARED DOWNING

Karmelo Anthony's ex-girlfriend reported that he was stalking her hours before he stabbed Austin Metcalf — and he had threatening and violent texts on his phone, the prosecutor revealed at Anthony's appeal hearing Thursday.

The jury never heard about Anthony's disturbing history, or about Metcalf's juvenile criminal record because of a "gentleman's agreement" with the 19-year-old's defense ahead of his murder trial, Collin County Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye revealed.

He told the court Anthony's high school girlfriend confided to an assistant principal on April 2, 2025 that Anthony was stalking her after a breakup, and that he was obsessed with fights, guns and knives, according to local outlets at the hearing.

Anthony also sent a picture of the knife and told his ex-girlfriend, "I'm low key on the verge," Wirskye said.

"He was spiraling," the prosecutor added.

A few hours later, Anthony stabbed Metcalf to death under a tent at a track meet at a high school.

In exchange for prosecutors not using that evidence in court, the defense lawyers agreed not to bring up victim Austin Metcalf's juvenile criminal history, which included graffiti that included "vile racist stuff."

'Stick to the facts'

"I offered the agreement," Wirskye said, according to WFAA-TV. "Let's stay away from historical character and stick to the facts — what happened under the tent."

The agreement was meant to keep the publicly fraught trial from becoming an even more volatile racial tinderbox, he said.

Anthony was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison — but he is appealing the conviction.

In a legal victory for Anthony, the judge who presided over his trial was removed from the appeal on Wednesday. Retired District Court Judge Michael Chitty was then assigned to consider the motion from Anthony's attorneys

Talarico race-case hit

Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico took heat Thursday for suggesting teen killer Karmelo Anthony's murder conviction was unjust because there were no black jurors at his trial.

Talarico — who is seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988 — was asked about the high-profile case during an appearance on "The Breakfast Club" radio show earlier this month and seemingly argued that Anthony's con-

Sent to ex hours before slay

asking for a retrial.

Anthony's attorneys had asked for Judge John Roach to be removed in part because of a TV interview in which Roach said jurors "got it right" when they delivered a guilty verdict.

In his opening statement at the retrial hearing, defense attorney Russell Wilson claimed Roach ran "a shadow docket," WFAA reported.

He argued the June proceedings were marred by strict courtroom rules and improper jury instructions.

viction was proof the justice system "is not working for black Texans."

Talarico was accused by conservatives of siding with Austin Metcalf's killer, as well as pandering to black voters. "Karmelo Anthony was a violent criminal who killed Austin Metcalf in cold blood," Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton wrote on X.

Talarico's campaign did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. Victor Nava

Anthony's team has said his decision to not testify came after a dispute with prosecutors over an agreement to focus the trial on the events leading up to the stabbing.

As national attention on the killing intensified last year, the families of both Metcalf and Anthony said they had been targets of harassment.

Several schools were competing at the track event when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others

had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: "Touch me and see what happens," according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

Tex. pol's take on God

"God is not a Christian," according to a sermon Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico once delivered as part of a fiery rebuke of conservatives whom the Democrat accused of trying to transform America into a "Christian theocracy."

Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and Texas state legislator, admitted in his 2023 sermon that he is sometimes reluctant to share his faith, while warning, "There is a cancer on our religion."

"God is so much bigger than our

human categories. God is not a Presbyterian. God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb. God is not a being," Talarico told a congregation in Austin.

"That's why Jesus is against anything that gets in the way of that love between neighbors, including religion. That's why he's always breaking religious rules," he added. "That's why he says sinners will see the kingdom of heaven before religious people do."

Ryan King

Pundit as possible WH flack

WASHINGTON — CNN pundit Scott Jennings has become Washington's most talked-about contender to replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary, but some of President Trump's fiercest allies are trying to derail Jennings over his longstanding ties to Sen. Mitch McConnell, The Post has learned.

"It's not going to be him," one person close to the administration insisted.

Weeks before Leavitt announced her departure effective at the end of this month, Jennings, 48, boasted of his decades-long bond with McConnell (R-Ky.), who opposes many of Trump's second-term legislative priorities and whom the president has mocked as an "Old Crow."

Jennings gushed last month that McConnell was "my mentor" and "changed the trajectory of my life."

MAGA sources noted Jennings' commentary about Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot aligned with McConnell's assessment that Trump was "practically and morally responsible" for the violence.

In an op-ed, Jennings said "Trump caused this insurrection with his lies and conspiracy theories" about the "rigged" election.

Emily Goodin

Prior raps on 'cyclists killer'

The North Carolina senior accused of fatally striking two college cyclists with his car and injuring five others made no effort to avoid the deadly crash — and has an extensive criminal history, including a DUI, arrest documents reveal.

John Benfield, 69, was arrested Wednesday after running his 2003 Subaru Baja Sport into a group of 11 Milligan University cyclists at 9 a.m. in Hampton, Tenn.

A criminal complaint said Benfield made no effort to avoid the collision and his car had a marijuana smell.

Records also noted three traffic busts for him in Florida, including a DUI, and at least seven busts in North Carolina. Chris Nesi

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18

Shucks! Corn ruined

Attack on kids' project

By KATHERINE DONLEVY

Ear today, gone tomorrow. A callous monster uprooted a crop of cornstalks planted on an Upper East Side sidewalk cutout by preschoolers who had been tending to the plot for months.

The tots at Mis Amiguitos Spanish Montessori were just weeks from harvesting the corn when a still-unidentified brute ravaged the garden Monday and tossed the spoils into a trash can for devastated students to find.

"Everyone was in shock. One of the girls started crying, asking why the corn she had planted was cut down. It was really sad," said Mily Caballero, the CEO and owner of the school.

The mystery monster rolled up in front of the York Avenue school on a Citi Bike Monday morning, seemingly stopping in his tracks at the site of the stalks, surveillance footage obtained by Fox 5 shows.

He then began tearing them from the dirt and tossing them in a trash bag that he ultimately dumped in a nearby bin, leaving behind the ravaged plot.

'Heartbreaking'

"It was like I was watching a massacre. It was just heartbreaking," Caballero said of the footage.

The incident was being investigated as an act of criminal mischief, the NYPD said. A suspect wasn't immediately identified.

The budding farmers, between

STALKER: Footage reveals a cold-hearted vandal (above) ripping out cornstalks planted on an Upper East Side sidewalk cutout and tended by young kids (below) from Mis Amiguitos Spanish Montessori school.

the ages of 4 and 8, had been diligently tending to the plot all summer after planting the corn seeds in April and had already staved off two other attacks by garden goons. Assailants previously stole guardrails for which the school spent $1,000 to erect around the garden, and stamped out some of the flowers in what Caballero described as a "violation" of the green space.

Whether the same man is responsible for all three attacks was unknown, but Caballero warned

that it was "the last straw."

Mis Amiguitos purchased a series of cameras in case the vandal returns so the school can have a clear picture of their faces.

The students had been looking forward to reaping the benefits of their hard work in September, when they planned to harvest the cornstalks and paint them as classroom decorations.

The school previously successfully planted other gardens in the plot since 2021, including pump-

kins and sunflowers that had been left untouched before the vandalism that sprouted this year.

"It's their pride and joy to just go out there every evening and sometimes even in the mornings to water the plants that they take care of," said Caballero, adding that it brought joy to the neighborhood.

But the incident does not mean the end of the school's farming, Caballero promised. The students are already brainstorming what their next crop will be.

City, developers settle Nolita park suit

The 13-year battle over Elizabeth Street Garden is officially over now that a judge has signed off on a deal ending the final lawsuit over the contested city-owned land.

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court this week, Judge Lyle E. Frank inked his signature on court docs officially dis-

missing the case after City Hall and miffed developers announced a settlement to end their legal battle.

Developers sued the city after then-Mayor Eric Adams designated the beloved Nolita green space as parkland just weeks before he left office at the end of last year.

The developers blasted as "lawless" the city's move effectively killing the more-than-a-decade-old plan to build a 123-unit affordable-housing development for seniors on the site.

While Mayor Mamdani on the campaign trail pledged to bulldoze the site, he admitted last week

the parkland designation made it nearly impossible to proceed with the development.

The settlement between the city and developers Penrose, Habitat for Humanity and Riseboro offered another city-owned lot, 22 Suffolk Street, where officials said 180 affordable homes would be built.

That marks the final word on a series of long legal dramas over plans first pitched by former City Council lawmaker Margaret Chin in 2013 to raze the 20,000-square-foot sculpture garden for housing — with the state's highest court ruling in favor of the proposal in 2024.

Peter Senzamici

B'klyn granny missing

The anguished family of a Brooklyn grandmother who went missing two weeks ago on a trip to Las Vegas has taken desperate measures to locate her, including checking local morgues for her body.

Alisa Goods, 63, was in town visiting a longtime friend when she left his apartment near the Las Vegas Strip the afternoon of Aug. 8 to pick up a few items at a CVS pharmacy and hasn't been seen since.

Las Vegas Metro Police now consider her disappearance a missing-person case, and have conducted a search within a 20-mile radius of her last known location near East Flamingo and Paradise roads.

"I'm extremely worried," her daughter, Kristen, who flew into town from New Jersey hoping to find her missing mother, told Fox 5 Vegas.

"We have checked hospitals," Kristen said. "We have checked morgues."

Goods' concerned friend, who police said is not a suspect in her disappearance, has been posting flyers with her picture around the area where she vanished.

The family said Goods had recently undergone several leg surgeries, which would make it impossible for her to get far on foot.

Chris Nesi

17-yr.-old shot dead

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the head and killed in Brooklyn Wednesday evening — and soon grieving loved ones gathered in the area to mourn his death and play gospel music.

Ahmir Jordan took a bullet to the head around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday outside an East New York business on New Lots Avenue, police said.

The teen was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the NYPD.

A neighbor who has lived in the area for 12 years said it has "been years" since someone was shot in the neighborhood.

The investigation remains ongoing. Marie Pohl

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Mown & grown over home

Page Six®

Ian Mohr

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Oli Coleman ocoleman@nypost.com Mara Siegler msiegler@nypost.com Carlos Greer cgreer@nypost.com

Running assist

WANT to wrestle a rapper and get paid for it? A job ad popped up seeking a '24/7' assistant for a demanding musician described only as a 'celebrity hip hop/pop entertainer' in Calabasas, Calif. The unnamed star is looking for someone to, among many, many other things: manage 'housekeepers, gardeners, masseuses, mani/pedi, hair groomer, and wardrobe stylist'; 'make sure celebrity receives meals from personal chef'; and 'communicate with teachers on homework' for the person's kids. It also requires that the successful candidate 'exercise with the Celebrity [during] gym [sessions]/runs/MMA/hot yoga.' Talk about punching the clock! It doesn't list a salary.

Love for Krums

CALL it a Krum-back! After dramatically claiming to quit Hollywood, 'Oppenheimer' actor David Krumholtz is ... clarifying ... his remarks. Krumholtz (above) said online Wednesday that he'd had it with Tinseltown, saying actors don't get 'fair pay.' Then yesterday, he went back online to say he 'never used the word retiring' or 'quitting' but that he only 'decided to put my career on hold.' 'Firstly, I am very well. And I feel very loved,' he wrote. 'The outpouring of support for my decision has been deeply heartwarming.' The best is yet to Krum!

HYSTERIA over wisteria! Cookbook author Sandra Lee visited the Westchester County home she once shared with her onetime boyfriend, onetime Gov. Andrew Cuomo — to publicly roast its current owners over their 'lazy' and 'tragic' landscaping.

And it's not even the first time she's pulled the stunt.

Lee is facing backlash over an Instagram post she made this week about her former estate, known as Lily Pond, which she sold in 2020 for $1.85 million. 'Makes me sick! So not cool — I can't even imagine what the inside looks like,' Lee captioned the video, showing what appeared to be a mostly pristine lawn

with minimal overgrowth. But apparently Lee is no fan of an unkempt bush and saw botanical catastrophe.

In the clip, she complains that the lily pads and wisteria are 'overgrown.' She shows a pine with a branch missing, most likely due to recent storms, and calls it a 'tree half cut off.' She films what appears to be a freshly mowed lawn and laments dramatically. 'It's awful. It makes me so sad. Look at this disaster. I can't believe it.'

Bizarrely, she says 'you can't even see the boxwood,' despite a number of large boxwoods being clearly — even prominently — visible. Lee has now deleted the video after many

called her out for publicly criticizing the homeowners, not to mention trespassing on their grounds and lawn — which Page Six thinks, for the record, looks great!

Lee moved to Los Angeles following her split from Cuomo in September 2019. She also purchased a home in Lake Balboa, Calif.

A source told Page Six in 2023 that Lee was angling to buy back the house, when she first stomped her way onto her former property along with paparazzi agency Splash News.

A source close to the 'Semi Homemade' author told Page Six at the time that Lee was 'sobbing' and 'visibly shaken' over what she believed were the 'ruins' of her landscaping work.

Scrubbed image

NEUTROGENA apologized to Hayden Panettiere — days after her tragic death — for nixing her contract in 2015 while she was in the throes of postpartum depression. In a statement posted yesterday, the beauty brand said they 'understand that we made her feel unsupported during a very difficult time.' The company claimed it will be 'making a significant investment to a long-standing community health partner to help give more women access to the support they need, including care for postpartum depression.' Panettiere claimed in her memoir, 'This Is Me: A Reckoning,' which came out in May, that Neutrogena 'canceled my long-standing contract' in 2015 over her allegedly breaking a morality clause when she discussed PPD on a talk show. The actress signed with the brand in 2005, when she was about 16. She died Sunday of an apparent overdose at 36. News of her death prompted fans to call for a boycott of Neutrogena, with many filling the brand's social media pages with comments calling out its treatment of a 'suffering' Panettiere.

Clean comedian

ANNA Faris revealed she 'stopped drinking' in a new interview. The 'Scary Movie' star shared on Chelsea Handler's podcast yesterday that she stopped feeling 'ungracious' for her career as a comedic actress 'only in the last year,' when she realized that 'when people recognize me, they would usually smile ... thinking about something f--king stupid I did onscreen.' Handler asked whether that was because she 'stopped drinking,' and Faris (above) agreed: 'Turns out there's a correlation between drinking and depression for me for sure. I had to take a step back to not self-sabotage.' Faris notably starred as a recovering alcoholic on the award-winning sitcom 'Mom' from 2013 to 2021. Her rep didn't get back to us.

Perez OK'd to visit his kids

PEREZ Hilton has been granted supervised visitation with his three children after he livestreamed a self-harm incident earlier this month. According to documents obtained by TMZ, the visits must be supervised by a therapist or a family member 'agreed upon by both sides.' A judge also officially granted Hilton's mother, Teresita Lavandeira, temporary custody of the gossip blogger's children. TMZ reported that the media personality, who is noted as the children's 'only legal parent,' has consented to the current caregiving arrangement. Lavandeira will now oversee their school matters, including where they're enrolled, as well as medical care and other decisions in relation to their needs. The matriarch filed for temporary custody of Mario, 13, Mia, 11, and Mayte, 8, on Aug. 7. Three days earlier, Hilton had gone live on TikTok as he injured himself on camera amid a mental health crisis. His sister found him covered in blood in his Miami home, where he was treated for 'multiple lacerations and an overdose' and sent to a hospital. The custody case has been sealed for the benefit of the children, per the judge's orders, according to TMZ.

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MELANIA: HERE I AM!

By EMILY GOODIN

WASHINGTON — With eight simple words Thursday, First Lady Melania Trump defused a whole news cycle's worth of stories claiming she has vanished from her husband's administration.

"I heard you missed me," she said alongside President Trump at a Rose Garden event for her "Fostering the Future" initiative.

"Here I am," she added to laughter and applause from attendees.

Thursday marked the first public event in a month for Melania, who has spent most of the summer at the president's golf club in Bedminster, NJ, in order to spend more time with her son, Barron, who is on summer break from NYU — and get away from the construction noise that can be heard daily around the White House complex as crews race to finish a new helipad and the controversial ballroom.

The first lady will be in Washington through the weekend to take part in festivities surrounding the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix, during which drivers will race through the streets of the nation's

MELANIA TRUMP Back at the White House.

capital at speeds of up to 190 mph. Before the green flag drops, the president and first lady will take part in a lap of honor around the race route, which begins and ends at the Capitol and winds around the National Mall and DC's historic landmarks.

$2M scholarships

To kick off race weekend, IndyCar and its broadcast partner Fox Sports announced a $2 million donation to establish scholarships for foster kids at Indiana University and Purdue University.

"The greatest investment America can make is

not in technology, infrastructure or capital markets — it's our children," Melania said.

"America's greatest competitive advantage remains in its own people. Tomorrow's leaders are sitting in classrooms today, including those growing up in foster care. Their capability is no less remarkable."

The first lady dressed patriotically for the occasion, donning a bright red Dior pencil skirt and an oversized sky-blue shirt by Michael Kors.

Thursday's donation makes Indiana and Purdue the 25th and 26th US universities to offer scholarships to foster children.

"Fostering the Future," part of the first lady's overall "Be Best" initiative, works to improve the well-being, education and digital safety of foster kids.

Melania has also arranged for foster children to receive Trump Savings Accounts and hosted a summit of spouses of heads of government from around the world to discuss children's issues.

She has also lobbied Congress to allocate more resources to foster children — a measure that has passed the House but still needs approval by the Senate.

Tex. splash landing

A Texas woman watched in horror as an Amazon delivery drone dropped her package directly into her pool — one day after the retail giant announced plans to roll out the ultrafast air delivery services to 500 US cities by the end of the year.

Amazon shopper Lindsey Austen received an alert on Monday that her package was out for delivery by the retail giant's Prime Air program, according to Storyful.

The Richmond resident then heard the drone's loud buzzing noise and raced outside to watch the newly rolled-out drone delivery

service drop off her package. Instead, Austen was left stunned as the drone opened its hatch and dropped the package straight into her pool, which was caught on video.

"I don't think I'll be wanting any more drone deliveries," Austen said. It's unclear what was inside the now waterlogged parcel.

The video of the drone delivery mega-fail went viral Thursday.

The ultrafast drone delivery service has already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages this year. Ella Morrison with Wires

Kissinger's widow dies

Nancy Kissinger, the wife of late former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, reportedly died Thursday at her home in South Kent, Conn. She was 92.

Kissinger's death, citing an announcement by her family, was first reported by The New York Times.

Though never officially a US diplomat, Kissinger frequently accompanied her husband on diplomatic missions to Russia, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Her husband died in November 2023 at the age of 100. Victor Nava

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A boatload of relief

Swap ends Abe crew's long deploy

By RYAN KING

WASHINGTON — The USS George Washington has arrived in the Arabian Sea to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln from the longest American naval deployment since the Cold War.

US Central Command confirmed that the Washington, which is typically based near Japan, arrived in the Middle East Wednesday.

The Lincoln and its crew of 5,000 will now head home to San Diego after its grueling, nearly-nine-month deployment that saw reports of weary sailors attempting to jump overboard.

The nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier's deployment had been extended multiple times because of the Iran war.

During the deployment, sailors were forced to grapple with mental-health challenges and dwindling supplies of food and hygiene products.

Supplies bombed

The supply crunch is largely believed to have stemmed from Iran blowing up a Navy base in Bahrain that had been an important supply station for the vessel.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of CENTCOM, had visited the carrier last Saturday and conceded that the sailors on board were "tired."

"Godspeed and enjoy the well-deserved reunion soon," he wrote in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal after the visit.

Democrats and other critics of

WAVE GOODBYE: The USS Abraham Lincoln can finally return to the US after a nine-month deployment in the Arabian Sea supporting the Iran war.

President Trump had highlighted the plight of the sailors aboard the Abraham Lincoln.

At the moment, the Navy is thought to have an estimated 20

warships in the Middle East; aircraft carrier strike groups, including the USS George HW Bush, multiple destroyers and an amphibious "ready" group.

Bessent's ultimatum to allies

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told America's allies Thursday that "you are either with us or against us" as he prepares to announce tough new sanctions against Iran — pledging "we are going to collapse this regime."

Bessent, 63, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that the Trump administration will use secondary sanctions to penalize countries and companies that continue to do business with Tehran, predicting that further "large-scale" military operations would not be needed.

"If you insist on doing business with them — either transferring money, buying their oil, doing seaborne ship transfers — then the US Treasury and the US government will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you," he said.

"It is time for our allies ... to make a decision, and we are going to squash [Iran's] economy." Steven Nelson

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Newlywed singer Dua Lipa jumps for joy during a holiday boat day with her siblings, brother Gjin Lipa and sister Rina Lipa, in Ibiza.

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Crackdown on 'fraudster families'

They're a shady bunch. A California family that swindled $18 million in COVID-19 relief cash to splurge on various trappings — including a Harley-Davidson, diamonds and luxury homes — inspired a Senate crackdown on so-

called 'fraudster families.' Two of the family members, Richard Ayvazyan and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, cut off their ankle bracelets and ditched their three children via a good-bye note to flee the US after being convicted on fraud

charges before being caught in Montenegro. Years later, the saga inspired Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has led the Senate DOGE Caucus, to push for legislation cutting off so-called 'fraud families' from government aid.

The No Cash for Cohabitating Kins of Crooks Act bars individuals who live with convicted criminals or fraudsters cut off from federal grants, loans, sub-awards or reimbursements from getting that money. Ryan King

RECORD TERM IS OVER

Inmate dies at 101

By PATRICK REILLY

A convicted murderer believed to be the longest-serving inmate in US history has died just months before his 102nd birthday — after escaping the death penalty eight times while maintaining his innocence.

Francis Clifford Smith (inset) was just 25 when he was first sentenced to death for gunning down Grover Hart, a 68-year-old married father and Connecticut yacht club night watchman, during an attempted robbery on July 23, 1949.

Over the next 76 years, Smith was supposed to have his last meal eight times — but was spared the electric chair each time, according to the Boston Globe.

He was believed to be the oldest inmate in the US when he died in his sleep in late June at 60 West, a secured Connecticut nursing facility that cares for older people in the justice system, the facility revealed. The 101-year-old convict was cremated without a funeral.

Died of old age

'Essentially, he died of old age,' 60 West spokesman David Skoczulek told the BBC. 'He had very limited family involvement around his passing but we assured it was appropriate, met his wishes and was dignified.'

Smith died while still maintaining his innocence, friends confirmed to the BBC.

'I'm in here on no evidence at all,' he had told the Globe in 2023.

His claims — and doubts

from key witnesses — led to repeated plans to execute him being scrapped, often at the last moment.

Most dramatically, before his eighth planned execution, the officer who arrested Smith burst into a Board of Pardons meeting to say he believed Smith did not kill Hart.

'I'm not even sure he was present at the murder,' Major Leo Carroll claimed, according to the Boston Globe.

Case 'holes'

A key witness tying Smith to the crime did that in exchange for a plea deal, according to the Globe.

Other witnesses recanted their testimony later — and another man serving time for a different crime claimed he killed Hart.

Smith's death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1954.

Still, he served 76 years in jail, save for three short stints of freedom, including 12 days on the run when he escaped in 1967.

He was also granted parole in 1975 — but only lasted 10 months before he was hauled back inside for a parole violation after being busted for petty larceny with a weapon.

He rejected several attempts to go back on parole, until 2020, when he agreed to go to the care home where he died.

'He was 101 and a half,' Andrius Banevicius, a Connecticut corrections spokesman told the BBC.

'He did pretty well as far as longevity is concerned.'

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26

THE VICTIMS

Lexi Maciejewski, 13, was targeted almost immediately after joining Instagram by a scammer posing as a young girl. He shot himself, which authorities ruled homicide tied to extortion.

A sextortionist sent James Woods, 17 more than 200 threatening demands for payment before Woods killed himself.

"All you've to do is cooperate with me and I won't expose you," scammers wrote to Jordan DeMay, 17, before DeMay committed suicide.

African 'Yahoo Boy' sextortions

By CHADWICK MOORE

Last month, cybercrime researcher Paul Raffle found himself in a muddy Lagos shanty-town, watching a Nigerian witch doctor chop the head off a live goose, then pouring its blood over a photograph of an American porn star.

Inside the cardboard-and-steel shack, littered with potions and talismans, a large machete lay on the floor and a mysterious bag rustled in the corner.

The witch doctor was performing black magic ritual to bless a sextortion scam, scrawling the names of the victim — a teenage boy in Wisconsin — and an online impersonator, "Lucy," onto charms, to "fuse their souls together. Using this fake honey trap, the scammer will try to get the teenager to give compromising information, perhaps naked pictures. Then they will extort them for money. Sextortion cases have claimed the lives of at least 40 teenage boys in the US since 2021, according to the US

State Department.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has told The Post it receives almost 100 reports of financial sextortion a day or around 33,000 each year since 2021.

In 2024, the FBI reported $33.5 million had been pillaged from Americans in sextortion scams — with the actual number estimated to be much higher due to the severe underreporting, largely due to shame.

Nigeria headquarters

Nigeria is the world capital for cyber scams, and the same year overall internet scam losses totaled $16 billion from the US, with extortion and cyber fraud topping the list.

Raffle and his associate Erin West, a UK-based former prosecutor, went to the Nigerian capital after setting up a trap to catch a scammer and see how they operate. He built a fake Instagram account posing as an American teen — within days,

he says, a dozen West Africans had reached out.

One took the bait, but by using their own cyber trickery hidden in the crypto payment sent to the scammer, they were able to retrieve the scammer's exact location and snap a photo of him using his own phone camera.

Soon Raffle and West were on a flight to Nigeria to confront the extortionist — and make him the subject of a short documentary they released online this month.

It works like this: A network of scammers, almost always young men in Nigeria or nearby West African nations, "bombs" American teen boys on social media with fake accounts pretending to be flirtatious female peers, using sophisticated tactics to coerce their victims into sending illicit photos. They then demand money via Cash App or gift

cards, Raffle said, first in a single payment and then more, while threatening to release the photos they have been sent.

The attacks are rapid and relentless. Embarrassed teens are sometimes found dead within hours of initial contact with a scammer — as was the case with 15-year-old West Virginian Bryce Tate.

He took his life last November in his dad's man cave just two hours after he was contacted by a suspected Nigerian scammer.

Courtesy DeMay family

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target US teens & end in suicide

"HIRTY" SCAMS HURN FAIR

Oludayo Tade, a sociology professor at Nigeria's University of Ibadan, told The Post discouraged scammers seek evil charms to cast a spell and "to dispossess their victims."

"A spiritual approach to cyber crime is to enhance the success rate. The power to keep the victim under a spell is needed by those who may have suffered losses with previous prospects. This is why hypnotism may be sought from spiritual providers," Tade said.

The witch doctors, known as babalawo, are themselves outcasts, Tade said.

"Evil charms are forbidden in the traditional religion," which is a mix of Christianity, Islam and traditional African beliefs. "So the spiritualists who do evil charms are rebuked and considered deviancy and criminals within the traditional religion setting."

A 2024 report by the Network Contagion Research Institute found Instagram was the most

common platform for sextortion schemes to take place, followed by Snapchat. That report also tracked the way the scammers, who call themselves "Yahoo Boys" or "BM Boys" (BM for "blackmail") coordinate to target a victim, share tactics on creating fake social-media profiles, discuss AI tools and workshop blackmail scripts.

Blackmail method

One script shared among scammers on Scribd suggested introductory questions like, "What do you like to do for fun?" before the scammers are shown how to entice the victim into sharing explicit photos.

Once obtained, they write, "Hey I have ur nudes and everything needed to ruin your life."

In Nigeria, Raffle discovered the Yahoo Boys were using photos of real-life porn stars to create fake profiles. In order to create the personas, they sold packages of OnlyFans models' photos to one another for around $10 a bundle. The Nigerian scammers are bra-

zen to the point of making memes to mock their victims — referred to as "clients" — sharing screenshots of the torment they're inflicting and otherwise celebrating their success in executing depraved criminal acts.

They're motivated by their own social media clout as much as money, Raffle claimed. Many BM Boys even become local micro-celebrities with hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok.

"Their goals are fame and fortune. Fortune comes first, but they also like the fame. They go viral showing off their scams and trying to recruit others," said Raffle.

"We saw that they have nice shoes, Louis Vuitton branded things, gold jewelry, a newer iPhone than I have. One of them has a Mercedes-Benz. It's not about poverty."

Raffle said this was confirmed by countless interactions with other locals, who grew up in the same neighborhoods and condi-

SEUN @ oluwaseun9 · 13h "After cashing out"

Yahoo boys:

Client:

35.9K

Hey

Hey I have ur nudes and everything needed to ruin your life, i have screenshot all ur followers and tags and those that comment on ur post. I can send this nudes to everyone till it hi go virals or send this to ur school and u know u will be expelled from school ...u will be exempt from universities if u don't cooperate...all u have to do is to cooperate with me and i will not expose u ,if u block me i will ruin your life

tions as BM Boys but were living on the straight and narrow.

"They chose to make money the right way with a legitimate job. And they rejected this idea that they have to scam in order to make a living," he said.

Arrests for West African sextortion scammers are extremely rare. In 2023, two Nigerian brothers — Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and brother Samson, 20 — were sentenced to 17 years for their role in running a sextortion ring connected to the suicide of 17-year-old Michigan teen Jordan DeMay.

Last November, Nigerian scammer Imoleayo Samuel Aina, 27, was tracked down and extradited through joint US-Nigerian law enforcement efforts. Aina used a fake online persona called "Alice David" to extort explicit photos from 20-year-old Kutztown University student Jack Sullivan, who then tragically died by

suicide. Aina pleaded guilty to cyberstalk and wire fraud, among other charges, and got a 72-month federal prison sentence.

Other families are left completely helpless as the person responsible for their child's death continues to flaunt piles of money on TikTok and target other youngsters. That's led some parents into civil action against the tech platforms themselves.

Shippensburg, Pa., mom Tricia Maciejewski filed a wrongful death suit in December 2025 against Meta over the death of her 13-year-old son, Levi. On Aug. 20, 2024 — less than 48 hours after creating his first Instagram account — a scammer posing as a young girl demanded $300 in gift cards from Levi under threat of exposing their intimate conversation to his friends and family. Levi offered the predator $37, the only money he had, before he died by a self-inflicted gunshot in the family's backyard. Authorities ruled it a homicide tied to the extortion.

Parents fight back

Ohio parents Tamia and Tim Woods also joined a lawsuit against the tech giant in March, alleging wrongful death, product defect and negligence.

Son James, 17, died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Streetsboro, Ohio, bedroom in 2022 following a 19-hour ordeal when a sextortion scammer he met on Instagram sent over 200 threatening demands for payment.

Both lawsuits are still active. In a statement to The Post, Meta called sextortion a "horrific crime" and emphasized its work with law enforcement, said it automatically places teen accounts into the strictest message settings and that it has "developed safety features to help prevent this abuse — blurring potentially nude images sent in DMs, warning people of the risks of sending them and letting people know when they're chatting to someone in another country." Raffle eventually confronted the sextortionist who had taken his bait and felt he was able to provide some poetic justice by turning the tables.

"We weren't threatening him. We were just saying, 'We know who you are, and we know what you're doing. And we've reported this to law enforcement, and they will find you,' " he said. "He was scared. Immediately after we confronted him, he changed his name on TikTok and went private."

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Waterspout twists onto LI

By ALEX MITCHELL and DANIEL CODY

A waterspout formed off the Long Island coast and moved ashore as a small tornado that wreaked havoc on a beach club Thursday evening — damaging cabanas and scattering debris across the sand, footage shows.

Harrowing video from East Atlantic Beach in Nassau County shows the massive spout forming near the shoreline and gradually moving inland, tearing through boardwalk businesses before dissolving shortly after landfall around 6:45 p.m.

The county declared a state of emergency amid the extremely rare weather event.

"A tornado touched down in Nassau County minutes ago in Atlantic Beach," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in a statement, adding that "so far there are no reports of casualties or serious injuries."

The twister tore through shorefront structures and lifted roofs from beachside cabanas, leaving wood and patio furniture strewn throughout the area.

"There is property damage at Silver Point Beach Club and Sun and Surf that is being assessed right now, and a search team has been mobilized to make sure no one is

SOUTH SHORE HELL: A waterspout off the South Shore of Long Island careened onto land, wreaking havoc at the East Atlantic Beach.

trapped within the cabanas," Blakeman said.

Long Beach local Matthew Stark, 28, was at the Sun and Surf Beach Club with nine family members when the storm struck.

The tugboat mate and lifelong member of the beach club said they all had huddled into their wooden cabana to escape the torrential rain when the tornado tore off its roof.

Ripped roof off

"As I was closing the door to the cabana, you heard and felt the whoosh of the gusts of wind, and it ripped the roof right off, blew all the debris, and stuff just started falling on us — the roof and the beams," Stark told The Post.

"I've never felt or experienced anything like that, kind of surreal. One second it's like no big deal. The next second everything was turned upside down, quite literally."

AccuWeather confirmed that the footage captured in East Atlantic Beach was consistent with a waterspout.

The National Weather Service told The Post the waterspout "may have come on land" — making it a traditional tornado, but added that an assessment of damage is needed before making an official determination.

Another possible waterspout-turned-tornado touched down in the Rockaways in Queens, according to NWS.

'Illegal' beau fatal stab bust

A 19-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador is accused of fatally stabbing a female co-worker he had an "intimate relationship" with — then dousing her body in gasoline near a Virginia trail.

Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos was arrested Wednesday for killing 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch, who was described as a "loving mother of a 3-year-old girl," Fairfax

County Police Chief Kevin Davis announced at a press conference.

Puch was found stabbed multiple times and drenched in gasoline in the parking lot of Difficult Run Park in Great Falls, about 15 miles outside Washington, DC, on Monday.

Davis said investigators found that Cedillos-Campos and Puch worked together at Bitez — a Halal-focused eatery in Herndon,

Va. — and determined the two had been in an "intimate relationship" before the killing.

"We also know that our killer left the restaurant on the night of the murder with a fixed-blade knife, Davis added.

Detectives are still working to understand the full picture — including whether other relationships may have contributed to the motive. Richard Pollina

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Call to wife is his last

A Bronx bicyclist killed by a hit-and-run driver allegedly going 100 miles per hour had just called his wife to say he was 10 minutes from the safety of home, his grieving widow revealed.

Angelo Camera, a 51-year-old father, was biking across Bruckner Boulevard in the South Bronx around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when a driver blew through a red light and struck him, police said.

He chatted with his wife, Vilmary Martinez, 51, just moments before the fatal crash as he headed home from his job as a mechanic.

"I called him that night. I told him I needed something, and he said, 'I'll be there in 10 minutes, babe,' " Martinez told the Daily News.

But when she called back 20 minutes later, another man answered — and soon police explained in horrific detail what had happened to her partner of 25 years.

"There was so much blood on the floor from his legs, from his arms, everywhere," she told the paper.

"The detective said he looked so bad. His leg was twisted, his arm was broken."

"He took my life, my heart," she said about the driver, who fled the scene and is still on the run.

Patrick Reilly

Rocket & roll: Trump

President Trump on Thursday signed a memo to help drastically increase the number of US space launches, directing a series of actions by government agencies.

The White House wants to enable at least 1,000 launches and re-entries annually by 2030, up from 178 launches last year — a figure that is 10 times higher than in 2013. It calls on agencies to incentivize co-development of space transportation infrastructure with private-sector partners, expedite permitting and ensure adequate wireless spectrum for space launches.

Reuters

Sees huge value of AI centers

ON Wednesday, speaking at the White House alongside crypto executives, President Trump noted that he would "absolutely" want a data center in his community.

"If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center, I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous," he said.

It was a rare and refreshing defense of infrastructure that has become a bête noire for Republicans and Democrats alike, despite the fact that data centers have dramatically improved life in communities where they're built — think $50,000 teacher bonuses, reduced tax burdens for residents and the creation of high-paying jobs.

These facilities are powering a revolution, providing the necessary energy for the huge amounts of compute needed for LLMs to

work — and for America to beat China in the AI race.

In a midterm environment where politicians across the board are running from data centers, Trump is right to push back against the anti-data center hysteria and give them some "public relations help" as put it.

Bad p.r.

To be fair, I completely understand the NIMBY argument — no one wants an objectively ugly building in their backyard. And while there have been valid concerns about electricity and water consumption, data centers are responsible for less than 1% of water consumption, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and use less electricity than commercial and residential lighting, according to Grid Lab.

Modern life is full of unattractive infrastructure — cell towers, strip malls, cable lines, warehouses — but data centers have received an inordinate amount of bad p.r. The combination of anger about the new technology and a lack of information has made for a full-blown data-center derangement syndrome.

A recent Gallup poll found that

71% of Americans oppose building a data center in their area compared with only 53% who oppose a new nuclear power plant nearby.

Sam Lyman, policy director at the America First Policy Institute, says the backlash has become "a massive moral panic" that has spiraled far outside the realm of what is logical.

"Ban data centers," as he puts it, is the modern tech-policy equivalent of "defund the police" — a rallying cry for progressive elites that doesn't actually serve the lower-income and working-class communities they claim to want to protect.

Gently pushing back on that hysteria is the best thing for a president who is seeing his own party become infected with anti-data-center fever.

"What President Trump is doing is providing moral leadership in the midst of this moral panic," Lyman said. "[He's] taking a principled stance that data centers are a net good, both for the national economy and for the communities where they're built."

In Richland Parish, La., Meta's data-center construction drove a dramatic increase in local sales-tax revenue that funded teacher bonuses of upward of $50,000 in 2026.

For context, the median household income in Richland Parish pre-data center was $50,000.

In Loudoun County, Va., roughly 250 data centers are expected to create $1.3 billion in tax revenue next year — about 40% of the county's total. The revenue has meant it's possible to cut residential property-tax rates by roughly 30% while expanding schools, parks and other public projects.

Tout the benefits

Wisely, West Virginia is now proposing moves that would allow data centers and put their revenue toward reducing or even eliminating the state income tax.

If more people understood the benefits of data centers, they wouldn't be against them.

We've seen mass hysterias before, and like "defund the police," we often come to regret them.

Maybe in a few years we'll start hearing politicians acknowledge that hating data centers was "crazy" — just as AOC acknowledged with Woke last week.

Unfortunately, by then it may be too late to reverse course, reap the benefits and win the AI race.

AFP via Getty Images, Meta

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Jersey firehouse closed

Flamed out.

A New Jersey fire department that has helped a community for over a century was shut down following a year-long push to close the group from the township's mayor, who felt insufficient staffing created unsafe conditions for residents.

The Woodbridge Township Council voted 8-1 on Aug. 12 to pass a measure that will dissolve the 118-year-old Keasbey Fire Department and merge the district with neighboring Fords Fire Company.

"We stressed that Keasbey residents were not currently safe with the situation that exists and that not having proper firefighter response to a structure fire was in fact an emergency," Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said at the meeting. "This issue was not about finances but about public safety."

The department's eight paid firefighters were allowed to keep their jobs and work elsewhere within the township along with the volunteer firefighters.

Council members met with the NJ Local Finance Board that approved the ordinance in a unanimous 7-0 decision, according to McCormac.

Nicholas McEntyre

Couple in slay-suicide

An upstate New York nurse with a "beautiful soul" was killed by her husband in a murder-suicide just hours after returning from a family reunion, police and her family said.

Gabrielle Forman, 30, was shot dead by 37-year-old Jadet Forman — whom she was divorcing — in their second-floor apartment in Cohoes, just outside Albany, on Tuesday afternoon, WTEN reported.

"We can confirm that this was a murder-suicide. It's clear that the husband shot his wife before turning the gun on himself," Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler said Wednesday. Anthony Blair

INVASION

NIGHT OF TERROR

DEVASTATION: Firefighters struggle to control a blaze in Kyiv Thursday as Russia slammed Ukraine's capital with an hours-long missile attack. A woman (below) is distraught as she tries to cope with the death of her grandson, who was killed in the latest barrage from Vladimir Putin.

16 killed as missiles rain on Kyiv

By RONNY REYES

A Russian missile barrage killed at least 16 people overnight in Kyiv as Moscow targeted a children's hospital, kindergarten and residential buildings, officials said.

The assault saw Russia fire dozens of cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles, as well as 168 drones at the Ukrainian capital overwhelmed by a shortage of air defense weapons.

Horrific footage from the aftermath of the attack showed a grandmother wailing over the body of her grandson, carrying him out of their destroyed apartment building.

"A rocket hit the roof. It was incredibly loud, immediately, debris and doors were blown out," neighbor Larysa Bondaruk, 60, said of

the strike that killed the boy.

"There were columns of smoke, columns of fire, screams, crying and despair," she told The Associated Press. "Two people were killed in our building, but the rescuers responded quickly and professionally. I am grateful to them for that."

More than 40 wounded

The Russian strikes hit 12 locations across Kyiv's Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, damaging residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution, with more than 40 people wounded in the attack.

In total, 30 residential buildings were hit, including a school used as a shelter, a children's hospital, and a kindergarten, Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Red Cross facilities and food warehouses in the city were also damaged in the attack, which lasted nearly nine hours.

Zelensky slammed the deadly air strike as one of the most "cynical, calculated, and large-scale" of the war, which is in its fifth year.

Ukraine's air force said that it was able to intercept 90% of the drones and most of the cruise missiles fired across the border, but Kyiv's lack of US-made Patriot missiles leave the country vulnerable, Zelensky said.

The Patriot interceptors remain the only weapon capable of downing Russia's ballistic missiles.

President Trump had authorized Ukraine to obtain licenses to produce Patriot air-defense systems, but later reversed that decision.

With Wires

Charter school principal kid-perv bust

A Manhattan charter-school principal is charged with sexually abusing at least two students, including a 12-year-old girl — and is walking free without bail, The Post has learned.

Eric Cato — who worked at KIPP Washington

Heights Middle School on Jumel Place in upper Manhattan — allegedly targeted the children between October 2024 and March 2026, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court indictment.

He is accused of exposing two kids to "sexual con-

tact," the court document said. The NYPD said one of the victims was 12 years old.

Cato also is charged with endangering the welfare of a third child between August and December 2025, the court document said.

The accused principal, ar-

rested on Aug. 12, pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance, online court records show.

It's unclear whether prosecutors asked for bail. The DA's Office didn't immediately comment.

Cato has since been dis-

missed from his role at the charter school, according to a rep for KIPPS NYC.

"We take these allegations very seriously and understand how deeply alarming this news is for our school community," the rep said.

Amanda Woods

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Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Two legendary

New York institutions. One team.

Montefiore Einstein Official Hospital of the New York Yankees

All New York Yankees trademarks and copyrights are owned by the New York Yankees and used with the permission of the New York Yankees

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Sally Brompton Daily Horoscope

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS AT SALLYBROMPTON.COM

M SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

New opportunities are about to open up for you, so be ready and don't hold back if the offers you get today and over the weekend sound too good to be true. On this occasion they most likely are true, so try to be a little less suspicious.

N SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21)

If something you have been working on no longer excites you then drop it immediately and start looking at other options. Most likely you need a new challenge and the Sun's change of signs tomorrow will make that happen for you.

N CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 20)

If you are sick of seeing the same old faces and socializing in the same old places then break free and do something

different. The Sun's change of signs tomorrow will encourage even the most conservative-minded Capricorn to be more adventurous.

M AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19)

The message of the stars today and over the weekend is that you need to approach matters of a financial nature in a more serious fashion. Not that you weren't serious about them before but you need to raise your game to a higher level.

N PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)

You can feel that something needs to change and most likely it has to do with one-to-one interactions with friends and loved ones. Do whatever it takes to foster a mood of cooperation, because competing with others is a waste of everyone's time.

N ARIES (March 21-April 20)

You may not care much for details but if you don't stay sharp today you could lose out to someone who is paying more attention to what is going on around you both. The big picture is important, of course, but don't ignore the small stuff.

N TAURUS (April 21-May 21)

Life is good and will soon get even better, so put aside any minor disagreements you may be having with loved ones and work colleagues and expect the very best of yourself and them over the next few days. Your thoughts create your world.

N GEMINI (May 22-June 21)

Have fun today and this evening but be ready to take on

more responsibility over the weekend. On the home front, especially, someone you love will be looking for you to take a lead and show them how to get out of a tricky situation.

N CANCER (June 22-July 23)

Today's Venus-Saturn link will make it difficult for you to get through to someone who seems determined to misinterpret every word you say, but be patient and keep at it. Sooner or later they will have to admit that you are right and they are wrong.

BIRTHDAY FRIDAY

A Venus-Saturn link on your birthday means you need to be more open socially over the coming year. Opportunities to improve your existence on every level will come about through what you do with other people, not what you do on your own.

Post Weather Report

Friday	Saturday
Today: Not as warm but pleasant with some sun. High 75 to 81.	Tomorrow: A few morning showers, then rain. High 71 to 77.
Tonight: Turning cloudy, a shower late. Low 65 to 71.	Tomorrow night: Heavy rain and a t-storm. Low 65 to 71.
Sunday	Monday
Showers/ t-storms. High 77 to 83.	Mostly sunny. High 76 to 82.
Evening	Evening
Partly cloudy. Low 64 to 70.	Clear. Low 65 to 71.
Almanac
YESTERDAY'S CONDITIONS AT CENTERS, PARK THROUGH 6PM
Temperature
High: 84, Low: 71, Mean: 78
Departure from Normal
Yesterday: +2 degrees
Precipitation
Yesterday: 0.05", Month: 4.26", Year: 26.97", Normal year to date: 31.33"
Cooling Degree days yesterday...13
Total for the month (normal)...262 (235)
Total since Jan. 1 (normal)...1022 (936)
Last year to date...1003
Heat index (at noon yest.)...87
UV index (for Fri.)...8 (Very High)
Humidity (at noon)...54%
AIR QUALITY
Pollen: Moderate Predominant pollen: Weeds
AQI rating: (for Fri.)...Good

Sunset 79/58	Peekskill 78/63	White Plains 75/64	Stamford 77/67	Bridgeport 76/67	Riverhead 75/64	Montauk 74/67	Southampton 74/65	Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather.com ©2026
Paterson 79/67	Newark 79/69	Garden City 78/68	Deer Park 76/66	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunrise today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Moonrise today...3:48 p.m.
Newark 79/69	La G 76/68	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Moonset today...none	Sunset today...4:20 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Moonrise today...3:48 p.m.
JFK 77/68	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.
Sandy Hook 77/71	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.
Asbury Park 76/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.
Manasquan 77/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.
Toms River 77/66	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.
Long Beach 75/70	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.
Atlantic City 79/66	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.
Ocean City 77/70	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Long Beach 78/69	Sun and Moon	Sunset today...6:12 a.m.	Sunset tonight...7:45 p.m.	Sunset tonight...3:48 p.m.

AccuWeather

Proven Superior Accuracy Visit AccuWeather.com

New York Tides	TODAY	TOMORROW
High Tide for	1st 2nd	1st 2nd
Coney Island	2:48a 3:17p	3:44a 4:13p
Fire Island	2:41a 3:40p	3:52a 4:46p
Hempstead	7:04a 7:23p	8:17a 8:32p
Huntington	6:41a 7:03p	7:48a 8:06p
Jones Inlet	2:32a 3:01p	3:28a 3:57p
Montauk Point	4:20a 5:01p	5:24a 6:02p
Port Washington	7:14a 7:31p	8:26a 8:42p
Sandy Hook	2:52a 3:21p	3:48a 4:17p
Regional cities	TODAY	TOMORROW
Albany	80/58/s	75/65/pc
Danbury	75/63/pc	73/66/sh
Glens Falls	79/53/s	74/61/s
Gr Barrington	78/57/pc	74/63/pc
Kingston	80/61/pc	75/64/pc
Liberty	77/55/s	72/62/pc
Monticello	77/58/s	73/62/sh
Newburgh	80/62/pc	73/65/sh
Poughkeepsie	78/61/pc	73/65/pc
Saratoga Springs	80/55/pc	77/63/s
Stroudsburg	80/57/pc	75/65/r
Torrington	75/61/pc	73/63/sh
Syracuse	80/58/s	84/63/sh
World cities	TODAY	TOMORROW
Athens	95/70/s	93/74/s
Baghdad	111/83/s	113/87/s
Beijing	93/74/t	90/76/t
Berlin	77/58/pc	67/52/sh
Cairo	94/75/pc	95/75/pc
Dublin	63/45/pc	65/47/pc
Geneva	70/54/r	75/54/pc
Hong Kong	88/83/pc	89/83/r
Jerusalem	91/75/s	87/71/s
Kabul	92/65/pc	90/64/s
London	70/51/pc	72/52/pc
Madrid	89/64/s	92/67/s
Mexico City	77/58/r	74/57/sh
Montreal	77/56/s	80/63/pc
Moscow	73/52/sh	74/62/sh
Paris	73/57/sh	73/55/s
Rio de Janeiro	80/67/pc	73/65/pc
Rome	88/75/t	89/68/s
Sydney	72/52/sh	72/54/s
Tokyo	91/76/t	90/76/sh

---

POSTOPINION

Oct. Surprise?

Watch out for Iran bid to swing two elections

THE October surprise was born in Iran — and 46 years later, the Islamic Republic may be preparing to launch another one.

In 1980, the hostage crisis — 52 Americans seized at the US embassy in Tehran during Iran's Islamic Revolution — dominated the presidential race between incumbent Jimmy Carter and challenger Ronald Reagan.

Reagan's campaign manager Bill Casey, assuming Iran would dread his hawkish boss' victory, worried that Iran might release the hostages right before Election Day — and hand Carter a last-minute win. Seeking to short-circuit what he dubbed an "October surprise," Casey told the press of his concern, and the phrase stuck. Today it's used for any late-breaking event timed to swing an election.

But Casey was wrong: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had his own reasons to want Carter defeated. Carter had admitted the hated Shah to the United States, frozen Iranian assets, imposed sanctions and broken diplomatic relations with Tehran.

In Khomeini's eyes, humiliating Carter served the Islamic Revolution's interests. He held the hostages through Election Day and beyond, releasing them within minutes of Reagan's inauguration on Jan. 20, 1981.

By letting the hostages dangle, Khomeini successfully manipulated American politics. We may soon face another regime ploy aimed at leveraging foreign elections to weaken its enemies.

Israel's election Oct. 27; the US midterms are Nov. 3, one week later. That makes the end of October a potentially dangerous window for regime mischief.

Tehran could attack Israel directly, or engineer a serious escalation through one of its terror proxies — calculating that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, days before an election, would have little choice but to respond forcefully.

Imagine a ballistic missile barrage, massive enough to overwhelm Israeli defenses, killing scores of civilians in Tel Aviv or Haifa. Or an Iranian proxy carrying out a mass-casualty attack against a population center.

Getty Images

Allies: Netanyahu and Trump must brace for Iranian mischief in October.

The precise scenario is unknowable, but the calculation is not: Inflict enough carnage that no Israeli prime minister could allow it to go unanswered. And Tehran would be counting on that response.

A powerful Israeli retaliation could trigger a regional escalation, drive the Iran war to the top of the news, spike gas prices, and create serious political complications for President Donald Trump and Republicans fighting to retain the House and Senate days later. In the regime's ideal scenario, Tehran would absorb the Israeli blow, play the victim, and wait to see if Republicans lose.

If they do, Iran gets exactly the narrative it wants: Israel helped cost Republicans Congress. Tehran could exploit the ensuing recriminations to deepen divisions between Washington and Jerusalem, counting on American critics of Israel to hammer home that message.

That makes the days immediately preceding the Israeli election a particularly attractive window for an Iranian provocation. We should be thinking about this now — because there's little doubt Tehran is already doing so.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps knows our political system well; it studies our divisions and looks for opportunities to exploit them. The Treasury Department has sanctioned IRGC-linked entities for using disinformation and hacked mate-

rial to interfere in US elections.

Countering an October surprise — this scenario or others — requires close US-Israel coordination to war-game the possibilities. Political, military and intelligence officials should agree on potential responses before missiles are flying, oil prices are spiking, poll numbers are dropping and both governments are working at cross-purposes — straight into the Islamic Republic's trap.

One option should at least be considered: Revenge may be a dish better served cold. If Iran launches an attack deliberately designed to provoke Israel before the elections, Israel could defend itself, absorb what it can, establish Iranian responsibility, and wait — until after both elections — to retaliate at a time of its choosing.

But Trump would need to give Netanyahu political cover, and a commitment that the IDF could act after the midterms. Trump could also make clear publicly, well before October, that Washington is aware of the potential regime trick, saying that an election-season provocation will fail to divide the United States and Israel, and retaliation will inevitably follow.

Forty-six years ago, an ayatollah exploited an American election and helped hobble a sitting American president. The current ayatollah should not be allowed to run the same playbook on this one.

Mark Dubowitz is chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

THE WEEK IN WHOPPERS

A diary of disinformation and the delusional

THIS FANTASY

We say: When it comes to technology there's not a lot of alternatives to "people" as the inventors. Carlson, who also says that demons torment him in

his sleep, puts himself in the company of people who insisted that table forks, the printing press and trains were "devil's work."

THIS APOLOGY

"I did not use citations as aggressively as I should have and did not paraphrase well enough."

— former New York magazine writer Ross Barkan, Wednesday

We say: It's odd to apologize for plagiarism — passing off other people's words as your own — by saying you "didn't paraphrase well enough." Writers are also supposed to come up with original ideas and observations, not just repackage other people's.

THIS RATIONALE

"If you're stealing things (like soap or toothpaste), you need them."

— Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, Aug. 13

We say: Drugstores are locking up shampoo and deodorant because of organized mass theft, not because a poor person took a bar of soap. The left fights its war on common sense as vigorously as its assault on public order.

THIS EXCUSE

"I'm not that informed on national security."

— Sen. Darline Graham, Tuesday

We say: Sigh. It's true that her big brother left large shoes to fill on security policy, but couldn't Sen. Graham prepare a better debate answer than, "I don't know"?

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board

MARK DUBOWITZ

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36

NEW YORK POST

America's oldest continuously published daily newspaper

Is Kat All 'Affordable' Talk?

Gov. Hochul has centered her reelection campaign on talk about "affordability," but if she means it, let her prove it — by OK'ing the Constitution Pipeline pronto. A new independent study by Daymark Energy Advisors finds that the 125-mile natural-gas line, to run from Pennsylvania to Schoharie County, could save the Northeast as much as $5.8 billion in electric costs over the next 20 years, including $3 billion in New York alone.

By boosting "access to natural gas supplies," Daymark finds, the project would cut reliance on "higher-cost, higher-emission fuel oil generation" needed during winter demand peaks. That makes the pipeline a winner not only for consumers but also for climate warriors, since the carbon footprint of gas is far less than oil's.

This follows a November report that similarly found greenlighting Constitution could save New Yorkers nearly $5 billion over 15 years and "mitigate against extreme winter price spikes" — and that the pipeline would

create 1,000 new jobs in New York and generate millions in new state tax revenue.

A governor aiming to score "affordability" points should race to kick off such a project — and then claim deserved credit for pushing it through. But Hochul's too fearful of the green fanatics who see any carbon-fuel project as evil.

In June, President Trump accused her of reneging on a deal to let the Constitution project start; her minions deny she made any such deal, while claiming she'll consider gas projects if they meet state laws. That's our gov: Always ready to consider a decision, never bold in making one.

She's always looking to have it both ways: promising "affordability" but worried about what acting to deliver it might cost her.

As part of some deal with Trump, Hochul did OK the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, which broke ground in April. She should likewise quit stalling on the Constitution project: It's a no-brainer — if she means it on delivering affordability.

Big-Tech News-Feed Bias

A new Media Research Center study finds that online news aggregators shut out publications that back Republicans in presidential elections. That's fresh proof of deep bias in these vital news sources, and so strong grounds for Congress and the Federal Trade Commission to push Big Tech to mend its ways.

MRC looked at news outlets most prominently featured on Apple News and Google News: Not one backed a Republican for president, not once, dating back to 1988.

Over the course of the 10 elections, the outlets featured most by these feeds endorsed Democrats for the White House a full 31 times — and Republicans exactly . . . zero.

This speaks to a much farther-ranging bias in the sources for feeds that tens of millions of Americans rely on for their daily news, shaping how the public sees issues, indeed perceives the country and the world, long before even thinking about politics per se.

And the latest finding is no outlier: Other

studies by fully nonpartisan bias-ranker All-Sides show a longstanding, overwhelming general tilt to the left by online aggregators.

In April, AllSides reported just 1% of Google News articles (not counting user-tailored ones) come from outlets ranked as right-leaning. Only 2% of Apple News' offerings were from publications that lean right.

"Almost half of voting-age Americans own an Apple iPhone," notes MRC's Dan Schneider, which all "come pre-installed with Apple News. Swipe right and you're inundated with Apple's cherry-picked news stories."

In February, FTC boss Andrew Ferguson urged Apple to "ensure that Apple News' curation of articles is consistent" with its terms of service and "representations made to consumers" — and, if not, "to take corrective action swiftly."

We're eager to see some hard evidence that Apple, Google and other aggregators have moved to get their content in balance. If not, Washington may have to step in.

Mamdani Does the Right Thing

Mayor Mamdani is doing the right thing in suing to stop the City Council's push to award $10,000 bonuses to special-education paraprofessionals: A gift outside the collective-bargaining process would set a disastrous precedent.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin argues the move would save the city money on support it's legally required to give many special-needs kids, but it's a long-term loser — inviting every public-employee union to get lawmakers to award them gifts and so win union backing at the next election.

The council passed the payment unanimously last month, leaving the mayor no choice but to head to court, arguing that the move violates state labor law.

There's likely a solid case for upping these

paras' pay. But do it by finding the cash somewhere in the city's bloated $39 billion schools budget and negotiating it in the next contract — not by badly undermining a core mayoral authority.

Kudos to Mamdani for eating his campaign promise to support the bonus bill; it's a sign of good sense that he looked more carefully and thought better.

United Federation of Teachers chief Michael Mulgrew is furious; tough: The UFT usually gets almost everything it asks for.

Mamdani's courage here might even signal a willingness to stand firm in the coming round of contract talks with every city union; he doesn't owe his office to them, after all. We'll cross our fingers and hope for yet another pleasant surprise.

letters@nypost.com

The US-Iran Stalemate: Don Keeps Disappointing

• President Trump, I am a big supporter. But, as you know, Iran cannot be trusted ("Names change, but Iran's aim stays the same," Michael Goodwin, Aug. 19).

We have stalled long enough. Massive military action is needed now. This is all Iran will understand. I know many don't want this, but at this point it's necessary.

If nothing is done, Iran's regime will survive, Trump will lose Americans' support, and we will lose the midterms.

Vincent Montera The Villages, Fla.

• Mired in this quagmire, Trump has only one viable strategy: declare a phony victory, citing all the irreparable damage inflicted on Iran, then reiterating that his objective of dismantling Iran's nuclear power has already been accomplished (yeah, right).

Sadly, his vindictive nature makes it impossible for Republican colleagues to speak up.

It reminds me of the "Twilight Zone" episode, "It's a Good Life": The super-powerful 6-year-old forces you to pretend everything is good.

Poor Vice President JD Vance may be afraid he'll

THE ISSUE: President Trump's US-Iran war strategy as the 60-day deal expires with no resolution.

President Trump

and financially strangle the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and mullahs. Thomas Smith Sarasota, Fla.

• It's time to stop this sick regime, which tortures and kills its own people — who long for a peaceful life. Iran's leaders have to be destroyed before someone from our military is taken hostage or killed for money.

Mo Colarusso Manhattan

wind up in a cornfield if he speaks his mind.

Bill Schaefer Springfield, NJ

• I served in USMC Infantry combat in 1968. The last time we demonstrated such stupidity, it cost us 58,267 of my brothers. It's déjà vu: We're bombing North Vietnam; we're pausing our bombing; we can't go into Cambodia, Laos, North of the DMZ.

But we also have experience defeating fanatical regimes that don't care an iota for their people. Think Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

At the very least, we should take Kharg Island

• Trump does not give a damn about those who, unlike him, have served their country. He has been credibly accused of saying those who sacrificed their lives in military service are "suckers."

The likelihood that he said that is heightened by his response to the alleged poor conditions and deteriorating mental health of soldiers on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Trump said the time they've been there is "not nearly enough."

How any military member or veteran could vote for him is beyond me.

Oren Spiegler Peters Township, Pa.

Charter-School Superiority

• The results posted by New York City charter schools speak for themselves ("Charting big wins," Aug. 17).

Charter students are taught by educators who practice reading, writing and arithmetic. In city-run schools, students are taught by woke ideologues who feel their liberal views will get them further in life than a quality education will.

Congratulations to the

THE ISSUE: NYC charter-school students ace state exams, vs. poor results in the regular public schools.

educators and students of these charter schools for a job well done, and for showing what can happen when teachers actually teach.

Bo Madden, Jupiter, Fla.

• Parents are the reason charter students succeed and public-school students don't.

Public-school students in the top classes typically have involved parents, while most in the "bottom" classes have absent involvement from their parents. In charter schools, all parents are involved in their children's education.

Donato Vallone Ormond Beach, Fla.

E-MAIL: letters@nypost.com or WRITE to The Editor, The New York Post, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036. Include name, address and daytime phone number. No unverifiable letters will be published. The Post reserves the right to edit all letters.

The New York Post is published by N.Y.P. Holdings Inc., 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036. Lachlan Murdoch, Chair; Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus; Sean M. Giancola, Publisher; Keith Poole, Editor-in-Chief; Stephen Lynch, Print EIC; Mark Cunningham, Editorial Page Editor

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POSTOPINION

Can the Flock Phobia

Crook-catching cameras make our cities safer

WE have met the enemy — and it is watching us. There's a growing backlash against Flock cameras, the automated license plate readers that have become ubiquitous across the country. The cameras take images of license plates and store them in a searchable database that police departments can query in the course of their investigations.

Opponents of the cameras consider them an instrument of Big Brother, who's not only watching, but constantly recording and tracking. Vandals have disabled and stolen the Flock cameras, and even shot them.

There's a movement to get jurisdictions to cancel their contracts with Flock (the leading such company, but not the only one), and it's met with some success.

Los Angeles just let its contract with Flock lapse, citing "serious concerns around civil liberties and civil rights issues."

There's a reason, though, that police departments so rapidly adopted the cameras — they are an extremely useful investigative tool.

It is certainly true that the technology, like any power we give the police, can be mis-used.

According to The Washington Post, "Authorities have charged or accused at least 50 law-enforcement officers of using license-plate readers for unauthorized purposes, including to stalk their exes."

The Post calls the abuse "rampant," but 50 documented cases isn't a large number given the widespread use of these devices: There are 120,000 Flock cameras across the

United States scanning license plates 20 billion times a month.

It is understandable that people don't like the idea that they are, in effect, living in a panopticon.

But license plate readers aren't the only offender. There are all sorts of other surveillance cameras, many of them privately owned and operated, that the police access during investigations.

We let our mobile phones and various apps track us all day long. And something like 60 million households have Ring or other security cameras that record what's happening on their property, and often in

the immediate surroundings. The only reliable way to ensure that you aren't being recorded is to stay inside — and draw the curtains.

Officers who abuse the license-plate readers deserve to be fired, and, if appropriate, charged with crimes, which is often what happens. Strict rules around what constitutes a legitimate query of the system and routine audits should make it harder for rogue officers to use it for nefarious purposes.

The police officials who are advocating for Flock aren't doing it so the cops can track the average person's trip to the grocery store or yoga studio.

The cameras routinely aid in the identification and apprehension

of the perpetrators of serious crimes and the location of missing persons.

According to the Jacksonville, Fla., sheriff's office, the cameras since 2024 have "helped solve 15 murders, 17 kidnappings, 6 forcible sex offenses, nearly 100 shootings, and 172 missing-persons cases."

A website set up by Charles Fain Lehman of the Manhattan Institute is tracking news items about Flock contributing to successful police work. There are such stories every day.

The two most recent entries involve the arrest of an armed robbery suspect in Grass Valley, Calif. and the rescue of two kidnapped teenage girls in Bulloch County, Ga.

The authorities used Flock, after getting a tip, to track down the suspect in the Brown University shooting last year.

Perhaps these crimes would get solved anyway — but if even a fraction of them didn't, Flock would be making a meaningful contribution to public safety.

It used to be that America had, in effect, ungoverned spaces where malefactors could hide in plain sight. To use an extreme example, the Symbionese Liberation Army operated for years out of various safe houses in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1970s, something almost unimaginable in our technologically advanced age of constant information-sharing.

Rolling back Flock won't reverse this vast change that's been decades in the making — but it will deny the cops a valuable asset.

THE BIG LIE BEHIND JUSTICE 'REFORM'

AMERICAS blue cities and states have made the criminal-justice system a revolving door for prolific offenders.

Police arrest them. Prosecutors charge them ... sometimes. Then bail reforms, diversion programs and alternatives to incarceration send them right back onto the streets to be arrested again. And again.

New York dramatically curtailed cash bail and pretrial detention. California embraced diversion and alternatives to incarceration. New Jersey largely replaced cash bail with a system favoring pretrial release.

Those states, along with cities nationwide, poured millions into programs designed to keep offenders out of jail — based in part on the evidence provided by an approach pioneered in Seattle, Wash., in 2011. But that "evidence-based" effort wasn't nearly as successful as America was told.

Seattle's Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, diverts offenders away from jail and prosecution into case management and services. Its stated goal: reducing recidivism.

Participants in LEAD, boosters said, were 58% less likely to be arrested for any crime; felony charges against them dropped 39%. They were 46% more likely to "be on the employment continuum" and 89% more likely to be permanently housed — dramatic improvements.

In 2019, LEAD architect Lisa Daugaard invited me to meet with her organization. Her team told me success stories to explain why diversion was more compassionate and effective than putting offenders behind bars.

But they couldn't show me the data. Now we finally have it.

Eric Zimmerman of the Washington Policy Center explored LEAD's numbers in a new policy brief re-

Taxpayers shouldn't keep funding feel-good programs without hard evidence.

leased this month. He discovered zero clear difference in arrest rates between LEAD participants and a control group.

Of 176 LEAD participants, 91% remained unemployed, contrary to LEAD's claims. Of 146 participants who entered the program without permanent housing, Zimmerman estimates that just 19 were housed in any given month over the course of an 18-month period.

Meanwhile, according to 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics data tracking men after more than six months of incarceration, 33.9% were employed within one week of release; by week 10, 50.3% had jobs, and employment generally remained between 50% and 58% through roughly a year and a half after release. But with LEAD, only 9% of participants were employed during an 18-month follow-up — a staggering failure.

While the data didn't add up, the accolades did. Daugaard received a $625,000 MacArthur Fellowship in 2019 thanks to LEAD's "measurable outcomes" in recidivism, employment and housing, the prestigious foundation gushed.

In 2013 Santa Fe, NM, became the second city to replicate Seattle's model — and its evaluation of that three-year pilot program should

have raised alarms: Santa Fe researchers found LEAD participants' average arrests increased 41%, according to a 2018 report.

But the ball was already rolling: In July 2015, the Obama administration presented Seattle's program to representatives from more than 30 cities, boosting it as an innovative way to keep offenders out of jail.

Albany adopted LEAD in 2016, and the next year New York state legislators proposed expanding it statewide, claiming that Seattle's participants were "58% less likely to recidivate."

California lawmakers similarly cited Seattle's supposed 58% arrest reduction while considering LEAD

pilots. New Jersey announced $6 million in federal Justice Department funding for LEAD pilots. Congress directed millions toward additional LEAD sites.

By 2021, 42 communities in 21 states had established LEAD programs, while nearly 80 more were developing or exploring them.

"They've said all along, 'we can prove that it drives fewer arrests in the future, and it drives a reduction in felonies for people participating,'" Zimmerman told me. "But we can look at the research now and say, that's not what the research ever said."

Zimmerman's work makes it clear that jurisdictions must demand the data on LEAD and programs like it. They should commission independent audits and require transparent reporting of mortality rates, drug abstinence, employment, income growth and housing independence.

Taxpayers shouldn't keep funding feel-good programs without hard evidence that the claims used to justify that funding are actually true. Make the soft-on-crime advocates prove their models work — before letting them conduct any more experiments on the rest of us.

Ari Hoffman hosts "The Ari Hoffman Show" on Talk Radio 570 KVI.

37

nypost.com

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38

The Post Puzzle Page

SCRABBLE GRAMS

Hasbro and its logo, SCRABBLE®, associated logo, the design of the distinctive SCRABBLE brand game board, and the distinctive letter the designs are trademarks of Hasbro in the United States and Canada. ©2026 Hasbro. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

E_{1}	O_{1}	O_{1}	U_{1}	N_{1}	D_{2}	T_{1}	1st Letter Triple	RACK 1
E_{1}	U_{1}	T_{1}	C_{3}	P_{3}	S_{1}	S_{1}		RACK 2
A_{1}	I_{1}	K_{5}	N_{1}	F_{4}	R_{1}	M_{3}	Double Word Score	RACK 3
A_{1}	A_{1}	I_{1}	O_{1}	L_{1}	M_{3}	R_{1}		RACK 4

PAR SCORE 140-150 BEST SCORE 213

FOUR RACK TOTAL TIME LIMIT: 20 MIN

SCRABBLE GRAMS SOLUTION	RACK 1 = 62	RACK 2 = 61	RACK 3 = 82	RACK 4 = 8	TOTAL 213
SCRABBLE GRAMS	RACK 1 = 62	RACK 2 = 61	RACK 3 = 82	RACK 4 = 8	TOTAL 213

Directions: Make a 2 to 7 letter word from the letters in each row. Add points of each word using scoring directions at right. 7 letter words get 50 point bonus. "Blank" used as any letter have no point value. All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE players Dictionary, 4th Edition.

Bridge

South dealer Both sides vulnerable

NORTH ▲ 7 4 ▼ 10 7 2 ◇ Q J 10 8 ▲ A 7 4 3

WEST ▲ A 9 5 ▼ K Q J 6 5 3 ◇ 9 5 ▲ K 8 EAST ▲ 8 3 ▼ 9 4 ◇ A 6 4 3 2 ▲ J 10 9 5

SOUTH ▲ K Q J 10 6 2 ▼ A 8 ◇ K 7 ▲ Q 6 2

South 1 ▲ West 2 ▼ North 3 ▲ East 4 ▲ All Pass Dbl Pass

Opening lead - ▼ K

©2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

At four spades, South took the ace of hearts and led the king of trumps. West won and cashed a heart. He then saw that four spades might be cold if South had the A-K of diamonds; but even if East had a diamond trick, the defense needed a club.

At Trick Four, West led the king of clubs, attacking dummy's entry to the diamonds. South took the ace, drew trumps and led the king of diamonds. East ducked and won the next diamond, and South had a club loser.

QUIZ Here's a quiz: West's king-of-clubs lead was

1. a Deschapelles coup
2. a Vienna coup
3. a Merrimack coup
4. None of the above

None. A Deschapelles coup is the lead of an unsupported high honor to create an entry in partner's hand. A Vienna coup is the cashing of a high card to set up a squeeze position.

West's lead of an unsupported honor to dislodge an entry was a Merrimack coup, named for a ship in the Spanish-American War. The Merrimack was the Civil War ironclad that fought the Monitor.

Word Force

CROCODILE

From the word or phrase above, form AT LEAST 17 five-letter words, without using more than one form of the same word. For example, drink or drank (not both).

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW'S POST Yesterday's word: ACCELERATE

alert crate later altar creel react alter eater relet carat elate trace cater elect clear erect

Wonderword

How to play: All the words listed below appear in the puzzle — horizontally, vertically, diagonally, even backward. Find them and Circle their letters only. Do not circle the word. The leftover letters spell the Wonderword.

FUMES	Solution: 8 letters
O I L S E S A G N I N A E L C
N F S R C H Y R O T C A F O O
E O I E T A E H Z I C L N L M
N F B L H S M G Z H A D L E B
G N O R T S R U L M E E A M U
O A O E A E A O E N V G B O S
L T A I T C R C S O L V E N T
O M E A T I N A T O K A L H I
C O W L N U T S V A D R V C O
H S E E P I L E E U O N E A N
O P L N O O S L S D S P E E D
K H D N G Y R T O O S M E L L
I E I T S I M D S P N R U B B
N R N S C E N T R U C K S U M
G E G L O R T E P E R F U M E

© 2026 Andrews McMeel Syndication www.wonderword.com 8/21 Ashes, Atmosphere, Bleach, Blend, Burn, Carbon, Chlorine, Choking, Cleaning, Cologne, Combustion, Condensation, Cough, Droplet, Dust, Engine, Factory, Filter, Fire, Flame, Gases, Gloves, Heat, Label, Lava, Leak, Lemon, Mist, Musk, Nozzle, Odor, Oils, Perfume, Petrol, Pollution, Scent, Smell, Solvent, Soot, Speed, Steam, Stove, Strong, Trucks, Water, Welding Yesterday's Answer: Dribble For WONDERWORD apps, books & more, visit Wonderword.com, or call 1-855-232-2367.

POST/SU DOKU

To solve a Su Doku, you must put a number from 1 to 9, in each empty box.

Each number must appear once in each horizontal row, as well as in each vertical column and in each of the 3-by-3 grids. Impossible? Not once you get the hang of it. Tips and in depth strategies at

www.SudokuWiki.org

NYPOST.COM/GAMES Solutions on Page 44

© Syndicated Puzzles

Very Easy #7.377
6		4	5	7				1
	9		8	1	5	6
			3			4
4	7				3	1	8
9	8	5				7	6
	6		9
	2	1	3	7		4
8			5	1	2			7
Difficult #7.167
5	1					8	4
			4
	3	9			2	7	5
			7		3
6							9
			2		8
7	6	3				1
				2
	9					3	6

Quick Crossword

Across 1 Graduate from a balance bike 6 "Zounds!" 10 "Not only that..." 14 Sauce for chipotles 15 German automaker 16 Nana's daughter 17 Collar clip-on 18 Hard punch 19 Big name in morning TV 20 Get the gray out, say 21 "A bottle where the rapid decrease in pressure upon opening creates foam, please" request? 24 Caitlin Clark's home state 25 Topical antiseptic 26 "A light coffee, and do not drop it, please" request? 31 Small flower 32 Raw minerals 33 "Nature" after 36 Biblical name of ancient Syria 37 Wolverines and Badgers 39 Canada Goose garment 40 Inquire 41 Head of a museum? 42 Full of passion 43 "I'll take my potato as a pancake (but you'll probably bring fries)" request? 46 Future resident 49 Cringeworth, in Gen Alpha slang 50 Strict enforcement of the rules for a civil society, or how to process the requests in 21-, 26-, and 43-Across? 53 Greek T 56 Tofu nutrient 57 Drama honor 58 Feature of some accents 60 Smoothie berry 61 Merino, e.g. 62 "Pale Blue Dot" subject 63 Top of many an indoor stadium 64 Trawling equipment 65 Clothe

Down 1 Took care of, say 2 Circular current 3 Shower with love, with "on" 4 Old hoops go 5 Daily record 6 Causes of some grade inflation

14	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14					15				16
17					18				19
20				21	22				23
23				24
26	27	28				29	30
31						32
36					37	38
42				43					44
48	49	50					51
55	56	57					58
60					61				62
65					66				67

7 Beach party? 8 For two voices, in music 9 Archaeologists' workplaces 10 Mardi Gras event 11 Video game brother 12 Let out, as pigs 13 Try to decipher a stereogram, perhaps 14 Have 15 Auction units 16 Bullet point 17 Bracket org. 18 Messes up 19 Ineffective 20 Unwilling (to) 21 Branch 22 Ballad writer 23 Oak exterior 24 Ocular woe 25 Service 26 Medium ability 27 "Ta-tal" 28 Cutting comeback 29 Toyed (with) 30 Singing in some Ricola ads 31 Shakira's "Wolf" 32 Odyssey" prelude

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER (C) 2026 Tribune Media Services 47 Many a "Breaking Bad" figure 48 Clock-changing fir. 51 Cor anglais kin 52 Real hoot 53 Scale button 54 Tunneling pests 55 Cries of disgust 59 Tug-of...

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Nasdaq Comp. Down 263.92 26,067.17

39

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Bitcoin fever

Bitcoin on Thursday surged above $72,000 — its highest level since May — as President Trump urged Congress to speed up passage of crypto-friendly legislation. The world's largest cryptocurrency has risen four straight days.

Disney denied

A federal judge rejected a request by Disney for an urgent hearing on its lawsuit seeking to block the Federal Communications Commission's early review of ABC licenses.

Binance flap

Two Binance employees were detained in the United Arab Emirates in recent weeks amid police inquiries into possible financial crimes on the crypto platform, The New York Times reported.

Slimmer JPM

JPMorgan Chase filed six layoff notices with regulators between February and July, impacting 774 employees in Texas, New Jersey and California. It's the highest total since 2015, according to WARN Database.

$670M settle

Abbott reached a $670 million settlement to resolve legal claims by 2,000 people who alleged harms relating to the company's specialty formulas for premature infants.

Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, AP

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BANKIN' ON DALLAS

Morgan Stanley latest to build hub out of Mam's NYC

By JAMES FRANEY

Morgan Stanley has picked Dallas for a major expansion of its banking empire outside New York City — accelerating Wall Street's migration to Texas following the election of Mayor Mamdani, The Post has learned.

The financial giant plans to relocate up to 4,800 jobs to the state by 2031, passing over Alpharetta, Ga., according to municipal filings reviewed by The Post. The firm will anchor a new $1.3 billion, 709,000-square-foot skyscraper in the fast-growing Texas metropolis known to financiers as "Y'all Street."

The Wall Street behemoth led by CEO Ted Pick — which began exploring options outside the Big Apple this year following the election of the Big Apple's socialist mayor — had been weighing the new regional hub against Alpharetta, where it already has 3,000 employees.

Incentives helped

But in June, the Dallas City Council approved incentives including an $18.5 million grant tied to specific hiring benchmarks and a 10-year, 90% property tax abatement — and Morgan Stanley has since plowed ahead with the project, public filings show.

The city's 15-member Plan Commission quietly rubber-stamped final approval on Aug. 6 for the bank to mount 366.3-square-foot illuminated exterior signs on the Fountain Place tower downtown, following a preliminary sign committee vote in July, filings show. They clearly list the bank as a tenant.

Demolition crews also began clearing a former Gold's Gym on McKinney Avenue last week to make way

The toast of Texas

for the permanent skyscraper.

"This is the latest in what should be a wake-up call for City Hall," said Steve Fulop, CEO of the pro-business Partnership for NYC.

"Apollo, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have all highlighted Texas as a major hub in just the last few months, with thousands of jobs headed there," Fulop added. "Texas is playing the long game and rolling out the red carpet for jobs, while New York keeps upgrading the tax calculator. The contrast is pretty clear."

Morgan Stanley and City Hall didn't respond to requests for comment. A rep for Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson declined to comment.

Morgan Stanley will execute the move in two phases. The bank will first occupy 255,000 square feet at Fountain Place on 1445 Ross Ave. in downtown Dallas, where contractors will complete a $97 million interior renovation.

Workers will eventually move to the $1.3 billion skyscraper to be located at 2401 McKinney Ave.

The signage filings, submitted by Dallas land attorney Victoria Morris, propose installing illuminated, 366.3-square-foot attached signs featuring three-inch back-lit channel letters reading "Morgan Stanley."

Construction in Dallas has begun even as state records lag. The Texas

Department of Licensing and Regulation shows no new filings for the Fountain Place work or the Uptown tower.

Morgan Stanley has also published a slew of new job openings in the city on the professional networking platform LinkedIn.

The project continues a major shift of Wall Street firms to Texas in search of lower costs and favorable tax rules.

Just a mile away from the Morgan Stanley site in Dallas, Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot urban campus that will host 5,000 staffers.

jfraney@nypost.com

Real Dow-ner amid bond, oil spikes

The stock market had its worst day in three weeks as rising Treasury yields dented risk appetite and rallying oil prices fanned inflation worries.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 700 points, or 1.3%, weighed

down by a 9% drop in Walmart shares.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, while the Nasdaq lost 1%.

The bond market remains the center of the action after yields charged higher through the summer. Treasury Secretary Scott Bes-

Bessent made a surprise move Wednesday to repurchase bonds that brought some temporary relief. But yields resumed their upward trend Thursday.

Rising oil prices added to inflation concerns, as Brent crude gained 2.4% to $93.78 a

barrel after President Trump vowed to inflict "maximum economic pain" on Iran without specifying how.

The increase in oil compounded concerns about the health of the US consumer, said Mona Mahajan of Edward Jones. Investors were

already anxious after recent weaker-than-expected retail sales and jobs data for July. "There is some question about how resilient the consumer can be with ongoing elevated gas prices and inflationary pressures," Mahajan said. Wires

---

40

'Ever' in jail for China bust

The founder of China Evergrande Group, the world's most-indebted property developer, was sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court on Thursday, five years after the firm's collapse shook the nation's economy and financial markets.

Hui Ka Yan, once Asia's richest man, pleaded guilty in April to eight charges, including misuse of funds, fundraising fraud, illegally taking public deposits, illegally ex-

tending loans, fraudulently issuing securities and bribery.

Evergrande, once China's premier developer, has defaulted on most of its $300 billion in liabilities, its troubles symbolizing a crisis in the property sector that has long dragged on the world's second-biggest economy.

The sentence in the southern city of Shenzhen, which included confiscating all of Hui's personal property, ends his rags-to-riches

story but is unlikely to bring much solace to Evergrande's domestic and foreign creditors.

In pictures released by the court, a gray-haired Hui (right), 67, stood flanked by two officers, wearing a long-sleeved, navy blue collared shirt, as the court read out his sentence.

Altogether, 56 people linked to Evergrande, other than Hui, received sentences Thursday, state media CCTV reported. Reuters

Walmart falls 9%, sales lag

Walmart shares sank 9% Thursday after the retailer reported its slowest sales growth in more than six years as cash-strapped customers cut back on spending amid higher gasoline prices.

In the second quarter ended July 31, US comparable sales — at stores and digital channels open at least 12 months — rose 2.6%, the smallest increase since 2020, the firm said Thursday.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer has been lowering prices after receiving a massive $2.9 billion tariff refund in an effort to win over hesitant shoppers, focusing on specific goods "where consumers were feeling pressure," like beef, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said.

But lower-income shoppers have continued to cut back as they fork over a larger share of their pay at the gas pump amid the Iran war, as global energy supply disruptions keep prices stubbornly above $4 a gallon. "It appears there were choices between necessities within the quarter because of where gas prices are," Rainey said.

Net sales jumped 5.9% to $186.1 billion, while profit plunged 9.4% to $6.37 billion. The company hiked its full-year sales and income forecasts, optimistic about its ability to boost sales by further lowering prices.

Taylor Herzlich

Boo hoo for Labubu

Since the Labubu craze began, investors have wondered if the meteoric rise of Pop Mart, the maker of the ugly-cute dolls, was just a fad.

Maybe, suggests Pop Mart's first-half earnings.

CEO Wang Ning said Thursday the Beijing toy company faced more difficulties than expected and probably won't deliver the 20% revenue growth it had hoped for this year. First-half sales climbed 24% to $2.55 billion, decelerating from the threefold increase a year earlier. Dow Jones

County Zucker-ford

Meta CEO buys 19th-century Irish castle

By TAYLOR HERZLICH

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have purchased a massive 19th-century, Gothic-style castle in Ireland, the billionaire's spokesman confirmed Thursday.

Zuckerberg bought the three-story, cut-stone Strancally Castle, which sits on a 440-acre property, in County Waterford, from financier Michael Alen-Buckley's family in recent weeks, the Irish Times first reported.

"Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters," Brian Baker, a spokesman for Zuckerberg, told The Post.

The transaction was not listed on public records, but the 16,000-square-foot tower, which overlooks the River Blackwater, is worth

Lord of the manor

an estimated $23 million to $35 million, according to the Irish Times.

Zuckerberg and Chan are expected to continue living in the US and use the castle when they visit Ireland, where Meta employs about

1,500 people.

The Strancally Castle is 125 miles from Meta's international headquarters in Dublin, where many American tech firms base their EU operations to take advantage of Ireland's histori-

cally low corporate-tax rates. The company also operates a data center outside the city.

Architects James and George Richard Pain designed the castle, which was built around 1830 for John Keily,

a former English Tory politician, in County Waterford, according to reports.

"The Houses of Ireland," a book by Brian De Breffny and Rosemary Ffolliott, described the castle as a lavish property — requiring "a brisk walk of 4½ minutes to reach the dining room from the kitchen."

The Alen-Buckley family had extensively renovated the castle over the past 25 years.

It is located near several other massive properties, including Ballynatray House, which was bought for about $34 million in 2024 by British business magnate James Dyson, known for the Dyson Company.

Zuckerberg's sprawling $450 million-plus real estate portfolio also includes a mini compound in Palo Alto, Calif., which is his primary residence, and a massive Hawaii compound on a secluded island.

Painful health costs

Surging healthcare costs are walloping US workers, and they will only worsen next year. For 2027, employers may be facing the biggest health-insurance increase in at least two decades.

Americans with workplace coverage are expected to spend an average $5,297 this year on healthcare, $388 more than 2025, according to a new estimate from benefits-consulting firm Aon. The spending represents a

combination of payroll deductions for premiums and out-of-pocket charges like deductibles and co-pays.

The burden is likely to grow significantly next year, when employers expect their healthcare costs to go up by 11.1%, according to WTW, another big benefits consultant.

Expensive cancer treatments and wide adoption of weight-loss drugs are among the factors pushing up spending. Dow Jones

Starbucks cuts brew

Starbucks will lay off more than 200 corporate staff, continuing a strategy to tighten its operations two years into a turnaround effort pursued by CEO Brian Niccol.

The Seattle company plans to cut about 120 technology workers, according to the company, after those staff declined to relocate to Nashville, Tenn., where a new corporate office is being built. Starbucks is cutting an additional 104 jobs in coffee-

house design and development.

Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, is working toward Niccol's goal of eliminating $2 billion in costs by the end of its 2028 fiscal year. It is also investing more heavily in its cafe operations.

The new job cuts, detailed in a filing in Washington state, don't involve shutting down cafes. Earlier this year, Starbucks laid off 300 US corporate employees. Dow Jones

---

ELON MUSK Watching close races.

Elon set to Stoke GOPers

Elon Musk is likely to shell out nine-figure sums to help Republicans fend off Democrats in this year's midterm elections — particularly in Texas, where GOP Senate hopeful Ken Paxton faces a massive fundraising disadvantage.

Officials briefed on the matter told Wired that Musk is expected to spend between $100 million and $200 million to boost Republicans, though the precise amount could change.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss is expected to focus his political war chest on voter turnout in competitive races, with the closely watched Texas contest between Paxton and Democrat James Talarico among the potential beneficiaries.

Talarico has raised $68.6 million through June 30, more than seven times the roughly $9.2 million hauled in by Paxton's campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Ariel Zilber

Polymarket wager worry

More than 150 wallets on Polymarket's international platform may have traded on inside US military information, attracting copycat bets and raising concerns that the market could broadcast signals exploitable by foreign adversaries, according to research published Thursday.

The analysis by the non-profit Anti-Corruption Data Collective found the wallets made $8 million collectively, with an average win rate of 97.2%. Polymarket didn't respond to requests for comment.

Reuters

DELIVER A BLOW

Alot of New Yorkers seem to appreciate Amazon's services — that is, unless you're talking about Mayor Mamdani, the Democratic Socialists of America and a seemingly unlikely player in this clown show, the Teamsters, On The Money has learned.

There's a good chance, I am told, that the Seattle-based e-tailing giant pulls out of New York if this gang of three (or shall we call them the three stooges) has its way and the City Council passes a local ordinance that would ban the online retailer and similar businesses from using subcontractors for its deliveries.

First, let's be real: Amazon has become an essential utility for many New Yorkers, as it has for shoppers nationwide. It's why even left-wing class-warfare freaks like Joy Behar of "The View" profess "love" for the online retailer, even if she disdains billionaire founder Jeff Bezos for, well, being a billionaire.

Small-business issue

One lefty gripe is that Bezos should pay more taxes, even as he employs over 1 million Americans. Another is that Amazon is using small businesses that employ gig workers to deliver its packages.

There are about 40 small businesses that perform this task in NYC. They pay decent wages to their workers and are required to provide healthcare. But they're not unionized, which somehow makes it exploitative. That makes Mamdani a hater, ditto for his fellow travelers in the DSA and now the Teamsters.

Full disclosure: I'm a supporter of unions, the son of a union ironworker. I grew up with my fair share of Teamsters, and know the typical blue-collar political arche-

A bill of goods

Zo, DSA & Teamsters a threat to A'zon in NY

type. It veers between center left and center right but comes nowhere close to the DSA lunatic fringe.

That's why it struck me at least initially as weird that Teamster boss Sean O'Brien — a blue-collar Bostonian who spoke at the GOP's 2024 convention with a tacit endorsement of Donald Trump —

showed up recently to rally with DSA members and lefty city officials to tout the new law as a game changer for workers.

Look deeper and you can see why: O'Brien is looking for union members, and if you believe his critics, he doesn't care how he gets there. Past efforts to squeeze more money out of businesses like UPS

for its members have led to new contracts but also automation and layoffs.

The reasons for the bill's support by Mamdani and among the emerging DSA wing of the state's Democratic Party are more obvious: These are crypto Marxists (and some not so crypto) with little understanding of real economics.

They also can't add. The company has said that its delivery network is built on a fast and low-cost business model. This bill — and the pressure O'Brien is putting on — would make it impossible to sustain that model.

Reps for the Teamsters and the mayor had no comment.

Wall St. placing its bet on merger's success

The bets on Wall Street are stacking up in favor of David Ellison in his battle against California Attorney General Rob Bonta. On The Money has learned.

We're talking about a subset of the trading community known as "arbitrageurs," or arbs for short. These aren't the meme

touts who get their research from Reddit posts and have gotten slaughtered rolling the dice on speculative stocks while embracing weird conspiracy theories about dark forces tanking their inept investments.

Rather, these are the smart-money types at hedge funds and on Wall

Street trading desks who make bets based on reliable sources. The wagers are largely around the outcomes of mergers — whether deals will survive investor pressure or regulatory challenges, as in the case of Ellison's bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery and merge it with Para-

mount Skydance.

These so-called "merger arbs" have grown increasingly confident in recent weeks that Bonta will soon settle with Ellison, rather than using the nuclear option of taking him to court before what appears to be a lefty, anti-deal federal judge who could rule

against the merger and add another level of uncertainty to its future.

After tanking to around $25, WBD shares are now comfortably about $28, still below the $31 merger price but reflecting the belief Bonta will come to the negotiating table.

Charles Gasparino

41

Donald Peersall / NY Post Design

---

42 New York Post, Friday, August 21, 2026 nypost.com New York Genome Center, Inc. Bioinformatics Analyst (Hybrid) (New York, NY) Cntd to setup, magnet & motron of gem data pricing applies. Rmt not printed 2 dys a wk firm win New York, NY Min regs. Mtr's dgr G.S. or fgn equitn in bclmts, c mptn t sgs, bgs scns, gns, c mptn scn, or of scnts 6d with 2 yrs of dcmtd rch exp, whch may be gnd in acdmc, intrns, or prlnl exp. Salary: $83K - $95K/ yr, M K, M hrs/wk. Email resumes to mndgspereac@ngenome.org with ref. Bioinformatics Analyst. MERCANIDES COLLECTIBLES BUYING BASEBALL CARDS And All Other Sports Cards, Cert. Memorabia & Graded Vintage Cards. Prefer Pre-1980 Paying Top Dollar $55 small or large collections Call Henry 917-273-2353 CAREERS CAREER TRAINING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FINANCIAL SERVICES REAL ESTATE SERVICES MERCHANDISE FOR SALE PETS AUTOMOTIVE LEGAL & PUBLIC NOTICE PLACE AN AD Email: cloyd@nypost.com DEADLINES Monday: Friday 2:30PM Mon 09/04; Friday 2:30PM Tuesday: Monday 2:30PM Wednesday: Tuesday 2:30PM Thursday: Wednesday 2:30PM Friday: Thursday 2:30PM Saturday: Friday 2:30PM Sunday: Friday 2:30PM PAYMENTS We Accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, checks and money orders The New York Post reserves the right to edit, reclassify, reject or cancel an ad any time. We can only give appropriate credit, not to exceed the cost of the ad, for one insertion. We are not liable for com- plete omissions. Any discrepancies must be brought to our attention within 30 days of the first day the ad runs, in order to receive consideration for credit.

Classifieds

nypost.com

EMPLOYMENT		NOTICES
PROFESSIONAL		LEGAL NOTICES
New York Genome Center, Inc. Bioinformatics Analyst (Hybrid) (New York, NY) Cntd to setup, magnet & motron of gem data pricing applies. Rmt not printed 2 dys a wk firm win New York, NY Min regs. Mtr's dgr G.S. or fgn equitn in bclmts, c mptn t sgs, bgs scns, gns, c mptn scn, or of scnts 6d with 2 yrs of dcmtd rch exp, whch may be gnd in acdmc, intrns, or prlnl exp. Salary: $83K - $95K/ yr, M K, M hrs/wk. Email resumes to mndgspereac@ngenome.org with ref. Bioinformatics Analyst.		NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR CARRINGTON MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2006-FREY ASSET- BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, Plaintiff AGAINST PATRICIA CODRINGTON AKA PATRICIA H. CODRINGTON, JEROME CODRINGTON, ET AL. Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered July 6, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens County Supreme Courthouse, on the second floor in Courthouse, 28, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York on September 18, 2026 at 10:00 am, premises known as 130-08 230th St. aka 130-08 230th Street, Laurelton, NY 11413. All that certain plat piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in Laurelton, Fourth Ward, Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, Block 12907 Lot 40. Approximate amount of judgment: $696,954.44 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed. Judgment Index #724417/2022 Warren Hecht, Esq., Referee Tromberg, Miller, Moore & Partners, PLLC 39 Broadway, Suite 1840 New York, NY 10006 25-000592 90996
CAREERS CAREER TRAINING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FINANCIAL SERVICES REAL ESTATE SERVICES MERCHANDISE FOR SALE PETS AUTOMOTIVE LEGAL & PUBLIC NOTICE		LEGAL REAL ESTATE NASSAU COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) STENOGRAPHIC SERVICES The Nassau County Legislature seeks proposals from qualified individuals and entities authorized to do business in the State of New York to provide stenographic services for the Nassau County Legislature. RFP #13111 The RFP can be found at NassauCountyNY.gov. Proposals must be received by 4:00 p.m. EST on September 08, 2026. Location to submit response: Edward Mellina, 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501. Also e-mail copies to Mellina@NassauCountyNY.gov
PLACE AN AD Email: cloyd@nypost.com DEADLINES Monday: Friday 2:30PM Mon 09/04; Friday 2:30PM Tuesday: Monday 2:30PM Wednesday: Tuesday 2:30PM Thursday: Wednesday 2:30PM Friday: Thursday 2:30PM Saturday: Friday 2:30PM Sunday: Friday 2:30PM DAYMENTS We Accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, checks and money orders The New York Post reserves the right to edit, reclassify, reject or cancel an ad any time. We can only give appropriate credit, not to exceed the cost of the ad, for one insertion. We are not liable for com- plete omissions. Any discrepancies must be brought to our attention within 30 days of the first day the ad runs, in order to receive consideration for credit.		NEW YORK COUNTY (MANHATTAN) NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Notice of formation of Hope and Crown LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/28/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Vanessa Turner, 1178 Broadway 3rd Floor #1445 New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
WANT it sold? Sell it in the MY WAYS Classifieds Email cloyd@nypost.com		UNION All The Club at Chatham Hills; Westfield, Ind. 52M (Individual); Yardage: 7,273 yards; Par: 70 First Round Laurie Center... 62 -8 Cameron Smith... 63 -7 Richard T Lee... 63 -7 Bubba Watson... 64 -6 Dean Burmeister... 64 -6 Dustin Johnson... 64 -6 Brendan Steele... 64 -6 Caleb Surratt... 64 -6 Sergio Garcia... 64 -6 Lee Westwood... 64 -6 Joaquin Niemann... 64 -6 Bryson DeChambeau... 65 -5 Matthew Wolff... 65 -4 Adrian Moronk... 65 -4 Jose Luis Ballester... 65 -4 Abraham Aver... 65 -4 Lucas Herbert... 65 -4 Marc Leishman... 65 -4 Richard Bland... 65 -4 Thomas Detty... 65 -4 Peter Uhlein... 65 -4 Thomas Peters... 65 -4 Byeong-Hun An... 65 -4 Scott Vincent... 65 -4 Jon Rahm... 65 -4 Tyrrell Hutton... 65 -4 Brandon Grace... 65 -4 Young-Hun Song... 65 -4 Tom McKibbin... 65 -4 Graeme McDowell... 65 -4 Cameron Tringale... 65 -4 Carlos Ortiz... 65 -4 Ian Poulter... 65 -4 Talar Gooch... 65 -4 Charl Schwartz... 65 -4 Yosuke Asaji... 65 -4 Danny Lee... 65 -4 Harold Varner III... 65 -4
BP World Tour- Ness Championship At Trump International Golf Links; Aberdeen, United Kingdom; Purse: $3.5 million; Yardage: 7,353; Par: 72 First Round Marcus Kishoff... 34-33 67 -5 Eliot Baker... 35-34 69 -3 Benjamin Fabett-Smith... 34-35 69 -3 Felix Mory... 34-35 69 -3 Andrew Wilson... 35-34 69 -3 Albin Bergstrom... 35-35 70 -2 Lucas Berringland... 35-34 70 -2 Scott Jamieson... 35-35 70 -2 Heydt McCullen... 35-37 70 -2 Keita Nakajima... 35-35 70 -2 Jacob Skov Olesen... 35-34 70 -2 Jason Scrivener... 35-34 70 -2 Matthew Southgate... 35-37 70 -2		OP World Tour- Ness Championship At Trump International Golf Links; Aberdeen, United Kingdom; Purse: $3.5 million; Yardage: 7,353; Par: 72 First Round Marcus Kishoff... 34-33 67 -5 Eliot Baker... 35-34 69 -3 Benjamin Fabett-Smith... 34-35 69 -3 Felix Mory... 34-35 69 -3 Andrew Wilson... 35-34 69 -3 Albin Bergstrom... 35-35 70 -2 Lucas Berringland... 35-34 70 -2 Scott Jamieson... 35-35 70 -2 Heydt McCullen... 35-37 70 -2 Keita Nakajima... 35-35 70 -2 Jacob Skov Olesen... 35-34 70 -2 Jason Scrivener... 35-34 70 -2 Matthew Southgate... 35-37 70 -2
LPGA Tour- CPEC Women's Open At Royal Mayfair Golf Club; Edmonton, Alberta; Purse: $2.8 million; Yardage: 6,452; Par: 70 First Round Miyu Yamashita... 31-31 62 -8 Nasa Hataoka... 32-31 63 -7 Kara Romero... 31-33 64 -6 Anna Huang... 32-33 65 -5 Michelle King... 33-32 65 -5 Buoning Yin... 29-36 65 -5 Yuri Yoshida... 34-31 65 -5		LPGA Tour- CPEC Women's Open At Royal Mayfair Golf Club; Edmonton, Alberta; Purse: $2.8 million; Yardage: 6,452; Par: 70 First Round Miyu Yamashita... 31-31 62 -8 Nasa Hataoka... 32-31 63 -7 Kara Romero... 31-33 64 -6 Anna Huang... 32-33 65 -5 Michelle King... 33-32 65 -5 Buoning Yin... 29-36 65 -5 Yuri Yoshida... 34-31 65 -5

Golf

PGA Tour- BMW Championship At Bellerive Country Club; Saint Louis, Mo.; Purse: $20 million; Yardage: 7,440; Par: 70
First Round
Wyndham Clark	34-30	64 -6
Chris Gathing	32-32	64 -6
Rory McIlroy	33-31	64 -6
J.J. Spain	30-34	64 -6
Gary Woodland	31-33	64 -6
Matt Fitzpatrick	31-34	65 -5
Ryo Hisatsune	32-33	65 -5
Jacob Bridgeman	34-32	66 -4
Alex Fitzpatrick	34-32	66 -4
Michael Thorbjørnsen	33-34	66 -4
Ludvig Åberg	34-32	66 -4
Akshag Bhatia	33-34	67 -3
Patrick Cantlay	31-36	67 -3
Eric Cole	32-35	67 -3
Russell Henley	34-33	67 -3
Sungjae Im	36-31	67 -3
Jake Knapp	34-33	67 -3
Maverick McNeely	34-33	67 -3
Kristoffer Reitan	34-33	67 -3
Justin Thomas	35-32	67 -3
Ben Griffin	35-33	68 -2
Robert MacIntyre	34-34	68 -2
Colin Morikawa	35-33	68 -2
Aaron Rai	33-35	68 -2
Adam Scott	35-33	68 -2
Michael Brennan	33-36	69 -1
Nicolas Echevarria	33-36	69 -1
Tommy Fleetwood	34-35	69 -1
Min Wex Lee	36-33	69 -1
Justin Rose	35-34	69 -1
Alex Smolley	34-35	69 -1
Ryan Gerard	35-35	70 -1
Si Wex Kim	36-34	70 -1
Matthew McCarty	37-33	70 -1
J.T. Poston	33-37	70 -1
Xander Schaufle	34-36	70 -1
Sam Burns	35-36	71 -1
Rickie Fowler	35-36	71 -1
Ryan Fox	37-34	71 -1
Viktor Hovland	34-37	71 -1
Alex Noren	35-36	71 -1
Sahith Thongala	33-38	71 -1
Cameron Young	37-34	71 -1
LIV Golf Indianapolis At The Club at Chatham Hills; Westfield, Ind. 52M (Individual); Yardage: 7,273 yards; Par: 70
First Round
Laurie Center	62 -8
Cameron Smith	63 -7
Richard T Lee	63 -7
Bubba Watson	64 -6
Dean Burmeister	64 -6
Dustin Johnson	64 -6
Brendan Steele	64 -6
Caleb Surratt	64 -6
Sergio Garcia	64 -6
Lee Westwood	64 -6
Joaquin Niemann	64 -6
Bryson DeChambeau	65 -5
Matthew Wolff	65 -4
Adrian Moronk	65 -4
Jose Luis Ballester	65 -4
Abraham Aver	65 -4
Lucas Herbert	65 -4
Richard Bland	65 -4
Thomas Detty	65 -4
Peter Uhlein	65 -4
Thomas Peters	65 -4
Byeong-Hun An	65 -4
Scott Vincent	65 -4
Jon Rahm	67 -3
Tyrrell Hutton	67 -3
Brandon Grace	67 -3
Young-Hun Song	67 -3
Tom McKibbin	67 -3
Graeme McDowell	68 -2
Cameron Tringale	68 -2
Carlos Ortiz	68 -2
Ian Poulter	68 -2
Talar Gooch	68 -2
Charl Schwartz	68 -2
Yosuke Asaji	68 -2
Danny Lee	68 -2
Harold Varner III	68 -2
OP World Tour- Ness Championship At Trump International Golf Links; Aberdeen, United Kingdom; Purse: $3.5 million; Yardage: 7,353; Par: 72
First Round
Marcus Kishoff	34-33	67 -5
Eliot Baker	35-34	69 -3
Benjamin Fabett-Smith	34-35	69 -3
Felix Mory	34-35	69 -3
Andrew Wilson	35-34	69 -3
Albin Bergstrom	35-35	70 -2
Lucas Berringland	35-34	70 -2
Scott Jamieson	35-35	70 -2
Heydt McCullen	35-37	70 -2
Keita Nakajima	35-35	70 -2
Jacob Skov Olesen	35-34	70 -2
Jason Scrivener	36-34	70 -2
Matthew Southgate	35-37	70 -2
LPGA Tour- CPEC Women's Open At Royal Mayfair Golf Club; Edmonton, Alberta; Purse: $2.8 million; Yardage: 6,452; Par: 70
First Round
Miyu Yamashita	31-31	62 -8
Nasa Hataoka	32-31	63 -7
Kara Romero	31-33	64 -6
Anna Huang	32-33	65 -5
Michelle King	33-32	65 -5
Buoning Yin	29-36	65 -5
Yuri Yoshida	34-31	65 -5

MLS

EAST	W	L	D	Pts	GF	GA
Nashville	14	2	4	46	40	15
Inter Miami CF	11	3	6	39	48	38
Chicago	11	6	2	35	36	25
New England	10	7	3	33	32	25
Cincinnati	8	6	6	30	48	46
Charlotte FC	8	7	5	29	35	31
NYCFC	7	8	5	26	34	29
Red Bulls	7	9	4	25	30	42
D.C. United	5	6	9	24	27	33
Orlando City	6	11	3	21	32	50
Toronto FC	4	7	9	21	29	36
Columbus	5	10	5	20	28	33
Philadelphia	5	10	5	20	30	37
CF Montréal	5	10	5	20	27	37
Atlanta	5	12	3	18	23	35
WEST	W	L	D	Pts	GF	GA
Houston	12	6	2	38	29	24
Vancouver	11	4	4	37	40	18
Los Angeles FC	10	7	4	34	35	21
San Jose	10	7	3	33	38	28
FC Dallas	9	5	6	33	38	29
St Louis City	8	6	6	30	28	26
Colorado	9	10	1	28	30	25
Real Salt Lake	8	7	4	28	33	30
Portland	8	9	3	27	27	36
LA Galaxy	6	8	7	25	25	30
Minn. United	6	7	7	25	22	28
Seattle FC	7	9	3	24	21	26
San Diego FC	6	8	6	24	34	32
Austin FC	5	10	5	20	25	39
Sporting K.C.	4	13	3	15	19	49
Note: 3 pts. for win, 1 for tie
Saturday
Chicago at Red Bulls, 7:30pm
D.C. United at Charlotte FC, 7:30pm
Seattle FC at Cincinnati, 7:30pm
Toronto FC at Miami, 7:30pm
LA Galaxy at CF Montréal, 7:30pm
Salt Lake at Orlando City, 7:30pm
Philadelphia at Austin FC, 8:30pm
Columbus at Nashville, 8:30pm
Houston at St Louis City, 8:30pm
FC Dallas at Vancouver, 9:30pm
Portland at Los Angeles FC, 10:30pm
Colorado at San Diego FC, 10:30pm
Minnesota at San Jose, 10:30pm
Sunday
NYCFC at New England, 4:30pm
Sporting K.C. at Atlanta, 7pm
Saturday, August 29
Philadelphia at Red Bulls, 7:30pm
NYCFC at Toronto FC, 7:30pm
Chicago at Seattle FC, 4:30pm
Charlotte FC at Atlanta, 7:30pm
New England at Columbus, 7:30pm
Los Angeles FC at D.C. United, 7:30pm
CF Montréal at Miami, 7:30pm
San Jose at Houston, 8:30pm
Vancouver at Sporting K.C., 8:30pm
Orlando City at Minnesota, 8:30pm
Cincinnati at Nashville, 8:30pm
Salt Lake at Colorado, 9:30pm
Austin FC at Portland, 10:30pm
LA Galaxy at San Diego FC, 10:30pm
Sunday, August 30
FC Dallas at St Louis City, 7pm

SPORTSCROSS
1	3/27
10	11
12	13
16	15
16	19
20	21
23	24
26	27
29	30
34	35
36	37
ACROSS
1 Giants TE Gary
1 1 2 3 4 5
6 Hike
10 NYC med school
11 Angel
12 Devils GM
13 Play on the road
14 Jorge Polanco issue
in 2026
16 Project management
pro trio
19 Victor on the ice
20 "The Up"
21 "We — the
Champions"
22 Education org.
23 NFL honor
25 Schumer for short
26 Jasson Dominguez
injury in 2026
29 Cornerman Jeff
(1990-2000) had a
cup of coffee with
the Yankees
30 Romry Mauricio
injury in 2026
34 Landed
35 Old MLB free agent
classification
36 Kill
37 Trade chip
DOWN
1 "Sudden —"
McDowell
2 18 — Seep
Choi
3 Fish disease
4 Darcy in the NHL
1973-84
5 Kevin McReynolds
6 Bogus pitch man
7 Markus or Mats
8 Person to whom
property is
AUGUST
1980
9 SUNY school
13 Minn. player
15 Horse on the
Belmont Stakes
trophy
16 Some HD TVs
17 OF 1981-96 who
spent four seasons
in pinstripes
18 OF 1987-2000 who
had three stints with
the Yankees
21 Singer Guthrie
24 It holds glass in
window frames
27 James of Jazz
28 Hitter Hoskins
31 "Big Brown"
32 Darnell for Denver
in the '90s
33 Stick
SOLUTION IN SATURDAY'S POST
ACROSS
Spanish La Liga
Rayo Vallecano 1, Alaves 1
Saudi Pro League
Al Hilal 3, Al Fayha 0
UEFA Europa League-Qualifying 1st Leg
Anderlecht 3, Kairat Almaty 0
Jagiellonia Białystok 4, Iberia 1999 0
RB Salzburg 1, Mjällby Alf 0
Besiktas 3, Kauno Zalgiris 0
CSU Craiova 1, Ararat-Amenia 1
Egnatia 0, Lilleström 0
Lech Poznan 7, FC Thun 0
Ferencváros 1, Trabzonspor 0
OFI Crete 3, CSKA Sofia 0
Red Star Belgrade 3, Viktoria Plzen 0
Sint-Truidense 1, Omonia Nicosia 0
Benfica 3, AGF 1
UEFA Conference League- Qualifying
1st Leg
Tromo 0, Brighton & Hove Albion 0
Ajax Amsterdam 4, FC Sion 2
Getafe 3, Partizan Belgrade 1
Atalanta 0, Hapoel Tel Aviv 0
AS Monaco 3, Gornik Zabrze 2
Hibernian 0, KAA Gent 0
SC Freiburg 3, Motherwell 1
Heart of Midlothian 2, Rapid Vienna 2
Rangers 1, Jablone 0
FC Hradec Kralove 2, Panathinaikos 2
FC Lugano 2, Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1
FC Inter Turku 0, F.C. Kolumbaven 0
Larne 2, Lincoln Red Imps 0
FC Midtjylland 2, Rijeka 0
FC Nordsjælland 1, St. Gallen 0
Riga FC 0, Kl Laksvik 0
FKOK 1, SK Brann 1
Drita Gjilan 2, Inter D'Escaldes 2
FK Qarabag 1, FC Twente 0
Braga 2, Austria Vienna 0
Pafos 1, Dinamo City 1
Borac Banja Luka 3, Vilsigur Reykjavik 1
Hadjuk Split 2, Rakow Czestochowa 2
Shamrock Rovers 1, KuPS Kuopio 1
H-hard, C-clay, G-grass
June 19-27 2025 — Eastbourne Open, GO (Madison Keys)
July 10-19 2026 — Athens, Greece, HO (Barbara Krejcikova)
July 11-20 2026 — UniCredit Iasi Open, CO (Mayar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz)
July 18-26 2026 — Hamburg European Open, CO (Tamara Korpatsch)
July 17-26 2026 — Livesport Prague Open, HO (Lilli Tagger)
July 24-Aug. 1 — Memphis, USA, HO (Kristina Liutova)
July 24-Aug. 1 — Mubadala Citi DC Open, HO (Alexandra Ebis)
July 31-13 2026 — National Bank Open, HO (Jay Swiatek)
July 10-24 2026 — Western & Southern Open, HO
Aug. 21-29 2026 — Tennis in the Land, HO
Aug. 21-29 2026 — Abierto GNP Seguros, HO
Aug. 22-Sept. 12 — US Open, HO
Sept. 11-19 2026 — Guadalajara Open, HO
Sept. 12-20 2026 — SP Open, HO
Sept. 19-27 2026 — Korea Open, HO
Sept. 19-27 2026 — Singapore Open, HO
Sept. 28-Oct. 10 — China Open, HO
Oct. 10-18 2026 — Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open, HO
Oct. 17-25 2026 — Ningbo Open, HO
Oct. 17-25 2026 — Japan Open Tennis Championships, HO
Oct. 24-Oct. 31 — Guangzhou Open, HO
Oct. 24-Oct. 31 — Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, HO
Oct. 31-8 2026 — Chennai Open, HO
Oct. 31-8 2026 — Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, HO
Oct. 31-8 2026 — Jiangxi Open, HO
Nov. 6-14 2026 — WTA Finals, HO

---

NEW YORK POST ACTION

Post Time: 1:10 p.m. vcangialos@nypost.com

Saratoga

Analysis by Vic Cangialosi

Lock of the Day Bostons Phinest (8th) Lock Record: 14 for 30 (47%) Meet Record: 79/313 $510.38

1 1/16 miles(T); $130,000; alw; 4up

Going long on the lawn in the opener. CUGINO closed well to be a close 3rd at Colonial. Stricethes longer, 2nd off the 6 month layoff for Shup. Here the longer Red Smith under Prat last year. WYNSTOCK won comfortably making 2 turns on dirt. Again if we're off turf. TIZ DASHING About 4 lengths short in the Kelso and the Manhattan, contested at this distance. And RIGHT TO VOTE has won twice here this summer, both at 1 1/8 miles. A 3rd in the cards.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Tiz Dashing(L),123	J Castellano	5-8-7	Tagg	2-1
2	Carson's Run(L),123	D Davis	5-4-6	Clement	5-1
3	Cugino(L),123	F Prat	3-11-2	McGaughey III	8-5
4	Capture the Flag(L),121	J Velazquez	6-4-8	Pletcher	8-1
5	Right to Vote(L),123	M Franco	1-1-2	C Brown	5-2
6	Wynstock(L),123	J Ortiz	1-6-5	Sharp	1-1
7	Over and O'Neil(L),123	Rider TBA	2-2-7	R Dutrow	2-1
8	Sara's Shaman(L),121	S Gonzalez	6-3-4	Kantarmaci	12-1
9	O'Neil(L),123	Rider TBA	5-3-3	Kantarmaci	6-1

2 1 mile; $110,000; alw; 3up

A breather for PALACE BOSS after firing, racing 9 furlongs at Aqueduct on New Years Day, 2 lengths shy racing this shorter distance at Saratoga last summer. Franco at a price. WHITTINGTON PARK Claimed by Noda after reporting home 3rd, this distance. Now 1 for 10 at the Spa. Davis subs for Franco. DR KRAFT was 2nd in the longer Commentator, then 8th in the shorter Montisey. Gets Prat back.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Quick to Accuse(L),126	E Zayas	5-5-2	Synnefas	5-1
2	Palace Boss(L),126	M Franco	6-8-7	De Paz	8-1
3	Whittington Park(L),126	D Davis	3-2-7	Noda	5-2
4	Shadow Dragon(L),126	J Ortiz	5-6-5	Abreu	7-2
5	Dr. Kraft(L),126	F Prat	8-2-4	Kantarmaci	3-1
6	Concorde Spirit(L),126	K Carmouche	8-3-2	Rodriguez	9-2
7	Jackson Heights(L),126	R Santana, Jr	7-4-5	Kantarmaci	15-1

3 1 mile; $115,000; mdn; 3up(f)

Clement has 2 in here, both capable. MOONLIT in the money all 3 starts, twice at the distance. Franco on. Ishikem on. ABORLINIA was 3rd at this distance then 4th behind Moonlit. ROMALA Turf to dirt for Chad Brown. Offered little in lone dirt start. Improvement expected. J Ortiz replaces Franco.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Romala(L),121	J Ortiz	9-6-4	C Brown	6-1
2	Jadorlinija(L),121	R Santana, Jr	4-3-4	Clement	2-1
3	Moonlit(L),121	M Franco	3-2-3	Clement	8-5
4	Masquerademitress(M),121	D Davis	4-4-4	Baker	20-1
5	Full of Tacti(L),121	J Lezcano	6-4-5	Barrera III	12-1
6	Epic Enfield(L),121	D Davis	7-3-4	Merry	10-1
7	Hypnotica(L),121	F Prat	4-8-4	C Brown	4-1

4 6 fur; $55,000; ctm($35,000); 3up

Franco again. HOT PROPERTY is heating up. Lengthy losing streak, but only 1 1/2 lengths short here last week. Moves lower for Rice who has remarkable numbers off the short rest. ISLAND TOWN loads off a maiden breaker (2rd start). Asmussen's colt is the one to catch. NASH POTATOES is 1 for 11 but 2nd best last out. Sweezes gets Carmouche to snap the skid. METATRON Close 3rd before going on the shelf in December. We will wait.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Nash Potatoes(L),126	K Carmouche	2-5-5	Sweezey	4-1
2	Island Town(L),122	J Ortiz	1-2-4	Asmussen	2-1
3	Tartabull(L),122	L Saez	8-7-3	Crichton	6-1
4	Peyton(L),126	O Hmdt Mreno	8-1-4	Schettino	20-1
5	Unauthorized(L),122	E Zayas	7-1-3	Brisset	8-1
6	Hot Property(L),126	M Franco	4-8-5	Rice	6-1
7	Metatron(L),126	F Prat	3-1-5	Brion	9-2
8	Rochester(L),122	R Santana, Jr	6-5-1	Moguel	8-1

5 1/2 fur(T); $115,000; mdn; 2YO

A wide open 2YO race. FIRE MARSHAL Midpack 5th at Aqueduct. Prat stays on; so do we. Choice over first time starters RAISE THE ROOF

(DePaz/Franco/Tourist). GNOSIS (Handal/Davis/Mind Control). GOOD AIM (A Rice/J Ortiz/Good Magic) and PYRALIS (Falcone/Santana/Epicenter).

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Bet On Zion,123	S Gonzalez	7-4-4	Rodriguez	20-1
2	Good Aim,123	J Ortiz	4-4-4	Rice	4-1
3	Raise the Roof,123	M Franco	4-4-4	De Paz	7-2
4	Royal Reserve,123	J Lezcano	4-4-4	Rice	8-1
5	Gnosis,120	D Davis	4-4-4	Handal	6-1
6	Pyralis,123	R Santana, Jr	4-4-4	Falcone	8-1
7	Scalene,123	J Castellano	4-4-4	Ribaudo	15-1
8	Fire Marshal,123	F Prat	5-4-4	Maker	4-1
9	Tinian,123	J Velazquez	4-4-4	Casse	9-2
10	Oguapa,123	Rider TBA	4-4-4	Rodriguez	6-1

6 1 1/16 miles(T); $115,000; mdn; 2YO(f)

More 2YOs. Two turns on the turf. GOLDEN SHRINE debuted a clear 2nd of 6 here in July. Siren is Golden, 2nd time around. J Ortiz rides for Casse. ENERGY FLOWS ran well for 2nd, then 3rd on dirt. Spirit to route to make grass detail for LaRose. Irish bred. DETERIORIS SCHOLIS (DeVaux) Franco/Baeeed. ENCRYPTING (Stall/Saez/Irish Mischief) and DOVES AND HAWKS (Brown/Prat/Twirling Candy) make career debuts.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Belmont Street,123	J Velazquez	4-4-4	R Dutrow	15-1
2	Determined Scholes,123	M Franco	4-4-4	DeVaux	5-1
3	Golden Siren,123	J Ortiz	2-4-4	Casse	5-2
4	Encrypting,123	L Saez	4-4-4	Stall	8-1
5	Belsa,123	D Davis	4-4-4	Clement	6-1
6	Doves and Hawks,123	F Prat	4-4-4	C Brown	9-2
7	Have Hope,123	J Castellano	7-4-4	Pletcher	12-1
8	Energy Flows,123	R Santana, Jr	3-2-4	LaRose	3-1
9	Hunter Creek,123	K Davis	6-4-4	Proctor	12-1
10	Bluegrass Princess,123	L Saez	3-4-4	McPee	4-1
11	Superior Returns,123	M Franco	4-4-4	C Brown	8-1
12	Get My Good Side,123	Rider TBA	4-4-4	Green	12-1
13	Kesh,123	Rider TBA	4-4-4	Mott	10-1
14	Funny Words,123	Rider TBA	4-4-4	Ryerson	15-1
15	Revenge of the Sis,123	Rider TBA	4-4-4	Weaver	5-1
16	Margie's Girl,123	J Ortiz	5-2-3	McPee	7-2

7 1 1/8 miles; $125,000; alw; 3up

Going to COOKE CREEK Led, tired, when he ran here in June. Scored 2 back at Oaklawn and won a 200k wire-to-wire, same distance at Delaware last year. Capable for Mike Maker. SOLD VENTURI was 3rd in a Grade 3 at Tampa before taking a breather in March. Won at Gulfstream in January. 3rd best lone try, this distance. Prat rides for Walden. ALAN TURING Turf to dirt for Quick. Upset winner (11-1) in the Commentator, this distance, last dirt start. May be same price today. GEORGIA MAGIC has won 2 straight and enters off a triple digit fig. Now 1 for 6 at this distance. Franco will have him forwardly placed.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Alan Turing(L),126	J Castellano	6-1-2	Quick	12-1
2	Racing Driver(L),126	L Saez	4-2-3	Delgado	15-1
3	Urban Planner(L),126	D Davis	1-8-1	Jacobson	12-1
4	Render Judgment(L),126	J Ortiz	5-1-2	McPee	5-1
5	Shimho's Jewel(L),126	K Carmouche	4-4-9	Rodriguez	10-1
6	Georgia Magic(L),126	M Franco	1-1-4	Schauer	4-1
7	Solo Venture(L),126	F Prat	3-1-4	Walden	3-1
8	Cooke Creek(L),126	R Santana, Jr	5-1-4	Maker	6-1
9	Yo Daddy(L),126	J Lezcano	2-6-6	Rice	7-2

8 5 1/2 fur(T); $120,000; alw; 3up(f)

Can BOSTONS PINNEST stretch her winning streak to 37 Won by a nose here in July but she had a troubled trip. One more. ROMAN GRACE MTO. Won on a wet track at the Big A in May. RATU JAWA was 4th at 19-1, a length back of ONE LAST KNOCK who was 3rd. Ratu Jawa is 6 for 4 on turf.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	One Last Knock(L),126	K Carmouche	3-1-2	Brion	4-1

2	Star of Life(GB's),122	L Saez	4-4-4	Casse	8-1
3	Boston's Phinest(L),126	J Ortiz	1-1-2	B Brown	7-5
4	Ratu Jawa(L),126	S Bridgmohan	4-5-4	Seyler	15-1
5	Li' Regard(L),126	R Santana, Jr	6-3-4	Kantarmaci	12-1
6	Sod Siren(FRX),126	F Prat	4-1-1	Joseph	7-2
7	Only for Now(L),122	M Franco	7-5-1	Clement	9-2
8	Army Gall(L),126	J Lezcano	9-3-4	Rice	7-2
9	Mog's Foxy Grey(L),126	Rider TBA	1-6-5	Nevin	8-1
10	Taqiberi(L),126	Rider TBA	2-4-1	Jacobson	6-1
11	Roman Grace(L),126	R Santana, Jr	5-1-5	Rice	5-2
12	Edintrudis(L),126	E Zayas	3-5-6	Kantarmaci	15-1

9 1 1/8 miles; $200,000; Fleet Indian; 3YO(f)

Linda Rice has LADY ROSE make her stakes debut in the Fleet Indian. Easy 5 length allowance winner but can she get another furlong? Gargan's VENETTA is the M/L fave after winning 3 in a row, including 2 stakes. HOT CURRENCY was 2nd to Venetta in the Bouverie but rebounded to top optional Garbers by open lengths. Never made 2 turns. VICTORY HALL was 4th, then a much better 2nd behind Venetta. Offers sharp novices value. UNLOCK THE VALUE One start. Won it gate-to-wire by 9+ lengths racing a mile in the slop. Advances to a stake for Chad Brown. We will know more after this start.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Power of Women,120	F Prat	1-1-4	De Paz	10-1
2	Hot Currency,124	M Franco	1-2-1	Rice	7-2
3	Venetta,124	K Carmouche	1-1-1	Gargan	5-2
4	Iron Orchard,124	J Ortiz	4-9-9	Asmussen	3-1
5	Lady Rose,122	J Lezcano	1-4-1	Rice	8-1
6	New York Special,120	E Zayas	3-1-2	Casse	12-1
7	Victory Hall,124	R Santana, Jr	2-4-8	Morley	15-1
8	Unlock the Value,120	D Davis	1-4-4	C Brown	9-2

10 1 1/16 miles(T); $100,000; mdn; 3up(f)

FELIXYN Narrowly defeated last pair, latest at Saratoga this distance. Moves forward for Morley. PROMISE ME AMELODY MTO. ZAP THE GHOST Close 4th (moved up to 3rd via DQ) last month. Blinkers on. AMAZING GRACER and GANDERELLA ran home 2-1, same distance here in July.

PH	Horse Wt.	Jockey	Last 3	Trainer	Odds
1	Ganderella(L),121	E Zayas	3-7-4	Terranova II	5-1
2	Felixyn(L),121	D Davis	2-2-5	Morley	3-1
3	Zap That Ghost(L),126	J Ortiz	3-6-4	Abreu	7-2
4	Fifty Shades Free(M),121	F Prat	4-4-4	Abreu	6-1
5	Magic in My Eyes(L),121	R Santana, Jr	4-8-5	Green	12-1
6	No Need to Panic(L),121	J Castellano	2-9-8	Micoli	20-1
7	Amazing Gracer(L),126	M Franco	2-4-4	James Bond	4-1
8	Coach of the Year(L),121	J Lezcano	4-4-11	Weaver	9-2
9	Okay Annie(L),121	Rider TBA	7-4-4	Duggan	8-1
10	Suited Connectors(L),121	Rider TBA	3-5-4	Clement	7-2
11	Little Finch(L),126	E Zayas	11-6-4	James Bond	20-1
12	Premise Me Amelody(L),121	M Franco	2-4-4	Clement	8-5

PLAY OF THE DAY

Seven fillies were scheduled to race in the Thursday opener. Ms Nikki D was one of four scratches. No play. So we will play three on Friday. Bet $4 across the board on Palace Boss in Race 2 and Lady Rose in Race 9. And $50 to win on Boston's Phinest in Race 8. — Vic Cangialosi

Yonkers entries Friday

Post Time: 6:45 p.m.

FIRST: Mile trot; $15,000; cond

1 Be Different (V@noburg) 4-3-4 5-2 2 Marie County (ASiegelman) 6-5-4 3-1 3 Bully Boy Hill (Manshin) 8-3-6 3-1 4 Long Hill (TButer) 5-5-2 8-1 5 Jeannie's Action (DDube) 7-7-5 12-1 6 Tachyon (SStratton) 5-8-8 6-1 7 Six And Stones (GBroman) 7-3-5 20-1

SECOND: Mile pace; $15,000; claiming

1 I'm Table Happy (SStratton) 2-1-1 3-1 2 Minotaur (V@noburg) 8-3-7 6-1 3 Aladdin (Pluchance) 2-6-2 5-2 4 Captain Battow (CKelly) 4-2-6 9-2 5 Pink Floyd Hanover (TButer) 5-7-7 8-1 6 Hurnikandvaganes (DDube) 4-5-4 5-1 7 HezAlltheRagan (ASiegelman) 6-8-5 8-1 8 Take A Closet (A. Manshin) 6-8-3 12-1

THIRD: Mile pace; $21,000; cond

1 Spinto Of Pink (DDube) 2-3-3 2-1 2 Cerise Rainbow A (CKelly) 4-7-4 6-1 3 Pest Painter N (Pluchance) 2-6-4 9-5 4 I'm A Believer (ASiegelman) 5-2-3 12-1 5 Jordania Hanover (Manshin) 4-3-4 6-1 6 Beora Mean (TButer) 2-6-2 20-1 7 Catnap (V@noburg) 2-5-7 20-1 8 Sweet Addition N (SStratton) 7-2-4 8-1

FOURTH: Mile pace; $15,000; cond

1 Kapi Loose (Manshin) 6-4-5 3-1 2 Pristville (SStratton) 5-5-5 4-1 3 Lyons Benjamin (GBroman) 3-8-8 8-1 4 DreamboatHanover (Grosbrg) 6-8-1 10-1 5 Silky Choice (Pluchance) 4-4-4 7-2 6 Donitethmoore (Siegelman) 3-7-5 6-1 7 Benhope Ruiz N (CKelly) 4-5-4 20-1 8 Carabao A (TButer) 6-4-1 10-1

FIFTH: Mile pace; $21,000; cond

1 Nila Mare N (CKelly) 4-7-3 4-1 2 Elusive A (ASiegelman) 7-5-3 3-1 3 Lloyd's Loves (Manshin) 2-1-7 8-1 4 Spirit Of Pearl A (SStratton) 1-4-2 7-2 5 Vel Im All Fire (TButer) 1-3-1 10-1 6 Time To Strike (Makalaley) 8-4-5 6-1 7 Hunting Hula (Pluchance) 1-3-6 12-1 8 True Now Hanover (SSmith) 6-4-1 20-1

SIXTH: Mile trot; $21,000; cond

1 Happy Jack B (DDube) 1-1-8 7-5 2 Honolulu Hanover (TButer) 6-3-6 4-1 3 Musical Ride (Pluchance) 5-5-2 8-1 4 Camera Man (SSmith) 1-6-4 3-1 5 Lucky Mum N (ASiegelman) 1-2-5 6-1 6 Nymeria (Makalaley) 2-6-1 8-1 7 Bjor's Lil Man (CKelly) 3-2-5 10-1 8 Sea Can (SStratton) 3-3-4 12-1

SEVENTH: Mile pace; $19,000; cond

1 Lucky Artist A (ASiegelman) 6-8-2 9-2 2 Ultimate Speed (DDube) 6-8-6 4-1 3 Distant Lover (V@noburg) 5-7-5 12-1 4 Bri Express N (SStratton) 7-3-7 3-1 5 Sunburst (TButer) 6-4-2 5-1 6 Fighting Evil (CKelly) 4-5-4 8-1 7 Huge And Kisses (Makalaley) 1-6-7 6-1 8 Step The Reason A (SSmith) 2-4-5 20-1

EIGHTH: Mile pace; $28,000; cond

1 Lydeo (Manshin) 1-4-4 9-2 2 Beckoning Yankee (DDube) 6-1-2 8-1 3 Oakley Shant N (Makalaley) 7-1-4 5-1 4 Sheepsthisjack (TButer) 1-1-2 2-1 5 LooklikeDiamonds A (Tritto) 2-5-5 3-1 6 Waitforver N (SStratton) 5-5-2 20-1 7 Avf Claire (CKelly) 1-6-3 20-1 8 Dandy's Mercy (V@noburg) 2-3-3 15-1

NINTH: Mile pace; $43,000; invitational

1 CoachHabanchi (ASiegelman) 8-2-1 12-1 2 Francett N (Pluchance) 1-2-4 9-2 3 Werklithbalance (SStratton) 2-4-4 10-1 4 Jensville A (Makalaley) 2-5-1 7-2 5 Rose (DDube) 3-3-4 8-1 6 Raspalia N (CKelly) 7-1-1 15-1 7 Sweetstiklitho A (TButer) 1-2-1 3-1 8 Silk Cloud A (Tritto) 1-3-3 5-1

TENTH: Mile trot; $21,000; cond

1 Howlingofmonzha(Pluchance) 5-3-1 5-2 2 Ye Sheldon (Makalaley) 3-4-5 7-2 3 I'm Out (SStratton) 2-3-8 6-1 4 Saints Preserve (In (TButer) 5-6-1 10-1 5 Oarmonetchtime (CKelly) 8-1-1 3-1 6 DuranteHanover (Siegelman) 3-1-7 8-1 7 Show The Will (V@noburg) 7-1-1 20-1 8 Meetmeathlebar (SSmith) 5-9-8 20-1

Saratoga Results

FIRST-1 mile; $41,000; mdn (8X28,8); 3upf 2 Estee L V (Wigro) 8.46 SECOND-5's fur; $58,000; ctm($48,000); 3up 6 Light Finch (Pretz) 8.70 5.02 3.40 5 Two Ducks (Saez) 11.24 6.92 4 Armet (Ortiz) 4.14 * $1 Daily Double (2-6) $18.69 * $1 Exacta (6-5) $5.14 * $1 Quimela (3-6) $4.99 * $0.1 Superfecta (6-5-4-7) $137.78 * $0.5 Trifecta (6-5-4) $116.29

Winner picked by Vic C

THIRD-4 fur; $58,000; mdn (8M25,8); 2Y0 4 Partridge (Lezcano) 8.32 3.90 2.64 5 Beer War (Santana, Jr.) 4.90 3.24 6 Max O'Niilast (Ortiz) 2.40 7 Scripple * $1 Pick 1 (2-6-4) $88.96 * $1 Daily Double (6-4) $27.41 * $1 Exacta (4-2) $15.64 * $0.1 Superfecta (4-2-3) $20.95 * $0.5 Trifecta (4-2-3) $21.48 FOURTH-6's fur; $115,000; mdn spl wt; 2YO F 4 Cash Burn (Prat) 3.62 2.32 2.10 2 Dry Drastic (Velazquez) 2.78 2.38

5 Secret Connection (Franco) 2.74 * $1 Pick 3 (6-4-4) $46.05 * $1 Daily Double (4-4) $8.04 * $1 Exacta (4-2) $4.29 * $1 Quimela (2-4) $2.79 * $0.1 Superfecta (4-2-5) $4.87 * $0.5 Trifecta (4-2-5) $5.29

Exacta picked by Vic C

FIFTH-5's fur; $62,000; mdn ctm($55,0); 3up 5 Escapades (Prat) 5.26 2.80 2.18 7 Deported (GB) (Ortiz) 2.86 2.22 3 Oligarch (Zayas) 2.92 Scc: Croton Crossbay, No Compromise, Enticed Master, Ink Lies

• $1 Pick 1 (4-4-5) $24.60 * $1 Double (4-5) $5.61 * $1 Exacta (5-7) $5.52 * $0.1 Superfecta (5-7-3-6) $13.43 * $0.5 Trifecta (5-7-3) $7.17

SIXTH-1 mile; $110,000; alw; 3up (5km) 2 Vatholina (Davis) 2.78 2.10 2.10 1 Boxed Wine (Santana, Jr.) 4.10 2.80 3 Sweetnut Princess (Lezcano) 3.18 * $1 Pick 1 (4-5-2) $5.90 * $1 Daily Double (5-2) $4.14 * $1 Exacta (2-1) $2.23 * $0.1 Superfecta (2-1-3) $3.29 * $0.5 Trifecta (2-1-3) $4.56

Winner picked by Vic C (Lock)

SEVENTH-1 mile; $158,000; N.Y.S.S.; 2YO 1 Chummers (Davis) 8.52 3.82 2.40 3 A Little At First (Cistellino) 2.92 2.16 7 Jaxer (Prat) 2.52 Scc: Sunday Boy, Nessuna Pagina, Socially Johnny, Sculls Folly * $1 Cons Pick 1 (5-2-11) $1.87 * $1 Pick 1 (5-2-1) $12.39 * $0.5 Pick 5 (X-COUNTRY) 5-13-2 6-1) $118.15 * $1 Daily Double (2-1) $4.72 * $1 Exacta (1-3) $6.00 * $0.1 Superfecta (1-3-7) $9.89 * $0.5 Trifecta (1-3-7) $9.44

---

New York Post, Friday, August 21, 2026 nypost.com New York Post, Friday, August 21, 2026 nypost.com

AL Standings

East	W	L	Pct.	GB	*WGB	L10	Streak	Home	Away
Tampa Bay	76	51	.598	—	—	5-5	L-1	43-23	33-28
Yankees	72	55	.567	4	+9( \frac{1}{2} )	6-4	W-4	31-27	41-28
Boston	68	59	.535	8	+5( \frac{1}{2} )	4-6	L-1	31-32	37-27
Toronto	63	66	.488	14	( \frac{1}{2} )	7-3	W-1	33-33	30-33
Baltimore	61	67	.477	15( \frac{1}{2} )	2	4-6	L-4	32-33	29-34
Central	W	L	Pct.	GB	*WGB	L10	Streak	Home	Away
Chicago	66	61	.520	—	—	5-5	L-1	37-25	29-36
Minnesota	63	65	.492	3( \frac{1}{2} )	—	5-5	W-3	35-31	28-34
Cleveland	62	66	.484	4( \frac{1}{2} )	1	4-6	W-1	31-34	31-32
Detroit	61	66	.480	5	1( \frac{1}{2} )	4-6	L-2	32-31	29-35
Kansas City	55	74	.426	12	8( \frac{1}{2} )	6-4	W-5	33-30	22-44
West	W	L	Pct.	GB	*WGB	L10	Streak	Home	Away
Houston	64	64	.500	—	—	4-6	L-1	32-33	32-31
Texas	63	65	.492	1	—	4-6	W-1	34-28	29-37
Seattle	60	68	.469	4	3	4-6	L-1	33-29	27-39
Los Angeles	51	77	.398	13	12	6-4	W-1	29-36	22-41
Athletics	49	79	.383	15	14	2-8	L-4	23-40	26-39

*WGB: Games behind third-place team in wild-card race

Thursday

Yankees 6, Baltimore 1 Cleveland 5, San Francisco 2 Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 1 Atlanta 2, White Sox 0 Kansas City 6, Athletics 2 Milwaukee 7, Seattle 4 Texas 2, Washington 0 L.A. Angels 18, Houston 3 Friday Toronto at Yankees, 7:05

Mets at White Sox, 7:40 San Francisco at Boston, 7:10 Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 7:15 Athletics at Houston, 8:10 Detroit at Kansas City, 8:10 L.A. Angels at Texas, 8:15 Cleveland at Colorado, 8:40 Minnesota at San Diego, 9:40 Cubs at Seattle, 10:10

NL Standings

East	W	L	Pct.	GB	*WGB	L10	Streak	Home	Away
Atlanta	75	53	.586	—	—	4-6	W-1	42-23	33-30
Philadelphia	70	58	.547	5	+2	8-2	W-6	35-30	35-28
Miami	64	64	.500	11	4	5-5	L-3	38-25	26-39
Washington	61	68	.473	14( \frac{1}{2} )	7( \frac{1}{2} )	3-7	L-1	27-36	34-32
Mets	58	70	.453	17	10	7-3	W-1	30-35	28-35
Central	W	L	Pct.	GB	*WGB	L10	Streak	Home	Away
Milwaukee	79	49	.617	—	—	5-5	W-1	43-23	36-26
Chicago	74	54	.578	5	+6	6-4	L-1	38-27	36-27
St. Louis	66	63	.512	13( \frac{1}{2} )	2( \frac{1}{2} )	7-3	W-1	32-34	34-29
Pittsburgh	63	66	.488	16( \frac{1}{2} )	5( \frac{1}{2} )	5-5	W-2	34-32	29-34
Cincinnati	61	67	.477	18	7	4-6	L-1	32-36	29-31
West	W	L	Pct.	GB	*WGB	L10	Streak	Home	Away
Los Angeles	77	51	.602	—	—	7-3	W-3	37-26	40-25
San Diego	68	60	.531	9	—	7-3	L-1	37-26	31-34
Arizona	67	61	.523	10	1	5-5	W-1	36-27	31-34
San Francisco	52	75	.409	24( \frac{1}{2} )	15( \frac{1}{2} )	3-7	L-1	29-33	23-42
Colorado	50	77	.394	26( \frac{1}{2} )	17( \frac{1}{2} )	4-6	L-3	27-35	23-42

Thursday

St. Louis 10, Cincinnati 9 Cleveland 5, San Francisco 2 Atlanta 2, White Sox 0 Milwaukee 7, Seattle 4 Texas 2, Washington 0 Friday Mets at White Sox, 7:40

Atlanta at Milwaukee, 4:10 St. Louis at Philadelphia, 6:40 San Francisco at Boston, 7:10 Washington at Miami, 7:10 Cleveland at Colorado, 8:40 Cincinnati at Arizona, 9:40 Minnesota at San Diego, 9:40 Cubs at Seattle, 10:10 Pittsburgh at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10

FOSY SU DOKO
Puzzles on Page 38
6	3	2	4	5	7	8	9	1
7	4	9	2	8	1	5	6	3
1	5	8	6	3	9	7	4	2
4	7	6	9	2	5	3	1	8
2	1	3	7	6	8	9	5	4
9	8	5	1	4	3	2	7	6
3	6	7	8	9	4	1	2	5
5	2	1	3	7	6	4	8	9
8	9	4	5	1	2	6	3	7
Solution to Very Easy #7,377 Solution to Difficult #7,167

Yankees 6, Orioles 1

Yankees	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
Graham cf	4	0	1	0	1	1	1.225
Rice dh	4	1	1	1	1	0	251
Ramos lf	4	0	1	1	0	1	243
Garcia 1b	4	2	3	1	0	1	279
Chisholm 2b	4	0	1	1	0	1	216
Lombard ss	4	0	0	0	0	2	292
Jones rf	4	2	3	1	0	0	227
Wells c	4	1	1	0	0	2	176
Caballero 3b	4	0	0	1	0	1	239
Totals	36	6	11	6	2	9

Baltimore	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
Holliday 2b	4	0	0	0	0	2	231
Alonso 1b	4	0	2	0	0	1	269
Henderson ss	3	0	1	0	1	2	221
Basallo dh	4	0	0	0	0	2	239
Encarnacion-
Strand 3b	4	0	0	0	0	2	247
Beavers lf	3	1	1	1	0	1	239
Taveras rf	3	0	0	0	0	0	230
Cowser cf	3	0	0	0	0	2	209
Narváez c	3	0	0	0	0	0	167
Totals	31	1	4	1	1	12

Yankees	003 002 010	-	6 11	0
Baltimore	000 010 000	-	1	4 1
E: Henderson (15). LOB: New York 5, Baltimore 4. 2B: Ramos (17). 3B: Chisholm (3). HR: Garcia (25), off Bradshaw, Jones (6), off Bradshaw, Beavers (5), off Cole. RBIs: Caballero (42), Rice (80), Ramos (35), Garcia (80), Jones (19), Chisholm (49), Beavers (26). 3B: Jones (7). Runners left in scoring position: New York 3 (Chisholm, Wells 2). Baltimore 2 (Encarnacion-Strand 2). RISP: New York 2 for 8; Baltimore 0 for 4.

Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	RB	SO	NP	ERA
Cole, W. 7-6	6.0	4	1	1	1	8	93	3.11
Yarbrough, S. 3-1	3.0	0	0	0	0	4	46	3.35
Baltimore	IP	H	R	ER	RB	SO	NP	ERA
Bradish, L. 7-12.5.2	8	5	3	2	5	100	3.70
Wolfram	1.1	0	0	0	0	2	17	5.35
Suárez	2.0	3	1	1	0	2	36	3.93

Braves 2, White Sox 0

Atlanta	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
R.Acuda rf	4	0	0	0	0	1	237
Ballwin dh	4	0	0	0	0	1	272
Olsen 1b	4	0	0	0	0	2	261
Albis 2b	4	0	1	0	0	2	251
Thomas lf	3	0	0	0	1	1	229
Harris cf	4	1	1	0	0	1	291
Dubón ss	4	1	3	0	0	0	264
Riley 3b	4	0	2	2	0	2	223
Murphy c	4	0	1	0	0	1	132
Totals	35	2	8	2	1	11

Chicago	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
Antonucci lf	4	0	0	0	0	1	268
Murakami 1b	4	0	0	0	0	1	227
Vargas 3b	3	0	0	0	1	1	240
Benotendi dh	4	0	1	0	0	1	248
B.Montgomery rf	3	0	0	0	0	1	235
C.Montgomery ss	2	0	0	0	1	2	216
Meidroth 2b	3	0	0	0	0	1	273
Peters cf	2	0	0	0	0	1	270
Doyle ph-lf	1	0	0	0	0	1	213
Romo c	1	0	0	0	1	0	138
Grichuk ph	1	0	0	0	0	0	276
Rogers c	0	0	0	0	0	0	175
Totals	28	0	1	0	3	10

Atlanta	001 000 100	-2	8	0
Chicago	000 000 000	-0	1	1
E: Antonucci (3). LOB: Atlanta 7, Chicago 4, 2B: Riley (20), Harris (28). RBIs: Riley 2 (60). Runners left in scoring position: Atlanta 4 (Murphy, R.Acuda, Baldwin 2); Chicago 2 (Murakami, Meidroth). RISP: Atlanta 1 for 11; Chicago 0 for 4.

Atlanta	IP	H	R	ER	RB	SO	NP	ERA
Holmes, W. 9-5.6.0	1	0	0	3	3	94	3.64
Fuentes, H. 14.1.0	0	0	0	0	3	14	2.60
Lee, H. 29	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	13	2.02
Iglesias, S. 26-29	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	12	3.09
Chicago	IP	H	R	ER	RB	SO	NP	ERA
Kay, L. 9-6	6.0	5	2	1	6	94	3.96
Brustolain	0.2	2	0	0	0	1	43	2.97
H.Smith	1.1	0	0	0	0	3	15	1.50
Richards	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	20	3.19

T: 2:22. A: 17,052 (40,241).

Blue Jays 5, Rays 1

Toronto	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
McAdoo 3b-2b	5	1	1	0	0	3	283
Cameron lf	5	2	2	1	0	2	364
Kirk C	4	0	1	0	1	0	282
Springer dh	5	0	2	2	0	2	235
Okamoto 1b-3b	5	1	2	1	0	1	239
Giménez ss	2	0	1	0	0	0	240
Valenzuela 1b	1	0	1	0	1	0	229
Clement 2b-ss	3	0	1	0	1	1	285
Straw cf	4	0	0	0	0	2	215
Lukes rf	4	1	1	1	0	1	259
Totals	38	5	12	5	3	12

Tampa Bay	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
Simpson lf	4	1	1	0	0	0	309
Caminero 3b	4	0	1	1	0	1	274
Aranda 1b	4	0	1	0	0	2	282
Diaz 2b	4	0	2	0	0	2	308
Mullins cf	3	0	0	0	1	0	207
DeLuca rf	4	0	0	0	0	1	263
Palacios 2b	3	0	0	0	0	0	241
Mateo ss	3	0	0	0	0	1	239
Perris c	3	0	0	0	0	1	266
Totals	32	1	5	1	1	8

Toronto	IP	H	R	ER	RB	SO	NP	ERA
Butler, W. 5-27.0	4	1	1	0	7	101	4.53
Miles	1.0	0	0	0	0	8	3.04
Variand	1.0	1	0	0	1	1	21	1.24
Tampa Bay	IP	H	R	ER	RB	SO	NP	ERA
Seymour, L. 9-4	5.0	6	3	3	1	8	90	4.17
Lequamina	2.0	4	2	2	1	3	43	3.99
Roycroft	2.0	2	0	0	1	1	31	8.39

Toronto	IP	H	R	ER	RB	SO	NP	ERA
Butler, W. 5-27.0	4	4	3	1	8	90	4.17
Lequamina	2.0	4	2	2	1	3	43	3.99
Roycroft	2.0	2	0	0	1	1	31	8.39

Royals 6, Athletics 2
Atletics AB R H BI BB SO Avg
Bolte cf 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 269
McNeil 1b 5 0 0 0 0 0 261
Gelof lf 4 0 0 0 1 1 269
Butler dh 3 1 2 0 1 0 218
Muncy 3b 2 1 0 0 2 1 216
Cortes rf 3 0 2 0 1 0 260
Seven c 4 0 1 1 0 2 205
Walton 2b 3 0 1 1 1 0 281
Hernazl ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 236
Totals 32 2 8 2 7 6

Atletics	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
Bolte cf	5	0	1	0	0	0	2.69
McNeil 1b	5	0	0	0	0	0	261
Gelof lf	4	0	0	0	1	1	269
Butler dh	3	1	2	0	1	0	218
Muncy 3b	2	1	0	0	2	1	216
Cortes rf	3	0	2	0	1	0	260
Seven c	4	0	1	1	0	2	205
Walton 2b	3	0	1	1	1	0	281
Hernazl ss	3	0	1	0	1	0	236
Totals	32	2	8	2	7	6

---

Angels 18, Astros 3

Los Angeles	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
Meckler If	2	2	1	0	1	0	288
Siri pr-ff-cf	1	1	0	0	1	0	255
Trout cf	3	2	0	0	2	2	239
Peraza 2b	1	1	1	0	0	0	238
Schmuel 1b	4	1	0	1	0	0	276
Guzman 3b	2	1	1	2	0	1	236
Neto ss	6	2	5	7	0	0	231
Ballesteros dh	6	2	2	2	0	2	208
Grissom 3b-1b	6	1	3	3	0	1	249
Lowe rf	5	2	2	0	0	1	213
Heineman c	3	1	1	1	0	0	184
Frazier 2b-ff	5	2	2	2	0	0	243
Totals	44	18	18	18	4	7
Houston	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	Avg
Wade 1b-p	3	1	0	0	1	3	218
Alvarez dh	1	1	1	0	1	0	319
Díaz ph-dh-1b	2	0	1	0	0	0	254
Paredes 3b	4	0	2	0	0	0	262
Altave 2b	2	0	0	0	0	1	245
Delgado 2b	2	0	0	0	0	1	257
Varsho cf	4	1	1	0	0	0	229
Trammell ff	4	0	0	0	0	2	211
Smith rf	3	0	0	1	0	1	221
Allen ss	4	0	2	0	0	0	261
Vázquez c	4	0	1	0	0	1	220
Totals	33	3	8	1	2	9

Los Angeles	130	640	202	—	18	18	1
Houston	200	000	001	—	3	8	2

E: Grissom (6), Lambert (2), Paredes (7). LOB: Los Angeles 6, Houston 6. JB: Ballesteros (7), Frazier (7), Grissom (17), Neto (25), Peraza (12), Alvarez (26), Paredes (22), Varsho (20). HB: Neto (21), off King; Guzman (6), off Wade. RBIs: Neto 7 (61), Grissom 3 (50), Heineman (9), Frazier 2 (10), Ballesteros 2 (25), Schmuel (49), Guzman 2 (22), Smith (48). SB: Meckler (6). CS: Neto (11). Rumors left in scoring position: Los Angeles 4 (Schmuel, Ballesteros, Frazier, Lowe); Houston 5 (Vázquez, Varsho, Delgado, Smith 2). RISP: Los Angeles 9 for 22; Houston 1 for 12.

Los Angeles	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Rodriguez, W.	7.0	5	2	0	2	6	99	6.41
4-5	2.0	3	1	1	0	3	35	1.29

Houston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	NP	ERA
Lambert, L. 8-7.3.2	8	9	9	2	3	79	3.68
King	1.1	5	5	5	0	1	37	4.75
Imai	3.0	2	2	2	2	3	57	5.32
Wade	1.0	3	2	2	0	0	1	118.00

T: 2:53. A: 20,934 (41,000).

AL Leaders

AMERICAN LEAGUE

BATTING: Alvarez, Houston, 317; C. Simpson, Tampa Bay, 309; Ya. Diaz, Tampa Bay, 308; Witt, Kansas City, 286; Clement, Toronto, 285; DeLauter, Cleveland, 285; RBI: Alvarez, Houston, 88; Dingler, Detroit, 82; Alonso, Baltimore, 82; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 81; Rice, New York, 80; Bell, Minnesota, 77; Aranda, Tampa Bay, 76; Contreras, Boston, 75; HOME RUNS: Alvarez, Houston, 36; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 35; Rice, New York, 34; Murakami, Chicago, 29; Alonso, Baltimore, 29; Vargas, Chicago, 28; Dingler, Detroit, 26; C. Montgomery, Chicago, 26; Okamoto, Toronto, 26; PITCHING: S. Gray, Boston, 15-3; Rasmussen, Tampa Bay, 13-5; N. Martinez, Tampa Bay, 12-4; G. Williams, Cleveland, 12-7; Schlittler, New York, 10-6; Soriano, Toronto, 10-6;

NL Leaders

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BATTING: Arraz, Philadelphia, 319; Gonzales, Pittsburgh, 310; O. Lopez, Miami, 308; Moreno, Arizona, 307; F. Freeman, Los Angeles, 303; McCarthy, Colorado, 295; J. Lee, San Francisco, 293; Rumfield, Colorado, 292; RBI: S. Stewart, Cincinnati, 96; J. Walker, St. Louis, 94; Burleson, St. Louis, 93; Abrams, Washington, 91; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 80; B. Lowe, Pittsburgh, 80; Pages, Los Angeles, 80; Crow Armstrong, Chicago, 79; Olson, Atlanta, 77; L. Garcia, New York, 76; HOME RUNS: Schwarber, Philadelphia, 37; Olson, Atlanta, 36; Goodman, Colorado, 34; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 31; Wood, Washington, 30; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 30; Abrams, Washington, 29; B. Lowe, Pittsburgh, 27; PITCHING: C. Sanchez, Philadelphia, 16-4; Burns, Cincinnati, 14-2; Ashby, Milwaukee, 13-2; B. Ashcraft, Pittsburgh, 13-5; S. Alcantara, Miami, 13-8; F. Griffin, Cleveland, 12-3; E. Rodriguez, Arizona, 12-4;

WNBA

East	W	L	Pct.	GB
Indiana	24	13	.649	—
Atlanta	23	13	.639	½
Washington	21	14	.600	2
Liberty	22	15	.595	2
Chicago	14	22	.389	9½
Toronto	10	25	.286	13
Connecticut	9	26	.257	14
West	W	L	Pct.	GB
x-Minnesota	30	7	.811	—
x-Golden State	25	10	.714	4
x-Las Vegas	25	13	.658	5½
Dallas	21	16	.568	9
Portland	15	20	.429	14
Phoenix	13	23	.361	16½
Los Angeles	12	24	.333	17½
Seattle	7	30	.189	23

x-clinched playoff spot

Thursday

Dallas 91, Indiana 85

Las Vegas 101, Connecticut 78

Atlanta 124, Los Angeles 88

Friday

Golden State at Chicago, 7:30pm

Minnesota at Washington, 7:30pm

Portland at Toronto, 10pm

Saturday

Indiana at Liberty, 7pm

Connecticut at Los Angeles, 9pm

Atlanta at Phoenix, 10pm

Sunday

Seattle at Dallas, 4pm

Indiana at Chicago, 7pm

Las Vegas at Toronto, 7pm

Washington at Portland, 7pm

NWSL

Thursday, Week 2

Las Vegas 22, Houston 20

San Francisco 41, L.A. Chargers 17

Friday

Jets at Pittsburgh, 7pm

Carolina at Jacksonville, 7:30pm

Green Bay at Denver, 9pm

Saturday

Giants at Miami, 4pm

Washington at Detroit, 12pm

Atlanta at Indianapolis, 1pm

Baltimore at Minnesota, 1pm

Buffalo at Cleveland, 1pm

New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 4pm

Chicago at Cincinnati, 7pm

Philadelphia at New England, 7pm

Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 7:30pm

Dallas at Arizona, 10pm

Sunday

Seattle at Tennessee, 8pm

Thursday, Aug. 27 - Week 3

Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7pm

New England at Cleveland, 8pm

San Francisco at Las Vegas, 8pm

L.A. Rams at L.A. Chargers, 10pm

Friday, Aug. 28

Giants at Jets, 7:30pm

Washington at Baltimore, 6pm

Atlanta at Miami, 7pm

Houston at Carolina, 7pm

Tampa Bay at Jacksonville, 7:30pm

Arizona at Green Bay, 8pm

Cincinnati at Philadelphia, 8pm

New Orleans at Dallas, 8pm

Seattle at Kansas City, 8pm

Minnesota at Denver, 9pm

Saturday, Aug. 29

Detroit at Indianapolis, 1pm

Chicago at Tennessee, 6pm

NWSL

Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7pm

New England at Cleveland, 8pm

Friday, Aug. 28

Giants at Jets, 7:30pm

Washington at Baltimore, 6pm

Atlanta at Miami, 7pm

Houston at Carolina, 7pm

Arizona at Green Bay, 8pm

New Orleans at Dallas, 8pm

Seattle at Kansas City, 8pm

Minnesota at Denver, 9pm

NFL Preseason

Thursday - Week 2

Thursday - Week 2

Las Vegas 22, Houston 20

Friday

Jets at Pittsburgh, 7pm

Green Bay at Denver, 9pm

Saturday

Giants at Miami, 4pm

Washington at Detroit, 12pm

Atlanta at Indianapolis, 1pm

Baltimore at Minnesota, 1pm

Buffalo at Cleveland, 1pm

New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 4pm

Chicago at Cincinnati, 7pm

Dallas at Arizona, 10pm

Sunday

Seattle at Tennessee, 8pm

Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7pm

New England at Cleveland, 8pm

Friday, Aug. 28

Giants at Jets, 7:30pm

Washington at Baltimore, 6pm

Atlanta at Miami, 7pm

Houston at Carolina, 7pm

Arizona at Green Bay, 8pm

New Orleans at Dallas, 8pm

Seattle at Kansas City, 8pm

Minnesota at Denver, 9pm

Saturday, Aug. 29

Detroit at Indianapolis, 1pm

Chicago at Tennessee, 6pm

NWSL

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

NWSL

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis

---

46

NEW YORK POST ACTION

The POST Line

MLB
Favorite	Friday Money Line	Underdog
YANKEES	$194-235	Blue Jays
WHITE SOX	$126-152	Mets
ORIOLES	$113-134	Rays
Tigers	$101-120	ROYALS
ASTROS	$164-196	Athletics
RANGERS	$126-148	Angels
BREWERS	$124-148	Braves
PHILLIES	OFF	Cardinals
MARLINS	$130-154	Nationals
D'BACKS	$123-147	Reds
DODGERS	$191-236	Pirates
RED SOX	$148-178	Giants
Guardians	$132-158	COLORADO
PADRES	OFF	Twins
Cubs	-109-110	MARINERS

WNBA
Favorite	Friday PTS (O/U)	Underdog
Lynx	3.5 (163.5)	MYSTICS
Valkyries	5.5 (162.5)	SKY
*Fire	1.5 (186.5)	Tempo
Vancouver, British Columbia

NFL Preseason
Favorite	Friday PTS (O/U)	Underdog
Jets	1.5 (37.5)	STEELERS
Panthers	1.5 (37.5)	JAGUARS
BRONCOS	6 (40.5)	Packers
Saturday
Favorite	Friday PTS (O/U)	Underdog
Giants	3.5 (36.5)	DOLPHINS
LIONS	1.5 (37.5)	Commanders
VIKINGS	3.5 (36.5)	Ravens
BROWNS	3 (36.5)	Bills
COLTS	3.5 (36.5)	Falcons
Saints	3 (37.5)	RAMS
Eagles	2.5 (36.5)	PATRIOTS
Bears	1.5 (36.5)	BENGALS
BUCCANEERS	5.5 (37.5)	Chiefs
CARDINALS	1.5 (37.5)	Cowboys
Sunday
Favorite	Friday PTS (O/U)	Underdog
TITANS	4.5 (38.5)	Seahawks
Home team in CAPS

CFL
Favorite	Friday PTS (O/U)	Underdog
ELKS	5.5 (59.5)	Blue Bombers

SPORTS SHORTS

MLB: deGrom surpasses 2,000 K's

Jacob deGrom struck out 10 and allowed one hit and one walk in six innings while reaching 2,000 career strikeouts in the second-fewest games and innings in major league history as the Rangers beat the Nationals 2-0 in Arlington, Texas.

DeGrom, 38, achieved his milestone in 272 starts and trailed only Randy Johnson, who reached his 2,000th strikeout in only 262 starts.

● In Chicago, Grant Holmes took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Braves topped the White Sox 2-0 to end a three-game slide.

● In St. Petersburg, Fla., Shane Bieber pitched seven strong innings, and the Blue Jays beat the Rays 5-1.

● In Cincinnati, the Reds' Dane Myers dropped a fly ball with two outs in the ninth, opening the floodgates in a six-run inning to give the Cardinals a 10-9 win over the Reds.

● In Kansas City, Mo., Bobby Witt Jr. homered and scored three runs, and the Royals beat the Athletics 6-2 for their first four-game sweep of the season.

GOLF: McIlroy takes BMW co-lead

Rory McIlroy played bogey-free at Belletive for a 6-under 64 that gave him a share of the lead in the BMW Championship in St. Louis with three other U.S. Open champions and Chris Gotterup, a Little Silver, N.J., native and Rutgers alum.

● In Westfield, Ind., Laurie Canter fired an 8-under-par 62 to take the early lead at LIV Golf Indianapolis.

NHL: Rangers, Wolf Pack extend deal

The Rangers extended their deal with the American Hockey League's Hartford Wolf Pack to remain their top minor league affiliate through the end of the 2028-29 season. Hartford has been their affiliate since the 1997-98 season, just months after the NHL's Whalers departed to become the Hurricanes.

NBA: Harden stays with Cavaliers

James Harden agreed to a three-year, $97 million contract to remain with the Cavaliers, according to multiple reports.

The deal includes a player option for the 2028-29 season as well as a trade kicker. The former league MVP had declined his $42.3 million player option for the upcoming season.

ETC.: Cowboys, Saints fined

The Cowboys and the Saints have been fined $500,000 apiece by the NFL after their brawl-filled joint practice Tuesday. The league announced the fines after requesting video of the tumultuous workout at the Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, Calif.

● In Houston, top draft pick Fernando Mendoza struggled in his second preseason game, throwing an interception that Houston returned for a touchdown before the Raiders rallied late for a 22-20 victory over the Texans.

● In Dallas, Arike Ogunbowale scored a season-high 32 points and the Dallas Wings beat Indiana 91-85, ending the Fever's five-game winning streak.

TOP PLAY

Jets won't Steel this one

By DYLAN SVOBODA

The Jets are favored Friday night largely because the Steelers will be without their top two quarterbacks.

Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph will sit, leaving Will Howard and Drew Allar to handle the snaps for Pittsburgh.

That may sound like a problem for the Steelers, but I'm not sure it should be enough to make them a home underdog.

Howard is slated to start, while Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said he wants to "max out the opportunities" for both young quarterbacks, meaning each should get an extended look in the second of three preseason games.

They gave Pittsburgh plenty to like in last week's 28-9 preseason win over Green Bay. Howard was 7-for-9 passing for 86 yards. Al-

lar arguably looked even better, throwing for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

Geno Smith will start for the Jets after he was a late scratch for the preseason opener with a sore ankle, but head coach Aaron Glenn has little reason to push his veteran quarterback if he is anything less than 100 percent.

Cade Klubnik played well in place of Smith last week, though Bailey Zappe threw two interceptions after taking over.

Howard and Allar are inexperienced, but both should get plenty of reps and are coming off strong performances.

In preseason football, quarterback depth matters much more than the regular-season depth chart. I'll take my chances with the Steelers plus money at home.

THE PLAY: Steelers moneyline (+115, DraftKings Sportsbook)

dsvoboda@nypost.com

Pitching Form

	(Game time)	2026		'26 vs OPP		CAREER		LAST 3 STARTS
		W-L	ERA	*REC	W-L	ERA	vs OPP	W-L	IP	ERA
Blue Jays	TBD	—	—	—	—	—	0.00	0-0	0.0	0.00
Yankees	Schlitter (R)	(7:05pm)	10-6	2.19	15-11	0-1	1.96	0-2	0-0	15.1
Mets	Manana (L)	—	4-5	4.22	6-6	—	—	3-0	2-0	19.1
White Sox	Burke (R)	(7:40pm)	7-6	3.13	10-11	—	—	0-0	0-1	15.2
Giants	Webb (R)	—	8-7	3.50	9-13	0-0	0.00	0-2	2-0	20.0
Red Sox	Gray (R)	(7:10pm)	15-3	2.65	17-6	1-0	3.97	4-1	2-1	19.0
Guardians	Cantillo (L)	—	9-7	3.80	16-10	0-0	0.00	0-0	1-1	12.0
Rockies	Gordon (R)	(8:40pm)	0-3	5.55	2-3	0-1	18.00	0-1	0-1	15.0
Twins	Priepp (L)	—	3-6	5.34	6-11	0-0	0.00	0-0	0-1	15.1
Padres	Visquez (R)	(9:40pm)	8-6	4.30	12-7	0-0	0.00	0-0	2-0	13.2
Cubs	Boyd (L)	—	8-2	4.02	11-4	—	—	2-2	2-1	19.0
Mariners	Hancock (R)	(10:10pm)	7-7	3.30	11-12	0-1	20.25	0-2	1-2	17.2
Rays	Peralta (R)	—	5-10	5.27	12-13	0-1	3.86	1-1	0-1	14.1
Orioles	Rogers (L)	(7:15pm)	8-8	4.15	12-11	1-1	8.38	2-1	2-1	16.0
Athletics	Ginn (R)	—	8-7	3.53	13-9	0-0	10.80	1-1	0-1	18.0
Astros	Wesneski (R)	(8:10pm)	2-1	5.16	3-1	0-0	0.00	1-0	1-1	17.0
Tigers	Melton (R)	—	7-1	1.71	11-3	0-0	3.60	0-0	1-0	17.1
Royals	Cameron (L)	(8:10pm)	7-8	4.16	7-16	0-0	2.45	0-0	2-0	22.2
Angels	Detmers (L)	—	4-8	3.78	9-16	0-0	3.50	3-3	1-1	18.0
Rangers	Gore (L)	(8:15pm)	7-9	4.45	14-12	0-1	4.96	0-2	1-0	17.0
Braves	Sale (L)	—	12-8	2.16	13-9	0-0	0.00	2-0	1-2	18.0
Brewers	Misiorowski (R)	(4:10pm)	12-5	1.75	15-8	0-1	3.00	0-1	1-1	19.0
Cardinals	Dobbins (R)	—	3-3	3.42	3-4	0-1	1.80	0-1	1-2	16.1
Phillies	Luzardo (L)	(6:40pm)	11-5	3.23	17-8	0-0	0.00	2-1	2-0	21.2
Nationals	TBD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Marlins	Gusto (R)	(7:10pm)	0-3	4.70	6-5	0-0	13.50	1-0	0-1	14.2
Reds	Lodolo (L)	—	3-2	4.52	4-10	0-0	3.38	0-0	0-0	14.0
D'backs	Rodriguez (L)	(9:40pm)	12-4	2.71	19-6	0-0	3.38	1-1	2-1	18.2
Pirates	Chandler (R)	—	6-8	4.23	10-13	1-0	6.75	1-0	3-0	16.2
Dodgers	Yamamoto (R)	(10:10pm)	12-7	2.60	15-7	0-1	1.80	0-1	1-1	19.2

• REC: Won-lost record of pitcher's team in games he has started.

STITCHES

Athletic Stitches prefers Ginn

Transaction update: The Pirates picked up Christian Bethancourt from the Yankees for cash considerations. The Eagles traded A.J. Brown to the Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick, and the United States sent Prince Harry and Meghan Markle back to England for a case of Thomas' English muffins and five orders of fish and chips.

The Athletics' J.T. Ginn limited the Red Sox to one run in his last road start. The A's are at Houston. Hayden Wes-

neski has given up eight runs in his last 11 innings. $50 on the A's.

-$

The Braves were swept by the Twinkies. But they rebounded (and so did we) when they blanked the White Sox 2-0. Grant Holmes took a no-no into the seventh inning but left after Andrew Benintendi's hit. The Bravo bullpen picked up where Holmes left off, tossing three hitless innings. Win has us at -428 princefielders. stitches@nypost.com

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NEW YORK POST ACTION

Home Team Lineups HOME AWAY

	TODAY Aug. 21	SAT Aug. 22	SUN Aug. 23	MON Aug. 24	TUE Aug. 25
	Toronto 7:05 YES 660 AM 101.9 FM	Toronto 1:35 YES 660 AM 101.9 FM	Toronto 1:35 YES 660 AM 101.9 FM	NO GAME	Houston 7:05 YES 660 AM 101.9 FM
	White Sox 7:40 PIX11 880 AM	White Sox 7:10 SNY 880 AM	White Sox 2:10 SNY 880 AM	NO GAME	Milwaukee 7:10 SNY 880 AM
	NO GAME	Indiana 7:00 Prime Video	NO GAME	NO GAME	NO GAME

Saturday	Friday
Preseason: Miami 4:00 WNBC 4 101.9 FM	Preseason: Pittsburgh 7:00 WCBS 2 104.3 FM

Saturday	Sunday	Sunday
Chicago Fire 7:30 Apple TV	New England Revolution 4:30 Apple TV	Angel City FC 8:00 ION

Today's Sports on the Air

MLB BASEBALL
7 p.m.	Giants at Red Sox	MLBN
7 p.m.	Rays at Orioles	Apple TV
7:05 p.m.	Blue Jays at Yankees	YES, 660 AM, 101.9 FM
7:40 p.m.	Mets at White Sox	PIX11, 880 AM
8 p.m.	Angels at Rangers	Apple TV
10 p.m.	Cubs at Mariners	MLBN

NFL FOOTBALL
7 p.m.	Preseason: Jets at Steelers	WCBS 2, 104.3 FM
10 p.m.	Preseason: Packers at Broncos (joined in progress)	NFLN

WNBA BASKETBALL
7:30 p.m.	Lynx at Mystics	ION
10 p.m.	Portland Fire at Tempo	ION

MEN'S SOCCER
3 p.m.	English Premier League: Coventry City at Arsenal	USA
9 p.m.	Liga MX: Atlanta at Tigres UANL	FS2

NWSL WOMEN'S SOCCER
10 p.m.	Utah Royals at San Diego Wave	Prime Video

COLL
7:30 a.m.	DP World Tour: Nexo Championship, 2nd Round	Golf
10 a.m.	PGA Tour: BMW Championship, 2nd Round	ESPN
Noon	Korn Ferry Tour: AdventHealth Championship, 2nd Round	Golf
2 p.m.	LV Golf League: 2nd Round	Fox
3 p.m.	PGA Tour: BMW Championship, 2nd Round	Golf
7 p.m.	LPGA Tour: CPKS Women's Open, 2nd Round	Golf

TENNIS
11 a.m.	ATP/WTA Cincinnati Open: Quarterfinals	Tennis

CFL FOOTBALL
9:30 p.m.	Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Edmonton Elks	CBSSN

LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL WORLD SERIES
1 p.m.	International Bracket: Leon, Nicaragua vs. Chiriqui, Panama	ESPN
3 p.m.	United States Bracket: Tacoma, Wash. vs. Boerne, Tx.	ESPN
5 p.m.	International Bracket: Seoul, South Korea vs. Brno, Czechia	ESPN
7 p.m.	United States Bracket: Bayonne, N.J. vs. West Chester, Pa.	ESPN

ALLIED RACING
6:30 a.m.	Formula 1: Dutch Grand Prix, Practice	Apple TV
10:30 a.m.	Formula 1: Dutch Grand Prix, Sprint Qualifying	Apple TV
7 p.m.	NHRA: Brainerd Nationals, Qualifying	FS1

WOMEN'S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
6 p.m.	Louisville vs. Texas A&M	ESPN2
9 p.m.	Kentucky vs. Wisconsin	ESPN

WOMEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER
7 p.m.	Memphis at Vanderbilt	SECN

SOFTBALL
7 p.m.	Athletes Unlimited All-Star Cup	CBSSN

HORSE RACING
1 p.m.	Saratoga Live	FS2
4:30 p.m.	FanDuel Racing	MSGSN

ODDS & ENDS

NFL Friday Jets at Steelers odds and props

FULL-GAME MONEYLINE	ODDS
Jets	-135
Steelers	+114

WINNING MARGIN ODDS

Jets by 1-6	+400
Jets by 7-12	+500
Jets by 13-18	+750
Jets by 19-24	13/1
Jets by 25-30	22/1
Jets by 31-36	45/1
Jets by 37-42	75/1
Jets by 43+	90/1
Steelers by 1-6	+425
Steelers by 7-12	+650
Steelers by 13-18	10/1
Steelers by 19-24	19/1
Steelers by 25-30	35/1
Steelers by 31-36	60/1
Steelers by 37-42	80/1
Steelers by 43+	90/1

Odds to be NFC No. 1 seed

TEAM	ODDS
Rams	+280
Seahawks	+575
Lions	+750
Eagles	+850
49ers	+850
Packers	10/1
Bears	12/1
Cowboys	15/1
Vikings	22/1
Buccaneers	25/1
Commanders	30/1
Saints	40/1
Falcons	40/1
Panthers	40/1
Giants	50/1
Cardinals	300/1

Odds to be AFC No. 1 seed

TEAM	ODDS
Ravens	+400
Bills	+450
Patriots	+800
Bengals	+800
Chiefs	+800
Chargers	+900
Texans	+900
Broncos	10/1
Jaguars	15/1
Colts	25/1
Steelers	25/1
Titans	66/1
Raiders	100/1
Jets	100/1
Browns	100/1
Dolphins	150/1

BET SMART

Hernandez will wear Rodrigues out at UFC

By ERICH RICHTER

The UFC heads to California for a Fight Night on Saturday.

UFC 330 in Philadelphia was a blood-bath in the Octagon and on the betting sheets, with one of our worst outings of the year.

We move on to UFC Sacramento this weekend with 13 fights on the card, with a few that have come together on short notice. Of those, only 10 have props available. Sportsbooks are projecting a 60 percent finish rate on the card.

Anthony Hernandez vs. Gregory Rodrigues

A five-round fight is exactly what Hernandez prefers.

Hernandez, aka "Fluffy," has been training with now-champion Sean Strickland after losing to him in February. He comes in as a rightful favorite at -165.

While Rodrigues comes in as a legitimate power puncher, he could find himself drowning a bit. Hernandez has maybe the best cardio in MMA, paired with impressive wrestling and striking skills that Rodrigues has struggled with previously.

We saw Rodrigues lose in the fourth round by KO to Jared Cannonier in February 2025, and I think Hernandez can do similar things to him if he chooses.

It's tough to say whether he will win by finish or decision, as the longer the fight goes, the more it benefits Fluffy.

I'll target Hernandez wins in Over 1.5 rounds, with odds coming in at +120 on DraftKings.

Recommendation: Hernandez wins and Over 1.5 rounds (+120, DraftKings)

Serghei Spivac vs. Vitor Petrino

I've been such a supporter of Petrino in his UFC career that it pains me to say that this line is too far out of whack.

Petrino is built like a Greek god, with serious power in his boxing and legitimate wrestling chops, featuring ground-and-pound and submission attempts.

Where he has fallen flat is that those muscles don't hold lactic acid very well, and his cardio is suspect as a result.

Still, Petrino is just 28 and now enters a fight against Spivac

Anthony Hernandez

as a favorite, despite Spivac coming off a career-best win against Ante Delija.

That is the best win either fighter has had in their respective careers.

I'm not so sure that Petrino is going to just buzz saw through Spivac, considering what we saw in February.

Petrino hits hard, but it's really tough to trust him here.

Spivac has just proven more of late, and Petrino constantly has let down in his UFC career with poor fight IQ and not enough activity.

Yet lesson! Taking Spivac here. Recommendation: Spivac ML (+132, BetRivers)

Rest of the card

Reinier de Ridder vs. Roman Dolidze: de Ridder ML for parlays; double chance by submission or decision (-110, FanDuel)

MarQuel Mederos vs. Mason Jones: Live bet Jones after Round 1 if he survives

Carli Judice vs. Jeisla Chaves: Judice ML for parlays

Anthony Wint vs. Terrance Chatman: Wint by KO/TKO (-290, FanDuel)

Jamall Emmers vs. Lerryan Douglas: Douglas wins in over 0.5 rounds (-200, DraftKings)

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Shamil Gaziev: Over 0.5 rounds (-353, Polymarket); Over 1.5 rounds (-124, BetRivers); fight goes the distance (+275, Caesars Sportsbook)

Chris Padilla vs. Nasrat Haaparast: Padilla (+107, Polymarket)

Marcio Barbosa vs. Ryan Kuse: Barbosa KO/TKO in Round 1 (-165, FanDuel)

Gauge Young vs. Stan Dorsainvil: Young ML (-125, theScore Bet)

Wes Schultz vs. Jackson McVey: Pass

Shanelle Dyer vs. Elise Reed: Fight goes the distance (+150, BetRivers)

---

48

LONG ISLAND SPORTS

GOLDEN SKATE BRIDGE

Wyttenbach hoping busy summer a stepping stone to NHL future

By ALEX MITCHELL

Ethan Wyttenbach is burning to get his shot in the NHL.

The Flames draft pick and Quinnipiac phenom will use his second collegiate season to prep for the big break — and perhaps an opportunity to wear the stars and stripes after Christmas — as the promising 19-year-old continues to impress the hockey world.

"The goal is to play one more year and then head to Calgary at the end of the season," the Roslyn native told The Post before heading back to campus.

The winger heads back north of New Haven coming off an awe-inspiring campaign with the Bobcats.

Forget the freshman 15 — Wyttenbach put up an NCAA-leading 59 points, was named rookie of the year and finished as a top 10 finalist for college hockey's top trophy, the Hobey Baker Award.

"I feel way better than I did last year, and I'm just hoping to replicate it — plus a little bit," he said.

Flame on!

Wyttenbach got a taste of the show this summer while at Flames rookie camp, which he was restricted from last year due to injury.

"Just getting a second chance to meet the guys, build better relationships with the staff" were all huge confidence boosters, he said. "It was

cool to see the fans there ... just looking forward to building my roots there."

Wyttenbach, a fifth-round pick in 2025, has also skated this summer with a future Calgary teammate way closer to home on the island, working out with Flames star Matthew Coronato of Greenlawn.

"I skated with him pretty much every day, and we worked out together," Wyttenbach said. "It was great to learn from him in any way I can and just build that relationship with him. The goal is to be teammates with him at the end of this year."

Play 'Free Bird'

The Nassau County sensation also showed his skills on the global stage with Team USA this summer during the World Junior Summer Showcase, notching eight points in four games — five of them goals.

His next goal is making America's roster for the 2027 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship at the end of the year and into January.

"It's cool to wear the jersey in the summer, but it's not the real thing," Wyttenbach said. "I'm just trying to earn my spot on the team in December and see what I can do to help the team in any way I can."

Afterward, the plan is playoff redemption with his Bobcats, who fell to North Dakota in the regional round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

"I'm excited for a second chance at

winning a national championship — and just being back with the guys," he said.

That and taking home the Hobey this time.

"Those would combine for a pretty good sophomore year," he said, laughing.

The whirlwind success is also humbling Wyttenbach, who is still getting used to kids coming up for autographs and pictures after games.

"It's definitely still a little bit new to me, being so young, but it's just really cool," he said.

Wyttenbach recalled his own adolescence, when he aspired to be like Rangers Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox from Jericho and Bruins Olympic gold medalist Charlie McAvoy from Long Beach.

"I kind of understand what it's like to be in their shoes now and just try and be as good of a role model as I can," he said.

Now Wyttenbach is doing his best not to get caught offside between dwelling on past success and future ambitions.

"I'm really happy with where I'm at," he said. "So, just trying to take it little by little — and I'll see what happens."

amitchell@nypost.com

TIME TO REPRESENT: Roslyn's Ethan Wyttenbach spent time this summer at the Calgary Flames rookie camp and with Team USA at the World Junior Summer Showcase ahead of his sophomore season at Quinnipiac. He hopes to join the Flames when his college season is over. Getty Images

ICE TO SEE YOU: Hurricanes goalie and L.I. native Brandon Bussi poses with the Stanley Cup and fans, including Rinx owner Tom Palamara (right of Bussi). Heather Khalifa

Palamara's Cup runneth over

Rinx owner Tom Palamara took a victory lap this week when Hurricanes goaltender and Long Islander Brandon Bussi brought the Stanley Cup to his crowded ice facility in Hauppauge on Wednesday.

"The first thing he did when he walked in this building, he went right to the north rink," Palamara told The Post. "Because he wanted to step on the ice with the Cup where he first stepped on the ice as a child — and he had all the kids around him."

The jubilant moment shared by much of the L.I. hockey community — and fans harmoniously waiting in a seemingly infinite line while wearing Islanders, Rangers and Canes jerseys — is just the latest feather in Palamara's cap.

He's been a pioneer in the sport for decades — dating back half a century to when Palamara started the Providence College women's hockey team in 1974.

The inaugural head coach found himself working underneath future Devils Stanley Cup-winning general manager Lou Lamoriello, who later worked for the Isles.

Palamara said the experience "really started my hockey career," which led to a role as an off-ice official with the NHL.

More recently, Palamara brought his years of valuable experience back home to the island and has owned the popular venue where top-tier local hockey talent has trained for over two decades. He was also named president of the New York State Amateur Hockey Association earlier in the year.

When reflecting on Bussi setting the

Cup down on the Rinx ice surface and hallways, Palamara had one word to describe the full-circle moment: "amazing."

Although only a portion of those fans were able to get in the building before Bussi had to leave — Huntington's Greg Packer was the first to arrive, lining up at 5:30 a.m. for the 10:15 a.m. start — the first Suffolk County Cup champ made it worth everyone's while.

Bussi walked the Stanley Cup to the seemingly infinite line outdoors that snaked into nearby park land, so everybody who showed up could get an eyeball view of him with the coveted hardware.

"It was so good to see the fans," Palamara said, "but also to see how Brandon really took care of the fans."

— Alex Mitchell

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Alcaraz ready to defend title at US Open

By BRIDGET REILLY

Carlos Alcaraz is back.

After months of rehab and a very cautious ramp-up, the seven-time Grand Slam winner will be back on the court for the U.S. Open, which kicks off its main draw Aug. 30.

The 23-year-old made the announcement with soccer personality Fabrizio Romano on Instagram on Thursday, writing the classic: "HERE WE GO!"

Alcaraz has been absent from the tour since April, when he suffered a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open.

He will now have a chance to defend his 2025 U.S. Open title.

For a while, it felt unlikely that Alcaraz would be ready for the year's final Grand Slam.

His team has consistently been very cautious, as fans have only seen videos of the Spaniard practicing on the court within the last month.

Alcaraz also pulled out of the Cincinnati Open, a tune-up hard-court tournament for the U.S. Open, due to lingering worries surrounding the wrist injury.

In January, Alcaraz completed a career Grand Slam at just 22 by winning the Australian Open.

He became the youngest man to win all four titles.

It's hard to imagine Alcaraz returning to that form so quickly, but it will make for an interesting tournament in Queens — and one that also may or may not include Jannik Sinner, who is dealing with a knee problem.

Sinner, who is coming off a Wimbledon win, also pulled out of Cincinnati after skipping the Canadian Open in Montreal.

His U.S. Open availability will also depend on how fit he is at the time of the tournament.

A year ago, Alcaraz and Sinner established themselves as the new rivalry of tennis as the pair faced each other in three of the four Grand Slam finals.

breilly@nypost.com

Starting fresh Atlantic

Geno set to make his new Jets debut Friday

By BRIAN COSTELLO

PITTSBURGH — The relaunch of Geno Smith's Jets career will take another step Friday night.

Smith will make his first preseason start against the Steelers, a source confirmed. Smith was held out of last week's preseason opener against the Buccaneers because of a sore ankle. He practiced all week, but coach Aaron Glenn was noncommittal when asked about who his starting quarterback would be against the Steelers.

Glenn did say he did not see Smith favoring the ankle in practice.

"I just think there's soreness," Glenn said. "I think any player at this point knows that something is going to hurt at some point. He's a competitor and he wants to make sure he gets those reps in. The thing is that we want to be smart too about how we go about doing things when it comes to him and any of our players. It's not to a point to where he can't go out. Obviously, he's out there practicing, but again, we want to make sure we're doing the right things when it comes to him playing."

Smith returned to the team in March in a trade with the Raiders. Smith began his career with the Jets as a 2013 second-round pick but left

after the 2016 season. Now, the team is counting on him to help turn their fortunes around.

Rookie Cade Klubnik started last week in Smith's place. He will likely replace Smith at some point in the first half. The team also has Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook at quarterback.

JETS NOTES

The Jets are having a good kicking competition in camp between veteran Jason Sanders and Cade York. On Wednesday,

York showed a big leg when he booted one field goal over the net that catches kicks that go through the uprights at the team training center. The ball soared over the net and into a parking lot where players park. There are a row of electric charging stations closest to the field and one of those cars may have been hit.

"It's funny that you say that, because some of the players were saying that those electric cars that's lined up on that deal, man they're going to have some dents in the hood," Glenn joked. "I'm assuming that's something that we got to look at. We're going to continue to keep kicking that way. But as long as it's going through the uprights, man I'm all good. Guys will have to buy new cars."

Alternate Islanders jerseys have familiar look

LIGHTING UP THE LAMP: Here's how Matthew Schaefer will look in the Islanders' alternate uniform unveiled Thursday.

By THOMAS GAMBA-ELLIS

The Islanders finally have their lighthouse project.

After days of fan voting for the alternate Islanders jerseys for the 2027-28 season, the team announced the final uniform Thursday evening, with the navy lighthouse design ultimately emerging as the winner.

The design features orange and teal piping on the bottom and arms of the jersey, white and orange numbering, and a lighthouse in the middle.

The lighthouse logo, which was only worn as a shoulder patch on Islanders jerseys in the late 1990s, emerged as an early front-

runner in the voting process.

It narrowly beat out a more classic navy and cream uniform that displayed the Islanders' wordmark in navy and orange, according to the team's X account, which also posted a digitized mockup of the winning lighthouse design.

"The Islanders would like to thank every fan who contributed a design, shared their feedback, and participated in the voting process to help shape the future of the franchise's visual identity," Islanders president of business operations Kelly Cheeseman said in a statement. "This contest was launched to break down traditional barriers, giving

the fans a direct voice in shaping our new look.

"We are excited to move forward and create the full uniform that our fanbase will be proud to call theirs."

Although the uniform has been chosen, the Islanders will continue to review other design submissions to help refine the official third jersey with the help of Fanatics for the 2027-28 season.

The Islanders narrowed a whopping 80,490 submissions down to eight before holding the "March Madness-style fan vote" over social media.

The franchise called the project a "historic milestone" in a news release, being the first team in NHL

history to enlist fans to help design an official team jersey.

Fans weren't the only ones involved in the project, with Cheeseman saying that numerous current and former Islanders players reached out.

"We had [Matthew] Schaefer, [Bo] Horvat, [Kyle] Palmieri, [Ondre] Palat, [Jean-Gabriel] Pageau, [Ryan] Palock, [Matthew] Barzal, [Alexander] Romanov all actively involved in this process," he said.

"Many other alumni reached out ... [Bryan Trotter] and Matt Martin and some of those guys were actively involved in it."

tgamba-ellis@nypost.com

49

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50

SEVERAL months ago I began to receive, almost daily, unsolicited emails from another sports gambling shill, this one named Josh Barton.

I suspect that's not his real name as 40 years of studying this side of the "gaming industry" has taught me that almost none use their real names despite soulful claims that I'm lucky to have connected with the one honest dude in a business loaded with those so irredeemably dishonest you wouldn't let them visit your incarcerated grandmother.

In Barton's case he claims to represent BetOnline Sports & Casino, an offshore — Panama, if you're ever in the neighborhood — enterprise, thus not subject to U.S. gambling laws and authorities — no matter how feckless and overwhelmed they've become since Adam Silver, Rob Manfred and the biggest phony in the phone book, Roger Goodell, sold their leagues' logos and integrity for a cut of the action.

Our commissioners basically serve as regional front men — consignees — for billions in a gambling ring.

Of course, these three stooges are highly paid puppets hired and renewed at the behest of team owners to serve as bottom-line Chief Financial Officers. They know it. But the money's too good to do the right thing for only the right reasons. Besides, the media — consumed with stats, dart-throwing free-agent speculations and often unwilling to risk their personal financial attachments to those they've been assigned to cover — only offer the commissioners blind unconditional respect.

The last commissioner to take his presumed mandate to serve the best interests of the game seriously was Fay Vincent, and MLB's team owners fired him for it.

Lately, Mr. Barton's missives have been pitching action on "the most exciting event of the summer sports calendar — the 2026 Little League World Series."

In your most twisted imagination you wouldn't reach the degenerated depths of this sell from hell:

Bet on teams of 11- and 12-year-olds, including odds on international teams and American teams by region. Prop bets on named players striking out, named start-

Phil Mushnick

EQUAL TIME

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!

ing pitchers' strikeout totals, you name it. All, according to BetOnline, "for the first time ever!"

And a reminder to follow the action — your action — on ESPN!

ESPN has its own bad-bet, parlay-promoting Stephen "I'm Not a Betting Man" A. Smith sports-betting operation. And ESPN already has done enough damage to the LLWS, including attaching kid pitchers to speed guns then replaying on "SportsCenter" a kid crying

while trying to hide from ESPN in the corner of his dugout after he was replaced on the mound.

"There, kid, live with that the rest of your life," courtesy of ESPN!

Then there was Disney/ESPN's corporate exploitation of children to ask the LLWS kids to name their favorite ESPN performer and/or Disney park ride — their answers appearing in graphics while they batted. So here we are, Hades in a hand-

basket with our big league sports serving as the starter's pistol in the name of ill-gotten profits and artificially inflated TV revenue, as those with gambling stakes wouldn't miss a pitch or mid-game come-ons for fools to press their luck or reverse it.

And because BetOnline is an offshore operation, there is nothing Little League Baseball can do about it except issue statements of complaint or look to buy futures in

the Williamsport Hotel & Casino. Anyway, in later missives this week, Barton and BetOnline seemed to grow defensive about claims that, heaven forbid, they seek to profit from, promote and exploit child labor.

"We're not saying that gambling on 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds is right or wrong, that's up to you to decide. We're just delivering the information."

Yeah, nothing in this for us! We're just a news service!

Imagine how low a human must be to first write, then disseminate that he doesn't know if betting on children "is right or wrong." Wonder if this Barton fellow or his BetOnline colleagues have kids. "What did you do at the office today, Daddy?"

Not that Manfred has much say in this matter. It was from Williamsport where Manfred declared, "Kids are MLB's top priority."

Last week's "Field of Dreams" game appeared at night on Netflix, sold by Manfred & Co. to be seen by as few kids as bottom-line money can buy.

But Manfred, like his fellow counting-room-only "commissioners," never has to worry about their shameless rules of engagement being exposed, challenged or even mildly rebuked as modern sports media have made it clear that the best interests of the game issues are unimportant compared with mph fastballs, exit velocities and, of course, in-game ads for "Open All Game" DraftKings.

"Little Timmy Smith makes his second start today after missing a month with tendinitis in his pitching elbow. But his speed has returned — he dialed it up to 74 mph — thus his team, from Bleeding Britches, Oklahoma, is a 7-5 favorite over the kids from Crab Scratch, Maryland, who lost six starters to middle school graduation."

Apple providing meaningless stats like Joe Girardi

I SUSPECT that Joe Girardi has hacked my iPad. A message delivered yesterday read: "Last week you averaged 42 minutes on this device." Is that good? Bad? Up? Down? Who/what keeps track? Why? What for?

► Reader R.J. Caola suggests that new Mets pitcher Jefry Yan, an excessively self-smitten showboat, "had better pray

that MLB never rescinds the DH rule."

► So much for another "Big Red," Nebraska football, under paid orders of Adidas, last week revealed its mostly black "alternative" — alternative to decades of great tradition — uniform.

► "The Captain" Derek Jeter again was a no-show for Yankees Old-Timers'

Day. No surprise Jeter doesn't do anything that doesn't come with a fat appearance fee. He avoids paying New York income taxes the way he avoided being tagged out at second.

► Several readers have asked why Gary Cohen now grows fall-out-of-his-chair unhinged after a Mets fielder makes a nice play, nothing spectacular, but

nice. Best I can come up with is that Cohen, like the game, has changed.

► The WNBA has become so woke it has lost total consciousness. It, too, is in immediate need of a firm, sensible commissioner who sanctions the worst acts rather than panders to them. Neither hate speech nor dangerously flagrant fouls are matters of free expres-

sion, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert, at a reported $3 million per, has been more problem than solution.

► Former WVU All-American WR Stedman Bailey, whose NFL career with the Rams ended when he took multiple bullets to the head, last week was arrested in a bar in a Florida mall for having public intercourse with a woman. No record of his ac-

ademic major, but I suspect it was animal husbandry.

► Reader Bob Broderick notes that NBC's Dottie Pepper has replaced short, sensible and self-evident "He's in the fairway," with long, silly, "He hit it into the short grass." My pal Harry "The Hat" Wesley calls the fairway "the money" because that's where they mowed. MushnickPhilip@gmail.com

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51

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52

No brawls, but several skirmishes

By PAUL SCHWARTZ

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Before the teams hit the field, both head coaches laid down the law. John Harbaugh warned if any of his Giants players got into a fight and threw a punch they would be benched.

Jeff Hafley said he would be "really, really disappointed" if any of his Dolphins players got into an altercation.

Well, Thursday's joint practice was not the melee-filled session that some other teams (Jets-Buccaneers and Cowboys-Saints) engaged in this summer, but it did not go off without a hitch. There were a few skirmishes and Harbaugh did make good on his promise.

Giants wide receiver Calvin Aus-

GIANTS NOTES

tin III took exception to getting hit out of bounds, and that sparked a fight that included quarterback James Winston getting punched and the players on the far field racing over the way relief pitchers come out of the bullpen to join in the proceedings. Kayvon Thibodeaux shoved a Miami offensive lineman to the ground, and Abdul Carter took a shot at offensive lineman Patrick Paul.

There was some restraint shown. Giants running back Eric Gray got slammed down by Dolphins linebacker Willie Gay, and that could have led to something, but it did not.

Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor was replaced by Marcus Mbow late in the practice for not adhering to Harbaugh's decree.

"He didn't really throw a hard punch, but it was to the facemask, and that'll get you in the game," Harbaugh said. "So, that's a 15-yarder at least. So, we decided that we were following those rules of engagement, and that's what we did with that one."

Overall, Harbaugh was pleased with how his team held it together from an emotional standpoint.

► RB Najee Harris, signed two days earlier, took part in this joint practice and made a cut to score a touchdown. The former Steelers bruiser tore his Achilles tendon in Week 3 last season playing for the Chargers. "He looked good," Harbaugh said. ... As expected, Malik Nabers was held out. ... When Eluemunor was taken off the field, he was replaced by Josh Ezeudu, now getting a shot at guard. Ezeudu, though, limped off at the end of practice.

By PAUL SCHWARTZ

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — From the very start, it looked different.

This is what the Giants want to display when they take the field and get the ball. It took a trip down to South Florida and some truly intense heat to get their offense cooking.

A summer thus far filled with "it's early" and "wait and see" and "it's a new system for everyone" coalesced into something the Giants hope will be a weekly occurrence once the regular season gets underway.

They engaged Thursday morning in a joint practice with the Dolphins at the Baptist Health Training Complex, and it was pretty much Giants dominance on both sides of the ball.

The first two plays in the early one-on-one drills resulted in long completions to Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III, and the Giants were off and running. Jaxson Dart was exceptionally accurate and directed an attack that moved the ball up and down the field.

Yes, the Dolphins are expected to be one of the weaker clubs in the AFC this season, and the Giants believe their talent level is considerably higher than the team that will host them Saturday in a pre-

Giants 'O' on fire in Miami joint practice

season game at Hard Rock Stadium. On the day the two teams shared two practice fields, the Giants looked like the far better squad.

"We were able to hit some big shots down the field, which I was really happy about," Dart said. "And then just the communication of the operation, I thought [went] really well. So, I think there's obviously things to learn from, but I think for the most part I was really happy how we came out."

"We started fast and then it didn't matter if we had little lulls, we came back, played great."

There was all sorts of quality stuff from the offense, starting out with the two long completions in the one-on-one period. Throwing the ball down the field has not been a big part of the attack this summer, and that is an aspect of the passing attack all concerned want to see as soon as possible. It was there in an early team period, as Dart spotted Austin breaking free along the left sideline and floated the ball to him for an over-

the-shoulder reception. Later, rookie Malachi Fields burst loose for a long-yardage connection.

Unofficially, Dart was 17-for-23, including two passes he spiked into the grass to stop the clock.

The Giants used this practice to fine-tune their offense more elaborately than they did in their preseason-opening 13-10 loss to the Vikings, when there were no play-action passes and thus no opportunity to lure the defense into thinking run to open things up down the field. Facing the Miami defense, the Giants got the play-action game going.

"Those are the type of passes you work off the run game," head coach John Harbaugh said. "Those are good chunk plays for us, and we had a number of chunk gains off of play-action, which was good to see."

There has been all sorts of talk about the big play being part of the offense. On this day, it was.

"I mean, I think it's one thing in theory," Harbaugh said. "It's another thing in practice. You want to

see it work."

At the finish, the Giants scored a touchdown even when they were not trying to do so. The offense was looking for a field goal but got in the end zone when Dart found tight end Theo Johnson. There was some confusion there, and the clock kept moving, as Dart hurried the offense to the line then hit Fields, who got down with enough time to allow rookie Dominic Zvada to hit the field goal.

"In the two-minute drive, just finishing off with that, which I thought was a touchdown," Dart said. "We just wanted to run out the field goal team. I was proud of the unit for that."

Dart was still pouring sweat from his face several minutes after leaving the field, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees and typical Miami-area humidity. He saw this as a step in the right direction.

"I think that we're just continually making adjustments, making corrections, installing new things, finding things that we're best at," Dart said. "And I really feel like the past week, week and a half, we've really started to excel and take the right steps. And I think that that's really where you've seen our offense kind of mold into what we think it's really going to be."

paul.schwartz@nypost.com

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TU TRAINING DAY

PRESSURE POINTS

John Harbaugh used the word "ferocious" to describe the Giants pass rush. "Dominant" or "overwhelming" would also qualify. Asked if there were six sacks, Brian Burns shook his head and said "more."

PUNCHED OUT

Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor was yanked off the field for the final series because he threw a punch — Harbaugh treated this like a game and levied the appropriate punishment. Marcus Mbow replaced Eluemunor for the final drive.

CAUGHT MY EYE

Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada continued his impressive summer. He hit all five of his field goal attempts. His competition, Ben Sauls, went 3-for-5. Zvada nailed a 40-yarder to finish the final two-minute drill.

MEDICAL REPORT

Rookie right guard Sisi Mauigoa was forced out early in the action. He walked off the field without his shoulder pads. Harbaugh deemed the injury "not a serious thing."

— Paul Schwartz

By PAUL SCHWARTZ

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nope.

That is basically how Brian Burns responded when it was suggested to him that the defense he leads had six sacks during Thursday's joint practice with the Dolphins.

"We had more than six," Burns said.

So, how many?

"I don't know the number of sacks," Burns said, "but it was more than six."

These edge rushers often give themselves sacks in practice when they get within reach of the quarterback, so sometimes their assessment is a bit skewed. It does not matter much what the exact total was. It was clear this matchup was one-sided in favor of the Giants.

"Yeah, it was ferocious," head coach John Harbaugh said. "That's practice, so you've got to come do it in the game. But I was impressed with it."

It was not only the guys up front. Safety Jevon Holland and nickel back Dru Phillips both stormed in to wreck plays against the Miami offense with clear paths to the quarterback. There were times when Malik Willis, working with the Dolphins' starting offense, had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Burns, Ab-

'Ferocious' pass rush has Fin-ishing touch

PRESSURE POINTS: Kayvon Thibodeaux, left, and Brian Burns run drills Thursday during a joint practice with the Dolphins. The Big Blue pass rush dominated the Miami offense over the course of the day.

dul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux were too much for the Dolphins' offensive line to handle. Chauncey Golston had at least two sacks.

"I got to look at the film to really figure it out," Willis said af-

terward. "That's what's hard to kind of tell when your eyes are downfield. I just hear the whistle. But I think those guys have a great front and all due respect to them, but we'll figure out what we were doing wrong when we

get to watch the film."

Burns called the defensive showing "overall, dominant," but he is holding his unit to the highest of standards. He was pumped up by how the Giants defense finished but was not satisfied with the intensity from the outset.

Perhaps it was the earlier start time — they were on the field at 9:30 a.m. after hitting the field at 1:30 p.m. all summer — and the newness of the first practice with a different team.

"Coming out as our first joint, trying to be smart, make sure everybody gets taken care of, but at the same time, they're not our team," Burns said. "So, when you have an opportunity to hit them, you hit them. And you hold them up and they get hit again. We started to do that later on, towards the middle of the day and the rest of the day on. But we had splashes in the beginning, but I wanted to swarm from when we first got out here and it just took a little bit to get going."

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54

Travel Times

FIRST & TENN.

Jets corner Brownlee confused by trade from Titans, faces former team in Week 1

By BRIAN COSTELLO

PITTSBURGH — Jarvis Brownlee Jr. still is unsure what happened.

The 25-year-old cornerback assumed he was going to play for the Titans for a long time after the team picked him in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. Then, they traded him to the Jets last September, and Brownlee was stunned.

"Some days, I'd just be at the hotel and go outside at night and just be sitting there and just trying to come up with why they traded me, why they went with what they did," Brownlee told The Post. "Still to this day, I can't come to a conclusion. I won't lie and say that I'm not still heartbroken by it, but everything happens for the better. I love where I'm at right now. I love this organization."

Brownlee had an immediate impact for the Jets after the trade. He forced a fumble in his second game with the team and brought an energy to the defense that had been lacking as a nickel cornerback. Brownlee played seven games for the Jets then a bad step against the Ravens just before Thanksgiving ended his season. He fractured his hip, continuing one of the most challenging seasons Brownlee has faced.

"It was hard just being away from football," Brownlee said. "A kid like me that's been playing ball since I was 4, just not being able to play the game, it hurt. I cried a lot. I used to sit in my room a lot and just mope, be mad at myself."

"It kind of shattered me." Brownlee spent months rehabbing the injury, staying in New Jersey through February. He said he did not feel all the way back to himself until late April.

Then, the Jets drafted D'Angelo Ponds in the second round, and Brownlee got some competition for his job. Brownlee and Ponds are both from the Miami area and have known each other

Three things to watch

1 We thought we were going to get to see the first-team offense out there last week, then came the last-minute news that Geno Smith was not playing. Smith is playing in this one, and we'll see the starting offense (minus Breece Hall). It has not been a smooth camp for Smith and the offense, so this will be interesting to watch. The Steelers defense is going to be basic, but Aaron Glenn and Jets fans would feel better if the offense marched down the field on them.

2 The biggest news of the week was Hall injuring his groin. The Jets expect him to return for Week 1, but I'll be curious to see how Braelon Allen looks. He broke off a 31-yard touchdown run last week that was a highlight play. Now, he'll get a heavier workload. If the Jets can have an impact duo of Hall and Allen, that would do wonders for their offense.

3 It has been a hotly contested competition between Jason Sanders and Cade York for the kicking job. It has been back and forth all summer. Last week, York made two field goals and Sanders made one in the preseason opener. The longest was 47 yards by Sanders. It would be nice to see them each get challenged with a long one. — Brian Costello

Jets at Steelers Friday, 7 p.m. Channel 2 WAXQ (104.3 FM)

for a while. Brownlee said he was excited when the Jets took his friend.

Brownlee said he told Ponds before draft that he was going to be a Jet.

"I kind of spoke it into existence," Brownlee said. "When they took him, I was amped up. I never run from competition. A guy like him, he can teach me things and I can teach him things. There's always room for improvement. That's my brother."

The competition has not really materialized because Ponds has missed all of training camp with a calf injury. When the Jets take the field Friday night against the Steelers, Brownlee will be the nickel corner.

Brownlee is easy to spot on the field. You don't have to know he's No. 2. He plays with a ferocity more befitting a linebacker than a defensive back. Sometimes, that's an issue. One of the reasons the Titans traded Brownlee was his penchant for committing penalties. He had eight penalties in seven games with the Jets last year, including three in two games.

It appears that Brownlee will be the Week 1 starter unless Ponds gets healthy quickly. That game will be in Tennessee against the

team that gave up on him.

"Me being drafted there, I'm the type of guy, I'm a genuine person, I care for others, for me that team was everything to me even though things weren't go how we wanted them to go," Brownlee said. "I was one of the leaders in the room. I was one of the guys they depended on. I was the top corner there. For that to happen, it hurt."

"I just never got a real reason as to why, even when they called me."

The emotions will be flowing when Brownlee faces his former team on Sept. 13, but he knows he has to keep them in check.

"I think there will be a lot of emotions from this side of the ball and their side of the ball," Brownlee said. "There's a lot of guys who were here that are over there and a lot of guys over here that were over there. More than anything, we're just going to play ball. You have to take the emotion out of it. The intensity is going to be there, the emotion is going to be there but we have to go there and know what we came there for. Business is business."

That's a lesson Brownlee learned the hard way last year. brian.costello@nypost.com

YOU GO, GENO!

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56

Jon Heyman

INSIDE MLB

jheyman@nypost.com

STORY TIME

PCA builds more compelling case for NL MVP than Ohtani

WITH apologies to the seven American League wild-card hopefuls separated by 2½ games — who all have losing records — the very best race continues to be for National League MVP.

It's classic David vs. Goliath. David (Pete Crow-Armstrong) probably leads narrowly now, but Goliath (Shohei Ohtani) is literally warming up in the bullpen.

Cubs superstar Crow-Armstrong carried only slightly better-than-average overall batting stats (102 OPS+) into this season. But remarkably, PCA's extraordinary improvement and enthralling two-way play give him a small advantage over the most extraordinary, enthralling two-way player ever, who also happens to be the only legit four-time unanimous MVP.

The useful but imprecise bWAR actually gives PCA a decent-sized advantage over Ohtani and everyone else (7.8 vs. 6.8 for Ohtani). Statistically, the race is much closer. bWAR somehow has PCA with a 6.4 to 3.8 edge for offense alone even though their rate stats are nearly identical — .279/.378/.550/.928 for PCA and .291/.388/.554/.942 for Ohtani. Ridiculously, that's almost exclusively because Crow-Armstrong mans center field regardless of skill (which is obviously amazing) while Ohtani is a DH (at least in his everyday role).

If that seems absurd, that's probably because it is. bWAR provides bonuses for defensively important positions, regardless of efficiency, and

that makes sense since it's more valuable to have a great-hitting catcher than a right fielder, for example. But center fielder vs. pitcher?

At the very least, that extra 2.6 bWAR (76 percent better) seems unreasonably high for simply manning center field as opposed to DHing, especially in this case, where the DH also pitches.

PCA already gets an additional 1.4 bWAR for his spectacular defense in center, which is fairly judged best in MLB, while Ohtani gets 2.5 bWAR for his half year of elite pitching before going out with a knee injury.

That Ohtani run-prevention edge makes sense considering a half year of elite pitching is extremely valuable. Consider the deadline feeding frenzy for a half year of star starter Tarik Skubal. There's no such battle for elite CF defense. (There was understandably

no frenzy for CF whiz Brenton Doyle, who was quietly traded to the White Sox.)

Ohtani is now throwing bullpen sessions, which indicates the Dodgers are aiming for his return to the mound, which could remind voters of his all-time uniqueness. Ohtani's combined stats are debatable better even today, but here's why PCA leads — and it has nothing to do with Ohtani voting fatigue either.

PCA's personal story — a rise from wild-swinging defensive genius to legit superstar — is amazing (sorry, Mets fans). But it's the story of his season, and his many indelible moments, that fairly has him in front. It's PCA's MLB-leading eight five-star catches, his NL-leading 5.3 added win probability and plus-65 run value, his fourth-in-the-majors .400 batting average (26-for-65) in close-and-late situations and multiple walk-off hits (one of 13 to have more than one), culminating with that dramatic walk-off homer against the rival, in-city, first-place White Sox. PCA and Ohtani are numerically comparable, but PCA leads by authoring the more compelling story to date.

AFI Carin Stein

Pete Crow-Armstrong

It's tight race for the LVP

THE RACE for overall Least Valuable Player isn't as close as the NL MVP, with Cal Raleigh holding a significant lead. But there are some more shocking implosions by stars and superstars. Here's the leaderboard for LVP (both leagues):

1. Cal Raleigh, Mariners C: Raleigh has gone from 60 homers to 13 and is hitting .156 (49 points worse than any qualifier). To his credit, he admitted that he's stunk.

2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays 1B: Guerrero hasn't honored at his home Rogers Centre in a year and his seven dingers are 25 below his average over the previous five seasons. Guerrero signed a 14-year, $500 million deal last season, so with 13 years to go, he needs to find his power stroke.

3. Kyle Tucker, Dodgers OF: The Mets set the record $60M annual salary but fortunately saw their archrival (in spending) "win" the talented Tucker for $240M over four years. His overall numbers are below average (93 OPS+), but he's worse lately, with his recent 0-for-25 streak and embarrassing case of the dropsies. The 0.0 bWAR and league-high salary would normally earn him the top spot, but competition's stiff.

4. Corey Seager, Rangers SS: The two-time World Series MVP is on a tear that's raised his average to .213. He should be on his way to the Hall of Fame, but this feels like a detour.

5. Assorted Mets: Their six big acquisitions — Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Luis Robert Jr., Freddy Peralta, Devin Williams and Jorge Polanco — have a combined minus-1.4 WAR. That's negative WAR for $132M.

Amazin's should expect some mo' Bo

THE CHANCES for Bo Bichette to opt out with $84 million and another opt-out opportunity are zero, one rival exec opines. And, barring an enormous finish, that seems to be conventional wisdom.

Bichette is playing like himself over the past three months and is transitioning nicely to 3B, but it makes little sense for the fourth-highest paid player in MLB (tied with Zack Wheeler, trailing Kyle

Tucker, Juan Soto and Cody Bellinger) to hit an uncertain market with a 96 OPS+.

To be safe, I'd put the opt-out possibility at 2 percent. (Hey, the season isn't over yet.)

It's not all bad for the Mets. Their recent run (24-23 under interim manager Andy Green) has revealed possibilities. Sean

Manaea has rediscovered how to pitch effectively, Zac Thornton looks like a potential back-end starter, and Kodai Senga might be a miracle find as closer (4-for-4 so far). Plus, Green is doing a creditable job.

Mets owner Steve Cohen said the current plan is to allow Green to return to the front office. However, Cohen also said he'd

welcome Green applying for the full-time managing job.

If the Mets can get Alex Cora, I say go for it. But the chances of Cora to the Mets are not good considering. Phillies boss Dave Dombrowski tried to hire him before tabbing Don Mattingly and likely will try again barring a Philly World Series run.

They could do a lot worse than Green. And probably would.

Jorge Polanco's Mets season ended with two home runs and six RBIs, which is a weekend for Pete Alonso.

Alonso's Orioles output is 29 homers and 82 RBIs, with 35 games to go (and you know he will play every one of them!).

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57

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58

SOAK IT IN!

THIS one will not exactly stun you the way the final scene of "Chinatown" did, or force you to drop your coffee mug to the ground the way Chazz Palminteri did at the end of "The Usual Suspects." It will not hit you the same way as the first time you saw Tony Soprano look up from the jukebox blaring Journey, just as the TV screen went dark.

But here goes anyway: The Mets have not gotten a lot of things right this year.

(And sure, if it makes you feel better to insert "David Stearns" in that sentence in place of "Mets," knock yourself out.)

It's a reminder of just how much of a rolling calamity this season has been that you probably feel pretty good about how the Mets have been playing lately — as well you should — and maybe you even stole a peek at the standings on your way to this column to see if you should start believing. And that's when you saw: They still need to go 23-11 just to scratch back to .500 — or, in appropriate anniversary context, play the next 44 at a slightly better pace than the '86 team played all 162.

Yes. Tough year. But here is something they not only got right, but got right in three separate parts. And all of this is connected to the player around whom the future will be crafted: Carson Benge.

The Mets, it turned out, were right to say "to hell with service time shenanigans" and bring Benge north with them this spring. Benge, as is his custom, justified that decision immediately, hitting a home run off Pittsburgh's Justin Lawrence on Opening Day at Citi Field, when the Mets blasted the Pirates 11-7

Letting Benge grow into his talents has proven to be the correct call — and something to enjoy

and all seemed so right in the Amazin' constellation.

The Mets were even more right four weeks later, when his batting average bottomed out at .136 after 20 games, and May 4, when he was still sitting at .192, and May 16, when Benge dropped a routine fly ball from the Yankees' Cody Bellinger that caused Joe Davis to spasm on Fox: "Oh no! Oh no, the Mets!"

Check out some of your old text threads with your Mets fan buddies. Count how many of them — and maybe you — typed something similar to this across those first 45 days of the season: "Benge needs to go back to Syracuse for a while." But the Mets disagreed. They never did call the kid into the office to break the bad news.

And they were mostly right by keeping him in the lineup thereafter, day after day, even against lefties, even after Luis Robert Jr. returned from injury, certainly whenever Juan Soto returns from injury. Andy Green is a different manager than Carlos Mendoza, but one thing both men shared was a commitment to writing Benge's name on the lineup card: some-

times leading off, sometimes cleaning up, sometimes deeper in the lineup (though not lately), 122 times out of 128 games. And counting.

What they've done is allow Benge to learn on the job, to grow into his tools, and the results are remarkable. Since April 23, he is slashing .295/.353/.455. For the season, he has 15 homers and 18 steals, and the only other Mets rookie to pull off that 15-15 daily double was Darryl Strawberry in 1983 — a player who, similarly, the Mets allowed to work through some early struggles in a lost season. And Benge has really caught fire across his past 20: .342/.390/.566.

Most notable has been his defense. From the jump — and excepting that Bellinger muff — he has been a revelation in right field, and there was even some talk about a Gold Glove earlier this week when he gunned out back-to-back Padres in the first inning Monday night.

(And maybe that chatter inspired him, maybe it didn't, but Fernando Tatis Jr. sure made certain to remind everyone who owns the goldest right field glove one night later when he coolly took four runs away from Francisco Lindor with one breathtaking catch.)

The fans' reward is of even greater value. Part of the reason the Pete Alonso

exile still stings so many of them is that they watched the entirety of Alonso's ascent from excitable rookie to perennial slugger to that forever home run he hit one night in Milwaukee. There is something about having access to the ground floor of a player's career, then taking the escalator up with them. A lot of things change in baseball. That never has. Benge is that guy now.

And Benge has lately done what only a select few can in a very difficult game: Every day he seems to do something. He makes a throw. He runs down a ball in the gap. He goes first to third. He steals a bag. He knocks one over the wall. And does it with a joy that needs no augmentation. That alone is reason to keep tuning in.

So is this: For all those who love to shred Soto at every opening — and those same text threads I mentioned earlier? You're no doubt being reminded that the 11-4 stretch in their past 15 has come without him — remember there is no downside — none — to whenever the Mets can welcome back his .947 OPS and 164 OPS+ to the lineup. And remember: Before he was hurt, it was clear that Soto — supposedly the Met with no close friends — and Benge had developed an obvious and real affinity for each other. Chemistry, even.

(And for the record, please remember this: Mets with Soto: 40-44, .476; Mets without Soto: 18-26, .409.)

Soto famously called Benge and his rookie running mate, A.J. Ewing, "psychopaths" earlier this year with a big smile, and genuine affection and admiration. It's about as much joy as we've seen from him in New York, outside of that pennant winner in Cleveland two years ago. And why not? That's what everyone else who cares about the Mets, and marvels at Benge, is feeling too.

mvaacaro@nypost.com

THREE-MENDOUS: Whether using his bat, legs or arm, Carson Benge does something to impress virtually every game.

Charles Wenzelberg / NY Post (2); Jason Szenes; Corey Sipkin

NewYork Presbyterian

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By ZACH BRAZILLER

"So, you're telling me there's a chance."

— Lloyd Christmas, "Dumb & Dumber."

Admit it, Mets fans. You have at least considered the possibility, unlikely as it may seem, as the Mets have ripped off 11 wins in 15 games after a trade deadline sell-off. They have won four of their past five series and have injected a bit of life into what had been a miserable season.

It will take an enormous run to even be in contention in mid-September. The Mets still trail the Padres by 10 games for the third and final NL wild-card spot, and six other teams are ahead of them. To reach 83 wins, the number of victories the final wild-card team secured a year ago, the Mets would need to go 25-9. That's a .735 winning percentage, an extraordinarily tall order.

Let's take a look at the schedule the rest of the way. The Mets have the seventh-most difficult remaining strength of schedule, their opponents owning a combined .520 winning percentage. It includes 12 games against division leaders (White Sox and Rays on the road, Brewers and Astros at home). There is also the Subway Series against the Yankees in The Bronx, and four more with the contending Phillies at Citi Field. Of the 34 games left, 18 are on the road, where the Mets are seven games under .500.

The good news: The Mets have performed better of late against quality teams. Since the All-Star break, they have taken series from the Phillies, Padres and NL East-leading Braves.

There are soft spots coming up at Citi Field against the last-place Giants (Sept. 4-6) and under-.500 Orioles and Pete Alonso (Sept. 14-16). Plus, the Mets close out the year against two teams, the Rangers and Nationals, who are under .500 as well.

Since interim manager Andy Green took over June 26, replacing

Amazin's holding onto miracle shot

ON DECK: at White Sox

Friday, 7:40 p.m., PIX11, WHSQ (880 AM)

LHP Sean Manans

2026 stats: 4-5, 4.22 ERA

Career vs. CHW: 3-0, 1.96 ERA

Last start: Sat., vs. WAS; 6.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER

RHP Sean Burke

2026 stats: 7-6, 3.15 ERA

Career vs. NYM: First start

Last start: Sun., at DET; 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER

PITCH BREAKDOWN

39% 4-Seamer

31% Sweeper

20% Sinker

PITCH BREAKDOWN

37% 4-Seamer

20% Curve

17% Slider

UP NEXT

SATURDAY: at White Sox., 7:10 p.m., SNY, WHSQ TBD vs. RHP Luis Castillo

SUNDAY: at White Sox., 2:10 p.m., SNY, WHSQ TBD vs. TBD

INJURY REPORT

■ Infielder Mark Vientos will begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment Friday for Double-A Binghamton. He has been out since July 9 due to a fractured right hand.

Carlos Mendoza, the Mets have played better baseball. They are 24-23 in that span — as young players like Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Carson Benge, Nate Lavender and A.J. Ewing have emerged, and journeyman types like Daniel Duarte, Jared Young and Jeff Yan have produced.

"Guys are playing good baseball," Green said recently. "In almost all the games, we've found ourselves down at some point [and] the mentality has flipped from, 'Here we go again,' to, 'Here we go again, this is what we do.' I think there's a big distinction between those two things and your expectations. I

think your play follows that."

The bottom line is the Mets have to keep winning and really can't afford many slipups. They need this 11-4 stretch to be a sign of the final six weeks to come.

The odds are incredibly slim. Their chances of reaching the postseason are 0.1 percent, according to FanGraphs. Hey, it's better than zero, right?

"I feel like we're playing loose," Scott said. "There's an influx of energy with a lot of new guys. We're having fun and not putting too much pressure on ourselves. And winning is more fun."

zbraziller@nypost.com

Mets set to honor retiring Rose

Legendary Mets broadcaster Howie Rose will retire at the end of the club's home schedule this season. The team will celebrate Rose with a special retirement ceremony before the last game of the season at Citi Field against the Phillies on Sunday, Sept. 20.

The Mets will recognize Rose's career and his impact on the organization. Rose has been part of Mets baseball for close to four decades. The first 15,000 fans will receive a "Put it in the books" notebook and scorecard. The phrase was his signature sign-off after a Mets victory.

"For generations of Mets fans, Howie Rose has been more than a broadcaster, he has been the soundtrack of summer and the voice behind some of the most memorable moments in

HOWIE ROSE To be celebrated Sept. 20

our history," owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. "His love for baseball and this organization has come through in every call, creating a connection with Mets fans that few broadcasters ever achieve. Howie's impact extends far beyond the booth.

"He is part of the fabric of this franchise, and we are proud to celebrate an extraordinary career while thanking him for everything he has meant to the Mets. We wish Howie and his family nothing but the best in this next chapter."

Rose, 72, grew up a Mets fan in Queens and started calling games for the team in 1987. He has been their lead play-by-play voice on the radio since 2006. — Zach Braziller

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60

Montefiore Einstein Official Hospital of the New York Yankees

■ Giancarlo Stanton has run the bases in his attempt to return from calf injuries that have sidelined him since late April. If he does get back, the Yankees will have to figure out what to do at DH, with Ben Rice there regularly and Aaron Judge likely needing time there if he gets back, as well.

ON DECK

vs. Blue Jays Friday, 7:05 p.m., YES, WFAN (660 AM, 101.9 FM)

RHP Cam Schlittler

2026 stats: 10-6, 2.19 ERA Career vs. TOR: 0-2, 3.60 ERA Last start: Sat., at TOR: 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 7 K

PITCH BREAKDOWN

44% 26% 20% 4-Seamer Cutter Sinker

TBD

2026 stats: Career vs. NYY: Last start:

PITCH BREAKDOWN

-% -% -%

UP NEXT

SATURDAY: vs. Blue Jays, 1:35 p.m., YES, WFAN LHP Ryan Weathers vs. RHP Dylan Cease SUNDAY: vs. Blue Jays, 1:35 p.m., YES, WFAN LHP Carlos Rodón vs. RHP José Soriano

A WIN 'O' SO

By DAN MARTIN

BALTIMORE — As the regular season approaches the final month, it's becoming even more clear that the Yankees and Rays remain the best teams in a historically weak American League.

Whether the Yankees have enough firepower to catch Tampa Bay will be determined over the next six weeks, but the Yankees closed this road trip in style.

They won their fourth straight Thursday, completing a sweep at Camden Yards with a convincing 6-1 victory over the Orioles.

Even as they've remained firmly in the playoff picture without their best player, the Yankees still rarely make it easy on themselves, scratching out runs and relying extensively on their rotation and top relievers.

But Thursday, as they seemingly got some potentially positive news on Aaron Judge, they also looked like a team that's poised for a strong finish.

Not only do they have their longest winning streak since before the All-Star break, they played about as complete a game as possible to finish a sweep of the Orioles.

Thursday's win featured a sterling effort from Gerrit Cole, contributions from two trade deadline acquisitions — Heliot Ramos and Luis García Jr. — who have mostly slumped since getting to the Yankees, as well as an opposite-field homer by Spencer Jones.

They got back to within four games of first-place Tampa Bay and moved to four games up on the Red Sox for the top spot in the AL wild-card race.

Against right-hander Kyle Bradish — who tossed six shut-out innings against the Yankees in May — the lineup this time had more success, as the Yankees scored at least five runs in consecutive games for the first time since July 9-10.

"It was good to get some cushion," manager Aaron Boone said. "We got the lead and were able to add to it."

A three-run third inning started with back-to-back singles by Jones and Austin Wells

THAT'S B'MORE LIKE IT: Jazz Chisholm Jr. celebrates his run-scoring triple during the eighth inning Thursday night in Baltimore. The Yankees lineup provided a cushion for starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, who struck out eight Orioles over six innings in the clincher for a three-game sweep. Getty Images; AP

Plenty to enjoy as Yanks close out 3-game set at Camden with style

and was aided by a costly error. With runners on the corners, José Caballero hit a potential double-play ball, but shortstop Gunnar Henderson dropped Jackson Holliday's throw from second.

Jones scored on the play, and the Orioles failed to record an out.

Trent Grisham then grounded into a double play, but Ben Rice singled in a run and Ramos — just 2-for-33 in his previous 10 games — delivered a double to make it 3-0.

Cole, after allowing a one-out single to Pete Alonso in the first, retired 11 straight batters before Dylan Beavers took him deep to start the bottom of the fifth.

That was the only blemish for

YANKEES ORIOLES

6 1 Boxscore Page 44

Cole, who struck out eight in six innings to pass Roger Clemens for 12th all time in franchise history.

Ryan Yarbrough finished the game with three scoreless innings, which allowed the Yankees to rest their high-leverage relievers.

Cole and Yarbrough had some breathing room in part because García opened the sixth with a homer, his 25th of the season and second with the Yankees.

Jones went the other way with two outs in the inning for his sixth home run.

It was the rookie's first homer

since he went deep in back-to-back games three weeks ago.

Jones attributed the three-hit night to adjustments he made with his timing — and the knowledge he's been getting regular playing time for most of the month.

With Cody Bellinger due to return from a strained hamstring in the coming days — and Ramos not going anywhere — Jones may end up back in the minors, but as Boone noted, the lefty swinger has the ability to "leave any part of the ballpark."

After dropping three in a row earlier in the trip, the Yankees head back to The Bronx to open a 10-game homestand Friday against the Blue Jays.

dan.martin@nypost.com

Montefiore Einstein

Official Hospital of the New York Yankees

---

SWEEP

Luck not on Ramos' side amid awful start in Bronx

By DAN MARTIN

BALTIMORE — Heliot Ramos was aware of the expectations he faced when he was traded to the Yankees prior to the Aug. 3 deadline from the only organization he'd ever known after being drafted by the Giants in 2017.

"I wanted to produce, and I wanted to be hot as soon as I got here," Ramos said before going 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. "I've been trying my best."

But the outfielder's numbers are among the worst in the game since getting to the Yankees, something he's aware of.

As manager Aaron Boone has noted, Ramos has hit into some bad luck.

Heading into Thursday, of the previous 11 balls Ramos has hit over 100 mph, 10 have gone for outs.

"I hit the ball hard, and nothing happens," Ramos said. "When you do that, it's hard to wrap your head around, and nothing is going my way. We need to get results, but [there are] some things you can't control."

The results, to Ramos'

point, have been ugly.

He entered Thursday just 2-for-33 with a double, three walks and 11 strikeouts in his previous 10 games.

The righty-swinging Ramos is much more effective against left-handed pitching. With the Yankees in the midst of facing

almost nothing but right-handed starters, he's been at a bit of a disadvantage.

While he may be discouraged about his start with the Yankees, he's confident there's time for redemption.

"The thing that helps me is that we're competing to be in the playoffs," Ramos said. "That's all I care about."

Boone said Wednesday there may be something to the theory that Ramos is trying to prove himself to his new teammates, which could add to his issues at the plate.

"I think there's a level of 'He wants to show us,' Boone said. 'We know we got a good player, a good hitter.'"

Ramos didn't totally dismiss the possibility that might be the case.

"I want to be playing better, and it's been a process," said Ramos, drafted 19th overall in 2017. "All I knew was the Giants my whole career. It takes a little bit to get comfortable and be at peace here. I think it would be like that for anybody in any job. You move from the West Coast to the East Coast, it's a culture shock. It's a completely different place and takes time to adjust. I'm feeling good now, and my mind is in the right place."

Judge pumps up tee volume

By DAN MARTIN

BALTIMORE — Although the Yankees were due to play a key game at Camden Yards on Thursday night, the most important swings of the day may have come in The Bronx, where Aaron Judge started hitting off a tee.

Aaron Boone noted the advancement in Judge's recovery from the fractured rib that's kept him out since the beginning of June.

"It went well," the manager said before the Yankees topped the Orioles 6-1. "It will be good to see him [Friday] when we get home."

Initially restricted to limited activity, Judge had moved on to playing catch and, more recently, swinging in a pool.

But if there's any real chance of Judge getting

YANKS NOTES

healthy and performing up to his normal standards before the end of the season, the Yankees will have to keep an eye on the calendar.

He's already been sidelined for nearly three months and will need time to get back into playing shape when he's completely healthy.

Another injured outfielder, Cody Bellinger, played his first minor league rehab game Thursday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after being out with a hamstring strain since suffering the injury July 25. He served as the DH and went 1-for-3.

Bellinger will likely need more than one rehab game before his return, but the Yankees haven't ruled out a potential return this weekend at

the Stadium against Toronto.

Without Bellinger, the Yankees have been forced to play Spencer Jones and Heliot Ramos more than they would like.

Boone said Giancarlo Stanton has continued his running program as he works to get back from the calf injuries that have kept him from playing since April.

► Ryan McMahon didn't play Thursday after suffering an injury to his left thumb while sliding into second base during Wednesday's win.

The third baseman said he expected to get another scan of the injury Friday in The Bronx, but as of Thursday, no IL stint was deemed necessary, and initial X-rays showed nothing was broken.

José Caballero started at third base in McMahon's place.

Montefiore Einstein

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STREAM IT OR SKIP IT

"Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing" (Netflix) is rock-solid investigative journalism. Hopefully a third documentary won't be necessary, but we dunno. OUR CALL: STREAM IT

For more on your favorite TV and films, visit decider.com

WHAT TO WATCH

Thank goodness someone thought to get a pro-shot of "Come From Away" before their Broadway run ended, and thank goodness Apple TV put it up for all of our viewing pleasure. This musical is about as much of a tearjerker as a musical can get, but we can warn you that it's tears of hope for humanity. If that's what you need right now, give it a watch.

DECIDER

WHAT TO WATCH. WHEREVER YOU WATCH

'OR FATHER' DEAREST

Daveed Diggs on how he wrote his Emmy-nominated song for 'The Boys'

By MEGHAN O'KEEFE

Prime Video's "The Boys" has long been considered one of the most overlooked shows by the Television Academy, so it was heartening to see Season 5 standout Daveed Diggs earn an Emmy nomination this year, along with Christopher Lennertz, for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for writing the show-stopping song, "Raise Him Up."

Diggs, an actor, musician, songwriter, and artist perhaps most famous for his Tony-winning dual performances in Broadway's "Hamilton," joined "The Boys" for the show's fifth and final season. He played Oh Father, a super-powered preacher who believed that the villainous Homelander (Antony Starr) should become America's new god, mainly because it would be lucrative for him.

Oh Father's religious grift reaches its ultimate fever pitch in the show's penultimate episode, "The Frenchman, The Female, And The

Man Called Mother's Milk," where he debuts his catchy new gospel song, "Raise Him Up" in a dazzling musical number.

Diggs stopped by DECIDER's studio last week to discuss how "The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke convinced him to break his own rule and do a musical number on the show.

DECIDER: First of all, congratulations on your Emmy nomination, this time for writing a song for "The Boys." How did it feel to get that nomination and how did this come about? How did they introduce the idea that you would help Christopher Lennertz write the song?

DAVEED DIGGS:

Yeah, well, first of all I'm really honored to be nominated with Chris and with the whole team. I mean, it took a lot of people to make this song happen and a ton of work and it came out so good. I'm so happy with how it came out and it's not always those things that get the attention so it was really cool when I heard that we got nominated because I think the song really deserves it.

It came about because Kripke sort of sheepishly asked me one day. Like, "Hey, you can say no, but what would you think about doing a big musical number in the seventh episode of this season?" I usually say no to musical numbers. People ask me that a lot. But I had made the choice when I decided to do "The Boys," when I said yes to the show — I really loved the writing — so I wanted to just try, I wanted get the whole of "The Boys" experience. So I had sort of already made the choice for myself that whatever

they asked me to do I was going to do it, assuming that would be, you know, exploding heads with a ball gag, all that stuff like that. Like "The Boys"-type stuff makes sense, but I didn't expect this curve ball. And so I did my due diligence and said, like, "Give me 24 hours to think about it." But I already said yes in my head. You know, I wanted to have a good time. And I'm so glad we did it. It was so much fun.

I love the scene where we see the musical number and you think you're getting an immersive experience and then you find out it's the rehearsal. What was it like shooting that? Because that just was so dazzling to watch on screen. How's it compared to your actual experiences on Broadway?

I mean, it was the most fun I had that whole season and the season was super fun. I thought Sylvain

[White] did a great job directing the scene. Also, the musicians in the shot are real musicians and obviously the dancers are all incredible dancers. So in between takes, it was just like a jam session. Like they would just play music and we would all hang out and sing songs and stuff. So it was really a great couple of days. But again, a lot of work. You know, putting up a musical number, we would rehearse that for many weeks for a Broadway show, but we had about a day of dance rehearsal and then two days of shooting. So yeah, really long days, but really, really fun. And the dancers are incredible. And that choir, I mean, I spent more time with them than anybody else on the show, actually, because they were my choir for the whole season. And so we all got really close. And when I go to Toronto, I hang out with them.

TRENDING NOW

Dude, we're getting the band back together! Well, we're getting the "Sons of Anarchy" cast back together. FX has ordered "Legends," a meta-thriller series, which will see stars Charlie Hunnam (left), Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal, Maggie Siff, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Kim Coates, and Theo Rossi play themselves.

WHAT'S NEW

ON HBO/HBO MAX

"Conan O'Brien Must Go," Season 3 of the travel series.

ON HULU

"The Girls: A Khloé Kardashian Project," a new reality series (left).

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Best Bets

What's on Tonight

EPIC

Scarface: 8 p.m. on AMC. Al Pacino, Steven Bauer. In the 1980s, a determined criminal-minded Cuban immigrant becomes the biggest drug smuggler.

DOCUMENTARY

Deadliest Catch: 8 p.m. on DSC. Sig & Sophia locate hybrid crab, hitting the jackpot, but filling their tanks puts the Northwestern on the brink of capsize.

ADVENTURE

Men in Black: 11 p.m. on VH1. Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones. Two Agents help recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic criminal.

Friday August 21, 2026

SP = Spectrum, C = Cablevision, F = FiOS Movies Sports New

Evening	SP	C	F	6:30	7:00 pm	7:30	8:00 pm	8:30	9:00 pm	9:30	10:00 pm	10:30	11:00 pm	11:30
2 WCBS	2	2	2	CBS Evening News	NFL Preseason New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers meets New York Jets in NFL.						Boston Blue "History"		CBS News New York	(11:35) Comics
4 WNBC	4	4	4	NBC Nightly News	News 4/7(15) Access Hollywood		America's Got Talent "Quarterfinals 1"				Dateline		News 4 New York At	(11:35) Tonight
5 WNYW	5	5	5	Politics Unusual	Extra	TMZ	MasterChef UK "Royal Wedding"		Nation's Dumbest Anthony Michael Hall, Jon Heder	10 O'Clock	Street Soldiers		Good Night New York	Family Feud Favorites
7 WABC	7	7	7	ABC World News	Jeopardy!	Wheel of Fortune	Celebrity Jeopardy "Episode 10"		20/20				Eyewitness News at	(11:35) Jimmy Kimm
9 WWOR	9	9	9	Family Feud	Family Feud	Family Feud	The News On My 9	Politics Unusual	Chicago Fire "All Hard Parts"		Family Feud	Family Feud	Chicago Fire
11 WPIX	11	11	11	(6:00) PIX11 News at 6PM	Mets Prega (Live)	MLB Baseball	New York Mets at Chicago White Sox (Live)					New York (Live)	New York (Live)	Seinfeld
13 WNET	13	13	13	Bbc World News	The PBS News Hour "The PBS News Hour"		PBS Washin "Episode 8"	Firing Line w/ Margaret	Great Performances at the Met "Eugene Onegin"
21 WLIW	21	21	21	(6:00) PBSNe.	Inspector George "Peace And Love"		Brokenwood	"Exposed to the Light"		(10:05) Astrid			BBC News	The Day
25 WNYE	25	25	25	Civil Disc	Made In NY Talks		Vintage	Inside Power Live from the Artists		Short Film		NYU Journal	Cinema
31 WDXN	31	31	31	(6:00) S.W.A.T.	WNBA On	WNBA Baske Minnesota Lynx at Washington Mystics		WNBA on	WNBA Basketball Portland Fire at Toronto					Tempo
41 WXTV	41	41	41	(6:00) Noticias	Tan Cerca de Ti, Nace		Guardian de Mi Vida		Corazón de oro		Noticias	Noticiero N+	Noticias Univision 41 @11p
47 WNU	47	47	47	Noticias	Top Chef VIP "Episodio 2"				El Señor de los "Señuelo"		Lejos de Ti		Noticiero	Noticias
55 WUNY	55	55	55	Perfect	Last Man	Last Man	Sheriff Country		Fire Country		Boston Blue		Neighborhood	Neighborhood
AAA	46	46	111	(6:00) First 48	The First 48		The First 48		The First 48		The First 48 "Rumors Kill"		(11:05) The First 48
AMC	54	43	231	(5:30) Gran Torino (08,Drama) ★★★			Scarface (1983,Crime Story)		Al Pacino. ★★★
BET	37	54	270	Black Knight (2001,Comedy) Martin Lawrence. ★★					Down to Earth (2001,Comedy) Chris Rock. ★★					Martin
BBSAM	71	101	189	(6:00) Law &...	Law & Order		Law & Order		Law & Order "Gunplay"		Law & Order "Cut"		Law & Order "Gov Love"
BRAVO	18	44	185	(5:00) Sex and the City (08,Romance) ★★			Sex and the City 2 (2010,Romance) Sarah Jessica Parker. ★★						Save The Last Dance ★★★
CNBC	15	24	102	(6:00) MadM.	Shark Tank		Shark Tank		Shark Tank "Episode 18"		Shark Tank		Shark Tank "Episode 20"
CNN	78	25	100	(6:00) Lead w/	Erin Burnett OutFront		Anderson Cooper 360		Source w/ Kaitlan Collins		CNN NewsNight		Laura Coates Live
COM	45	50	190	The Office	The Office	(7:35) Office	(8:10) Office	(8:45) Office	(9:20) The Office		(9:55) Office	The Office	The Office	The Office
DIS	49	31	259	(6:10) Raya and the Last Dragon ★★★			Big City	Big City	Big City		Big City	Kiff	Miraculous	Miraculous
DSC	66	27	120	(6:00) Deadlie.	Deadliest Catch		Deadliest Catch		Contraband: Seized at Sea		Contraband: Seized at Sea		Contraband: Seized at Sea
E!	24	51	196	Two & a	Two & a	Two & a	Two & a	Two & a	Two & a		Cocktail	Cocktail	My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
ESPN	28	36	70	(5:00) Little	Little League World Series (Live)				NCAA Women's Volleyball #3 Kentucky vs. #6 (Live)				SportsCenter (Live)
ESPN2	29	35	74	(6:00) NCAA Women's Volleyball			Banana Ball Loco Beach Coconuts vs. Bananas (Live)		ESPN FC		ACCN Road Trip		"Clemson" 30 for 30
FBN	43	106	117	(6:00) Bottom	Maria Bart	Barron's	Cops Reloa	Cops Reloa	Cops Reloa		Cops Reloa	Cops Reloa	Cops Reloa	Cops Reloa
FNC	44	26	118	(6:00) Special	The Ingraham Angle (Live)		Jesse Watters (Live)		Hannity (Live)		Gutfeld!		Fox News at Night (Live)
FOOD	50	97	164	Diners,	Diners,	Diners,	Diners,	Diners,	Diners,		Diners,	Diners,	Diners,	Diners,
FOOTIM	38	49	199	(5:00) The Little Mermaid ★★★			Aladdin (2019,Fantasy) Will Smith. ★★★						The 700 Club
FS1	400	99	83	SPEED w/	NHRA Quali	NHRA in 30	NHRA in 30	Kevin Harv	LIV Golf		LIV Golf United Kingdom		LIV Golf New York
FX	10	40	53	(5:30) The Lion King (15,Animated) ★★★			Jungle Cruise (2021,Action) Dwayne Johnson. ★★★						Doctor Strange in the Multi...
HALL		191	249	(6:00) Holiday Crashers ★★★			Single on the 25th (25,Romance) ★★★				Golden	Golden	Golden
HITV	64	98	165	My Lottery	My Lottery	My Lottery	My Lottery	My Lottery	My Lottery	Zillow	Roast My	House Hunt	Decorating	House Hunt
HIST	40	47	128	(6:00) UnXpla.	The UnXplained		The UnXplained		The UnXplained		(10:05) The UnXplained		(11:05) The UnXplained
ID	23	171	123	(6:00) Mother,	Mother, May 1 Murder?		Evil Lives Here		Evil Lives Here: My		What Happened to		Who Hired the Hitman?
LIFE	62	45	140	(6:00) NCIS	NCIS "Reveille"		NCIS "See No Evil"		NCIS "See No Evil"		(10:05) NCIS "Vanished"		(11:05) NCIS "Lt. Jane Doe"
MeTV	33	33	3	MAS*H	MAS*H	MAS*H	Andy Griff	Andy Griff	Everybody	Everybody	KCCI 8	Golden	Carol Burn	Perry Mason
MSG	27	87	78	(4:00) MSG PM	MSG Summer Eats				The Garden Cup
MSG	48	88	80	(5:00) NHL	MSG PM	MSG PM	Club 30		NHL				MSG PM	MSG PM
MSNOW	14	23	103	(6:00) Beat w/	The Weeknight (Live)		All in w/ Chris (Live)		Briefing w/ Jen (Live)		Last Word w/ (Live)		11th Hour w/ All (Live)
MTV	20	53	210	Big Bang	The Waterboy (1998,Comedy) Adam Sandler. ★★★				Ted (2012,Comedy) Mark Wahlberg. ★★★				Ted 2 ★★★
NATGEO	65	162	121	(6:00) JFK: One	JFK: One Day in "Revenge"		9/11 Reunited		9/11 Reunited		9/11 Reunited		9/11 Reunited
NICK	6	121	252	Tales of	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water ★★				Friends		Big Bang	Big Bang	Big Bang	Big Bang
OWW	173	180	145	(6:00) Put a R.	Put a Ring on It		Put a Ring on It		lyanla: The Inside Fix		lyanla: The Inside Fix		Put a Ring on It
PARMT	36	56	54	Everybody	Everybody	Everybody	Everybody	Everybody	Everybody		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ★★★
SNY	26	60	77	Proving	Broadway Boxing Broadway Boxing 2403				Oh Yeah...		Proving	Mets Post	SportsNite	NFL Presea
SYPY	17	48	180	(5:00) Exorcist: Believer		Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (09,Action) ★★★			Twister (1996,Action) Helen Hunt. ★★★
TBS	8	39	52	Big Bang	Big Bang	Big Bang	Jurassic World Dominion (2022,Adventure) Chris Pratt. ★★				(10:45) Meg 2: The Trench ★★
TCM	82	41	230	(6:15) Critic's Choice (63,Comedy) ★★			The Narrow Margin (52,Thriller) ★★★		Force of Evil (48,Crime Story) ★★★				The Killing ★★★
TLC	52	28	139	(6:00) 90 Day	90 Day Fiancé		90 Day "More to Love: It's Better to Bend Than Break"				90 Day: The Last Resort		90 Day
TNT	3	37	51	(5:30) The Accountant (16,Action) ★★★			The Martian (2015,Sci-Fi) Matt Damon. ★★★						Wonder Woman ★★★
TVLAND	85	34	241	Andy Griff	Everybody	Everybody	Everybody	(9:20) Everybody Loves		Everybody	Everybody		King of	King of
USA	16	38	50	(6:00) AnnaPL.	Anna Pigeon "Hide + Seek"		Wwe Friday Night Smackdown				Anna Pigeo "The Preacher"		(11:05) Law & Orde "Ritual"
VH1	19	52	217	My Wife	My Wife	My Wife	Set It Off (1996,Drama) Jada Pinkett Smith. ★★★						Men In Black ★★★
WE	59	42	149	Bad Boys (1995,Action) Will Smith. ★★★					Age Inappr "Put on Blast"		Age Inappr "Put on Blast"		Bad Boys II ★★★
YES	53	89	76	Yankees	MLB Baseball Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees (Live)				Yankees		Yankees		Talkin' Yanks! M.S Soccer
HRQ	511	301	400	(6:55) Conan O'Brien Must	Conan O'Br	(8:15) Conan O'Br "Austria"	Conan O'Br	(9:45) It's Flori	(10:05) Real Time w/ Bill		Conan O'Br		RealTime
MAX	531	371	420	(5:45) The 33 ★★★	(7:50) Batman & Robin (1997,Action) Arnold Schwarzenegger. ★				Batman Returns (1992,Action) Michael Keaton. ★★★
MGM Plus	595		395	(6:10) Out of Time (03,Thriller) ★★★			The Silence of the Lambs (91,Thriller) ★★★★		Hannibal (2001,Thriller) Anthony Hopkins. ★★★
OPPO	551	371	355	Airplane (30,Comedy) ★★★			Get Hard (2015,Comedy) Will Ferrell. ★★	(9:45) The Hangover Part II (11,Comedy) ★★★					Movie

A WEEK FOR 12 WEEKS

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MIAMI HEAT: DART SHINES VS. FINS

YOUNG QB, OFFENSE COME TOGETHER IN DOMINANT EFFORT IN SWELTERING JOINT PRACTICE / P. 52

FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026

NEW YORK POST

www.nypost.com

The Best Sport in Town®

Bombers cap sweep with rare stress-free 'W'

DAN MARTIN / PAGES 60-61

EASY NEW YORK O'S IT

Luis García Jr. celebrates after his sixth-inning home run, part of his 3-for-4 night. Spencer Jones also finished 3-for-4 with a homer and Gerrit Cole tossed six dominant innings as the Yankees cruised to a 6-1 win at Camden Yards on Thursday night, their fourth straight victory overall.

GENO'S RETURN FLIGHT

SMITH TO START TONIGHT

VS. STEELERS / P. 49

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