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The Joe Biden administration’s decision—first reported in November by Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin and backed up this week by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins—was confirmed by White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday. “U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these Games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang. And we simply can’t do that,” Psaki said, referencing the nation’s official title, the People’s Republic of China....

While some states, like Hawaii, Texas, and Nevada, that are reliant on tourism and the energy industries, took blows to their revenue as a result of the pandemic, others have exceeded dire revenue projections from spring 2020 and now face budget surpluses in part thanks to the COVID-19 relief legislation signed by Biden in March. But rather than investing in underfunded schools and public services, some Republican-run states are instead funneling the cash to high-income households - and the Biden administration’s refusal to enforce the anti-tax-cut language in the federal legislation are providing a green light for Republicans to try to do even more....

As vaccine demand in the U.S. has decreased in recent weeks, the extra doses will come from existing Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines that have already been produced. The Biden administration previously promised to share 60 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses by the end of June, although it has not yet been approved for use in the U.S. “We will not use our vaccines to secure favors from other countries,” Biden said....

More than two years ago, President Donald Trump made a similar speech about the death of ISIS’s former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died after detonating a suicide vest while being cornered by U.S. troops. But Trump’s speech took a different tone than Biden’s and focused more on insulting the former ISIS leader. It even faced criticism for being “crass.” During his 2019 speech, Trump said al-Baghdadi died “like a dog....

“President Biden will communicate tomorrow that he does not believe in the notion of a new Cold War with the world divided into blocs,” a senior administration official told Reuters. “He believes in vigorous, intensive, principled competition that does not tip over into conflict.” Biden’s speech will occur a few days after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres made his latest remarks about U.S.-China relations. Guterres urged the two countries to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship for the sake of solving global challenges, the Associated Press reported....

Joseph Wu’s remarks also included gratitude to the outgoing administration of President Donald Trump, who he credited with advancing the U.S.-Taiwan relationship “to a level that is stronger than it has ever been.” His conversation with Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was broadcast as part of a virtual forum on Wednesday. Wu said President-elect Biden’s call for a coalition of like-minded partners and allies was a “reassuring” message to democracies in the region....

On “Thursday Night Football,” the two No. 1 overall picks will face each other for the first time on the big stage as Burrow and the Bengals will host Lawrence and the Jaguars in the primetime showdown. These two players have history both with one another and with the opposing teams. Burrow and Lawrence played each other in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. Burrow will be facing off against his former coach, Urban Meyer, who was at Ohio State before Burrow transferred to LSU....

Both drivers were able to remain on the lead lap following the accident on the Lap-187 restart, although Busch’s car had significant hood damage. Denny Hamlin, the third of the three Gibbs drivers, wasn’t so lucky. Hamlin, who led early in the race, suffered a mechanical failure and was involved in a wreck. Kenseth’s car slowed and wiggled as he battled Jamie McMurray for position, and Busch ran into the back of him....

“They always say, ‘if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,’ “ Montana told NFL Network (via CBS Sports). “So they’re trying hard.” MORE: Tom Brady’s life, from draft to Deflategate | Will Colts get revenge on Pats for Deflategate? The 49ers legend was referring to the New England Patriots, who face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in a rematch of the infamous AFC championship game. Montana had the same philosophy as a player and admits the 49ers cheated during his career, adding he has no problem with Tom Brady if he did, in fact, break the rules....

The controversial comedian and podcast host was discussing the release on his The Joe Rogan Experience show with guest Brian Redban. Redban is a comedian and a former producer on Rogan’s show who has recorded hundreds of episodes with the host. The pair discussed a number of topics including Donald Trump and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. During a wide-ranging discussion, Redban brought up the previously classified documents pertaining to Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963....

Young scored 27 points, going 3-for-6 from 3-point range. MORE: Must-see photos | Live bracket | Scoreboard | Saturday, Sunday matchups “I knew my shot was going to come,” he told TBS in a postgame interview. “My team did their job and we kept our composure.” After taking a four-point lead into halftime, Oregon (26-9) trailed 62-59 midway through the second half before going on an 11-0 run to take control of the game....

Speaking with NFL Network after he ran a 4.86-second 40-yard dash, Bosa thought he did “pretty well,” but was hoping to get a time in the 4.7-second range. MORE: Best photos from the Combine | Stars who overcame bad Combines “It was a rough, long day,” said Bosa, who mentioned he woke up at 5:30 a.m. “Happy I got through it. Move on to pro day.” Depending on what scouts timed him at in the 40, Bosa isn’t sure if he’ll run the 40 again at Ohio State’s pro day on March 11....

In a first-person essay for The Cauldron, Harrington calls his NFL career “a huge success” for what his football days did for his current life. While he may be well off now, there was a time where Harrington struggled, and that was during his days in Detroit. He says those years “ruined him.” MORE: Lions’ worst first-round picks | Lions should be thankful they kept Caldwell “The four years I spent [with the Lions] absolutely crushed me,” he writes....

As the lead pack of cars approached the green/checkered flag to end the first 60-lap stage of the GEICO 500, an aggressive push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. forced Denny Hamlin out of line. In the process, Hamlin hooked the left rear of Logano’s car, which got airborne off the bumper of Stenhouse’s Chevrolet, turned upside down, landed on its roof and barrel-rolled before righting itself. TALLADEGA RESULTS: Keselowski accepts gift...

Eastman is the author of a widely criticized Newsweek opinion piece that questioned whether Kamala Harris was eligible to be vice president. Hours before the Capitol riot began, Eastman joined Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, on stage and bolstered the president’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. “We know there was fraud,” he said. “We know that dead people voted.” He also was the counsel of record on the administration’s lawsuit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin....

Fetterman announced on Wednesday that he will debate Oz, a celebrity physician and television personality commonly known as Dr. Oz. Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s current lieutenant governor, slowed his campaign after suffering a stroke in May. But as the election draws nearer and Fetterman has rejoined the campaign trail, media and political figures in Pennsylvania have joined Oz in calling for in-person debates between the candidates. “We’re absolutely going to debate Dr....

For most of the more than half a century since then, Princeton has been a therapeutic community for Nash, who has taken a torturous path to his present quiet life there. In an autobiographical essay composed after he received a 1994 Nobel Prize, Nash wrote: “When I had been long enough hospitalized… I would finally renounce my delusional hypotheses and revert to thinking of myself as a human of more conventional circumstances....

It is the country’s periodic salvation that such people appear when they are needed, rising above themselves to do what they have to do: men and women like Tom Paine, Ulysses S. Grant, Harriet Tubman and Harry S. Truman. John Sirica’s death last week, of cardiac arrest at the age of 88, raised questions as tough as he was. Can we find such heroes again in an hour of need?...

Stevens, who has been in charge of the Kings' defensemen for two Stanley Cups, has been promoted to associate head coach, as first reported by Elliotte Friedman of the CBC. Also sticking around on Darryl Sutter's staff: assistant Davis Payne and goalie coach Bill Ranford, who both have new deals. “Our coaching staff has been an integral part of the success of our team the last three years,” GM Dean Lombardi said in a team release....

An official announcement was made on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” after the conclusion of the network’s “Monday Night Football” broadcast. ESPN.com and Canadian media outlet TSN reported the hiring earlier Monday. MORE: Graphic guide to the NHL preseason Tortorella last coached in the NHL for the Canucks during the 2013-14 season. Problems arose in January 2014 when he attempted to enter the Flames’ visiting locker room to fight head coach Bob Hartley....