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auburn.rivals.com AuburnSports - JUCO DL a ‘special talent’ Bryan Matthews 2–3 minutes AUBURN | Quientrail Jamison-Travis still has a ways to go when it comes to being in game shape and understanding the defense. But when he gets there, Auburn may have a special talent on their hands. The junior college defensive lineman, who goes by Bobby, arrived in AU just a day before the start of fall camp. “He’s a special talent,” said defensive coordinator Ron Roberts. “He has all the talent stuff. He was not here this summer so he’s a little far behind. We’re trying to play catch-up with him on a mental standpoint, what’s going on and what he has to do. He will impact and he’ll be a big part, because he’s a talented individual. “So he’s got to play himself into shape. He wasn’t here for the summer for conditioning, weight-lifting, all that kind of stuff, probably a little bit out of shape, a little behind mentally right now, so we haven’t really seen what he’s capable of doing.” Jamison-Travis, 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, totaled 90 tackles, 20.0 tackles-for-loss and 10.5 sacks in two seasons at Iowa Western. He's been working mainly at defensive tackle and noseguard during the first week of fall camp. One of the shrewdest moves that the Tigers’ coaching staff made was to room Jamison-Travis with senior defensive lineman Marcus Harris. “He looks amazing. He's just naturally strong,” said Harris. “He kind of doesn't know the defense yet … We’re gonna get together a lot, and I'm gonna teach him the plays and teach him the technique. His eagerness to learn — he wants to learn. He's coming around, asking me questions all the time. He just wants to know and wants to get better. “I can't wait to see once he's fully getting the aspect of the defense and fully locked in, I'm ready to see what he can do.” Auburn will hold its sixth practice of fall camp Thursday morning.

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yahoo.com "You will get violence": Leading democracy expert says Donald Trump is not running to win election Chauncey DeVega 12–15 minutes Donald Trump Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images Contrary to what many professional centrists and hope-peddlers in the American mainstream news media and political class would like to believe, the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol was not the climax of the Age of Trump. In reality, Jan. 6 was a proof of concept for how the Republican fascists will use political violence to obtain and keep power against and over the democratic will of the American people in an increasingly diverse society. In all, Jan. 6 was not the end of something but rather the next chapter in what journalist Jeff Sharlet has described as a "slow civil war" here in America. To that point, in response to his indictment for his alleged crimes of Jan. 6 and the larger plot against democracy, Trump has been escalating his threats of violence, both direct and implied, against Special Counsel Jack Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Judge Tanya Chutkan and the other prosecutors, members of law enforcement, and potential jurors who are attempting to hold him accountable under the law. Law enforcement and other experts in domestic terrorism and national security are continuing to warn that Trump, his MAGA followers and the larger white right constitute an extreme danger to the country's security. On Wednesday, for example, the FBI said that a Utah man who had made threats to President Biden and several prosecutors on different Trump criminal cases was shot and killed during an FBI raid. In an attempt to understand what comes next with an imperiled Donald Trump and the growing reality of right-wing violence and its impact on American democracy and society, and how the Republican Party and larger white right are not merely "polarized" from the mainstream of American political society but have actually become radicalized into extremism in its various forms, including violence, I recently spoke with leading democracy expert Trygve Olson. He is the author of the Lincoln Democracy Institute's new research project, the "Democracy Index," whose goal is "focused on quantifying and comprehending the existential crises we are facing in American democracy today." This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Beyond the critically important new research you have conducted about the country's democracy crisis and violence, how are you feeling at this point in the Age of Trump? Having worked around the world fighting for democracy in places like Ukraine, Belarus, Nigeria, and Venezuela, the Age of Trump is sad and perhaps not unexpected. I found that a slide into autocracy through extremism, radicalization, and violence can happen anywhere. So far, America's democratic institutions and democratic guardrails are holding on. Still, we see the challenges presented by a cycle of political extremism (polarization, normalization, demonization, and violence) coupled with Trump's willingness to pursue and permanently obtain power by any means necessary, which causes cracks that can ultimately destroy a democracy. Several weeks ago, Donald Trump de facto commanded his followers to assassinate President Obama. What is the big picture about political violence and extremism in the Age of Trump and beyond? Where are we? I have found that universally, autocratic actors - and Trump is one - use six tactics to gain and maintain power. They are Big Ideas/Big Lies, Misinformation/Disinformation, Marginalization of Opponents, Dependency of Allies, Divide and Conquer, Threats, Repression and Violence. The assumption is that autocratic actors resort to violence often. Yet in reality, they do so only when they are most vulnerable in order to send a message about the consequences of crossing them. That is why Mike Pence was the target on Jan 6. No one was more loyal to Trump than Mike Pence, so if Trump was willing to send the mob to get Pence, what message did that send to lesser and lower-level appeasers? We are witnessing Trump telling America that if he doesn't get his way — regardless of democratic norms like elections or the rule of law — then you will get violence. While it isn't exactly the same as what Putin was saying to Ukrainians, it is the same principle and concept at work. In both cases, we need to take them at their word, be vigilant and united in standing up to their attempts to overturn norms. Whether they are international in the case of Putin or domestic in the case of Trump. As a whole, the mainstream American news media keeps defaulting to incorrect language such as "the potential for violence" or "extremist threat" when in reality the violence is already here and experts in law enforcement and national security have been trying to sound the alarm repeatedly. But for a range of reasons including denial and normalcy bias those warnings appear to be falling on deaf ears. Your premise is spot on. I think the challenge for the media is the assumption that the norms of our democracy apply to Trump. Our democracy and its institutions are based on the idea of a win-win game, where even if you don't get all of what you want, you get enough to make it worthwhile. This plays out when a candidate loses an election, their supporters will consent to be governed and not resort to violence because they know that there is another free and fair election in a few years. The problem for the media is Donald Trump isn't playing a game based on democracy's rules. He and his supporters believe that for him to win, the other side must lose. This game is the one all autocratic actors play. For Trump, he must return to office to escape being held accountable and potentially spending the rest of his life in jail. The media typically misses that Trump uses the norms of our democracy but to the end of his zero-sum game. What does your new research reveal and help us to better understand about political violence and polarization in the Age of Trump and beyond? Polarization is often the first step in a cycle of political extremism, which can lead to Violence. In between, you have a normalization of the division that polarization causes and the demonization of the others who don't share your political side. The nation has reached a stage where demonization has become the norm for much of the right in America today. There are also some on the far left as well, but our research shows that some of that is in response to what is happening on the right. It's a vicious cycle with one side's actions leading to the other responding in kind. And it's what makes 2024's election so dangerous for the nation: Trump's wing has already demonstrated its use of Violence and there is the worry the left could respond if it happens again. Now that Trump has normalized saying elections are fraudulent, we must ask whether either side is willing to accept an election result they don't like and concede power to the other without resorting to violence. Definitions matter: how do you operationalize the concept of "polarization". That word is thrown around too much by the mainstream news media, commentariot, and larger political class and it is not properly defined or specified. What do we know empirically? Our research shows the difference between the political right and left today is that roughly a quarter of the right isn't just politically extreme but fully radicalized. It is these radicalized actors that are more prone to believing that Violence is a viable answer that might be necessary. Both sides have issues with political extremism - which is how much tolerance they hold for differing political views - that is really at the heart of polarization. I think some of the use of polarization in both the media context and by our political class is not fully understood within the realities of what I call, the Game We Know (Democracy) and the Game We Are In (autocracy and zero-sum). Can you elaborate on the Normalization, Polarization, Demonization, and Violence model that you apply in your new research? The model came out of academia post-9/11 and captures the cycle of how political extremism typically works. If you think about what happened from election night 2020 through events on Jan. 6, you had Trump suggesting the "elections were a fraud" from the White House on election night. Polling suggested most Republicans didn't buy his lies. But as the message was repeated by Trump and his allies, with constant drumming from the right-wing media ecosystem, there was a shift in how Republicans felt. That was how the 'Big Lie' was normalized - a false grievance playing off polarization. Ultimately, violence happened after creating a Need. The election is a fraud. Network - Join Fellow Patriots in Washington on J6 to defend your nation. Narrative - We are going to walk down to the Capitol/Mike Pence didn't do the right thing. What do we know about how Republicans and Trumpists view violence as a tool for advancing their political goals? How are their views about political violence and its legitimacy different from those held by Democrats and other voters? So non-MAGA Republicans, those who don't self-identify as MAGA conservatives, are no more likely than those on the left to see violence as acceptable within our democracy. Those who say they are MAGA conservatives are far more likely to suggest violence is acceptable or necessary to save the country. The problem is when you are in a cycle like the one the nation is currently enduring, you run the risk of things escalating quickly. A scenario that could be born out: If the day after the 2024 Election, the nation learns that Trump has lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College, where do we go? How likely are those on the left to concede power back to a man who is unwilling to give it up and who has undoubtedly implied that if he gets it back, he will use it to maintain power? Those are fair questions and if we are honest with ourselves, we realize there is a real problem on both sides. If Trump didn't accept the results in 2020, why would we think he and his supporters will in 2024? Trumpism and American neofascist are cultural problems that are much larger than any one person or leader. Our data confirms the problem of radicalization on the right is far deeper than Trump. That said, it is also true that for radicalized and extremist groups, leadership is not easily transferable. I think the bigger issue is how much Trump has normalized the demonization of the left (or any others for that matter) within the GOP. This is shown to some degree by all the candidates running, particularly with DeSantis basing his campaign the way he has. What did you find most disturbing and/or troubling from your new research findings? I was shocked by the dangerously high amounts of radicalization. I think the fact that so many on both sides of the political spectrum are either distrusting or intolerant of the other side of the spectrum is a disaster waiting to happen. The reality is that despite the left's denials (or hopes) the data shows Trump has a very good chance of winning the Electoral College again (probably a 47% to 49% chance). This is a real problem. Donald Trump is facing multiple criminal trials. He is escalating his threats of violence and mayhem. He is only going to get worse. You are not psychic. But based on your new research and deep professional experience, what do you want to prepare the American people and their leaders for? I have found from my work worldwide that autocratic actors like Trump have the same objective: to gain and maintain power. They use the same strategy: creating a perception of inevitability and invincibility through fear. They all generally use the tactics I outlined above. Donald Trump isn't playing the game by the rules of our democracy. We have to recognize when we have someone playing a zero-sum game. There is no potential for a win-win upon which our democracy depends. We must be prepared to take him at his word that he is going to try using violence if he has to in order to win. The best way to ensure Trump fails is to ensure he can't use the threats to our democracy to destroy our democracy. That means he must be held to the same laws and justice system as any other American, and it means he must be resoundingly defeated in the next election. By this, I mean Biden must win by a large enough margin to ensure the flipping of no single state's electoral votes would put Trump in power. Read more about Trump's threat Holocaust scholars explain why Trump has ramped up his Nazi-style rhetoric: "Words can kill" Criminal indictments are not enough: Donald Trump must be defeated at the ballot box It's time to believe Donald Trump

auburnwire.usatoday.com Where Robby Ashford falls in 247Sports' Power Five QB rankings Taylor Jones 8–9 minutes Auburn, like several other programs across the SEC, has a quarterback issue that needs to be resolved. Robby Ashford took over the starting quarterback role in week four of the 2022 season after previous starter T.J. Finley exited Auburn’s loss to Penn State after suffering a shoulder injury. Ashford would go on to pass for 1,613 yards and rush for an additional 849. Buy Tigers Tickets As a passer, Ashford completed 49.2% of his passes. His intended targets dropped 16 passes, and Ashford himself threw 15 passes that were deemed “turnover worthy” by Pro Football Focus. He hopes to redeem himself this season but will need to battle Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner for the starting quarterback role. If Ashford were to win the starting quarterback job, where would he stack up against the remainder of the Power Five’s best? 247Sports has provided an answer. 247Sports’ Clint Brewster has ranked all 64 projected starting quarterbacks from Power Five programs ahead of the 2023 season, where he listed Ashford as Auburn’s representative. If Ashford does win the job, he will have an opportunity to prove that he is worth more than his low ranking. Here is a rundown of where each SEC quarterback is placed in 247Sports’ Power Five quarterback rankings. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Power Five ranking: No. 59 Missouri added Miami transfer Jake Garcia to the roster ahead of the 2023 season, but it seems as if Cook will remain QB1 for the Tigers. Cook competed in all 13 games last season and threw for 2,738 yards and 14 touchdowns. If Missouri wants to win more than six games for the first time in the Eli Drinkwitz era, they will need Cook to step up. AP Photo/Stew Milne Power Five ranking: No. 51 Auburn fans are still awaiting a decision by head coach Hugh Freeze as to who will lead the Tigers’ offense in 2023. Ashford is the incumbent after participating in all 12 games last season and starting the final eight. He combined to gain 2,323 yards and score 14 touchdowns last season. Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun Power Five ranking: No. 47 Mertz comes to Florida from Wisconsin to fill the role left behind by first-round pick Anthony Richardson. Consistency has been an issue for Mertz, as he has struggled to complete over 60% of his passes in three seasons. The 2022 season was his best, as he completed 61% of his passes for 2,136 yards and 19 touchdowns. For more Florida football news, visit Gators Wire. Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports Power Five ranking: No. 46 Similar to Ole Miss, Alabama will have a three-way battle to fill the quarterback spot. Milroe has only thrown 60 passes in two seasons for Alabama for 338 yards and will battle Ty Simpson and Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner for the starting job. For more Alabama football news, visit Roll Tide Wire. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Power Five ranking: No. 37 Swann played in nine games for Vanderbilt last season and passed for 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns. After the departure of Mike Wright to fellow SEC program Mississippi State, it is Swann’s show in 2023. Can he lead the Commodores to their first bowl game in the Clark Lead era? Carmen Mandato/Getty Images Power Five ranking: No. 32 There is a battle brewing in College Station between Conner Weigman and Max Johnson for the starting quarterback role, but 247Sports is giving the early advantage to Weigman. Weigman threw eight touchdown passes in five games last season at Texas A&M without throwing an interception. He will have plenty of pressure to play at a consistent pace this season, as the Aggies look to win the SEC West. For more Texas A&M news, visit Aggies Wire. Justin Ford/Getty Images Power Five ranking: No. 26 Jaxson Dart threw 20 touchdown passes in 2022 and passed for 2,974 yards for Ole Miss. However, his work will be cut out for him this season as he will have to compete with LSU transfer Walker Howard and Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders for the starting quarterback role this season. There’s plenty of talent in Ole Miss’ QB room, but who will take the bulk of the snaps? Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via USA TODAY NETWORK Power Five ranking: No. 22 Taking over for a quarterback who led your program to two-straight College Football Playoff National Championships is no easy task, but that is what Carson Beck is expected to do for the Georgia Bulldogs. 247Sports does not know much about Beck personally but feels that he will have a safe first season as the starting quarterback. A fourth-year Bulldog, Beck hasn’t played much for Georgia. So we don’t have a lot to go off of. He’s a big, talented passer with some deceptive mobility and has learned behind some good quarterbacks. Beck will have plenty of protection and also has the best tight ends in the country to work with. He could end the season as a top-10 passer or better on this list. For more Georgia football news, check out UGA Wire. Eric Espada/Getty Images Power Five ranking: No. 20 Tennessee returned to the days of old last season by winning 11 games, defeating Alabama for the first time in 15 seasons, and by winning the Orange Bowl. In order to repeat that performance, the Volunteers must rely on quarterback Joe Milton, who is taking over for Hendon Hooker as QB1. 247Sports says that Milton has the “biggest arm in college football” but needs to prove that he can be consistent this season. For more Tennessee news, visit Vols Wire. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Power Five ranking: No. 18 Some argue that Arkansas has the best QB/RB combo in the SEC heading into the year, and the argument is valid. Jefferson combined to gain 3,276 yards and score 33 touchdowns. Teams better have a great game plan if they hope to contain Jefferson this season. For more Arkansas football news, visit Razorbacks Wire. Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports Power Five ranking: No. 16 Rogers is moving from an air-raid system to a more pro-style form this season, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts. However, he has passed for 10,689 yards and 82 touchdowns in three seasons as Mississippi State’s starting quarterback, so he has very little left to prove as a passer. AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr. Power Five ranking: No. 12 The stock continues to rise for South Carolina, as they took care of Tennessee and Clemson last season. 247Sports feels that Rattler will carry the momentum he built last season into 2023. Rattler, much like Ewers, has an explosive arm with the ability to generate velocity without planting his feet. Rattler displayed what he was capable of with a six-touchdown game against Tennessee, but he struggled processing coverages early in the season. We expect more Tennessee-Rattler in 2023. James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports Power Five ranking: No. 11 Devin Leary was one of the hottest names in the transfer portal last cycle and was even being pursued heavily by Auburn. However, he begins the next step in his career by taking over the role of starting quarterback at Kentucky. An injury limited his time as a junior at NC State last season, but his popularity stems from his incredible season in 2021 when he passed for 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns. Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports Power Five ranking: No. 7 Daniels became an instant legend in 2022. In his first season with LSU after transferring from Arizona State, Daniels completed 69% of his pass attempts for 2,913 yards and 17 touchdowns. His efforts helped LSU reach the SEC Championship game last season, and he is expected to put the Tigers in a position to do the same in 2023. For more LSU Football news, visit LSU Tigers Wire.

yahoo.com 5 post-spring additions who've stood out through Auburn football's first few fall practices Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser 6–7 minutes AUBURN — It's a season of new beginnings for many within the Auburn football program. Coach Hugh Freeze is entering his first year on the Plains, more than 40 new players were added this offseason and aside from a couple of holdovers from the last regime — assistant coaches Cadillac Williams and Zac Etheridge — it's a brand new staff for the Tigers. But things are especially new for those who joined Auburn after spring practices concluded with A-Day on April 8. For that group — comprised of 10 freshman, nine transfers and two junior college pickups — it's been a whirlwind, as the sessions this fall have been the first time the coaching staff has seen them in a practice setting. It's tough to standout given those circumstances, but here are five post-spring additions who've done just that and are turning heads through the early part of preseason practice. OBSERVATIONS: Jeremiah Wright with the first group and other takeaways from Auburn football practice MIXING AND MATCHING: How versatile can Auburn football's defensive front be in 2023? RB Jeremiah Cobb With Jarquez Hunter returning to practice, first-group reps are going to become increasingly more difficult for true freshman Jeremiah Cobb to come by. But the former Montgomery Catholic star has definitely looked the part during the first few media viewing windows. He's listed at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, and he's built like a prototypical running back, coupling that frame with some burst and a smooth game. "He had a couple of really good runs today," offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery said Monday. "You see it, he's got a burst, he plays with speed, he's got good vision. The biggest thing for him as a freshman is just he wasn't here in the spring, so just trying to figure out what the process is, how to play fast, how to see things. ... I thought he has done a really good job." Jack LB Jalen McLeod If the Tigers are going to surpass expectations in 2023 — sportsbooks largely have Auburn's over/under at 6.5 wins — they'll need a pass rusher to step up. Derick Hall, Eku Leota and Colby Wooden are all off to the NFL, and only three sacks from non-DBs return to the Tigers from a season ago (Marcus Harris had two in 2022. Hayden Brice had one). One of the candidates to break out is Appalachian State transfer Jalen McLeod, who put in a career-best season in 2022 with the Mountaineers, totaling 41 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles. "He’s a special talent, especially when it comes time to pin it back and go rush," defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said Monday. "Now, we haven’t done any real third-down stuff, so everything he’s done right now has really been sitting on first, second down, so he hasn’t had, really, the opportunities to do those. "But he’s been very productive every practice really when he gets the opportunity to rush the quarterback. He did some things today. ... His physical toolset is pretty amazing. He’s a very talented individual. We’ve just got to get on the right track and make sure I’m putting him in the right spots." Auburn jack linebacker Jalen McLeod (35) during a practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center on Aug. 7. WR Shane Hooks One of four transfer receivers added this offseason, Hooks has been working his way up the rotation. He was with the third group at the first practice of the fall Aug. 3, but was seen Tuesday getting some reps with the first group, cycling on and off the field with the likes of Nick Mardner, Omari Kelly and Jyaire Shorter. "I think their heads were spinning a little bit (early)," Montgomery said of Hooks and Shorter. "I think they’ve settled in each and every day, and you look at some of the plays that they’ve made throughout the last couple of days, they’ve really kind of started bringing some attention to themselves. I thought Shane really had a good day yesterday. (He) had a couple of big catches, some high-point things, some back-shoulder things. Really natural in that way. He’s a long receiver with huge hands, but did some nice area work right there." S Sylvester Smith He might not get on the field early considering who's in front of him, but freshman safety Sylvester Smith has done enough to make himself notable. He's been shadowing Keionte Scott in the nickel at practice, and starting CB DJ James pointed to Smith as an early standout in the secondary as a freshman. "High motor," Scott said of Smith. "Just a kid that wants to be out there. He loves the game. You can tell he really loves playing football.” WR Caleb Burton III Ohio State transfer receiver Caleb Burton III continues to get praise from coaches and teammates. Malcolm Johnson Jr. said he's already stolen some route-running tricks from the redshirt freshman, and James noted Burton's speed as his biggest asset. "He's one of the hardest-working dudes," Montgomery said of Burton. "This summer, he's getting his lifts and he's getting all the extra parts of it. ... Every day, you've got to (say to him), 'Alright, it's time to leave the building. Go get you some rest. Go get you something to eat.' He's that type of worker, and he's very professional about the way he handles his business. "I think more than anything his discipline in that sense is the thing that is progressing him up." Auburn DB Keionte Scott (0) and WR Caleb Burton III (10) during a practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center on Aug. 6. Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: These 5 post-spring additions have been standing out

yes it is! a great watch other than the what 73 to something azz whoopin he put on us..............

news.yahoo.com Texas A&M fund shutters program that allowed donors to support athlete endorsements, citing IRS memo JIM VERTUNO 3–4 minutes FILE - Texas A&M fans cheer as the team takes the field for an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt on Sept. 26, 2020, in College Station, Texas. The 12th Man Foundation, which supports Texas A&M athletics, announced Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, it is closing the branch set up for donors to support endorsement deals for Aggies athletes. The 12th Man Foundation said it will still engage in name, image and likeness activities with Aggies athletes using “unrestricted donations.” (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) The foundation that supports Texas A&M athletics announced Wednesday it is closing the branch set up for donors to support endorsement deals for Aggies athletes, an effort that has pushed the boundaries of how closely a school's traditional fundraising and booster groups could get involved in payments to players. The 12th Man Foundation said it will still engage in name, image and likeness activities with Aggies athletes using “unrestricted donations.” But it noted “external advisers” recommended shutting down the 12th Man+ Fund, which had just been launched in February. The foundation cited a June memo from the Internal Revenue Service that said nonprofit “collectives” that were created primarily to pay players are likely not exempt from taxes, meaning donations would likely not be tax deductible. Charity organization experts have noted the IRS memo could upend a rapidly growing market of collectives that have become a primary source of NIL deals for athletes. If donations to athletics-specific collectives are not tax deductible, experts have warned that money could dry up. The 12th Man Foundation is a private organization that raises money to fund scholarships, programs and facilities for Texas A&M athletics. The June IRS memo said the NIL collectives "may face future examinations or enforcement action by the IRS” but did not elaborate. “This decision was made to ensure the 12th Man Foundation meets its high standards for compliance and to protect the organization’s mission,” the foundation said in a statement. The 12th Man Foundation will still be a player in athlete deals, but it is changing how they are done and paid for, said Mit Winter, a sports business attorney in Kansas City, Missouri, who tracks college NIL developments. ”(Donors) will just donate to the foundation generally and the foundation will use those dollars to enter into NIL deals with athletes to promote the foundation," Winter said. “(It) will be a marketing expense for the foundation." The 12th Man+ Fund was seen as a trailblazing effort to bring an NIL collective under the umbrella of a major athletic booster program. It was pitched as a way for Aggies fans to directly support NIL deals for athletes and earn points from the foundation for various perks, such as event tickets and parking. The NCAA sent out a memo to its Division I member schools soon after 12th Man+ was launched that said “entities acting on behalf of the institution” cannot pay athletes for NIL. Texas, Arkansas and a handful of other states have passed laws to allow school athletic departments to be more closely involved in deals for athletes, and to provide legal protection from NCAA enforcement over NIL activities. ___ AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

yahoo.com Exclusive: A veteran FBI agent told Congress that investigations into Giuliani and other Trump allies were 'suppressed' Mattathias Schwartz 12–15 minutes The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, DC.Alex Brandon/AP An FBI veteran said his superiors suppressed investigations of Trump, Insider can exclusively reveal. "Are we going to do public corruption or not?" the whistleblower told Insider. He said his boss ordered him to stop investigating Giuliani and the Trump White House. A veteran FBI counterintelligence agent says his supervisor told him to stop investigating Rudy Giuliani and to cut off contact with any sources who reported on corruption by associates of former President Donald Trump, according to a whistleblower complaint obtained by Insider. The agent, who served 14 years as a special agent for the bureau, including a long stint in Russia-focussed counter-intelligence, claims in a 22-page statement that his bosses interfered with his work in "a highly suspicious suppression of investigations and intelligence-gathering" aimed at protecting "certain politically active figures and possibly also FBI agents" who were connected to Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. Those figures, the statement claims, explicitly included "anyone in the [Trump] White House and any former or current associates of President Trump." The statement, which was prepared for staffers of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was apparently leaked and posted in mid-July to a Substack newsletter. Insider has independently obtained a copy of the complaint and verified its authenticity, but has not corroborated all of its claims. In an interview with Insider, the whistleblower said he was motivated by a desire to improve the FBI, which he called "essential, as imperfect as it is," because of its sweeping power to hold "policymakers accountable, whether they're on the left or the right." "This is a decision point," he said. "Are we going to do public corruption or not?" Insider is withholding the name of the whistleblower because he has made claims about retaliation from the FBI, where he remains an employee, and because he is in the process of seeking whistleblower protections from Congress. "It's highly unfortunate that this statement wound up being leaked and published," said Scott Horton, an attorney representing the whistleblower. "We're in the preliminary stages of a confidential process. I'm unable to make any other comment." The whistleblower told Insider that he was finally ordered to stop investigating Giuliani and the rest of the Trump White House in August 2022, after months of what he says were persistent efforts to frustrate his work, at a meeting with three FBI supervisors at a bureau field office. Insider was able to confirm the agent's account of the meeting with a second source with knowledge of what took place. The meeting had been called to discuss the 14-year veteran's job performance. As one of the bureau's few Russian-speaking counterintelligence specialists, he maintained a network of overseas sources that had been utilized by agents across the country to investigate everything from money laundering to political corruption, according to his statement. He said his work had been recognised with eight consecutive years of "excellent" or "outstanding" performance appraisal reports running from 2010 to 2018, and he had been tapped to help verify information obtained by investigators working for Robert Mueller during his time as special counsel. But in the August 2022 meeting, he was called onto the carpet to discuss "performance issues and concerns" and given suggestions for how to improve, according to the agent's account provided to lawmakers. The directions he received included a strict prohibition on filing intelligence reports relating to Giuliani or any other Trump associate. The 2022 meeting was the culmination of what the agent viewed as a years-long effort to frustrate his investigations into potential wrong-doing by political figures in Trump's circle, stretching back to Trump's stint in the White House. In January 2022, he had filed an internal complaint under the Whistleblower Protection Act alleging "numerous acts of intelligence suppression of my reporting related ot foreign influence and the Capital riots, retaliatory acts and defamation of my own character." In one case, the statement says, the agent developed information from confidential informants that Giuliani had allegedly done paid work for Pavel Fuks, a Ukrainian oligarch and "asset of the Russian intelligence services." (That charge was previously reported by Rolling Stone.) The whistleblower also looked into claims that Giuliani had fraudulently raised money from investors to produce a never-completed film about Joe Biden in the months before the 2020 election. The agent's reporting on Giuliani wasn't received well in the bureau's New York field office, his statement says. "In the midst of my reporting involving Giuliani, which had previously been identified by my supervisor as 'high impact,' my management told me they received a call from a supervisor in [the New York field office], who they did not identify," the statement says. "This supervisor had taken issue with my reporting." The whistleblower says he doesn't know who the upset supervisor was. But he blames "a group of people surrounding [Giuliani] with existing or historical ties to the bureau" for a pattern of "retaliatory action." The statement points to Charles McGonigal, the now-indicted former head of FBI counterintelligence in New York, as one possible source of the apparent "suppressive efforts." Spokespeople for Giuliani, Fuks, and Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment; nor did attorneys representing Fuks and McGonigal. The FBI's national press office declined to comment. Not only did the agent's superiors order them to stop working on these leads, according to the complaint and other documents reviewed by Insider, they also ordered, in early 2022, that the FBI informant who had provided the best intelligence on Giuliani's activities be "closed" — cut off from further FBI contact. According to the statement, that order came from the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force or FITF, a headquarters-based unit established by Director Christopher Wray in 2017 and charged with combating foreign influence. It remains unclear how much of the friction described by the whistleblower's statement stems from left versus right as opposed to field versus headquarters. The month the whistleblower's bosses ordered him off Trumpworld investigations was a pivotal one for the Bureau's investigations of the former president. On August 8, their agents executed a search warrant on Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, recovering over 100 records with classified markings that would become key evidence in his first federal indictment; a special counsel-led prosecution led to a second Trump indictment in early August over efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Giuliani too was raided by the FBI, in April 2021, although that probe concluded without charges in late 2022. Months before the agent was told to stop looking at Giuliani and the rest of Trump's circle, he met with the same high-ranking supervisor to pass on information he had received from his confidential sources about Hunter Biden and his ties to Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that had paid Hunter Biden $83,333 a month to sit on its board. "My supervisors were delighted that I had collected this information about Burisma," the agent wrote in his statement. But when the agent tried to talk about what their sources had to say about Giuliani, his boss's reaction was very different. The supervisor "forcefully interrupted me and ended my presentation," he wrote. The whistleblower's story offers a different perspective than the one laid out by three other FBI whistleblowers who testified before the GOP-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, some of whom have admitted accepting financial support from right-wing groups. Those whistleblowers complained that the bureau was biased against Trump and his supporters, that the crackdown on January 6 insurrectionists went too far, and that they had faced retaliation from the bureau for their conservative views. In the interview with Insider, the new whistleblower said that he had approached the GOP subcommittee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan. But when the subcommittee's staff learned from the whistleblower that the Hunter Biden information had been handled appropriately, their interest dwindled, the whistleblower said. "The FBI made a diligent attempt to run the Biden material to the ground," the whistleblower said. "It wasn't slow-played. Chairman Jordan should not be using this as an example to show that the FBI is biased against the right." Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, denied the whistleblower's allegations that the committee was cherry-picking witnesses who claimed to be able to implicate Biden. "We would under no circumstance ever tell a whistleblower that we weren't interested in their story," Dye said. "We have had plenty of whistleblowers come forward about issues not relating to the President." Dye said the committee was still weighing what to do with the information that the whistleblower had given them. Even before the emergence of this new whistleblower, there has been ample evidence of individual FBI agents with pro-Trump partisan sympathies. Jared Wise, an FBI supervisor who left the bureau in 2017, now stands accused of joining the insurrectionists on January 6, 2021, breaking into the Capitol, and shouting "kill 'em! Kill 'em!" as rioters as they attacked the Capitol Police line. Further up the chain of command, bureau leadership — perhaps intimidated by Trump's "deep state" rhetoric and his treatment of former senior FBI personnel like James Comey and Peter Strzok — has resisted investigating the former president. A Washington Post investigation found that more than a year passed before the bureau formally opened a probe into connections between the Trump White House and the January 6 violence. Other reporting by the Post showed that senior FBI officials attempted to push back on plans by Justice Department prosecutors to search Mar-a-Lago without Trump's permission. Some FBI agents were reportedly satisfied by an assertion made by Trump's legal team that he'd turned over all his classified documents, and wanted to close the Mar-a-Lago government records investigation down. The FBI is ideologically diverse and decentralized, with 35,000 employees spread out across 56 field offices from Anchorage to San Juan. The glimpse of one field office provided by the new whistleblower could be more indicative of a risk-averse bureaucracy struggling to balance its law-enforcement duties with its increasingly fragile public image than a politically motivated cover-up. The whistleblower recounts how one of his sources, code-named Genius, had won the trust of racist extremists whom the bureau investigated for their role in the January 6 violence. Genius was able to do so because he had credibility on the far-right political fringe. Nevertheless, the whistleblower claims, the FBI ordered that the source be closed, supposedly for making the same kinds of "inappropriate" comments on social media that had earned him access to some of the leaders of the insurrection. The agent's decision to make a formal statement to Congress appears to have been a last resort. He previously approached the FBI's internal ombudsman with his concerns. In December 2021, he submitted an official whistleblower complaint to the head of his field office. Under federal law, that complaint should have protected him from internal reprisals. But according to his account, his superiors responded with punishments, disciplining him for errors in paperwork and reassigning him to a new post outside of his longtime area of expertise, one that required a multi-hour commute from his home. Those experiences, he told Insider, are part of what compelled them to share what he knows with Congress, not to harm the FBI but to improve and correct public misperceptions. "There are people in the FBI who are biased," he said. "We aren't robots. But the bureau itself has integrity. It's necessary. Despite the scars that I bear, I believe that the majority of my colleagues are doing the right thing." Mattathias Schwartz is Insider's chief national security correspondent. He can be reached by email at schwartz79@protonmail.com. Read the original article on Business Insider

yahoo.com Four-star EDGE CJ May lists Auburn in top-10 Taylor Jones ~2 minutes Auburn football landed a valuable recruit in Highland Home native Keldric Faulk during the 2023 recruiting cycle. It appears that Hugh Freeze and his staff are not finished recruiting players from the tiny town in South Alabama. Auburn is now in the hunt for Faulk’s high school teammate, CJ May. May is a four-star EDGE from the 2025 cycle, and is considered to be one of the state’s top players from the class. May revealed his top-10 schools on Monday, and included Auburn in the mix. May considers the offer he received from Auburn in June to be meaningful. “I received an offer from Auburn. It means a lot coming from the home state. It’s very hard to get those offers. Receiving an offer from my home state, it’s a blessed experience,” May said in an interview with Jason Caldwell of Auburn Undercover. “Me and coach (Jeremy) Garrett have a slight bond with him just coming here. The times we’ve met, we’ve always had a tight connection. That means a lot to me.” May is a 6-4 EDGE, and is strongly considering programs such as Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ole Miss in addition to Auburn. He is the No. 13 player from the state of Alabama for the 2025 class according to 247Sports. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__ Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

yahoo.com Auburn basketball to return to Huntsville for Rocket City Classic JD McCarthy ~2 minutes Auburn basketball is set to return to Huntsville for a matchup against UNC Asheville in the Rocket City Classic on Dec. 13, at the Von Braun Center, the team announced on Wednesday. “I am excited to bring our team to participate in the Rocket City Classic and engage with the Auburn family throughout north Alabama, where we have some of the most loyal and passionate Auburn fans in the country,” Bruce Pearl said. “To partner with our friends at Nations of Coaches to make this event happen will enable them to invest more in young men through their character-building and faith-based programs.” It will be Auburn’s third-ever game in Huntsville and their first since 2003 when they beat Grambling State 105-66. UNC Asheville won 27 games last year en route to winning the Big Sky regular season championship and conference tournament. “UNC Asheville has been one of the top mid-major programs in this part of the country, so it will be a good test for us,” Pearl added. “I am also excited to bring Denver Jones home as well as Chaney Johnson, who started his collegiate career at UAH.” Tickets for the game will go on sale Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. CT on Ticketmaster and the Von Braun Center Box Office. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.a Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

anyone who trusts trump with anything is a fool............and i mean that with the utmost kindness.......................