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Antony Blinken, testifying three days after the 20th anniversary of September 11 terrorist attacks that led to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, provided assessments that Al-Qaeda could reorganize enough to threaten the U.S. in as little as a year, the Associated Press reported. “The execution of the U.S. withdrawal was clearly and fatally flawed,” said committee chairman Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who has been generally supportive of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy but has taken issue with several of its aspects, including Afghanistan....

Xavi’s side squandered a one-goal lead to trail 2-1 from last month’s reverse fixture but they were right back in the tie when Akram Afif headed in from the edge of the six-yard box with 26 minutes played in Doha. Al-Nassr were again in front on aggregate seven minutes later as Abderrazak Hamdallah fired home a free-kick, but the hosts produced a stirring comeback in the second half. Hassan Al Haydos guided a shot into the top corner to level things up once more and Baghdad Bounedjah completed the comeback from the penalty spot seven minutes from time after Afif was brought down inside the box by Abdullah Madu....

The Auburn-Alabama game is one of the great rivalries in college football. It has gotten nothing but better in the past decade as Auburn has won a national championship and played for another. Alabama has been doing it for a while, so welcome to the club Tigers. Or War Eagles. Or Plainsmen. I can’t keep track. I’ve heard Auburn referred to as any and all of them. In the 2015 version, Alabama is 14-point favorite, with a total of 48....

Clemson and Alabama. Alabama and Clemson. The consensus No. 1 and No. 2 teams in most preseason polls that seem destined for a fifth consecutive meeting in the College Football Playoff this season. Sporting News has that as its CFP championship game, which would be the fourth time it’s happened in the last five years. MORE: ‘See you next year?’ What could prevent Alabama-Clemson V Would another such meeting be good for the sport?...

Reed’s arrest comes just two days after Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall was cited for possession of marijuana. Reed also is the second Alabama player to be arrested in July. Junior running back Kenyan Drake was arrested on misdemeanor charges of obstructing governmental operations on July 4. MORE: List of offseason arrests Reed, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive lineman, transferred to Alabama from East Mississippi Community College and is expected to be a contributor for the Crimson Tide this season....

Speaking with AL.com, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) Dr. Michael Saag called the state’s vaccine struggles one of the biggest frustrations he has ever faced. “For me personally, I’ve never been as frustrated professionally as I am right now,” Saag, a professor of medicine at UAB’s Division of Infectious Diseases, said. “I had hoped and prayed for a successful vaccine and was frankly surprised when the vaccine showed its efficacy to the degree that it is and its safety....

The new pact, which is pending approval by the Alabama Board of Trustees’ compensation committee, also contains annual raises of $400,000; an $800,000 “contract extension/championship” incentive for 2018, and $800,000 “benefits” for Saban completing the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. MORE: Sizing up the Alabama QB competition Saban, 66, said in a press release that he and his family consider Alabama home and that the extension “will keep us in Tuscaloosa for the rest of our coaching career....

The Crimson Tide enter 2019 with their usual heavy player turnover, but also must replace a bevy of assistants after 2018 — a banner year up until the Tide’s 44-16 defeat by Clemson in the College Football Playoff national championship, the worst ever under Nick Saban. That loss begs the question: Is the dynasty over, or will Saban use it as motivation to make his team even better? MORE: SN’s pre-preseason rankings for 2019...

Alabama’s House Bill 391 forbids any public K-12 schools from allowing a “biological female” from participating on a male team “if there is a female team in a sport.” The same applies to “biological males” competing on female teams. The bill allows for trans students to play on co-ed teams, but doesn’t mention where transgender students will compete if there’s not a team matching the gender they were assigned at birth....

The senior was booked at a jail at 2:09 a.m. and later released on a $300 bond. MORE: College football Week 5 picks According to Al.com, Williams was at a Publix parking lot in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when he was arrested. A police officer was patrolling the area when he reportedly smelled marijuana coming from Williams’ vehicle. Williams’ passenger, who is not on the Alabama football team, said the marijuana was his, but the officer saw the pistol while searching the car, which led to Williams’ arrest....

Still, the man fared better than several individuals who were in areas hit by the high winds. As of Friday afternoon, officials are saying that a total of six people have been injured. No fatalities have been reported so far. Authorities have not yet determined whether a tornado hit the area, or if it was just heavy winds. About nine mobile homes were destroyed and others were damaged, Escambia County Sheriff Heath Jackson told Mobile, Alabama news station WALA-TV....

The Tuscaloosa News reported that Alabama had granted the release to Smith, who graduated last Saturday. MORE: ‘Bama deserves No. 1 until someone can dethrone the Tide Smith has made it clear he would like to transfer to Georgia to play for Kirby Smart, his former defensive coordinator with the Crimson Tide, and Mel Tucker, his former position coach. However, SEC rules prevent players who are released from transferring to other schools within the conference....

Junior receiver Amari Cooper and junior running back T.J. Yeldon are entering this year’s NFL Draft, according to ESPN. Both players were key in Alabama’s 12-2 season. MORE: Mock Draft | Underclassmen entries | Winston scouting report Cooper finished the season with 124 receptions for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was invited to the Heisman ceremony where he placed third. He’s believed by many to be the top receiver in the class....

Alabama coach Nick Saban on Saturday addressed rumors that he offered the former Buckeyes receivers coach a position as Alabama’s passing game coordinator/receivers coach sometime in January 2018. While Saban said he did interview Zach Smith, he said he decided to move on to a different candidate after a background check. “We talk to a lot of coaches about a lot of things, I really never did ever offer this guy a job,” Saban said on Saturday....

We finally got the answer Monday night as Alabama’s talented defense couldn’t stop Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson and the Tigers when it mattered most. Watson hit Hunter Renfrow with only one second remaining for a game-winning touchdown, giving Clemson the national championship in a 35-31 win. MORE: Alabama-Clemson box score | Officials miss targeting calls? Sporting News provided updates all night long, so check out everything that happened below from this instant classic....

The top-ranked Tide (13-0) scored a dominant victory over Ryan Day and No. 3 Ohio State (7-1), beating the Buckeyes 52-24 for Nick Saban’s seventh national title and sixth at Alabama. Even as Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith exited the game early in the third quarter, Alabama up put up 17 second-half points and never let Ohio State get closer than arm’s length. Smith finished with a College Football Playoff championship game-record 215 yards and three touchdowns....

On Tuesday, Wake Forest fired radio announcer Tommy Elrod after a weekslong investigation revealed that he shared game plan information to Demon Deacon opponents. The investigation began after game plan documents were found at Louisville’s football stadium before the Nov. 12 game between the teams, and a Cardinals spokesman said they wouldn’t comment on what appeared to be a “Wake Forest issue”. MORE: College football bowl schedule 2016-17 But on Wednesday, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich admitted that the Cardinals used information provided by Elrod:...

Earlier, Pulisic made history by scoring for Chelsea, giving them their lone goal in the game up to the point of his injury. But early in second half play, Pulisic went down with an injury and was forced to leave after making an attempt on a second goal. He was replaced by Pedro Rodriguez. MORE: Live updates, highlights and more from FA Cup final Shortly after his injury, fans noticed some people on AFTV were caught celebrating Pulisic going down....

My interlocutor, the amiable lawyer and National Review writer Dan McLaughlin, offered a substantive defense of orthodox “Reaganism” and an attitudinal appeal for conservatives to remain the “grown-ups in the room.” According to this logic, it is incumbent upon conservatives—actually, right-liberals—to act as righteous stewards of civic decency and defenders of the sacrosanct norms of liberal proceduralism, no matter how much our political foes have strayed. To drive home the point, it was only a day after the Yale debate that McLaughlin and his National Review colleague Charles C....