ARIES (March 21-April 19). Mistakes are inevitable. If you learn from them, they’re called an education. If you don’t, you may need to keep building up your collection until the breakthrough comes. Some lessons take longer to learn.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Spending time on your spiritual life lifts your physical health, and caring for your body deepens your spiritual life. Exercise, prayer, proper rest, long moments of silence — all send benefits through multiple parts of your life at once.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). A reluctant leader may nonetheless be excellent in the post. People who fully appreciate how much responsibility leadership carries are less eager to seek power for its own sake. Knowing what’s involved, they approach the role with more caution than enthusiasm.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Some experiences make perfect sense only after you’ve lived through them. Your head catches up with your heart a little later. Move through the bafflement. It all clicks in at the perfect moment.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ll solve a human puzzle. Someone does something that makes no sense. You become fascinated by why they did it. You keep observing until the pattern clicks. Once you understand their motive, you know how to deal with them.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). If you only knew the depth, breadth and intensity of pure love directed at you on a regular basis, all life’s irritations, frustrations and injustices would be swept away by the mighty current of this profound truth.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). While it may seem unfair that someone so easily accomplishes the thing you’ve been struggling to do, it also doesn’t matter in the least since the only way to improve is by using what you have for however long it takes to figure it out.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Worry is a form of time travel — jumping to a possible future to check out the demands, losses and outcomes that live there, then borrow a bit of the bad feeling to bring back home. Skip the trip today.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Identity is a story we tell ourselves about who we are. Good stories sometimes involve contrivances, exaggerations and facts placed in a strategic order. But when it’s your story, you have the artistic license to craft it.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Micromanaging is often counterproductive, especially when the manager and the managed are both the same person. You have your reasons for doing things your way, even when you don’t know what they are.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You settle into a remarkably even temper and attitude as you embody this truth. Whether you’re in a three-step process or a three-million-step process, it’s all stepping, and the number you’re on is always “this one.”
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Learning about the world helps you see that there is much more available to you than the options you knew about last week. The choices most people around you are making might be fine for them, but not for you.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Aug. 25). It’s your Year of Sweet Reverberations, when the goodness you’ve been pouring into the world catches up to you, giving you what you most desire and also what you need going forward: vitality, resources and people around you who support your favorite version of yourself. More highlights: Love’s fever. A big money deal. A hard asset or intellectual property becomes much more valuable — a game changer. Leo and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are 7, 5, 25, 10 and 14.
SEATTLE — Julio Rodríguez unloaded on a two-strike splitter in the first inning here Monday night and set off the foghorn that signals Mariners home runs.
Because the Mariners’ five-foghorn, 9-2 victory was a five-alarm start for Zack Wheeler. Never mind that the Phillies’ nine-game winning streak went up in smoke. There was a more urgent question to keep the team’s pitching brain trust from sleeping in Seattle.
It wasn’t merely what happened against the Mariners, but as long as we’re on the subject: Wheeler allowed eight runs (a season-high) on nine hits, four homers, and five walks, tying season-highs in those categories. He didn’t record an out in the fifth inning after Don Mattingly sent him back out at 94 pitches. His ERA jumped from 2.92 to 3.40.
The Phillies could chalk it up to a one-off, just one of those nights, if not for the fact that the 36-year-old ace has given up at least four runs in four of his last six starts. Related: He has issued at least four walks in back-to-back starts for the first time since July 2017.
“I haven’t had a stretch like this in a while,” Wheeler said. “I mean, I just don’t really have anything else to say.”
At least not after saying this: “To be totally honest with you, I feel perfectly fine, healthy, strong. Everything’s there.” And that’s relevant because Wheeler missed the final six weeks of last season and the first month this year after having a rib removed to relieve a compressed vein that caused a blood clot near his shoulder.
Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler gave up five runs in the first inning of his team’s 9-2 loss. Lindsey Wasson
Wheeler’s velocity readings appear to support his claim. His fastball averaged 94.9 mph, consistent with his 95-mph season average. The Phillies have other metrics that also suggest Wheeler is healthy.
So, if he insists he’s physically fine and not struggling with stamina 124⅓ innings into his comeback season, is there another explanation for walking 15 batters in a four-start span for the first time since … checks notes … May 2014, his second season in the majors?
“That’s why it’s so frustrating right now,” Wheeler said. “Because I’m on a rough stretch and I feel fine. You’ve really got to dig in. That’s what I’m going to do [Tuesday], you know? Sit down, talk, and try to get some stuff figured out.”
OK, start here: Wheeler said the only pitch he was able to throw for a strike was his fastball — “and that’s not even fully consistent.” He gave up homers on his splitter (to Rodríguez and Cole Young), fastball (to Cal Raleigh), and cutter (to Raleigh, the .167-hitting star catcher who went deep a third time against reliever Chase Shugart).
Wheeler gave up five first-inning runs for the first time since Sept. 12, 2023. The first six batters reached base, with the only out coming when Bryce Harper nailed Josh Naylor trying to stretch a single.
It all started by running a 3-1 count to leadoff-hitting Randy Arozarena, who drew a seven-pitch walk.
“I hate walking guys,” Wheeler said. “I used to walk guys a good bit [early in his career] and kind of got away from that, and now that this little stretch has been walking guys, it’s pretty frustrating.”
Considering this is Wheeler, the best pitcher in baseball over the last seven years, the Phillies won’t dismiss any theory for why he’s struggling. Odds are, he isn’t tipping pitches. Just in case, they’ll look into it.
“They were taking really good swings, so first, I’m going to check off the box of, am I doing something to where other teams are seeing it, you know?” Wheeler said. “At this point, you’ve got to check off all the boxes. It’s not where I want to be. But like I said, we’ll sit down and kind of dig in and see what’s really going on.”
Zack Wheeler gave up five first-inning runs and back-to-back homers in the fifth inning of a 9-2 loss Monday night in Seattle.Lindsey Wasson
Maybe it’s a mechanical issue that’s causing Wheeler to lack command. Then again, it’s not like he was missing his spot by an inch or two. Most of his pitches weren’t close to where catcher J.T. Realmuto wanted them.
“I would just say overall it’s more big misses that you’re seeing out of him than usual, and then more pitches in the heart of the plate,” Realmuto said. “As a hitter, it just makes the ball look a little bigger when your misses are big. And then when you do throw it in the zone, it’s covering a little more plate than usual, and that’s obviously not what we’re used to seeing from him.”
Wheeler being Wheeler, he wanted to start the fifth inning, according to Mattingly, who quickly added, “And I kind of wanted him to go back out.” So, although rookie Alex McFarlane was warming to enter a 6-2 game, Wheeler stayed in and gave up back-to-back homers to Raleigh and Young to make it 8-2.
For the sake of the game, Mattingly probably should’ve gone to McFarlane. But in the larger picture, the Phillies aren’t going anywhere if they’re unable to unlock the mystery of Wheeler’s last six starts, in which he has an 8.51 ERA in 24⅓ innings after running a 2.16 ERA in 100 innings through 16 starts.
“The stuff still feels sharp,” Realmuto said. “It’s coming out of his hand good. It’s just, he’s getting into some bad counts, and then throwing the ball too much in the middle of the plate. He’s going through a tough time right now, but we have all the faith in the world that he’s going to come out of it.”
Authorities were searching for a woman who disappeared in the Delaware River after rescuing a girl Monday afternoon, according to Delran Township police and Burlington County officials.
Delran police responded just after 3:50 p.m. to Burlington County’s Amico Island Park for two possible drowning victims, officials said.
Officials gave the following account:
Police were told that the woman entered the river to rescue a struggling juvenile girl.
The woman pushed the girl toward the shore, where bystanders pulled her safely from the water.
During the rescue, the woman went under the water and did not resurface.
Officials said the search included personnel from the Delran Police Department, the Delran Fire Department, the Delran Emergency Squad, the New Jersey State Police, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Camden County Dive Team, officials said.
The Eagles held the 15th open practice of their 2026 training camp on Monday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 15 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14):
Makai retry
Makai Lemon was a full participant for the first time since injuring his hamstring three weeks ago. While the rookie wide receiver was limited for Thursday’s joint practice with the New England Patriots, this was Lemon’s first opportunity to play in competitive periods. The next step will be practicing in full pads for Tuesday’s open practice. It’s unclear whether he’ll be active for Friday’s preseason finale vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. Lemon said afterward that he expects to be ready by the Sept. 13 season opener.
Makai Lemon said he believes he will be ready for the season opener in terms of learning the offense and having Jalen Hurts’ trust. https://t.co/YNuuUFRZr7
Lemon confirmed that he strained the same hamstring he injured during spring workouts. He said he needed to be “more professional” off the field to avoid future soft-tissue injuries. The Eagles’ top draft pick has a fair amount of catching up to do if he wants to be an early focal part of the offense. He worked mostly out of the slot with the first unit. Eagles coaches aren’t backing off on Lemon — at least not yet.
A pass came his way early in 11-on-11s and the ball caromed off Lemon’s hands incomplete. It would have been a tough grab, but it appeared as if he eased up on his route over the middle. The importance of chemistry between a quarterback and a receiver cannot be overstated. It could take time before Jalen Hurts completely trusts the rookie. I watched his release off the line closely on several repetitions and there is a suddenness to his first move. Hurts went back to Lemon later on a short crosser. He was able to stop on a dime and turn upfield for a few extra yards.
Eagles tight end Eli Stowers’ rough camp continued with an injury that sidelined him Monday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Stowers sour
Lemon’s return coincided with a setback for second-round rookie Eli Stowers. The tight end was sidelined with, yes, a hamstring injury. His chances of playing much on offense to start the season were always in jeopardy, considering the Eagles’ depth and his lack of blocking experience, but Stowers can’t afford to miss extensive time if he wants to at least be a part of special teams in Week 1.
The following also suffered injuries during Saturday’s preseason game and were held out of practice: tackle Markel Bell (thumb/leg), center/guard Willie Lampkin (stinger), cornerback Mac McWilliams (shoulder), safety Cole Wisniewski (concussion), receiver Quez Watkins (foot), and cornerback Ambry Thomas (groin).
Cornerback Jonathan Jones (shoulder), tight end Grant Calcaterra (back), and cornerback Jakorian Bennett (knee) were still not practicing. Defensive tackle Byron Young (shoulder), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring), and tackle John Ojukwu (pectoral) returned and were limited. Receiver Danny Gray remained limited with a groin injury.
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith was back in action on Monday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Receiving line
Receivers DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Elijah Moore (neck) also were back to being full-time participants. The offense looked different with a full arsenal of receivers, but Hurts had to relish having top guy Smith back in the fold. He hit the receiver on a dig route over the middle and ahead of cornerback Quinyon Mitchell during seven-on-sevens. Smith just needs to get to the season healthy.
Hurts still sprinkled throws to most of his skill position players. His first two throws in seven-on-sevens went to tight end Dallas Goedert and receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who churned upfield for yards after the catch. Darius Cooper continued to get snaps with the starters even though Smith, Wicks and Lemon were the first three on the field in “11” personnel. Hurts hit Cooper on an intermediate route between the numbers.
The play-action bootleg continued to pay dividends with completions to Wicks and Moore. Those are layup throws if the offense can sell the outside zone run fake, even if Hurts has to check down. The quarterback later hooked up with receiver Hollywood Brown on a deep corner route, although defensive tackle Jordan Davis may have been initially credited with a sack.
Hunting Moro
Hurts had to eat a number of his dropbacks or throw the ball away because he was either sacked or pressured out of the pocket. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo got to the quarterback on two occasions. Outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt notched a would-be sack. He recorded an earlier tackle for loss and spun running back Tank Bigsby around.
Ojomo and Hunt have been two of Vic Fangio’s top performers in camp. The former is in a contract year, while the latter could be playing for an early extension next offseason. I’m not saying they have extra motivation to play well this season, but it doesn’t hurt.
Off target
When Hurts had time to throw, the results were mixed. He hit Wicks on the run to his right, but his receiver was unable to get both feet inbounds. He went to Wicks again — this time on a slant — but Hurts’ pass was a missile and deflected off his receiver’s hands.
Lemon motioned outside and Smith ran a little wheel route out of the slot later in the red zone, but Hurts’ pass was errant. Brown got behind safety Drew Mukuba on a deep post, but the pass sailed long. There were some other unfortunate moments: Running back Will Shipley got open over the middle, but linebacker Jihaad Campbell appeared to trip him up before the ball arrived.
Hurts doesn’t often throw to Johnny Mundt, which could explain why the blocking tight end was unable to reel in a pass thrown slightly behind him.
Saquon Barkley was featured Monday after not playing in the preseason game on Saturday. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Rushing roulette
With the starters dormant for the previous three days, coaches gave the first units most of the reps in practice. Right tackle Lane Johnson and left guard Landon Dickerson didn’t take any rest plays off. The season is obviously inching closer. The O-line opened some creases for running back Saquon Barkley, who had several strong runs.
Linebacker Zack Baun got to Barkley in the backfield when he was unblocked off the edge. But the tailback had a couple of positive runs to the perimeter. He had to jump around Dickerson when the guard fell back and nearly into his lap on one carry. And Lemon had trouble blocking on the outside on a stretch run later on. But offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s run offense appears to be rounding into form after a strong first joint practice in New England.
The Eagles’ second-unit O-line stood out in the preseason game, although injuries to Lampkin and Bell will warrant monitoring. Center/guard Drew Kendall projects as the first off the bench at the interior positions, however.
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert will be asked to block more at the point of attack this season. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Dallas does blocking
Goedert has had a quiet camp compared to other years. He explored opportunities elsewhere the two prior offseasons, but is back on another one-year deal. Goedert was still an effective receiver last season. He had 60 catches and a team-high 11 touchdowns. But he’s 31 and clearly not as explosive.
Blocking was an issue a year ago. He’ll be asked to do more of it at the point of attack this season. He got pushed back into Hurts during Monday’s practice and the quarterback was forced to eventually scramble out of bounds. Goedert had a reception on a run-pass-run option play, but he also later had a drop on an out route.
Goedert motioned out of the fullback spot as a lead blocker for Barkley at one point. I can’t imagine he’ll fill that role in games. Mannion declined to reveal his plans for the fullback position. We’ve seen very little of it in camp, although Mundt, tight end Cameron Latu, and running back Carson Steele could be in-season candidates.
Tanner McKee might have pulled ahead in the QB2 competition. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
It takes two
If you’re a Tanner McKee fan looking for a morsel that he’s moved ahead of Andy Dalton in the backup quarterback competition, he was first up with the second-unit offense. It’s happened before, and Dalton took as many reps with the backups, but maybe it meant something this time around.
McKee checked down on a naked bootleg and also found Bigsby, who made a defender miss in space. He later hit Cooper on a comeback route and had to throw the ball away on another play-action rollout. Dalton connected with Moore for a nice pickup, but his other snaps were either handoffs or a dropback in which he had to eat the play.
Michael Carter II ran with the first-teamers on Monday. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
This and that
Hurts hit one of the peace sign thingamajigs that replicate pass rushers during seven-on-sevens. … Michael Carter II got some first-unit snaps at slot cornerback. … Johnson had a nice kickout block to spring Barkley. … Myles Hinton was the second-unit left tackle with Fred Johnson moving over to the right side for Bell. … Micah Morris was the second-unit left guard. The rookie played well vs. the Patriots.
Extra points
Defensive tackle Gabe Hall squeezed through on a pass rush, but he got crunched in a body pileup and limped off the field. … Noted golf architect Gil Hanse was a guest of Fangio’s. Hanse and his business partner Jim Wagner have been behind renovations of local classic Philadelphia courses like Merion Golf Club and Aronimink Country Club, host of this year’s PGA Championship. Fangio is around a 15 handicap, but is a notorious sandbagger. … The Eagles will hold their lone practice open to fans at Lincoln Financial Field on Tuesday at 6 p.m. They follow on Wednesday with a workout at the Jeff and will have a closed walkthrough on Thursday.
DAKAR, Senegal — Six people who were deported by the United States to Liberia last week resisted getting off the plane and instead were sent to Equatorial Guinea, another African nation that signed a third-country deportation agreement with the Trump administration, a person on the plane and a lawyer in contact with the six said Monday.
The group who refused to get off the plane in Liberia on Thursday include four Cuban men, a Brazilian man, and a Cameroonian woman, the person and lawyer said.
A Honduran deportee aboard the flight said the group refused to disembark, saying Liberia was “not their country” and that they would face danger there. They were then separated from the others, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals.
He said the other passengers got off in Liberia because they feared officers would force them.
Meredyth Yoon, litigation director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, said the deportees who resisted leaving the plane in Liberia were told they would be returned to the United States but instead were flown to Malabo city in Equatorial Guinea.
“It was a really heartbreaking and chaotic scene when they arrived in Malabo on Thursday,” Yoon said.
Some arrived in chains and in extreme distress, she said, including the Cameroonian woman and one of the Cuban men, who Yoon said has a large abdominal growth and uses a colostomy bag that must be drained regularly.
There is no medical staff at the hotel in Equatorial Guinea where the six are being held, alongside around 40 other deported migrants, she added.
Conditions at the hotel have worsened in recent months, Yoon said, with food sometimes withheld and guards accused of threatening, beating, and choking some of the migrants.
Equatorial Guinea’s government did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
This time last week, Sean Mannion sat in front of the Philly press corps — which had largely praised his work in the weeks leading up to the Eagles’ preseason opener — and had to face the music.
That’ll happen when you lose 24-7 and get outgained 440-159 yards.
On Monday, he got to sing a much different tune.
Mannion’s offense looked much better in the Eagles’ 24-21 preseason loss to the New England Patriots on Saturday. The unit posted 18 first downs (compared to six vs. the Baltimore Ravens), 301 total yards and finally showcased the potential of the wide-zone scheme.
So, what changed in a week? Mannion said the execution of the run game, which posted 90 yards in 24 attempts, caught his eye.
“It was execution and play style,” Mannion said. “I thought, obviously, the starting unit wasn’t in there, but that second unit [and] third unit, they really did a nice job. We controlled the line of scrimmage early in the game, kind of that first series. I thought the play style was on display. Those are the two things I told them I want to execute — really three — execution, fundamentals, and play style.
“We were a little sloppy in terms of our fundamentals and execution at times in the first preseason game. I thought it was much improved in Game 2, particularly with the offensive line group up front.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion had praise for quarterback Jalen Hurts (right) in his remarks to reporters on Monday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Now entering the third and final week of the preseason, Mannion can start to think about what life might look like when the starters finally take over during Week 1 (Sept. 13 vs. the Washington Commanders). There are high expectations for the former Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach, who was hired to modernize the Eagles offense with concepts that look similar to those of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
The spotlight will mostly shine on the relationship between Mannion and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is now on his sixth play-caller since he entered the league in 2020. What does Mannion think of his progress so far?
“He did a good job,” Mannion said of Hurts’ performance vs. the Patriots in last week’s joint practices. “The first day, we had a lot of big plays and just a couple turnovers we need to clean up. That’s always a focus for us, but you could really see the run game come to life, [and] you could see the play passes off of it.
“We hit a nice pylon route to [wide receiver] Elijah [Moore], but you could see the explosives in the past game as well. A couple turnovers, those are obviously things we always want to address. We talk about the ball relentlessly, but he did a really nice job.
“For the guys who didn’t play in the game, they got a ton of great work in those two practices against the Patriots. I was really happy with how Jalen played throughout.”
A private arbitrator has ordered the Washington Post to rehire opinion columnist Karen Attiah, who was fired in September over her social media posts about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. It also ordered the company to compensate her with back pay.
Sarah Miller Espinosa, the arbitrator, said in a written decision Thursday that the Post “did not have good and sufficient cause” to terminate Attiah and “violated” its labor agreement, according to a copy of the decision shared with the New York Times by Attiah’s lawyers.
“The Washington Post failed to establish the grievant engaged in gross misconduct,” Espinosa wrote.
In a statement, Attiah said that she hoped the decision “sends a message to journalists and media institutions everywhere that freedom of expression is always worth fighting for.” She said that she was “willing to go back” to her work at the Post, which she called “one of the world’s most storied newspapers.”
“This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion writer, and this was wrongful termination,” she said, adding that she was “relieved to finally have that record set straight”
A spokesperson for the Post said the company respects the arbitration process and declined to comment further.
The decision is the result of a yearlong fight between the Post and Attiah, who last year accused the company of violating its labor agreement and social media policy when it fired her for posts she said were within her purview as an opinion columnist. A clause in the agreement allows employees to submit disputes for arbitration.
Arbitration is generally considered binding in most disputes, though courts have occasionally overturned decisions after courtroom findings of fraud or other improprieties. The Post’s labor agreement says arbitration is binding, though both the company and the employee retain their legal rights.
The Washington Post said in its termination letter that Attiah’s posts about Kirk had harmed “the integrity” of the organization and violated standards requiring employees to use social media with civility and respect.
Attiah’s remarks about Kirk’s assassination, which she posted to the social network Bluesky on Sept. 10, the day he was shot, responded to the outpouring of grief after the shooting. “Refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is … not the same as violence,” Attiah wrote in one of the posts.
The Post’s opinion section has been in flux since early last year, when Jeff Bezos, the newspaper’s owner, moved to reorient the section to focus on “personal liberties and free markets.” Some readers canceled their subscriptions and accused Bezos of attempting to curry favor with the Trump administration.
Lawyers for the Washington Post and Attiah made their arguments before Espinosa in June during a hearing that included testimony from Attiah; Adam O’Neal, then the opinion editor at the Washington Post; and Wayne Connell, the company’s chief human resources officer. Attiah was represented by Democracy Defenders Action, a progressive nonprofit co-founded by the lawyer Norman Eisen, and by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
In his testimony, O’Neal said he saw Attiah’s posts the morning after Kirk died and sent them to Connell, according to a transcript of the hearing obtained by the New York Times. “Karen’s social media feed yesterday and today is beyond the pale, completely unacceptable for someone associated with Opinions,” O’Neal wrote, according to the transcript.
Soon after, O’Neal and Connell met with Will Lewis, then the CEO of the Washington Post, to discuss the posts, according to the transcript. They ultimately decided to fire Attiah.
During her testimony, Attiah defended her social media posts, saying that they were part of her work for the Post, “commenting on our discourse on political violence,” Attiah said, according to the transcript.
In a statement, Eisen called the decision “a landmark victory for one of our nation’s crusading journalists.”
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with Zillow and Redfin to resolve the regulator’s claim that the companies made an illegal deal to suppress competition in online rental advertising.
The FTC said Monday that it filed a proposed order with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. It essentially requires Redfin to restart its standalone rental housing listings business, which the commission says will restore competition in the market for rental property listings. The settlement also resolves litigation brought by state attorneys general in Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and Washington.
“This settlement delivers better, quicker, more certain results for both renters and property management companies than we would have been able to achieve after prevailing at trial, including firm and enforceable commitments by Redfin to relaunch its rentals advertising business,” Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement.
In its complaint filed almost a year ago, the FTC alleged that in exchange for $100 million and other compensation from Zillow, Redfin had agreed to shut down its internet listings and exclusively repost Zillow’s apartment listings, transition its customers to Zillow, and stay out of the apartment listings market for up to nine years.
The commission argued that the companies’ February 2025 pact violated federal antitrust laws and could reduce incentives for competition, leading to higher prices and fewer choices for multifamily rental advertising customers.
Zillow and Redfin said their agreement was not anticompetitive and benefited renters and property managers alike.
The FTC’s proposed order requires Redfin to restart its rental listings business and hire enough staff to maintain it within six months of the order being finalized, or face financial penalties. The FTC said Redfin fired hundreds of employees shortly after announcing its deal with Zillow.
And while Redfin will continue to syndicate Zillow’s listings, it will be free to seek out and advertise non-Zillow listings, according to the FTC.
In a statement Monday, Seattle-based Zillow said it “has consistently maintained the partnership with Redfin is pro-consumer and procompetitive, and we’re pleased to have found a resolution that enables its continuation.”
A spokesperson for Redfin, which was acquired by Detroit-based mortgage giant Rocket Cos. last year, said Monday that the agreement “allows us to maintain our rental partnership with Zillow through at least 2030 while building and investing in a standalone rentals business of our own.”
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military killed two men in a strike against a boat in the eastern Pacific that it said was transporting narcotics, U.S. Southern Command announced early Monday. It was the first such strike by the military since June 21.
The United States began a campaign of boat strikes last year in the run-up to the military operation that seized Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela. The military has continued the operations in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, killing at least 223 people in 67 strikes that it said were involved in the narcotics trade.
But narcotics experts say the boat strikes have failed to slow the smuggling of cocaine from South America to the United States. According to Brown University, the costs of the operation were at $4.7 billion as of March 31.
Legal specialists also have said the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings because the military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians — even suspected criminals — who do not pose an imminent threat of violence.
Southern Command provided little detail about the strike that took place Sunday but noted that intelligence reports said the vessel was trafficking narcotics and traveling on a route used by drug smugglers.
“Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narcotrafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific,” Southern Command said in a statement, referring to a new military unit set up to expand the Pentagon’s war against drugs in cooperation with regional allies.
Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the head of Southern Command, said in the statement on social media announcing the strike: “When I ordered the establishment of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, it was precisely for this purpose: to accelerate, synchronize, and execute lethal actions against these destabilizing narco-terrorist networks.”
Southern Command did not explain the two-month lull in strikes since an attack on a boat in the Caribbean killed eight people June 21. Military officials have attributed the pause at least in part to planes and other equipment being diverted to help victims of the recent earthquake in Venezuela.
The Trump administration has in recent months stepped up its cooperation with allies across Latin America to combat the drug trade. It created the coalition, part of the regional Shield of the Americas alliance, and convened its first meeting in March.
That month, Ecuador and the United States launched joint military operations against designated terrorist groups. In May, the Pentagon pressed Guatemala to agree to joint U.S. airstrikes and other military action inside its borders to target suspected drug groups.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this month that Honduras and Colombia had also agreed to allow joint operations.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to move ahead with his executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much his administration can implement before the fast-approaching midterm elections.
The decision appears to leave room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump’s order. The U.S. Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks.
The Supreme Court’s three liberal-leaning justices dissented from the unsigned order.
Mail balloting has long been a favorite target for Trump, who has claimed that it breeds fraud despite strong evidence to the contrary and his own use of the voting method.
The case could be one of multiple voting-related challenges before the justices. The Justice Department had filed an emergency appeal asking the high court to allow work on implementing the changes before the midterms.
Trump’s executive order, signed in March, calls on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.
Democratic officials in 23 states, including Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia sued to block the order. They argued that the Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections, and Trump’s changes could lead to chaos and partisan abuse.
“The consequences of allowing such transformative changes to take effect so close to this fall’s elections would be extreme,” attorneys for the states wrote. Dozens of state and local election officials weighed in, asking the justices to leave the order frozen while election preparations are already underway.
In response to today’s ruling, Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro posted on X:
“Not so fast. Today’s SCOTUS decision does NOT deal with the substance of Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order and does not mean his illegal attempt to restrict mail-in voting will go forward. Donald Trump does not run elections here in Pennsylvania — or in any state. We’ll see the Trump Administration in court. In the meantime, I’ll keep defending Pennsylvanians’ right to free, fair, and secure elections.”
A judge in Massachusetts had blocked the plan for the midterm elections in those states. An appeals court upheld her decision. She later granted a second order blocking it nationwide.
The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds in late July, arguing that the states sued too soon. They also pointed to another ruling out of Washington, where a judge allowed Trump’s order to proceed. An appeals court backed that decision, while still leaving room for future court action if the changes are implemented.
Federal attorneys argued that the Massachusetts order “blocks the government’s ability to finalize and implement the President’s proposed policies to promote election integrity for the upcoming federal elections in November.”
A dozen Republican-leaning states supported the federal government in their own appeal before the high court, saying states would have input on the final voter lists.
The Supreme Court has previously ruled against Trump-backed arguments on mail-in ballots, finding in June that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day. That case was decided after full briefing and arguments, rather than on the court’s emergency docket.
Trump has blamed mail voting — without credible evidence — for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. He has promoted the proposed changes in his executive order as safeguards to keep non-U. S. citizens from voting.
He’s also repeatedly pressed for the passage of the legislation that requires proof of citizenship to vote. Noncitizen voting has been shown to be rare, and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
Using mail ballots has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties, with about 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process also is secure. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.
