The final result paled in comparison to the night’s first swing. Shohei Ohtani’s ailing knee, it turns out, is still feeling plenty alright. Ohtani didn’t make his scheduled pitching start on Friday in the Dodgers’ 9-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, getting scratched from the mound before the game with what the team described as “continued irritation in his left knee.” Nevertheless, that didn’t stop the two-way star from serving as the club’s designated hitter –– or, three pitches into his first at-bat, taking All-Star left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez deep the other way for a resounding, and reassuring, leadoff home run.…

California’s inability to penalize sexually abusive teachers could cost the state’s schools some serious federal dough. The Trump administration is launching a nationwide crackdown on schools accused of shielding sexually abusive teachers — and California could lose $50 million in federal funding for failing to protect students, The California Post has learned. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is expected to send letters to school districts nationwide Friday reminding them of their obligations under federal law to promptly investigate allegations of sexual abuse and harassment and prevent educators accused of abusing students from quietly moving to other schools, which is colloquially…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and former U.S. senator from Utah who will turn 80 years old next year, opined that he thinks individuals 80 and older should not be at the nation’s helm.He made the comments during an interview on “Deseret Voices” after host McKay Coppins jokingly asked Romney whether he would run for president in 2028.Romney indicated he “would love” to run again, adding, “and this time I might get it right. You know, third time’s a charm.”CASSIDY PRIMARY DEFEAT IS A ‘LOSS FOR THE COUNTRY,’ ROMNEY SAYS Then-Sen.…

Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Joe Bradley explained why Luke Brumer soiling Nathan Gallagher‘s goes beyond a hygiene issue into a possible contract breach. “It really does come down to a safety hazard and [an issue] with cleanliness and hygiene,” Joe exclusively told Us Weekly. “Because it’s literally in a contract.” Joe noted that it “is possible for someone to get fired” for that, adding, “In terms of what you sign in your contract and hygiene purposes, it is possible. Is he going to? I can’t say. But it has happened in the past. I hope not, though, but it depends how…

SAN FRANCISCO — Even when everything goes right for the Giants’ bullpen, something still finds a way to go wrong, especially, it seems, against the Rockies. The Giants were an inning away Friday night from a relief-heavy win over their company at the bottom of the National League West for the second time in the span of a week. And for the second time, it all fell apart before they could close the door completely. Dylan Smith earned some redemption in his first outing since surrendering the go-ahead three-run homer five days ago in Colorado, escaping a bases-loaded jam with…

President Trump on Friday told The Post he has “left instructions” should Iran succeed in their plots to assassinate him — and there’ll be hell to pay. “I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” he said. “… The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.” Asked about recent reports that Israel this week flagged intel of a plot to take out the US president, Trump indicated there was no fresh plan from Iran — but said Tehran has wanted him dead for…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! FIRST ON FOX: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers made a $10 million drug bust on Monday during an inspection of a commercial tractor trailer transporting cabbage at the Pharr Port of Entry, a bridge near the southernmost part of Texas.A canine inspection and nonintrusive imaging scan led officers to a hidden load inside the trailer, CBP said. A physical search uncovered 477 packages containing 1,173 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $10,787,500.”This interception is a powerful reminder that our CBP officers are on duty 24/7, employing every resource…

Hilary Duff was surrounded by love in the form of her closest celebrity mom friends during night two of her Los Angeles concert. “Stage mom-ing so hard!!!” What’s Gaby Cooking author Gaby Dalkin captioned a group photo of Duff’s longtime mom crew via her Instagram Story on Thursday, July 9. “We love you @hilaryduff.” Dalkin, 40, posed alongside Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor, hairstylist Barb Thompson, artist Amanda (Kaplan) Lillywhite, Muu by Better Babies, Inc. founder  Janice Gott, makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan Fisher and beauty and skincare guru Whitney Wagner Hartley. Moore, 42, reposted the squad picture via her Instagram Story…

WASHINGTON — Break up the Yankees.  Two outs away from taking another step back after Thursday’s eruption against the Rays, Jazz Chisholm Jr. saved the day to secure the Yankees back-to-back wins for the first time in over two weeks.  Trailing by a run and facing one-time Yankee lefty Matt Krook with one out in the ninth inning, Chisholm clobbered a two-run shot into the second deck to lift the Yankees to a dramatic 5-3 win over the Nationals on Friday night at Nationals Park.  After Chisholm’s blast, Austin Wells crushed his second home run in as many days (after…

Things are getting hairy in the US military. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was stunned to find during a recent visit to a US Navy ship that American forces had been flouting a new Pentagon grooming policy, CNN reported Friday. Hegseth issued a memo this past September restricting most service members from having beards — but several sailors who greeted the secretary weren’t bare-faced, as expected. That prompted meetings at the Pentagon to discuss the implementation of Hegseth’s war on what he had called “rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles.” “Want to bring to your attention that the SecWar is paying…