Yes, Democratic insiders were all smoochy in the capital last week, eager to forget that at the same dinner parties six months ago they weren’t kissing the Clintons but kissing them off. George and Barbara Bush, displaying a gracious amnesia from the campaign, showed the world how a civilized transfer of power takes place. Even Bob Dole managed to say something nice for a change. But beneath the pleasantries–beyond the interlude of goodwill in the country at large–lies the grimmer task of taming the woolly mammoth that is Washington....

*Clinton said that Obama’s health care plan would leave 15 million Americans without insurance, while her plan provided universal coverage. Obama countered that his proposal would cover everyone in the country. Clinton’s plan will likely cover more people than Obama’s, but it’s doubtful the difference between their very similar proposals would be as high as the figure Clinton cites. *Clinton implied that firefighters would be affected by Obama’s proposal to raise the income limit for Social Security taxes above $97,000 a year....

Clinton appeared on Meyers’ show, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” September 15 accompanied by her daughter Chelsea. The trio discussed a variety of topics, spanning from the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade to Clinton’s view on Trump’s investigations and Chelsea Clinton’s new children’s book, “Welcome To The Big Kids Club”. Clinton referenced Trump supporters chanting “lock her up” during a recent rally in Pennsylvania when Trump called her “crooked Hillary Clinton” and claimed she set up a secret email server to hide the Clinton “pay-to-play schemes”....

The first half of a 118-107 was filled with drama for the Clippers, who lost Blake Griffin in the first quarter before the incident with Davis in the second. Davis, whose nickname is "Big Baby," was apparently upset after being taken out in the second quarter and threw a temper tantrum at Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who immediately sent him to the locker room. The team announced that he would not return after halftime....

MORE: 5 players who should have been All-Stars | Old guys get no respect at All-Star Game He put that leaping ability on prime display Friday night in the fourth quarter against the Lakers, with this authoritative dunk: Lakers forward Julius Randle does just enough defensively on the play to qualify as a posterizing victim. Stephenson finished with 16 points in the Clippers’ 105-93 win.

The team said Thursday that Barnes sustained the injury against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. He's expected to miss at least two weeks. Barnes is averaging 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in eight games. The Clippers played at Oklahoma City on Thursday night. Last week, the NBA fined Barnes $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after being ejected in a game against Oklahoma City and using inappropriate language on Twitter....

Line: Cleveland -5.5, Total: 202 The Cavaliers (29-11 SU, 17-21-2 ATS) are the best team in the East, but have struggled against the Western elite this season, going 0-3 SU (although 2-1 ATS) against the Warriors and Spurs. The latest game against Golden State was at home three days ago, a 132-98 blowout as 3.5-point favorites. Cleveland did redeem itself somewhat last night, winning 91-78 as 13-point favorites at lowly Brooklyn....

““The clock will be hard to visit,’’ he says, stretching in an Aeron chair in a conference room at the unlabeled building in Glendale, Calif., where he works. ““Probably in the high desert. You have to go on foot. You see in the distance, at the top of a mountain, some little structure. You can’t see how you’ll get to it, but it’s clear where the trail is. Then you find this little tunnel going into the cliff....

“The charges against Mr. Griffin are deeply disturbing. We learned of his arrest Friday afternoon and terminated his employment Monday,” a CNN representative said in a statement. Griffin, 44, of Stamford, Connecticut, was arrested this past Friday on three counts of “using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity,” according to documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)....

This spring, he’ll add one more: commencement speaker. This coming May, he’ll issue salutations recognizing Duke’s Class of 2016 as they depart from Durham, the university announced on Thursday. MORE: Mike Krzyzewski’s 10 best players | His biggest wins “For a commencement speaker, we look for someone of outstanding personal achievement who is also an excellent speaker – and who knows and cares about Duke,” said university president Richard H....

Truex starts from the pole and should be in position to lead the most laps like he did last year when he finished fifth and led 131 turns. He’s also led the most laps in the past two 1.5-mile tracks and he’s using Joe Gibbs Racing equipment that has won six of the past seven races on the schedule. He’s got one heck of a resume stacked up that makes him the favorite to win....

The entire haul was eventually seized by cops when supermarket workers at different stores across the country started discovering the powder-filled packages in the banana crates. Footage obtained from the Czech police shows a police officer and sniffer dog inspecting a shipment of several crates of bananas, which had reportedly originated in Colombia. The drugs, delivered as blocks of pressed cocaine with a total weight of 1,851 pounds and with a street value of approximately $83 million, had transited via the German port of Hamburg, the largest port in Europe after Rotterdam in the Netherlands, before arriving in the Czech Republic....

Bellinger, the Dodgers’ young, power-hitting first baseman, attempted to beat an infield shift with a bunt against the Reds’ Jared Hughes. The idea was fine in theory, but the timing was . . . suboptimal, to put it mildly: POWER RANKINGS: Dodgers down after first month-plus Bellinger, who had homered earlier the game, bunted with one out and no one on in the bottom of the ninth inning, and with his team trailing by two runs....

Former teammates at American Top Team, Covington and Masvidal were as close as one could get. Both fighters have shared their side of how their friendship fell through, and as seen by the UFC 272 pre-fight news conference, they really do not like one another. An All-American and two-time Pac-10 champion in wrestling, Covington is 2-2 in his past four fights. Those two losses were against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman....

The common cold is the most frequent illness in the United States, and it is also the most common reason for healthcare provider’s visits. On average, American adults will have two to four colds per year, and children will get between six and 10. The CDC estimates that 5 to 20 percent of Americans come down with the flu annually. It can be a very serious infection that claims the lives of thousands of people each year....

REPORTED BY: Boston Globe MORE: Four ‘real’ offers for Hamels | Shields can opt out of deal after 2016 | PHOTOS: New faces, new places THE DETAILS: Last week Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said four teams have made “real offers” for Cole Hamels, while eight teams have “kicked the tires.” The Globe’s sources reveal that the Red Sox are one of the four teams to make a legitimate offer for Hamels....

The enigmatic 36-year-old striker has been out of action since April, when he suffered knee ligament damage in a Europa League clash with Anderlecht. He was forced under the knife after suffering an untimely injury, with a long rehabilitation process bringing him back to this point. His hard work has impressed United enough to earn him a new short-term contract, with it suggested that he could be back in contention for Jose Mourinho at some point before the end of 2017....

Long after Men at Work’s initial breakup in 1986, Hay has since transitioned from being the frontman of the New Wave rock group to a solo artist whose music is rooted in the classic singer-songwriter tradition. An example of the latter can be found on Hay’s latest album, Now and the Evermore, which was released in March. Filled with melodic pop hooks and sophisticated arrangements, the new album could easily apply to the current pandemic times because of its lyrical tone, although it was written and recorded just prior to the 2020 lockdown....

Kaepernick, 34, played parts of six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers through 2016. However, he is most notably known for his activism on and off the field, including kneeling on the sidelines during the singing of the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality, a controversial action that some, including Kaepernick, believe led to him being blacklisted from the NFL. Kaepernick’s protest inspired numerous other NFL players and athletes in other leagues to take similar stances in 2017....

Also, that everyone in the NFL looks like a character from a BOD Man bottle. MORE: Hayne begins training with 49ers | Willis McGahee heading to play rugby | Chris Borland retires Hayne is the dude third from the right standing behind his teammates. No word yet on if having rugby abs is different from having football abs but hopefully the ab-to-sport transition isn’t too difficult for Hayne.