Jan 25, 2018 - Sports

Vince McMahon reportedly set to relaunch XFL

Vince McMahon announcing the original XFL's launch in 2000. Photo: Tom Hauck / Allsport

World Wrestling Entertainment head Vince McMahon will embark on a second attempt to launch a pro football league with a reboot of 2001's XFL, per PWInsider. McMahon will announce the news at a press conference this afternoon, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell, with an expected start date in 2020, giving the league — independent of the WWE via Alpha Entertainment, a new company formed by McMahon — enough time to build out its infrastructure.

Why it matters: With the NFL stung by this year's national anthem controversy and shrinking television ratings, McMahon clearly believes the time is ripe for an alternate product.

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Bryan Walsh

24 mins ago - World

How new tech raises the risk of nuclear war

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some experts believe the risk of the use of a nuclear weapon is as high now as it has been since the Cuban missile crisis.

The big picture: Nuclear war remains the single greatest present threat to humanity — and one that is poised to grow as emerging technologies, like much faster missiles, cyber warfare and artificial intelligence, upset an already precarious nuclear balance.

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Zachary Basu

27 mins ago - Politics & Policy

White House, Democrats remain "trillions of dollars apart" on stimulus talks

Meadows and Mnuchin. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump administration and Democrats have not agreed to any "top-line numbers" and remain "trillions of dollars apart" on coronavirus stimulus negotiations, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday.

The state of play: Meadows told reporters, "At this point we’re either going to get serious about negotiating and get an agreement in principle or — I’ve become extremely doubtful that we’ll be able to make a deal if it goes well beyond Friday.”

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Axios

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

23 million Americans face eviction

Natasha Blunt of New Orleans, who is at risk of eviction. Photo: Dorthy Ray/AP

The coronavirus pandemic threatens America with a new wave of homelessness due to a cratering economy, expiring unemployment stimulus payments and vanishing renter protections.

What they're saying: "I've never seen this many people poised to lose their housing in such a short period of time," said Bill Faith of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio to AP.