USA DAWN: NEWS AND UPDATES

‘It’s like appointing Ronald McDonald to run the agriculture department.’ Photograph: Brian Harkin/Getty Images I n one of the futile demonstrations that marked the run-up to the Iraq war, I saw a woman with a sign that read “How Did Our  Oil  End Up Under Their Sand?” In nine words she managed to sum up a great deal of American foreign policy, back at least as far as the 1953 coup that overthrew Mossadegh in Iran and helped toss the Middle East into its still-boiling cauldron. If the Senate approves Rex Tillerson after his testimony on Wednesday, they’ll be continuing in that inglorious tradition – in fact, they’ll be taking it to a new height, and cutting out the diplomats who have traditionally played the middleman role. Rex Tillerson – who has literally spent his entire working life at Exxon – is big oil personified. It’s like appointing Ronald McDonald to run the agriculture department (which is certainly a possibility, since that job is still unfilled). So ...

There was no chaos — no crazy final weekend upset. Instead, there were strong performances, a couple of close calls, and an impressive comeback in Indianapolis. So when it comes to the College Football Playoff, Sunday's final rankings should prove to be relatively easy for the selection committee — just push the same top four they had last week. If only it were that simple. For the CFP, chalk in the final four is the worst-case scenario. The selection committee really, really needed some chaos on the final weekend — a reshuffling of the landscape so that there would be no expectation that the final rankings would match last week's. Things did not break its way, and the resumes only became stronger for five of the six teams that had a realistic shot of making the playoff. Alabama is undefeated and smoked Florida by 38 points to win the SEC. Nick Saban's team has to be in the playoff as the No. 1 seed. Clemson, the No. 3 team coming into the weekend, held o...

The Flash Paradox and Big Mistake trailers Following the Season 3 premiere of  The Flash  last night,  The CW  has released both a trailer for the second episode of the season and a trailer for upcoming episodes. You can watch  The Flash Paradox and Big Mistake trailers using the players below! Titled “Paradox,” the second episode is officially described as follows: “Barry realizes the effects from Flashpoint are much greater than he thought. Meanwhile, Barry meets new co-worker Julian Albert (Tom Felton) and is surprised by Julian’s immediate disdain for Barry.” The Flash  stars  Grant Gustin  as Barry Allen/The Flash, Candice Patton as Iris West, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramo, Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Harrison Wells and Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West. The Flash  airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with “Paradox” premiering on Tuesday, October 11. If you missed an episode of  The...