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Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are presenting top House Republicans with a test of how to handle a new breed of Trump-era, social media-savvy firebrands. Both have attracted more public attention lately than most junior lawmakers, and much of it hasn’t been positive. That’s confronting House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy with questions about whether the two hard-right provocateurs might hurt the GOP’s goal of capturing House control in next year’s elections. Party leaders have to reckon what to do about the two, if anything, and what impact any action would have on their supporters. 

After years of dithering, a dozen top European clubs announced plans to form a breakaway Super League. It's no coincidence the proposal finally went public as a growing number of U.S. ownership groups have staked out positions at many of the continent's most legendary teams. And it's no coincidence, either, that the proposal envisions the “closed-league” model employed by the major North American pro sports. It's basically a cash grab that would gut Europe's domestic leagues, destroy fan loyalties built over generations and put an end to soccer's most enduring myth — that teams rise or fall solely on merit.

Mario Andretti is not unlike so many others around the world touched by the coronavirus pandemic. One of the greatest racers of all time has battled loneliness and his own personal loss. His twin brother, Aldo, died of complications from COVID-19 in December and nothing prepared Andretti for the loss. He's 81 and lives alone in his sprawling Pennsylvania mansion, where he keeps company with his 34-year-old yellow Amazon parrot. Andretti was back at the racetrack for the IndyCar season opener in Alabama because his son found a sponsor to continue the two-seater program that Andretti pilots at each event.

New research shows ferocious tyrannosaur dinosaurs may not have been solitary predators as long envisioned, but more like social carnivores such as wolves. Paleontologists developed the theory while studying a mass tyrannosaur death site found seven years ago in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. Research unveiled Monday showed a team of researchers determined that the dinosaurs died and were buried in the same place. A biology professor at Macalester College says she agreed with the group’s assessment that the tyrannosaurs died at the same time but more evidence would be needed before determining that they were living in a social group.

A judge has upheld a 20-year prison sentence for a white former police officer in the killing of an unarmed Black man in South Carolina. Federal judge Richard Gergel ruled Monday that ex-North Charleston officer Michael Slager's lawyer did not do a poor job. Slager had appealed his sentence, saying his lawyer never told him about a plea offer from prosecutors that could have cut years off his eventual prison term. Gergel ruled he didn't believe Slager's claim that he didn't know about the offer. Slager pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge for shooting Walter Scott in the back five times in 2015 as he ran away from a traffic stop.

The role drugs played in George Floyd’s life and death has been a focus of testimony during the murder trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin and remained a key thread as attorneys delivered closing arguments Monday. Chauvin’s defense attorney has repeatedly argued that Floyd’s death was caused by his use of illegal drugs and existing health conditions, while prosecutors worked to convince jurors that Chauvin caused it by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck. Chauvin, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

The nation’s largest coal miners’ union says it would accept President Joe Biden’s plan to move away from coal and other fossil fuels in exchange for a “true energy transition” that includes thousands of jobs in renewable energy and spending on technology to make coal cleaner. The president of the United Mine Workers of America, Cecil Roberts, says ensuring jobs for displaced coal workers is crucial to any infrastructure bill taken up by Congress. At least 7,000 coal workers lost their jobs last year amid continued declines in the industry.

Alex Smith is retiring from the NFL after making an improbable comeback from a broken leg. Smith announced his retirement Monday on Instagram, saying he still has plenty of snaps left him just shy of his 37th birthday but is calling it quits to enjoy time with his family. Smith earned AP Comeback Player of the Year honors for getting back on the field last season, two years removed from his gruesome injury that required 17 surgeries. Washington released Smith in March and signed veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in free agency. Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in 2005 and played 14 seasons for San Francisco, Kansas City and Washington.

The Washington, D.C., medical examiner’s office says Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick suffered a stroke after confronting rioters on Jan. 6 and died of natural causes. Investigators initially believed the officer was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, based on statements collected early in the investigation. They later thought Sicknick may have ingested a chemical substance — possibly bear spray — that may have contributed to his death. But the determination of a natural cause of death means the medical examiner found that a medical condition alone caused his death. The determination is likely to significantly inhibit the ability of federal prosecutors to bring homicide charges in Sicknick’s death.

With groups of players from 20 NFL teams saying they will skip in-person attendance, voluntary offseason programs began Monday across the league. Through the NFL Players Association, players from the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers and 19 other clubs posting statements that they would not be on hand at team facilities for voluntary work. Those statements did not cover every player from those teams. On Monday, some players reported to the Cowboys, Patriots and Panthers facilities. The league and players’ union remain in talks about adjustments to the offseason.

The attorney for the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murder and manslaughter in George Floyd’s death outlined the disputed concept of excited delirium at trial. Eric Nelson wanted to show that the force his client, Derek Chauvin, used was objectively reasonable given Floyd’s resistance. One officer at the scene can be heard on video asking whether the struggling Floyd might be experiencing excited delirium. Nicole Mackenzie, a Minneapolis police training officer, told the jury that new officers are taught how to recognize the signs. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher said during closing arguments Monday that Floyd didn't exhibit any of those signs in his interactions with officers in the minutes before he died.

Firefighters in Cape Town have finally brought a wildfire under control after it swept across the slopes of the city’s famed Table Mountain and forced the evacuation of some neighborhoods. The blaze burned the historic library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. More than 250 firefighters were deployed to the slopes of the mountain to battle the fire which started early Sunday and was brought under control more than 24 hours later. Four firefighters were injured. One man has been arrested on suspicion of arson for setting additional fires although a city official said it's not clear if he was responsible for starting the main blaze. 

It's shaping up as perhaps the most polarizing idea in European soccer for more than a generation. The Super League project announced in the early hours Monday by 12 clubs would make winners and losers worldwide if it overcomes widespread resistance to kick off as soon as August. Club owners would expect to become richer and players to be better paid if the 20-team competition delivers the commercial revenue. Fans from outside Europe are being prioritized over supporters in their own local communities. UEFA and its current Champions League broadcast partners stand to lose the most.

A lawyer says Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is in the third week of a hunger strike while behind bars, was moved to a hospital in another prison after his doctor said he could be near death. Lawyer Alexei Liptser said Navalny was transferred Sunday from a penal colony east of Moscow to a hospital for convicts in a prison in Vladimir, a city 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital. Liptser visited Navalny on Monday afternoon and said “in general his look indicates he is really unwell.” Russia’s state penitentiary service only reported the decision to transfer Navalny in a statement in the morning.

The Biden administration is privately weighing how to handle the upcoming verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, including considering whether President Joe Biden should address the nation. Aides and officials also tell The Associated Press that the Justice Department is dispatching specially trained community facilitators. Closing arguments began Monday in Chauvin’s trial with a prosecutor telling jurors that the officer “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as he cried over and over that he couldn’t breathe and finally fell silent.

Tom Thibodeau says the same things that worked when he was a New York Knicks assistant coach in the 1990s still go into winning now. For the first time in years, that's just what the Knicks are doing. Led by All-Star Julius Randle, they have won six consecutive games. That's their longest winning streak in seven years. At 31-27, the Knicks are in good shape for their first playoff appearance since 2013. That wasn't expected this season, but the Knicks have quickly taken to Thibodeau's defense-first style.