He’s an aging heavyweight, a fighter to his core.
| 'Your refusal has cost us'  He's an aging heavyweight, a fighter to his core, forced into unwanted retirement, desperate for a return to the ring where the spotlight burns brightest.
Not Evander Holyfield, the former world champ making a comeback on Saturday night at age 58. We're talking about the man who will be at the mic for the big fight. None other than ex-President Donald Trump.
Former commanders in chief don't normally rent themselves out as boxing pundits. But defeated presidents don't generally incite insurrections against the US Capitol either. And Trump has never played by the Marquis of Queensberry rules. The most startling thing about Trump's new role is not that he's doing it — he craves attention, loves boxing and has often attached his name to cheesy shows others won't touch for a fast buck -- it's the date he's doing it.
September 11.
While former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will spend Saturday visiting sacred ground in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania where victims died during the 2001 terror attacks, Trump will be back to his favored role as a carnival barker. Anyone surprised at such Saturday evening plans is probably among those who spent his four-year term waiting for Trump to act "presidential."
Trump's fight night in Florida comes as he is showing increasing signs of a comeback of his own. Multiple reports suggest the ex-President sees President Joe Biden's struggles in Afghanistan and on the pandemic as a sign he could do better — despite his abysmal record.
He has also given us a taste of what such a campaign might look like. Trump never stopped lying about his election loss last year. He's convinced millions of supporters that American democracy is corrupt. On Wednesday, he condemned Virginia for removing a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Confederate leader who fought a war against the United States to preserve slavery. Inciting racial tensions would be at the foundation of a new Trump White House bid.
Lots can happen before 2024. But Trump is by far the prohibitive favorite in the Republican primary race. And Biden, despite the fact that he will be 81 at the time of the next election, plans to try to retain his champion's belt.
Seconds out, round two? The world and America The first international passenger flight since the US airlift operation ended took off from Kabul.
The United Nations confirmed that it was hacked in April.
 Biden on Thursday announced stringent new vaccine rules on federal workers, large employers and health care staff in a sweeping attempt to contain the latest surge of Covid-19. The new requirements could apply to as many as 100 million Americans -- close to two-thirds of the American workforce. "We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us," Biden said, addressing those who still refuse to be vaccinated. Postcard from Sao Paulo  It was a tense week in Brazil, as far-right populist President Jair Bolsonaro convoked massive demonstrations that fueled supporters' hopes and critics' fears of a Brazilian version of America's January 6 insurrection, writes journalist Marcia Reverdosa from Sao Paulo.
Bolsonaro had called on supporters to flood major cities, including capital Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Tuesday, Brazil's Independence Day. Many of the protests against the President planned for the same day quickly fizzled amid worries of potential clashes with his supporters, known as bolsonaristas. Some critics warned that the President's supporters might even invade governmental institutions that he has targeted with criticism, like the Supreme Court, which has rebuffed his calls to require paper ballots in next year's elections.
Their fears were not entirely unfounded: after all, Bolsonaro has often expressed admiration for Trump, who incited the US Capitol riot. And after months of Bolsonaro sowing doubt in the security of Brazil's electronic voting system, some of his supporters do think that he should simply seize power.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, protests over the President's poor handling of Covid-19 and ongoing destruction in the Amazon forest were dwarfed by a sea of yellow- and green-clad Bolsonaro supporters packed into the wide Paulista Avenue, the city's main artery. One supporter, 63-year-old Rosalina Vieira da Motta, enthusiastically declared to me that she would bomb the Supreme Court if she could.
"We are afraid that what happened in the US will happen in Brazil. Election fraud," added 46-year-old Simone Blaster Conte. "We think something even worse (than the Capitol riot in DC) could happen because people won't accept next year's elections results without paper vote counting."
As we walked toward the sound truck where Bolsonaro would speak, the crowds grew denser. Despite the references to violence, the mood was joyful. Covid-19, which has brutally ravaged the country and left more than half a million Brazilians dead, seemed forgotten by the maskless crowds. Something big was about to happen, we all felt.
After a few passes over the avenue in an army helicopter, the President addressed the ebullient masses. But he left them deflated with rhetoric that was somewhat less aggressive than usual -- apart from a few jabs at the Supreme Court -- and gave no suggestion of the much-imagined power grab. Perhaps the day had already achieved the desired effect: The rest of Brazil has now seen what many of Bolsonaro's fans are willing to do. Thanks for sticking with us through the week. On Friday, NASA holds an online press briefing to discuss Martian rocks gathered by the Perseverance Mars rover. An informal meeting of EU economic and finance ministers is held in Kranj, Slovenia. The 2021 Southampton International Boat Show kicks off. Saturday is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend observances in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon in Northern Virginia. It's the Women's US Open Tennis Championship final. On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas speak at the Nebraska Steak Fry. Pope Francis heads off on a trip to Hungary and Slovakia. View in browser | All CNN Newsletters
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