Terminally Ill: Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins yesterday came out firmly against her party’s new healthcare bill, leaving it one vote short of what it needs to pass. Collins described the bill as “extremely flawed.”

The Congressional Budget Office concluded that the bill would reduce the deficit by $133 billion while taking health insurance away from millions of Americans.

The loss of Collins’ vote makes it almost certain that President Trump will fail this year on one of his biggest campaign promises: to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Travel and Resorts: The Supreme Court cancelled a hearing on President Trump’s original travel ban that has been supplanted by an even broader order issued Sunday. The cancellation dodges, for now, a legal test of presidential powers.

Extra Point: Both the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals stood with locked arms during the national anthem last night in defiance of President Trump’s call to fire protesting players. Even Dallas owner Jerry Jones joined in.

New England’s Tom Brady also gently broke with Trump yesterday. “I certainly disagree with what he said,” Brady said in a radio interview. That’s big for Brady, who supported Trump for president and is somewhat of a friend.

Trump dug in deeper over Twitter saying, “The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!”

Actually, the issue is entirely about race. Kneeling during the national anthem began as a protest about police shootings and the treatment of black Americans. Trump wants it to be about respect for the flag. He tweeted, “Many people booed the players who kneeled yesterday (which was a small percentage of total). These are fans who demand respect for our Flag!”

The American flag stands for freedom, freedom to salute it, kneel in front of it, and even the freedom to burn it in protest.

War of Words: North Korea declared that it has the right to shoot down US warplanes flying near its border because President Trump has effectively declared war on the Hermit Kingdom.

Trump had tweeted that if the North Koreans continue their nuclear threats, “they may not be around much longer.”

Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, said, “We will have every right to make countermeasures, including the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country.”

It has precedent. The North shot down a US spy plane in 1969, killing all 31 people on board.

Friend Request: The Washington Post reports that 3,000 Russian-bought ads Facebook is about to turn over to federal investigators show a sophisticated targeting of voters who would be disturbed by the Black Lives Matter movement and other issues.

“Their aim was to sow chaos,” said Virginia’s Democratic Sen. Mark Warner told the Post. “In many ­cases, it was more about voter suppression rather than increasing turnout.”

The Post reports that, “The Russian campaign — taking advantage of Facebook’s ability to send contrary messages to different groups of users based on their political and demographic characteristics — also sought to sow discord among religious groups. Other ads highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women.”

You’ve Got Mail: At least six members of the Trump administration have used private email to conduct White House business. It wouldn’t be an issue, except Donald Trump made it an issue against Hillary Clinton.

Duck Dynasty: Alabama Republicans go to the polls today to choose their nominee to replace Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. President Trump has thrown in with Luther Strange, a steadfast conservative who is the temporary incumbent appointed to replace Sessions. But Strange is trailing in the polls to the religious nut Roy Moore, who was removed as Alabama’s chief justice for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments he had installed in front of the Alabama Judicial Building.

Sent Up: Disgraced former NY Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison yesterday for his plea of guilty to sending lewd texts to a 15-year-old girl.

Weiner had told the judge in a pre-sentencing letter that, “My regret for my crime is profound” and that, “My continued acting out over the years crushed the aspirations of my wife and ruined our marriage.” Because Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin was Hillary Clinton’s closest aide, it also damaged the Clinton presidential election.

While his contrition is nice, it’s difficult to describe what an abusive and horrible human being Weiner was to people who knew him and worked for him. One vehement critic described him as “a cruel little man who demeaned everyone around him.”

During his sentencing, Weiner sat behind his lawyers with head in hands, crying.

Out of There: NY Yankee Aaron Judge hit two home runs against the Royals last night, breaking the record for home runs hit by a rookie. He’s got 50 homers.

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