National Protest League: From the West Coast to London yesterday, scores of National Football League players, coaches, and even owners stood with locked arms or took a knee during the national anthem in defiance of President Donald Trump’s tweets about firing players who protest during the anthem.

It was an event unprecedented in professional sports created by the President himself in scolding protesting players. Julius Thomas, a Miami Dolphins tight end, knelt during the anthem for the first time yesterday and later told the NY Times, “To have the president trying to intimidate people — I wanted to send a message that I don’t condone that.”

Some fans booed during the protests, and some teams did not take part. To avoid the controversy, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, and Seattle Seahawks stayed in their locker rooms, breaking a league rule requiring athletes to be present for the anthem. The league said they would not be penalized.

This all started last year when then San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat on the bench and later took a knee during the anthem in protest of police brutality against black Americans. Though he’s a talented player, Kaepernick is unemployed this year, some think in punishment for his protest.

A few players have taken a knee this year, but Trump fed the flames when he said in a speech Friday that protesting players should be fired.

Even some of the owners stood against Trump either on the field or in words. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a friend of Trump’s, said in a statement before his team’s game, “I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the President on Friday.” He said players have the “right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful.”

Trump, misreading the signals from the sidelines, praised players who stood with locked arms in a tweet saying, “Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country. Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!”

Really, he didn’t get it. They were against him too. And what’s it got to do with television ratings?

Grandson of Travel Ban: No administration announces major policy decisions on a Sunday night, but in a move to bury the President’s own bad news, the White House revealed last night a third travel and immigration ban listing eight mostly Muslim countries.

Trump says, “The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, has determined that a small number of countries — out of nearly 200 evaluated — remain deficient at this time with respect to their identity-management and information-sharing capabilities, protocols, and practices.  In some cases, these countries also have a significant terrorist presence within their territory.”

The new travel order is long, detailed, and obviously fully lawyered with sections, subsections, and legal citations.

Unlike Trump’s original ban, the latest is more restrictive, placing an indefinite ban on almost all travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia. Trump swapped out Iraq, and Sudan from his original order, adding Chad, North Korea, and Venezuela. Iraq and Sudan are somehow now mysteriously OK.

The McCain Mutiny: The new Senate Republican healthcare bill appears closer to terminal status with Sen. Susan Collin of Maine saying on CNN, “It’s very difficult for me to envision a scenario where I would end up voting for this bill.” She joins Arizona’s John McCain, who killed the bill last time.

Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah have yet to be convinced. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky once again criticized the bill in blunt terms because it doesn’t do enough to obliterate Obamacare.

Krooked Kushner: Trump son-in-law and close adviser Jared Kushner used private email dozens of times for White House business, his lawyer admits, even as the President continued to denounce Hillary Clinton for doing the same as secretary of state.

The Washington Post reports that, “Once in the White House, Kushner used his private account for convenience from time to time — especially when he was traveling or using a personal laptop, according to two people familiar with his practice. A person who has reviewed the emails said many were quickly forwarded to his government account and none appear to contain classified information.”

Hillary Clinton also said she used private email for “convenience.”

World: Germany’s Angela Merkel was elected to a fourth term as Chancellor yesterday in a vote that produced the rise of a right-wing nationalist opposition party. The nationalist AfD, which has fought Merkel’s open-door refugee and immigration policy, won its first seats in parliament.

A Great Life: Sen. John McCain told Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes that he has “a very poor prognosis” for his brain cancer. “I have feelings, sometimes of fear, of what happens,” McCain said. “But as soon as I get that, I say, ‘Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You’ve been around a long time, old man. You’ve had a great life. You’ve had a great experience.'”

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