July 2022 – Page 5 – Michmutters

Month: July 2022

Categories
US

Doctor: Biden tests positive for COVID for 2nd day in a row

Doctor: Biden tests positive for COVID for 2nd day in a row

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the second straight dayin what appears to be a rare case of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.

In a letter noting the positive testDr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, said Sunday that the president “continues to feel well” and will keep on working from the executive residence while he isolates.

Biden tested positive on Saturday, requiring him to cancel travel and in-person events as he isolates for at least five days in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

After initially testing positive on July 21, Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. He tested negative for the virus this past Tuesday and Wednesday, clearing him to leave isolation while wearing a mask indoors.

Research suggests that a minority of those prescribed Paxlovid experience a rebound case of the virus. The fact that a rebound rather than a reinfection possibly occurred is a positive sign for Biden’s health once he’s clear of the disease.

“The fact that the president has cleared his illness and doesn’t have symptoms is a good sign and makes it less likely he will develop long COVID,” said Dr. Albert Ho, an infectious disease specialist at Yale University’s school of public health.

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Categories
Technology

Microsoft Reports Weak Gaming Numbers, Games Releases An Issue – channelnews

Microsoft Reports Weak Gaming Numbers, Games Releases An Issue – channelnews

As PC gaming and more so mobile gaming takes off console gaming is starting to feel the effects of a consumer switch to new gaming platforms with Microsoft reporting that in the last quarter 2022 sales of the Xbox were down 7% year-on-year, with declines in revenue from both hardware (down 11%) and content and services (down 6%).

Recently the big gaming Company cut a deal with Samsung to get their Game Pass games in front of millions of consumers who own a current model Samsung TV, this is expected to grow both PC and mobile gaming in Australia generating millions in revenue for Microsoft as users look for high performance TV and monitor display screens.

Currently both Microsoft and Sony’s consoles are in short supply partially due to global supply chain problems.

Game Industry Biz claims that the failure is largely attributable to economic and supply chain conditions that are global in nature.

The 11% decline in hardware revenues, in particular, is very specific to the current climate, rather than being indicative of a deeper problem.

They claim that Microsoft is a little more exposed to demand-side issues at this point simply because the Xbox Series S has much better availability.

On the software front God of War Ragnarok was one of only three major releases Sony delivered this year Microsoft has none.

While the supply chain issues remain a source of frustration the more concerning numbers, are the lower levels of engagement and monetization Microsoft reported.

While Game Pass, is continuing to grow its subscription numbers, the 6% dip in content and services revenue arguably stands as quantifiable evidence of the common claim that 2022 is simply a weak year for game releases.

This is something that many commentators and consumers have been saying since the start of the year and was amplified further when publisher showcases in late spring confirmed that several more major titles have slipped to 2023.

Elden Ring is the only real blockbuster we’ve had thus far.

Microsoft’s failure to release new games is a consequence of the firm’s ongoing struggle to bring its first party and platform exclusive development pipeline up to scratch after years of neglect claims GIB.

They claim that the problem is industry-wide, and this drop in engagement is likely to be reflected across 2022’s numbers from many of the industry’s biggest companies.

Microsoft’s numbers do carry a warning for how 2022 is going to shape up.

Many companies are going to post tough figures this year reports GIB.

About Post Author

David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.

Categories
Entertainment

Gordon Ramsay sparks outrage on TikTok teasing lambs to slaughter

Gordon Ramsay sparks outrage on TikTok teasing lambs to slaughter

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is no stranger to stirring up controversy.

The TV personality, 55, has sparked outrage after he posted a 28-second video on TikTok of him playfully picking out lambs to eat.

“Yummy, yum, yum, yum, yum,” he said in the clip, as he climbed over the fence into the yard.

“Which one’s going in the oven first?” he asked, before pointing at the lamb he wanted and proclaiming, “You.”

“The lamb sauce was still not found in the making of this video,” he jokingly captioned the video.

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The video has attracted 7.7 million views, with many furious that the MasterChef host would consider slaughtering those lambs.

“Ok I am not a vegan or vegetarian but that crosses the line,” one person wrote.

“Don’t play with your food, Gordon,” another jokily said.

“Alright I think Gordon has finally lost it. Someone do something before it’s too late,” a third said.

“Gordon please leave them alone,” a fourth person wrote. “Find the lamb sauce, not the lamb.”

Many fans wondered if the video was a response to a feud with a vegan TikTok user who had called Ramsay out for his love of meat.

Last year, the British chef was scolded by TikToker That Vegan Teacher who sang, “Eating animals is wrong, Gordon Ramsay. Hurting animals is wrong, Gordon Ramsay. Share this song, Gordon Ramsay.”

Ramsay responded by duetting the clip on the app — and paired it with footage of him eating a hamburger.

– with New York Post

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Categories
Sports

Greg Norman LIV golf mess could end in player boycott, Davis Love III says

Greg Norman LIV golf mess could end in player boycott, Davis Love III says

Davis Love III has a proposition to solve the divide that the LIV Golf Invitational Series has caused.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, the World Golf Hall of Famer and captain of the US Presidents Cup team expressed frustration over how LIV is plucking players from the PGA Tour and disrupting the sport. So he suggested that he could see a scenario where players boycott a major championship to motivate golf’s governing bodies to ban LIV players from competing in them.

“Well, here’s the biggest lever; and it’s not the nice lever,” Love told Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated. “But if a group of veterans and a group of top current players align with 150 guys on the Tour, and we say, “Guess what? We’re not playing,’ that solves it, right? If LIV guys play in the US Open, we’re not playing. If they sue in court, and they win, well, we’re not playing. You know, there won’t be a US Open. It’s just like a baseball strike.”

The PGA Tour has issued indefinite suspensions to players who are participating in LIV, which in turn has made them ineligible to participate in this year’s Presidents Cup, which is run by the PGA Tour. It also hinders their ability to play in the Ryder Cup, since players need to earn qualifications through Tour events and be a PGA of America member.

While the PGA Championship, US Open and the British Open have all acknowledged the headache LIV Golf has caused, these major championships still allowed qualified players to play in their tournaments this year.

Back in April, Masters chairman Fred Ridley said Phil Mickelson was not prohibited from playing as a past champion despite the fact that the six-time major championship winner was clearly headed toward signing with LIV. Love said he exchanged several messages with Mickelson, who was ultimately one of the first players to go.

Love has tried to convince players they could be making a long-term mistake and has asked if they are comfortable with never playing in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup again.

“Some of them understood it,” Love said. “Some of them think they are going to court or whatever and are going to prevail, and they’re gonna get to come back. What they don’t seem to understand is that players make the rules. So we can strengthen the rules rather than loosening the rules, right?”

With the deadline to make his captain’s selections for the US President Cup team just a few weeks away, Love has to recognize that players for both teams could potentially leave prior to then and after the FedEx Cup playoffs. LIV is scheduled for two events in September before the Presidents Cup.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission

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Categories
Australia

Passenger fined after bringing undeclared McDonald’s products from Bali into Darwin

A traveler returning from Bali has been slapped with a hefty fine after trying to bring undeclared McDonald’s products into Australia.

The contraband Macca’s run included two egg and beef sausage McMuffins, hot cakes and a ham croissant.

It was detected at Darwin Airport by the facilities new detector dog Zinta last week, with the returning passenger issued a $2664 infringement notice.

Undeclared McDonald's products were found by a detection dog at Darwin Airport last week, stoking foot and mouth fears.
Undeclared McDonald’s products were found by a detection dog at Darwin Airport last week, stoking foot and mouth fears. (Supplied)

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt said Australia is committed to staying “FMD-free”.

Zinta was placed at Darwin Airport as part of the Albanese Government's tough new biosecurity defences.
Zinta was placed at Darwin Airport as part of the Albanese Government’s tough new biosecurity defences. (Supplied)

“This will be the most expensive Macca’s meal this passenger ever has, this fine is twice the cost of an airfare to Bali,” he said.

“But I have no sympathy for people who choose to disobey Australia’s strict biosecurity measures, and recent detections show you will be caught.

“Australia is FMD-free, and we want it to stay that way.

“It’s excellent to see (Zinta) is already contributing to keeping the country safe.”

Foot and mouth disease causes blisters on the mouth, snout, tongue, lips and between and above the hooves on the feet.
Foot and mouth disease causes blisters on the mouth, snout, tongue, lips and between and above the hooves on the feet. (DAAF)

FMD is a highly-contagious virus that affects hooved animals.

An outbreak is currently spreading through Indonesia and Bali. If the virus reaches Australian shores it could cost as much as $80 billion over 10 years.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) says FMD can be carried in meat and dairy products, as well as in soil, bones, untreated hides, vehicles and equipment.

It can also survive in frozen, chilled and freeze-dried foods including meat and dairy products.

The worst 10 airports for flight delays around the world

Categories
US

Flashy NYC bishop robbed of $1M re-enacts jewelry heist at service

Flashy NYC bishop robbed of $1M re-enacts jewelry heist at service

The Gucci-loving Brooklyn bishop robbed during a livestreamed service bizarrely re-enacted the crime at his prayer meeting Sunday — including by hitting the floor as if taking cover again.

“I need you to get back in position when the three men came in here with them guns out. I gotta get back into position, ”flamboyant Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead said, addressing his congregation of him, including those watching him on Zoom, as he made a“ voosh ”sound and stepped behind his podium.

“As I began to preach, I saw the door open,” Miller-Whitehead, 44, recalled of last week’s million-dollar-plus jewelry heist. “And I looked, and I said, ‘OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK.’

The bishop — who denied Friday that the sensational crime was part of any purported insurance scam — added, “As I got down on the floor, I told my church, ‘Y’all get out.’ “

That’s when he splayed his body out on the floor for dramatic effect, according to video captured by The Post.

Miller-Whitehead, who has an alleged history of grifting and served time in prison for identity theft and grand larceny, lost more than an estimated $1 million in jewelry in the incident.

Bishop Lamor Whitehead, (pictured, re-enacting the robbery when he hit the ground) preaching one week after he was robbed during his sermon.
Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead re-enacted how he reacted when he was robbed during a sermon last week.
Gregory P Mango
Bishop Lamor Whitehead, (pictured) preaching one week after he was robbed during his sermon.
Miller-Whitehead denied that the sensational crime was part of any purported insurance scam.
Gregory P Mango
Whitehead gets on the ground during the robbery.
The robbers took a $75,000 Rolex watch, $75,000 Cavalier watch and several crosses worth tens of thousands of dollars each.

The bishop told his congregants Sunday that God would bring him back “double” what he lost, likening himself to the Bible’s King David when David faced off the Amalekites and saw his wives captured.

“Don’t think that God allows somebody to come here and steal something for him not to give us double. This is what the Bible says,” Miller-Whitehead said. “David recovered all.”

The gold-and-gem-dripping clergyman — who tools around in luxury vehicles such as a Rolls Royce — has battled back against critics who claim his high-flying lifestyle made him a ripe target for crooks.

Rolls Royce owned or leased by Bishop Lamor Whitehead.
Miller-Whitehead owns several luxurious items, including a Rolls Royce car.
Gregory P Mango

The bishop has blamed the caught-on-video robbery in part on media coverage of his cozy relationship with Mayor Eric Adams.

The robbers’ massive haul last week included a $75,000 Rolex watch, $75,000 Cavalier watch and several crosses worth tens of thousands of dollars each.

“Fendi, Louis, and Gucci, why can’t we wear that in church? What’s wrong with that? the pastor said at a press conference last week.

The burglar looks into the camera.
The robbery was caught on the live stream camera.

It also surfaced last week that Miller-Whitehead is the target of a lawsuit accusing him of bilking a parishioner out of her $90,000 life savings in 2020.

Mayor Adams has defended his relationship with the clergyman, with Hizzoner saying he has an “obligation to mentor other black men that had negative encounters in their lives and other people in general.”

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Categories
Entertainment

Sydney girl’s swollen stomach turned out to be heart condition

Sydney girl's swollen stomach turned out to be heart condition

A Sydney mother has detailed how a seemingly insignificant symptom led to her eight-year-old’s daughter’s entire life changing in a terrifying instant.

When Leah’s daughter Jada developed a swollen, distended stomach, she took her to the GP thinking she was just constipated.

She came away from the appointment with a referral for an ultrasound and encouraged her daughter to drink more water.

But, during that time, Jada’s stomach grew larger and kids started to tease her, claiming she was pregnant.

When Jada’s ultrasound appointment finally came five days later, immediately, Leah knew she and her daughter were in for a lot more than she initially thought.

“The technician’s face practically went white and he told us that we needed to go straight to our GP,” Leah told news.com.au.

“It was late on a Friday afternoon and I remember saying to him the GP’s office was closing soon and I wouldn’t make it.

“He replied with, they are not waiting for you.”

Back at the doctor’s office, Leah was told her daughter had developed ascites – when fluid collects in spaces in your abdomen.

The pair were sent straight to hospital where a cardiologist and gastroenterologist met the pair and began conducting tests of Jada to determine if her heart or her liver were the issue.

The tests showed it was Jada’s heart, and she was placed in intensive care and given medication to drain 5-liters of fluid from her stomach.

“I remember thinking the whole time, why are we in the ICU,” Leah said.

“These other poor children are unconscious, one young teenager had been brought in via CareFlight with an aneurysm.”

After two days, Jada was briefly discharged with the family under strict instructions to return on Monday morning to speak with a specialist.

It was during that meeting Leah was told her little girl had a rare type of heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy, which is when the chambers of the heart become stiff over time and makes it harder for the heart to fill with blood.

Jada would need a heart transplant in order to have an active life.

Journey to a new heart

“We couldn’t wrap our own minds around reality,” Leah said.

“Jada was feeling the best she had ever felt after being placed on diuretics and aspirin.

“In her world, nothing was wrong with her.”

For the next six months, Jada was given medication to keep her stomach drained and every three weeks had to undergo echocardiograms and blood tests before meeting a pediatric hearts team in Melbourne to see when Jada would need a transplant.

Leah hoped it would be a few years but, within a week, Jada had to be added to the transplant list immediately.

It was a long six months before the family heard any updates on Jada’s new heart. Finally, one public holiday, when Leah was home with Jada, her three other children of her, a cousin and her parents of her, the call came.

Leah was told to get Jada to the airport as soon as possible and flight details would be worked out but the time they arrived.

“Within two hours we were in Melbourne sitting in the room and talking with Jada’s surgeon,” Leah said.

“We signed consent payments and before you knew it, I was kissing my daughter’s forehead as she fell unconscious on the operating table.”

While Jada was in surgery, Leah and her husband walked the cold streets of Melbourne in a daze unsure of what would happen.

When they could finally see Jada, Leah said she wasn’t prepared for the sight of her daughter laying on the bed with countless tubes attached.

After two long months in Melbourne, Jada was able to come home and the family was reunited.

“Since, Jada has had to endure three-monthly echocardiograms, six to 12-weekly blood tests, and just recently underwent her ninth heart biopsy where the results returned as zero rejection for the first time,” Leah said.

Wishing for a friend

For the last four years, the family has been thankful every day to Jada’s heart donor and their family.

But following her transplant, the now-12-year-old struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and immune issues.

During her order, Jada was eligible for Make-A-Wish, so that she had something positive to focus on.

Originally, she wanted to go to Queensland but Covid restrictions meant that it was nearly impossible.

As the family’s personal lives began to shift with Leah and her husband separating, Jada decided to make her wish for a best friend.

“She researched Sphinx cats and realized that they also can carry a gene responsible for cardiomyopathy and they have annual echocardiograms,” Leah said.

“When Jada asked Make-A-Wish they made the journey possible, it truly gave Jada something positive to focus on.”

So, Penny entered Jada’s life.

Leah attributes some of her daughter’s health successes to the cat.

“The experience allowed Jada to be a kid, to use her imagination and wish big – something sick kids just miss out on the majority of the time.”

Make-A-Wish is currently holding it’s Bake-A-Wish fundraiser

Read related topics:sydney

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Categories
Sports

Martin Taupau, Manly Sea Eagles release, Parramatta Eels, Sam Verills to join Gold Coast Titans, Bulldogs sign Andrew Davey, Franklin Pele

The Eels have launched a bid to land the Manly forward.

The Eels haven’t given up hope of landing Martin Taupau — but have until 5pm, Monday to get the deal over the line.

Meanwhile, the Titans may have found a solution to one of their biggest spine problems and the Bulldogs have added two forwards to their pack.

Read on for the latest in NRL Transfer Whispers.

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EELS’ LAST MINUTE CHASE FOR TAUPAU

The Eels arekeen onluring Manly veteran Martin Taupau to the club for the rest of the season — but time is running out.

It was revealed last week that Taupau, who comes off contract at the end of the season, requested an immediate release to join the Eels but was denied.

Eels coach Brad Arthur confirmed his interest in the 32-year-old, saying “he’d be handy for us… but that is Manly’s call,” after his side’s win over the Panthers.

And now, the club are making one last push for the star prop, according to The Sydney Morning Heraldbut have until 5pm Monday to get the deal over the line.

The Herald reports the Eels have been “desperately calling” Manly over the weekend to convince the club to release Taupau but have had no luck.

They will continue their chase on Monday in a bid to secure the 217-gamer before the August 1 deadline closes.

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TITANS TO FINALLY FILL GLARING HOLE

Roosters’ hooker Sam Verrills is reportedly set to sign with the Gold Coast Titans following the Tricolours’ acquisition of Brandon Smith.

Smith signed with the Roosters in December last year, immediately throwing Verrills’ future into the spotlight.

Now, the 23-year-old will make the move north to join the Titans and fill a much-needed hole in the Gold Coast spine according to The Daily Telegraph.

Verrills has been strong in recent weeks, inspiring Trent Robinson’s side to three straight wins.

Prior to the 2022 season, Titans coach Justin Holbrook rolled the dice and deployed the youngest spine in the competition.

The club let Jamal Fogarty walk, but have now signed Kieran Foran to fill their halfback void, and have now moved to lockdown a regular starter in the No.9 jersey.

First-choice hooker Erin Clark has shifted into lock and has been impressive in patches, opening the dummy-half slot for Verrills to potentially take over.

It comes after Holbrook granted following the Titans’ Round 19 loss that he was in the market for a dummy-half.

However, the Titans may have a fight on their hands with Phil Rothfield telling Sky Sports Radio that “St George Illawarra might come in with an offer,” for Verrills too.

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BULLDOGS ADD TO PACK

Bulldogs supreme Phil Gould has reportedly landed two new forwards — Franklin Pele and Andrew Davey.

Davey, who has become a first-grade regular, and Pele, who has just one NRL game under his belt for the Sharks, will make the move to Belmore according to TheDaily Telegraph.

Pele, 21, weighs more than 120kg and has a cult following at Cronulla’s feeder club the Newton Jets.

According to reports the Bulldogs are hoping to get the hulking prop fit and increase his potential minutes.

Meanwhile, 30-year-old Davey, who was a late bloomer in first grade, is set to make the switch.

Davey made his NRL debut at the Eels in 2020, becoming the fourth-oldest debutant in the history of the game at 28-years old.

After making the switch to the Sea Eagles in 2021, Davey suffered a season-ending knee injury but has been strong in 2022.

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Categories
Australia

PM says Indigenous Voice detail to come after referendum; fresh calls to work from home as winter wave continues

PM says Indigenous Voice detail to come after referendum; fresh calls to work from home as winter wave continues

To one of the first major political interviews of the morning, and Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy has fronted Nine’s Today Show.

The Labor senator was asked how confident she is in Australians voting “yes” in a referendum on whether to establish an Indigenous Voice to parliament.

NT Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy.

NT Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy.

As you might be aware, there have been more than 40 referendums held since the federation. Of those, just a handful have been successful.

Here’s what McCarthy had to say:

Out of all the referendum only eight have passed. And we do reflect on the 1967 referendum in which there was overwhelming support, over 90 per cent, to allow the Commonwealth to make laws in relation to First Nations people.

What we recognize here, too, is the difficult task. I think, as the prime minister said, we know that failure is very possible because of the statistics. But the failure to not try is even worse.

What I came away with [the] garma [Festival] was sense of hope. The fire has been burning… ever since the Uluru statement.

For a referendum to be successful in Australia, it must achieve a double majority: a majority of those voting nationwide as well as a majority of voters in a majority of states.

For example, if 63 per cent of Australians vote “yes” to a Voice to parliament, and there is a majority of people voting “yes” in four out of six states, then the upcoming referendum would be successful.

Categories
US

Republicans race to stop Greitens in Missouri Senate primary

Republicans race to stop Greitens in Missouri Senate primary

Republicans are making a final push to shut out former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in the state’s closely watched GOP Senate primary, fearing that him clinching the GOP nomination on Tuesday could put an otherwise safe Republican seat at serious risk in November.

In the final days before the Aug. 2 primary, an anti-Greitens super PAC is running TV ads highlighting allegations of domestic violence against the disgraced former governor. Top Republican donors — including Pete Ricketts, the ultra-wealthy governor of Nebraska — are pouring money into the effort, hoping to deal one final blow to Greitens’s campaign.

There are signs that the effort to weaken Greitens is working. Once seen as the front-runner in the race, the former governor has sunk into third place in recent polls and has been replaced at the front of the pack by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

“What you’ve seen here is really a challenge of trying to beat [Greitens] down,” one Republican strategist involved in the Missouri Senate race said. “Equally to what we’ve seen with Greitens getting knocked down to around that 20 point range is the massive rise of Schmitt. And that combination is what’s really changed the outcome of the race so far.”

One survey released last week by The Hill and Emerson College showed Greitens running 17 points behind Schmitt and 5 points behind Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) in the primary. That’s a staggering change from the same poll conducted in June that found Greitens leading Schmitt by 6 points.

Greitens, who resigned as governor amid scandal only 1 1/2 years into his first term, has brushed off his recent polling deficit, calling the surveys “fake” and accusing his opponents of pushing out inaccurate data in an effort to weaken him. He has also compared the attacks against him to those faced by former President Trump, calling the allegations false.

“Here’s what we’re hearing from a lot of people who’ve seen time and time again the way President Trump was falsely attacked, they’ve seen how I have been falsely attacked,” Greitens told reporters in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday. “A lot of these grassroots patriots are standing up and they’re that much more determined to fight for me.”

Of course, Greitens has been underestimated before. Polling in the lead-up to his 2016 win de él in the Missouri gubernatorial race showed a much tighter contest between him and former state Attorney General Chris Koster (D) than what actually played out on Election Day.

But Greitens, a onetime rising star in the GOP, has fallen from political grace in the years since he won the Missouri governor’s mansion.

Not long into his term as governor, he ran up against allegations that he carried on an affair with his hairdresser and threatened to blackmail her with nude photos he had taken of her if she revealed their relationship. Greitens has acknowledged the affair but has denied the blackmail allegations.

He later faced felony charges related to the alleged blackmail scheme, as well as for accusations that he improperly took a donor list from a nonprofit he had founded to use in his gubernatorial campaign.

Greitens resigned in June 2018 as GOP leaders in the state legislature met to consider whether to pursue his impeachment. The criminal charges against Greitens have been dropped, and he has repeatedly said he has been exonerated.

The latest blow to Greitens’s personal image came this spring when his ex-wife, Sheena Greitens, testified under oath that the former governor had assaulted her and their 3-year-old son. Those allegations have been among the hardest-hitting in the effort to weaken Greitens’s momentum in the Senate race.

Greitens’s personal and professional baggage has stirred deep worries among Republicans both in Missouri and in Washington, giving way to fears that his nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) would create an opening for Democrats to recapture the seat in a state that has otherwise moved firmly in the GOP’s direction over the years.

Senate Republicans also can’t afford to take any chances this year. While they’re targeting a handful of vulnerable Democratic incumbents in states like Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, Democrats also have opportunities to flip GOP-held Senate seats in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio, among other states.

Whoever wins the Republican nomination next week will likely go on to face either Lucas Kunce, a former Marine running as a progressive, or Trudy Busch Valentine, a philanthropist and heiress to the Busch family beer fortune, in November.

Missouri Republicans have been burned before by controversial candidates.

The late former Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) famously saw his political career collapse in 2012 after claiming that women’s bodies have a way of avoiding pregnancies in cases of “legitimate rape.” That remark ultimately helped sink his bid to oust former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and left him isolated from many top Republicans.

Of course, there’s still a wild card in the race: Trump. The former president hasn’t endorsed in the primary, though earlier this month he ruled out supporting Hartzler, saying that she doesn’t have “what it takes to take on the radical left Democrats.”

Greitens has some influential allies on his side. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancée of Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is serving as a national co-chair of Greitens’s Senate campaign, and the couple has continued to lobby Trump for his endorsement in the lead-up to the primary despite Greitens’s recent drop in the polls.

But Greitens isn’t the only candidate seeking Trump’s endorsement. Each of his top rivals — Schmitt, Hartzler and Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) — Have courted the former president, hoping to win his support from him in the primary. Schmitt is the only candidate to have held a fundraiser for his campaign at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla.

One former Trump campaign aide, however, said that the former president isn’t likely to endorse in the race before Tuesday.

“I think at this point, the primary is kind of all over the place,” the former aide said. “The polling is changing, there are a lot of competing voices. The president doesn’t want to get behind a losing horse, so I think he’s probably fine to wait and see and endorse after Tuesday.”

But Trump can be unpredictable in his political moves. In a July 9 interview with the conservative One America News Network, he left the door open to endorsing Greitens, even as he noted that Democrats would be eager to go up against such a controversial candidate.

“He’s the one the Democrats legitimately want to run against,” Trump said, later adding: “Eric is tough and he’s smart. A little controversial, but I’ve endorsed controversial people before.”