We’re back, baby.

It’s Florio vs. Simms. Picking every game. Straight up and against the spread.

Here they are, starting with the first game of the season, to be played tonight in Philadelphia. As the Eagles, unbeknownst to coach Nick Sirianni, hang their second banner.

And this season will get off to a bang. We disagree on seven picks, with Simms picking seven underdogs to win, straight up.

Cowboys at Eagles

Will the Cowboys rally following the Micah Parsons trade and throw a wrench in Philly’s big night? Much of it comes down to the ability of new coach Brian Schottenheimer to push their buttons in a way that allows them to outscore a better team.

Florio’s pick: Eagles 30, Cowboys 17.

Simms’s pick: Eagles 27, Cowboys 20.

Chiefs at Chargers

Is the Chiefs’ window closing? The Chargers get the first crack at commencing the process of closing it. It won’t be easy.

Florio’s pick: Chiefs 21, Chargers 17.

Simms’s pick: Chiefs 28, Chargers 24.

Buccaneers at Falcons

The Falcons swept the Bucs last year, in a couple of barnburners. The chronically underrated Bucs are well aware of that fact.

Florio’s pick: Buccaneers 30, Falcons 24.

Simms’s pick: Falcons 23, Buccaneers 20.

Bengals at Browns

The Bengals break free from their early-season struggles, against a rival who is poised to struggle all year long.

Florio’s pick: Bengals 31, Browns 17.

Simms’s pick: Bengals 27, Browns 24.

Dolphins at Colts

It will be an emotional day in Indy, with the first regular-season game following the passing of owner Jim Irsay. That could be the difference for Daniel Jones and his new team.

Florio’s pick: Colts 23, Dolphins 20.

Simms’s pick: Dolphins 24, Colts 21.

Panthers at Jaguars

It’s a battle of recently former Buccaneers’ offensive coordinators. The home team gets the edge.

Florio’s pick: Jaguars 24, Panthers 20.

Simms’s pick: Jaguars 28, Panthers 20.

Raiders at Patriots

A Raiders owner has a statue outside Gillette Stadium. The Raiders could use him on the inside of the stadium against an improving Pats team.

Florio’s pick: Patriots 23, Raiders 17.

Simms’s pick: Patriots 23, Raiders 17.

Cardinals at Saints

Both teams are a work in progress. The visitors have made more progress, so far.

Florio’s pick: Cardinals 21, Saints 17.

Simms’s pick: Cardinals 24, Saints 20.

Steelers at Jets

The Steelers didn’t make several all-in moves to lose out of the gates to an inferior roster.

Florio’s pick: Steelers 24, Jets 10.

Simms’s pick: Steelers 20, Jets 16.

Giants at Commanders

The Commanders have expectations, for the first time in a long time.

Florio’s pick: Commanders 27, Giants 17.

Simms’s pick: Giants 21, Commanders 17.

Titans at Broncos

It’s a tough draw for Cam Ward and company, because the Broncos could be forcing their way into the Super Bowl window.

Florio’s pick: Broncos 28, Titans 20.

Simms’s pick: Broncos 28, Titans 17.

49ers at Seahawks

As Christian McCaffrey goes, so go the 49ers.

Florio’s pick: 49ers 27, Seahawks 20.

Simms’s pick: Seahawks 23, 49ers 20.

Lions at Packers

The trade for Micah Parsons could give the rest of the Packers a lift. The front office sees them as a potentially elite team. They get a chance right away to prove it — and to end a three-game home losing streak to Detroit.

Florio’s pick: Packers 24, Lions 20.

Simms’s pick: Lions 28, Packers 27.

Texans at Rams

Matthew Stafford is healthy, for now. The Rams have a Super Bowl glow. The Texans, during their recent resurgence, don’t have many impressive road wins against great teams.

Florio’s pick: Rams 24, Texans 20.

Simms’s pick: Texans 24, Rams 20.

Ravens at Bills

Lamar Jackson in regular-season prime-time games is virtually unstoppable.

Florio’s pick: Ravens 30, Bills 27.

Simms’s pick: Ravens 30, Bills 21.

Vikings at Bears

Can Ben Johnson make an immediate difference for the Bears?

Florio’s pick: Vikings 24, Bears 20.

Simms’s pick: Bears 23, Vikings 20.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once fighting ends in the conflict with Russia.

Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called “coalition of the willing,” a group of 35 countries who support Ukraine. He said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops in Ukraine — or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea, or in the air — to help guarantee the country’s security the day after a ceasefire or peace is achieved.

Earlier Thursday, Macron and other European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the U.S. envoy for peace talks, Steve Witkoff, to discuss ways of ensuring long-term military support and continued American backing for Ukraine once the conflict ends. Zelenskyy also held a closed-door meeting with Witkoff.

Macron said at a news conference alongside Zelenskyy that the reassurance force “does not have the will or the objective of waging war against Russia,” but will aim “to prevent any new major aggression and to involve the 26 states very clearly in the lasting security of Ukraine.”

Macron and Zelenskyy say US backs the plan

Though details of any U.S. participation in the security guarantees remain unclear, both Macron and Zelenskyy said Washington had expressed willingness to be part of the plan, and the Ukrainian president said he was grateful about that. “As for in what format, I am not yet ready to tell you in detail,” Zelenskyy added.

“The planning work will be finalized with the United States,” Macron said.

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who lead the “coalition of the willing,” previously have insisted that any European “reassurance” force in Ukraine needs the backing of the United States.

The European leaders — some of whom joined the meeting virtually — said Russian President Vladimir Putin must now work toward ending the fighting, and the German government suggested European sanctions on Russia would increase if Moscow drags its feet. The European leaders also spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump after their meeting.

Starmer’s office said the British prime minister “emphasized that the group had an unbreakable pledge to Ukraine, with President Trump’s backing, and it was clear they now needed to go even further to apply pressure on Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities.”

Trump phone call

Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Finnish media that, in the phone conversation with European leaders, Trump emphasized the need to put economic pressure on Russia, and said Europe must stop buying Russian oil and gas that he said was funding the war.

Trump stressed that Russia received €1.1 billion in fuel sales from the EU in one year, according to a White House official. Trump also emphasized that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for indirectly funding Russia’s war efforts, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the private talks and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz laid out three “areas of action,” including working toward a summit that would include Zelenskyy, and “a ceasefire must be agreed there.”

“If the Russian side continues to play for time, Europe will increase the pressure of sanctions to increase the chances of a diplomatic solution,” the statement said.

The Ukrainian president said a meeting with Putin is needed. “This is not a matter of a desire, this is a matter of necessity,” Zelenskyy said. “We support any format, bilateral meeting, trilateral meeting, I believe that Russia does everything to defer it.”

There was no immediate reaction from Russian officials.

Putin — isolated by Western leaders but backed by China in his war effort — said Wednesday that he believed “if common sense prevails, it is possible to agree on an acceptable option for ending the conflict,” adding that Trump has “a sincere desire” to reach a settlement.

Positive signals

In a policy shift earlier this month, the U.S. sent positive signals over its readiness to support security guarantees for Ukraine that resemble NATO’s collective defense mandate, Zelenskyy previously has said. It is unclear what that support would look like in practice. Ukraine is hoping for continued U.S. intelligence sharing and air support.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that a broad coalition of nations is needed to support Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression, but also to strengthen Europe to deter further military action by Moscow.

Citing European military and intelligence officials who have warned of Russian plans to strike other European countries, Rutte said that “we have to make sure that our deterrence is such that they will never try, knowing that our reaction will be devastating.”

Rutte also called for the world to “not be naive about Russia.”

“We know what Putin tries to do and and the evidence is there in Ukraine as we speak,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russia fired 112 strike and decoy drones across the country overnight Thursday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force morning report. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 84 drones, the statement said.

Russia on Thursday announced that it was expelling an Estonian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Estonia declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata last month.

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Petrequin reported from London. Associated Press reporters from across the globe contributed to this report.

Washington, DC, officials are suing the Trump administration, accusing the president of violating the Constitution and federal law by sending thousands of National Guard troops into the city without consent from local leaders.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday by DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, claims the troops – many from out of state – have been deputized by the US Marshals office and are patrolling neighborhoods, conducting searches and making arrests, despite federal laws that generally bar the military from acting as local police.

The lawsuit argues that the deployment undermines the city’s autonomy, erodes trust between residents and law enforcement and damages the local economy by discouraging tourism and hurting businesses.

“Deploying the National Guard to engage in law enforcement is not only unnecessary and unwanted, but it is also dangerous and harmful to the District and its residents,” Schwalb said in a statement. “It’s DC today but could be any other city tomorrow. We’ve filed this action to put an end to this illegal federal overreach.”

President Donald Trump rolled out the deployment of troops on August 11 as part of his anti-crime agenda in the nation’s capital, which has also included a surge in federal officers from other agencies and an attempted takeover of the city’s police department.

In the weeks since, National Guard members in DC, which include troops from six GOP-led states, have been ordered to carry weapons. As of Tuesday morning, there were 2,290 National Guard troops assigned to the mission – 1,340 of them from supporting states.

The city, the lawsuit reads, “has suffered a severe and irreparable sovereign injury from the deployment.”

“No American jurisdiction should be involuntarily subjected to military occupation,” reads the complaint, filed in the US District Court for DC. “The District of Columbia brings this lawsuit to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief that will stop Defendants’ violations of law, remedy the harms Defendants are inflicting on the District, and preserve the District’s sovereignty.”

CNN reported earlier this week that National Guard members deployed in DC are expected to have their military orders extended through December to ensure troop benefits.

The Trump administration has touted its efforts in the capital city, pointing to a sharp drop in violent crime since ramping up federal law enforcement last month. But critics — including DC Mayor Muriel Bowser — argue the National Guard deployment is unnecessary and costly, with taxpayers footing an estimated $1 million a day, while troops are seen taking photos with tourists, picking up trash, and laying mulch.

Bowser issued an executive order this week requiring the city to closely coordinate with federal law enforcement indefinitely. While some progressive groups viewed the move as ceding to Trump, Bowser later clarified that the order was designed to provide a pathway for the district to exit the federal emergency by offering the administration and congressional Republicans an off-ramp to scale back their involvement in DC.

“I want the message to be clear to the Congress: We have a framework to request or use federal resources in our city. We don’t need a presidential emergency,” Bowser said Wednesday, emphasizing that protecting DC’s autonomy remains her “north star.”

The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration prepares for a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, with Trump pledging to send in National Guard troops, though he has not given a timeline.

While the administration looks to replicate its efforts in other Democratic-led cities – Trump holds unique authority over the DC National Guard, which reports only to the President of the United States. The city’s status as a district — not a state — allows the president and the federal government more leeway in directing troops and a range of federal authorities.

The DC attorney general’s lawsuit comes after another challenge to Trump’s deployment of the National Guard proved successful earlier this week in California.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated federal law by using the US military to help carry out law enforcement activities in and around Los Angeles earlier this summer.

In June, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines into Los Angeles – over the objection of the state’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom – to quell immigration protests.

Schwalb sued the Trump administration last month after Attorney General Pam Bondi attempted to appoint an emergency police commissioner to replace DC’s police chief and take over the department’s operations. Ultimately, Trump officials backed down from that sweeping takeover but still maintain the ability to request any services from the local police department as part of the federal emergency, which expires next week unless Congress extends it.

House Republicans are currently weighing legislation that would overhaul criminal justice policies in DC and oust the locally elected Schwalb, replacing him with a presidential appointee.

This week, Schwalb announced he will run for reelection.