reporter thursday

Khalil Mack unspooled his elbow wrap and removed his brace as he spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since sustaining his injury last month. Does Mack, the Chargers’ star outside linebacker, believe he can play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts?

“For sure,” he said.

That will ultimately be up to general manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh, Mack said. The 34-year-old, in his fourth season with the Chargers, said he’s “slightly ready to go” if his number is called upon, just days after his 21-day activation window opened Tuesday.

Mack was listed as questionable Friday, along with wide receiver Derius Davis, linebacker Troy Dye, offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer and linebacker Denzel Perryman. Running back Hassan Haskins also was listed as questionable after practicing all week.

Offensive tackle Joe Alt (ankle) was listed as doubtful for Sunday. Alt practiced Thursday and Friday.

“I’m not going to say I can or can’t,” Alt said Wednesday when asked whether he’d play. “We’re just going to continue to progress and see where it means for me going forward.”

Defensive back Elijah Molden (thumb) did not practice all week and was also listed as doubtful. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston (hamstring) is set to play after missing last week’s win over the Miami Dolphins.

WASHINGTON — President Trump is undergoing what he has described as a “semiannual physical” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday.

The visit, which the White House announced earlier this week, comes as Trump is preparing to travel to the Middle East on the heels of a ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described it as a “routine yearly checkup,” although Trump had his annual physical in April.

The White House declined to explain why Trump was getting a yearly checkup six months after his annual exam. But in an exchange with reporters Thursday, he said it was a “semiannual physical.”

“I’m meeting with the troops, and I’m also going to do a, sort of, semiannual physical, which I do,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think I’m in great shape, but I’ll let you know.”

The president is scheduled to return to the White House after his visit to Walter Reed, which is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Trump’s April physical found that he was “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief. The three-page summary of the exam done by his doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said he had lost 20 pounds (9 kilograms) since a medical exam in June 2020 and said he has an “active lifestyle” that “continues to contribute significantly” to the well-being of the president, who’s 79.

In July, the White House announced that Trump recently had had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins. Tests by the White House medical unit showed that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when little valves inside the veins that normally help move blood against gravity gradually lose the ability to work properly.

At the April physical, Trump also passed a short screening test to assess different brain functions.

Kim writes for the Associated Press.

President Trump’s border advisor told reporters Thursday that federal authorities planned to increase immigration raids in Los Angeles and other so-called “sanctuary cities,” with Chicago likely the next target.

“You’re going to see a ramp up of operations in New York; you’re going to see a ramp up of operations continue in L.A., Portland, Seattle, all these sanctuary cities that refuse to work with ICE,” Tom Homan said.

Since June, Southern California has been ground zero of thousands of immigration arrests as well as legal battles over whether the raids violate the U.S. Constitution.

There is no agreed-upon definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Homan did not elaborate on specifics about new raids in L.A.

But talking to reporters Thursday morning, he said Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering using a naval base north of Chicago as its hub when potential enforcement raids take place in that city.

Tom Homan said, “there’s discussions about that, yes,” when asked by reporters outside the White House.

He didn’t provide an exact timeline for the use.

“The planning is still being discussed,” he said. “So, maybe by the end of today.”

Earlier this week, Trump said Chicago would likely be the next city in which he’ll direct a crackdown on crime and, in particular, illegal immigration.

He recently sent 2,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. after having dispatched soldiers, ICE and border patrol agents to Los Angeles since early June. The Department of Homeland Security said that as of Aug. 8, ICE and Border Patrol agents had arrested 2,792 undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles area.

“I think Chicago will be… next,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.

He also called the City of Broad Shoulders a “mess” and that its residents were “screaming for us to come.” Three days after Trump railed about crime in Chicago, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement, saying overall crime in the city had dropped by 21.6%, year to date, with homicides falling by 32.3%.

Homan would not commit to how many soldiers and agents would be used in any immigration enforcement.

“We’re not going to tell you how many resources we’re going to send to the city,” he said. “We don’t want the bad guys to know what we’re sending.”

He added, “It will be a large contingent.”

Since a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting federal agents from targeting people solely based on their race, language, vocation or location, the number of arrests in Southern California declined in July.

But raids are continuing, with Home Depot stores becoming a common target in recent weeks.

On Aug. 1, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Trump administration request to lift the restraining order prohibiting roving raids.