In today's Chiefs rumors, Rashee Rice gets a PR boost, numerous wide receiver trade targets are revealed, and a rookie corner gets poached by an AFC team.

Ukrainian drones have hit at least six regions deep inside Russia – including destroying war planes at an airfield – in one of the largest such strikes since the start of Moscow's invasion. Russian officials described attacks on targets in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions, with the assault on the military airfield in Pskov the most significant. Situated more than 400 miles (600 kilometres) from Ukraine, it was where a number of elite paratroopers are stationed. The state-run Tass news agency reported at least four giant Il-76 transport planes were damaged, two of which had "burst into flames". the governor of Pskov posted video on the messaging app Telegram showing a huge fire with the sounds of sirens and an explosion at the air base. Other videos posted online showed anti-aircraft systems in action around the city, which is about 20 miles east of Russia's border with Nato-member Estonia. Kyiv confirmed the Russian planes had been destroyed in Pskov, without commenting on the nature of the incident. It generally does not claim strikes on Russian territory, but does say it has the right to hit military targets. "Yes, four IL-76 transport planes were destroyed in Pskov at an airfield, they are beyond repair. Also, several other of those [aircraft] are damaged, but the information is being checked," Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence agency. The number of drone strikes hitting Russia has increased in recent weeks, supporting a ground counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine by destroying equipment and seeking to disrupt supply lines. Moscow typically describes all Ukrainian drone strikes as unsuccessful, regardless of the damage on the ground, but claimed that its own forces had attacked four Ukrainian attack boats in the Black Sea. In a sign of how disruptive the latest Ukrainian strikes were, Russia's Defence Ministry said they "would not go unpunished". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Russia was working out where the drones were launched from to try and prevent further strikes. President Vladimir Putin had been informed immediately, as would be the case in any such "massive attacks", Mr Peskov said. The increase in strikes inside Russia, including repeated drone strikes on central Moscow, have brought the war home to many Russians for the first time, even as Ukrainians have spent the past 18 months under threat of air strikes from long-range missiles and drones. The latest strikes inside Russia coincided with Moscow's largest barrage against Kyiv in months. Ukraine said its air defences had shot down 28 Russian missiles and 15 out of 16 drones fired overnight. "Kyiv has not experienced such a powerful attack since spring. The enemy launched a massive, combined attack using drones and missiles," Serhiy Popko, the head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram. Back in Moscow, the Kremlin said that it will not conduct an investigation into plane crash that killed the Wagner mercenary group founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, under international rules. "In this case there can be no talk of any international aspect," the Kremlin spokesman, Mr Peskov said, but he did suggest that "deliberate wrongdoing" is among the possible causes. The private Embraer jet on which Mr Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on 23 August, including two other top Wagner figures, Mr Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three. That was two months to the day since Mr Prigozhin began a mutiny against Russian President Vladimir, with his forces marching towards Moscow. The uprising ended 24 hours later after a deal was struck between the Wagner founder and the Kremlin – but a number of Western leaders have suggested that Mr Putin would not let that embarrassment stand. The Kremlin has claimed any suggestion the Russian leader was involving in the killing is an "absolute lie". Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Former official under Belarus President Lukashenko to face Swiss trial over enforced disappearances Putin and Kim Jong-un are deepening their relationship, White House says White House says Putin and Kim Jong Un traded letters as Russia looks for munitions from North Korea

For Eddie Nketiah, it is a story of Arsenal royalty and Chelsea rejects. A first senior call-up for the record scorer in the history of the England Under-21s capped a fine start to the season and came after a reunion. Nketiah and Declan Rice were players who thought their dreams had died, south Londoners who were released by Chelsea as teenagers. Now they could be teammates for club and country: one is currently Arsenal’s first-choice forward, the other their £105m record signing. “It is funny how life works sometimes,” Nketiah reflected. “We have done the full 360 to be back together. I was there from the ages of nine and it came as a shock to me because I was doing well at the time. Obviously Declan was of that age group as well and had a similar experience.” Rice was the first to taste disappointment; two years later, Nketiah was deemed too small. Each could seem a costly mistake; then it was a crushing blow to them. “I think it gives you an awakening and just knowing that things can change like that: that you can lose everything you have worked for,” he said. “It gives you that extra bit of motivation and resilience when times are hard. I’m able to dig a level deeper than maybe some people can or don’t want to go into.” Arsenal helped him dig, rebuilding his confidence with the aid of their two greatest goalscorers of all time. Ian Wright became a mentor. Thierry Henry coached him in the academy. His best advice to Nketiah was motivational, not tactical. “Probably just to believe in yourself,” said the younger forward. “He came in and saw the quality I had when I was 16 or 17 and said that I just needed to believe in myself, whatever anyone else said. That is what is going to drive you, to motivate you.” They may seem simple words but the stature of the man delivering them meant they had added meaning. “He knows what he’s talking about, so it’s not a bad feeling,” Nketiah said. As a player, he may share more similarities with Wright than the World Cup winner but there is an echo of Henry whenever he dons the Arsenal kit. The No 14 shirt used to be the Frenchman’s. “Thierry wearing it has made it a lot more special,” Nketiah said. “When the number was available and offered to me, it was something that I embraced. I’m not here to try and recreate Thierry’s moments. I’m here to put my own stamp on it and create my own special memories in the shirt.” Which, at times, he has done: January’s 90th-minute winner against Manchester United was an indication of the merits of a predator. Nketiah has taken advantage of Gabriel Jesus’ absence to start three of four league games this season. And yet the shirt number can have another meaning: Nketiah has often seemed roughly the 14th man, the perennial substitute. Two-thirds of his Premier League appearances have come off the bench. When he was loaned to Leeds in 2019-20, 15 of his 17 Championship outings under Marcelo Bielsa came as a replacement. Much as Nketiah wants to start, the temptation is to wonder if his excellence as a substitute helps account for Gareth Southgate’s decision to select him: in a squad where Harry Kane’s pre-eminence among the strikers is established, England may want a game-changer in reserve. A perennial starter for his club, like Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, has less experience of being sent on in the dying minutes of major matches. That status as the regular reserve may account for his Under-21 scoring record: without playing enough club football, he was less likely to be promoted to the senior set-up and so ended up with 16 goals in 17 caps. Meanwhile, this month marks six years since his Arsenal debut: he has been overtaken by Bukayo Saka, two years his junior but with 28 full caps to his name. Nketiah, meanwhile, was courted by Ghana. The England call-up came at an opportune time, when Nketiah was at home, surrounded by family and a friend. “When I got the text it was surreal. I am usually a calm guy but I did lose a little bit of composure for a 10 seconds or so,” he said. “My parents were really emotional. They sacrificed a lot for me to get here and it was really nice to see that happiness and pride on their faces.” His father used to drive him to every game and booked flights to watch him on tour. His mother would stay up late, washing his kit. His sisters would finish school, come home and put him on a train to first Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and then Arsenal’s Hale End academy. The journey was not a simple or straightforward one but Nketiah is now on the brink of an England debut. Read More Eddie Nketiah ready to make “own story” for Gareth Southgate’s England in upcoming internationals Mikel Arteta hails Eddie Nketiah’s fight to play for England after first call-up England can benefit from Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich – Gareth Southgate

The shipwreck off southern Greece, involving a large boat carrying migrants that capsized after apparently rebuffing offers of help, is just the latest case of smugglers packing vessels full of desperate people willing to risk their lives to reach continental Europe

Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Jack Rosen and Jon Tester on Tuesday are among the latest Senate Democrats to call on their Democratic colleague, Sen. Bob Menendez, to resign in the wake of a federal indictment accusing him of corruption-related offenses.

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Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday after being arrested and arraigned for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the latest in his third – and potentially most serious – criminal case. The former president was indicted Monday on four charges as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the alleged conspiracy and the 6 January Capitol riot. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, though observers have credibly guessed most of their identities. The former president has railed against the indictment, calling for the “fake” case to be moved out of Washington DC where he claims it is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial”. The case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee. The next hearing is scheduled for 28 August. Read Trump’s full indictment from the January 6 grand jury Read More Trump appears to stumble over his name and age at arraignment Will Donald Trump go to prison? Trump was told not to talk to witnesses in 2020 election conspiracy case. That could be a challenge. What is an arraignment? Here’s what to expect following Trump’s indictment

The Edmonton Oilers will be in the discussion of Stanley Cup favorites again this season

Heavy downpours are lashing South Korea for a ninth day as rescue workers struggle to search for survivors in landslides, buckled homes and swamped vehicles in the most destructive storm to hit the country this year

Ukraine says three of the 11 men are now free but the two countries are still at loggerheads.