*By Michael Teich*
Nike debuted its [controversial new ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2CvmgoO7I) featuring Colin Kaepernick Wednesday, part of its "Just Do It" 30th anniversary ad campaign.
The roll out came after some public backlash and a tweet from President Trump criticizing the company's decision to sign on the former NFL player, who set off a string of player protests the last two seasons.
While Nike's campaign has proven to be a polarizing initiative, leaving some consumers to pledging to boycott the brand, military veteran and Sports Illustrated writer and producer Scooby Axson sees the move as a net positive for Nike.
"At the end of the day I don't think it's going to hurt their bottom line," Axson told Cheddar in an interview Wednesday.
Axson, who served 16 years in the U.S. Army, thinks those unhappy about NFL players kneeling for the anthem are demonstrating false outrage and that their anger is misplaced.
"If you want to say somebody is disrespecting the flag or the anthem, the NFL does this every single Sunday when they drape that flag across 100 yards, and that's per the flag code. The federal flag code says you shouldn't do that," said Axson.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/nike-doubles-down-on-kaepernick-with-thursday-night-football-ad).
House members voted again Thursday to punish one of their own, targeting Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman for triggering a fire alarm in one of the U.S. Capitol office buildings in September when the chamber was in session.
The Senate has failed to advance a bill that would provide aid to Ukraine and Israel.
A Nevada grand jury indicted six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 presidential race.
Former President Donald Trump has returned to his New York civil business fraud trial again.
Columnist and political analyst Jonathan Harris provided a full recap of Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate.
The U.S. military has grounded its fleet of Osprey V-22 aircraft a week after a deadly crash off the coast of Japan.
But even as he lashed Republicans for their stance, Biden stressed that he is willing to “make significant compromises on the border,” if that’s what it takes to get the package through Congress.
The four Republican presidential candidates debating Wednesday night mostly targeted each other instead of Donald Trump. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley took the brunt of the attacks as she gets more interest from donors and voters.
Word about McCarthy's future had been expected the approach of the filing deadline to seek reelection. His departure will leave the already paper-thin House GOP majority even tighter, with just a few seats to spare.
Russian President Vladimir Putin began a rare overseas trip that will include a meeting with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
