Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.  (U.S. State Department and Office of the President of Afghanistan.)

An apparent crude attempt to alter photographs of a meeting between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday in Kabul has set the Internet abuzz with questions.

A close inspection by The New York Times found significant discrepancies in the photographs that may be explained by an effort to use image-manipulation software to doctor at least one of the images.

Both the photograph released by the U.S. and the one provided by Afghanistan depict Tillerson and Ghani seated at the front of a windowless room, flanked by their delegations.

However, the image released by Afghanistan does not include either the military-style digital clock or the large fire alarm that appear directly above Tillerson and Ghani in the photograph produced by the U.S. government, The Times reported. And in the Afghan photograph, the room is much more brightly lit.

According to an image expert cited by the Times, there is “no question” the Afghan photo was altered. The giveaway, the expert told The Times, is that whoever apparently doctored the Afghan image did not entirely remove the power cord that led to the clock and fire alarm in the U.S. photograph.

The question remains: Why would Afghanistan’s government manipulate a routine photograph of a visiting dignitary?

After Tillerson’s meeting with Ghani on Monday, the American Embassy and Ghani’s office released a statement claiming that the two men had met in Kabul. But the Times noted that the meeting actually occurred at Bagram, the U.S. military base more than thirty miles from Afghanistan’s capital.

Removing the military-style clock and large fire alarm might have been an attempt by Afghanistan’s government to conceal the meeting’s location.  By claiming that Tillerson and Ghani were in Kabul and not a fortified military base, the Afghan government can project strength and advance a positive narrative about the country’s security.

Neither Ghani nor Tillerson’s office has provided an explanation for the discrepancy in the images, or why the American Embassy signed off on the statement claiming the meeting was in Kabul.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he believes all players “should” stand for the national anthem — but stopped short of imposing a rule on standing for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Goodell, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said it is important for the league and its players to honor and respect “our flag and our country.

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NFL won’t force player to stand for national anthem

Asked about owners who threatened discipline for players who didn’t stand, Goodell said the owners didn’t discuss it.

A couple hours later, Trump tweeted his thoughts to the NFL in no uncertain terms: “Too much talk, not enough action. Stand for the National Anthem.”

Goodell, who has been in New York City with teams owners for their annual fall meeting, defended the athletes who have been taking a knee in protest, saying they are “not doing this to be disrespectful to the flag, but they understand how it’s being interpreted.”

“We want our players to stand. We’re going to continue to encourage them to stand,” he said.

Last week, Goodell sent a memo to NFL executives and club presidents aiming to move past the weeks-long feud between the White House and players.

“The current dispute over the national anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game, and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country,” he wrote last week. “Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the national anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us.”

On Wednesday, Goodell said the league is working with its players to see how it can continue to support them and how changes can be made in their communities.

“They are very clear about and very knowledgeable about [what needs change],” he said.

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Tomi Lahren to NFL players: What are you kneeling for?

The “take a knee” movement — protesting police brutality and other issues — began when Colin Kaepernick first sat for the anthem during the NFL preseason in early August 2016.

It since has grown to a sizable number of NFL and WNBA players and even spread abroad when a German professional soccer team took a knee during pregame ceremonies in solidarity last Sunday.

For Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, being “respectful of our football team” trumped the right of Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva to show respect for the national anthem.

Speaking after his team’s 23-17 loss to the Bears, Tomlin appeared to take a swipe at the Bronze Star recipient’s decision.

Tomlin told the media that, prior to kickoff Sunday, the Steelers held a team meeting and decided, though not unanimously, to not come out of the locker room for the national anthem. Tomlin added the intent was to have his team focus on the game and not President Trump’s comments blasting players who chose to protest during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“I was looking for 100 percent participation.”

– Mike Tomlin

“Many of them felt like something needed to be done. I asked those guys to discuss it and whatever they discussed that we have 100 percent participation or we do nothing,” Tomlin said after the game. “They discussed it for an appropriate length of time and they couldn’t come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it. They were not going to be disrespectful in the anthem so they chose not to participate, but at the same time many of them were not going to accept the words of the president.”

Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan, decided to stand his ground instead and placed his hand over his heart while the anthem played.

“We’re not politicians. We’re coaches and professional athletes,” Tomlin said Sunday. “If those of us or individuals choose to participate in politics in some way I’m going to be supportive of that. But when we come out of locker rooms, we come out of locker rooms to play football games.”

There appeared to be some confusion in the Steelers locker room after Villanueva came out of the tunnel for the anthem.

Offensive tackle Chris Hubbard told Penn Live that the players, by a slim majority, voted in favor of staying off the field instead of standing on the sideline holding hands.

Hubbard, however, said everyone in the locker room accepted that Villanueva would be exempt from the team’s decision.

“Al was cool with it, with whatever we went through. He was on board. That’s Al, man,” Hubbard said. “He’s a good guy.”

Villanueva has previously spoken out about former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit and kneel during the national anthem, saying his actions may “send the wrong message.”

“I don’t know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that’s providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year…when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year,” Villanueva told ESPN in 2016.

He added: “I will be the first one to hold hands with Colin Kaepernick and do something about the way minorities are being treated in the United States, the injustice that is happening with police brutality, the justice system, inequalities in pay. You can’t do it by looking away from the people that are trying to protect our freedom and our country.”

Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe also told ESPN he would be standing during the national anthem Sunday because he wanted to be “paying tribute to the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom.”

“I stand because I respect the men who died in real battle so I have the freedom to battle on the field…but everyone these days likes to find a reason to protest and that’s their right,” Wolfe told ESPN, according to The Washington Post.

Television broadcasts in Southern California were interrupted late Thursday morning with an end-of-the-world prediction, startling viewers and setting off a firestorm on social media.

Erin Mireles told the Orange County Register that she was watching Bravo on Spectrum when the alert appeared.

“I was definitely startled, ’cause the volume increased exponentially,” she said. “I wasn’t alarmed in the sense of thinking something was wrong, ’cause I assumed it was some sort of hack,” she said.

A man’s voice could reportedly be heard saying: “Realize this, extremely violent times will come.”

One person said the voice sounded like Hitler.

A spokesman for Cox Communications told the paper that the problem occurred because one or more radio stations conducted an emergency test.

“With these tests, an emergency tone is sent out to initiate the test,” Joe Camero told the paper. “After the tone is transmitted, another tone is sent to end the message. It appears that the radio station (or stations) did not transmit the end tone to complete the test.”

The report said it was unclear if the alert had anything to do with the Christian numerologist who recently claimed the world will end Saturday when a planet will, supposedly, collide with Earth.

According to Christian numerologist David Meade, verses in Luke 21:25 to 26 signify that recent events, such as the recent solar eclipse and Hurricane Harvey, portend the apocalypse.

The verses read:

“25: There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

“’26: Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.’

Saturday’s date, Sept. 23 was pinpointed using codes from the Bible, as well as a “date marker” in the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

Meade’s views are not endorsed by Roman Catholic, Protestant or eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity.