“We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool," he posted on his social media site Friday night. "Just like three days ago, they destroyed the grass outside of the Pool, they’ve also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed.” He offered no details to substantiate his claim.

Agencies responsible for law enforcement and upkeep on the National Mall — the U.S. Park Police, National Park Service and Interior Department — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Washington Post reported that Park Police officers arrested someone on Friday who they said was peeling paint from the pool, an act that does not explain the clouds of algae in green water and swaths of loose blue paint detached from the bottom.

Trump insisted something nefarious was going on. “No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” he posted on Truth Social.

That was a reference to the discovery of large numbers etched in discolored grass on the National Mall the week before: “86 47.” Authorities said the numbers could have been meant as a threat to Trump, the 47th president. The number 86 can be slang for “getting rid of.” They are investigating.

Trumps claims came after days of negative attention to the state of the pool, which he made a point of rehabbing to the tune of more than $14 million for the coming America 250 celebrations. The pool was swiftly beset by an algae bloom that returned its waters to the greenish color that Trump had tried to replace by having the bottom painted “American flag blue.”

Federal workers treated the pool with chemicals to kill the algae. Now chunks of the blue paint are gone, exposing its rocky bottom.

Dustin Johnson led by that much eight years ago and that didn't end well.

But it's really not about Clark as much as it is everyone else, and the reminder to fight to the end.

Geoff Ogilvy can speak from the experience of 20 years ago at Winged Foot, where he played the last 12 holes with four bogeys and no birdies and won at 5-over 285. He is the last U.S. Open champion to have never broken par in any of the four rounds.

But what he recalls is a conversation the morning of the final round with World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, a relative by marriage. She told him: “Everyone wakes up Monday morning, looks at the newspaper and is surprised by the score that won the U.S. Open.”

“I know that more from watching than playing,” Rankin said Saturday morning from her home in Midland, Texas, where she was quick to point out that “it's blowing here, too.” She devoted the second half of her career to broadcasting.

“I just said, ‘Save ever shot.’ I'm telling you, you never know at the U.S. Open what's going to happen,” she said. “It's a different kind of experience.”

No need to look back any further than last year, when J.J. Spaun began the final round at Oakmont with five bogeys in six holes. He birdied the last two to win.

“I just remember telling him to try to the bitter end if you're in it, because you'll be surprised,” Rankin said.

“It's so true,” said Andy North, a two-time U.S. Open champion working television this week at Shinnecock Hills. “You look at the scores the next day and everyone is ticked but the winner.”

Here's how the weekend unfolded in the previous U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills:

2018

Johnson had just returned to No. 1 in the world and looked the part. He opened with 69-67, the only player under par going into the weekend and with a four-shot lead.

But then the USGA didn't account for how dry and windy the course became, and pin positions late in the day made it a brute. Putts were rolling 50 feet by the hole and over the green. No one from the final 22 groups matched par. Johnson shot 77 and was still tied for the lead.

Brooks Koepka, five shots behind going into the weekend, emerged the winner with a 68 on a course the USGA soaked overnight.

2004

Phil Mickelson and Shigeki Maruyama shared the 36-hole lead at 6-under 134. Retief Goosen had one of only three rounds under par on Saturday to take the lead. In the final round in which the greens baked out — particularly the par-3 seventh green — no one broke par.

Goosen was scrambling the whole way around, but he showed his U.S. Open mettle that day when he one-putted the final six greens. This still looked like Mickelson's to win until he three-putted from 5 feet on the 17th hole.

Maruyama, meanwhile, went 74-76 on the weekend and tied for fourth.

1995

For the second straight time at Shinnecock Hills, Greg Norman had the the 36-hole lead by two shots. As usual, someone else ended up holding the trophy.

Corey Pavin, six shots behind going into the weekend, cut the deficit in half on Saturday. He fell four shots behind after a bogey on the third hole. That was his last bogey of the round. Norman and Tom Lehman slowly came back to the field. Pavin saved par with a 5-foot putt on the 17th. And then he hit the famous 4-wood into the 18th that secured the win.

Norman had nine straight pars in the middle of his round — U.S. Open golf — until two straight bogeys early on the back nine cost him the lead, and a bogey on the 17th put him behind. He needed birdie on the 18th to force a playoff. He made bogey.

1986

This was the year of Norman's famous “Saturday slam” when he had the 54-hole lead at all four majors (and only won the British Open).

He was up by three shots over Lee Trevino and Denis Watson going into the weekend, four shots clear over a group that included Raymond Floyd and Tom Watson. In a final round of good scoring, 10 players had at least a share of the lead. Floyd didn't pull ahead until a birdie on the 13th hole.

Floyd was bogey-free for a 66 to win by two shots.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Investigative judge Juan Carlos Peinado issued the ruling, arguing that Begoña Gómez represented a flight risk. In addition to surrendering her passport, she must also appear before a court every two weeks. A trial date hasn't been set.

The decision touched off a heated political confrontation, with calls from the opposition for Sanchez's Socialist government to resign.

Gómez is accused of using her position to influence government contracts given to a group of technology companies. The judge also accused her of the misuse of public funds in the hiring of a consultant, and the inappropriate use of software while she was a professor at a public university.

Gómez has denied any wrongdoing. Sánchez has called the case against her part of a smear campaign by conservative political opponents to topple his left-wing government, which has been in power since 2018.

Peinado said that a businessman who allegedly benefited from the government contracts and the consultant that worked for Gómez will also stand trial.

Sánchez, a critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, is facing legal trouble on multiple fronts before a general election due by next year.

Earlier this week, a former Socialist prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, appeared before a different judge in connection with his alleged role in a government airline bailout and to explain the discovery of high-end jewelry during a police raid on his office. He denies wrongdoing.

Government officials sharply criticized Saturday's decision as politically motivated, while the Socialist Party called it “an absolute scandal for democracy.”

“Begoña Gómez is innocent,” the party said. “For two years now, she has been the target of a political and judicial witch hunt. Today’s development is just the latest escalation.”

But Spain’s conservative opposition went on the attack, urging the government to call an early election.

“Lawmakers and the architects of our constitution could never have imagined that the threats to our democracy could originate from the Spanish government itself,” said Miguel Tellado, secretary-general of the main opposition People’s Party.

“Now we see how the government attacks judges, prosecutors and the media while attempting to silence opposition parties,” he said. “This is unthinkable in any modern democracy.”

The two-year investigation into Gómez was launched following accusations by the pressure group Manos Limpias, or Clean Hands, which has pursued multiple legal cases, many linked to conservative causes.

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Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report from Athens, Greece.

The twin-motor Cessna 421 carrying Claude Guillemot and a flight instructor crashed Friday evening near La Baule airport on the Atlantic coast, Mayor Franck Louvrier said in a statement. Both were licensed and experienced pilots. The instructor also was killed, the mayor said. An investigation is underway.

Ubisoft confirmed Guillemot's death but did not comment further.

The plane crashed in a field just before landing at La Baule-Escoublac Airport, an airport official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named.

Guillemot and four brothers founded Ubisoft in 1986. In addition to the popular Assassin's Creed franchise, Ubisoft’s games also include Just Dance, and the Rayman and Tom Clancy game franchises.

The team boarded double-decker buses to start the parade, which was set to weave by the State Capitol building. And the Hurricanes players were greeted by fans screaming, chanting, waving flags and wearing Carolina jerseys, still buzzing from the franchise beating the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend to win the Cup for the second time, the other coming in 2006.

Carly Goodman, 35, of Raleigh, was hard to miss in the front row behind barricades in front of the stage where the parade would end with a rally. She sported a red Sebastian Aho jersey, waved a large Hurricanes flag and was blinged out with a silver “Stanley Cup” chain necklace.

She was drinking from a “beer skate,” the novelty mug shaped like a Hurricanes skate that sold out immediately during the Game 1 of the second-round series against Philadelphia. She got up at 5 a.m. — “Let my dogs out, they were mad to get up,” she said — and made sure to head straight downtown hours in advance to ensure a prime spot.

“It’s been something special ever since 2006,” Goodman said. “Raleigh’s a small market. We’ve got college sports, but this is epic. It’s a team that everybody can get behind. It breaks down all the barriers. Everyone just comes together and smiles, no matter if you’re a Duke fan, Carolina fan, whatever — it doesn’t matter.”

It was a longer trek for Scott Stiles, 60, and his son, Joey, 24. They weren’t about to miss the celebration even though they live in Concord, a city outside of Charlotte known for its ties to NASCAR and other motorsports. So they hopped in the car around 3 a.m. to make the 2 1/2-hour drive, arriving more than five hours before the parade was scheduled to start and finding fans like Goodman already waiting closer to the City Plaza stage.

The duo — Scott in an Andrei Svechnikov jersey, Joey wearing a Seth Jarvis one — had chairs plopped in the middle of Fayetteville Street straight back from the stage, their spot marked by a giant Hurricanes flag.

“When’s the next time they’re going to win a Cup?” Scott said, pausing as a “Let’s go Canes!” chant wrapped up. “They might win it again next year, who knows? But we wanted to be a part of it.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

A body was pulled from the rubble hours after the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. He said that the bombs slammed into the low-rise building in Kharkiv's Kholodnohirskiy district in the early hours. The head of the regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that at least nine people were wounded, five of whom were hospitalized.

Elsewhere in Kharkiv, a Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle on Friday evening, killing a man and wounding the woman who was driving the car, Syniehubov said.

Later on Saturday, Russia again launched guided bombs at Ukraine, striking the outskirts of the northern city of Sumy, according to local administration head Oleh Hryhorov. The attacks killed a male civilian and damaged at least 20 private houses, Hryhorov reported on Telegram.

Russian strikes on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least four people and wounded six others, according to regional administration head Ivan Fedorov. Guided aerial bombs were used in the attacks.

Moscow didn't immediately acknowledge or comment on the attacks.

Ukraine's air force said that it shot down 92 of 99 Russian drones launched overnight and that seven struck targets in three locations.

Meanwhile, Russian air defences repelled a drone attack on an oil refinery in Tyumen in Western Siberia, Gov. Alexander Moor said Saturday. He said that there was no damage to the refinery and staff members were evacuated.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages.

In one of the biggest drone attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, Ukraine on Thursday struck a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week, sending huge plumes of black smoke over the capital and disrupting hundreds of flights.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces shot down 177 Ukrainian drones during the night. It didn't say how many reached their targets. Two drones were shot down on approach to Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

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Key mediator Pakistan, meanwhile, said the technical-level talks will begin on Sunday in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, with Qatari mediators also participating.

In Tehran's first salvo, Iran’s joint military command said the strait had been closed, citing the Israeli attacks and U.S. “bad faith” and “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. Its statement on state television warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”

Shortly after that, the state broadcaster announced that Iran’s negotiating team was going to Switzerland, a trip that had been originally planned for Friday. State media said the team includes parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank and oil officials, among others.

There was no immediate U.S. comment.

Iran's team departs for talks as uncertainty grows

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei, however, signaled that little might happen until Iran feels the U.S. is living up to the deal.

“This trip is therefore about demanding that the other side fulfill its obligations,” he said, adding that negotiations toward a final agreement will begin only once key commitments are upheld. If they are not, he said, “then the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”

In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the top U.S. negotiators — Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff — were already in Switzerland and have been working through technical details of the anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.

Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland “sometime the next couple of days” but acknowledged that “it’s always a delicate coordination dance.”

As part of efforts to revive the direct talks, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Araghchi in Tehran earlier Saturday, according to officials in Islamabad who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Meanwhile, the global economy braced for more uncertainty.

Shortly after Iran's announcement, which it did not address, the U.S. military said commercial ship traffic continued through the strait on Saturday, with 55 merchant ships transiting, “moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets.”

It was not clear when in the day they had transited.

Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that has left plenty of questions unanswered.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon kill at least 16

In Lebanon, an official with Hezbollah told The Associated Press that Iran has informed the militant group that Tehran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Israel announces publicly that it will comply with a “comprehensive ceasefire” in Lebanon and an end to military operations there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

There was no immediate Israeli comment.

Earlier Saturday, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement there. Seven people remained trapped under the rubble after the strikes hit the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

The death toll in the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah has now surpassed 4,000, Lebanon’s health ministry later announced.

Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.

An Israeli military official, speaking anonymously in line with regulations, said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight. Israel's army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah command centers.

On Friday, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities.

On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times Friday night. A statement by the group's military wing said it would abide by the ceasefire but would also repel attacks by Israeli troops.

The conflict could sink the US-Iran deal

A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.

Hezbollah and Israel went to war two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for the country's sovereignty to be respected.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.

Fighting continues near the Israel-Lebanon border

A strike on Barish village killed four members of a family: parents and two children. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house, and in Doueir and Kfar Rumman villages, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier. Nine people were killed in strikes in Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour villages.

Smoke rose into the sky over southern Lebanon and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre. Residents told The Associated Press they were relieved that Tyre had been spared in recent days, but now they were reminded that the war is not over.

“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said one resident, Hussein Khoshman.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment on ceasefire efforts.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.

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Mroue reported from Beirut and Munir from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Seung Min Kim in Washington and Jamey Keaten in Zurich, Switzerland, contributed to this report.

Ukrainians believed the order “was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post explaining the gesture. “Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland. I believe the future will confirm the respect Ukrainians deserve.”

The message published on X is accompanied by photos of the Polish order and a postal receipt that it was about to be mailed to the Polish presidential office.

President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during WWII.

Former Polish President Andrzej Duda bestowed the award on Zelenskyy in 2023 for services to security, resilience and the defense of human rights.

Zelenskyy issued a decree on May 26 naming a unit of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which operated during the 1940s and 1950s and has been accused in Poland of mass killings.

“For the majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains above all a formation responsible for cruel crimes against the citizens of the Polish Republic during World War II,” Nawrocki said in a 13-minute address on social media.

Zelenskyy's move reopened old wounds in Poland

The Ukrainian decree was met with widespread criticism in Poland, which has hosted millions of Ukrainian refugees and is a key supporter of Kyiv as it battled Russia's four-year invasion. However, Nawrocki is a nationalist politician who has exploited anti-Ukrainian sentiment for electoral gain. Ukrainians in Poland have been facing increasing prejudice despite their contribution to the economy.

The decision to revoke the honor did not mean Poland’s support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia would decrease, Nawrocki said.

Ukraine is grateful to Poland for its support, and would stay open to resolve historical differences with Poland, Zelenskyy wrote Saturday in his post. “I am proud of our people and of EVERY Ukrainian warrior.”

Ukrainian Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov wrote on Telegram that Nawrocki's decision was “an unfriendly act toward our people” and “a gift to the Moscow aggressor, which will certainly use it against both of our countries.”

Four Ukrainian officials including Budanov said they would return state honors that Poland had issued them.

Some in Ukraine criticized the decision to return the Polish honors.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine’s former prime minister, wrote on X that one “harmful and incorrect decision by the current president of Poland cannot be corrected by other incorrect decisions of ours.”

Calls to resolve differences

Poland is scheduled to host a major event on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction next week, which Zelenskyy was expected to attend.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political rival of Nawrocki, urged the two leaders to “tone down emotions, not stoke tensions.”

“The front line runs elsewhere,” Tusk wrote on social media Friday night, adding that the row between Poland and Ukraine “delights Putin and shocks our allies.”

Zelenskyy’s May decree said the designation was meant to restore military traditions and recognize the unit’s performance in defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence.

The UPA fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi Germany and Soviet forces. But it has been accused of killing tens of thousands of Poles, mostly in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. In 2016, the Polish Parliament recognized the crimes committed by UPA as genocide.

Ukrainians say armed formations on both sides, including the UPA and Polish underground forces, were involved in attacks and reprisals that led to large-scale civilian casualties among Poles and Ukrainians.

Poland and Ukraine had recently made progress on the issue of exhumation of Polish victims. A December meeting between the two presidents in Warsaw had signaled progress on historical reconciliation.

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Yurchuk reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

Leo traveled by helicopter to Pavia, near Milan, where the remains of the fifth-century saint are kept. Leo prayed quietly before the small gold-rimmed glass box containing the remains that had been brought to the altar of the San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro basilica for the occasion.

Leo’s day trip, during which he was also due to honor the first American saint, Mother Frances Cabrini, marked the midway point of his summer 2026 grand tour of Italy. The American pope has scheduled a series of Saturday day trips up and down the peninsula and its islands to get to know his new flock.

The visit to Pavia was a required stop for history's first Augustinian pope. Leo proclaimed himself a “son of St. Augustine” on the night of his election and has cited Augustine prolifically in his first year, making clear that the saint is the guiding inspiration of his pontificate.

In his remarks to the faithful in the basilica, Leo urged Italians to discover or rediscover their faith and pointed to Augustine as a model. Like many once-Christian strongholds in Europe, Italy has seen its churches empty in recent years amid secularizing trends, with fewer and fewer Italians getting married in the church or going to Mass regularly.

“At a time when many people seem to have lost their spiritual appetite or, for various reasons, no longer find the Christian faith appealing for their lives, we are called first and foremost to proclaim the Gospel,” Leo said.

He pointed to Augustine as a source of inspiration for today's faithful.

Augustine was born in 354 in what is today Algeria, but he lived for five years in and around Milan, where he converted to Christianity. He later became a bishop, developed a rule for monastic life and wrote some of the most important works of Western thought, including “Confessions” and “The City of God.”

“His thought, the story of his conversion, and his spirituality remind us of the value and primacy of interiority,” of finding meaning inside oneself, Leo said.

Later Saturday, Leo is due to visit nearby Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, the birthplace of Mother Frances Cabrini, the patron saint of migrants. Cabrini is well-known to many Americans for her work caring for Italian immigrants in the United States at the turn of the last century.

After she died in 1917, as a naturalized U.S. citizen in Leo's native Chicago, Cabrini was beatified. In 1946, she was made a saint by Pope Pius XII, the first from the United States. In a radio message that year, Pius called her a “heroine of modern times.”

Just last year, Leo’s alma mater, Villanova University outside Philadelphia, opened a new campus named for Cabrini and a special Institute on Immigration inspired by her service to migrants.

As the late Pope Francis did before him, Leo has embraced the Catholic Church's Gospel-mandated call to “welcome the stranger” in his ministry to migrants. Last week, Leo spent two days in Spain's Canary Islands, a major destination for migrants leaving West Africa, where he called for welcoming and integrating those fleeing hardship and conflict.

Leo's next day trip is on July 4, when he heads to Lampedusa, the Sicilian island that is a major destination for migrants fleeing North Africa for Italy.

History’s first U.S.-born pope has clashed with the Trump administration over its crackdown on migrants and mass deportation program, giving added symbolic significance to Leo's decision to spend July 4 — U.S. Independence Day — in Lampedusa, which was where Francis chose to make his first trip outside Rome as pope, in 2013.

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Nicole Winfield reported from Rome.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The high temperatures could not be more seasonable! All regions have a forecasted high temperature that matches its average; a rareity!

Though the winds will be slightly calmer than yesterday, they could be gusty at times. Wind gusts will peak around dinner time but will calm down as we head overnight into tomorrow morning.

All in all, it will be a great day to explore the great outdoors. Lots of sunshine is in the forecast for the afternoon, so try to make the most of it!

Father’s day is tomorrow, and it is looking like another beautiful day! We will start off nice and sunny, but could see a couple quick showers later in the afternoon and evening ahead of a very wet Monday.

Monday will have scattered showers throughout the area with thunderstorms coming in the afternoon. As for the rest of the week, afternoon showers and thunderstorms are possible, but will remain mostly dry for a majority of the day.

According to officials, the crash occurred at 7:35 p.m. when a Honda SUV driven by 64-year-old Barbara Ann Callahan of Roanoke was traveling in the 3600 block of Colonial Avenue in Roanoke County.

Officials say Callahan struck a motorcycle driven by 28-year-old Bishop Keanu Jackson. Jackson was transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he later died of his injuries sustained in the crash.

Callahan was arrested and charged with DUI and Refusal; officials said that additional charges are pending after further investigation.

A wave of protests over the last five weeks has called for Paz to step down over austerity measures imposed by the government, including the cancellation of fuel subsidies, and other issues. The demonstrations have unleashed violent confrontations between dynamite-wielding demonstrators and riot police, leading to at least 365 arrests and 37 injuries, according to authorities.

At least 17 people have died, most of them linked to a lack of medical care caused by transportation disruptions, according to Bolivia’s ombudsman’s office and human rights organizations.

Barricades erected on key roads have effectively isolated the city of La Paz, triggering fuel and food shortages, paralyzing transportation and preventing patients from reaching hospitals — causing at least seven deaths for lack of medical attention, the government says.

“This is not a state of emergency to restrict people’s lives. It is a state of emergency to give people back their freedom,” the president said in a televised address to the nation.

As businesses closed over the course of the protests, supermarket shelves emptied and hospitals ran out of oxygen, calls from some sectors of society escalated for Paz to restore order through force.

On Friday night, Paz signed an agreement with one of the labor unions, whose leaders called for the blockades to be lifted. But other protesters have demanded that Paz resign and refused to negotiate.

Paz said that the state of emergency is intended to guarantee fuel supplies, which have become increasingly scarce as roadblocks have left tanker trucks stranded.

The decree prohibits “blocking streets, avenues, roads and highways in ways that affect transportation and supplies,” and orders the armed forces to temporarily support the police “in restoring order, reopening roads and protecting the population.” The state of emergency doesn't limit due process rights or constitutional guarantees and allows people to continue their daily activities, according to the decree.

The state of emergency will last 90 days, but could be lifted earlier if “violence and threats against the population come to an end,” the government said in a statement.

Paz came to power in November, ending almost 20 years of uninterrupted rule by Bolivia’s Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, which delivered the country's worst economic crisis in a generation. A centrist who triumphed over more conservative candidates, Paz promised to resolve chronic fuel shortages and replenish the central bank's almost-empty coffers, while protecting the social welfare that represented a pillar of MAS' popularity.

But his austerity measures, most significantly the elimination of long-standing fuel subsidies, have exacerbated biting inflation. His government fixed fuel shortages, but with poor-quality gasoline that damaged thousands of vehicles. Reforms to encourage foreign investment and stimulate economic growth have stalled in Congress.

The highland Indigenous and rural workers' groups — who long supported MAS but helped vault Paz to power last year — have led the protests, accusing his government of neglecting their needs since entering office.

He faces rising pressure from both Bolivia's hard-right, which dominates Congress, and long-ruling left. Former President Evo Morales has supported the protests and demanded a new election from his hideout in the coca-growing tropics, where he is evading an arrest warrant on charges related to statutory rape.

The Trump administration has backed Paz, who repaired relations with the U.S. after years of anti-Western hostility in Bolivia under Morales.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Paz to inform him last week that Washington was “ramping up emergency assistance and logistics operations support” to help alleviate shortages caused by the blockades.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denounced the protests as “attempts to overthrow the legitimate government,” and issued a stark warning to those who he said were “profiting on death and destruction in our hemisphere.”

“The United States is watching,” he wrote on X.

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Isabel Debre reported from Buenos Aires.

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The remarks deepen the spat that began this week with the Republican president’s interview with an Italian broadcaster, during which Trump claimed Meloni “begged” for the photo during the G7 meeting in France. Meloni has called that “completely fabricated.” The dustup led Italy’s foreign minister to cancel a planned trip to the United States as Meloni’s government lined up in her defense.

“Italian Prime Minister Gigiorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his social media platform while spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. He misspelled her first name in the initial post, which he later corrected.

He continued: “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!).”

Meloni soon responded, saying in a statement to Trump that “these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.”

“As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” Meloni said in a post on Instagram. She added that "in any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”

Trump's initial comments were aired Friday on the La7 network. A correspondent had asked the president about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and made the claim about the photo. Trump said he was not obliged to take the picture with her but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster put a dubbed version of the conversation online, but not the original English audio.

In his post, Trump also complained that Meloni would not allow the U.S. to use Italy’s landing strips or runways during the Iran war even though the U.S. is a leader in defense spending among NATO allies. That is a long-standing complaint about the military alliance and one that Trump raised before his White House meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the NATO summit in Turkey next month.

Italy, a key logistics hub for the U.S., declined in March to allow American bombers headed for the Middle East to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval. It was a decision reflecting constitutional constraints and strong domestic opposition to the war. Meloni has insisted that any use of Italian bases for offensive operations would require parliamentary backing.

Trump vented his frustration about Meloni and on Saturday claimed that she “wants to be friends again” in light of the initial deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.

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Associated Press writer Silvia Stellacci in Rome contributed to this report.

Virginia Lawmakers were able to reach a budget deal after fierce debate, according to a social media post from Senate Finance Appropriations Chair Louise Lucas.

Lucas announced the deal on the social media platform X Friday night, saying that the budget reflected lawmakers’ shared commitment to making Virginia more affordable for families.

Lucas says the deal addresses lowering costs, strengthening schools, protecting healthcare access, expanding economic opportunities and more.

The agreement will be voted on after holdups such as tax breaks on data centers. 10 News will continue to update this story as it develops.

You can find Lucas’s full statement here.

Original:

The clock is ticking on the Virginia General Assembly as lawmakers scramble to pass a budget before July first.

The sticking point remains tax breaks for data centers.

But Senate leaders are now saying a budget deal is within reach and could come as soon as Thursday or Friday.

“The real loser in all of this is the Virginia taxpayer,” Senator David Suetterlein (R) said.

Suetterlein says the months-long budget stalemate continues to center on data centers.

“I think there’s something fundamentally wrong about offering huge tax relief to the largest corporations, and none to working Virginians,” he said.

At the heart of the debate are tax breaks for data centers. Currently, the incentives are worth nearly two billion dollars a year.

“We oppose the data center exemption, and we believe there should be tax relief for working Virginians,” Suetterlein said.

This isn’t a straight party-line issue. Democratic Representative Sam Rasoul also opposes the data center tax breaks.

“Many of them were developed with the promise that if they come here they would get these tax breaks. So, I can see both sides, but the reality is the price tag is way bigger than we ever thought,” Rasoul said.

But Rasoul says a compromise may be on the horizon.

“The House and Senate could agree to some kind of fee that they would be paying to pay their fair share, based upon the amount of electricity they’re using, so hopefully that will be the deal that’s struck here very shortly,” he said.

Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore, Democrat Louise Lucas, echoing optimism about a possible deal Thursday afternoon on the social media platform X.

Saying in part, “We will get a budget deal done, hopefully today but definitely by tomorrow! There will not be a shutdown!”

But Suetterlein says it shouldn’t have gone on this long to begin with.

“It’s a disaster. It’s very bad that it’s gone this long. This is not good when we’re trying to get folks to invest in Virginia,” he said.

Suetterlein tells me the Senate returns on Monday, while Rasoul tells us he’s hopeful for the House to return around the same time.

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana created the backdrop with a video image of a rocky coastline at sunset, as models walked among columns evoking a Mediterranean terrace in swimwear and silk pajamas.

The collection kicked into high gear as the sun rose, with laser-cut suits, tunics and loose trousers designed to stay cool in the heat while transitioning from the workweek city to a weekend seaside getaway. The standout accessory was an oversized travel bag in leather, suede and raffia.

Short shorts showed off muscular legs, while loose-knit tops did the same for torsos. Suit jackets featured unusual upright lapels and unexpected details on the back, including back panels that could unbutton for added ventilation.

The brand’s craftsmanship was most evident in woven leather jackets, echoed in woven footwear.

The design duo incorporated its signature embellishments, including rhinestones on denim and more delicate coral beading on suits, shirts and trousers. The collection also featured religious-inspired motifs, including cross necklaces resembling rosaries and icon-style prints on T-shirts.

To close, the runway teemed with models in a sea of all-white looks, crisp and distinctly summer.

Front-row guests included Polish soccer great Robert Lewandowski, two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard, Italian actor Michele Morrone of Netflix’s “365 Days” and K-pop singer Soobin.

Such is life in a world teeming with cell phone cameras and viral video. Such is life in professional golf, a sport built on managing failure and harnessing emotions — and where success one week, or one year, doesn’t always carry over to the next.

Clark’s spot at the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard after his second round at Shinnecock on Friday brought up expected reminders of his emotion-filled journey through a sport — a life, really — that Clark himself acknowledged nobody truly ever masters.

“I was on top of the world in my game, at least when I won the U.S. Open, and then had some good years,” the 32-year-old said. “Then, next thing you know, I’m apologizing for breaking a locker."

Much as tennis great John McEnroe will always have “You cannot be serious!” alongside the seven grand slam singles titles he won in another of sports' biggest pressure cookers, Clark will always have the broken locker at Oakmont. He will always have the underhanded fling of the driver that smashed an advertising board and snapped off the clubhead at the PGA Championship, a few months before the locker debacle.

Because of that, he’ll probably also always have his share of detractors and critics — people watching for his next burst of brilliance on the golf course, but also waiting for the next big blowup.

“I’m fierce, competitive, love the game, respect the game, and I just had a bad moment,” Clark said. “Hopefully, I can win those people back.”

His breakthrough three years ago at LA Country Club was tinged with tears and stories of the personal growth Clark had to make to reach that point.

Much of it had to do with the emotional residue left from his mom’s death in 2013 — a family tragedy that he conceded had left him spiraling.

“I didn’t show any emotion off the course," Clark explained after his victory that day. “But when I was on the golf course, I couldn’t have been angrier.”

The easy way for the armchair psychologists (and sports pundits) to explain things after that win was to conclude that Clark’s victory proved he had harnessed the emotion, turned the page and beaten back all the demons.

It’s never that simple.

“For any of us, this is a process,” Clark’s sports psychologist, Julie Elion, wrote in her new book ’Mastering Your Mental Game.” “Golfers don’t reach the top and then stay there forever.”

Clark followed the U.S. Open win with 18 months of good golf, including a win at Pebble Beach. Last year was something different — he only had two top-10 finishes, did not make the FedEx Cup playoffs and was nowhere to be seen at the Ryder Cup.

“Mastering our mental game in golf or reaching a state of growth or self-improvement in life isn’t always a permanent condition,” Elion wrote. “It takes more work over more years, and there are frequently hills and valleys.”

At Shinnecock, where Clark will head into the weekend at 7-under par, four shots ahead of Xander Schauffele and three others, he finds himself back on the rise again. He recently took to social media to tell the world he had a new girlfriend, Emily Tanner, who held hands with him as they exited the 18th green after Friday’s round of 1-under 69.

Four weeks ago, Clark won the Byron Nelson for his first victory in 28 months.

“I kind of looked at it objectively and took a bird’s-eye view on it and said, ‘OK, I’m not hitting it good off the tee, I’m not putting as good as I was,’” he explained about his turnaround. “And I said, ‘All right, I’ve got to attack that.’”

He hired a swing coach, Pat Coyner at Cherry Hills, near where Clark grew up outside of Denver.

He's been hitting his driver straighter of late. His iron game has improved dramatically (up 110 spots in the analytic-driven stat: strokes gained on approach shots). He found a new putter, which has helped him dial in dramatically over the past four weeks, during which he also finished third at the Memorial and played in the final group last Sunday at the Canadian Open.

Never more did it look in sync than Friday on No. 18, where he sank a 35-footer to finish the day in red numbers.

Now, a chance for another breakthrough. With a win, he would celebrate again. But he knows as well as anyone that it wouldn't mean the work — both on and off the course — is behind him.

“I just think with the mental game there’s ebbs and flows,” Clark said. “If you think of it as climbing Everest, sometimes you go up, sometimes you have to go down to go back up. I think that’s kind of what happens both on the golf course and off the golf course. Right now I’m trending back up, which is nice.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

But in his first press conference Wednesday, new chair Kevin Warsh began to reverse some of those steps. Warsh, like many economists, thinks the financial markets have become too dependent on Fed guidance, and that such direction is more effective in financial crises or economic downturns.

Warsh quickly made changes: The Fed's statement on its interest-rate decision was slashed to 132 words, from 341 in April. And Warsh pointedly noted that the statement excluded any hints, or “forward guidance,” about what the Fed's next moves might be.

In short, Warsh rapidly delivered on a promise to slash the Fed's communications, particularly the guidance it gives to financial markets about its next interest-rate moves. Yet such an approach carries the risk of more violent swings in stock and bond prices, analysts say, and ultimately could lead to higher interest rates for consumers and businesses.

“Forward guidance in general has served to suppress volatility and anchor market expectations,” said George Pearkes, global macro strategist at Bespoke Investment Group. “And that has led to lower borrowing rates, relative to alternatives.”

Still, the impact on consumers is likely to be modest, Pearkes added, with mortgage rates perhaps a quarter-point higher than they would be otherwise.

Financial markets see-sawed, then fell Wednesday after the statement and news conference. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which strongly influences mortgage rates, jumped Wednesday to 4.49% from 4.43%, though it fell back in Thursday trading. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which closely tracks expectations for Fed action, was 4.16% Thursday, up sharply from 4.05% before the Fed's meeting. The broad S&P 500 stock index dropped 1.2% Wednesday.

Warsh may be headed back to 1990s

Such swings could be a sign of things to come. Previous chairs have signaled the Fed's next moves clearly enough that financial markets have largely anticipated the central bank's actions. But Warsh has frequently cited as a model former chair Alan Greenspan, whose circumspect comments often kept investors guessing.

Greenspan, who served as chair from 1987 to 2005, did usher in the statement the Fed now issues after each meeting announcing its decision. The first statement was issued Feb. 4, 1994, and said the Fed would increase its key rate for the first time in five years. The move caught investors off-guard and the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 2.4% that day.

The paring back of Fed communications is part of a larger package of potential reforms to the central bank's operations that Warsh signaled Wednesday. He announced that the Fed will set up five task forces to examine the Fed's communications, its balance sheet, how it analyzes and gathers economic data, the impact of AI on productivity and jobs, and the frameworks it uses to analyze inflation.

Warsh said the communications task force would consider changes to the quarterly economic projections the Fed issues as well as look at other recent innovations, including press conferences. Former chair Ben Bernanke was the first to hold them, though he did so only after every other Fed meeting. Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, shifted to holding them after every meeting.

Such steps are a sharp contrast with the 1990s, when Greenspan never explained a Fed decision, on the record, to reporters. Warsh could ultimately dial back some of the Fed's increased transparency.

“This is a big change in how the Fed has conducted itself since the (2008-2009) global financial crisis,” Matthew Luzzetti, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, said. "Since then there has been a one-way train to greater communication, more transparency, and more forward guidance. Warsh has now put that train in reverse.”

Fed chairs have seen benefits to forward guidance

Previous Fed chairs, starting with Bernanke, have seen a clear benefit to more communication: It helps guide the markets in the direction the Fed wants. Fed officials control a short-term interest rate, but the rates that affect the economy — such as the yield on the 10-year Treasury — are heavily influenced by investors' expectations for inflation and economic growth. By telegraphing their next moves, policymakers can cause those longer-term rates to change even before the Fed adjusts its own benchmark rate.

Yet Warsh's view is that financial markets have become too dependent on Fed guidance. Instead, he wants investors to gauge where the Fed may move next by examining economic data and making their own judgments, which the Fed can then consider as part of their assessments of where the economy is headed.

“Financial market prices are probably the most important source of information to guide central bankers,” Warsh said at Wednesday's news conference.

Guidance can help with unexpected events

David Andolfatto, an economics professor at the University of Miami and former economist at the St. Louis Fed, said he agreed with Warsh that forward guidance has flaws. It can be easily upended by unexpected events, he said, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine or the Iran war.

But the chair should set out guidelines for how the Fed will react to unexpected events, Andolfatto said, or to challenges such as the persistent inflation it is grappling with now, yet Warsh so far hasn't done so.

“I’m with him on dispensing with forward guidance, but you have to replace it with a contingency plan,” Andolfatto said. “It's not enough to say, trust me, we'll keep inflation at target.”

Ironically, Warsh's decision to drop forward guidance may empower the other 18 members of the Fed's rate-setting committee, Pearkes said. Those officials — six members of the Fed's governing board, plus the presidents of the 12 regional Fed banks — frequently give public speeches, and their remarks will get even more attention as financial markets seek clues about what the Fed may do next.

A big challenge to Warsh's approach will come if there is a sharp financial downturn or economic crisis, as occurred during the COVID pandemic. In those circumstances, economists said, forward guidance can play an important role calming markets.

“Whether it will stand the test of time and he will behave this way for five years is a very different question, but one that we're going to have to wait for events to unfold to get an answer to," Pearkes said.

More than 680 people have gotten sick since the state's first outbreak began on June 20, 2025.

Unlike measles outbreaks in Texas, South Carolina and Arizona, the spread in Utah has been tough to contain to one region — infecting undervaccinated communities in nearly every county.

Measles popped up in healthcare settings, big-box stores and restaurants, and youth sporting events. In February, an exposure at a state high school wrestling championship sparked at least 46 cases among attendees.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to medicine. It causes a tell-tale rash, high fevers, strong cough, ear infections and diarrhea.

While most recover, some — including young babies, pregnant people and those with weak immune systems — are at higher risk of developing dangerous complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, blindness or even dying. Even healthy people can develop issues years down the road, including a rare but fatal degenerative brain disease that manifests about a decade after infection.

The measles vaccine is safe and 97% protective after two doses.

Though Utah's spread has slowed in recent weeks, state epidemiologist Leisha Nolen sees little opportunity to rest. She's worried the start of school and arrival of colder weather in the fall will cause measles to surge again.

“It's still here, it's still transmitting," she said. “We just need those few cases to hit the wrong community and it could flare up really big again."

Utah sees the impacts of dropping vaccination rates

The worst spread has been in the southwestern part of the state, where 265 people have fallen ill with the vaccine-preventable disease since last summer. Overall, measles infections hit 22 of the state’s 29 counties.

In the state's rural northeast, the conditions were also ripe for measles to spread. Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties — collectively dubbed the “tricounty” health region — has seen the second-largest decline in childhood vaccination rates in the state.

More than 16% of the region's kindergarteners were missing their measles vaccines in the last school year, according to state data. Statewide, 12.8% were missing their vaccine, putting the state far short of the 95% vaccination rate needed to prevent measles outbreaks.

The TriCounty Health Department logged 74 cases of measles this spring, after people who got sick at the youth wrestling tournament spread the virus in school and later within their households.

The frontier region had seen a rise in vaccine hesitancy for some time, said Sydnee Lyons, the health department's public information officer.

Despite the large number of cases, local and state health officials consider TriCounty's measles response a success.

Health officials focused efforts on mitigating the inevitable spread. Unvaccinated students were excluded from in-person school and people who were sick were told to isolate themselves. And their appeal to care for one's neighbors led to more people coming in to get vaccinated, officials said.

TriCounty’s infectious disease specialist Cyndie Mattinson recalled a parent who told a school nurse she didn't want to talk to the health department because “she was worried that we would be angry with her and be judgmental because her children were unvaccinated.”

The nurse vouched for the health department staff, and told the mom to let her know if she felt judged. Mattinson ultimately had a great conversation with the mother.

“The perceptions were changed that we weren’t out there to police, we were there to be a help and a resource to the community," Mattinson said.

Health experts will meet to decide on US measles status

Utah's lengthy battle with measles will likely affect whether the U.S. can keep its measles-free designation. Public health officials consider measles to be eliminated from a country when it shows it stopped continuous spread within local communities for at least a year.

The national measles case count was 2,104 as of June 18, nearly surpassing last year's record total.

Utah has fought measles for a year, but it's not clear if the earliest clusters are connected with the major outbreak on the Utah-Arizona state line, which was detected in August, Nolen said.

But since then, most of the state's measles cases have come from within Utah, not from other parts of the country.

International health experts will gather in November to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles elimination status. Canada lost its status last year after ongoing outbreaks.

In Utah, doctors continue to reassure scared patients and lobby for better public health policy.

Dr. Ellie Brownstein, president-elect of the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician in Salt Lake City, spent the height of the outbreak opposing a bill that would have made school vaccine waivers easier to get. It failed, but she says there hasn't been a clear cultural reckoning over measles' resurgence.

“I don't know that we get it to end," Brownstein said. “I don't know that we're going to get this genie back in the box because there's enough people out there to spread it.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Congress, which never authorized the war against Iran yet never fully objected to it, now must grapple with the consequences of President Donald Trump's nearly four-month conflict: the lives lost, the billions spent and the national security fallout that has reordered the political dynamics in the Middle East.

Ask senators what they think about the deal Trump struck to end the war, and they do not search too far for words.

“Pathetic. Failure. Inevitable conclusion of a combination of never making the case to the American people, flawed strategic vision, lack of grasp of the regional dynamics,” said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“How many ways, can I say, bad, bad, bad?”

Yet Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a past chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said that because of the president’s actions, “We are safer today.”

“You can criticize — Oh, he didn’t totally win,” Johnson said. “Well, that was always going to be very difficult.”

As Trump moves on to the next phase, it is left to the Congress to pick up the pieces: explaining the war to voters back home, restocking the military arsenal that has run low from bombing runs and trying to ensure the fragile ceasefire holds as the United States seeks to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions and work toward an uneasy peace.

More money for the Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the rounds on Capitol Hill this past week as lawmakers consider Defense Department funding as part of the Republican majority's next big budget package.

The White House has asked for a remarkable $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon this year, on top of the extra money that Republicans delivered as part of the Trump’s tax cuts package last year.

Republicans are mulling a sizable $350 billion plus-up for Hegseth on par with the White House's budget request that the GOP could pass on its own, through the reconciliation process that allows majority rule over potential objections from Democrats.

Senators, meanwhile, are seeking to set some guardrails on Hegseth with a provision to block a portion of his travel fund until the Pentagon delivers various reports. One such report is on an investigation into the strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed more than 165 people, a flashpoint at the start of the war.

Officials have said they believe the U.S. was responsible for the strike and that it was based on faulty intelligence.

Questions swirl over what's next in Iran

Lawmakers are still processing what just happened after Trump swiftly signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran and opened a window of 60-day talks toward ending Tehran's nuclear program.

“I understand the president’s trying to find a peaceful solution to this," said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who serves on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees. “I commend him for that. But we’ve got a lot of questions.”

Senators are particularly concerned about the tentative deal's provision for a potential $300 billion fund for the “reconstruction and economic development” of Iran.

To many skeptical Republicans, that money sounds similar to the planeloads-of-cash narrative they used against the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, which offered a slim fraction of that amount, some $1.7 billion overall. To this day, Trump tells an exaggerated story of how that payment to Iran, for U.S. military equipment it never received, was made.

“The only concerns I have are the money and the conditions,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

“If we send a trainload, a shipload, it’s gonna age as well as that,” he said.

Circumspect over what was gained and lost

Over and again Congress tried and failed to exert its authority under the war powers act to halt the U.S. military action in Iran.

The House ultimately passed a war powers resolution that sought to force an end to the war after a small number of Republicans joined the Democratic measure last month. The Senate has voted nine times, including this past week, but failed to reach the majority needed.

At the same time, Congress did not affirmatively authorize the war with a use of force resolution, as has been done in certain other conflicts, including the Iraq War.

“I’m glad that the conflict has finally ended and hope the ceasefire holds,” said a statement from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

But Shaheen said the country must be clear-eyed about what has come about.

Not one of the president’s objectives has been achieved, she said, and Iran won significant concessions.

“The American people are paying the price with higher costs in every aspect of life and tens of billions in tax dollars spent,” she said.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said it's hard to see what leverage the U.S. gained to force Iran to a better negotiation.

“You want to be able to give the benefit of the doubt," she said.

But Murkowski said, “I think we’re in a place where there is a deal that has been signed, but it doesn’t appear to me that it puts us in that much of a different position than prior to the beginning of the war."

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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to the report.

Ilan Goldfajn, head of the Inter-American Development Bank, met privately with the pope on Friday and asserted the potential of rare earth mining, saying it could be a boon to Latin America provided there are safeguards and value is added locally.

It’s probably not an easy sell. The Vatican for years has taken a firm stand against multinational mining corporations, especially in Latin America and in favor of the Indigenous peoples, whose lands and livelihoods are often ravaged when mining projects come to town.

Goldfajn’s visit, which followed one earlier this year by mining executives, suggests that he recognizes the weight of the pope’s words in the majority-Catholic region, and a desire to sensitize him to the possibility of a better way of doing business. Whether Leo can be swayed is another matter, given his own experience in the region and criticism of the often corrupt deals mining companies ink with governments in the developing world.

Countries have identified dozens of minerals, including copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel, as critical because they are essential for new technologies. The 17 rare earth elements are a subset of them. They’re used in a wide range of products, including smartphones, semiconductors, electric vehicles and jet engines.

“It’s a unique opportunity for the region, but you need to do it in the right way with the standards, the labor conditions, with the environmental conditions, the governance,” Goldfajn said in an interview in Rome on June 18, one day before his meeting.

“We have exactly the tools to do that,” he added, noting the IADB has a roughly $4 billion pipeline of critical mineral projects in the region, mostly in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, and three-quarters of that amount with private companies. He had just delivered a presentation on rare earth minerals at a finance conference, with an eye on potential European investors.

A pope who knows Peru

Mining has a checkered, centuries-long history in Latin America, from forced labor and displacement of Indigenous peoples to deforestation, poisoning of waterways and deadly dam collapses. Foreign companies withdrew much of the wealth from the earth without enriching local populations. In colonial times, silver and gold made its way across the ocean to adorn Catholic churches.

Leo, who spent two decades working as a missionary in Peru, would be intimately familiar with the plight of Indigenous peoples in mining areas and the environmental impact of extraction industries on the land. He ministered in Chulucanas, in the archdiocese of Piura, which has huge copper mining projects, and in Trujillo, known for its gold deposits. His final Peruvian posting, Chiclayo, is a big logistical hub for northern Peru’s extraction industries.

“He must have seen both sides: the promise, the future, but also the challenges,” Goldfajn said of Leo’s time in Peru. He noted that Leo held a private audience with a group of top mining executives in January, which he heard from them had been “very constructive.”

But two months later, the Vatican launched a campaign to encourage divestment from mining companies. At a Vatican news conference, top officials held up an ecumenical Christian network, known as the Church and Mining Network, that is active in particular in Latin America. The campaign seeks to encourage local churches to review their investment strategies and divest where needed, and to share information especially with Indigenous groups about the types of extraction occurring on their lands.

Leo is expected to visit Peru in November, including places where he ministered. In each of the three sub-Saharan countries he visited during his April trip to Africa — Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea — he blasted the "colonization” of Africa’s minerals by mining companies.

It makes sense for people like Goldfajn to try to engage Leo, even if the pope alone won't move investment decisions, Bryan Harris, managing partner at Sabio, a Latin America-focused strategic advisory firm, wrote in an email.

“The decades he spent in Peru give him personal credibility and his messaging on mining sets the tone for how dioceses and parishes across the continent will engage with mining companies and projects,” said Harris, who consults for international mining companies in the region. “These groups are often the basis of local opposition movements to mining, so the Pope has considerable sway on whether relations are confrontational or conciliatory.”

Harris noted that processing of rare earths can be extremely dirty, involving heavy chemical use that can contaminate water resources without close monitoring of companies' sustainability commitments and enforcement by federal regulators.

Mining as colonization in modern day

Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, a native of Argentina, singled out the toll of mining in his 2015 environmental encyclical “Praised Be,” noting the pollution of underground water systems as a result of runoff, the mercury pollution in gold mining or sulfur dioxide pollution in copper mining.

Francis said it was “essential” for Indigenous communities to be the principal dialogue partners when large projects affecting their land are being considered.

The Vatican didn’t provide any readout of Leo's private audience with Goldfajn. In a separate audience Friday, Leo met with participants in a conference at the Vatican’s environmental educational center named for Francis’ 2015 encyclical. He denounced the profit-at-all cost mentality of those who seek to plunder the earth “at the expense of the most vulnerable and enhances the risk of dehumanization."

There are 75 million tons (82.7 million U.S. tons) of rare earth oxides around the world, more than half in China, and with Brazil home to the second-largest reserves, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s most recent estimate.

He’s intent on becoming the best. He already may be there.

The 24-year-old is hitting unprecedented velocities for a starter in MLB's pitch-tracking era that began in 2008. Over the last month, he's dominated unlike any pitcher in the last century.

Misiorowski has allowed just one earned run over his last eight starts heading into his Friday matchup with the Atlanta Braves. He says he can’t come up with a specific moment or decision that sparked this surge.

“It’s more that it finally clicked,” said Misiorowski, who is 8-2 with a 1.34 ERA and 131 strikeouts to lead the majors in the latter two categories. “Everything started settling in and feeling good.”

The fact Misiorowski used the word “finally” to describe an emergence in his first full major league season underscores his exacting standards.

Misiorowski's rise has Brewers manager Pat Murphy comparing him to Forrest Gump, which prompted a social media post by the pitcher his own face over the Tom Hanks movie character’s body.

“It’s for sure meant to be a compliment for a guy who didn’t put in limits on himself and his naiveté,” Murphy said. “It was a factor in a positive way, where he went out and achieved whatever he set his mind to, and didn’t let the outside forces, weren’t even aware of the outside forces, and didn’t let anything hold him back.”

Misiorowski was selected to the All-Star Game last season after only five starts. He struggled late last year before producing a 1.50 postseason ERA during Milwaukee’s run to the NL Championship Series. Now he’s a Cy Young Award favorite.

Misiorowski is more than just a hard thrower

The eye-popping numbers most associated with Misiorowski come from the radar gun. He reached 104.5 mph — the fastest velocity by any starter in the pitch tracking era — and got to 100 mph on a record 58 pitches during the Brewers’ 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.

He's thrown 460 pitches at least 100 mph this season, already surpassing the record for a starter set by Cincinnati's Hunter Greene with 337 such pitches in 2022.

But his most impressive statistics have more to do with results than velocity.

According to MLB.com, Misiorowski’s 0.17 ERA since May 1 is the best in an eight-start stretch for any pitcher since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913. Against Philadelphia, he became the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a shutout while striking out 15 and allowing no more than one baserunner.

Opponents are batting just .140 against Misiorowski this season. SportRadar says no starting pitcher has allowed an opponent batting average of .166 or below over a full non-pandemic season since at least 1910. Boston’s Pedro Martinez had batters hitting .167 against him in 2000. Opponents hit .168 against Cleveland’s Luis Tiant in 1968.

Misiorowski’s development into a complete pitcher should come as no surprise, considering who he grew up watching.

The pitchers Miz admires most aren't necessarily smoke throwers

The list of pitchers he admired growing up includes Adam Wainwright, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale. While Sale is a hard thrower and Kershaw also had outstanding velocity early in his career, Wainwright and Greinke succeeded without overpowering fastballs.

They had one thing in common.

“Every game, you felt like they could trust them to get a win,” Misiorowski said. “That was the big thing. You looked at those guys and they were going out there and going to perform for seven or eight innings to secure the team a win.”

His appreciation for baseball history includes a baseball card collection he says numbers in the thousands, though he probably owns even more Pokemon cards.

“Since I was a kid, my dad got me into it,” Misiorowski said of his baseball card collection. “It’s huge right now. I think I need to downsize it a little bit, but it’s fun.”

His enthusiasm shows on the mound and in his work ethic. He devoted the offseason to upgrading his leg strength to withstand the rigors of a full season and results are showing in his improved endurance and command.

“He could rest on his laurels. ‘Hey, I was an All-Star in my first year. I pitched in the playoffs. I pitched well. I can do it. I’m fine. I’ll be all right,’“ Murphy said. “Or you can say, ‘I’m going home. I’m going to get stronger. I’m going to do whatever I can do to come back and dominate.’ That’s what he’s done.”

He's stabilizing an injury-riddled rotation

Misiorowski’s growth has helped the Brewers overcome numerous pitching injuries to build a comfortable NL Central lead. With Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison (8-1, 2.47) leading the rotation, the Brewers rank fourth in the majors in ERA.

Over his last eight starts, Misiorowski has struck out 80 while allowing nine walks and 14 hits over 54 1/3 innings.

The low walk totals are notable after Misiorowski battled control issues as a rookie. He walked 31 batters in 66 innings last year, but now constantly gets ahead of hitters.

“He’s winning the 0-0 and the 1-1 (counts) a lot,” pitching coach Chris Hook said. “When he doesn’t, it stands out to be like, ‘Oh, God, he didn’t win the 0-0. He didn’t win the 1-1.’ Like that’s weird, for him to go to a two-ball count.”

Once hitters fall behind in the count, they have little chance.

After facing him for the first time last month, New York Yankees slugger and three-time MVP Aaron Judge noted that “he’s almost basically releasing it in the catcher’s glove” due to the extension Misiorowski gets with his 6-foot-7 frame.

MLB Network analyst and two-time All-Star pitcher Ryan Dempster says Misiorowski reminds him of 6-10 Hall of Fame lefty Randy Johnson in that regard because their hands seem right in front of the plate to the batter when they let go of the ball.

“You can tell yourself to swing, but your brain doesn’t quite compute until it’s out of the hand,” Dempster said. “By the time it’s out of his hand, it’s already on you. I haven’t seen a fastball like this since Kerry Wood.”

Wood’s career was derailed by injuries, leading to worries of hard throwers being susceptible to blowing out pitching arms. Dempster notes Misiorowski is playing in an era with lower pitch counts. Misiorowski also produces elite velocity without overthrowing.

“He sure is repeating his delivery, and when you repeat your delivery, you tend to stay healthy,” Dempster said. “Guys who don’t repeat deliveries and get out of whack and something’s a little off, they struggle with that. I really think he will stay healthy, just me personally.”

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This story was first published on Jun. 18, 2026. It was updated on Jun. 20, 2026 to clarify that Misiorowski only allowed one earned run over an eight-start stretch referenced in the fourth paragraph.

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AP freelance writers Jack Albright and Rich Rovito contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani abruptly cancelled a planned trip to the United States this weekend, calling Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy. The Foreign Ministry later announced that the business and scientific forum Tajani was to attend in Miami had also been called off.

Meloni for her part posted a video calling Trump’s claims “completely fabricated" and expressing astonishment that he would invent such things about an ally.

“Italy and I do not beg,” she said pointedly.

Trump had made the comments in an interview broadcast Friday on the La7 network. The La7 correspondent had asked Trump about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and the conversation turned to their meeting during the just-concluded G7 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France. Meloni and Trump were filmed speaking at several moments, including alone on a small sofa.

According to La7, Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo-op. Trump said he wasn’t obliged to do it but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster put a dubbed version of the conversation online, not the original English audio.

Meloni is astonished and defiant

Trump's posturing underscored how his alliance with Meloni — long seen as one of his closest friends in Europe — has frayed over his war in Iran, his tariffs against Europe and his complaints when anyone disagrees with him.

He turned on Meloni in April after she refused to support his war in Iran and stood up for Pope Leo XIV when Trump lashed out at the pontiff.

But Meloni's strong response on Friday suggested she no longer fears Trump's verbal attacks — attacks that could actually play in her favor in a country where public opinion of the American president has chilled, said Lorenzo Castellani, a political scientist at Rome's Luiss Guido Carli University.

“In some ways this was a favor to Giorgia Meloni, in the sense that she was accused until a few months ago of being a sort of Trump's vassal in Europe,” he said.

In her video, Meloni said she was responding to Trump’s claims because “certain things deserve an immediate response."

“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.”

It was an apparent reference to an interview Trump gave to Italian daily Corriere della Sera in April in which he criticized Meloni's refusal to back the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. Meloni didn't respond publicly at the time. By Friday, it appeared she had had enough of his boasts and broadsides.

“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States — toward leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating," Meloni said Friday. "But there’s one thing he must remember: Italy and I do not beg.”

The White House did not return an immediate request for comment on Meloni’s remarks.

Meloni had initially sought to build on longstanding strong U.S.-Italian ties when Trump began his second mandate, and had positioned herself as a “bridge” between Washington and the European Union. She was the lone EU head of state to attend his inauguration.

But relations have frayed over the U.S. war in Iran, which Meloni has said was illegal, and Trump’s position on Ukraine, which Italy strongly supports. Trump's tariffs and strong U.S. support of Israel over its war in Gaza have been other points of contention.

Italian officials close ranks around Meloni

By Friday afternoon, solidarity for Meloni had poured in from across the government and political spectrum, and included a call from President Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s respected head of state.

“Whoever attacks @GiorgiaMeloni attacks all of us,” posted Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio referenced the sacrifice of American troops in World War II in underlining the harm to U.S.-Italy relations caused by Trump.

“The thousands of crosses marking the graves of American soldiers who died to free us from Nazi-Fascist dictatorship did not deserve such a painful blow to our fraternal ties,” Nordio said on X.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he didn't believe Meloni would ever beg someone for a photo, “not even under threat.”

A ‘fantastic’ friendship frays

Meloni and Trump had gotten off to a strong start, and the two leaders are ideologically aligned on many issues. As the head of a far-right party, Meloni backs curbing migration and promoting traditional values.

Weeks before Trump’s 2025 inauguration, Meloni met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat, a visit that she said went “beyond expectations.” It was, she said at the time, “an opportunity to confirm a relationship that promises to be very solid.’’

In the months after, Trump had praised her repeatedly, as “fantastic,” “incredible,” beautiful and a friend.

But stark differences emerged over Ukraine. More recently, Meloni sharply warned against U.S. threats to take Greenland by force, saying she didn’t believe Washington would go so far and that regardless Italy would never support such a move.

Meloni also received support from an unlikely ally in Europe: Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was on Friday asked about the back and forth on the sidelines of a European Council meeting.

“About Meloni, first and foremost, all my solidarity," he told reporters. “Secondly, I not only say this publicly in a response to your question, but also in private during the European Council meeting I offered her all my solidarity against this attack that is not political or personal … I really don´t know how to qualify it.”

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Associated Press writer Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.

Despite an October ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas, the enclave has seen near-daily Israeli attacks that have killed over 1,007 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

Saturday's strike hit an apartment in Gaza City around 2 a.m local time, according to the ministry, with the death toll expected to rise as rescue teams work on recovering more bodies. There was no immediate information on the number of the wounded.

At the site of the attack, an Associated Press reporter saw scattered rubble and chunks of concrete stained with blood.

The bodies of the two sisters, 4-year-old Zina and 14-year-old Lana, were sent to Shifa Hospital's morgue, where they lay shrouded in white hospital bags, surrounded by family members.

“I was sitting at home. The rocket fell on us without a warning,” said their cousin, Mohammad Safadi, who had a forehead wound.

He said both he and his wife were wounded in the attack.

“This ceasefire the occupation and the negotiation team speak of … is this really a ceasefire? We are civilians. I never held a weapon,” Safadi added.

The Israeli military didn’t immediately issue a statement, but said it was looking into the incident. Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat.

Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce.

The war erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel's retaliatory military offensive in the Gaza Strip has since killed 73,018 Palestinians, including those slain since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday.

The health ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records that are generally considered reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

The fashion powerhouse has shown menswear in its stately Milan palazzo the last two seasons, drawing an A-list crowd Friday evening that also included “Crazy Rich Asians” star Henry Golding, “Avengers” actor Tom Hiddleston, U.S. actor Scott Eastwood.

Outside, eager fans braved a heatwave to glimpse of arriving celebrities and were rewarded as Thai actor Nichakoon Khajornborirak, nicknamed Meen, and Korean actor Kim Woo-bin each took a moment to turn and wave as the crowd snapped photos. Domingo took a slide on his way inside, as he circled back to his car to grab his hand fan.

“I was not going to leave that fan in that car. Then my heel just slid, and I was safe. But I got the fan, which was the most important thing,” Domingo said after the evening show, which followed a very hot and humid early summer day in Milan.

From Brooklyn to the Hamptons

Daytime suits from Ralph Lauren’s luxury Purple line quickly morphed into tuxedo shirts and stiff bow ties under trailing patchwork denim coats that showed signs of distress. Looks were finished with berets worn askew, aviator glasses and pocket watch chains.

“Today I saw it felt like 1920s-inspired,” Domingo said, stopping to listen to Nat King Cole play in the background. “It’s evocative of what we saw today. A mixture of old and new.”

On the more casual side, colorful madras plaids held together the sportier Polo collection of layered knitwear, rugby shirts and light puffers more adapted to a mountain festival or night-time beach party than a Milan heatwave. Some looks were straight out of the “Preppy Handbook,” with pink and green happily colliding. Cheekily, the coveted Polo Bear motif on knitwear wore outfits matching the runway.

“I saw beautiful cravats and vests mixed in with like workwear, all the things I love about Ralph, bringing things from day to night, from the street, from urban communities to East Hampton,” Domingo added. “It was a great mix. Getting a car from Brooklyn and going to East Hampton, you feel like you fit right in.”

From Purple to Polo, timeless accessories

Formal and casual looks gradually converged throughout the collection, without regard for occasion. Runway casting was similarly age- and race-inclusive.

Silk scarves accenting suits became colorful bandanas on casual looks. Ties became belts and were sewn together to make bags, suggesting a reusability on trend with up-cycling. Footwear ranged from leather fisherman’s sandals to velvet slippers and espadrilles to rain-resistant duck boots. For bags, men can choose from Ralph Lauren-branded canvas totes or luxury snakeskin portfolios and bags.

Eastwood said he had his eye on a snakeskin bag. “This is just a classy brand that’s timeless,’’ said Eastwood, adding that his father, actor and director Clint Eastwood, and brand founder Ralph Lauren go way back.

Golding said Ralph Lauren had long supported him in his career, and that “the Purple label is just my go-to for anything refined.”

Carrying a cross, people stood at a distance as the small coffin was lowered into the ground by masked and gloved health workers, and a Catholic priest prayed over her body.

“It’s a feeling of sadness because we have lost one of our own, a daughter of the church,” said Father Innocent Ndogo.

“As we have always said, the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.”

Ituri, the region at the center of the current outbreak, has reported more than 90% of the cases. The response has been complicated by residents clashing with healthcare professionals over disrupted burials and the response to the outbreak, which has been militarized at times.

The impersonal nature of safe burial practices and the severity of the epidemic were evident on Friday as only healthcare workers in protective gear were allowed to handle the coffin and the burial.

Bundibugyo, the type of Ebola in this outbreak, has no approved treatment or vaccine, and even some health workers have said they don’t have the masks, gloves and other gear to protect themselves.

During a visit to Bunia on Friday, Congolese Health Minister Roger Kamba said that there were now 933 confirmed cases and 245 deaths from the current outbreak. Kamba also stated that all health centers will be free in Ituri and that healthcare workers bonuses will be doubled.

There are 35,000 suspected potential contacts, Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Despite the rapid spread of the current outbreak, it is still not nearly as deadly as a 2014 outbreak of Ebola that killed more than 11,000.

With no approved vaccines or treatments, the Bundibugyo strain was not tested for in the early days. This lack of testing is one of the reasons the outbreak has spread to such an extent. The more common Zaire virus, for which there is a vaccine, was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

Alex Lock, a communications officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, asked people to resist feeling indifferent.

“She was a baby. She had her whole life ahead of her. Unfortunately, she was taken by the disease, a disease that, as you know, is transmitted from one person to another,” Lock said.

Although the outbreak is concentrated in Ituri, cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and have spread across the border to Uganda, where 19 confirmed cases have been reported and two people have died.

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McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal.

The win assured the United States would win Group D and eliminated Turkey from any chance of advancing to the knockout round with its second straight loss. Paraguay will face Australia in the final match of the group stage next Thursday with second place in the group on the line. Paraguay will need to win to finish second.

“It’s unforgettable,” Galarza said. “This is the most beautiful stage in the world, playing amongst the best. I’m so proud. I hope that Paraguay is happy.”

Paraguay was short-handed after Miguel Almiron was issued a red card late in the first half for violating a new rule banning players from covering their mouth during a confrontation.

But goalkeeper Orlando Gill made several key saves to preserve the lead in a game when Turkey 32-7 edge in shot attempts at goal.

“It was very hard,” midfielder Andres Cubas said. “These games are very tough, especially one man down. We have to highlight the great group effort and commitment we showed as a team to keep fighting and do this until the end.”

Paraguay bounced back from a 4-1 loss in the opener against the U.S. team thanks in part to a lineup change made by Gustavo Alfaro. Galarza, who plays for Atlanta United of the MLS, was put into the starting lineup after sitting out the opener and rewarded his coach when he sent a left-footed shot from about 25 yards into the net just 1:05 into the game.

Turkey nearly got the equalizer later in the first half but Mert Muldur's header off a free kick hit the cross bar and goal post.

Muldur was in the middle of the confrontation in stoppage time in the first half that led to Galarza's ejection.

Almiron and Mulder exchanged words following a foul near midfield. Almiron covered his mouth while saying something to Mulder, who immediately appealed to referee Ivan Barton for punishment.

Barton went to video review and quickly ruled that Almiron would be given a red card and ejected under a new rule put in place for this year’s World Cup.

Turkey dominated possession for a second straight match but once again it wasn't enough as the Turks followed up the 2-0 loss to Australia with another defeat that assures they will have a short stay in their first World Cup appearance in 24 years.

Turkey qualified for the tournament for the first time since 2002 and had high hopes after reaching the quarterfinals of the European championships two years ago but was unable to advance despite entering the tournament as a favorite to advance from the group.

Turkish midfielder Arda Guler called his team’s performance at the World Cup “embarrassing.” The 62 shots in two games for the Turks are the most in any two-game span without scoring as far as records go back to 1966, according to Opta Stats.

“We should have scored some goals,” Guler said. “We should have won these games so apologies to the Turkish people.”

Orlando Gill made a save on a tricky deflection on a shot by Merih Demiral early in the second half and again on a long range attempt from Abdulkerim Bardakci midway through the half to preserve the lead. Gill then stopped Can Uzun from in close late in the half and Deniz Gul sent the rebound wide.

Merih Demiral's header late in stoppage time went wide, ending Turkey's last hope.

“I’m sad,” Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella. “I’m sad but I’m also very proud of my players. They gave absolutely everything right up until the final whistle. That’s what football is like. ... We came very close to equalizing but you also need to accept situations like this.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

The Americans advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup without their injured star forward, beating Australia 2-0 on Friday for their second straight victory in the expanded 48-team tournament. The U.S. then won Group D when Paraguay beat Turkey 1-0 early Saturday morning.

“C.P. is a fantastic player — the quality and the leadership that he gives us,” said Folarin Balogun, who scored two goals in the 4-1 victory over Paraguay on June 12. “We didn’t have him today, but I think you saw we’re still capable to go out there and get a result and put up a performance.”

As the Group D winner, the U.S. will play a round-of-32 match on July 1 in Santa Clara, California, against a third-place group finisher.

Pulisic, who plays for AC Milan and has 33 goals in 87 international appearances, missed Friday’s match because of a calf injury.

Playing without a talent like Pulisic could have derailed previous American World Cup teams. But much has changed since the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994, when it advanced by being one of the best third-place teams. The Americans lost to eventual champion Brazil in the round of 16.

The U.S. has won consecutive games at a World Cup for the first time since 1930. The Americans have scored six goals, one off their record for a World Cup, and received contributions throughout their roster.

Alex Freeman, the youngest player on the team at 21 and the son of former NFL wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Antonio Freeman, made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute off a set piece. Freeman headed in a deflected shot by Sergiño Dest for his first career World Cup goal. The goal was confirmed after a video review.

“(He) is doing a fantastic job,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said of Freeman. “The evolution is massive. He’s so humble. He wants to learn. He always listens. He’s a player that you really enjoy being with him. Not only coaching, but being with him.”

The U.S. took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute after a run down the left sideline by Balogun.

He directed a centering pass toward striker Ricardo Pepi, who started in place of Pulisic. The ball never reached Pepi, deflecting off Australia defender Cameron Burgess and into the Socceroos’ net for an own-goal.

“I want to be dangerous, I want to create opportunities,” Balogun said. “It might not always be myself that scores, but if I can force an error that gives us the lead, then for me it's like a goal as well. It was a special start to the game to give us the momentum.”

The Americans did not score after halftime, but the way they so thoroughly dominated Australia in the opening 45 minutes left an impression on Socceroos coach Tony Popovic.

“It did not surprise us because their quality is clear,” Popovic said. “Their power is clear. Their athleticism is clear. They are not surprising in what they did.”

Expectations will only increase for the U.S. as momentum builds around the team. The Americans' start to the tournament has not changed Pochettino's perception of his squad and its potential.

“I think it’s much better when you show good performances and win the games,” Pochettino said. “I think that makes it easier, everything. But, at the same time, it’s (important) to keep believing.”

The U.S. learned it can get out of the group stage without Pulisic. And it has the roster to make a deep run.

“We know how vital Christian is to the team and how much he can contribute in the game,” Freeman said. “For us it was, we have Ricardo Pepi, who came in and had an amazing game. I think that just shows how (good) our roster is.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

His family confirmed his death in a statement to People, saying he “passed away peacefully today surrounded by his family.” No location or cause of death was provided.

Burrows spent his career behind the camera specializing in situation comedies. Few viewers recognized him or knew his name, other than to see it flash quickly on the screen in the opening credits. But they knew his work.

Burrows got his start in television relatively late at age 35 in 1974, directing episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” and “Laverne & Shirley.”

He cocreated “Cheers,” directing 243 of the 273 episodes, as well as all 246 episodes of “Will and Grace.”

He also helmed multiple episodes of such hits as “Frasier,” “Friends” and “Mike & Molly” and the pilots of “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Sweet spot of script, performance and chemistry

“When I direct a television show, I try to reach that sweet spot where the best script meets the best performance and the best chemistry between performers,” Burrows wrote in his 2022 memoir “Directed by James Burrows.” “Hitting that exact moment, where these factors land in combination, results in the sweetest and most enduring laugh.”

His family said, “Burrows understood that great comedy was never simply about laughter. It was about humanity, connection, and truth. That understanding became the foundation of a career that forever changed television.

“But beyond his remarkable achievements, Burrows will be remembered for something even greater: his kindness, generosity, and unwavering belief in the people around him. He possessed a rare ability to make everyone better and was known for remembering every person he met by name, making colleagues at every level feel seen, valued, and appreciated,” the family statement said.

The majority of Burrows' shows aired on NBC, whose “Must See TV” slogan promoted its Thursday night lineup in the early 1990s that included “Friends” and “Frasier.”

“Jimmy Burrows was the man behind the curtain. He knew how to make us laugh, what buttons to push and was the absolute master of getting the most out of every joke,” NBC said in a statement. “His loss to the television comedy world is immeasurable. Every time you have a smile on your face watching ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ ’Taxi, ‘Cheers,’ ‘Will & Grace,’ ‘Friends’ and countless others, think of Jimmy and know he made all our lives funnier.”

Following in his father's path

Born James Edward Burrows on Dec. 30, 1940, in Los Angeles, he moved to New York when he was 5 years old. He spent five years in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus until his voice started to change. He attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art.

His father was writer, director and producer Abe Burrows, whose Broadway hits included “Guys and Dolls” and “Can-Can.” The elder Burrows also mentored Larry Gelbart, future creator and producer of the TV show “MASH.”

The younger Burrows spent hours of his youth in theaters and studios watching his father work, dining with him at such famed New York haunts as Sardi’s and Gallagher’s and meeting celebrities who attended his father’s New Year’s Eve parties.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, Burrows attended the graduate program of the Yale School of Drama, where his classmates included actor-comedian Robert Klein, playwright John Guare and film director John Badham.

At Yale, he was required to take directing classes and he got hooked.

Burrows’ first sitcom experience was as Burl Ives’ dialogue coach on “O.K. Crackerby!” which was directed by his father and ran for one season on ABC in 1965.

From there, he was an assistant on “The Patty Duke Show.” He moved back to New York and worked for Broadway producers Lee Guber, Frank Ford and Shelly Gross. He first met actor Moore while working on the Broadway production of “Holly Golightly,” an adaptation of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” that was directed by his father.

Burrows eventually worked as a stage manager for various road productions, where he met such actors as Hugh O’Brien, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Julie Harris.

Catching a break with Mary Tyler Moore

By 1974, after working in dinner theater and summer stock, he turned on his television and saw Moore’s eponymous TV show. He wrote her a letter asking if there was any opening “small or smaller” at her production company that he could fill, according to his memoir.

Moore’s husband and business partner, Grant Tinker, invited Burrows to Los Angeles to direct an episode of the comedy. He apprenticed for MTM Enterprises, which had four sitcoms on the air at the same time.

Burrows cited his theater background for learning how to give actors direction and block out scenes. He’s credited for being one of the first sitcom directors to increase the typical multicamera television shoot from three to four cameras.

The common thread between Burrows’ shows were the bonds between friends and unrelated families, whether it was the motley crew of regulars meeting at the bar in “Cheers” or the drivers working toward a better life in “Taxi” or the 20-somethings sharing the same apartment building in “Friends.”

“The best sitcoms transcend the screen and reach out and grab the audience by the throat and by the heart,” Burrows wrote in his memoir.

Actors Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman worked with Burrows over 16 seasons between “Taxi” and “Cheers.”

“He was the very best at his craft. His positive spirit, boundless energy, and tireless work defined what it takes to run a show and keep people laughing,” they said in a statement. “He will always be in our hearts.”

Burrows relished discovering new acting talent while directing more than 75 pilots that were picked up as series.

“Having directed over a thousand shows means that almost any night you can turn on your television or go online and find a show that I directed. I’m very proud of that,” he wrote in his memoir.

In 2019, Burrows was an executive producer on live productions of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” with famous actors re-creating episodes of those 1970s comedies.

“Jimmy was the greatest comedic television director in the history of the medium,” his agent Rick Rosen said in a statement. “He directed the most iconic, defining shows of generations. Always a gentleman, it was an absolute honor to represent him.”

Burrows was married in 1997 to Debbie Easton, whom he met when she worked as a hairstylist on “Frasier.” Daughters Kat Schatzow, Ellie Gluck and Maggie Burrows, who followed her father into directing, are from his first marriage to Linda Solomon, who died in 2004. His stepdaughter Paris is from his wife’s previous marriage. He has a sister, Laurie Burrows Grad, and seven grandchildren.

Vinícius Júnior scored and assisted on one of Cunha's two goals as five-time champion Brazil eliminated Haiti from the World Cup with a 3-0 victory on Friday night.

“To be at a World Cup, to imagine that, it can be so wonderful,” Cunha said. “It’s a dream fulfilled.”

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, became the first team guaranteed not to reach the knockout round of the expanded 48-team tournament. Meanwhile, the Seleção got the decisive performance they needed.

“It was what I expected from this match,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

Ancelotti also said Neymar is expected to return from a right calf injury and play for Brazil next week against Scotland in its final group match. Neymar, Brazil’s career scoring leader with 79 goals, missed the first two games.

Brazil got plenty of scoring punch from Cunha on Friday.

The Manchester United standout got the start and showed with every surf-and-slide goal celebration why he should have been in the starting lineup in Brazil's listless 1-1 draw against Morocco. Ancelotti made the surprising decision in the opener to instead insert Cunha as a late substitute.

Cunha thrilled the Brazilian fans who made up the bulk of the 68,324 spectators at Lincoln Financial Field when he tapped in a rebound for his first career World Cup goal. He then sent a left-footed strike into the upper left corner for a 2-0 lead in the first half against the overmatched Haitians.

Brazil forward Raphinha, who was subbed out with an injury in the first half, had an early goal disallowed on an offside call that only temporarily muted the yellow-clad Seleção fans in an otherwise festive atmosphere at the home of the two-time Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles — whose cheerleaders did their part to rally the crowd.

Haitian fans danced and sang “Grenadye Alaso” (“Grenadiers to the Attack”), the traditional battle cry of the national team. Brazilians chanted back with reminders that their country is a five-time World Cup champion and the home of the king of soccer: “A thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals! Only Pelé, only Pelé!”

Cunha added to the frivolity in Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian immigrants, when he flashed his familiar surfing celebration.

Vinícius, whose 32nd-minute goal helped Brazil earn the draw against Morocco, helped Brazil get on the board when his shot was stopped by goalkeeper Johny Placide and Cunha was there to slam home the rebound to make it 1-0. Cunha extended both arms as if trying to catch some tasty waves and was mobbed his teammates.

Vinícius slid a pass through the defense to find Cunha and he powered one high into the net that Placide never had a chance to stop to make it 2-0. Cunha slid on his stomach on the Kentucky bluegrass and mimicked a swimming motion that all but put Haiti in the drink — and validated the Brazilians’ fans decision not to tempt fate and dress the Rocky statue outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art in team gear.

Vinícius closed the half with a goal and that was enough to keep Brazil — seeking its first World Cup title since 2002 — happy before it closes Group C play with Neymar expected in the lineup against Scotland on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

“He’s a very important player; he’s my idol,” Vinícius said. “He always gave me tons of support. And we just hope he can play the next game and help us win the World Cup.”

Brazil kept pace with Morocco atop the group, with Scotland one point behind.

“Our first game was totally different because we had the pressure of being our first one,” Vinícius said. “Everyone was feeling lighter today and the field was also in a better condition, so we were able to do our soccer.”

For Haiti, just making the World Cup for the first time in 52 years was a satisfying accomplishment.

“What was positive was that we didn’t give up,” coach Sébastien Migné said. “The morale was there for the second half. They showed that they deserved to be here at the World Cup. Unfortunately, today we played against Brazil. There was too much of a gap.”

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Associated Press writer Luis Andres Henao contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

The 30-year-old lefty issued a leadoff walk in the seventh to Cal Raleigh before Julio Rodríguez flied out. Naylor then lined a double up the right-center alley for Seattle's first hit.

Boston led 5-0 after scoring four runs in the top of the seventh.

Suarez retired the first 10 batters he faced before walking Raleigh in the fourth. Suarez followed by striking out Rodríguez and getting Naylor to line out to second base.

Suarez is in his first season with Boston after spending his first eight with Philadelphia. He went 12-8 in each of his last two seasons with the Phillies.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

This year’s celebration builds on the success of previous events by expanding to a larger venue and offering a full weekend of educational and cultural programming for all ages.

The highlight of the weekend is a special appearance by Joseph McGill, Founder and Executive Director of the Slave Dwelling Project, who returns to Botetourt County for the first time in a decade. McGill, a nationally recognized historian and preservationist, has spent more than a decade raising awareness about the importance of preserving former slave dwellings. Since 2010, he has slept in more than 250 such sites across 25 states and Washington, D.C., bringing national attention to these often-overlooked historic structures and the stories of those who lived in them. McGill will kick off the Jubilee on Friday evening with a “Campfire Conversation” at the Botetourt County Administration Center.

The festivities will continue Saturday with a Run To Freedom 5K and many more events that can be found here.

Located on a sprawling campus on Chicago’s South Side, the center honoring the nation's first Black president has been designed to inspire people to make the change they want to see in their own communities. It's the kind of contemplation that also comes as Americans gather for Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.

The holiday marks June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, at the end of the Civil War with an order declaring the state's enslaved people to be free with “absolute equality.” By then, 2 1/2 years had passed since the Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of enslaved people in the South.

“Juneteenth represents not just a commemoration of the end of slavery but it’s also part of the ongoing struggle for absolute equality and that ideal in American life,” said W. Caleb McDaniel, a Rice University professor and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Sweet Taste of Liberty.”

Obama's presidential center in Chicago

The grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center includes days of events following Thursday’s star-studded dedication ceremony. In addition to greeting visitors Friday as the center opened to the public for the first time, the couple also read to children gathered there.

Tyrone Sturgis, 62, said it had been a beautiful experience to see all of the people from different walks of life explore the new presidential center on Friday.

“For this center to open on Juneteenth, on the South Side of Chicago, it’s extraordinary, it’s awesome,” he said.

The center's public opening arrives as a symbolic convergence of legacy and liberation. The nation is deeply divided politically and grappling with renewed questions about the arc of racial progress as the Supreme Court hollowed out the Voting Rights Act, endangering Black political representation in Congress.

The nearly 20-acre (8-hectare) campus includes a museum featuring a life-sized replica of the Oval Office, a garden designed by Michelle Obama complete with lettuce and strawberry plants, a professional-grade basketball court, a picnic area with grills and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library. Visitors can experience high-tech and hands-on exhibits spanning the campaigns, key moments of Obama’s presidency and life at the White House.

The spaces are designed to bring people together on a campus expected to draw as many as 1 million visitors annually, but the center also aims to encourage personal reflection. Louise Bernard, the museum’s director, has said they’re “inviting people to bring change home, however change may be defined, both small or large.”

The history of Juneteenth

This is the fifth year since Juneteenth was designated as a federal holiday by former President Joe Biden, who served as Obama's vice president. But the celebrations, which began in Texas and then spread across the country, have a rich and long history in Black America, with the day often spent gathering for picnics and cookouts.

The holiday — a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” — marks the day when U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in the Texas port city with the declaration of freedom in General Order No. 3.

As the third year of the Civil War neared, President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring the freedom of “all persons held as slaves” in the still rebellious states of the Confederacy. Though, for many, it did not mean immediate freedom but a promise of liberation, to be secured with a Union victory.

“It really required the force of arms and the success of U.S. armies to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation,” McDaniel said.

About six months after Granger's arrival in Galveston, the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery nationwide was ratified.

Celebrations across the nation this year

Juneteenth’s birthplace was celebrated with a daylong gathering at a Galveston park with music and fireworks, a worship service in a historic Black church and a parade that included brass bands and brought out families who braved temperatures in the 80s. Those in attendance were invited to join a community picnic after the parade ended.

In nearby Houston there was a lineup of musical artists and a domino tournament at Emancipation Park, established in 1872 by a group of formerly enslaved men.

Hundreds of other cities across the U.S. announced events over the long weekend, including a parade in Atlanta, a bike ride in Los Angeles and a festival on Martha’s Vineyard. People also gathered for community projects to mark the day, including a group of schoolchildren in Vermont.

Several cities across the U.S. hosted walks named for Opal Lee, the Texas woman who pushed for years to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Participants walked 2 1/2 miles to symbolize the 2 1/2 years it took for the Emancipation Proclamation to be enforced in Texas. Lee, known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” turns 100 this year.

Reflecting on a continuing struggle

Black Texans embraced the date of Granger’s arrival as one to celebrate, even as the Ku Klux Klan was established in Texas by 1868. By the 1880s, “it was difficult to find a significant community in Texas where it wasn’t being marked by African Americans,” McDaniel said.

“They made it a community celebration, they made it a celebration of not only freedom but also a demonstration of community empowerment and institution-building,” he added.

Corey D.B. Walker, dean of Wake Forest University’s divinity school, said the holiday offers a way to recognize the nation’s “complex history” and what it means to be a U.S. citizen, especially during efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to undermine the retelling of Black history.

“I think it really reminds people the importance of understanding a fuller, more robust portrait of our nation’s history and the many contributions of many individuals who have contributed to America’s experiment with democracy,” Walker said.

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Associated Press writer Claire Savage contributed to this report.

The charismatic Frenchman, who was hired to save Tunisia after its 5-1 loss to Sweden in its opening match, said his side must earn at least a point against Japan to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stage for the first time in its seven World Cup appearances.

World Cup newcomer Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw against European champion Spain – the tournament’s biggest upset so far – “gives us hope,” Renard said.

“When you are organized and together, you are able to compete. We have to follow this example and not be scared of defeat,” said Renard, who is at his third World Cup as coach after leading Morocco in 2018 and Saudi Arabia in 2022.

Japan is ranked 17th in the world by FIFA, 37 spots higher than Tunisia. The Samurai Blue have not lost since falling 2-0 to the U.S. in a friendly on Sep. 9, 2025.

Renard, 57, was hired to replace Sabri Lamouch after the loss to Sweden last Sunday. He has had only a few days to get to know the squad and prepare for the match Saturday in Monterrey.

“I’ve met with an open-minded group,” Renard said. “They want their revenge. We know that we must go above and beyond against this Japanese team.”

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu, who is the longest serving coach in the country’s history, expects a different Tunisia team from the one that lost to Sweden.

“Renard will bring out the best in the players,” Moriyasu said. (Renard) is definitely firing up the players. I’m sure that comes through in their team talks, so we are prepared to face an entirely different team.”

Renard is known for his fiery team talks, most notably in 2022 when his viral halftime speech preceded Saudi Arabia’s unexpected 2-1 comeback victory over eventual champions Argentina.

After previous successes throughout his career, such as winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015, some began referring to Renard as the “wizard.” But Renard wouldn’t promise any magic.

“I am no wizard,” he said. “The coach is not the key; the key is the players.”

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Maya Koluder-Ramirez and Ethan Wilcox are students in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

A 72-year-old man became ill from the heat on June 12 while hiking the South Kaibab Trail and died before rescue crews could reach him. Four days later, a 67-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman also appeared to suffer from heat-related illnesses while hiking the North Kaibab Trail and died before help arrived, the U.S. National Park Service said in a statement.

Despite a rapid response and aerial support, all three hikers were dead by the time first responders reached them, the park service said.

The Grand Canyon has seen an uptick in heat-related illnesses in recent weeks and urged inner canyon hikers to stay off trails between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., park officials said.

The bodies were taken to the Coconino County Medical Examiner office and investigations of the deaths are ongoing, the National Park Service said.

In a court filing Friday, Kennedy Center lawyers said the institution plans to “maintain an operational model” after the July 5 date when it was initially scheduled to shutter for renovations. Under that status, the Kennedy Center's public spaces will still be accessible but the stages may largely be silent.

“The Court’s order did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been cancelled or to seek new programming,” the lawyers wrote in the filing.

The Kennedy Center has been forced to reassess its plans after a May ruling from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper upended many notable moves imposed by a board dominated by President Donald Trump's allies. Cooper said Trump's name was illegally added to the building and ordered it taken down. He blocked the closure and gave the institution's leadership — along with Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board member who filed the lawsuit — until Friday to provide a status update.

The venue said its management would present the board with several renovation options to consider for a vote. The options would include a complete closure or a partial closure that would allow “some continued public access and limited programming in spaces unaffected” by the work. A third option would “consider a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the Center’s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.”

Kennedy Center lawyers said the recommendations have not been finalized and a vote would happen in mid-July.

Beatty's lawyers, meanwhile, argued the Kennedy Center hasn't fully complied with Cooper's order. While Trump's name has been removed from the building, they took issue with a tarp that was put in place to cover the areas where the letters had been installed. There appears to be no immediate effort to remove the tarp.

They also argued that without making an effort to return to some form of programming, the Kennedy Center would effectively be closing the institution despite Cooper's ruling.

“Having gutted staff and programming, Defendants believe they can sit back and allow their pre-planned shutdown to commence,” Beatty's lawyers wrote in the filing.

Douglass won the final in 23.59 seconds, bettering the mark of 23.61 set by Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden in July 2023. Sjostrom previously owned the seven fastest times in history.

“Wow, that’s crazy. I think I’m still in shock,” Douglass told NBC Sports in an on-deck interview. “That’s a lot faster than I ever thought I would go tonight or ever.”

Gretchen Walsh was second in 23.78, making her the fourth-fastest performer ever.

Anna Moesch was third in 24.30 at the Indiana University Natatorium.

Douglass had already won the 200 individual medley and 200 breaststroke at the meet, while Walsh had won the 100 free.

Douglass, a 24-year-old from Pelham, New York, is a five-time Olympic medalist. She earned silver in the 50 free at the 2024 world championships, but didn't compete in the event at the 2024 Paris Games.

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It wasn't his best putt, just another birdie for a 1-under 69, and it summed up his week.

Clark doesn't feel he is playing his best, but he's four shots ahead going into the weekend with the lowest 36-hole score — 7-under 133 — for a U.S. Open at fearsome Shinnecock Hills.

“Hopefully, I can bring my A-game on the weekend,” Clark said.

His four-shot lead was the largest at a U.S. Open through 36 holes since Dustin Johnson led by four at Shinnecock Hills the last time it was here in 2018. That didn't end well for Johnson when the USGA lost control of the frightening greens on Saturday.

What now?

The USGA promised it wouldn't let the course get away like it did in the third round in 2018 and the final round in 2004, when the average score on the last day was 78.7 and no one broke par. Shinnecock began to bake under a warm sun late Friday afternoon, with more of the same — and stronger wind — in the forecast.

“The golf course can change pretty quickly, and so a lot of that depends on do they want to water the greens, how fast they want to get them, where is the wind direction coming from, can they get them much quicker,” said Scottie Scheffler, who kept the career Grand Slam in play.

Scheffler ended his drought of 10 straight U.S. rounds without breaking par with a steady diet of fairways and greens for a 68, leaving him seven shots behind.

“We'll see what they want to do,” Scheffler said. “My job is to out there and play it.”

Clark is getting the job done. He returned Friday morning and made two pars to complete a 64, the lowest start to a U.S. Open at Shinnecock. Then he delivered two birdie putts in the 30-foot range along the back nine to pull further ahead.

“I really felt like I could be in double digits (under par),” Clark said. “But you know, the great thing about that is I didn’t feel like I had my best, and I still am leading as of right now."

Xander Schauffele, with the best U.S. Open record of anyone without a U.S. Open title over the last 10 years, had a 66 to finish at 137 along with Matt Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. Open champion who birdied two of his last three holes to salvage a 70.

They were joined at 137 in the afternoon, when the course began to dry, by Sam Stevens (69) and Tom Kim (67).

Rory McIlroy was closing on Clark until starting the back nine with three straight bogeys, and erasing a pair of birdies by chipping from the back of 15th green into a bunker and making double bogey. He shot 71 and joined Scheffler in the group at even-par 140.

So much depends on Clark. Maybe more depends on Shinnecock.

“If there’s a course where you feel like you still have a chance if you’re seven back going into the weekend like I am, it’s definitely this one,” McIlroy said.

It's a better chance than Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, the two biggest stars from LIV Golf who missed the cut. DeChambeau left early from his third straight major. Rahm, a runner-up at the PGA Championship last month, went 21 holes without a bogey. But he shot 41 on the back nine for a 78 to match his highest U.S. Open score, last shot at Shinnecock Hills in 2018.

The most remarkable day belonged to Joaquin Niemann. He made a 9 on No. 6 — his 15th and final hole of the fog-delayed first round that was halted by darkness — only for it to become an 11 when the USGA penalized two shots for bad behavior.

Niemann hit two drives off the property, chopped his way up the fairway and finally lost it by heaving his club. The USGA deemed it serious enough to skip the warning and go straight to the harsh two-shot penalty, giving him a 78.

Niemann headed out for his second round, made five birdies in six holes and shot 65 to make it to the weekend at 3-over 143. It was the first time in 97 years at the U.S. Open someone made 10 or worse in a U.S. Open and still make the cut.

“All the frustration that came inside me and had my club in my hand, and I couldn’t resist to throw it away,” Niemann said. “There was no people, obviously. No one there. I’m not proud of it, but yeah, sometimes all the expectation of trying to play well and things doesn’t go your way, you get frustrated. And that was me there.”

Collin Morikawa also shot 65 to match Niemann for the low score Friday, and was five behind. Justin Thomas and Sam Burns each shot 68 and were another shot back.

Clark was on a heater coming into Shinnecock Hills, winning The CJ Cup Byron Nelson with a 60 in the final round, contending in the Memorial and the Canadian Open the last two weeks. Frustration peaked a year ago at Oakmont and in the months that followed. Now, he appears to be more comfortable with each day.

“Momentum is a huge thing in golf, and I feel like I have it right now,” Clark said.

Schauffele has seven top 10s in his nine U.S. Open appearances, a Californian who keeps his cool even amid a tough test.

“It’s a brutal week,” Schauffele said. “Everyone watching at home wants to see guys shooting in the 80s and doing crazy things. I get it. You know, it’s once a year you get to see some carnage, and it’s at a U.S. Open. Try to embrace it as much as you can.”

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It’s Nick and Jack Yetzer. The brothers hard at work training for their biggest wrestling trip yet.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to [go], but I finally qualified this year for it,” said Nick.

They are are two of seven local wrestlers from Noke Wrestling RTC Club that have qualified for USA Wrestling Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota.

“I was excited that we were both able to go because it’d be fun and it’d be a lot better together than if we just went separate,” said Jack. The two started to take the sport seriously just a few years ago. “We started taking it seriously like maybe four or five years ago, but we’ve been wrestling for like all our life.”

The Yetzer’s are coming off a successful high school season with Glenvar. Nick secured a state runner up nod in the Class 2 113-pound weight class, while Jack claimed the state title in the 106-pound weight class. But as they prepare to take on the national stage, they have the ultimate coach to help them on their feet.

“I mean, it’s definitely challenging. You got to keep the emotions out of it. And I get emotional for our college guys too. So it’s like, but obviously it’s a little different when it’s your own kid.”

Nate Yetzer serves as the Noke Wrestling Director and Head Coach of Roanoke College wrestling. He recently led the Maroons to an undefeated dual meet season and the program’s first region title just a few months ago. But perhaps more importantly, he’s dad. And the wrestling vet himself knows all about the Junior Nationals having gone five years in a row with his own brother during their younger days.

“When I first went out, me and my brother, we had never been anything that big before,” said Yetzer. “I mean, it’s like 65 mats in one gym. So it can be overwhelming.

As practice rolls on for the next few weeks, the intensity level is sure to increase along with Nick and Jack’s desire to define their own success as they carry on this family tradition.

“It’s like we have everything we could possibly want to be as good as we can get,” Jack said. “Like our mom, she’s supportive, huge support. And we got our dad. Obviously he knows a lot about it.”

“I got a lot of pride in them. You know, I know how much they work and how much they put into it,” said Yetzer. “I mean, honestly, that’s really, really what I want. I want all four of my boys, just want them to learn how to work really hard.”

Representing Noke Wrestling RTC at junior nationals July 9-12 will be:

Jack Yetzer (Glenvar)

Nick Yetzer (Glenvar)

Ty Cobb (William Byrd)

Teegan Bowen (Girls Division, Patrick Henry)

Cora Flahive (Girls Division, home-schooled)

Takoda Parker (Blacksburg)

Tharen Svetnant (Blacksburg)

Fundraising efforts are still active to help support travel costs to Fargo. If you’d like to offer support, please click here.

The Obamas, joined by former “Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton, also read “Where the Wild Things Are" to 25 school children at the Chicago Public Library branch inside the center. When the former president read Maurice Sendak's line about being “king of all the wild things,” Michelle Obama interjected with, “Although there were no kings,” to applause.

Later, awed guests shook hands with the Obamas against the backdrop of a colorful, 38-foot-tall painting depicting a map of Chicago stretching to the ceiling, inspired by Carl Sandburg’s 1914 poem about the city: “stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders.”

“It was perfect. It was great,” said 18-year-old Houefa Agassounon from Chicago after the surprise visit from the Obamas. “I was literally crying. I asked for a hug and everything.”

She wrote a letter to the Obama Foundation last year, asking if she could be there when it opened. She said meeting the Obamas was a bonus.

“This is just the greatest thing of my 18 years of life,” she said.

The Juneteenth opening followed a star-studded dedication ceremony where the Obamas gave rousing speeches to an audience including three former presidents, their former first ladies, and a host of politicians, A-list celebrities, musicians, athletes and others. Thousands more joined the livestream from a nearby park.

A weekend of events is planned for the sprawling campus on Chicago's South Side near where the Obamas lived and began his political career. It is adjacent to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in the lakefront park, and not far from the University of Chicago.

Tickets for the general public are sold out through the end of November. But those lucky enough to score them for the first day got the unexpected thrill of meeting the Obamas themselves.

The campus includes a towering museum that covers the political and personal realms of the nation’s first Black president and first lady, while public spaces include a branch of the Chicago Public Library, a playground and athletic center, basketball courts and a picnic area with grills.

The tower’s design is meant to depict four hands coming together in solidarity. Wrapped around one side are 5-foot tall concrete capital letters, an excerpt of Obama’s 2015 speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery march. It begins, “You are America.”

Two ugly three-putts led to a pair of double bogeys early in Friday's round for DeChambeau and he never recovered. He shot 5-over 75 to finish at 145 and lead an all-star cast of former U.S. Open champions who fell short of the cut line, which landed at 144.

DeChambeau, the 2020 and ‘24 champion, failed to make the top 60 and has now missed the weekend at all three majors this year. He joined 2017 and ’18 winner Brooks Koepka, 2021 winner Jon Rahm and defending champion J.J. Spaun on the sideline for the weekend where Wyndham Clark, the 2023 champ, will start with a four-shot lead at 7 under.

Koepka shot 77 to miss by six and snap the longest active streak of 11 straight made cuts at the U.S. Open.

Rahm also spent some time on the leaderboard Thursday and looked like a good bet for the weekend when he made the turn Friday. A string of four straight bogeys and a double on the back nine sent him packing with a 78 that left him two shots short of the cut.

Spaun shot 7-over 77 in the first round and not even his eagle on the par-5 fifth toward the end of the day kept him from being a bit player in the threesome featuring Scottie Scheffler, who shot 68 to head into the weekend at 140. Spaun missed by four.

As always, the cut produced its distinct brand of drama as the sun began to set on Shinnecock.

A lot of it revolved around Dylan Wu. After he made a bogey on the par-5 16th, the cut line jumped from 3 to 4 over. He was sitting in the rough off the 18th fairway with these possibilities: make par to make the cut at 4 over; make birdie to push the number back to 3 over, costing 12 other players spots for the weekend; or make bogey and miss the cut himself.

He lashed the shot over the green and finished a delicate up and down with a 7-foot putt, meaning he'll be one of the 72 players with tee times Saturday.

Other notables:

— Harris English couldn't cash in for birdie from 35 feet on No. 9 and missed his first cut in 11 appearances at the Open.

— Chris Gotterup needed a 6-footer on 18 to make it on the number.

— Jacob Bridgeman locked down a two-putt par from 70 feet on No. 18 to make it on the number.

Nobody went through more of a roller coaster than Patrick Reed, who finished his round on the front nine. He made double bogey on No. 4 to fall to 6 over, but answered with an eagle on the par-5 fifth to get back on the number. He bogeyed No. 8 and needed a birdie from 50 feet on his last hole, which barely came up short.

It marked only the second missed weekend in 12 U.S. Opens for the 2018 Masters champion, who is eligible to return to the PGA Tour in August after moving to LIV Golf in 2022.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Yan had a bogey-free afternoon round to get to 10 under in breezy conditions at Blythefield Country Club. The 30-year-old American is winless on the LPGA Tour.

“I feel like I struck it pretty well the last two rounds,” Yan said. “And I putted well, so that kind of adds up to birdies.”

Lottie Woad of England and Cassie Porter of Australia were a stroke back. Woad shot 66, and Porter had a 68.

“Definitely challenging,” Woad said. “Wasn’t as windy as yesterday, but definitely still there. So I think the pins were maybe a little more tricky so just had to play smart to a few of them.”

First-round leader Yan Liu of China was 8 under with Minji Kang of South Korea. Liu had a 70, and Kang shot 68.

Two-time winner Brooke Henderson was 5 under, following an opening 73 with a 66. Defending champion Carlota Ciganda was 3 under after a 69.

Second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul missed the cut, shooting 74-70.

University of Oregon star Kiara Romero also dropped out with rounds of 72 and 73. She's the No. 1 amateur in the world and was the low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she tied for sixth.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Both trains were traveling south to London St. Pancras station when they collided outside the town of Bedford around 5:15 p.m., according to information on rail tracking websites. Emergency services deployed a number of resources to the scene including an air ambulance and hazardous incident team from the East of England Ambulance Service.

“We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died,’’ police said in a statement. “A major incident has been declared, and officers are continuing to respond at the scene alongside colleagues from Bedfordshire Police and the local Fire and Rescue and Ambulance Services.''

The East of England Ambulance Service later said that 11 people had very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured and 56 had minor injuries.

Eddie Dempsey, the general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, said the fatality was a train driver.

Peter Knapp, a passenger, said he was in the rear train when the collision occurred without any warning.

“There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke," Knapp said. “People were crying, screaming. People were so scared and confused.”

“I got up and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs," he added. "And then I managed to get out of the train and because I’m quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors.”

Photos and videos posted on social media showed dozens of people, some with bandages but many who appeared uninjured, standing and sitting among emergency vehicles parked on a road that runs parallel to the train tracks.

The RMT union, which represents many railway workers, said it was monitoring the situation and expressed its concern over reports of “serious injuries” sustained by both train staff and passengers.

East Midlands Railway said in a statement that the 4:40 p.m. train from Corby to St. Pancras had been involved in the collision with the 3:50 p.m. train from Nottingham to the same station. The company said it had canceled all trains to and from St. Pancras for the rest of Friday and it was unable to confirm the schedule for Saturday.

The 176 measures aim to further decentralize Cuba’s state-run economy, which has been left gasping by a tightened embargo under President Donald Trump. Under the island’s current economic model, the government largely determines what is produced, who produces it, the prices at which goods are sold and how the country’s resources are allocated.

The plan includes more space for private businesses, imports and exports without state intermediation, free hiring of personnel, authorization for private banks and investment by Cubans abroad. It even permits fast-food chains to establish themselves on the island.

“Elements that for decades were listed as pillars of the revolutionary economy, such as the state monopoly on foreign trade and the centralization of productive forces, have been dismantled,” said Luis Carlos Battista, a Cuban-American political scientist and lawyer who is a doctoral candidate at the University of Salamanca.

Cuban leaders like former President Raúl Castro – who still wields significant power on the island – have sought to push forward more limited reforms of Cuba's economy in the past, but efforts have run into bureaucratic hurdles. In passing the reform, Cuban authorities cautioned that implementation could be slow, and noted measures will not be viable if the U.S. does not lift the energy and financial embargo on the island.

Since January, Cuba has been under a harsh energy and financial embargo imposed by the U.S., effectively blocking Cuba off from fuel, it's main energy source, and deepening the crisis had already been deteriorating for the past five years. Blackouts have lasted up to 20 hours a day and have restricted access to health services, transportation and education.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that they are maintaining a policy of maximum pressure to change the island's political and economic system, which has endured for six decades despite U.S. pressure. They have not ruled out the use of military force.

Castro grandson says Cuba not even ‘slightly’ a threat to U.S.

In an i nterview published Friday, in the United Arab Emirates-based The National, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, grandson of the revolutionary leader, reiterated that Cuba “doesn't even slightly represent a threat” to the U.S.

Rodriguez Castro said in the video interview that Cuba's government was seeking a “very Cuban” economic model.

“Our country must seek a path to economic development where we must inevitably diversify our economy, diversify the way we do business and diversify the way we do investments,” he said.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the proposed measures were based on an analysis of the Vietnamese and Chinese models, communist countries with market economies.

What is likely to pose a significant barrier are U.S. sanctions on Cuba, said Lee Schlenker, a research associate at the Quincy Institute in Washington.

“With these new measures, along with others that are likely on the table, they will only have a true effect if complemented with the gradual lifting of U.S. prohibitions and sanctions more broadly,” he said.

Without sanctions being lifted, Schlenker and other analysts said many of the presented measures will be inapplicable, especially due to the limitations and prohibitions imposed on potential investors, who are penalized in the U.S. financial system if they do business with Cuba.

Beyond that, there are a number of other obstacles that could stymie significant reforms, ranging from mistrust from potential investors to what Battista, the Cuban-American analyst called “slow and inefficient” bureaucracy.

Despite these obstacles, the Cuban government faces a short window for obtaining results, said Paolo Spadoni, associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Augusta University in Georgia.

“If Cuban leaders hope to survive this unprecedented crisis and the pressure from the United States, they must move quickly with the implementation of reform and the achievement of tangible results,” Spadoni said.

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“Hey, buddy,” North Carolina's Forbes said, beaming and extending his hand to the Oklahoma coach.

“You thought we were going to fight?” Johnson said, turning to reporters.

The college baseball lifers have known each other for decades, since they spent long days and nights scouting the same talent showcases and engaging in recruiting battles during long runs as assistants.

“I always thought if we met up together," Forbes told Johnson, “we'd be hunting.”

Oh, they're hunting together all right.

North Carolina will be looking for its first national title in baseball and Oklahoma for its third when the schools square off in Game 1 of the best-of-three series at Charles Schwab Field on Saturday. The start of the game was moved up five hours to 3 p.m. EDT because of a forecast calling for storms at night.

The Tar Heels and Sooners have taken different routes to reach the same destination.

North Carolina (53-12-1) has lost consecutive games just once, in early March, and has been ranked no lower than No. 4 by D1Baseball.com the last two months.

Oklahoma (41-22) was ranked as high as No. 8 and then lost six of nine series in Southeastern Conference play. The Sooners finished 11th in the SEC and were unranked when they entered the national tournament off losses in seven of nine games.

“I think the SEC just offers a great preparation, period, for this type of tournament,” OU's Trey Gambill said. “There’s no breaks. Just like in this tournament, you’re not playing any bad teams. You’re not playing any mediocre teams. You’re playing the best of the best. So the SEC just prepared us for always being ready to put our best out there.”

Both teams went 3-0 in CWS bracket play. The Tar Heels have won five straight, and the Sooners are on a season-best eight-game streak.

The Game 1 pitching matchup pits North Carolina ace Jason DeCaro (11-2) against 6-foot-6, 237-pound left-hander Cord Rager (6-3), one of three freshman starters for the Sooners. DeCaro went 6 2/3 innings and struck out nine in Carolina's 6-2 win over Mississippi last Friday. Rager walked none and struck out eight in seven innings of a 9-0 win over Alabama last Saturday.

SEC streak on line

Oklahoma will be going for the Southeastern Conference's seventh straight national title and 18th overall, which would tie the Pac-12 for most.

The SEC is assured of having the champion, runner-up or both for the 20th time since 2000. The Sooners are the 10th different SEC team to reach the finals over that span.

ACC's first finals since 2015

North Carolina is the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to make the CWS finals since Virginia in 2015.

The Tar Heels are trying to become the third ACC program to win a national title in baseball. Wake Forest won the first in 1955 and Virginia the second in 2015.

North Carolina (2006-07, 2026) and Virginia (2014-15) are the only ACC programs to play in the finals since the best-of-three format started in 2003.

Power surge

DeCaro will face a Sooners team that's averaging 10.4 runs per game with 22 homers during their eight-game win streak. They've gone deep eight times in the CWS, including five in an 11-4 win over Georgia on Wednesday. OU has 45 homers in its 20 games since May 1 after hitting 46 homers in its first 43.

“What Jason’s going to do is what he’s been doing,” Forbes said. “We don’t care what the offense has been, what they’re doing, how hot they are. He’s going to go right after them with his stuff. You start being tentative, you start getting negative counts, then that offense gets even better.”

Call him K-den

North Carolina is 28-0 when Caden Glauber pitches. The freshman leads the Tar Heels with 106 strikeouts and 13.76 per nine innings, and he has allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings over three CWS games.

Another freshman reliever, lefty Jackson Rose, pitched 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief in a 12-7 win over West Virginia and has a 2.15 ERA over 50 2/3 innings this season.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Friday’s celebration extends through the weekend with events such as a series of guided programs and activities reflecting on his enslaved childhood on the Burroughs Plantation.

“This is the site of emancipation. So you can stand on the same ground where 161 years ago Booker T. Washington, at 9 years old, learned that he was free, and that moment shapes his life and the legacy of our nation.”

Saturday, you can bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the day-long Celebration of Freedom Gospel Concert, which will begin at 11 a.m.

From bakeries and mobile barbers to artists and a tech startup, the event drew a wide range of vendors and visitors eager to support businesses rooted in the neighborhood.

Donna Davis, Melrose Plaza’s director of community engagement, said the timing felt like a natural fit.

“Since we’re open to the public on that day, I thought it would be a great idea to open it up to the public to be able to have an opportunity to showcase their small businesses, celebrate freedom, do a couple of things at once,” Davis said.

Visitors traded stories and contact information while picking up a few treats along the way. Organizers said their goal extended beyond a single day of sales — they wanted to help vendors build lasting customer connections.

Melvin Ward, president of the Star City Soldiers Motorcycle Club, said the expo opened doors for groups that don’t always get a platform.

“For us to be a part of this, man, that’s amazing. There’s more levels and we’re going to go further and higher than this because it gives people like the motorcycle club and local small businesses the opportunity to showcase what we’re doing. People need to see that because they didn’t know,” Ward said.

Attendees said they valued the chance to meet business owners face-to-face and invest in their own community. For some, the expo was their first introduction to what Melrose Plaza had to offer.

Roanoke resident Betty Penn said she was still catching up on everything the event had to offer.

“It would be interesting if there’s anything I can find out here because I’m not caught up on all of it. I heard about this, handing out flyers and inviting people to a meet and greet,” Penn said.

Organizers encouraged anyone who missed the expo to follow the Melrose Plaza page for future events and vendor lists.

What started as a Juneteenth celebration turned into a broader reminder: shopping local keeps money — and connections — close to home.

The new aircraft eschews the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look, with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it. The plane's left side, where the president boards, features the presidential seal, while the tail of the aircraft has a massive American flag on it.

“This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said from inside the massive Joint Base Andrews hangar, as a couple hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on. He spoke after stepping off the new plane in a dramatic flourish, as his signature tune “God Bless the USA” played.

He confirmed that he would be taking the new jet to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and indicated he would be returning to China “at some point,” presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November. His return from the Group of 7 summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, he said.

“Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say."

He added that the new Air Force One will do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.

The gift from Qatar is serving as a “bridge” aircraft to carry the president until the new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That is currently slated for 2028.

The administration formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year to be used as the presidential airplane, despite questions about the ethics and legality of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government. Trump has insisted in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet once he leaves office and said it would instead be donated to a future presidential library.

Trump on Friday said the U.S. was in a “little bit of a logjam” as they awaited the delivery of the new jets directly from Boeing, which had originally been scheduled for 2024 but have been delayed. He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for use of one of their planes.

"See, a normal president wouldn’t do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft," Trump said Friday. “But our country has to be represented properly.”

The Air Force said in a news release Friday that any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements” and that the Qatari plane “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else.” The Air Force also said “much of the previous head of state interior layout” of the plane was kept intact.

The Air Force has said in the past that security modifications to the jet would cost less than $400 million.

Trump's efforts to reimagine the presidential airplane date back to his first administration, when he directed that an incoming fleet of new jets would adopt a color scheme that was nearly identical to that of his personal airplane. Then-President Joe Biden reversed the decision in March 2023 as an Air Force review suggested that the darker colors could increase costs and delay delivery of the new jets, but once Trump returned to office, he returned to his desired colors for the plane.

Other government jets that carry other top administration officials will also use the similar red, white and navy color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.

An Air Force spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, told The Associated Press that the two current planes, known as VC-25As, will not be retiring. Instead, they will remain in the fleet until the new Boeing planes, referred to as VC-25Bs, come into service, the spokesperson said.

It is unclear how the older jets will be used but the spokesperson said that both the Qatari jet as well as the VC-25As will be available for use and “the Presidential Airlift Group will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.”

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This story has been updated to correct the name of the air base to Joint Base Andrews, not Andrews Air Force Base, its former name.

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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report from Washington.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump praised both Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson, writing: “Both have had amazing careers, and have been with me from the beginning. They are MAGA and America First all the way!”

The move represents a hedging of Trump's bets in a primary season where he has seen some of his endorsed candidates fall short, rare defeats that have stirred doubts about his clout as he approaches the back half of his second term.

Trump previously gave Evette his “Complete and Total Endorsement." He also said “A BIG added plus” for her campaign is that Henry McMaster Jr. — the son of the current governor, a close ally — may be Evette’s running mate. But the 38-year-old lawyer later said he would not be considered for the post.

On social media Friday, Evette posted: “I was proud to come in first as President @realDonaldTrump's endorsed candidate for Governor on June 9th. Looking forward to doing it again on June 23rd.”

Wilson said in a social media post Friday, “I am honored to have the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump.” Swiftly thereafter, Wilson issued a news release which in part enumerated the legal briefs he's filed in support of Trump's policies on issues including restricting birthright citizenship, on which the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled.

Moments after Trump's double-endorsement post, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said on social media that he was backing Wilson, who he predicted “will lead with humility, courage, and an optimistic vision for our state.”

A person familiar with Scott’s thinking but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press that the senator had been making calls for Wilson, helping fundraise and encouraging Trump to back his candidacy.

Evette has called Trump’s endorsement a “golden ticket” for Republicans seeking office in South Carolina, but the results have been a mixed bag in other races for governor. The Republican president’s choices in Iowa and Georgia lost this month.

Has Trump double-barreled a primary endorsement before?

Just before a 2022 U.S. Senate primary in Missouri between former Gov. Eric Greitens and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Trump just endorsed “ERIC," presumably meaning either candidate, both of whom claimed the endorsement. Schmitt won the nomination and the office.

Arizona's primary is not until next month but Trump has been endorsing Republican candidates for governor for the past two years. In late 2024, Trump said that he was endorsing housing developer Karrin Taylor Robson. His choice angered some of his biggest allies in the state, who are suspicious of Robson's long-standing ties to the party's business establishment. Then in April 2025, Trump said he was backing U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs — in addition to Robson.

How are Trump-endorsed governor candidates doing this year?

It has been a bit of a jumble when it comes to Trump's 2026 primary picks so far.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, in Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, in Alabama, secured backing from Trump early in their campaigns for governor, and they went on to dominate their primaries. Like Evette, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei got Trump's backing in his bid for Oklahoma governor in a crowded field without a clear front-runner, and advanced to an Aug. 25 runoff.

But Trump's chosen gubernatorial candidates have failed in other contests. Aided by more than $100 million — mostly from his personal fortune — billionaire healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson battled his way to the Republican nomination in Georgia over Trump's pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, endorsed by Trump the same day as Evette, failed in his Iowa governor bid, losing to businessman Zach Lahn.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Every Brazilian fan — in Philadelphia to watch their team play Haiti on Friday at the World Cup — who stopped for a snapshot or a selfie with the 9-foot-11, 1,300-pound beast left the statue dressed in only his bronze trunks and boots.

No taking chances of getting hit by the Rocky curse.

Yes, the Rocky statue, long a symbol of resilience, heart and the unbreakable bond between Rocky and the people of Philadelphia, has taken a few more hits of late (even in retirement).

Visiting American sports fans have long learned the hard way that dressing the statue with colorful jerseys, scarfs, hats, anything found in your local Rally House, has only meant that team would suffer a knockout blow at the home of the local Philly team.

Scoff all you want.

The bad fortune stretched to soccer when Ecuador fans took over the Rocky steps and sang and danced and waved flags and ... dressed Rocky in a team jersey and tied the country's flag around the fictional fighter's neck.

It didn't go well.

Amad Diallo scored in the 90th minute to lift Ivory Coast to a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in its first World Cup appearance in a dozen years.

And there ain't gonna be no rematch.

Brazil fans noticed the outcome and one of their fan groups, the Green and Yellow Movement, urged visitors to keep their clothing to themselves.

"ANTENCAO TORCEDOR!" the Instagram post warned.

Everyone is paying attention.

The translated text read: “It's totally forbidden to put a Brazil shirt on the Rocky statue in Philly!!!!!”

Even Visit PA cheekily got in on the fun and tried to warn foreigners that — just like Ivan Drago learned the hard way — Rocky was not to be messed with.

“Countless football teams (as in American Football, not Fútbol — same curse, different sport) have all dressed the Rocky Statue in their colors and gone on to lose,” the Instagram post said. “Ecuador dressed Rocky last weekend Coincidence? Sadly, history says no.

“Philadelphia can't wait to host you! (but Rocky does not need your kit)”

Brazilian fans paid heed to the warning Thursday, and scores of fans simply took the spot in front of the statue and raised their arms in triumph just as Rocky did after so many fights, and many, many movies.

Hundreds of Brazilian fans swarmed the Rocky steps late in the day and left the statue bare. Rocky was roped off as if inside the ring and four “Rocky protectors” stood at each corner to keep enthusiastic fans at bay.

“This is a moment in Brazil,” said Lorival Guerreiro, who traveled from Limeira, Brazil. “They promote this place to celebrate before the game. The Brazilians come here to celebrate our team."

When the bronze statue was left on the steps after filming the “Rocky” movies, the museum fought to have it removed. It was eventually relocated to South Philadelphia before returning to the bottom of the steps in 2006. The statue was a huge hit and became a point of pilgrimage for people around the world.

According to the Philadelphia Visitor Center, about 4 million people visit the steps each year — rivaling the nearby Liberty Bell in annual foot traffic. The pop culture icon was recently moved to the top of the steps.

Roberto De Freitas, a native of Porto Alegre who now lives in Florida and is attending his third World Cup, climbed the steps for a photoshoot with perhaps Philadelphia's most famous landmark. He was dressed in Brazil's colors — down to the green sneakers — and was set to attend Friday's game.

He hoped five-time World Cup champion Brazil would take a page from Rocky's corner and win some more.

“We have five titles,” De Freitas said. “We are trying to get that sixth one.”

De Freitas had not yet heard of the Rocky curse but had no plans to tempt fate once he learned of the potential consequences.

“That's what they said,” he asked with a laugh. “I'm for sure not going to do it.”

For the record, De Freitas said “Rocky” was his favorite of all the movies in the series.

The Rocky Shop at the base of the steps was loaded with tourists who snaked their way through fighter T-shirts and plush offerings of Mr. T's character, Clubber Lang. Peruvian sports journalist Jampool Cuadros Estrada tried on a Rocky robe as a cameraman followed him around the store for their latest World Cup report.

Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian-born immigrants, has a bit of a recent connection with the South American country. The Philadelphia Eagles opened their Super Bowl championship season with a win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil in 2024.

Facing pressure to win its first World Cup title since 2002, Brazil was outplayed early and needed Vinícius Júnior’s 32nd-minute goal to get a 1-1 draw with Morocco on Saturday.

Brazil now needs to beware Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974 and is a noted heavy underdog — just like Rocky.

“Brazil has the pressure. Haiti has the freedom,” Haitian singer Wyclef Jean wrote on social media. “And sometimes freedom is the most dangerous thing on the pitch. I can't wait!!!!”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

At Historic Smithfield in Blacksburg, community members gathered to honor the lives and sacrifices of the enslaved people who helped shape the nation’s history.

For Cheryl Sullivan Willis, a descendant of enslaved people connected to the Greenfield Plantation — owned by the same family as the Smithfield property — Juneteenth carries deep personal meaning.

“Juneteenth, it’s a significant day, as it’s a celebration of enslaved people being able to celebrate the fact that we were emancipated and freed,” Sullivan Willis said.

She said the holiday is not only about celebrating emancipation but also recognizing the people who endured slavery and paved the way for future generations.

“It’s an opportunity to remember and give respect to those who actually paved the way for that freedom — all those enslaved people who actually gave their life and poured their blood out for the opportunities that we have today,” she said.

During the event, organizers read the names of around 150 people who were enslaved at Smithfield, honoring their lives and preserving their stories.

One of the most significant landmarks at Historic Smithfield is the Merry Oak, a tree that once served as a gathering place for enslaved people to mark important moments in their lives, including weddings and births.

Kevin Culhane, chairperson-elect of Historic Smithfield, said those gatherings were a way for enslaved people to maintain community despite laws and systems designed to separate families.

“Whereas family groupings were discouraged, they had them,” Culhane said. “In those days, marriage was outlawed for them. So they would hold other ceremonies. Some you may have heard of from ‘Roots.’ Jumping the broom was one that was a way in which they celebrated a marriage.”

While much of the Merry Oak was lost after it was struck by lightning several years ago, organizers say the meaning behind the tree remains.

They say Juneteenth is a reminder to recognize both the struggles of the past and the legacy carried forward today.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich found that the public interest in the material outweighed whatever privacy rights Biden had, but she effectively put her ruling on hold for up to three weeks so Biden could appeal.

The recordings were obtained by special counsel Robert Hur in the course of his investigation into whether Biden improperly retained classified documents while a senator and vice president. Republicans in Congress demanded them after Hur declined to file charges against the then-president.

Biden's Democratic administration refused to turn over the recordings and transcripts from 2016 and 2017, leading congressional Republicans to hold his attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt.

President Donald Trump's Justice Department authorized the release of the materials. That led Biden last month to sue to seek to block the release to a staffer at the conservative Heritage Foundation who had formally requested the records.

Biden objected to the release as an invasion of privacy, saying the recordings included him discussing sensitive personal matters such as the death of his older son, Beau Biden. But Friedrich found that the administration redacted that material.

The judge wrote that the materials “contain no mention of highly sensitive topics like illness or death, nor do they mention any non-public persons, including members of Biden's family.”

Representatives for Biden did not immediately comment but asked Friedrich to bar release of the material while they appeal her decision. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Friedrich was nominated by Trump, a Republican, in 2017.

Hur’s yearlong investigation led to a 345-page report that questioned the effects of Biden’s age and his mental competence but recommended no criminal charges against the then-81-year-old. Hur said he found insufficient evidence to prosecute a case in court successfully.

The transcripts of five hours of Biden interviews with federal prosecutors was released that same year. While Biden was adamant that he treated classified information seriously, the transcript shows that he was at times fuzzy about dates and details and he said he was unfamiliar with the paper trail for some of the sensitive documents he handled.

About a dozen people deported from the U.S. arrived in Sierra Leone Thursday, the second deportation flight to the country after nine West African migrants landed there last month, Erica Reilly, an attorney representing one of the migrants, said Friday.

Sierra Leone is one of at least nine other African nations that the U.S. has struck third-country deportation deals with. Authorities have said they are only taking in citizens of West African countries. Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have also reached similar agreements with the U.S.

A briefing pamphlet that lawyers said was distributed to the migrants upon their arrival in the capital, Freetown, reads that the government and contractors are working to “return you home as quickly and safely as possible.”

The pamphlet, a copy of which was seen by the AP, was distributed by Kenvah Solutions, ⁠a private contractor that the Sierra Leone government said it hired to handle the deportees' accommodation, food, healthcare and transfer.

The pamphlet describes Sierra Leone as a “temporary transit location,” stating that “no long-term settlement is provided for or permitted.”

Kenvah Solutions and the Sierra Leonean authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say, all part of the broad U.S. crackdown on immigration. Immigration lawyers said the Trump administration uses deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers back to their home countries.

Sierra Leone’s foreign minister, Timothy Kabba, said last month that the government’s agreement with the Trump administration is supported by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. government.

The program is capped at 25 deportees per month and 300 per year, according to the ministry. It did not specify the duration of the arrangement.

Reilly, the attorney representing a Nigerian man among those deported Thursday, said the migrants had legal protections from U.S. courts to not be deported to their home countries after judges ruled they faced credible fears of persecution. Now they are left with little ability to prevent being sent there.

“They’re put in a position where they just don’t have a say at all,” Reilly said.

Earlier this month, rights lawyers filed a case against Equatorial Guinea before Africa’s top human rights body, accusing the central African nation of forcing deportees from the United States back to their home countries in violation of their rights.

“The U.S. government knows exactly what’s going to happen in the vast majority of these situations,” Reilly said. “Our government is just saying, ‘What happens to them after they leave the United States is not our problem.’”

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.

And then it all changed in a New York minute.

Four holes later, he was 11 shots behind and scrambling just to make it to the weekend at Shinnecock Hills.

“Just rocks,” Johnson said.

It was a little more than pebbles in the sand that caused this stunning meltdown in the second round, but it left him a little dazed and more than a little frustrated.

His mishaps started on the 11th when a gust knocked down his tee shot and it wound up in the right bunker. The next shot came out soft, rolled back down the false front into another bunker, and he failed to get up-and-down, making double bogey.

“Where I was standing it felt firm, but it came out soft,” he said of the first sand shot. “These bunkers are very difficult — or at least I'm having a hard time with it.”

Two soft bogeys followed, one of them on the 13th hole when he had a lob wedge from a 117 yards that went so far it landed on the slope at the back of the green. His pitch went past the pin and off the green and he had to scramble from there.

But the real damage came on the 15th from the right rough, and a shot that wound up in the right bunker guarding the green. He thought that would be fine, an easy place to make par, until it was anything but that.

His first shot took a hard turn to the left, went down the false front and into the left bunker. The next shot stayed in the bunker. The third one was a rocket that sailed over the green and caused two volunteers sitting next to the grandstand to scramble for cover.

“Three in a row with rocks,” Johnson said. “I hit a rock coming out and it shot it straight left. The next one hit a rock and it came out soft. And the third one hit rock and went into the ball.”

When he chipped cautiously to avoid going back into the bunker, he had a 25-foot putt that nervously ran 3 1/2 by the hole. He made that for 8.

The upside is he should be safe for the weekend, his third straight cut he made in the majors. But he couldn't help but wonder where he could have been except for the rocks.

“It's the ones you can't see," Johnson said. “Obviously, the big ones on top you can move them. I could see them but there we in the sand, and it's one of those things whether you can move them. If I move them it would improve my lie.”

At least he bounced back by hammering a drive — his ball speed has measured as high as 194 mph this week — and a 7-wood to 25 feet on the 615-yard 16th hole for a two-putt birdie. He finished with a pair of pars for a 77 and was at 3-over 143.

Most frustrating is Johnson, who is in the last year of his U.S. Open exemption from winning in 2016 at Oakmont, felt like he was on the right track. He made a rash decision to change back to the old loft on his irons before the LIV event in South Korea, finished fourth and then tied for fifth in Spain.

And here he was, chasing Wyndham Clark until he was hanging on by the seat of his pants. He lost an opportunity, but not all hope.

“The swing is good. I feel good,” Johnson said. “On this golf course, you're never really out of it. A couple of good days, I can get back in the mix.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

So how does it work, with 48 teams criss-crossing 16 cities across three countries? Iran has been forced to comply with what White House FIFA task force head Andrew Giuliani said were previously mandated rules stemming from the war, but those restrictions also align with FIFA guidelines for general team travel.

Team Melli made the 127-mile (204-kilometer) charter flight from Tijuana International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport the day before its opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday, a typically short trip that team captain Mehdi Taremi said instead took five hours, including security and immigration checks.

Iran returned to Mexico right after the match, which ended about 8 p.m. Pacific. The team had hoped to stave off travel for a day after the game.

The team's request to travel to LA two days before Sunday's match against Belgium was also denied, the federation said late Thursday, adding that it will lodge a complaint with FIFA. In a statement, the federation noted Sunday's earlier kickoff — noon Pacific — and said it believes “such restrictions are inconsistent with the principle of providing equal conditions for all participating teams and may negatively affect teams’ preparation processes.”

“We are the only team that are participating in the World Cup that we are at the host cities just 24 hours and it is not fair,” Iran soccer secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini said through a translator Friday. “All these limitations on us, it has negative effects on our physical and mental things on our players.”

But the Iran team’s travel schedule itself is not unusual for short distances in this tournament. And FIFA's 2026 World Cup regulations state in Article 18.3 that “each team shall travel from its team base camp to the match venue one day before matchday (MD‑1) and in exceptional cases on MD‑2, and shall return to their team base camp after the match (on MD/MD+1).”

The restrictions on the Iran team have not been lifted despite an interim agreement to end the war. Some team officials and support staff have been unable to secure visas to the U.S., and player Mehdi Torabi had to visit the U.S. consulate in Tijuana to get a new visa after the first match.

Many teams have been arriving in host cities the day before their matches. For Friday's group-stage match against Australia, the U.S. made the roughly 980-mile (1,580-kilometer) flight from their base in Orange County, California, to Seattle on Thursday. The team intended to return to its hotel in Laguna Niguel after the match.

Some CONCACAF teams preferred to arrive on the day before games for World Cup qualifiers at Mexico City, where sports performance experts advise players won't have time to acclimatize to the altitude so should get there as close to kickoff as possible.

Bosnia-Herzegovina has the longest group stage travel, at 5,878 miles (9,460 kilometers) in total. The Dragons had a roughly 1,660-mile (2,670-kilometer) flight each way from Salt Lake City to Toronto, 590 miles (950 kilometers) to Los Angeles and 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) to Seattle.

Bosnia's travel is far shorter than the 9,000-mile (14,484-kilometer) trek for the U.S. at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the longest among the 32 nations. The Americans went from their base camp in Sao Paulo to Natal, a distance of 1,436 miles (2,311 kilometers), three days before their opener against Ghana. They made the 1,832-mile (2,948-kilometer) trip to Manaus two days before of their game against Portugal and the 1,321-mile (2,126-kilometer) journey to Recife two days in front of their match against Germany.

Four years ago in Qatar, all stadiums were within 31 miles (50 kilometers) of downtown Qatar, enabling for teams to stay in one hotel throughout the tournament.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

“I knew there was going to be a tsunami of Tartan Army (Scotland fans),” said Jason Waddleton, a Scotland native and owner of The Haven, a Scottish restaurant and bar in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood since 2010.

He was right.

First, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey agreed to temporarily extend bar and restaurant hours during the World Cup. Next came thousands of Scots — one estimate is as high as 50,000 — descending on the Boston area, including nearby Providence, Rhode Island, which has become a home base for many of them over the past few weeks.

Then it was the Tartan Army marching through Boston’s streets following the country’s opening win over Haiti last week — taking over the city’s famed Fenway Park alongside Red Sox Nation after the team dubbed it “Scottish Heritage Celebration Night.”

And the taps have been running nonstop.

World Cup fans in Boston, especially the Scots, have put a serious strain on the beer supply in a city that is accustomed to big drinking holidays in St. Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July.

The Haven, which has long served Scotland's top-selling beer, Tennent's Lager, has gone from four kegs a week to ordering 50 just for this week. Other bars have sold out of Tennent's and have tripled their orders to make sure it doesn't happen again. Sam Adams said its Boston taproom ran out of their famed Samuel Adams Boston Lager last weekend after Scottish fans descended on the city.

“We’ve basically blown through our own allocation. We still have it and we’ll get more in on Monday,” Waddleton said.

The celebratory atmosphere intensified Friday as Scotland prepared to play its second World Cup match of the tournament outside Boston.

“They know how to party, how to make friends and influence people,” Waddleton said of the Scots.

Scots fill pubs in the Boston area, challenging beer reserves

One of the most sought-after beverages in Boston pubs over the last week is Tennent's Lager.

Once only available at The Haven, before the tournament started Tennent’s made deals and distributed kegs of its product to 80 bars in Boston and surrounding areas.

Samantha Crawford, the international marketing manager for Tennent’s, said they started preparing to distribute their product to the U.S. as soon as Scotland qualified for the the World Cup in November. They've also sent supplies to Miami bars ahead of Scotland's match against Brazil next week.

“It’s been a long time in the making. The next day we got to work,” she said of the preparations to make sure the beer is stocked in the U.S. She said the beer is ingrained in the sports culture in Scotland.

Many area bars and restaurants have been caught by surprise

Mivan Spencer, owner of Caffe Dello Sport in Boston’s North End, said he is used to handling large crowds for major soccer tournaments, but has been surprised by the amount of business he’s seen during the World Cup.

“After the first weekend of matches I definitely ran out of almost everything,” Spencer said. “Luckily I have a couple other restaurants I borrowed product from to get me through.”

The first thing he sold out of was Tennent’s, before quickly selling out of Peroni.

Spencer said he’s since tripled his usual alcohol order for this week, saying it’s so “I don’t run out of a single thing.”

Over at High Street Place, a food hall in downtown Boston, beverage supplies that were expected to last a week were consumed in four days, said Lauren Johnson, a senior marketplace manager at the venue.

“Fortunately, we have great partners, and our distributors were able to pivot quickly and increase subsequent orders to keep pace with demand seamlessly,” she said.

Tapping in — and out — of iconic Boston beer Sam Adams

Sam Adams said its Boston taproom ran out of their famed Samuel Adams Boston Lager last weekend. From Thursday to Sunday, the Boston-based brewer said the Tartan Army drank four times as much Boston Lager as the establishment typically sells during a four-day holiday stretch like the Fourth of July.

To date, Sam Adams has sold more than 4,000 pints of Boston Lager, resulting in about 90 empty kegs, said Devon Sage, a Sam Adams spokesperson.

“We’ve had to schedule four ‘emergency deliveries’ to the Taproom,” Sage wrote in an email.

Soccer diplomacy comes to Massachusetts because of the World Cup

Politicians in Massachusetts have also joined in on the soccer craze.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has been a fixture at Boston’s fan festival and made appearances at several watch parties. Gov. Healey declared June 18 “World Cup Fans Appreciation Day” and was spotted at The Haven behind the bar pouring drinks for patrons.

It brought a smile to Waddleton’s face, though he said the governor may need to work on her bartending skills a little.

“Maura Healey needs to learn how to pour a pint before getting that Sunday shift she asked for," Waddleton said. “But we can work on that.”

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Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi, and freelancers Ken Powtak and Caterina McGuigan contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

As thousands of fans streamed toward the stadium last week for the tournament opener, many stopped to snap photos, pet the dog and post videos online. Within hours, Osito was appearing on international broadcasts and spreading across social media, transforming the bicycle-riding dog into one of the World Cup’s most charming viral stars.

For his owner, Jorge Rangel, the attention is less about internet fame than the companionship he shares with the dog who accompanies him almost everywhere. For the past two years, Osito has joined Rangel on his daily rounds delivering household products across Mexico City.

“More than a dog, he’s my daily companion,” Rangel, 50, said.

They travel together on a specially adapted cargo bicycle, where Osito sits calmly in a back compartment, greeting passersby and drawing smiles from strangers.

The arrangement began by chance. One day, Rangel placed the dog in a delivery box attached to his bicycle and took him for a short ride. Osito seemed to enjoy it. Over time, Rangel added cushions, adjusted the setup and gradually brought him along on longer trips through the city. Before long, the pair became a familiar sight.

Now, children rush over to greet Osito, strangers stop to take photographs and some initially mistake him for a stuffed animal because he sits so still, often dressed in one of his many outfits.

“He has a very gentle temperament. Everybody wants to meet him,” Rangel said.

When the World Cup arrived, Rangel saw an opportunity to introduce Osito — whose name means “little bear” — to an even larger audience.

A devoted soccer fan, he spent weeks preparing for the tournament, gathering accessories and adapting a pair of sunglasses to fit the dog. He dressed Osito in a national team jersey and decorated the bicycle, hoping to stand out among the crowds heading to the stadium.

“It exceeded all my expectations,” Rangel said of the response.

What appears to resonate most with fans is not the costume or the viral fame, but the relationship between the man and the dog. Rangel adopted Osito years ago, during a difficult period in his life, and describes him as an emotional lifeline.

“I didn’t know what it meant to love an animal until Osito came into my life,” Rangel said.

Today, the two spend nearly every day together. If Rangel leaves without him, Osito protests with something he rarely does: bark.

Their bond is evident to the strangers who encounter them on the streets. Rangel recalls people approaching him to say that seeing Osito had brightened an otherwise stressful day. Some have thanked the pair simply for making them smile.

Now, as World Cup celebrations continue, videos of Osito keep circulating and requests for photographs remain constant. Yet each morning, Rangel and Osito climb aboard their bicycle and head back into the streets of Mexico City, where they continue working, greeting strangers and spreading moments of joy.

For Rangel, that remains the most meaningful part of the story.

The television appearances and viral fame are gratifying, he said. But what matters most is that people see the affection between a man and his dog — a bond that has unexpectedly become one of the World Cup’s most endearing images.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Tyre, Lebanon’s fourth largest city, has been devastated by the Israel-Hezbollah war that reached a reported ceasefire Friday, with damaged buildings and structures reduced to rubble seen on almost every street following intense Israeli airstrikes.

Muharram is among the holiest months for Shiite Muslims and marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, and his 72 companions in the battle of Karbala in the seventh century in present-day Iraq.

Dilbani and hundreds more gathered Friday in a lot in the coastal city for a mourning ceremony, many wearing scarves or holding portraits of relatives killed.

Portraits of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Kassem and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei were placed above the podium, with the lot surrounded by red and black banners with Hussein’s name. A young girl held a portrait of Khamenei as she stood next to her father, who wept while listening to the sermon. The attendees wore black as they would at a funeral.

The devastating war in Lebanon makes the month of Muharram even more meaningful for its Shiite Muslims. Some residents placed banners with Hussein’s name on the ruins of their homes.

The mourning over the deaths of Hussein and his companions reaches to its peak on Ashoura, the 10th day of Muharram, which millions observe worldwide.

After Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel on March 2 in solidarity with its ally Iran, Israel launched massive aerial bombardments that regularly struck Beirut and flattened large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon. Over one million Lebanese remain displaced, and Israeli ground forces invaded the country, controlling swaths of southern Lebanon. Almost 4,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Hezbollah meanwhile fired rockets and launched drone attacks into northern Israel.

“Given what has been happening in our world today, and seeing the martyrs and the destruction, no human mind can bear all of that unless they are a believer in the teachings of Imam Hussein,” said Sheikh Abdulkareem al-Rahi, one of the event’s organizers.

Shiite Muslims say Hussein’s values teach steadfastness and the importance of fighting against injustice, no matter how difficult.

“We learned from Imam Hussein’s teachings the struggle and martyrdom, and to stay on his path and to offer our youth,” Dilbani said. “I have three more sons, and I am willing to offer more of them if there is a need.”

Lebanon has been scrambling for a ceasefire, and the United States’ ceasefire agreement with Iran includes ending hostilities in the tiny Mediterranean country, though the fighting has not ended. Hezbollah has maintained that it will continue fighting as long as Israel continues to strike and occupy parts of southern Lebanon.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt fighting Friday, although the failure of past ceasefires has left many in Lebanon skeptical.

A cleric speaking through a sound system at the event slammed Hezbollah critics who say they lost the war, despite the heavy losses, comparing their situation to that of the revered imam in Karbala.

Imam Hussein’s teachings "are an institution, in every way, in their values and their pride,” said Sheikh Ibrahim Qassir, the imam of the town of Deir Qanoun En Nahr near Tyre, which was widely damaged during the war.

“And that is why we are still here, and we will be victorious, and victorious, and victorious.”

The outbreak has claimed more than 200 lives out of 894 confirmed cases since May 15, with up to 35,000 contacts, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The number of cases is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late.

Africa CDC Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya told The Associated Press in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, that the current outbreak — the worst ever at this stage — is yet another reminder for Africa to invest more in its health sector to reduce its reliance on foreign partners.

“If this outbreak was in Europe, the United States or other continents, they would already have developed a vaccine and medicine,” Kaseya said.

“We don’t want to be a continent begging every day. We want to be a continent of people who know what they are doing and who are respected because they are doing the right thing,” he added.

Response efforts have been challenged by the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus. The more common Zaire virus, for which there is a vaccine, was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

At the epicenter in Congo's eastern Ituri province where burials have become routine, including of babies. Health workers labor with little rest as they battle attacks from angry residents and widespread skepticism.

Vaccines have long been a problem for African countries

Consecutive health shocks, including COVID-19, have triggered efforts to boost local vaccine manufacturing in Africa, although not much has been achieved yet.

The continent, whose population is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, produces less than 1% of its vaccine needs and 3% of medicine that is brought in from abroad, making millions of people vulnerable to epidemics.

While efforts are in place to speed up the development of vaccines and diagnostics, Kaseya said he is unsure a vaccine will be available by the end of the year.

The Africa CDC head added that the peak of the Ebola outbreak is still to come because of slow progress in identifying and monitoring contacts.

Officials are yet to identify the outbreak's patient zero and still need to trace more than 35,000 people who have come in contact with infected individuals, he added.

"This is why we are accelerating our fundraising to put on the ground so many teams to look for any contact, direct or indirect, and to start following them,” Kaseya said.

As part of the plan to push African states to financially support the agency’s efforts, Kaseya said South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to fly to Ituri Province in Congo and to Uganda next week in support of the mobilization of funds.

A newly established African Epidemic Fund has received pledges totaling about $80 million from African governments, while a broader donor conference held this week generated pledges of about $910 million, he said.

“We need to take care of ourselves," Kaseya said. "We need to say, ‘It’s time for us to really think strongly about how we can manufacture medicines and vaccines to meet our own needs.'"

—-

Musambi reported from Nairobi, Kenya. AP writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed.

Many of the provisions were already on hold because of an earlier, preliminary court ruling. But it is resulting in one major change: The state's Planned Parenthood affiliates say the new ruling means they're going to start prescribing abortion pills to patients there for the first time since 2018.

The ruling is a clear legal victory for abortion rights advocates, but it's not the final word. An appeal and another ballot measure are on tap.

A 72-hour waiting period is one of the provisions the judge nixed

Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang's ruling Thursday came months after she held a 10-day trial on the issue earlier this year.

She ruled on whether 40 different state laws conflicted with the 2024 amendment. In most cases, she sided with abortion rights groups — and against the state government, which was arguing that the laws should be enforced.

She overturned a number of provisions including a requirement that women seeking an abortion see a doctor in person twice at least 72 hours apart, and another requirement that the initial dose of abortion pills, which are the most common way abortions are obtained, be taken in the presence of the prescribing doctor.

But she didn't throw out a requirement that patients see a doctor in-person to confirm gestational age and rule out an ectopic pregnancy.

Missouri has a history of abortion restrictions

Missouri was the first state to enforce a ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade.

Even before the ban went into effect, other laws already on the books meant that abortion was not readily available for many women in the state.

In 2024, the state's voters made it the first to adopt a constitutional amendment to undo a ban, allowing abortion until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be somewhere past 21 weeks into a pregnancy, though there’s no fixed time frame. The two Planned Parenthood affiliates that operate in the state sued to undo abortion restrictions immediately after voters approved that state constitutional amendment.

Abortion pill access is expected to expand

After this week's ruling, Planned Parenthood said it would offer appointments starting next week for medication abortion.

“For too long, politicians forced patients to leave the state for an evidence-based and trusted form of abortion care,” Emily Wales, president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains said in a statement. “Now, that care is coming home and with it, we move closer to fulfilling the promise of reproductive freedom Missourians demanded.”

The ruling also affirmed that the clinics could continue to offer abortion procedures.

Two different surveys of providers conducted for groups that support abortion rights — the Guttmacher Institute and the Society of Family Planning — estimated that in the second half of 2025, somewhere around 300 abortions each month were provided in Missouri. Those were from providers in other states that prescribe and send abortion pills to women in states with abortion bans or restrictions. Those providers are in states with laws that week to protect prescribers from legal action in states with bans — another issue that's being contested in court.

Guttmacher found that in 2024, Missouri women traveled to bordering Illinois and Kansas for about 12,000 abortions.

The ruling won't be the final word

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she will appeal this week's ruling.

“This is exactly the Pandora’s box we warned of, and the women of Missouri will pay the price,” Hanaway said in a statement.

Abortion will also be on the ballot again in November, when voters are being asked to approve a measure that would undo the 2024 amendment.

According to officials, the crash occurred at 1:30 p.m. on Price Road in Henry County when a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta was traveling on Horsepasture Road and crossed the centerline and struck a 2019 Mack dump truck head-on.

The driver of the Volkswagen, 47-year-old Mark Hensley of Ridgeway, and a passenger, 39-year-old Amy Hand, died at the scene. VSP says neither individual was wearing a seatbelt.

A dog in the car was taken into care by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Division. The driver of the truck was uninjured. The crash remains under investigation.

Perhaps as spectacular as his meltdown was the recovery.

About a half-hour after being informed of the penalty, Niemann birdied five of the first six holes of his second round and shot 65 to easily get inside the cut line. He would be the first player in 97 years to make 10 or worse on a hole and still make the cut.

“All the frustration that came inside me and had my club in my hand, and I couldn’t resist to throw it away,” Niemann said. “There was no people, obviously. No one there. I’m not proud of it, but yeah, sometimes all the expectation of trying to play well and things doesn’t go your way, you get frustrated. And that was me there.”

And then the USGA made him an example, skipping the warning and going straight to a two-shot penalty — the third step is disqualification — for what it cited as serious misconduct.

The USGA cited Rule 1.2b on “Code of Conduct.” Among incidents that fall under this category are unacceptable language and abuse of clubs or the course.

While the rule has always been in place, the USGA and all the other golf organizations have met in recent years to develop consistent guidelines for a conduct policy, applied separately by each of the organizations at their tournaments.

The Masters used it for the first time in April when Sergio Garcia was issued a warning after a bad drive on the par-5 second hole in the final round. He slammed his club into the turf twice and swung his club at a table holding a green cooler. That left the head of his driver dangling from the shaft.

The PGA Championship also posted the policy in the locker room at Aronimink last month.

The frustration for Niemann was evident. He was at even par in the first round late Thursday afternoon when he hit two tee shots out of play down the right side of the sixth fairway. The fifth shot wasn't much better, in the clumpy grass short of the fairway.

Niemann said he saw ants near his bad lie in the sandy oil and asked if they were fire ants, which could be considered a dangerous situation making him entitled to a drop. That was rejected. He hacked it out to the fairway, and then his sand wedge came up just short of the green.

That's when the 27-year-old from Chile heaved his club.

The USGA policy for serious misconduct says if a player’s behavior (or that of his caddie) is “so far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf,” officials can assess a two-shot penalty or disqualify the player while considering “the frequency, impact, intent and severity of the misconduct.”

Niemann was informed of the penalty after he signed his card, and the two shots gave him a 78.

He had 37 minutes before his next tee time.

“I’m not someone that likes to be in that behavior. I’m the first one to judge myself when I don’t behave on the golf course. Yeah, that was a misbehave from my part,” Niemann said. “I felt a little bit extra penalized with the two-shot penalty, but I think it is what it is.”

He said he argued the penalty to no avail. Ultimately, it's a judgment call among the committee.

“It is what it is. I think I'm going to learn from it,” Niemann said. “It definitely helped me a little bit to have a better round today.”

The incident happened on Niemann's final hole Thursday evening of fog-delayed opening round. While video has not surfaced of the club throw, The Athletic spoke to a marshal on the sixth hole who said Niemann kicked the flag marking where his ball was in the rough, kicked the grass and reported that “it was a pretty impressive throw, actually.”

Tempers have long been part of golf, a most frustrating game. Rory McIlroy once heaved a 3-iron into the lake at Doral and last year flung an iron after a poor shot. Henrik Stenson and Erik van Rooyen are among those who have taken out their frustrations on tee markers.

Those typically result in fines by the tours.

But there has been a concerted effort in recent years to be more uniform with a conduct policy, and it has come into play twice in three majors this year.

Niemann, who left for LIV Golf after the 2022 season, won in South Korea last month for his eighth career victory in the rival league that began with Saudi Arabia funding but now faces an uncertain future with the Public Investment Fund no longer supporting it.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Trump’s overnight social media post Wednesday that he was delaying Jay Clayton’s nomination to become national intelligence director, just hours before the U.S. attorney's confirmation hearing, further strained relations between the Senate and White House that have been worsening for weeks. Later that day, some Republican senators who have been hesitant to challenge the president directly on the Iran war were blunt in their criticism of his deal to end it.

“This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a post on X.

The open tensions are an almost complete reversal from a year ago when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump on a complicated effort to push through his massive package of spending and tax cuts.

At the time, criticism of the president was almost nonexistent among Republicans on Capitol Hill, and they planned to highlight passage of that bill in the midterms. But as the November election draws closer and Republicans are trying to defend their majorities, Trump is instead needling Congress with his demands and reversals, driving several Republican senators to disparage his actions publicly for the first time.

“I think somebody’s not dialing the president into the complexities of what he’s done here,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Wednesday after Clayton’s confirmation was postponed. “I mean, my God.”

The slow unraveling of what once seemed like an airtight alliance between the executive and legislative branches in a Republican-led Washington extends to their policy priorities.

Trump appears to have lost interest in most of the GOP agenda and has become almost singularly focused on his voting legislation to require proof of citizenship, which has almost no chance of passing. At the same time, he has asked members of Congress to fund parts of his White House ballroom project, allow a temporary intelligence director that none of them like and cede their powers on the Iran war.

The growing rift has brought much of the Senate’s business to a halt and put Republicans who are up for reelection this year on the defensive. It has also put pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been up-front with Trump about what he can and cannot do in the Senate.

Trump pressures Thune on voting bill

Trump has pressured Thune relentlessly to scrap the filibuster and pass the strict proof-of-citizenship legislation, called the SAVE America Act. Thune, R-S.D., has told Trump publicly and privately that the votes are not there for either step. Still, Trump has kept up the push.

In a social media post Thursday, Trump said he would be “the last Republican president” if the voting bill does not pass.

“Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, must not let this ‘carnage’ happen,” Trump said. “They will go down on the wrong side of History, as will all Republicans who just stood by and watched.”

Nonetheless, Trump has yet to go after the well-liked Republican leader on a personal basis, as he often did with Thune's predecessor, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.. Trump once called McConnell a “ dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.”

Trump and Thune talk frequently, even as Thune is sometimes giving the president news he does not want to hear. As Trump pushed for the voting bill, Thune scheduled weeks of floor time to consider it, an effort to make clear that the Senate was supportive, even if the votes are lacking.

Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, one of the president’s closest allies in the Senate, said he has never heard Trump say anything negative about Thune.

“It’s a difficult position,” Schmitt said of Thune’s role in the Senate. “I think they have a good working relationship.”

One of Thune's closest allies, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, said the even-keeled leader is the “right person at the right time.”

“In the Capitol today, he is the stable force,” Rounds said. “In Washington, D.C., today, he is the stable force.”

No signs of revolt among Senate GOP

There were no signs of a revolt within the GOP conference, for now, despite Trump's pressure.

Thune “has managed it better than anyone else could manage it,” said Cassidy, who has become a more frequent Trump critic since a primary loss to a Trump-backed challenger.

Criticism of Trump has at times surfaced even among his closest Senate allies, especially with his proposed $1.776 billion settlement fund for his political allies and his pick for acting intelligence director, Bill Pulte, who has no known intelligence experience.

But the rift with Trump has also stoked some new internal tensions.

Several Republican senators criticized Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who has waged an online campaign to eliminate the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, in a private conference lunch this week for stoking dissension within the party in an election year.

Unbowed, Lee has kept up his social media campaign, including a post Friday on X in which he said that giving up because Republicans lack the votes is a “recipe for failure.”

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, one of those who spoke out at the meeting, replied that it is Lee’s job to find the votes, “if you can.”

“Can’t just complain about others,” Cornyn posted. “Prove us wrong.”

Trump's dwindling number of allies

Some Senate Republicans have made clear they have no plans to separate themselves from Trump.

As several of his colleagues criticized Trump’s agreement with Iran this week, first-term Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, aggressively defended it on social media.

“Let’s get the Nobel Peace Prize ready!” Moreno posted on X.

But Trump has far fewer of those Senate allies than he did when they narrowly passed the tax and spending cuts legislation a year ago. That is in part because he has picked off some of the most loyal Republican votes himself.

Both Cassidy and Cornyn lost in primaries last month after Trump endorsed their opponents. Tillis announced he was not running for reelection last year after Trump repeatedly criticized him on social media.

Now all three have become frequent critics.

Shortly after his election loss, Cornyn posted on social media a fable about a frog and a scorpion. The scorpion asks the frog to carry it across a river, according to the fable, and then stings the frog in the middle of the river, “dooming them both.”

“The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence,” Cornyn’s post read. “To which the scorpion replies: ‘I am sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s my character.’”

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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Iranian officials did not travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that Israeli strikes on Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place, according to three regional officials and a person familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing mediation to try to get the talks rescheduled and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The situation was fluid as Israel and Hezbollah agreed on Friday to renew their ceasefire, according to a U.S. official and regional officials. It remains to be seen whether that could help put the U.S.-Iran talks back on track.

In Washington, President Donald Trump lashed out once again in the midst of the intensified fighting in Lebanon and the stalled nuclear talks.

“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did,” Trump wrote in a social media post Friday. “They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”

Vance was ready for Swiss talks

Trump's vice president, JD Vance, had been prepared to make an overnight flight to meet with his Iranian counterparts at a mountainside resort in the tiny Swiss village of Obbürgen and begin the technical talks.

Vance's staff and a small group of journalists had gathered at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington in anticipation of the trip. Dozens of White House officials, advance staffers and more media were already in Switzerland.

Then the trip was called off — abruptly and for the time being.

A White House statement said Vance, tapped by Trump to lead the negotiations, decided to postpone his travel. It made no mention of the escalating violence in Lebanon.

“The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” the statement said.

But, according to officials, the Iranians made clear to the White House that they had balked at starting the talks with Vance because of the Israeli action in Lebanon.

While Iranian officials and Vance did not make it to Switzerland Friday, a mediator from the Gulf country of Qatar found his way to the resort near Lucerne, Switzerland, where the U.S.-Iran talks are to be held. Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met with the Swiss foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis.

Fighting in southern Lebanon intensifies

The fighting had intensified with at least 18 killed by Israeli airstrikes, while four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel’s military would stay in a “security zone” of southern Lebanon as long as “Israel’s security needs require it.”

Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the U.S.-Iran agreement.

Iran insists Israel must withdraw from the large swath of southern Lebanon it is occupying, but the wording of the interim deal does not explicitly require that and only ensures Lebanon’s “territorial integrity.”

Hours before postponing his trip, Vance gave some indication of the state of flux when he told reporters at a White House briefing that he was uncertain if the talks were going to happen this weekend.

“We think these technical negotiations start sometime this weekend," Vance said. "That’s still the plan. But that could change.”

Soon after Vance spoke to reporters, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, endorsed direct negotiations with the United States. His terse statement, read by state media, appeared to signal to the Islamic Republic’s leadership that it could move forward with a first round of talks.

“It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion,” Khamenei said.

The messaging seemed to give Khamenei, who was badly wounded in the U.S. strike on Feb. 28 that killed his father, some maneuverability. Hard-liners in the Iranian government, including Khamenei’s father, long opposed direct talks with the White House, especially after Trump, during his first term, pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama's administration.

The meeting was initially supposed to be a signing ceremony

Vance was initially expected to go to Switzerland to sign the agreement at a formal ceremony. Instead, Trump signed the document Wednesday during a glitzy dinner at the Palace of Versailles with French President Emmanuel Macron. Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, separately signed the agreement.

It says Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under rubble left by U.S. military strikes last year targeting Tehran’s key nuclear sites, must at minimum be diluted under international supervision.

It also says Iran shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons — a commitment Tehran has made previously. Other commitments remain to be worked out.

Iran believes it's in a strong negotiating position

Iranians would be going into the talks with a measure of confidence after effectively shutting down the strait, causing global economic reverberations, said Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities in Washington.

She said the U.S. is now “essentially trying to negotiate our way back to the prewar status quo."

Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House think tank, said the “buoyant” Iranian leadership feels it has the upper hand. The endorsement of the talks by the Iranian supreme leader “sends a very strong signal domestically: ’We’re now on an equal footing with the U.S.'”

”‘Trump has gone from calling for regime change on Feb. 28 to this: Now they’re going to sit down with us directly and talk about these big issues,'” Quilliam said of the Iranians' thinking. “So it’s intended more for the domestic audience, and telling them: ‘We are firmly in control of this. There can be no protests, no revolution: We are a new regime and we’re staying put.’”

Vance has to negotiate through political division

For Vance, a likely 2028 presidential contender, how the negotiations play out could have enormous ramifications for his political fortunes.

Vance's skepticism of foreign wars was a core part of his political identity during his political rise, which included election as a U.S. senator. Now he finds himself the chief defender of negotiating an endgame to Trump's conflict that Democrats have largely derided as a foolish gambit. Some hawkish Republicans are aghast that Trump is getting behind a settlement that could put billions of dollars into Iran's coffers.

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said aspects of the deal are “completely out of step” with Trump's goals.

Trump fiercely criticized Obama for the 2015 nuclear agreement, which Trump argued failed to stop Tehran from advancing toward a weapon and funneled billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic. The Republican president exited the U.S. from the deal in 2018.

Trump has pushed back against comparisons to that earlier agreement, saying he had “negotiated from strength” after a major military campaign while asserting that Obama was paying the Iranians off and not receiving acquiescence.

Wicker, R-Miss., was particularly concerned about the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran mentioned in the 14-point agreement. Trump and Vance have said no U.S. taxpayer money would go to such a fund and it would not come without concessions and reforms by Tehran.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed to this report.

The park says the giraffes arrived on Monday, June 15 and are “acclimating well” under the supervision of the park’s Animal Care team.

The park has welcomed at least one other giraffe from the zoo in the past. At the time, they told 10 News that giraffe would be placed in the “Park’s state-of-the-art, 10,000-square-foot Giraffe and Rhino Barn, where she will join the Park’s other giraffes.”

It is unknown if the same will be done for the giraffe calves, as all other giraffes sent from the Natural Bridge Zoo to Georgia Safari Conservation Park have been adults.

The full statement is attached below:

“On Monday, June 15, Georgia Safari Conservation Park welcomed two juvenile reticulated giraffes, which were transferred to the Park via the Virginia Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit.

Because this matter is part of an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment on the circumstances surrounding the transfer or provide additional details at this time, other than to say that both giraffes are under the expert care of the Park’s expert Animal Care team and are acclimating well.

Georgia Safari Conservation Park, which is fully licensed, permitted, and insured to care for Class 1 megafauna and exotic animals, earned certification from American Humane in September 2025, recognizing its commitment to the highest standards of animal care and welfare. Our experienced Animal Care team is focused on helping the giraffes acclimate to their new home.

We will provide updates if and when additional information becomes available."

Georgia Safari Conservation Park

Original: Virginia officials have located two giraffe calves that had been the focus of a months-long search tied to the ongoing legal battle surrounding the Natural Bridge Zoo.

The Virginia Attorney General’s Office confirmed Tuesday morning that the calves had been found following what it described as an extensive investigation. Officials said the animals have been placed in professional care, where they will receive medical and behavioral support.

The giraffe calves became the center of a high-profile dispute after a judge ruled in 2024 that their parents were property of the state. The ruling came after approximately 71 animals were seized from the Natural Bridge Zoo over concerns about their welfare.

The giraffes remained at the zoo because transporting them posed significant challenges. During that time, state officials conducted periodic inspections to monitor the animals’ condition.

In February 2025, state veterinarians discovered the giraffes were pregnant. When inspectors returned in April, the animals had already given birth, but the calves were nowhere to be found.

State officials later removed the adult giraffes from the zoo. A judge subsequently ruled the calves were also property of the state because their parents were state-owned at the time the pregnancies occurred.

Zoo owner Gretchen Mogensen was ordered to return the calves within five weeks beginning in September or face jail time. After the deadline passed without the calves being returned, Mogensen was jailed in October and served a 100-day sentence.

As the search intensified, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, joined the effort. The organization teamed up with actor and animal rights advocate Alicia Silverstone to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to the calves’ whereabouts.

After her release from jail, Mogensen faced additional legal challenges. A grand jury handed down indictments against Mogensen, members of her family, and others associated with the zoo on charges that include forgery and animal cruelty-related offenses.

Neither the Attorney General’s Office nor PETA provided additional details Tuesday about where the calves were found or the circumstances surrounding their recovery.

In a statement, PETA credited state investigators for locating the animals.

“These baby giraffes were subjected to the trauma of separation from their distraught mothers shortly after birth, but at long last they’re finally safe and receiving the specialized care that they need, thanks to the tireless work of Attorney General Jay Jones’ Animal Law Unit,” the organization said.

Officials have not released information about the calves’ current location.

Starmer said he planned to fight for his job, but a growing number of colleagues urged him to make a dignified exit.

“There is this sense of collective movement,” former Labour Deputy Leader Harriet Harman told the “Electoral Dysfunction” podcast. “Andy Burnham is going to become prime minister. Keir Starmer is going to be leaving office.”

Burnham decisively won the seat of Makerfield in northwestern England over Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigration party Reform UK. The result cements the status of Burnham, a 56-year-old politician nicknamed the King of the North, as the top contender to replace Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and the country. Burnham won almost 55% of the 45,510 votes cast for a field of more than a dozen candidates, over 9,000 more than runner-up Kenyon.

Burnham’s acceptance speech left no doubt that he wants to lead the country, and not just be one of the more than 400 Labour lawmakers in the 650-seat House of Commons.

“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working," he said. "Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.”

Starmer congratulated Burnham, writing on X that voters “chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.”

But the prime minister insisted he would fight any attempt to oust him.

“I will run, I will stand,” if there is a Labour leadership contest, Starmer said. "I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that.”

Burnham says he's the candidate of change

Burnham has led Manchester since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged. He is pledging to repeat his signature brand of “Manchesterism” on a national scale.

Burnham said he would work to ensure that “the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.”

He told supporters and campaign workers on Friday that "we are going to lay out a new path for Britain.”

“We need an economy that works for everybody, not a few in far-off places from here,” he said. “We have an opportunity to turn the tide, to make the country feel like it’s working again, to make people see that politics can make a positive difference, to make people feel hope again.”

Earlier, in his victory speech, he said Labour had “a final chance to change" and win back voters' trust.

“But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” he said.

Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said defeating Reform UK strengthens Burnham’s claim to be Labour’s biggest asset.

“The narrative he can bring is, ‘No one else could have won that seat. I won that. I bring something unique. I bring an ability to renew our appeal,’” Ford said.

Voters in Makerfield, who have been the focus of international media attention during the five-week campaign, were aware their votes carried unusual weight.

“I voted Andy Burnham because I don’t believe Keir Starmer has done a good job," said Ernest Sherman, 70. "So I voted tactically knowing that Andy Burnham has a chance to replace Starmer. So it will still be Labour, but he will have different views.”

Labour is in power but unpopular

Starmer’s popularity has cratered since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.

He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the U.K. ambassador to the United States.

Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party, and facing a rising Reform UK, which consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls. The Nigel Farage -led party has rapidly gained ground in post-industrial northern England areas like Makerfield, some 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of London.

Burnham’s resounding victory gives Labour new hope of stopping the Reform tide. Farage acknowledged he was “disappointed, no question about it,” with the result.

Labour's dismal performance in May’s local elections spurred scores of lawmakers to demand Starmer’s resignation. Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May, saying that “where we need vision, we have a vacuum.” Streeting has said he will run in a leadership contest if there is one.

Then Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for Makerfield, stepped down to trigger a special election and give Burnham the chance to return to Parliament.

Britain’s parliamentary system allows governing parties to change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a national election. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they have backing from a fifth of the party’s House of Commons lawmakers — a number that stands at 81.

Burnham’s victory piles pressure on Starmer to quit

Burnham will head to London to be sworn in as a lawmaker as soon as Monday. He’s likely to seek a meeting with Starmer to argue that the prime minister should exit gracefully and set a timetable for his departure.

Burnham's supporters wasted no time in urging Starmer to go. Labour lawmaker Louise Haigh, a Burnham ally, said Starmer should “consider an orderly and managed transition.”

“Andy won’t be doing anything rash or hasty,” she told Sky News. “I’m really hopeful the prime minister and Andy can come to an agreement.”

Starmer insisted on Friday that he was elected on a “mandate for change” and would carry on with it. Earlier this week he suggested that he could offer Burnham a Cabinet post, an idea rebuffed by Burnham's allies.

Despite his stubborn determination, Starmer could be forced out if several members of the Cabinet tell him the game is up and quit, or threaten to quit, in protest. Tthere could then be a leadership contest, or a coronation, depending on whether other potential candidates think Burnham has an unassailable lead.

“When things begin to slide away from a prime minister, they begin to slide away very, very quickly," said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

“Over the weekend there will be all sorts of talks behind closed doors, mainly I suspect people trying to persuade Keir Starmer ... that the game is up."

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Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this story.

United States coach Mauricio Pochettino made the announcement during an interview with Fox about 90 minutes before the kickoff at Lumen Field in Seattle. On Thursday, Pochettino said Pulisic is in a “much better” spot than he was last Friday, and that he would be available for the Americans' next game against Turkey if he could not play against Australia.

“Today, he was training in the morning in the camp and I’ve seen the feelings are good,” Pochettino told Fox on Friday. “I hope as soon as possible he can be ready to be selected again and to be part of the team. Now, we need to be focused on our team and the players that are going to play."

The move is a setback for a U.S. team that defeated Paraguay 4-1 in its opener on June 12 and with a win would clinch advancement to the round of 32.

Pulisic left the game at halftime after helping create the opening goal by splitting a pair of defenders before passing to Weston McKennie, then setting up Folarin Balogun for the second goal.

Pochettino said the 27-year-old attacker was kicked in the back of his left calf during a training session ahead of the game and felt tightness during the match. Pulisic trained on his own in the leadup to the game against Australia.

Pulisic has 33 goals in 87 international appearances.

Pepi was the only addition to the U.S. starting lineup. Pochettino decided to insert the 23-year-old striker, who was one of the final cuts from the 2022 World Cup roster, over a few other accomplished players.

Brenden Aaronson, a winger who had four goals and five assists for Leeds last season, and Tim Weah, a Marseille forward who can impact a game with his speed on either wing, both remain on the bench.

Gio Reyna, who scored the Americans’ final goal against Paraguay and has provided moments of dynamic playmaking from the wing, will be a reserve once again.

With Pepi in for Pulisic, the U.S. hopes to reward its supporters and justify the wave of momentum that is building around the team.

“What excites me is that the entire world, the entire nation is behind us,” midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “I think that they enjoyed watching us play, and at the end of the day what we want to do is inspire and motivate the next generation. ... We have to build off it, and that’s the truth. We can’t just talk about it: We have to show out against Australia.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

The 40-year-old was named player of the match in Cape Verde’s goalless draw on Monday, a display that brought him international attention and a surge in popularity on social media.

Among the fans cheering him on in the U.S. are his father, Jose Pedro Dias, and brother, Delmiro Évora Nascimento, who also is a soccer player. Vozinha’s mother, who had initially faced difficulties obtaining a visa, is also expected to arrive in the United States ahead of Sunday’s game.

Speaking before Thursday’s training session at Cape Verde’s training base in Tampa, Vozinha said having his family nearby was one of the most meaningful aspects of his World Cup experience.

“They always support me in everything I do, so having my mother here is something special. My father is here too, and my brother as well, so I’m very happy,” he said.

Vozinha’s full name is Josimar José Évora Dias. His father said he was named after Josimar, a defender in Brazil’s squad in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

“I watched the matches and fell in love with the Brazilian national team,” Dias said. “I really enjoyed it and there were a few players who stood out; one of them was Josimar, a right-back, who scored two goals and really made his mark at that World Cup.”

Like other fans cheering on the team at its training base in Tampa, Dias was beaming with pride over Cape Verde’s successful start to its first ever World Cup.

“As a father, I feel immense pride. All Cape Verdeans right now feel proud to be Cape Verdean and of Cape Verde’s current performance; it’s something we could never have imagined would be possible,” he said.

Vozinha’s brother agreed.

“I’ve no words to describe this moment,” he said. “We just have to live it because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for a professional footballer – to be at the World Cup, to play against Spain, to put in the performance he did.”

RVs full of Cape Verde fans, dressed in the blue of the nation’s flag and adorned with matching beach hats and flags as capes, arrived in the small parking lot outside the training ground in Tampa.

One of them, Benjamin Ferrera, called the draw with Spain “unbelievable.”

“I don’t have words for it, because nobody expected it. We are just 500,000 people on small islands. To be on this type of stage with the world watching us is just magnificent,” he said.

Ferrera was born in Cape Verde but now lives in Massachusetts, which hosts the largest portion of the Cape Verdean diaspora in the United States and is sometimes called Cape Verde’s 11th island.

He is also part of the security team at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, one of the host venues at this year’s tournament.

“We’re all about joy,” Ferrera said. “When I grew up, I always heard that Cape Verde doesn’t have football, that we would never make a World Cup. Today I’m proud to say we’re here and we are going to make history.”

The archipelago nation off the west coast of Africa was the only one of the four debutants at the tournament to avoid defeat in its first game. If you ask Andreia Levy, an organizer for the Cape Verde supporters’ group, 12 Sharks, it was fate.

“Of course, I trusted the guys,” she said. “We knew that it was possible to do something here.”

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Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

The U.S. midfielder has played for the Seattle Sounders since 2015, getting plenty of love from fans in this soccer-crazed Pacific Northwest city.

With the Americans coming off a 4-1 victory over Paraguay in their World Cup opener in Southern California, Roldan is expecting a charged atmosphere on Friday when the Americans face Australia at the home of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.

“I fully expect this crowd to be extremely loud. And, they’re going to energize our group,” Roldan said. “This is one of the loudest stadiums in the world when you think about Seahawks games or Sounders games.

“Just seeing the Belgium game against Egypt and how the atmosphere was there, I fully expect the city of Seattle to come out and show out, and I think the guys are going to feel that type of energy.”

The Americans want to reward their supporters and justify the wave of momentum that is building around the team.

“What excites me is that the entire world, the entire nation is behind us,” Roldan said. “I think that they enjoyed watching us play, and at the end of the day what we want to do is inspire and motivate the next generation. ... We have to build off it, and that’s the truth. We can’t just talk about it: We have to show out against Australia.”

The Americans' excitement is somewhat tempered by concerns about their biggest star. Coach Mauricio Pochettino announced Friday morning that Christian Pulisic would not play in the match. Pulisic had trained apart from his teammates on Thursday for the fourth straight day because of his left calf injury.

The Socceroos also pose a significant challenge. In October, the U.S. earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory against a physical Australia side in a friendly that Pochettino said was anything but.

Pochettino wants his team to match Australia's intensity.

“I think we need to play on the edge of the line,” Pochettino said, “with not crossing the lines of the rules.”

Australia center back Harry Souttar anticipates the U.S. will try to start fast, much as it did against Paraguay. Coach Tony Popovic's scrappy squad opened with a 2-0 victory over Turkey on Saturday.

“We want to earn our respect,” Popovic said. “We know that by our performances, we can put Australian football on the world map. And, that’s what we aim to do. We started off well against Turkey. Now, we want to back it up.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

It came after a heavy exchange of fire killed 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.

Hezbollah and Israel went to war shortly after the outbreak of the wider conflict, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.

The interim agreement to end the Iran war has already reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed, cutting the global economy off from significant supplies of oil and natural gas. The deal would also relaunch talks on Iran’s nuclear program, the core issue over which Israel and the U.S. began the war on Feb. 28.

But the accord already faces threats, chiefly from Lebanon, with the fighting there leading to a delay in the start of talks planned for Friday in Switzerland. The agreement calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for its sovereignty to be respected. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a party to the deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until the threat is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.

Firing goes on along Lebanese border

Hours after officials told news organizations about the truce, Israeli artillery fire could still be heard from northern Israel along the Lebanese border, and a large explosion was seen erupting inside Lebanon, according to an AP journalist in northern Israel.

Word of the attempt to halt the fighting came from two regional officials and a U.S. official. The effort was mediated by Qatar, the U.S. and Iran, the regional officials said. The three officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah was supposed to end at 4 p.m. local time, according to a second U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and also spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Hezbollah official said an agreement to stop fighting could be announced soon, but he stopped short of confirming it was in place. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment. However, Netanyahu posted Friday on X that, on his orders, the Israeli army had “struck powerfully” 150 Hezbollah targets, killing dozens of militants.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the military has not received different instructions from the government. He said Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.

The Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, posted on X that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities.

Iranian and U.S. officials cancel travel to Switzerland

Iranian officials did not travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that the fighting in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place, according to the two regional officials, an Iranian official and a fourth person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations behind the scenes. U.S. Vice President JD Vance also postponed his trip.

The future talks are supposed to bring about a permanent end to the conflict.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said consultations through mediators were ongoing regarding the next phase of negotiations to draft a final agreement.

Because the initial deal was signed digitally earlier this week, the talks in Switzerland were not urgent, and plans were underway to hold a meeting in the coming days, he said.

Fighting forces families to flee from villages

The Israeli military said four soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in an attack on a tank in a village near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh. An explosive drone attack wounded another five, military officials added.

Israel then launched multiple strikes against “Hezbollah infrastructure sites” in Nabatiyeh and other areas, according to a military statement, which accused the militant group of “blatant ceasefire violations.”

Later, the military said it also struck targets in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, with Lebanese media saying the village of Douris was hit.

“Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or on our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Hezbollah acknowledged targeting Israeli tanks and said its attacks were in response to what it called Israel’s own violation of the ceasefire. It said the attacks came after Israeli forces attempted to reach the northern side of Ali al-Taher hilltop, a strategic point that overlooks Nabatiyeh and that Israeli troops have been trying to capture.

In southern Lebanon, many were forced to flee their villages.

“The situation is lawless, we couldn't stay,” said Mustafa Zain, who was with his six daughters in a pickup truck.

Israel’s actions have created a rift between Israel and the U.S., with Trump becoming increasingly critical of his close ally Netanyahu, who is also facing increasing criticism at home.

Much still needs to be resolved

The discussions in Switzerland were expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran maintains it is peaceful, though it has highly enriched uranium that could be used to build multiple atomic bombs, should it choose to do so, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Those talks are expected to be difficult. The 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump scrapped during his first term, took more than 18 months to negotiate.

The interim deal gives negotiators 60 days to come up with a nuclear agreement, but that can be extended. It outlines lucrative incentives if Iran does reach a new agreement, including the eventual lifting of all international sanctions and a $300 billion fund for postwar reconstruction.

Already Iran has won some concessions. Following the signing of the interim deal, the U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and is allowing it to sell its oil freely. The deal also calls for Iran’s assets to be unfrozen — though it’s not clear how quickly.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Madhani reported from Zurich. Associated Press journalists David Rising in Bangkok, Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Malak Harb in Tyre, Lebanon, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Areej Hazboun in Jerusalem contributed to this story.

The 56-year-old politician presents himself as an amiable northern everyman who prefers T-shirts to a suit and tie and spends spare time playing soccer or spinning 1990s tunes during DJ battles.

He’s also an experienced politician whose career has taken him from high-level government jobs to the mayoralty of Greater Manchester, and now to the cusp of the prime minister’s office.

Burnham is expected to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer after winning a seat in Parliament in a special election he hailed as a “turning point” for U.K. politics.

His nickname is inspired by ‘Game of Thrones’

Burnham was born and raised in a pocket of northwest England between Liverpool and Manchester, the son of a British Telecom engineer and a receptionist. He joined the Labour Party as a teenager, attended Cambridge University and was first elected to Parliament in 2001.

He was a lawmaker for a decade and a half, rising through the ranks under Prime Minister Tony Blair and serving in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet between 2007 and 2010.

He ran twice for the leadership of the Labour Party, in 2010 and 2015, and lost badly each time, before quitting Westminster to run for Manchester mayor.

His tenure has seen him nicknamed the King of the North, a “Game of Thrones”-inspired nod both to his championing of his home region and his barely disguised political ambition.

He gained the moniker during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he harangued Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson over what he called a “London-centric” approach to the crisis.

Burnham has led the Greater Manchester region since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged. The city center has boomed, with skyscrapers blooming on vacant post-industrial sites. Many residents praise him for championing the city. He took a piecemeal public transport system under public control, branded it the Bee Network and improved its services.

He has also won praise for supporting the campaign for justice for victims of the Hillsborough disaster, when 97 Liverpool soccer fans were killed in a crush at a game in Sheffield in 1989. Years of advocacy led by victims’ families exposed mistakes and wrongdoing by police – who initially spread a false narrative blaming drunken fans – and extracted an apology from the government.

He pledges to end trickle-down economics

Burnham is perceived to be to the political left of Starmer – an asset with Labour members – and is acknowledged as one of the party’s best communicators. The rather stiff public speaker of his earlier leadership bids has been replaced by a relaxed figure in jeans and open-necked shirts.

His three mayoral election victories and decisive win in Thursday's election in Makerfield, where he trounced the candidate of the anti-immigration party Reform UK, have cemented his status as a winner. Many in the party hope he can reverse Labour’s precipitous decline in popularity since Starmer won an election landslide two years ago.

Makerfield voter Ellen Picton, 66, said she was “absolutely thrilled” by Burnham's victory.

“I believe that he’s a man for the common people,” she said. “Andy is like one of us, and he understands what we are going through."

Burnham is pledging to repeat on a national scale his signature brand of “Manchesterism” – a politics that, he likes to say, puts people and place before party and centers on regions ignored by governments in London.

“What we’ve built in Greater Manchester needs to go national,” Burnham said during the campaign. “I know what it is to turn places around.”

But it remains to be seen whether he can have national appeal, said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

“Calling him King of the North in some ways, I think, raises the question of whether he can also be King of the South, King of the East and King of the West,″ Bale said. “However, he does seem to have the kind of X factor that encourages people to think of him as not an ordinary politician, somebody who can communicate with normal people, someone who can speak human.”

In a postelection speech to supporters, Burnham sketched out his priorities: better vocational education and jobs for young people, lower energy bills and rail fares and “an end to trickle down economics, which didn’t trickle down very much at all to places like this.”

Critics say Burnham’s politics are vague and fail to grapple with tough issues, such as where the money will come from to pay for his pledges. And they note that running a country of 70 million is a lot different from overseeing a city region of 3 million.

Nonetheless Burnham now has momentum that could propel him into 10 Downing Street.

"Andy Burnham is probably one of the most popular politicians in the country,” Bale said. “Although, to be honest, that is not saying much.”

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Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha in Ashton-in-Makerfield, England, contributed to this story.

The Dallas Wings rookie joins No. 3 pick Awa Fam as part of the new 5-on-5 league that will play all over the world from November to April.

So far about a dozen players have said they’ll be playing in Project B, headlined by Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd and Kelsey Mitchell. Many young players from around the world are expected to play in the league as well.

Project B will feature six teams with 11 players and compete in seven two-week tournaments across the globe in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Valencia, Spain, and Tokyo have already been announced as two of the cities that will host the new league. Tokyo will have games from March 25-April 4.

Host Broadcast Services, the broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup, will be the league’s production partner. They plan to stream all games.

Project B will have 66 players divided into six teams. According to the organization, women’s players will receive larger salaries than those currently offered by the WNBA. Fudd is making $500,000 as the No. 1 pick. The former UConn star had an NIL deal with Unrivaled, but that was only for college.

Fudd is averaging 12.7 points while shooting 50.7% from the field.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Karthikeyan Deenadayalan was charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland on Monday with one count of violating the federal Port and Waterways Safety Act. Deenadayalan’s attorneys did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

Prosecutors also filed notice of a “deferred prosecution agreement” with the court, but did not provide details about the terms of that deal. Deferred prosecution agreements are typically used when a defendant has agreed to meet certain conditions — such as providing testimony, or paying restitution — in exchange for the charges against them being dropped.

Prosecutors say in court documents that Deenadayalan was the chief engineer of the container ship when it was in the Port of Baltimore in the days before the deadly bridge collision, and that Deenadayalan willfully failed to notify the U.S. Coast Guard that an improper fuel pump without a backup system was being used to power two of the ship's generators.

The Dali, bound for Sri Lanka, lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge in the early hours of March 26, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that led to its steering failure.

But after regaining power, the ship found itself in trouble again, prosecutors say, because the fuel pump used on the two generators was not designed to automatically restart after the first blackout. That caused a second blackout to occur, and the vessel crashed into a supporting column of the bridge, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes on the structure. The toll bridge first opened in 1977 and is traveled by millions of cars every year.

The Singapore-based ship operator and another employee were indicted on criminal charges in May, accused of relying on the improper pump and then lying about it to investigators. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd. and Chennai, India-based Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd. and the ship's former technical superintendent Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, are charged with conspiracy, misconduct causing death, failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazardous condition, obstructing the National Transportation Safety Board and making false statements.

A trial in the case against the ship's operator and the technical superintendent has been scheduled for October 2027.

After the indictment, Synergy Marine expressed disappointment and accused the U.S. Justice Department of turning an accident into a crime. Nair’s lawyer, David Gerger, had a similar response, saying in May that his client “thinks about this accident every day, but he certainly did not cause it.”

In April, a $2.25 billion settlement was announced between the state of Maryland, Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean Private Limited, the Singapore-based ship owner. Grace Ocean hasn’t been charged with any crimes related to the collapse.

Earlier this month, a federal judge agreed to postpone a civil trial over the collapse after a flurry of last-minute settlements resolved most of the remaining claims, including deals resolving all pending claims over the deaths of six construction workers.

Virtually all of the unresolved claims are alleging economic losses by businesses and local governments. None of the remaining parties were asking to start the trial as scheduled this week.

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This story has been updated to correct that millions of cars travel the toll bridge every year, not every day.

The call for help came in electronically to to the Amherst County Dispatch center, at approximately 11:15 A.M., via an SOS signal from a satellite device, which reported that an individual was experiencing weakness.

The Monelison Volunteer Fire Department reports that they weren’t able to contact that person so Amherst Fire & EMS, along with crews from Pedlar Fire, were dispatched to a spot near the Punchbowl Overlook.

Given the emergency nature of the call and the challenge of tackling all that hilly terrain, dispatchers requested help from the Monelison Fire Department, the Amherst Fire Department, the Amherst Sheriff’s Office, and the Glasgow Fire Department.

Upon arriving at the Punchbowl Overlook at the Appalachian Foot Trail, first responders began a 3.5 mile trek into the woods.

Firefighters say that at approximately 1:02 P.M., teams made contact with the hiker. They called for a Virginia State Police helicopter to assist in lifting them out, but area storms made that kind of rescue impossible.

So, the crews placed the patient in a specialized stretcher known as a stokes basket and began carrying them back, miles away, to the waiting medic unit.

There’s no word as of Friday afternoon of the hiker’s condition, or identity.

We’re told the operation concluded at 3:02 P.M., when all crews had exited the woods, and members of the medic team received care for their efforts.

The Monelison Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post: “The successful outcome of this incident highlights the effective teamwork among multiple agencies and the coordinated efforts managed by dispatch.”

Thanks to Firefighter Mark Luther of MVFD for sharing photos via Facenbook.

On Friday, the Oscar-winning actor posted an Instagram video in which she grins as she reveals a baby bump and hurries off camera. The 43-year-old Hathaway captioned the video “Baby, I'm yours” and for the soundtrack used the Barbara Lewis hit of the same name.

When asked for confirmation, a Hathaway spokesman responded, “I think the video is pretty obvious.”

Hathaway and husband Adam Shulman are already the parents of Jonathan Shulman and Jack Shulman. Friday's news arrives at an especially busy time for the actor, whose films this year include “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Mother Mary” and “The Odyssey.”

Take Folarin Balogun who scored twice in the United States’ opening win over Paraguay. He chose to play for the U.S. where he was born instead of England where he grew up or Nigeria where his parents came from.

Or Yasin Ayari, who picked Sweden over his father’s native Tunisia, a decision that came into focus as Sweden defeated the North African team 5-1 with two goals from Ayari.

And there’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, an 18-year-old standout who switched national teams from France to Morocco just weeks before the tournament kicked off.

The World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada is the biggest melting pot in the tournament’s history. Decades of migration are reflected in the rosters of major European teams like France, England and Germany. Meanwhile, many teams in Africa and the Caribbean rely heavily on their diaspora, made easier by a relaxation of FIFA’s eligibility rules.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of players at this World Cup are playing for a country other than the one in which they were born. Many with mixed backgrounds switched allegiances when turning senior, following their heart – or their ambition.

Players from France are everywhere

Nearly 100 players at this World Cup were born in France, but only 23 of them play for the French national team. The others – France-born players with family ties worldwide – make up significant parts of the squads of Algeria, Cape Verde, Congo, Ghana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Tunisia.

Bouaddi, one of the top performers in Morocco’s 1-1 draw with Brazil, was born in France and nurtured at top-tier club Lille. He played for France at the youth level and was captain of France’s under-21 team as recently as March, but switched to Morocco, where his family came from, just in time for the World Cup.

"I’m very proud of my decision and very happy to represent my country, Morocco,” he said before the tournament. “My family is happy and I hope great things will come in the upcoming competitions.”

Moroccan soccer federation president Faouzi Lekjaa personally visited Bouaddi at his home and met with the president of Lille to outline the North African kingdom’s soccer ambitions and the professional environment it offers, according to Moroccan state television.

Morocco, which in 2022 became the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals, relies heavily on players from its diaspora in Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. It has 19 foreign-born players in its 26-man squad.

Defender Achraf Hakimi was born in Madrid and Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz played one game for Spain before his FIFA switch to Morocco was processed in 2024.

A complex choice for the children of immigrants

Some of the biggest profiles of soccer had to make a choice. Kylian Mbappé was eligible to play for Cameroon or Algeria because of his family background but chose France where he was born and raised. Spain’s Lamine Yamal could have played for Morocco, his father’s homeland.

Brothers Désiré and Guéla Doué took separate paths. Both were born in France but Désiré plays for France while Guéla chose to represent Ivory Coast, where their father is from.

They’re not the only brothers who have ended up on separate World Cup teams. John Souttar represents Scotland while his brother Harry plays for Australia. Nico and Iñaki Williams were born in Spain to Ghanaian parents and while Nico chose to play for Spain, Iñaki picked Ghana.

Tunisia tried to recruit Ayari, the Sweden midfielder who plays for Brighton in the Premier League, for its national team based on his father’s Tunisian background. However, his father, Azzouz Ayari, pushed back. He told Swedish media that he felt his son should represent the country in which he was born and raised.

“I am an immigrant, but my children, no. Yasin is a Swede, with Tunisian background,” Azzouz Ayari told newspaper Aftonbladet. “I want him to play for Sweden because I want him to feel that he is giving back to the country that really took care of him.”

Sweden fans won’t argue with that decision. Ayari scored twice in the team’s opener against Tunisia but muted his celebrations out of respect for his father’s home country.

Birthright citizen Balogun chose the US over England

Balogun’s two goals in the 4-1 win against Paraguay made him – and his background – more widely known to the American public. He played for England at youth level, except for a brief stint with the U.S. under-18 team, but switched to represent the United States in 2023.

That was possible because of birthright citizenship rules in the U.S. – Balogun was born in New York, while his Nigerian parents were visiting.

Balogun has cited the passion of U.S. soccer fans that he experienced while visiting a training camp in Florida in March 2023 as part of the reason why he decided to represent the United States. When they found out he was in Florida, many fans urged him to play for the U.S. national team. He also met with U.S. team officials.

“I’ve always said the fans gave me so much motivation and showed me so much support. The most important thing has always been to be able to repay that,” Balogun said after the Paraguay game last week. “I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision."

Whether he could have gotten a place in the highly competitive England squad is unclear. At the time, then-England coach Gareth Southgate said they were monitoring his progress but couldn't promise anything.

FIFA sets the rules

Switching nationalities is nothing new in soccer. Some of the sport’s biggest stars represented multiple countries, including Ferenc Puskás, who was the leader of Hungary’s “Mighty Magyars” in the 1950s but played for Spain at the 1962 World Cup.

That Spain squad also included Puskás’s Real Madrid teammate Alfredo Di Stéfano, whose international career started with his native Argentina.

In modern soccer, FIFA intervened in 2004 amid concern Brazilian players were being naturalized with a passport too easily by other countries, including Qatar.

A “clear connection” with the country was insisted on, which could be two years of residence or a grandparent born there.

FIFA’s then-president Sepp Blatter later aimed to “stop this farce” warning that at a 32-team World Cup “you will have 16 full of Brazilian players.”

The residence demand on players aged 18 or over became five years in 2008, and a proposal at the 2011 FIFA Congress by the United Arab Emirates to cut it to three was rejected.

Dual- or multiple-national players have been “cap-tied” by FIFA to any team they represented in a senior competitive game. Those who played only in friendlies or at youth level could apply to switch.

FIFA eased its rules in 2020 to allow more eligibility changes, but players are locked to a nation if they play at a finals tournament of the World Cup or continental championship.

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AP reporter Akram Oubachir in Casablanca, Morocco, contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

The Bank King Card debit card will be offered beginning Friday in honor of Juneteenth by Redemption Bank, which will make a donation from every account opened to nonprofits that will steer the funding to needy families.

“Bank King Card represents a new regenerative banking model that starts with investing in mothers who are a few hopeful dollars away from breaking out of poverty, and opening up America’s vaults of opportunity that have been closed to too many for too long,” Redemption Holding Co. chair and Chief Executive Ashley Bell said.

A 2026 report by the Urban Institute and the Jeremiah Program says households led by single mothers experience widespread economic and caregiving hardship.

Redemption Bank, based in Holladay, Utah, says it intends to make fixed-amount donations based on new Bank King Card account openings. The amount will be determined annually by the bank’s board of directors and will not be based on the amount of card purchases, according to Redemption Bank.

Nonprofits that provide direct-cash services would apply for grants through a foundation developed to make sure the money gets to those who need it most.

“What we’ve seen is these guaranteed income programs have been a jolt out of poverty for women around the country, including many women of color,” Bell said.

Every dollar helps

Money given directly to needy mothers and children is overwhelmingly spent to cover necessary goods or services, according to Chastity Lord, president and chief executive of the Jeremiah Program, which works to improve economic mobility for single mothers.

But it also does so much more, she said.

“It provides dignity,” Lord continued. “It ensures summer learning, not leaving kids at home. It increases nutrition. It allows the mom to make powerful decisions that benefit their children and their families instead of making decisions to just get by.”

A pilot program through the Ohio Mother's Trust funneled $500 each month for a year to 32 single mothers in the Columbus, Ohio, area.

For Juanita Amakor of Columbus, the cash she received through the Ohio Mother's Trust allowed her to catch up on bills and pay rent.

“It's the breathing room it gives you, knowing there is something extra coming in. It relieves a lot of anxiety,” said Amakor, 36, who has a 7-year-old daughter. “This help goes a long way, even if it was for something as little as being able to take my child to the grocery store, to the clothing store.”

In Michigan, Rx Kids gives women a one-time allocation of $1,500 during pregnancy, followed by $500 per month throughout the child’s first months. The $1,500 can be used on food, prenatal care, rent, cribs or other needs. The $500 monthly stipend can be spent on formula, diapers or childcare.

Kinea Wright and her family received funding through the Rx Kids program in Flint. It helped with some bills, diapers for her newborn daughter and other needs, especially after her husband was injured in a forklift accident.

“Initially, (the money) was put up for a rainy day,” said Wright, 46. “I didn't know the rainy day would come sooner than we thought. It was a blessing in disguise.”

Juneteenth connection

A year ago, Redemption Holding Co. completed its acquisition of Utah-based Holladay Bank & Trust, making it the first time a bank has been owned by a Black-led investment group in the Western U.S.

At the time, Redemption Bank had roughly $65 million in assets. It primarily focuses on commercial lending and small business loans. Bernice A. King, the youngest child of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., is a co-founder and senior vice president of the bank.

“Economic opportunity must be practical, accessible and rooted in the needs of families,” King said. “Bank King Card is an innovative way to support that work. It creates a practical opportunity for people to align their financial choices with their values while supporting mothers, children and families working toward long-term stability.”

A Bank King Card credit card is expected to be introduced later with interest rates capped at 12%.

The announcement of the Bank King Card coincides with Juneteenth, which also is the one-year anniversary of Redemption's acquisition of Holladay Bank & Trust.

Juneteenth — which combines “June” and “nineteenth” — represents the date in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed. It came two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated it a federal holiday.

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Corey Williams is a member of AP's Race & Ethnicity team.

The contract is worth $68 million, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because financial terms were not disclosed.

Raddysh will count $8.5 million against the salary cap through the 2033-34 season. He had never made more than a million dollars a year until now.

The 30-year-old late bloomer cashed in on a breakout season in which he set career highs with 22 goals, 48 assists and 70 points in 73 games. That's the same amount of points he put up in the previous two seasons combined since becoming a full-time NHL player as recently as 2023.

Raddysh provides an immediate upgrade for the Leafs, who have a new coach in Jim Hiller and a new front office led by general manager John Chayka and franchise legend adviser Mats Sundin. Getting Raddysh's rights from the Lightning for a fifth-round pick before he could hit the open market is Chayka's second trade after clearing cap space earlier this week by sending goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit to Philadelphia.

“We are thrilled to add a defenseman of Darren’s caliber to our organization,” Chayka said. “Darren has emerged as one of the NHL’s premier two-way defensemen, combining elite puck-moving ability with poise, competitiveness and strong play in all three zones. He strengthens our blue line in every situation and is exactly the type of player we want helping lead this team.”

Raddysh was undrafted despite helping the Erie Otters win the Ontario Hockey League at the junior level in 2016-17. He signed with Chicago, got traded to the New York Rangers and inked a free agent deal in 2021 with the Lightning.

He spent a vast majority of that time in the minors and was an All-Star in the American Hockey League before earning a job with Tampa Bay. He thrived this past season while the team dealt with injuries all over and led all players in the league at the position with 10 power-play goals.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

We are still seeing some light drizzle across the region due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur. Fortunately for us, it has taken a southern track, leaving us practically unscathed and traveling through the Carolinas.

As those showers wrap up in the next bit, sunshine will take over Friday afternoon and stick around through the weekend.

High temperatures will be warm for the day, and it will slowly get less muggy Friday afternoon.

The sunshine is coming soon, as well as these toasty temperatures. This will make for a great day to get outside; we suggest taking a look at your local park!

As for the wind, it will get quite gusty at times, mainly around dinner time. It will quickly taper off into the teens Friday night, leading us into a calm Saturday.

This weekend will have great weather all around. A few showers are possible Sunday evening, mainly for the mountains, ahead of more showers and thunderstorms on Monday.

After that, we continue with seasonable temperatures and have the potential for afternoon thunderstorms and showers.

“There has never been a more peaceful and calm place in the whole world than when I am strapped into a racecar, my helmet on. I am completely in control,” said Jordan.

But in 2013, he had to shift his attention from the track to his health.

“I started feeling super nauseous and just really something wasn’t right,” he said

Jordan found out he was in renal failure and had to get a kidney transplant.

“That time in my life was extremely difficult because of my age, being so young. It was hard to relate with anybody. But more importantly to me, it made racing much more challenging,” he recalled.

Fortunately, there was someone on his care team who could relate.

“I met Jordan at the track with his father. They used to race quite a bit, and I raced at that time as well,” said Kevin Stadtlander, MD, interventional radiologist at Cleveland Clinic.

He made sure Jordan was still able to race, even after he developed lymphoma following his transplant. 

“At that time, we had to place a port in the chest wall, and so we were very mindful of where the race car belts and safety harnesses would go,” said Dr. Stadtlander.

The now 38-year-old is cancer-free, happily married, and a proud father of two.

“Being a dad is probably one of the most amazing things I have done with my life,” he said with a smile.

According to officials, at approximately 11 p.m., a physical altercation occurred at Danville’s Riverfront Park, located at 100 Memorial Drive, where videos have been shared on social media.

The DPD has investigated the incident and found that an adult, 25-year-old Christina Witherspoon of Danville, went to the location to confront two teenagers she knew and had ongoing issues with. The confrontation led to the physical assault seen on video committed by the 14 and 15-year-olds against Witherspoon.

Witherspoon has been charged with the following:

• Virginia Code § 18.2-371- Causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent, abused, etc.
• Virginia Code § 18.2-415.- Disorderly conduct in public places

Both the 14 and 15-year-old female offenders have been charged with:

• Virginia Code § 18.2-42- Assault or battery by mob
• Virginia Code § 18.2-415- Disorderly conduct in public places

The Danville Police Department would like to remind citizens that both juveniles AND their parents may be held criminally responsible for violating the City of Danville curfew hours for minors, 11:00 P.M. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday until 6:00 A.M. of the following day; and 12:00 midnight until 6:00 A.M. on the following day on Friday or Saturday. The full ordinance is found in section 23-10 of the Danville, Virginia Code of Ordinances: https://tinyurl.com/3fpdrues

Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Danville Police Department by either calling 911, patrol at 434-799-6510 option 4, investigations at 434-799-6508 option 3, and option 1 again, contacting Crime Stoppers at 434-793-0000, approach any officer you see, through social media, via email crimetips@danvilleva.gov, or use our crime tips app CARE at www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=818#.

“The fact that this holiday has been preserved for thousands of years shows how much we value our traditional customs,” said Meng Dongmei, a retired resident of Beijing’s Tongzhou district.

Meng said her family observes the holiday through a variety of traditional customs. They prepare zongzi, the sticky rice dumplings associated with the festival, and children wear five-colored bracelets believed to ward off evil.

“We also learned online about a traditional recipe using mugwort leaves, red dates, brown sugar and ginger to boil eggs,” Meng said. “We heard that it could help ward off illness and keep people healthy throughout the year, so we hope that through this festival our family will enjoy good health.”

Thousands to gather for boat races

Beijing’s 2026 celebrations will continue through the weekend at the capital’s Grand Canal.

The three-day event features men’s, women’s and mixed dragon boat races over distances of 100, 200 and 500 meters. Teams from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Guangdong will compete throughout the holiday weekend.

More than 1,000 athletes and 200,000 spectators are expected to gather for the event, organizers said in a press release.

“The competition helped strengthen our team spirit,” said Li Maoshan, a participant in Friday’s races. “It also gave us an opportunity to demonstrate the spirit of perseverance and hard work.”

Beyond the races

Among the cultural features during Beijing’s Dragon Boat Festival were demonstrations of Wing Chun martial arts, a market featuring traditional handicrafts and a performance in which dancers mimic the movements of a lion.

Activities were intended to highlight cultural exchanges between northern and southern China, officials said.

Friday’s lion dance was presented by a group of performers from Guangdong province in southern China. “Wherever there is a festive occasion, you’ll find dragon and lion dances,” said He Weihong, founder of the group. “Dragon boat racing and dragon-and-lion dancing are inseparable, as they are both part of our intangible cultural heritage.”

Ancient customs on health and protection

The festival’s roots run deeper than sporting competitions. It is widely associated with the ancient poet Qu Yuan, who according to legend drowned himself more than 2,000 years ago.

Tradition holds that people raced out in boats to search for him and threw rice into the river so fish would not eat his body. That story is often linked to both today’s dragon boat races and the zongzi still prepared by families across China.

“The Dragon Boat Festival is probably the richest and most diverse of all traditional Chinese festivals,” said Tsinghua University history professor Liu Xiaofeng. “Across different regions, people developed a wide variety of traditions based on ideas connected to the summer solstice and the balance of yin and yang.”

The holiday falls in the fifth month of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, around the time of the summer solstice. Ancient Chinese viewed this as a period when insects, poisonous creatures and disease became more prevalent, giving rise to a wide range of customs aimed at preserving health and warding off misfortune.

“At its core, the Dragon Boat Festival is about disease prevention, warding off evil and maintaining health,” Liu said.

Some people wear sachets containing medicinal herbs during the festival. Others fumigate their homes with smoke, a practice intended to prevent disease by driving out things considered harmful.

“Chinese people have traditionally placed a special emphasis on happiness, well-being and living in peace and safety,” Liu said. “Nearly all of China’s major festivals are connected in some way to these aspirations.”

Evolving traditions

Participants in Hong Kong’s dragon boat races on Friday wore costumes including a cartoon version of Chinese Taoist deity Ne Zha.

Guided by the thunderous beat of their drummers, crews pulled their paddles through the water in unison, each boat surging toward the finish line as spectators cheered them on. Others watched the races at home as they enjoyed zongzi with their families.

“Today more than 64% of China’s population lives in urban areas and people’s lifestyles have been transformed,” Liu said. “In a large city, it’s difficult to celebrate the festival the way people once did in rural communities. Festivals evolve along with the times.”

Bao Nari, a Beijing resident who spent years away from home while she studied in Japan, said that while boat races were not part of her childhood celebrations, other long-standing Dragon Boat Festival traditions like wearing five-colored bracelets were passed down through her family.

“After coming back, I’m impressed by how much cultural development has progressed here,” Bao said. “This cultural heritage has become deeply rooted in our hearts and it inspires our generation to be more confident.”

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AP video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing and reporter Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The poll points to just how unpopular the war, which began Feb. 28, has been with Americans even as the Republican president turned abruptly from threatening Iran to reopening negotiations. Support for his handling of the war remains lopsidedly partisan. About two-thirds, 65%, of U.S. adults disapprove of how Trump is handling issues with Iran. But while the vast majority of Democrats and independents view Trump’s actions negatively, only 28% of Republicans are unhappy.

Americans’ views on how the president is handling Iran are roughly in line with his overall job approval, which stands at 37%, unchanged from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in May.

The new survey was conducted June 11-17, just after Trump called off threats to escalate the war with Iran. The poll was fielded as Trump announced a deal with Iran and authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, concluding just before the deal was signed Wednesday.

Approval of Trump’s actions on Iran has been low over the past few months. But in interviews, some Republicans also weren’t pleased with the outcome of this week’s agreement, which gives Iran an immediate benefit, allowing it to sell its oil freely again.

The deal also reopens the strait without tolls for two months, restarts talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program and calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

David Farrington, a 79-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Fort Worth, Texas, “doesn’t have any love lost” for Iran, but he’s frustrated the agreement focused on the strait and didn’t deliver more on the country’s nuclear weapons program.

“Any agreement regarding the strait is hardly what I would consider a recognizable concession on the part of Iran,” Farrington said. “So, I consider that some fluff that attempts to make this agreement look better when it’s not.”

Trump’s approval on Iran remains flat

Only about one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling Iran in the new poll, in line with May.

Donald McBride, a 28-year-old independent in Plano, Texas, is frustrated that Trump has not maintained his campaign promise to keep America out of foreign wars. McBride voted for Trump but he opposed going to war with Iran.

“I would like the war to end,” he said. “The original objective of the war was to end the Iranian regime, and that’s just not possible. I don’t really know why we’d continue fighting.”

The poll suggests most Americans want action in Iran to wrap up. Even with an agreement on the horizon, 53% of U.S. adults said American military action against Iran had “gone too far,” only a slight decline from 59% in March.

About 4 in 10 Republicans, though, said in the latest poll that action has been “about right,” and 37% said it had not gone far enough.

Joan Jones, a 64-year-old independent in northwest Florida, believes the United States’ actions in Iran have been necessary to address the threat Iran posed.

“Those attacks are ultimately to protect us from nuclear attacks,” Jones said. “I think we have to go through that … and eliminate that worry so we don’t have that hovering over us.”

Few approve of Trump’s approach on Israel

About one-third, 34%, of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling Israel.

Tensions have been rising between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump as the president criticizes recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which jeopardized negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

James Huffman, a 69-year-old Republican in Medway, Ohio, thinks Trump is taking the wrong strategy when it comes to Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu is not going to do everything Trump wants. He’s going to do what he wants,” Huffman said. “I just don’t think it’s effective.”

Only about one-third approve on the economy

About one-third of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s approach to the economy. That’s in line with last month, and continues a challenging stretch for Trump on the issue.

Jones, the Florida independent, is more optimistic than most. She said she can hardly leave the house some hours without getting stuck in the traffic of tourists headed to the beach on vacation. She also spots lines around the block for Starbucks, McDonalds and Chick-fil-A in her community — all signs to her that the economy is doing well overall.

“I think President Trump’s policies are contributing to a better economy,” Jones said.

Other Republicans are more skeptical, a troubling sign for a president who prides himself on his business acumen. Only 69% of Republicans approve of how he’s handling the economy, slightly lower than the 78% who approve of how he’s handling the presidency overall.

Patricia Bailey, a 42-year-old Republican in Parkersburg, West Virginia, sees an economy where prices have gotten out of control. “I just said the other night, ordering pizza is for rich people,” she said. Bailey voted for Trump but added, “He’s kind of let me down a little bit.”

Even if high prices preceded Trump, Bailey doesn’t think he’s lived up to his pledge to improve the economy.

“I think he got so distracted with the war that he forgot some old promises,” she said.

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The AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults was conducted June 11-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

That’s why 10 News anchor Brittany Morgan wants to hear from you! She’s on a mission to highlight the “everyday heroes” who make our communities feel like home. Whether it’s a first responder, a teacher, a caregiver, or anyone working to make a difference, we want to know about the special people who inspire you.

So, who are the everyday heroes in your life? Nominate them using the form below, and they could be featured on WSLS 10! Just include their name, the area where they live, and a brief description of about 150 words explaining why you think they deserve to be recognized.

As of Friday, June 19, the average price of regular gas per gallon in Virginia is $3.72, according to AAA. Premium averages $4.62 per gallon, while diesel averages $4.97 per gallon.

Taking a closer look at our region, here’s a look at the average price of gas for localities in our area:

• Lynchburg:
• • Regular: $3.61
  • Mid: $4.14
  • Premium: $4.54
  • Diesel: $4.98
• Roanoke:
• • Regular: $3.71
  • Mid: $4.21
  • Premium: $4.61
  • Diesel: $4.99
• Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford (New River Valley area)
• • Regular: $3.73
  • Mid: $4.21
  • Premium: $4.62
  • Diesel: $4.91

Count on 10 News to bring you the latest price at the pump every morning.

To find out where the lowest fuel prices are near you, visit GasBuddy’s website.

The increases come after city officials identified a roughly $4 million gap during the budget process earlier this year.

City Manager Rob Fincher previously told 10 News the shortfall was driven by the expiration of federal funding and rising operational expenses that had not been accounted for in previous budgets.

“What was budgeted before didn’t account for the future,” Fincher said. “Basically, to say that this funding is going to end one day.”

Under the adopted budget, the city’s real estate tax rate will increase by 9 cents per $100 of assessed value. Based on estimates, the average homeowner will pay about $67 more annually in property taxes.

Residents will also see trash collection fees increase by $5 per month, adding another $60 per year to household expenses.

Electric bills are expected to rise by an average of 47 cents per month through adjustments to the city’s electric rates.

Combined, the increases amount to approximately $11 more per month, or about $132 annually for the average household.

Not everyone agrees on what caused the budget challenges.

Councilman Aaron Rawls and Mayor LC Jones both voted against the budget. Rawls says he didn’t want to increase taxes again and believes political turmoil and infighting among city leaders contributed to the city’s financial problems.

“Corrupt people are going to cost you money,” Rawls said. “And so that’s where we’re at.”

Some residents say the additional costs come at a difficult time for many households.

“Ever since the election almost four years ago, we have had historic tax and fee increases,” said Martinsville resident Ural Harris. “We have the lowest income in the state and the lowest ability to pay of just about anybody in the state.”

Rawls said the city’s financial challenges may not end with this year’s budget. He said some equipment purchases and capital improvements have been postponed because of the deficit, potentially creating additional financial pressures in future years.

“All we’re doing is digging the hole even deeper,” Rawls said. “So it’s a guarantee there’s a tax increase next year.”

City officials have not announced any future tax increases yet.

As thousands poured into Atlanta Stadium on Monday to see Spain face Cape Verde in what turned out to be a remarkable scoreless draw, Ramroop stood outside, increasingly stressed as she went back and forth for hours between StubHub representatives on the phone and FIFA representatives in the ticket booth. Each blamed the other.

No one could figure out why the tickets Ramroop bought months ago on StubHub for $485 apiece couldn't be transferred from the original seller to the FIFA ticketing app. StubHub offered her a refund and, as Ramroop heard the crowd roar for the start of the match, she knew she had no choice but to give up and take the offer.

“I didn’t want a refund, I didn’t want my money back,” Ramroop said. “I wanted to go to the game.”

The World Cup has delivered thrills on the pitch, but fans have flooded social media with complaints about tickets that never arrived, orders that were canceled at the last minute and hours they spent trying to sort out problems between FIFA’s ticketing system and outside resale platforms. The vast majority seem to be about industry titan StubHub, but people who bought through competitors such as SeatGeek and Vivid Seats have also reported issues. Interviews with fans and industry experts show that some cases stem from technical glitches in the transfer process, while others could involve sellers who never had tickets to deliver in the first place, though StubHub denies such sales happen on its platform.

A grandmother's disappointment

FIFA has urged fans to buy resale tickets through its own marketplace, where it slaps a 30% surcharge on every resold ticket — 15% each from the buyer and seller. But many fans bought through other resale sites, either out of habit or because those sites have lower prices or are easier to navigate.

Ramroop didn't realize she was taking a risk when she bought through StubHub, which she had used in the past without issues.

As she and her grandson Elijah Gomes took the long, lonely train ride back to the Atlanta suburbs, Elijah followed the score on his phone. The match had ended scoreless, and he tried to cheer up his devastated grandmother by telling her they hadn't missed much after all (Cape Verdeans would beg to differ ).

“He’s telling me, ‘Grandma, it’s OK, Grandma.’ And he’s trying to console me,” Ramroop said the next day.

She was hardly alone. An Associated Press journalist witnessed more than a dozen frustrated fans at the match who said they were stuck in similar situations.

StubHub blamed FIFA for the transfer problems that buyers like Ramroop have experienced. In a statement, it said FIFA has “poor technology infrastructure,” enacted last-minute transfer restrictions and didn't launch its new ticketing app until a few weeks before the tournament. The company also called out organizers that “take anti-competitive actions” that limit where fans can buy and sell tickets.

Asked about the technical issues, FIFA on Wednesday reiterated that sales through its official site are guaranteed to go through.

An industry's longstanding problem

Industry observers say the problems appear to stem from more than one cause. For some, it may indeed be technical glitches — an issue that StubHub says is “very, very rare” and one that it is hard at work to solve. For others, they say it's likely a more longstanding scourge: speculative sellers.

Scott Friedman, an industry veteran and co-founder of a consultancy called the Ticket Talk Network, said some sellers list tickets before they actually have them, betting that prices will fall closer to the event so they can buy the tickets at a better price later. But because World Cup ticket prices have surged since the tournament began, those sellers have been forced to either buy expensive tickets to fulfill their orders or cancel and accept penalties from resale platforms. StubHub's penalties are typically 200% of the ticket price, Friedman said.

“This is not new at all,” said Friedman, pointing to other high-profile events where frustrated fans were left empty-handed, including Taylor Swift's Eras tour. “This has been going on, but it’s making global news because it’s the World Cup.”

StubHub says it requires sellers to prove they have tickets before they list them.

But regardless of the reason for the canceled sales, Friedman said “StubHub should fill every single order to make sure fans get in the biggest global sporting event that happens every four years.”

That’s what many fans say they expected when they purchased through StubHub.

StubHub’s FanProtect Guarantee promises replacement tickets or a refund if tickets fail to arrive. But the policy repeatedly says those remedies are provided at StubHub’s “sole discretion,” meaning the company can choose a refund instead of securing replacement seats.

“That is pretty explicit language,” said Michael McCann, a sports law expert at the University of New Hampshire. McCann noted that a buyer could try to challenge the language under state consumer protection laws, but it would be an uphill battle.

A father's regrets

Pape Ndaw is crestfallen that the high school graduation gift he got for his son — tickets for them to see the Netherlands and Japan near their home city of Dallas — never arrived.

He bought the tickets for about $550 apiece in December. Then, two days before the June 14 match, he received an email from StubHub telling him, “The seller can’t deliver your original tickets.”

Ndaw accepted store credit rather than a refund, thinking he would use the funds to quickly get replacements, only to then realize that the cheapest last-minute tickets were going for more than $1,500 each. Not only were they not going to get to go to the game, but Ndaw said StubHub rejected his belated request for a refund instead of store credit.

Breaking the news to his soccer-obsessed son was brutal, Ndaw said.

“It was a disastrous thing,” he said. “He had told all his friends that he was going to that game. He literally cried. I mean, he is a 17-year-old kid, but he cried.”

A family's attempt to make the best of it

Others fared somewhat better.

Patrick O’Neil of Pittsboro, North Carolina, traveled to Atlanta with his wife, son and relatives after purchasing five tickets through StubHub for the Spain-Cape Verde match. Two tickets transferred successfully, but three never arrived.

O’Neil’s 15-year-old son and his uncle ended up using the two tickets, while O’Neil, his wife and another relative watched from a nearby bar.

After local media caught wind of their ordeal, O’Neil said StubHub contacted the family and offered tickets to another game. Since the family had already bought tickets to one, though, he and his wife asked the company to instead give the seats to local nonprofit Soccer in the Streets so they could go to people who otherwise might not be able to attend a match.

“StubHub is not evil, but they’re part of the whole system that makes it really hard for just normal kids and people who might want to see a match get to go,” O'Neil said.

On Thursday, a StubHub representative confirmed to the AP that the company would honor the O’Neils’ request and send tickets to the nonprofit.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Col John Ripley, who grew up in Radford and became a war hero in Vietnam, received his Medal of Honor Thursday. President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to the local veteran for Heroism during the Vietnam War.

10 News Anchor John Carlin was at the White House for the ceremony Thursday.

Original:

John Ripley, who grew up in Radford and later became a war hero in Vietnam will soon receive the Medal of Honor -- the highest military decoration.

In the eyes of many, this award is long overdue.

Grainy black and white network film footage from Vietnam shows then-Captain John Ripley speaking to network correspondents in Dong Ha, Vietnam in 1972. He was advising the South Vietnamese 3rd Marine Battalion on one side of the Cua Viet River, while enemy troops prepared to invade from the other.

It would come down to Ripley himself to prevent the invasion.

“By the last couple of days of March, it’s evident that this is a major invasion. All of the ground sensors are going off, there’s troop sightings, there are armored battalion and regiment sightings,” said Ripley’s son Tom, who has been working behind the scenes for years to get his father the recognition he believes he deserves.

As tanks and troops on the friendly side began to dig in, they knew they had little chance against the much larger North Vietnamese force.

“The Vietnamese Marine Battalion’s orders from the Vietnamese chain of command was to hold and die. And my father’s the advisor to this,” Ripley said.

The only way to hold off the enemy was to blow up the bridge. So, Ripley -- a trained demolitions expert climbs onto the steel beneath the bridge, rigging charges. Depicted in a diorama at the U.S. Naval Academy, He is seen hanging by his hands, explosive charges on his back while the enemy is shooting at him.

He had been ordered to do it by an officer who thought all was lost.

“He gives my father the order to blow the bridge, puts the handset down, and says, I’ve just sent John Ripley to his death,” Ripley recounted.

The orders like something from Mission Impossible.

“He put 500 pounds of explosives across nine girders, staggered them so that they would blow and twist the bridge between the caissons and make the bridge impassable,” Ripley said.

Capt. Ripley made multiple trips under the bridge. Crimping explosive blasting caps onto the time fuses with his teeth. It’s a dangerous exercise usually done with a specific tool. If a blasting cap is crimped too hard, it will explode immediately. If it is not crimped enough, it will not trigger the desired explosion once the charges are set.

“They’re shooting him with small arms fire. You know, medium and heavy machine guns and tank rounds are impacting the bridge trying to stop him from doing this,” Ripley said. He explained that his father was partially protected by the girders under the bridge. He said that his father would face the greatest exposure to enemy fire when he would swing down to maneuver to a different girder, to set the next charge.

“It took a lot of courage just to take that first hand grip and carrying all that equipment, all the explosives that you had to set. That alone would have scared off most people. And yet, he kept going,” said Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith the representative for Virginia’s Ninth District.

Miraculously, Ripley survived. The explosives detonated. And the invasion was stopped in its tracks.

Ripley Grew up in the New River Valley

Ripley had grown up in Radford in a house where the Dedmon Center now stands. The bridge to the Radford University athletic complex named for the war hero.

Ripley’s son said it was his family that drove him to survive.

“Part of the reason why men go overseas, men and women go overseas to do this is because they know they have something to come back to. And in my father’s case, he had three children at the ages of two, three, and six. And my mom, living in Blacksburg, that’s who he was thinking about undoubtedly when he was under that bridge,” Tom Ripley said.

“It means that you went not only above and beyond, but you went above the “above and beyond,” Griffith said.

Ripley’s heroic efforts were captured in a book -- The Bridge at Dong Ha, written by fellow Marine John Grider Miller.

Ripley received the Navy Cross for his efforts -- but the heroism was worthy of more -- The Medal of Honor.

But with the U.S. trying to hand the war over to the South Vietnamese in 1972, it seemed the wrong time to draw attention to American heroics. The optics were just wrong for the time.

But 2026 appears to be the right time. Tom Ripley had never given up trying to secure the proper honor for his father. Recently, Representative Morgan Griffith carried a bill calling for the Medal of Honor for Ripley to Congress, where it passed. Griffith was tapped because Ripley had grown up in his district. He says he was happy to carry the bill.

“There was live fire going on while this operation was occurring and he got it done - and came back home and lived an amazing life,” Griffith said.

Ripley would stay in the Marines, retiring with the rank of Colonel. In the late ’80’s, he headed the Navy-Marine Corps ROTC at VMI.

In 1992, he became president of Southern Virginia College in Buena Vista.

Later, president of Hargrave Military Academy.

In 2002, Col. Ripley became the very first Marine officer to receive the “Distinguished Graduate Award,” the highest and most prestigious award given by the Naval Academy. In June 2008, four months before his passing, he also became the only Marine to be inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.

There were many, many other accolades along the way -- but soon, in a White House ceremony, he will receive the highest honor of all. The family will accept the Medal of Honor at the White House.

“When the president calls, we’ll be waiting and ready,” Tom Ripley said.

The defender, who is currently playing with Morocco at the World Cup after winning the Champions League for a second straight year with PSG, had appealed a February decision by an investigative judge. That ruling followed recommendations from public prosecutors that Hakimi should face trial.

The decision was released just hours before Morocco takes on Scotland in their Group C match. Morocco drew 1-1 with Brazil in its opening game.

Hakimi, one of the best right backs in the world, denies any wrongdoing. He faced preliminary charges of rape in March 2023 after a 24-year-old woman said she was raped by Hakimi at his home in a Paris suburb.

The Versailles appeals court said in a press statement that it ordered that Hakimi be formally charged with rape. The court said that the investigations conducted during the inquiry and the judicial investigation led the investigating chamber to conclude that there is sufficient evidence against the player to stand trial.

Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, said that after more than three years of legal proceedings, “and after being defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defense,” the court's decision “brings my client a sense of relief and hope."

“Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have her case heard at trial,” Pardo said in a statement to The Associate Press. "Hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the fortress of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including within the world of men’s football.”

Hakimi claimed in a message posted on X on Friday that his case would have been dismissed if he had not been famous, and that he sometimes feels he has become “an easy target.”

“Justice looked me in the eye and told me: ‘If you were not famous, there would never have been a case,’" Hakimi wrote. “I chose to remain silent for years. I believed that staying dignified, being patient, and trusting the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made.”

He added that the case has been detrimental not only to him, but also to his family, “and above all, to the truth.”

“I have been waiting for this trial since the first day. And I am now waiting for it impatiently,” he added. “Finally, I will be able to speak.”

A date for the trial has yet to be announced.

“The multitude of exculpatory elements uncovered during the investigation and judicial inquiry would, in any other case, have led to the dismissal of the proceedings," Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, told the AP.

“Achraf Hakimi’s defense regrets that no consequences were drawn from the contradictions and false statements made by the complainant, her concealment of information from the judicial authorities, her obstruction of the search for the truth, and the psychological assessments noting both her ambivalence and her lack of clarity regarding the events she reported.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

U.S. markets will be closed Friday for Juneteenth.

Planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to war were delayed, while Israel’s military said its forces struck targets throughout southern Lebanon overnight as Hezbollah reported intense fighting in the area.

“Both sides are trying to show some good faith,” Bas van Geffen of RaboResearch said in a commentary. “But even if the water appears calmer, there is still a strong undertow. The agreement remains fragile on multiple fronts.”

Germany's DAX rose 0.2% to 25,079.30, while the CAC 40 in Paris was nearly unchanged at 8,467.75. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.2% to 10,376.64.

The futures for the S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 wavered between gains and losses but closed 0.3% higher at a new record of 71,250.06. The government reported that consumer prices excluding volatile fresh foods was unchanged, but analysts said it would likely pick up in coming months despite higher fuel costs.

Higher inflation was a factor driving the Bank of Japan to raise its benchmark interest rate earlier this week to a three-decade high of 1% as it gradually adjusts its policies after years of near-zero or negative rates.

In South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.1% to 9,052.42, just shy of its record set a day earlier. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.9% to 8,828.70, while India's Sensex lost 0.8%.

Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan were closed for the Dragon Boat festival.

On Thursday, stocks rose on Wall Street, erasing most of their losses from a day earlier to notch weekly gains thanks to big advances for heavyweight technology companies. The decline on Wednesday was driven by anticipation that the Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates this year in an effort to fight inflation.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1% and the Dow industrials added 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite surged 1.9%.

Technology stocks had some of the biggest gains and the most influence on the broader market's rise. Intel surged 10.6% after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the semiconductor giant will make chips for Apple in the U.S. Other big semiconductor companies gained ground. Nvidia rose 3% and Micron Technology jumped 8.7%.

On the losing end, SpaceX fell for the second straight day since its big debut on the U.S. stock market last week. The Elon Musk-led rocket maker and AI company was down 3.6% following a 4.9% loss Wednesday.

Oil prices wavered after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic. Brent crude, the international standard, spent most of the day lower before settling 0.4% higher at $79.85 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude fell 0.2% to $75.85 per barrel.

Early Friday, Brent crude was down 0.4% at $79.50 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude was flat at $75.85 per barrel.

Prices for crude oil are still above roughly $70 per barrel from before the war, but are well below the $100-plus price from a few weeks ago.

Rising energy costs have been putting more pressure on already hot inflation. The average price of gasoline in the U.S. has dipped below $4 a gallon, but is still 25% higher than a year ago. Prices have been rising for a wide range of goods because of higher shipping costs.

The Federal Reserve kept is key interest rate unchanged this week but hotter inflation means it will likely raise rates by the end of the year. Lower interest rates make borrowing easier for businesses and households, spurring growth, but they also tend to stoke inflation.

In other dealings early Friday, the U.S. dollar fell to 161.31 Japanese yen from 161.38 yen. The euro was unchanged at $1.1458.

Manchester City, in its first season in 10 years without Pep Guardiola as manager, will host Bournemouth in its opener, and Manchester United will visit promoted Hull. Liverpool plays at Newcastle.

The season's fixtures were released by the league on Friday.

Chelsea and new coach Xabi Alonso visit Fulham in a west London derby on Aug. 24 that concludes the opening round of fixtures.

After facing Coventry, Mikel Arteta's team visits Aston Villa and then hosts Chelsea as it looks to repeat as champion after winning its first league title in 22 years last season.

Andoni Iraola, Liverpool's new manager, will get his first taste of the Merseyside derby on Nov. 28 at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Man United's second game of the season is also against a promoted team — Ipswich — this one at Old Trafford with coach Michael Carrick starting a two-year contract.

The first Manchester derby is scheduled for Sept. 12 at Old Trafford. United visits Anfield on Nov. 21.

The season starts one week later than the 2025-26 campaign, to allow for player recovery following the World Cup.

The final round will be played on Sunday, May 30 — six days before the Champions League final on June 5 in Madrid.

Frank Lampard, the Chelsea great who coaches Coventry, welcomes his old team to Coventry Building Society Arena on Boxing Day, Dec. 26.

Ipswich opens its campaign at home against Sunderland. Ipswich is looking for a new coach after Kieran McKenna stepped down just over a week ago despite leading the club to promotion.

Man City is also without a manager but is reportedly eying Enzo Maresca, the former Chelsea coach who was assistant to Guardiola at City in its treble-winning season of 2022-23.

The season's curtain-raising Community Shield between league champion Arsenal and FA Cup winner Man City will be on Aug. 16 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 25, spent two years in captivity in Gaza after Palestinian militants abducted him and 250 others during the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“I feel like I have a mission to spread to the world, to use my voice and empower other victims of sexual assaults,” he said Sunday in a conversation with Israel's first lady Michal Herzog in Jerusalem. “I want people who have been through those experiences to know that they’re not alone.”

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.

According to the United Nations, conflict-related sexual violence is on the rise worldwide, with cases more than doubling in 2025, as state and non-state actors increasingly use it as a tactic of war, torture and political repression.

In Israel and the Palestinian territories, the use of sexual violence as part of the conflict has become highly politicized since the Oct. 7 attacks and the start of the war in Gaza. Rights groups and the United Nations have investigated and documented cases beginning with allegations of widespread rape during the initial Hamas attacks.

The U.N. also said last month that it has verified multiple incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, "including as a form of torture” perpetrated by Israeli military and security forces against Palestinian men and women in Gaza and the West Bank, charges Israel denies.

This year, for the first time, the U.N. included Israel’s armed and security forces on a list of parties “credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.” Hamas had previously been on the list.

In 2024, the U.N.'s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, said she “found clear and convincing information” that some hostages were subjected to such abuse, including rape and “sexualized torture.” But in a recent report, the U.N. said it was “not able to verify” public allegations made by former hostages accusing their Palestinian captors of abuse. It blamed the lack of verification on what it said was Israel’s denial for U.N. groups to carry out investigations.

On Sunday, Gilboa-Dalal recounted again the details of the abuse he said he faced and said he was frustrated by the U.N. In a short, separate interview following the conversation with Herzog, Gilboa-Dalal said: “They have no right to say what happened or what didn’t happen, I was there, not them.”

At least six of the released hostages have publicly shared experiences of sexual assault while in captivity. Gilboa-Dalal first spoke of the attacks in an interview with Israeli media last November, about a month after he was released.

Gilboa-Dalal said his abuse took place over two separate assaults, over a year after his captivity began. He said that he froze as it happened and was unable to resist, terrified and physically weakened after spending most of his time in a narrow cell, deep underground, with three other hostages. He said they were forcibly starved or given rotten food, and denied the opportunity to move around or bathe.

In both instances, Gilboa-Dalal said, he was naked and blindfolded. He said the captor threatened to kill him if he ever spoke about what happened, beating him and holding a knife to his throat and a gun to his head.

“He could do whatever he wanted. I was so weak, and he was so strong,” Gilboa-Dalal said. Because he and the other hostages were constantly monitored, he said, he didn’t tell either of them until just before one was released during a temporary ceasefire in Feb. 2025.

Now, he says he is trying to heal and spend time with family. He is also writing a book and an anime script about his experiences.

He said he worries that other sexual abuse victims are likewise isolated and unable to speak about their abuse. “They may think, ‘maybe it’s my fault maybe I could have done something different,’” he said. “But it wasn’t my fault and it wasn’t any of the victims’ fault.”

The result? Many riders saw very different prices.

“We had about 175 people from across the country look at different prices for the same ride at the same time,” said Consumer Reports Investigative Reporter Derek Kravitz. “People do get different prices for essentially the same ride.”

In a test near Florida’s Gulf Coast, two riders looked up the same ride between two towns at the same time. One was quoted close to 95 dollars. The other would have paid almost sixty-six—same trip, same time, same app—a difference of nearly thirty dollars.

The investigation also raised concerns about discounts and crossed-out prices. Consumer Reports found that in some cases, the higher “original” price did not appear to be a real starting price, meaning riders may think they’re getting a deal when they’re not.

“Where you might see a ride discounted from $80 down to $60—that’s not a real discount," said Kravitz. “That’s fictitious pricing.”

Uber and Lyft strongly dispute Consumer Reports’ findings and deny setting prices based on who you are. They say the different fares reflect a live marketplace: supply, demand, traffic, weather, and that prices can change by the second. Both companies also deny offering discounts that weren’t real.

Consumer Reports also found that the companies are keeping a bigger slice of every fare between forty-three to nearly fifty percent. Drivers say it leaves them feeling squeezed.

“They know they can manipulate us, and they basically take advantage of that,” Mario Antunez, a Lyft driver in Portland, said.

What can riders do? Consumer Reports says there are limited options, but it recommends comparing prices between Uber and Lyft before booking, being skeptical of crossed-out “discount” prices, and considering taxis, public transit, or other options if available.

In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday, though it has been celebrated by many communities for nearly 160 years. As the nation comes together to recognize this day, some businesses and services will close, while many others will remain open.

Here’s what you can expect on Juneteenth:

Postal Services

The U.S. Postal Service will not deliver mail on Juneteenth. However, UPS and FedEx are expected to operate as usual.

Government Agencies

Nonessential government offices at all levels, including the DMV, city halls, courthouses, and many libraries, will be closed.

Retail

Most major retailers and grocery stores, such as Walmart, Target, Kroger and Costco, will remain open, though hours may vary by location. Major restaurant chains, including McDonald’s, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A, will also be open. It’s a good idea to call ahead to confirm hours.

Stock Market

The stock market will be closed on Juneteenth. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and U.S. bond markets will not operate on the holiday.

Trash Collection

Most trash and recycling collection schedules ran as usual this week.

The holiday marks June 19, 1865, the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and publicly announced freedom for enslaved people in Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

But how much do you know about Juneteenth? Test your knowledge by taking our fact-or-fiction quiz below:

Whether it’s a throwback or a recent snapshot, now’s your chance to shine a spotlight on your special memories together.

Submit your favorite photo to Pin It under the “Holidays” channel and select “Father’s Day” as the category. You might even see your picture on TV this Sunday! Don’t forget to add a brief description or share who’s in the photo.

Let’s fill this Father’s Day with heartwarming moments and unforgettable stories. Upload your photo today and let everyone see how much your dad means to you! 📸💙

The celebration began in Texas but soon spread nationwide and became a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth, which is short for “June 19th,” marks the day federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to take control of the state and announce freedom for enslaved people in Texas.

According to History.com, although General Robert E. Lee surrendered in Appomattox Court House in April 1865, slavery had remained relatively intact in Texas. Contrary to popular belief, the Emancipation Proclamation did not instantly free the slaves. The proclamation only applied to places under Confederate control and not slave-holding border states or rebel areas already under Union Control.

In Texas, slavery had continued as the state experienced no large-scale fighting or significant presence from Union troops. However, the arrival of the Union in June signaled the freedom for more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas.

In 1979, Texas became the first state to mark Juneteenth as an official holiday and in June 2021, it was made into a federal holiday.

According to NPS, the day has held a special meaning for people of African descent and is celebrated throughout the United States with parades, family reunions, speeches and barbeques.

The decision against Rong Chhun, a top adviser to the Nation Power Party, was met with anger by some 300 supporters from around the country who had gathered outside the Supreme Court complex in Phnom Penh.

“Even though he is not in prison, I'm saddened that his freedom has been restricted and he has become a sub-citizen, meaning he has no right to vote or participate in politics,” said Nek Ratha, a 55-year-old from the capital.

“The verdict is hard for us to accept because he is not free, and he has done nothing wrong.”

The 56-year-old had been found guilty last year of inciting social unrest after meeting with villagers displaced by government construction projects, in what was widely seen as one of many legal moves taken by the government of Prime Minister Hun Manet to stifle criticism.

Rong Chhun told his supporters the verdict was “completely unfair” and accused the court of following orders of the government rather than the rule of law.

“If the powerful leader wants black, the court will paint it black for them,” he said. “And if the powerful wants white, the court will paint it white for them.”

Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the ruling demonstrates Cambodia's courts “lack of independence from the ruling party.”

"Hun Manet’s government should stop using the courts to silence the political opposition and instead reopen space for parties and civil society groups to operate freely ahead of next year’s election,” she said.

Cambodia’s Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra told The Associated Press that it was “not appropriate to characterize a judicial decision as an executive decision.”

“The Royal Government respects the separation of powers, the independence of the courts, and the rule of law,” he said in a written response to a query. “Any party who disagrees with a court ruling should address the matter through the legal remedies available under Cambodian law, rather than through political assumptions.”

Under almost four decades of autocratic former Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia was widely criticized for human rights abuses that included suppression of freedom of speech and association. He was succeeded in August 2023 by his American-educated son, Hun Manet, but there have been few signs of political liberalization.

Sophal Ear, a Cambodian political scientist in the U.S., called the decision against Rong Chhun “evidence of continuity rather than change under the transition from Hun Sen to Hun Manet.”

“A high-profile case like this inevitably becomes a test of how much political space exists under the current leadership and whether the transition has produced any meaningful changes in governance,” he said. “Many people will conclude that the leadership transition has so far produced more continuity than reform.”

Under the decision, Rong Chhun will be prohibited from any involvement in politics for five years, including voting or standing as a candidate, and will be banned from traveling abroad for three years, the remainder of his original four-year sentence, his attorney Em Chantha told reporters. He had also been free while his appeal was pending.

Supreme Court decisions are final, but Rong Chhun said he and his attorney would study the verdict in detail to decide whether there would be a chance to ask Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni for a pardon.

_____

Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press reporter Anton L. Delgado contributed to this report from Bangkok.

Pingree and Charles won their primaries Friday, after the June 9 contests advanced to ranked choice voting.

In another ranked runoff in Maine, Democrat Matt Dunlap won the nomination in the 2nd Congressional District. Dunlap will face the state’s former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, for a seat Democrats are trying to hold in the fight for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The ranked counts conclude a busy primary season in Maine in which Democratic voters also chose oyster farmer Graham Platner to run against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner won that primary by a wide margin and it did not need to proceed to ranked choice.

New governor this year

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who has served since 2018, is termed out of office, creating an open field for governor in both parties. Five Democratic candidates and seven Republicans actively campaigned in the June 9 primary.

That created a scenario in which no candidate in either party broke 50% of the popular vote, leading to the ranked choice runoff, which began shortly after the election. The Democratic race was especially close, with the top four challengers within a few percentage points of each other.

Democrats chose between Pingree, the former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives; Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; energy executive Angus King III; and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah.

The Republican ballot for governor was even more crowded. Republicans chose between Charles, the former U.S. assistant secretary of state; healthcare executive Jonathan Bush; former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason; former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels; and businessmen Owen McCarthy, David Jones and Ben Midgley.

Mills ran in the primary for U.S. Senate in Maine but suspended her campaign in April.

“Throughout my two campaigns for governor and this one for Senate, what I have always loved the most is traveling across our beautiful state and getting to talk to Maine people,” Mills said on election night.

Key House race

In the 2nd Congressional District, former Maine Secretary of State Dunlap, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood and social worker Paige Loud were on the ballot for the Democrats.

LePage, an ally of President Donald Trump, was unopposed in the Republican primary. LePage served as governor from 2010 to 2018, during which time he fashioned himself as a vocal critic of liberalism and a staunch Trump defender.

The 2nd District seat has no incumbent in the November election because Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who has held the seat since 2018, is stepping down. Golden, a moderate who sometimes breaks from his party, said last year that he has “grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community.”

While Golden has won in the 2nd District, its voters have also shown strong support for Trump. He won an electoral vote in the district in three consecutive presidential elections.

The district is geographically large and includes much of Maine’s rural territory and logging country and some of its key fishing ports. It is expected to be among this fall's most competitive House races.

Ranked choice in play

Maine has used ranked choice voting since voters approved it 10 years ago. Voters were allowed to rank the candidates on their ballot in order of preference. Under that scenario, if no candidate breaks 50% of the popular vote, the bottom finisher is eliminated, and voters’ second choices come into play. The tabulations continue until a candidate achieves a majority of the total votes.

The 20-year-old man was one of three masked offenders who broke into the Adass Israel Synagogue, doused the interior with flammable liquid then set it alight in the early hours of Dec. 6, 2024, a police statement alleged.

The fire caused extensive damage to the synagogue and a worshipper sustained minor injuries.

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which brings together federal and state police with a spy agency, charged the man, who has not been named, with offenses including arson.

He was charged in a Melbourne jail where he was already being held in custody on unrelated offenses. Police declined to elaborate on those offenses.

His co-accused Giovanni Laulu, 21, was arrested in July last year and another suspect, Younes Ali Younes, 20, was arrested a month later.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of directing the synagogue fire and an arson attack two months earlier at a Sydney kosher eatery, Lewis’ Continental Kitchen.

Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, said the Revolutionary Guard used a “complex web of proxies to hide its involvement” in both antisemitic attacks.

Iran’s ambassador to Australia and another three Iranian diplomats were expelled. Tehran has denied Australia’s allegations.

Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier told reporters on Friday that investigators were working with international partners in the continuing investigation.

Police were also investigating whether the three alleged arsonists knew who ordered the attack.

“They may not actually be aware of the people who are directing or the principals of these investigations. That remains a key line of inquiry for us,” Crozier said.

Victoria Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul O’Halloran said police had informed the local Jewish community of the third arrest before the news was made public.

“Our heart goes out to them. Again, this brings back this terrible incident,” O’Halloran said.

“People deserve the right to feel safe and be safe in their community and particularly at their place of worship. Today's charges are a strong testament to this,” he added.

The latest suspect will make his first court appearance on the new charges next week.

The Australian government has established a public inquiry to investigate a rise in antisemitism across the country, including the killing of 15 people when two gunmen opened fire on a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December.

It marks a major triumph for a team that failed to get out of the group stage in 2022 and now has won twice on home soil in front of jubilant crowds. Mexico players celebrated at midfield and waved to the fans who cheered and sang from the packed stands at Estadio Akron.

As soon as the final whistle blew, the mariachis began to sing at the Ángel of Independence in Mexico City while thousands of people walked in from all directions. Some streets in Guadalajara were filled with drivers honking horns and fans chanting and waving Mexican flags.

Luis Romo scored in the 50th minute after South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu collided with defender Lee Gi-hyuk and dropped the ball inside the area. Romo easily found the open net after picking up the loose ball.

The South Koreans nearly equalized in the 87th minute when Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel stopped a header from close range by Cho Gue-sung, then made an even better save of Yang Hyun-jun's attempt on the rebound, extending his right arm to keep the ball from crossing the line.

“It was very quick, it was pure reaction,” Rangel said. “I couldn’t really tell you what I saw, because I remember the moment of impact with my teammate and me having the ball."

Mexico clinches Group A

Mexico won Group A with six points in two matches, three more than South Korea and five more than the Czech Republic and South Africa, who drew 1-1 earlier Thursday in Atlanta.

The top two teams from each group move on to the knockout stage, along with the best eight third-place teams. A round of 32 is being played for the first time at the World Cup after the tournament was expanded to 48 teams.

“We’ve been doing very well,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. “It wasn’t a great match, but I think that our opponent didn’t let us do too much. But we still were able to score, on that mistake, in addition to another two or three opportunities.”

Aguirre said it felt good for the players to guarantee their spot in the next round back in Mexico City.

“It relieves some of the pressure,” he said. “But not for me, for the players. They are euphoric, they are very happy.”

Mexico opened with a 2-0 win over South Africa, while South Korea rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Czechs.

Mexico closes group play on Wednesday against the Czech Republic in Mexico City, while South Korea takes on South Africa in Monterrey.

Mexico had never won a World Cup game on home soil outside Mexico City. Before 2026, all but one of its nine World Cup matches at home, spanning the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, had been played at Estadio Azteca, with five wins and three draws. When it played in Toluca in 1970, it lost 4-1 to Italy in the quarterfinals.

Thursday's match got off to a lackluster start, with neither team creating significant scoring opportunities and both squads getting loudly booed after the halftime whistle.

Mexico, ranked 13th, was eliminated in the group stage four years ago in Qatar. That followed seven straight eliminations in the round of the 16.

South Korea star Son Heung-min had another disappointing game and was substituted out in the 57th.

Plaudits for Son

The 33-year-old Son is looking to become South Korea’s top goal scorer at the World Cup and the Asian player with the most goals in the tournament. The former Tottenham star, currently with Los Angeles FC, entered with three goals over three prior World Cups.

Kim kept Mexico from adding to the lead by coming up with a tough save off a close-range shot by Raúl Jiménez in the 75th.

The South Koreans pressed through the end but could not equalize.

South Korea, ranked 22nd, is making its 11th straight World Cup appearance and 12th overall, the most of any Asian country. Its best result was a fourth-place finish at the tournament it co-hosted with Japan in 2002. Since then, the South Koreans have never gone beyond the round of 16.

“The mistake that we made was unfortunate,” coach Hong Myung-bo said.

This time there were not many empty seats in Guadalajara, contrary to what happened in the earlier match between South Korea and the Czech Republic. FIFA had blamed fans standing in the concourses for the empty seats. Thursday's crowd was announced at 45,522 for the 45,664-capacity stadium, which was hosting the national team for the first time.

Celebrations and protest

Fan zones across Mexico were packed ahead of the game. In the biggest one, in Mexico City’s Zócalo, chants of support for the national team, shouting “Olé!” with every pass, mingled with a homophobic chant — a one-word slur that literally means male prostitute in Spanish — that has previously led to sanctions against Mexico and could spur new punishments by FIFA.

There were peaceful protests in Guadalajara organized by the families of Mexico’s 130,000 missing people.

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Associated Press writers Refugio Ruiz, Alexis Triboulard and Maria Verza contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup