We’re starting the week off with some of the highest heat and humidity of the season. Even in the early morning, temperatures are climbing fast, with Jacksonville and Mayport already close to 80 degrees.

By this afternoon, we’re forecast to be about 5 degrees above our seasonal average of 90, pushing up to 95 degrees on Monday and 93 on Tuesday.

What you’ll actually feel is even higher. We’re looking at heat index values between 100 and 107 degrees, especially during the peak times from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

If you have to be outdoors, remember how quickly that blacktop heats up—keep an eye on your pets’ paws and take care of yourself.

This heat and humidity pattern is expected to continue for much of the week. The stickiness isn’t going anywhere soon, so keep the Exact Track 4D radar handy and check News4JAX for real-time updates and alerts.

Scattered rain and storms increase

With all this heat fueling our atmosphere, it’s no surprise that showers and general thunderstorms are expected to pop up earlier in the afternoon and grow heavier into the evening.

While there are some showers already west of Jacksonville today, they’re likely to be very scattered, giving way to our classic summer pattern.

Here’s one bright side: We are still in a drought, so every bit of rain helps. Over the next seven days, we’re forecasting about 2 to 3 inches of rain, which will be a big benefit for lawns and gardens.

If you’re a gardener, Mother Nature is expected to do some of the hard work for you.

Rain chances start around 60% at the beginning of the week, dipping to 40% or 50% midweek and holding steady through Friday. Most of these showers should dissipate before causing any severe issues, though gusty winds and bursts of heavy rainfall are possible.

Tropical outlook: Keeping an eye on the Gulf

We’re also watching the tropics. Right now, there’s an area of low pressure in the Gulf with a low potential to develop over the next seven days.

In the next 48 hours, chances are near zero, but by the end of the week, there’s about a 30% possibility it could organize.

Whether it develops or not, this system is likely to bring extra rain to Texas and Louisiana—at this point, it doesn’t look like a threat to us in Jacksonville.

Rest assured, we’re staying on top of it and will bring you updates on News4JAX as needed.

Stay alert and share your view

As always, stay weather-aware by checking Exact Track 4D and updates from The Weather Authority. Have an amazing sky shot or wild weather scene? Share your photos with the News4JAX team at SnapJAX!

The deal will give Fox access to the Roku channel, first-party data and more than 100 million global streaming households. Fox oversees a massive media network that includes sports, news and entertainment, as well as Tubi.

The companies said Monday that Roku will continue t be run as an open, partner-friendly platform. Fox and Roku said that the combined company will become the third-largest player in U.S. television by share of viewing.

Fox will pay $96 in cash and 0.9693 shares of its Class A common stock for each Roku Class A and Class B share outstanding. The transaction is valued at $160 per Roku share.

Existing Fox shareholders are expected to own approximately 73% of the combined company and Roku shareholders will own about 27%, once the deal closes.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year. It still needs approval from Fox and Roku shareholders and also regulatory approval.

Fox's stock declined before the market open, while shares of Roku rose nearly 3%.

JSO Homicide Detective Sgt. Steve Rudlaff said the man had run more than a mile down Atlantic Boulevard from the place he was stabbed and was able to call 911 around 2 a.m. for help.

Once the man, who was in his 50s, was taken to the hospital, where he later died, investigators were able to follow a blood trail east to where they believe the man was stabbed, east of Kernan Boulevard.

Rudlaff said it appears there was some kind of fight, during which the man was fatally injured.

He said investigators are still working to identify the man who was stabbed, but that before he died, the man said he was stabbed by a stranger.

Rudlaff said that based on items found at the scene, investigators believe there were multiple witnesses to the fight.

Anyone with information is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

The officer called for help, but the woman died at the scene, which was near the intersection of Illinois Street, near UF Health.

JSO Sgt. Robert Hungerford said the crash likely occurred around 3 a.m., and the woman, who was in her mid-50s, was spotted by the officer just before 4 a.m. She had visible injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle.

Investigators are looking for any witnesses or surveillance video as they work to identify the vehicle that struck the woman.

Hungerford said investigators will likely have that vehicle identified soon through surveillance video and urged the person involved to turn themselves in.

Anyone with information can call JSO at 9054-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

Hungerford said the death marks the 86th traffic fatality this year in Jacksonville.

The girl’s father had previously spoken with News4JAX, pleading for anyone with information on his daughter’s whereabouts to come forward.

Her mother also reached out to the Jacksonville community, urging residents to share her daughter’s image widely.

After an emotional news conference pleading for her safe return, law enforcement confirmed the teen was home and safe.

Further details surrounding the circumstances of her recovery were not immediately available.

NOTE: News4JAX has removed the teen’s name and photo from this article because she is no longer missing.

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are the finalists for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Ousting Ossoff would give Republicans more breathing room as they defend competitive seats in Alaska, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina and elsewhere. Republicans can afford to lose up to three of their current 53 Senate seats and still maintain control of the chamber with Vice President JD Vance casting tiebreaking votes.

Collins was the top vote-getter in the May 19 primary among the field of five. He received about 41% of the vote by amassing sizable wins in smaller, more rural counties across the state, as well as in some larger counties north of the Atlanta area.

Dooley's path to the runoff looked quite different. He carried only 14 of Georgia’s 159 counties, but they included five of the six most populous: Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb and Clayton. He also carried Clarke County, which includes the University of Georgia in Athens. Overall, he received about 30% of the primary vote.

U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter was the close third-place finisher. The 25% of voters who backed Carter in the primary could help either Collins or Dooley clinch the nomination.

Carter had a base of support that much more closely resembled Collins’ rather than Dooley’s. Carter performed best in the small, rural counties clustered in southeastern Georgia, which significantly overlaps with the 1st Congressional District he represents.

Carter and Collins are also more closely identified with President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, whereas Dooley says he didn’t vote in the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections.

Trump did not endorse a candidate during the primary campaign, but he endorsed Collins on Sunday for the runoff. Outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp endorsed Dooley, which likely helped him edge out Carter.

Trump did endorse in the competitive Republican primary for governor. His pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, was the top vote-getter in the primary, with about 38% of the vote, followed by healthcare executive Rick Jackson, with about 33%. Kemp endorsed Jones on Sunday.

Like Collins, Jones collected wins in small rural counties across the state. Jackson remained competitive by notching narrow wins in larger counties like Fulton County and some of the counties in the Atlanta suburbs.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in primary runoffs for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, state school superintendent, labor commissioner, public service commissioner, state Senate and state House.

Who gets to vote?

Voters who cast a ballot in a partisan primary on May 19 may only vote in the runoff of the same party as they did in the primary. In other words, Democratic primary voters may not vote in a Republican primary runoff or vice versa. Registered voters who did not participate in a party primary on May 19 may vote in the runoff for either party.

How many voters are there?

As of May 28, there were about 8.1 million registered voters in Georgia.

How many people actually vote?

In the May 19 primaries, about 934,000 votes were cast in the Republican primary for governor and about 913,000 in the Republican U.S. Senate primary.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

Early in-person and mail ballots made up about 46% of the total vote in the May 19 primary.

As of Friday, about 119,000 Democratic and about 222,000 Republican primary runoff ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

A sizable amount of results from pre-Election Day voting is released fairly early in the night before most in-person Election Day ballots are tabulated. About four out of every five counties release all or almost of their early in-person results in the first vote update of the night, while about two-thirds of counties release all or almost all of their mail voting results in the first update.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the May 19 Republican primary for governor, the AP first reported results at 7:13 p.m. ET, or 13 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 3:13 a.m. ET, with more than 99.9% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

There is no automatic recount provision in Georgia, but a losing candidate may request a recount if the margin is less than or equal to 0.5% of the total vote. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 140 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

The primary takes place against a uniquely complex backdrop. Residents are contending with an unprecedented level of ongoing federal intervention by President Donald Trump in how the district looks and functions. A rare combination of open seats in top offices has caused a ripple effect down the ballot. And local election officials are rolling out a new ranked choice voting system.

The competitive Democratic primary field for mayor includes Ward 4 Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George, former At-Large Councilman Kenyan McDuffie and five others. Their key endorsements suggest the fault lines that have formed between the party’s establishment and its more progressive wing.

Lewis George has endorsements from four of her fellow council members, including at-large member Robert White, who is running for U.S. delegate to Congress. She also has the backing of several progressive organizations including the Working Families Party, the Metro D.C. Democratic Socialists of America and Our Revolution, a political committee affiliated with allies of independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats.

McDuffie’s endorsements include former Mayors Sharon Pratt and Anthony Williams, outgoing At-Large Councilwoman Anita Bonds, former longtime Councilwomen Charlene Drew Jarvis and Linda Cropp, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and former Democratic National Committee Chairmen Tom Perez and Jaime Harrison.

Although retiring three-term Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser hasn’t made an official endorsement in the race, she has made her preferences clear. In 2025, she said at an Economic Club event that “if you like me, you’re going to love Kenyon, wink, wink,” according to NBC4 Washington. And at a June Axios Live event, she said, “I support Kenyon McDuffie, and I have always supported Kenyon McDuffie,” although she added she was not making an endorsement.

Bowser has walked a political tightrope since Trump’s return to office in 2025, balancing her role as the elected leader of a heavily Democratic city with only limited ability to self-govern. Her measured approach has drawn criticism from progressives who advocate for a more vigorous response to Trump's Republican administration. On the campaign trail, Lewis George has made veiled barbs against unnamed leaders for “complying in advance” and who “shrink in the face of injustice.”

Trump weighed in on the race on Thursday, saying he would consider a federal takeover of the District of Columbia if Lewis George becomes the next mayor, a variation of a threat he has made since the early days of his second term.

In the race for D.C.’s non-voting seat in Congress, White, Ward 2 Councilwoman Brooke Pinto and three others are competing to replace retiring 18-term Democratic U.S. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Norton’s and Bowser's retirements mark the first time since 1990 that both the mayor’s office and the congressional seat are open in the same year. Their decisions triggered a chain reaction of open seats as incumbent district council members and others jockey for higher office.

Washington is overwhelmingly Democratic. The city has almost 15 times more Democrats than Republicans and has never gone for a Republican presidential candidate since it gained the vote in 1964.

But the general election landslides tend to obscure fairly wide socio-economic gulfs within the district’s boundaries. For example, Ward 3 in the affluent upper Northwest has the city’s largest white majority, the highest median income and the lowest poverty rate. Ward 8 in Southeast has the city’s largest Black majority, the lowest median income and the highest poverty rate.

When Bowser first won the Democratic mayoral primary in 2014, she carried the five westernmost wards, while incumbent Mayor Vincent Gray carried Wards 5, 7 and 8 to the east.

White’s only competitive council primary in 2016 also showed an east-west divide. He carried Wards 1, 2, 3 and 6 to the west and ran almost even in Ward 4 to the north. When he challenged Bowser for mayor in 2022, he carried only Ward 1, which is in the center of the district and includes the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant and the U Street Corridor.

In McDuffie’s successful 2022 council race, when he won the second of two at-large seats at stake, his strongest performances were in the northwesternmost parts of Wards 3 and 4.

The primary marks the first time the city will use a ranked choice voting system, in which voters rank the candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate in last place is dropped, and votes cast for that candidate are reallocated among the rest of the field according to the preferences of the dropped candidate’s voters. This process repeats until one candidate emerges with a majority of votes.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Delegate to Congress, mayor, attorney general and district council. There is also a special election to fill a vacant at-large council seat.

Who gets to vote?

Voters registered with a political party may participate only in their own party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

How many voters are there?

As of May 31, there were about 481,000 registered voters in Washington, D.C. More than three-quarters of them, about 363,000, were registered Democrats. Roughly 25,000, or 5%, were registered Republicans, and about 18%, or roughly 86,000, were not affiliated with any party.

How many people actually vote?

About 127,000 Democrats voted in the 2022 mayoral primary, or roughly 26% of registered voters. About 92,000 Democrats voted in the 2024 primary for U.S. delegate.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 78% of all voters in the 2024 primary cast their ballots early in-person or by mail. That was slightly higher than the 76% who used the same methods in the 2022 primary.

As of Wednesday, about 35,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Results from early in-person and mail voting are usually released throughout the night along with results from in-person Election Day voting.

Election night results will not include totals from mail ballots received on Election Day by mail or by ballot drop boxes or from mail ballots received after Election Day with the necessary postmark.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2022 primary election, the AP first reported results at 8:30 p.m. ET, or 30 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 11:59 p.m. ET, with about 69% of total votes counted.

In contests in which the ranked choice voting process is triggered, only the results of voters’ first choices will be reported on election night. Results from subsequent rounds of vote-counting are expected by June 21 and June 24, with final round-by-round results expected on or after June 26. The certification of the election is expected on July 17.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

Recounts are automatic in D.C. elections for federal offices, mayor, attorney general and district council, among others, if the margin is less than 1% of the total vote. Candidates may also request and pay for a recount regardless of the vote margin. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 140 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Voters will select nominees to replace departing federal and state officials ranging from U.S. senator and representative to governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state legislator. They’ll also decide whether to renominate some incumbents for another term and consider a statewide ballot measure on the minimum wage.

Among the most notable open-seat contests are the primaries to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The crowded nine-person Republican primary ballot includes state Attorney General Gentner Drummond; former state Secretary of Public Safety Chip Keating, who is the son of former Gov. Frank Keating; former state Sen. Mike Mazzei; and former state House Speaker Charles McCall.

The Democratic field includes state House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson and former state Sen. Connie Johnson.

President Donald Trump opened up another high-profile seat in Oklahoma when he named Republican U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace fellow Republican Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary. Mullin's appointed replacement, U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong, opted not to seek a full term.

The Republican primary to replace Mullin and Armstrong features U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern and four others. Five Democrats seek the nomination, including attorney and minister Jim Priest. Hern and Priest lead their respective fields in campaign fundraising, although the Hern campaign’s $6.8 million in available cash as of May 27 far eclipses the $118,000 the Priest campaign had.

Trump has endorsed Mazzei for governor and Hern for U.S. Senate.

Candidates must receive a majority of votes in the primary to win the nomination. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters in the primary will advance to an Aug. 25 runoff.

Also on the ballot Tuesday is State Question 832, which would raise the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour by 2029. Starting in 2030, it would tie future minimum wage increases to cost of living increases.

Oklahoma is solidly Republican in general elections. It had Trump’s fifth highest vote share of any state in the 2024 presidential election. A Democrat hasn’t carried Oklahoma in a presidential race since President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

The state last elected a Democrat for governor in 2006 and for U.S. Senate in 1990.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. CT, which is 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, state school superintendent, labor commissioner, insurance commissioner, corporation commissioner, state Senate and state House, as well as for the statewide ballot measure.

Who gets to vote?

Voters registered with a political party may participate only in their own party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. State parties have the option to allow independent or unaffiliated voters to participate in their primaries, but none has done so for 2026 elections. All registered voters may cast ballots on the statewide ballot measure.

How many voters are there?

As of May 31, there were about 2.4 million registered voters in Oklahoma, including about 1.3 million registered Republicans, 614,000 registered Democrats and 495,000 independent voters not registered with any party.

How many people actually vote?

Roughly 360,000 votes were cast in the Republican primaries in 2022, compared with about 168,000 in the Democratic primaries. This was about 16% and 7% of registered voters at the time, respectively.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

In the 2022 state primaries, about 10% of the Republican primary vote and about 13% of the Democratic primary vote was cast early in person or by mail.

As of Friday, about 35,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election. That includes about 21,000 ballots from Republicans, about 12,000 from Democrats and about 2,000 from voters not affiliated with any party.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Almost every county in Oklahoma releases all or almost all of its results from early in-person and mail voting in the first vote update of the night, usually before any results from in-person Election Day voting are released.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2022 state primary, the AP first reported results at 8:10 p.m. ET, or 10 minutes after polls closed. By 10:30 p.m. ET, more than 90% of the votes had been counted. The last vote update of the night was at 12:33 a.m. ET, with about 99.9% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

Oklahoma does not have automatic recounts for elections involving candidates, but candidates may request and pay for one regardless of the vote margin. The state does require automatic recounts for statewide ballot questions if the margin is 0.5% or less of the total votes cast. The required margin is larger for state constitutional amendments. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 70 days until the Aug. 25 runoff and 140 days until the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Details of the agreement were not immediately released, but it appeared that it would not be implemented until it is signed, which mediator Pakistan said would happen Friday in Geneva. Until then, shipping will likely remain restricted in the strait, which is a crucial passage for the world’s oil and gas and the closure of which has sparked a global energy crisis.

Israel’s defense minister said Monday that the country wouldn’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Israel joined the U.S. in launching the war on Feb. 28, but it is not party to the deal. A spokesman in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel will continue to defend itself against any threat to its security.

That alone could scupper the deal, since Iran has insisted any agreement to end the war include an end to the fighting in Lebanon.

But the agreement also faces other major challenges. It gives just 60 days to decide what to do about Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and its nuclear program — which the U.S. and Israel worry could be used to build an atomic weapon, despite Tehran’s insistence that it is peaceful. It took years for Iran and world powers to negotiate a 2015 agreement to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from that accord in his first term, setting the stage for the tensions that culminated in the current war.

Despite the uncertainties, world leaders from Europe to China welcomed the deal to end a conflict that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran’s theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region.

Still, some expressed concern that the deal would actually come about: Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Xavier Bettel, noted: “It’s a long time till Friday.”

The Strait of Hormuz won't open until the deal is signed

Trump, who faced pressure to end the war ahead of congressional midterm elections in November, hailed the agreement on social media, saying that he had authorized the Strait of Hormuz to open and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports to end. He later said the strait wouldn’t open until Friday.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed the agreement on state television but said Iran would not start implementing it until it was signed.

Early in the war, Iranian attacks on ships brought traffic in the crucial waterway to a near standstill. Trump implemented a blockade in response.

The closure of the strait — through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the war — and the blockade sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and the knock-on effects rippled throughout the world economy. It will likely take months before energy companies can resume operations to the point of meeting the world’s demand, according to energy experts.

Iranian and U.S. officials will hold preparatory meetings in Doha, Qatar, this week before the signing, said a diplomat with direct knowledge of the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meetings.

Israel says it won't withdraw from Lebanon

The success of the deal rests at least partially on what happens between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel’s bombing of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday nearly derailed the negotiations, and a previous attack led Iran to fire on Israel and Israel to fire back.

Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said Israel plans to stay “indefinitely” in land it holds in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

Katz also threatened that if Iran attacks Israel over its strikes in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran with “great force.” Over the past 2 1/2 years, Israel has taken control of areas in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria amounting to 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of territory.

In response to questions about where Israel stands on the deal, David Mencer, a spokesman in Netanyahu’s office, told The Associated Press that Israel and the U.S. remain fully aligned on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. But he added that Israel will not tolerate attacks from Hezbollah on its territory and will continue to act against those who seek to harm its citizens.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the deal.

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Will Weissert in Washington, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

Popular notions of philanthropy as merely a game for the ultrawealthy to fund partisan projects and commit fraud have left the sector vulnerable to political attacks, as the Council on Foundations sees it, influencing policies that hamper essential community services. The advocacy group, which represents about 1,000 nonprofits, hopes to overcome what CEO Kathleen Enright calls the sector’s “perception gap” with its “Generosity Builds” campaign, launched Monday.

Enright believes most Americans don’t recognize their reliance on the charitable sector. Just about 1 in 20 adults said they or anyone in their immediate family received nonprofit services in the past year, according to a 2023 Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy report.

“This week, I got an MRI at Georgetown University Hospital, I participated in my church at St. Columba's, my daughter was inducted into National Junior Honor Society. Four or five nonprofits have been instrumental in my life this week," she said. “Folks just aren’t putting that tag on it.”

And that tag is growing increasingly important, Enright said. Last year, negotiations over President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill included proposals to levy new taxes on private foundations that Enright said would have taken resources from communities if they made it into the final law.

The battle over defining what nonprofits actually do has recently been amplified from the highest rungs of the Trump administration, which has upended decades of partnerships built with nonprofits. Trump froze, cut or threatened a sweeping range of social service grants characterized by the White House as “government largesse that's often riddled with corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse." More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.

Vice President JD Vance described the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation and the Harvard University endowment as “cancers on American society" back as a 2021 U.S. Senate candidate, telling Tucker Carlson that “we are actively subsidizing the people who are destroying this country and they call it a charity.”

“All across our country, we have nonprofits — big foundations — that are effectively social-justice hedge funds," he said in a talk that year on “woke capital.”

Narratives about nonprofits being “overly politicized” or wasteful are “extreme minority stories" that don't reflect how philanthropy operates, according to Enright.

Across many surveys, trust in the nonprofit sector has remained higher than most others. But its impact is sometimes difficult to measure and explain. The sector hasn't faced an environment this challenging in almost six decades, according to Kathryn Thomas, the vice president of communications for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in Flint, Michigan.

She cited the congressional effort to increases taxes on foundations' investment incomes and acknowledged the Trump administration's federal funding cuts.

“In an era when everything is under partisan attack and there's so much polarization, we really have to do a better job of emphasizing why we exist,” Thomas said.

Enright said the story of philanthropy is not one where a rich person “saves the day.” She sees growing concerns about billionaires' influence fueling suspicion about philanthropists' motivations. Some argue the charitable sector allows moneyed interests to decide how tax dollars are spent rather than elected officials.

The campaign will emphasize that most donors “have just a little bit more than they need and therefore want to give back,” she said, especially at the local level.

“Money does not solve problems. It’s a tool that creative people and institutions inside communities use to solve problems,” she said. "The real heroes of most of these stories are nonprofit leaders, religious leaders, civic leaders who just roll up their sleeves and get something done — but do it with some financial underpinning by charitable foundations.”

That's the story told by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation in Sarasota, Florida. A 10-apartment affordable housing complex for military veterans opened last year with the foundation's support.

The area has an “embarrassingly high” number of veterans without housing, according to Jon Thaxton, the foundation's director of policy and advocacy. Many are priced out in Sarasota, increasingly a luxury destination with high real estate prices.

Local donors had been trying to build a similar project when they approached the foundation in 2020 for help. Thaxton secured land already vested for affordable housing, corralled $2.2 million in donations, got $800,000 from the city and won the backing of their U.S. representatives.

The foundation's leaders believe their track record made that possible. Phillip Lanham, the president and CEO, noted the project was completed across multiple election cycles and a pandemic, suggesting that community foundations are well situated to “play the long game.”

“Most people think that foundations like us deal with money and donors. We really don't. We deal with relationships and trust,” Thaxton said. “That's our commodity. That's what we earn. That's what we save. And that's what we contribute back to the community.”

The Council on Foundations will also elevate examples of early, ordinary philanthropists as part of its case for philanthropy as an integral “part of the American story.”

It was an 18th century sailor, Enright said, who started the country's first charity hospital when he left his estate to establish a Boston hospital for sick and injured sailors. There's also the formerly enslaved man who Enright credited with donating land in North Carolina that became an African Methodist Episcopal church that endures as a pillar of the local community.

Lillian Kuri, the president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, welcomed the focus on everyday philanthropists. The Cleveland Foundation is considered the first community foundation, established in 1914 by lawyer Frederick Harris Goff as a way to fund durable change in the city.

The foundation aims to find new ways to expand today's tent of philanthropists dedicated to improving their surrounding areas. It announced new investments this week in a fund dedicated to turn vacant industrial land into job-ready work sites. They've also launched a fund that allows donors to invest in major Northeast Ohio companies, supporting local business growth while that money increases into a sizable amount that can be donated to nonprofits.

“Generosity cuts across everybody,” she said, adding that community foundations offer “a way for everyday people — not just the largest, wealthiest people — to participate in the change they want to see in their communities."

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits 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. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The attacks on the capital, Kyiv, and the second-largest city, Kharkiv, came after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday. The exchange suggests Washington hasn’t given up on its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks on Tuesday between G7 leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy and Trump are due to attend the gathering, as the Ukrainian leader pushes to keep the war on leaders' minds while the Iran war diverts international attention from Ukraine's plight.

“This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, referring to the overnight attack.

“It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries ... and that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities,” the Ukrainian leader said.

Children are among the wounded in Kyiv

Zelenskyy said that the Russian strikes killed 11 civilians and emergency workers and wounded 53 across Ukraine.

Five were killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, where at least 30 others were also wounded, including two children aged 5 and 6, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's Military Administration.

A series of powerful explosions were heard across Kyiv, with a wave of ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter underground. Clouds of black smoke drifted over the city.

Five strikes hit civilian sites in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district in less than 30 minutes, Tkachenko said, including a 25-story apartment building, while a market and a grocery store caught fire. In the Obolonskyi district, a nine-story residential building took a direct hit.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted defense and industrial facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, including enterprises and workshops producing components for long-range drones and cruise missiles. It said that a workshop producing medium- and long-range drones located on the premises of the Dovzhenko film studios in Kyiv was among the targets hit.

Russia also claimed to have hit Kyiv’s Radar plant, which it said makes drone components, and the Mayak plant that it said makes Ukraine's Flamingo long-range cruise missiles. Military conscription offices in Kyiv were also struck, it said.

There was no immediate information about the 11th person killed in the attacks.

Religious site damaged in attack

In Kyiv, the bombardment damaged the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastic complex and a religious landmark.

The roof of the complex's Dormition Cathedral caught fire during the attack, said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity” and appealed for prayers to save the site.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).

Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the attack Russia’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.” He visited the scene on Monday morning together with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and other members of his government.

The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the right bank of the Dnieper River and have been a pilgrimage site for centuries.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the “equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame,” referring to the Paris cathedral.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the attack only strengthened the determination of Ukraine’s allies to pursue a ceasefire and work toward peace.

“Just as nothing can justify the war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years, nothing can justify this attack on our shared universal heritage,” Macron wrote on social media.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that the complex was hit by one of Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles, saying that it might have veered off course because its shelf life had expired.

Russia fires more than 600 drones at Ukraine

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight, primarily targeting Kyiv, while also striking the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv.

The military said air defenses intercepted or electronically suppressed 632 aerial targets, including 50 missiles and 582 drones.

Preliminary data showed 20 ballistic missiles and 27 attack drones hit 42 locations across the country, while debris from intercepted drones fell at 12 sites.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 123 Ukrainian drones overnight.

___

Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, Samuel Petrequin in London, and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal contributed to this report.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This is in the Pickwick Park neighborhood, near the Target and Publix.

JSO did not provide any further information to the media after the initial acknowledgement that a person had been found dead at that location.

Starmer told a news conference that he will fight back if technology companies resist the move, and acknowledged some teens would try to find their way around a ban. But he said he is “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”

“Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy," said Starmer, who has two teenage children. “I’ve heard first hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them.”

The move, expected to take effect early next year, makes the U.K. part of a growing global movement to tighten online safety for children. Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions or requirements for children’s access to social media. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among others studying or developing similar approaches.

The U.K. plans to follow the same model for a social media ban as Australia, which last year became the first country to bar under-16s from holding social media accounts. Platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to exclude children younger than 16 could be punished with multimillion-dollar fines.

The U.K. said its ban will apply to platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not YouTube Kids or messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal. Starmer stressed that enforcement action will target tech companies, not children.

The prime minister also said he will go further than Australia's measures.

He said the government will act to prevent strangers from contacting children on gaming and livestreaming platforms. Authorities are also considering additional measures including overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for those under 18. More details are expected next month.

Starmer's announcement met with mixed reactions

The decision follows a public comment period in which the government got 116,000 responses from parents, the tech industry and children. The number of responses was second only to one seeking input about same-sex marriage in 2012.

The vast majority of respondents — more than 90% — wanted an under-16 ban, the government said.

Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was killed in 2023 by two teenagers who had accessed harmful content online, said the ban would “potentially save so many children’s lives,” but had to be accompanied by other measures.

NSPCC, a leading children's charity, praised the government's ambition but urged authorities to ensure platforms roll out “robust age checks” and effectively enforce the policy.

Others are more skeptical.

Critics including the Open Rights Group have expressed concerns about age verification companies and how users' private data is protected.

Reacting on Monday, a spokesperson for YouTube warned that a blanket social media restriction could "push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services.”

Starmer acknowledged the challenges, but said success for the ban would mean “a massive drop off of children on social media” and “a cultural change, a sense that actually you can grow up differently.”

Starmer, elected just under two years ago, is under pressure to step down from members of his own party over what they see as poor leadership and could face a leadership challenge in the coming days or weeks. He is seeking to bring in consequential measures that can serve as a legacy.

The U.S. has opposed the move

The ban could further inflame tensions with the U.S., which has warned that regulations should be narrow and not violate free speech protections, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in London. It said it was also concerned that regulations would place greater burdens on American technology companies.

Starmer said he expected to discuss the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders at a Group of Seven summit in France that starts Monday.

“I honestly think that across world leaders, there has always been a recognition that leaders have to take steps to protect children," he said. “I don’t think that’s controversial. There will always be arguments as to exactly what the limits of that are and what rules should be in place, but I don’t see that as a problem."

Jon Crowcroft, a communications systems professor at the University of Cambridge, said people supporting social bans are well-meaning but probably misguided, and changes could prevent children from accessing sites they need.

“There is a real risk this will drive some users to worse sites and policing devices is close to impossible technically,” Crowcroft said. “Policing platforms is far easier, if only regulators would bother.”

___

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this story.

The Congolese Ministry of Health said Sunday 72 new cases were reported in a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 782. This includes 181 confirmed deaths, after 32 new deaths were confirmed.

However, the number of cases in Congo is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed on May 15, weeks after it is suspected to have begun, and the contact tracing coverage rate is at 56%, a sharp decrease from last week.

The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, unlike the Zaire virus, which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

Fifty-six people have recovered, and the current fatality rate of the outbreak is 23%, the ministry said.

The World Health Organization said Sunday it is intensifying testing and contact tracing and treatment.

Africa's top health body said the same day it is deploying technical expertise and supporting laboratory systems, active case finding and community engagement efforts to accelerate the response to the disease outbreak.

“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped. We call on partners and donors to urgently mobilize resources to strengthen the response and save lives,” said the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya.

The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and have spread across the border to Uganda.

Nearly a million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N. humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.

Tracing is also difficult among the thousands of artisanal miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.

——

Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Shinsegae Group, which owns a 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea, said group executives and employees at Starbucks Korea’s headquarters will attend training led by history and sociology professors on Wednesday. All Starbucks stores nationwide will close at 3 p.m. next Monday so employees can watch a recording of the session, Shinsegae said in a statement.

The coffee chain triggered an uproar when it attempted to promote a series of stainless-steel tumblers it called “SS Tank” by declaring May 18 to be “Tank Day.” The date marks the anniversary of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju. It was violently suppressed by Seoul’s military government at the time, which deployed troops, tanks and helicopters, leaving hundreds dead or injured.

The campaign further fueled outrage by using the slogan “Thwack it on the table!” which many read as a reference to a notorious 1987 police statement that attempted to cover up the torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol. Authorities had falsely said Park died after investigators “hit the desk with a thwack.”

With the promotion sparking immediate backlash, Shinsegae canceled it within hours and fired the chief executive of Starbucks Korea. Shinsegae Chairman Chung Yong-jin later issued a nationally televised apology as police opened an investigation following complaints from relatives of the victims of the Gwangju crackdown. Chung will undergo separate training with the chief executives of Shinsegae affiliates on June 24.

Shinsegae said the decision to close all Starbucks stores early for the first time since the chain’s 1999 launch in South Korea and require companywide training shows “how seriously it views the marketing controversy and its determination to prevent a recurrence."

The crackdown in Gwangju came months after General Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup in late 1979. Government records show about 200 people died in Gwangju, but activists say the true death toll was much higher. Chun’s government also imprisoned tens of thousands, saying it was rooting out social evils.

Public anger over Chun’s dictatorship led to massive nationwide protests in 1987, forcing him to accept a constitutional revision introducing direct presidential elections, which is widely seen as the start of South Korea’s transition to democracy.

Trump and Iranian officials had been saying for days they were making progress toward reaching a deal, but even on Sunday, things appeared to be on shaky ground after a new round of strikes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

With the agreement, Trump is due to arrive in Evian-les-Bains on Monday afternoon with some wind at his back for talks with G7 leaders, including some who have been sharply critical of his managing of the roughly 15-week conflict that has led to a surge in global energy prices.

The conflict, which polls show American voters largely disapproved of, had made some Republicans nervous about the political impacts it could have on the November midterm election.

“Ships of the World, start your engines," Trump said in a social media post celebrating the deal that he said would lead to the U.S. ending its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s crude had flowed before the conflict. “Let the oil flow!”

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, however, said the Iranian closure of the strait would continue until the agreement is officially signed.

Neither the White House nor Iran published the final agreement or revealed many details. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country served as a mediator in the negotiations, said there would be “pre-implementation discussions” this week to lay the ground for 60 days of technical talks on Iran's nuclear program.

The deal could change the G7 dynamic

Sealing an agreement before jetting off to the summit could certainly change the dynamic of the gathering for Trump. He has had friction with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over failing to consult them before the decision to go to war.

Meanwhile, Trump has pushed back on the four European leaders — all members of the NATO military alliance — for their lack of support for the U.S. in the conflict.

Trump is expected to discuss with leaders the demining of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the White House. Britain and France have expressed interest in assisting with the demining once the conflict is paused. Fear of potential mines is among the reasons that tanker traffic has come to a halt during the war, and quickly clearing them will be crucial to regaining the confidence of commercial vessels.

Macron, this year’s summit host, invited the leaders of three nations that aren’t part of the G7 — Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — to take part in a session on the Middle East on Tuesday where Iran is expected to be a central focus.

"The aim will be to assess the implications of this agreement, support for Lebanon, the long-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and, of course, reaching a deal on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic (missile) programs,” Macron said in a video posted on social media on Sunday evening.

The leaders of the U.K., France, Germany and Italy also issued a joint statement welcoming the agreement as a “moment of opportunity to restore regional stability and stabilize the global economy.”

“It is now vital that the detailed negotiations are concluded and this agreement is implemented rapidly and comprehensively," the leaders' statement added.

In a separate development, Trump ahead of departing for the summit said in an interview with the New York Post he has warned Macron the US will “have no choice” but to slap 100% tariffs on French wines unless ​Paris eliminates its digital tax on American tech companies, renewing a long-running threat from the Republican that dates to his first administration.

Wines and ​spirits exported to the U.S. from the European Union currently face ​a 15% ⁠tariff.

Trump faces questions about financial incentives for Tehran

Trump had fiercely criticized former President Barack Obama for the 2015 nuclear agreement that Trump argued failed to stop Tehran from advancing toward a weapon and funneled billions into the Islamic Republic’s coffers.

In 2018, Trump exited the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union were also signatories to the pact.

Trump in an interview on Sunday with The New York Times pushed back on comparisons to the Obama-era nuclear deal. “We negotiated from strength,” Trump said. “He was basically paying them off.”

But Trump hasn't detailed how his agreement will address some key issues about Iran's nuclear program, including who will be in charge of verifying that Iran is complying with the agreement and who will destroy or remove 972 pounds (441 kilograms) of highly enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. strikes last summer.

The deal is also expected to include some sanctions relief and economic incentives for Tehran as it meets certain benchmarks aimed at assuaging White House concerns, senior administration officials said ahead of the two sides reaching an agreement.

Some Democrats and hawkish critics say Trump has failed to explain how the financial relief in his agreement will differ from what Obama did in the 2015 nuclear deal.

“For all his critique of JCPOA, we had international observers, we actually had an alliance there that included the Europeans, and Russia and China were all signatories,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS' “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “Now it is America going alone or going with Israel only, and that does not make us safer.”

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump and an Iran hawk, expressed skepticism, saying that Congress will need to review and vote on any nuclear deal with Iran, and said he expects Vice President JD Vance — “the architect of the deal” — to present it.

“I am somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming,” Graham said on social media.

Trump makes calls to Putin, Zelenskyy ahead of G7

Macron also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a working session with G7 leaders on Tuesday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war.

At the moment, Zelenskyy is not scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with Trump while they're both in France, but Trump on Sunday held separate phone calls with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin’s call with Trump lasted just under an hour, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, who briefed reporters afterward.

On Ukraine, Ushakov said Trump emphasized the need to end hostilities and stated his readiness to influence European allies and Kyiv toward that goal, including at the G7.

According to Ushakov, Trump also said that recent strikes on civilian targets in Russia complicate a settlement. The White House did not comment on the call.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Russia soon, Ushakov said.

Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on Telegram that he told Trump about how Ukraine’s position along the eastern front line has improved and strengthened.

“We agreed to discuss more during our meeting at the G7 summit,” he said.

___

Madhani reported from Geneva and Superville from Washington.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 1.2% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%, auguring likely early gains for Wall Street.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX advanced 1.3% to 24,942.12, while the CAC 40 in Paris added 1.1% to 8,444.00.

Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 10,496.56.

After repeated false starts, investors were betting that this time, the war might end. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the initial agreement and authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran confirmed it but signaled that implementation would not start until a signing that Pakistan said would be held Friday in Switzerland. Broader negotiations on issues like Iran’s nuclear program are expected to continue over the next 60 days.

In early trading Monday, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell $4.37 to $82.96 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude lost $4.53 to $80.35 per barrel.

It may take months for oil prices to stabilize after the disruptions from the war caused them to surge, pushing costs up for gasoline and many other products. Energy experts said shipping and insurance companies will want to be confident the pact will hold, ensuring that oil and gas supplies will flow freely enough for the world’s needs to be met.

“The reopening of Hormuz is a relief valve, not a full peace dividend. The market can remove some crude panic, but it still has to price the gap between a headline, a signature, and a regime that actually complies,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report.

Still, the news was a huge relief for markets that have been roiled since the conflict began in late February.

Stocks rallied in Asia, where Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 5% to 69,317.50 as the benchmark logged another record high.

Buying was heaviest for technology shares, especially those related to artificial intelligence. The boom in AI has been driving gains in Japan, where the benchmark has gained more than 80% in the last year.

“This is great news," said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex. “Buying by foreign investors is leading the market with expectations of easing tensions around the situation in the Middle East. Then the decline in New York crude oil futures is supporting this positive market.”

The Kospi in Seoul surged 5.2% to 8,545.98.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.5% to 24,842.67, while the Shanghai Composite index was up 1.6% to 4,096.47.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.3% to 8,922.90. Taiwan's Taiex was up 2.8%, and the Sensex in India rose 1.2%.

On Friday, U.S. stocks advanced as Musk's SpaceX soared in its highly anticipated debut on Wall Street.

The strong start suggested plenty of demand still exists among investors for AI after SpaceX stock leaped 19.2% in its first day of trading. That gave Elon Musk’s rocket company a total value of $2.1 trillion, making it bigger than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and Coca-Cola combined. In addition to building rockets, SpaceX also owns the artificial intelligence company xAI.

The S&P 500 added 0.5% to close out its 10th winning week in the last 11. The Dow industrials climbed 353 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.

This week will bring interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan is due to announce its monetary policy updates. It is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate to 1% from the current 0.75%.

That would be the highest rate in more than 30 years.

In other dealings early Monday, the dollar slipped to 160.10 Japanese yen from 160.12 yen late Friday. The euro climbed to $1.1611 from $1.1578.

___

Senior producer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Candles in hand and poster boards filled with handwritten messages for his mother, the community came together to grieve, share memories, and support one another.

Carson’s mother, Megan Farias, confirmed her son’s identity in a Facebook post, writing: “There are no words that can truly express the pain our family is feeling right now. Carson was deeply loved and will forever remain in our hearts.”

Courtney Bailey, a parent whose daughter attends Lake Asbury Junior High, helped organize the vigil after reaching out to some of Carson’s friends.

“Whether you knew him or knew his family — just seeing all the rest of the kids grieve, it’s definitely tough,” Bailey said. “It’s been an emotional week for everybody.”

Bailey said she did not know Carson personally but felt compelled to create a space for his closest friends to come together.

“I didn’t know Carson personally, but my daughter goes to the junior high and they have a lot of mutual friends,” she said. “I just wanted to set something up for his close friends to write a message on a poster board to his mom.”

Two days after Carson’s death, a neighbor posted in a local Facebook group asking the community to show up at Lake Asbury Junior High to light candles, share memories, and support one another. The response online translated directly into the crowd that gathered Saturday evening.

“It just started as something for all his friends to come together — to show each other that they’re supported and that they’re loved,” Bailey said. “And it just grew within the community.”

The poster boards filled with messages will be delivered to Carson’s mother, Megan.

The gathering also became a rallying point for neighbors who have long raised concerns about safety along Sandridge Road — the dark, unlit stretch where Carson was killed.

“More than half the kids here are on e-bikes and e-scooters,” Bailey said. “So I feel like it’s really important to raise awareness.”

Bailey pointed to rapid residential growth in the area as a factor that has outpaced road infrastructure.

“A lot of people are constantly talking about the lights — we don’t have lights on this road,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of new communities and a lot of new houses going in. I don’t think anybody was fully prepared for the traffic that was about to hit Sandridge.”

With schools out for the summer and more families on the road, Bailey had a direct message for drivers.

“Slow down. Get off your phones. Be aware of your surroundings. Watch out for these kids,” she said.

What Happened

The Florida Highway Patrol says Carson had stopped his e-bike — described as a small electric dirt bike — in a westbound travel lane on an unlit stretch of Sandridge Road when a 16-year-old driver coming up behind him never saw him in time. The e-bike had no lights. Carson was not wearing a helmet.

The 16-year-old’s sedan struck the e-bike. Seconds later, a 17-year-old girl in an SUV rear-ended that sedan. Carson was thrown from the bike and died at the scene. The two other teen drivers were not injured.

The crash remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Funeral Services

Funeral services for Carson Farias are scheduled for Friday at 2:00 p.m. at Russell Funeral Home in Green Cove Springs.

Officers responded to the scene at approximately 4:40 p.m. and located an adult male in his 40s suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was transported to an area hospital and is currently listed in stable condition.

According to Sgt. Mitlyng of the JSO Robbery and Violent Crimes Unit, the suspect and victim are known to each other. The preliminary investigation revealed the suspect pulled a gun on the victim, triggering a physical altercation. The victim was shot during the fight, after which the suspect fled the scene.

“The suspect and victim are known to one another,” Mitlyng said.

Investigators said the incident does not appear to be domestic-related, and no shell casings were recovered at the scene.

Detectives believe the shooting to be an isolated incident and say there is no further danger to the community.

Officers and detectives conducted a thorough canvass of the surrounding area and confirmed no nearby residences or businesses were struck by gunfire.

Crime Scene Detectives are actively processing the scene for evidence. The crime scene remained active following the initial press briefing. Detectives with the Robbery and Violent Crimes Unit are interviewing several witnesses, canvassing for surveillance video and following up on investigative leads. Mitlyng confirmed the victim is cooperating with investigators.

Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500, email JSOCRIMETIPS@JAXSHERIFF.ORG or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

JSO responded to the shooting that happened in the parking lot at The Element at River Pointe on Harts Road.

JSO said a man in his 40s and another man in his 20s were engaged in a drug transaction when the suspect shot them and then ran off.

The man believed to be in his 40s was shot in the chest, and the other man was shot in the hand, according to JSO. They were taken to the hospital for their injuries, and JSO said they were in stable condition.

JSO does not have a suspect description at this point in the investigation.

If you have any information about this shooting, call 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS to remain anonymous.

Rong Chhun, a top adviser to the Nation Power Party, was found guilty last year of inciting social unrest after he met villagers displaced by government construction projects. His conviction was seen as one of many legal moves taken by the government of Prime Minister Hun Manet to stifle criticism.

The 56-year-old was sentenced to four years in prison and barred from running for office and from voting. At his trial he had argued his innocence, saying all he had done was post photos of himself with the villagers and comments on Facebook.

He emerged from the morning hearing to a crowd of some 300 supporters chanting “Drop the charges, release Rong Chhun!" and holding signs with slogans calling for his freedom.

He told them that with tensions between Cambodia and neighboring Thailand, a struggling economy and other issues facing the country, he wants to promote “national reconciliation and national unity” for Cambodia's 17 million people.

"I hope the court will grant me freedom and justice so that I can continue to practice politics in the future,” he said.

Roads leading to the court were blocked by several dozen police officers at barricades, and Rong Chhun walked to the hearing accompanied by his supports, including local and international human rights advocates.

“We are not worried about going to prison,” he said. “We are willing to sacrifice everything and we are determined to use the resources our parents gave us to invest so that Cambodia can achieve true freedom and democracy.”

Incitement allegations are frequently used by authorities in Cambodia against opponents.

Rong Chhun was already sentenced to two years on incitement charges in 2021, based on accusations he spread false information about Cambodia’s border with Vietnam after meeting with farmers in the area. He was released later the same year by an appeals court.

Cambodia’s government insists it promotes the rule of law under an electoral democracy, but political parties seen as mounting strong challenges to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party have been dissolved by the courts or had their leaders jailed or harassed.

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.

On Monday, Tim Ratha drove several hours from Siem Reap province in the north to the capital, saying she wanted to show her support for Rong Chhun.

“He has devoted everything to us, he had no wife, no children,” the 55-year-old vegetable vendor told The Associated Press.

The Supreme Court's verdict is due June 19.

_____

Rising reported from Bangkok

Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres each had a goal and an assist, and Mattias Svanberg also scored for Sweden, which entered ranked 39th in the world and missed the 2022 World Cup after reaching the quarterfinals eight years ago in Russia.

Omar Rekik scored for 45th-ranked Tunisia, which is playing in its seventh World Cup but has never advanced beyond the group stage.

The higher-ranked teams in the group, the Netherlands and Japan, played to a 2-2 draw earlier Sunday at Arlington, Texas.

Ayari bookended the scoring for the Swedes at Estadio BBVA with long-range goals in the seventh minute and in second-half stoppage time. He was muted in his celebration of the first goal, raising his hands out of respect for the country where his father was born.

Isak scored his 18th international goal in the 30th minute when Gyökeres found the Liverpool striker — who was sidelined much of last season with a broken leg — on a counterattack. Isak cut inside and fired a low shot past the hands of Tunisian goalkeeper Mouhib Chamakh, who struggled all night.

Isak said he and Gyökeres and “have quite different qualities which is very beneficial for the team,” adding: “We can bring different types of attacks.”

After Rekik stalled Sweden's momentum with his goal in the 43rd minute, Isak and Gyökeres put Sweden back in control. Isak stole the ball and found Gyökeres for a one-on-one against Chamakh that the Arsenal striker won easily for his 16th goal in his last 15 appearances for Sweden and 21st overall.

Sweden coach Graham Potter said Isak and Gyökeres have strong chemistry.

“Behind them, they needed a team that functioned well. I’m pleased for the players tonight that we took a step forward in that,” Potter said.

Svanberg scored in the 84th minute, a goal that was awarded after a lengthy video review.

Sweden will play the Netherlands at Houston on Saturday, while Tunisia will remain in Monterrey and face Japan the same day.

___

Ethan Wilcox is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

___

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

The announcement on social media came just a couple of hours before the president was slated to celebrate his 80th birthday and the nation’s 250th anniversary with an unusual White House event: a UFC show featuring seven fights within an eight-sided, wire-mesh cage on the White House South Lawn.

UFC Freedom 250 is winding down after the headlining fight saw Justin Gaethje batter Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria for the UFC lightweight title. In the night’s other championship fight, Ciryl Gane beat Alex Pereira to take home the interim UFC heavyweight title.

The rest of the event saw knockouts by Diego Lopes against Steve Garcia; Bo Nickal against Kyle Daukaus; Mauricio Ruffy against Michael Chandler; Josh Hokit against Derrick Lewis; and Sean O’Malley against Aiemann Zahabi.

Here's the latest:

Trump congratulates American Justin Gaethje after win

Trump congratulated American Justin Gaethje after his upset win to cap the UFC Freedom 250.

Gaethje stopped Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria after the fourth round in the event on the White House South Lawn.

Trump came into the Octagon after the fight to congratulate Gaethje, who had an American flag draped around his neck.

Gaethje provides a big American win to cap UFC Freedom 250

American Justin Gaethje stunned Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria to cap off the UFC Freedom 250.

With the fans chanting “USA! USA!” throughout the match on the White House lawn, Gaethje delivered an upset performance to win the title.

He landed a left-right combination that bloodied Topuria in the face in the third round. The doctors came out after Topuria said he couldn’t see. There was an extended break after the round but Topuria said he wanted to keep fighting even though the doctor initially seemed to signal that the fight should end.

Topuria’s corner then called for the fight to be stopped after the fourth round.

Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room get cameos for the title fight

The broadcast of fight night has taken viewers on a bit of a tour of the White House, with fighters warming up in different storied rooms.

For the final bout, Ilia Topuria prepared in the Roosevelt Room, while Justin Gaethje warmed up in the Cabinet Room.

Each of them passed through the Oval Office before winding their way to the Octagon — with Gaethje appearing to briefly read the copy of the Declaration of Independence that Trump has added.

Gane beats Pereira to win the interim UFC heavyweight title

Ciryl Gane of France finished off Alex Pereira of Brazil in the second round to win the interim UFC heavyweight title.

Gane sent Pereira stumbling with a right jab followed by a hammer fist. The referee then stopped the fight 1:27 into the second round after a left to the chin.

Mixed results for Americans

It’s been a mixed result so far for the American fighters at the UFC Freedom 250.

After the U.S. fighters lost their first two bouts against international opponents at the event at the White House, Sean O’Malley delivered an impressive knockout of Canadian Aiemann Zahabi in their bantamweight fight.

Brazilian fighters went 2-0 against Americans with Diego Lopes knocking out Steve Garcia in a featherweight bout and Mauricio Ruffy knocking out Michael Chandler in a lightweight bout.

Hokit invokes conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama

Josh Hokit, after knocking out Derrick Lewis, thanked Trump, and “my lord and savior Jesus Christ” before veering into an unfounded right-wing conspiracy theory about a former first lady: “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”

Hokit also headed over to Trump and placed a chain around the president’s neck.

Sean O’Malley knocks out Aiemann Zahabi before saluting troops

Sean O’Malley knocked out Aiemann Zahabi in the second round of a bantamweight fight

O’Malley stunned Zahabi with a left and finished him off with a right 4:02 into the second round.

O’Malley then went over and shook hands with Trump and saluted the troops in the crowd.

Josh Hokit knocks out Derrick Lewis

Josh Hokit knocked out Derrick Lewis in the second round of a heavyweight fight.

Hokit was in control from the start and finished off Lewis with a combination round that sent him to the mat. The fight was called off by TKO 4:09 into the second round.

Hokit presented Trump with a necklace and shook his hand after the fight.

Hokit spent time on the practice squad of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers after competing in football and wrestling in college at Fresno State.

Comedian who insulted Puerto Rico during Trump’s campaign is a VIP

Tony Hinchcliffe was one of the VIPs at the event, smiling and waving for the broadcast.

Near the end of Trump’s 2024 run for a second term, Hinchcliffe caused an uproar at a Madison Square Garden rally when he called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage.”

Trump’s campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from the comedian at the time, saying the joke didn’t reflect Trump’s views.

Ruffy proposes after beating Chandler

Brazilian Mauricio Ruffy got a knockout and followed it with a wedding proposal.

In the interview after his knockout of Michael Chandler, Ruffy proposed to his girlfriend, Nadine.

She gave a thumbs up.

Ruffy TKOs Chandler in first round

Brazilian Mauricio Ruffy knocked out American Michael Chandler in the first round of a middleweight fight.

Ruffy stunned Chandler with a kick and then finished him off by TKO 4:29 into the fight.

President Donald Trump pumped his first in approval after the knockout from his ringside seat.

Park Police says Strickland wasn’t arrested, advised not to return

U.S. Park Police said in a statement that UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland’s presence at the Ellipse drew enough attention from attendees that it resulted in disorder. He wasn’t cited or arrested, they said. Instead, he was taken to his hotel and told not to come back to the venue.

Earlier in the day, Strickland was escorted barefoot out of the White House Ellipse area, where thousands of ticketed fans congregated to watch the fights.

The law enforcement agency said Strickland’s removal from the site was due to concerns for his safety and the UFC fans. U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Park Police and other agencies were involved in escorting him out.

Sen. Graham, in the crowd at UFC, is skeptical about the Iran agreement

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is a close ally of Trump and an Iran hawk. He expressed skepticism about the emerging deal, saying that Congress would need to review and vote on it, and said he expects Vice President JD Vance — “the architect of the deal” — to present it.

“I am somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming,” Graham said on social media.

Nickal knocks out Daukaus and then chats with Trump

Bo Nickal knocked out Kyle Daukaus in the first round in a middleweight fight.

Nickal knocked Daukaus down with a right hook, and the referee quickly stopped the second fight of the event 4:34 into the opening round.

Nickal went right over to Trump after the win and talked briefly with the president. Nickal, a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Penn State, has forged a friendly relationship with Trump after they met in 2019 at the White House during a ceremony for collegiate national champions.

UFC fighters walk out of White House with ‘heroes’

The fighters are getting impressive walkouts before each fight.

They leave the White House, one at a time, accompanied by two people described by the broadcast as “heroes.”

Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus were each joined by a Las Vegas police officer and a medal of honor recipient before the second fight.

Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia each walked out with two first responders before the first fight.

Lopes knocks out Garcia

Diego Lopes knocked out Steve Garcia in the second round of the first fight of the UFC Freedom 250.

Lopes connected with a left hook that knocked Garcia down and then finished him off before the referee stopped the fight.

UFC Freedom 250 at the White House begins

The UFC Freedom 250 event started with a featherweight fight between Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia.

Garcia walked out of the White House draped in an American flag and accompanied by two police officers. Lopez walked out the Mexican song “La Chona.”

Fans were chanting “USA! USA!” just before the start of the fight.

Trump arrives at the Octagon

The president and UFC chief Dana White walked together from the Oval Office to the Blue Room balcony, then stood for the national anthem as fighter jets streaked overhead.

Before the anthem began, the two men shared a moment on the balcony. Trump smiled as White pointed to the Octagon and “The Claw” on the White House’s South Lawn.

After the anthem, the crowd cheered and chanted “USA! USA!”

Trump and White then put on somber expressions as they walked the rest of the way to the cage where the UFC fights will take place.

Trump has a seat very close to the Octagon.

Weather watch

Clouds are getting darker but there’s still no significant rain at the Ellipse, where a live band was still playing for fans when the broadcast’s 8 p.m. start time arrived.

Earlier, a message appeared on the video screens warning about possible bad weather and telling the crowd to be prepared to leave and take shelter.

Sean Strickland escorted away by police

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of the Ellipse event by a group of police officers and taken into a Park Police van Sunday.

Once a vocal supporter of Trump, Strickland has recently said on social media that he was not invited to participate in the event at the White House because he is an outspoken critic of Israel.

Strickland was wearing a black anorak jacket and was barefoot. It wasn’t immediately clear why law enforcement led him away.

UFC CEO Dana White has rejected Strickland’s accusation that he was banned from UFC Freedom 250 events.

“Nobody is banned. Nothing is banned,” White told reporters earlier this month.

Not everyone was able to get tickets to the big UFC event

Richard Williams doesn’t have tickets to Sunday’s fights. But he drove with a friend from Pittsburgh to attend Saturday’s Fan Festival in Washington, D.C., because he wanted to see what all the hubbub was about.

He’s never been to an MMA event before but described the show the UFC put on for fans as “pretty awesome.”

For the fights to coincide with Trump’s 80th birthday and America’s 250th year, “all of that coming together at once is really amazing,” Williams said.

It will take months for oil and gas to flow freely

Even with a deal in place, it will take months for oil and gas supplies to be flowing freely enough for the world’s needs to be met, because shipping and insurance companies will want to be confident the agreement will last, energy experts said. And countries in the Middle East who paused production may have a long road ahead to restart those oil fields.

Vance says it’s possible Trump could be at the signing ceremony

Vice President JD Vance in an interview with Fox News said the White House was still figuring out the logistics of who will attend Friday’s signing ceremony in Switzerland.

“I certainly plan to be there, but it’s possible the president himself could be there,” Vance said.

He said the deal could have a transformative impact on the Middle East.

“This region of the world has been a basket case for my entire life, and longer than that,” Vance said, explaining the deal could “eliminate the nuclear threat of Iran” as well as build prosperity.

VIPs begin arriving at the White House ahead of fights

Along with a string of Trump administration officials and lawmakers, including FBI Director Kash Patel, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, at least one foreign dignitary was seen entering the White House campus on Sunday.

Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki was spotted heading into the White House before the UFC event on the South Lawn.

Tkachuk brothers at the Ellipse

Hockey’s Tkachuk brothers were at the Ellipse as part of pre-fight festivities. They were interviewed on the main stage.

Matthew Tkachuk offered the following hot take: “It’s going to be the under in every single fight,” he said. “I think it’s not going to last like halfway through. They’re all going to be knockouts or finishes early.”

Attendees include eager first-timers

Jake Rowe, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, traveled to Washington, D.C., with his brother for the UFC fights.

“I’ve never been to an MMA match before,” he said. He jumped at the chance when he got tickets to Sunday’s events.

He’s hoping American Justin Gaethje emerges the victor in the lightweight title bout against Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.

The fight card has two championship bouts

In a card that has been panned by fans online as underwhelming, Alex Pereira of Brazil will meet Ciryl Gane of France for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria then takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.

There are five other fights on the main card that include former title-fight participants Michael Chandler and Derrick Lewis and former 135-pound champion Sean O’Malley.

UFC CEO Dana White said the show will go on rain or shine. Strong thunderstorms and heavy lightning disrupted Friday’s Lincoln Memorial promotional event, and the forecast for Sunday evening also looks threatening.

Macron says G7 leaders will discuss consequences of US-Iran deal

French President Emmanuel Macron said the deal between the United States and Iran will be discussed at the G7 summit, which begins Monday in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains and brings together leaders of the world’s major advanced economies, including President Donald Trump.

“The aim will be to assess the implications of this agreement, support for Lebanon, the long-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, of course, reaching a deal on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic (missile) programs,” Macron said in a video posted on X.

Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will join discussions in Evian on Tuesday.

The G7 includes the U.S., France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Polish visitors on hand to witness their president attend the fights

Tomasz Oracz, from south Poland, traveled from his home country to watch the seven Sunday fights.

He was spotted watching one of the many mixed martial arts fighter interviews that were taking place on the mainstage Saturday. Oracz said he was equally excited about each bout on Sunday’s fight card and couldn’t pick a favorite.

“These events are very important,” he said, especially since Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, is expected to attend the festivities, according to Polish media. Nawrocki has a background as an amateur boxer.

Weather woes could hit UFC show

UFC posted on social media that severe weather was expected Sunday night and fans should plan accordingly.

“We anticipate inclement weather in the area, so attendees should plan accordingly,” the UFC wrote. “We will share additional information when available.”

UFC CEO Dana White said the show will go on rain or shine. Strong thunderstorms and heavy lightning disrupted Friday’s Lincoln Memorial promotional event, and the forecast for Sunday evening also looks threatening.

Watch party o

n the Ellipse

Sunday’s event includes a watch party on the Ellipse, the expansive lawn area located between the White House and Washington Monument.

In addition to the massive video screens, there are various military-themed vehicles on display, as well as concession stands and free water that fans were lining up for under the afternoon sun.

The area is heavily secured from the outside, and there’s law enforcement presence inside as well, but as of 5 p.m. there was little sign of any unruliness.

Trump confirms US-Iran deal

Trump says “the Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete” and says the Strait of Hormuz will open immediately.

“Congratulations to all!” he wrote Sunday on his social media site. “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade.”

The president added, “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

Trump’s post came hours before a UFC event at the White House marking his 80th birthday.

Pakistan’s prime minister says Iran, U.S. have reached peace deal; accord to cover Lebanon

Pakistan says the United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since the war began.

Full details of the deal were not immediately available. The signing will be Friday in Switzerland. It is not clear how quickly the strait might reopen to all traffic. The U.S. previously said it would ease its blockade of Iranian ports as the strait reopens, and would agree to relax sanctions to allow Iran to sell more of its oil and strengthen its battered economy.

The White House lawn is ready for Trump’s UFC birthday bash — but the weather may not cooperate

A muggy and very hot afternoon in Washington was forecast to give way to thunderstorms shortly after the evening fights in honor of Trump’s 80th birthday are set to begin.

UFC chief Dana White has insisted for days that the show will go on rain or shine.

But he’s also conceded, “I’m sick and tired of hearing about the weather” and said his league is sticking to indoor arenas going forward.

The White House is also touchy.

After the Weather Channel warned on X of a “60% chance of thunderstorms, heavy downpours, and wind gusts up to 34 mph,” the Rapid Response 47 account — which posts for the Trump administration — dismissed the post as the work of a “friendless loser” and added an expletive for emphasis.

Trump and White’s relationship spans 25 years

The Freedom 250 card marks the pinnacle of the relationship between UFC CEO Dana White and Trump, which has yielded personal, political and financial dividends for both parties. White’s first card as UFC president took place in 2001 at an event held at the Trump Taj Mahal casino.

Trump has attended four UFC cards as sitting president, walking to the cage amid rock music and patriotic chants from fans, much like the fighters themselves. White introduced Trump at two Republican National Conventions. White also attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April that was cut short by a shooting.

‘Bread and circuses’

The UFC event is an apt metaphor for Trump’s pugilistic political style. He is as big a fan of cage-match-style politics as he is of cage-fighting itself.

But Trump has also long been a master of political misdirection, purposely presenting people with something other than his presidency to focus on when things aren’t going well.

With the war in Iran grinding on despite weeks of assurances from Trump that its end is nigh, gas prices staying high, renewed concerns about inflation and plummeting job approval ratings for Trump — a White House birthday party unlike anything America has ever seen is definitely a diversion.

The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel over three days this week, threatening to push the region into a full-scale war. U.S. Central Command late Friday said in a social media post that it intercepted several Iranian attack drones that were targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. (Produced by Luke Garratt)

“This is all distraction,” said Mike Fontaine, a classics professor at Cornell University, who likened it to the gladiatorial games of Imperial Rome, when combatants brutalized each other for public entertainment meant to bolster rulers’ popularity and quell potential unrest.

“This is a classic strategy,” Fontaine said. “In ancient Rome, the phrase would be, ‘bread and circuses.’”

Who’s paying for all this?

Trump says the UFC is paying for the event, and while its full costs haven’t been divulged, the National Park Service said in a court filing that $60-plus million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have gone into it, while seven government agencies have “allocated significant resources and manpower.”

UFC also announced on Friday that it was adding World Liberty Financial as an official partner for the event to create a special $250,000 athlete bonus pool for Sunday night’s winners. The cryptocurrency company is co-owned by the Trump family, founded with the president’s special diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff and run by his son, Zach. The arrangement further blurs lines between the Trump family’s financial interests and the events and construction projects the president has prioritized and used government resources to pull off.

Inside the crowd drawn to Trump’s unusual UFC fight night at the White House

One by one, the burly mixed martial arts fighters made their entrance past the solemn, hulking marble statue of America’s 16th president and jogged down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to roars from thousands of fans drawn to the unusual sporting weekend.

The news conference Friday night featured the fighters who are preparing to face off Sunday in the Octagon built outside the White House. But it was also a chance to see the UFC fans who have thronged to Washington and endured lightning, humidity and bugs for the spectacle.

Tracy Philbeck and his son Levi drove from Charlotte, North Carolina, with a group of friends to support their favorite fighter, American Justin Gaethje, in the upcoming lightweight title bout against Georgian Ilia Topuria.

“You will hear an eagle screaming when Justin Gaethje wins,” the elder Philbeck chuckled.

▶ Read more

Donald Trump turns 80 and celebrates with UFC cage fighting on the White House lawn

President Donald Trump turned 80 on Sunday and is set to celebrate with one of the more surreal spectacles both in sports and even in the nation’s capital: cage fighting on the White House lawn.

Against the backdrop of a 3-month-old war with Iran that’s been broadly unpopular with Americans and has rattled global oil markets and with inflation spiked to the highest level since April 2023, the White House — long known as the people’s house and a symbol of American democracy — opened its backyard Sunday night to stage a bruising UFC card on the South Lawn.

More than $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been poured into building the arena, according to a court filing from the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.

UFC is staging seven fights with all male fighters under the Freedom 250 banner to celebrate Trump’s 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.

But when it came down to doing what it takes to win the Cup, the Hurricanes' defense put its stamp on this series, shutting down the Vegas Golden Knights and not letting up.

The Hurricanes held Vegas to five total goals in Games 4 and 5 and used a suffocating defense in a 3-0 shutout Sunday night in Game 6 to win their first championship in 20 years.

“That’s a lot of years,” said Carolina center Jordan Staal, who received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. “It’s amazing. This is something I’ve been going after ever since we got the first one. You want to win it again and again and again. "

Brandon Bussi, whose entrance late in Game 3 helped turn around the series, had his first career playoff shutout in stopping 22 shots. Jackson Blake had a goal and assist, and Taylor Hall scored just 3:47 into the game to set the tone. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty-netter.

“Your mind wanders the last couple of days and wonder what it may be like out here (on ice after winning) and it’s better than I could have expected," Hall said.

The Golden Knights struggled badly to muster any kind of offense in Game 6 and went 18:37 between shots on goal in the second and third periods. Playing in their third Cup final, this is the first time they have been shut out.

This final game was what many observers expected the series to be like between the defensive-minded teams, but each side watched leads of two-plus goals disappear in the first three games.

Now, the Cup belongs to the Hurricanes, led by coach Rod Brind'Amour, who also captained Carolina to its 2006 title.

“It's just as awesome,” Brind'Amour said. “But as a player, it was a little different. I worked and dreamt of winning the Cup my whole life, so that was like a piano came off my back. This time around, I wanted it for the group."

This was the first game of the series that Vegas goalie Carter Hart didn't allow four goals in a game. He finished with 20 saves.

The Hurricanes began to assume control of the series after falling behind by the score of 4-0 in Game 3. They came back force overtime, and though the Canes lost, they outplayed the Golden Knights from there on out.

Reflecting the do-or-die situation for the Golden Knights, they made several lineup changes, with Brett Howden replacing the injured William Karlsson at second-line center. Mitch Marner could have moved there, but remained at right wing.

Original Golden Knight Reilly Smith made his Cup final debut at third-line right wing, and Braeden Bowman made his playoff debut at fourth-line right wing. Kaedan Korczak replaced Dylan Coghlan on the third defensive pairing.

“This is tough to be on this side of it,” Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “But on the other side, these chances don’t come around very often. So it stings."

This title is a testament to Carolina’s resilience as a franchise that kept coming close to winning the Eastern Conference, but couldn’t quite get through until now.

Brind’Amour made sure the Hurricanes kept getting back up after losing in the conference final twice in the past three years and three times in their current eight-year playoff run. The talent was clearly there, but there was always a stumbling block.

Not anymore.

After dispatching Montreal in five games to make the final, the Hurricanes then faced perennial power Vegas and took care of business there, too. Now, Brind’Amour will get his name on the Cup for the second time.

So will 37-year-old Staal, who also won the title in 2009 with Pittsburgh. He planted himself in front of Hart and dared the Golden Knights to knock him out of the way. Staal scored in each of the first five Cup final games, the first time that has happened.

The Hurricanes got off to a fast start with a goal just 25 seconds into Game 1, only to lose 5-4 on a late goal from Tomas Hertl. And the Golden Knights were on the verge of taking complete control as minutes ticked down in Game 2 while holding a 2-0 lead and appearing as if they would take a two-game advantage back home.

Then, it all changed. Carolina showed a fight that not only brought the Hurricanes back into the series by rallying to win 4-3 in overtime on Seth Jarvis’ one-timer, but would serve as their signature throughout the series.

That was especially true the following game when the Golden Knights took a 4-0 lead into the third period and the Canes seemed to have no answers. Brind’Amour even appeared to wave the white flag by removing goalie Frederik Andersen and replacing him with Bussi.

But the Hurricanes weren’t simply trying to get to Game 4. They sent a message, going on a remarkable rally to force overtime. Though Carolina lost, it was inflection point, with Bussi backstopping a team that was only growing stronger. Carolina then went on to win the next two games and moved within a victory of the championship.

The Hurricanes got it done against the Golden Knights team that was on a heater after John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy with eight games left in the regular season. Vegas then went from third in the Pacific Division to first, knocked off Utah and Anaheim in six games apiece in the playoffs and shockingly swept Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado to win the West.

“I am very proud to be a part of this organization, very proud to lead this team, very proud to play with every single guy that steps into our locker room,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “This feeling sucks. I never want to have it again."

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Trump had been touting the emerging deal for weeks and the continuing conflict threatened to overshadow the UFC mixed martial arts extravaganza, where combatants inside a wire-mesh Octagon tried to punch, kick, chop and pummel each other into submission.

Ahead of the event, however, the president said an agreement to end the conflict “is now complete." He declared that the U.S. will end its blockade of Iran, and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. Crucial details still need negotiating over the coming weeks, however.

Top administration officials and Republican leaders attended the fights, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Polish President Karol Nawrocki was also at the White House.

It started with Trump and UFC chief Dana White walked together from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to survey the Octagon, standing for the national anthem as fighter jets thundered overhead.

Thousands of spectators crowded into the temporary arena under “ The Claw,” a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens. Thousands more watched on big screens from the nearby Ellipse.

“This event is a one of one event, incredible event,” said White, a close friend of the president's, during a Friday night hype session at the Lincoln Memorial, where pairs of fighters shoved and scuffled for the cameras under the stoic gaze of Honest Abe’s marble likeness.

Before Sunday's final fight, lightweight fighters Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, who wrapped himself in an American flag, each stepped out of the Oval Office and walked to the Octagon — meaning Trump even ceded his workspace as part of the show.

The American Gaethje then stunned Spanish-Georgian Topuria to win after four rounds that left copious blood on the cage floor. Trump later headed inside the cage to shake hands and watch a fireworks display that launched well after 1 a.m.

That capped a night where many of the winning fighters thanked Trump and God. Heavyweight Josh Hokit took it further with an extraordinary and unfounded attack based on a right-wing conspiracy theory about a former first lady: “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”

Hokit also headed over to Trump and placed a chain around the president's neck.

Rain doesn't mar fights

Wearing a suit and tie despite the summer heat, Trump a lot of time sitting stoned-faced, watching the action through wire-mesh cage. At one point he spoke briefly with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

When American Sean O’Malley fought Canadian Aiemann Zahabi, Trump donned a white USA hat. After Zahabi won, he shook Trump’s hand and saluted the president.

Earlier, as Diego Lopes was defeating American Steve Garcia in the opening fight, the president could be seen speaking to first lady Melania Trump. After Bo Nickal knocked out Kyle Daukaus in the second fight, Nickal went over to Trump and kneeled down, chatting briefly.

“I gotta thank President Trump for making this happen,” Nickal said in a subsequent interview, as Trump grinned. Nickal added that the president is a “special person,” before Trump-favorite “YMCA" played.

The president sought to tie the fights to larger celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But it was so geared toward himself that the G7 summit for leaders of industrialized nations pushed back their get-together so that the president could attend his cage-match party and then fly to Europe for the meetings.

The weekend wasn't all smiles for Trump, though. Crews pried Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center near the White House after a judge ruled naming it after the president had gone too far. And, before the fight began, UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland — an outspoken critic of Israel — was escorted out of the Ellipse by a crowd of law enforcement officers.

Still, despite forecasts predicting strong chances of thunderstorms that delayed the event briefly, rain wasn't an issue.

A dramatic departure from how the last president marked his 80th

The crowd repeatedly chanted, “USA! USA!” when an American fighter faced a foreign opponent. Until the finale, that didn’t always help the American fighter prevail. After winning his fight, Brazil's Mauricio Ruffy proposed to his girlfriend who — in Trumpian fashion — flashed a thumb's up from the crowd.

It was all a very long way from when Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, turned 80 in November 2022. Biden celebrated with a private family brunch at the White House, laying bare just how much and how quickly things have changed.

Asked about the contrast, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster in a statement called the UFC event “one of the most entertaining nights in American history.”

When he turned 80, Biden was the oldest president in U.S. history, and was months away from launching a reelection bid that he would ultimately abandon after a disastrous debate against Trump and mutiny among Democrats.

Trump has now supplanted Biden as the oldest person to be elected U.S. president. He’s constitutionally barred from running again, yet constantly toys with the notion. That’s despite polls showing rising public skepticism about Trump’s mental and physical health — recalling concerns Biden faced as he turned 80.

A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.

The White House countered with a lengthy statement from Trump's former White House physician, Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, saying Trump's “stamina, focus, and strength are exceptional and on display every day." Jackson added that polling concerns were “being propagated by the same biased, liberal, Trump-hating press that completely ignored the absolute cognitive and physical disaster that was President Biden.”

‘Bread and circuses’ — Trump-style

The UFC is an apt metaphor for Trump's pugilistic political style. He is as big a fan of cage-match-style politics as he is of cage-fighting itself.

But Trump has also long been a master of political misdirection, purposely presenting people with something other than his presidency to focus on when things aren’t going well.

With the war in Iran having kept gas prices high and renewing concerns about inflation while Trump's job approval ratings fall, a White House birthday party unlike anything America has ever seen can certainly qualify as a diversion.

“This is all distraction,” said Mike Fontaine, a classics professor at Cornell University, who likened it to the gladiatorial games of Imperial Rome, when combatants brutalized each other for public entertainment meant to bolster rulers’ popularity and quell potential unrest.

“This is a classic strategy," Fontaine said. “In ancient Rome, the phrase would be, ‘bread and circuses.’”

Trump says the UFC is paying for the event and while its full costs haven't been divulged, the National Park Service said in a court filing that $60-plus million and tens of thousands of hours of labor went into it, while seven government agencies have “allocated significant resources and manpower.”

UFC also announced that it was adding as an official partner for the event World Liberty Financial to create a special $250,000 athlete bonus pool for Sunday night’s winners. The cryptocurrency company is co-owned by the Trump family, founded with the president’s special diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff and run by his son, Zach.

The arrangement further blurs lines between the Trump family's financial interests and the events and construction projects the president has prioritized and used government resources to pull off.

Still, Fontaine said that when it comes to a personal flair for pageantry, the president’s second-term tendency to lean into “hardcore masculinity and brute fighting” is marrying the UFC's blood sport with Trump's trademark humor and enduring sense of showmanship.

“President Trump has a once-in-a-generation talent for this stuff,” he said.

___

Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.

For a president who revels in winners, Trump had to enjoy crowning two champions on a big fight night staged closer to the Rose Garden than Madison Square Garden in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250.

American lightweight Justin Gaethje capped his unification championship victory in the main event over Ilia Topuria with a backflip off the top of the cage. He crouched near Trump for a celebratory chat and the betting underdog draped the American flag over one shoulder — and the 155-pound title belt over another. Trump later stepped into the cage to congratulate Gaethje.

“Hey, I'm from America, 250 years ago we were way more than 6-1 underdogs,” Gaethje said. “I know that was absolutely legendary because I can not even believe it.”

Topuria and Gaethje made their walkouts from the Oval Office as fireworks exploded overhead during Michael Buffer’s introductions. Gaethje — who appeared to skim the copy of the Declaration of Independence on his way out — mustered some scattered “USA!” chants against the Spanish-Georgian Topuria, though not even the main event could stop the trend of mostly quiet fights.

It took the gory sight of a bloodied Topuria — his back to Trump in a white “USA” hat as he peered through the wire-mesh cage — nearly having the fight waved off to get a “let them fight!” chant going. The fight continued, and the 37-year-old Gaethje won eventually via corner stoppage in the fourth round.

“Hard work, baby,” Gaethje said. “I am made for these moments. This sport is made for me.”

Earlier, Ciryl Gane hammered Alex Pereira with a series of elbows and fists to the head and won via TKO in 1:27 of the second round to claim the interim heavyweight belt for a second time and set up a rematch with heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall.

Like the bulk of the fighters who had their hands raised in victory, Gane thanked Trump.

The White House was a most improbable all-American setting for a fight promotion that long ago shed the “human cockfighting” tag and decades later became entwined with the emboldened right-wing “ manosphere ” that soaks up UFC fights and threw its support behind Trump in two elections.

Trump and UFC boss Dana White, the tempestuous tag-team that rallied the fight company to the nation's capital, walked from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to chants of “USA! USA!” to kick off the fight card jacked up by a dose of high-octane patriotism on a blustery night for cage fighting.

This was no Easter Egg Roll.

UFC ramped up the patriotism for White House debut

The Marine Band jazzed up the festivities and played fighter entrance music in front of the White House and Zac Brown sang the national anthem — never performed before normal UFC fight cards because of the mix of nationalities fighting inside the Octagon. The Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds zipped overhead as part of a flyover to celebrate Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.

The 4,000-plus fans — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison among them — on the South Lawn who sat under the claw, the flying saucer-like, open-air structure that housed the cage, mostly sat on their hands until the fighters used theirs to deliver punishing blows and a true fighting spirit that got everyone on their feet.

Bo Nickal delivered the red, white and boom when the three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Penn State earned the TKO win over middleweight Kyle Daukaus and immediately bolted the Octagon for a cage-side chat with Trump. Nickal met Trump in 2019 during a ceremony at the White House for collegiate national champions.

The first blight of the night for Trump came when American heavyweight Derrick Lewis lost his fight after he got a personal invitation from the president. Trump proclaimed himself a fan of Lewis and his unconventional celebrations and asked White to add him to the card. Josh Hokit instead improved to 10-0 when he flattened Lewis by TKO.

Sean O'Malley celebrated his walk-off KO win with a salute, and Mauricio Ruffy and Diego Lopes won their fights earlier in the night.

“That was sexy,” O'Malley said to cheers. “I felt the energy in here. I truly felt the energy in here.”

UFC says it's only running one card at the White House

More than $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor were poured into building the arena, according to a court filing from the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn, and the looming threat of rain that threw White into a tizzy each time a miserable forecast was raised never materialized over the early portions of the card.

Fight night came only hours after the United States and Iran reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months after the war began.

The rare UFC outdoors event marked the pinnacle of the relationship between White and Trump that has yielded personal, political and financial dividends for both parties. White's first card as UFC president came in 2001 at an event held at Trump Taj Mahal.

Trump has attended four UFC cards as sitting president, walking to the cage amid rock music and patriotic chants from fans. White introduced Trump at two Republican National Conventions.

Trump got a home game for this one, making the short walk from the Oval Office to the Octagon, much like the fighters who made the walk down West Wing halls covered with presidential portraits and were flanked by first responders and medal of honor recipients, among other individuals who served.

Strickland causes trouble at the fan zone at the Ellipse

Thousands more outside the White House lawn watched the fights on big screens from the nearby Ellipse, though not everyone was able to get tickets.

Even one of UFC's champions.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of the Ellipse event by a group of police officers.

U.S. Park Police said in a statement that Strickland’s presence drew enough attention from attendees that it resulted in disorder. He wasn’t cited or arrested, they said. Instead, he was taken to his hotel and told not to come back to the venue.

___

AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

“Haven’t had to use him, (and) to be honest, I hope we don’t because something’s gone wrong,” Brind'Amour said.

Turns out the late-blooming goaltender came out of the bullpen after all and backstopped the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup.

“I thought they were really good tonight, Vegas," Hurricanes wing Jackson Blake said. “If it wasn't for Bus, there's no way we're winning that game.”

After Frederik Andersen was in net for every minute of the first three rounds and the start of the final, Bussi came in during Game 3 and finished out the series. He stopped 81 of the 87 shots he faced against Vegas as Andersen’s status was shrouded in mystery; the veteran from Denmark did not dress from Game 4 on because of a knee injury that was only revealed after the final was over.

“Freddie battled," Brind'Amour said. “He got a little nicked up, wasn’t 100%. I felt for him, but he got us here and then Bus took over. This is a team.”

Bussi and Andersen embraced after Game 6 ended Sunday night. Andersen, at 36 the second-oldest player on the team, was the first player captain and playoff MVP Jordan Staal handed the Cup to after getting it from Commissioner Gary Bettman.

“It’s disbelief, really," Andersen said. "I did not expect that. It really beat every emotion I could think of or what I’ve been feeling."

Bussi, a 27-year-old from Long Island, was not an unknown quantity for the Hurricanes because he played in nearly half their games this season, winning 31 of his 39 starts to help Carolina earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He got a three-year extension at a bargain-basement $5.7 million price in February.

Before the past several months, he was on track for the career of a journeyman.

Going undrafted, he spend several years in the Boston Bruins' farm system with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL and Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. Liking what they saw, the astute back-to-back champion Florida Panthers signed him last summer to be their third goalie behind Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov.

Trying to get him to the AHL in Charlotte, the Panthers lost Bussi when Carolina claimed him off waivers. He and fiancée Mary Raclawski were 10 hours into a drive from from South Florida to North Carolina when his agent called to tell him the Hurricanes had claimed him.

“The next thing you know, the following day I’m in Raleigh and I’m on the opening night roster,” Bussi said. "It’s crazy.”

Injuries to Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov thrust him into an important role for a top contender.

Bussi was even more needed in the final. He entered at the second intermission in Game 3 with the Hurricanes down 4-0. He stopped all 18 shots to allow a stirring comeback, and the only goal he allowed was the Golden Knights' winner in double overtime when the puck took a bad bounce off the end boards behind him and Bussi inadvertently kicked it in.

In the Game 6 clincher, Bussi denied playoff-leading goal-scorer Brett Howden, who got in all alone in the first period. He stopped Tomas Hertl on a 2-on-1 rush in the second, much to the joy of family members watching from the stands. Then Bussi robbed Hertl and Mark Stone on quality scoring chances in the final few minutes of regulation.

“Their goalie gives them a really good opportunity in the second part of the series to give them the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup," Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said.

Hurricanes fans in Las Vegas chanted “Buss-i! Buss-i!” on the way to his third career shutout. A journeyman no more, Bussi is now a Stanley Cup champion. So is Andersen.

“This is something everyone dreams of," Andersen said. "You don’t really know what it feels like until you try it, and now we’re here.”

___

Whyno contributed from New York.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

His tying goal will be remembered for a long time in his homeland, especially if the country with some soccer momentum reaches the round of 16 again.

Kamada scored when a header by teammate Koki Ogawa deflected off his head into the Dutch goal in the 88th minute, sending the Samurai Blue fans into a frenzy and giving Japan a 2-2 draw with the higher-ranked Netherlands on Sunday.

While the Dutch extended their unbeaten streak to 17 games in group play, the orange-clad Oranje supporters were stunned by the late goal that left them with 21 wins, two losses and 11 draws in group play at the World Cup.

“Our players managed to be tenacious but at the same time be patient and just keep calm and finding and seizing an opportunity,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said through an interpreter. His team reached the round of 16 for the fourth time in 2022 in Qatar.

Virgil Van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville scored off each post for the Netherlands early in the second half, while Keito Nakamura had a goal between those as part of a three-goal flurry in just 14 minutes.

A mostly uneventful first half changed quickly after the break for a crowd evenly split at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys with the retractable roof that offered relief from the muggy Texas heat, and the giant video board that fans had a hard time keeping their eyes off.

Summerville gave the eighth-ranked Dutch the lead in the 64th minute, and Japan was running out of hope until a Ogawa's perfectly timed header off a corner kick. The ball glanced off Kamada's head and past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who got his hands on it with a sprawling dive but couldn't keep it from going in.

Van Dijk sent a header toward the far post on the right in the 50th minute, bending forward from inside the penalty area as he stared at the ball before it caromed in for the Dutch captain’s 13th international goal.

Nakamura answered seven minutes later for 18th-ranked Japan, turning and rifling a shot past Verbruggen from the left side of the arc after taking a pass from Takefusa Kubo.

Another seven minutes later, Summerville took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch and sent a left-footed shot to the far left post past Zion Suzuki, where it caromed in again.

“It’s disappointing now because obviously conceding the lead is never good,” said Van Dijk, the second-oldest Dutch goal scorer in a World Cup at 34 years, 341 days, behind Giovanni van Bronckhorst at 35 and 151 against Uruguay in 2010. “It’s extra disappointing that we conceded from a set piece so late on.”

The Dutch’s most recent loss before the elimination round came the last time the World Cup was in the United States in 1994, when a group play defeat was followed by a quarterfinal loss to Brazil at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The pressure is always on the Netherlands to reach the elimination round, in part because it's the only country to reach the final three times without winning the World Cup.

A draw to open Group F, which includes Sweden and Tunisia, won't ease that pressure on coach Ronald Koeman, who faced several pointed questions about strategy and shot back with cryptic replies.

The Dutch beat Japan in their only other World Cup meeting in 2010.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but that’s because we were ahead twice,” Koeman said through an interpreter. “Many people underestimated Japan, but for the 100,000th time, if you underestimate them, that’s your problem. You think Japan’s strength was overexaggerated before the match? Let’s wait until the end of the tournament to see who’s right.”

The Netherlands plays Sweden on Saturday in Houston, while Japan goes to Monterrey, Mexico, to face Tunisia on Saturday.

___

This story has been corrected. A previous version reported incorrectly that Kamada scored on a header off Ogawa's corner kick.

___

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

Just an angler, a fishing pole and maybe thousands of dollars worth of sonar equipment offering an exact image of what that walleye or bass is doing in the watery depths below.

It's called forward-facing sonar, and the hot-selling products are not only helping anglers increase their catch, they are raising questions about why people go fishing in the first place and whether fish populations can survive the new technology.

“You’ve got people that are concerned about what’s going to happen to the sport of fishing,” said Gary Korsgaden, who has written about the sport for decades.

How fishing with sonar works

Fish-finding sonar is typically mounted on the bow or back of a boat, sending out sound frequencies that are converted into a picture on a screen based on the time it takes the pings to hit the bottom and return. Earlier products would show where fish were located, but advancements now enable anglers to see images of fish in real time.

“With forward-facing sonar, you can attach it to a trolling motor and you can look around the water under you and you could find exactly, pinpoint where that fish exactly is at any given time,” said Dave Dunn, a sales executive at Garmin, a company that manufactures the equipment.

Dunn notes the equipment, which costs about $2,500 for a full setup, enables anglers to even see their lures and cast directly to fish. It does have a learning curve.

For Minnesota angler Terry Rehm, the new technology is invaluable. Rehm said he doesn’t get a lot of lake time due to his work and kids’ schedules and forward-facing sonar ensures he makes good use of his time plying the waters.

“It’s just nice to be able to hone in on them a little quicker and find them quicker and catch more fish when I’m out here,” he said.

Growing use of the technology

Tens of millions of people fish recreationally each year, making it one of the nation's top activities.

But people fish for different reasons and those who care most about the tranquility and beauty of being on a lake can find it puzzling that other anglers eagerly hunch over their screens, watching as fish swim by below.

Still, the use of the technology is growing dramatically, with surveys in Minnesota finding about 30% of anglers now use forward-facing sonar. Surveys of anglers on several Minnesota lakes found the user rate as high as 63% on one lake last fall, Walleye Alliance spokesperson Nate Blasing said.

Much of the debate around forward-facing sonar plays out on social media, but also podcasts, online fishing forums, trade shows and tournaments.

“It's much like politics now. It tends to get personal. You can agree to disagree,” Blasing said.

Criticisms and reactions go back and forth on social media, said Korsgaden, the fishing writer. He said tournament anglers have banned him from their Facebook pages for even raising the topic.

“I think the unfortunate reality is fishing has gotten to be more about, shall we say, success or numbers or quantity, that type of thing, instead of the actual enjoyment of the engagement and making decisions on your own,” Korsgaden said.

Sonar may make little difference

Even as anglers say the equipment helps ensure they will actually catch fish, some studies indicate it hasn't led to overfishing.

Wisconsin researchers conducted a controlled experiment last year with two teams of anglers fishing for smallmouth bass, one with forward-facing sonar, the other without. Halfway through the summer, the teams switched.

The team without the technology had higher catch rates, though the team using it caught slightly longer fish, said Greg Sass, fisheries research team leader with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Office of Applied Science. The sonar users searched more for fish before even fishing, while the other team spent more time actively fishing.

Sass said he is reluctant to apply the study to all fish species and water bodies, but the findings “would be counterintuitive to what I'm hearing in the bait shops or from other people that are on both sides of the fence with technology,” he said. More studies are ahead, including for the muskie, a prized predator fish.

Eric Sanft, a fisheries specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said an analysis of lakes across the state didn't find “negative impacts” from the use of forward-facing sonar in fishing.

Surveys by wildlife officers in Minnesota found people using forward-facing sonar ended up catching similar numbers and variety of fish as anglers who cast their lines the old-fashioned way.

“To some degree, it can get scapegoated a little bit, and people’s perceptions of what other people are doing is often different than what the reality is,” said Marc Bacigalupi, a regional fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The department has proposed reducing the daily walleye limit from six fish to four, partially because of advancements in fish-finding technology, among other factors such as a boom in ice fishing, attention on hot spots from social media and lower limits in surrounding states.

Fishing is about ‘making memories’

For Daren Schneider, a lifelong angler from Bismarck, North Dakota, forward-facing sonar has changed everything he thought he knew about fishing.

When seeking walleye, for example, he thought you needed to catch them on or near the lake bottom, but after watching on sonar, he found “they do all kinds of things that you never thought a walleye would do.”

The technology has enhanced his understanding of fish and his enjoyment of fishing, Schneider said.

“Fishing isn’t necessarily about catching fish and getting your limit or whatever,” he said. “It’s about being out there and making memories, and if it’s making memories with forward-facing sonar, why is that such a bad thing?”

A rally is planned for outside the stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran. Many of Southern California’s Iranian Americans arrived after the Islamic Revolution, and a hub of eateries, shops and markets about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the stadium is known as “Tehrangeles.”

Rally participants plan to wear lion-and-sun T-shirts and wave the country's flag from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in protest of Tehran’s deadly January crackdown on dissent.

Ali Javahery, a 59-year-old consultant who was born in Iran and lives in California's Orange County, said he will be outside protesting Iran's opening match against New Zealand, not inside watching it. He said soccer and politics are intertwined, and though he loves the sport, he says the national team's players are under pressure to adhere to the Iranian government's positions.

“This is not ‘Team Melli,’” as the national team is known in Persian, Javahery said. “This is Team Islamic Republic.”

Iran's participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country's war with U.S. and Israeli forces. The team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country's key soccer officials had not been granted visas to enter the United States. Many in the diaspora have mixed feelings over how to show their support of the Iranian people, but not the government, through their love of soccer.

“We play for every Iranian, be it in the diaspora or in Iran. People have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians wherever they live,” team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference Sunday. “We are here to bring joy to Iranian people. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football.”

Reza Garajedaghi, 57, said he will watch the game with his 96-year-old father in San Diego. He said he didn’t buy tickets for the game, partly because of the sky-high pricing. But he said he supports the team, politics aside, while respecting the wide range of views shared by Iranians in the diaspora.

“I’m a football die-hard, and the boys, they’re representing all Persians, Iranians around the world,” said Garajedaghi, who left Iran when he was 10 years old. “To me, it has nothing to do with whatever government they have in Iran.”

Watch parties are planned to cheer on the team in Southern California, and when Iran was assigned last year to play in LA, many bought tickets. But in recent months some said they have sold off their tickets in anger, following January's brutal repression.

Some Iranian American soccer fans have also said the team is currently tied up in politics. In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country’s leadership, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn’t selected for the World Cup squad this year, reportedly because of a social media post that angered authorities.

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called Azmoun an “excellent player” and said he wished he were with the team.

“I am just happy that they are coming to watch us and I hope that they will pray for us and I hope that they will encourage us,” Ghalenoei said Sunday when asked about the sizable diaspora. He added that he hoped the team would pay back that loyalty by playing a good game.

Some Iranian Americans are also upset about FIFA's rule barring political flags from being flown. They want to fly the pre-revolution lion-and-sun flag, which is not the official flag of Iran. The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty said it filed a lawsuit last week in California to challenge FIFA’s flag rule.

During Friday's opening ceremony in Los Angeles, members of the mostly American crowd booed when Iran's flag was brought onto the field.

Late Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. Details of the deal, expected to be signed Friday, weren't available.

___

AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.

___

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

A new poll released Monday from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about half of AAPI adults say they — or someone they know — have been detained or deported within the last year, started carrying proof of immigration status or U.S. citizenship, upended travel plans or significantly changed their routines because of immigration status.

The findings come after more than a year of immigration crackdowns. The poll indicates that the Trump administration’s aggressive approach, which has resulted in multiple clashes between protesters and enforcement officers and led to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year, may be changing the way some people in immigrant-heavy communities see the U.S. itself.

AAPI adults are one of the country's fastest-growing demographic, and most AAPI adults in the U.S. were born outside the country. The survey found a majority of AAPI adults — about 6 in 10 — believe the U.S. used to be a great country for immigrants but is not anymore. Only about 3 in 10 AAPI adults say America is a great place for immigrants, while a few, 5%, say it was never a great place for immigrants.

At the same time, AAPI adults are more likely than Americans overall to see the mixing of culture and values from around the world as central to the country's identity.

“America’s success story has depended critically on the role of Asian Americans, but also immigrants in general,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data. “When you have people who are already in this country, have been here for decades saying, ‘I’m not really sure that this is the best country anymore,' that’s a warning sign.”

'Better safe than sorry’ approach

Even some immigrants with legal status have been affected by the Trump administration’s policies. One policy that would have hiked fees for certain types of visas was shot down in federal court this month. Another judge struck down a policy that “categorically barred” immigrants from 39 Asian, African, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries from receiving final decisions on asylum, work permit, green card and citizenship applications.

Khoa Tran, 27, of San Antonio, Texas, came to the U.S. from Vietnam in 2015 at age 15. He gained citizenship four years later. In 2023, he sponsored his wife from Vietnam.

Last year, Tran became concerned when his social media feed kept bringing up posts about how essential it was that even legal immigrants carry documentation. It had not occurred to the couple that his wife should have her green card with her at all times.

“It seemed like we needed to do it. It's literally become like a second form of identification in addition to the driver's license,” Tran said.

He has also seen how international students in his community have put off trips to visit family in Asia due to concerns about student visas.

“They're just scared. They don't know the law around that,” Tran said. “Better safe than sorry.”

About half of South Asian adults — compared to about 4 in 10 AAPI adults overall — know someone who started carrying proof of legal status or citizenship over the last year. South Asian adults are much more likely than East Asian or Southeast Asian American adults to have been born outside the U.S., according to the survey. Many of those immigrants may have green cards or be naturalized citizens, Ramakrishnan said, yet feel “like their presence and their status in this country is under question.”

Cultural identity matters as much as American identity

AAPI adults are likelier to say their family's ancestry or country of origin is “extremely” or “very” important to their personal identity, compared to being an American.

Just over half of AAPI adults say their family's ancestry or country of origin is important to who they are, while 44% say this about their American identity. That extends to AAPI adults who were born in the U.S. About 6 in 10, 59%, U.S.-born AAPI adults say their family's heritage is important to their personal identity, while 47% say this about being an American.

A separate AP-NORC survey conducted in April found that 55% of U.S. adults say being an American is important to who they are, while only 37% said that about their family's ancestry.

Abigail Jeyaraj, 22, of South Hadley, Massachusetts, was born in Texas. Her Indian parents' decision to build a new life in the U.S. is something she never takes for granted. When she describes her nationality, she identifies herself as not just “American” but South Asian American.

“Especially as a South Asian woman, I'm very sensitive to the fact that I have opportunities that my mother and my grandmother, all the women before that didn't," Jeyaraj said. "I really try to honor that culture. I try to maintain really strong connections to my family in India.”

Soonho Kwon, 30, of La Mirada, California, was born in Korea. His family settled in New Jersey when he was 8 years old.

"I think I still feel more Korean. I came right around the age where I had very solid memories from growing up in Korea. My immediate family’s back there now,” Kwon said. “I’m a naturalized citizen. I’m committed to living here, but identity is a different question.”

Ambivalence around America's 250th anniversary

The vast majority, 73%, of AAPI adults say the mixing of cultures and values from around the world is “extremely” or “very” important to the U.S.'s identity as a nation, compared to only 55% of U.S. adults in the April AP-NORC poll.

Jeyaraj grew up around Dallas and Houston — cities where she was “able to interact with people of so many different races and different cultures that weren’t my own.” She credits that experience with making her more empathetic.

Restrictions on immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives leave her feeling conflicted about celebrating the country's 250th anniversary this year.

“I'm proud we made it this far as a country,” Jeyaraj said. “You have recent actors who are trying to undo that progress. They maybe view it as restoring an ideal, but it’s removing so much work that powerful and influential people made to bring us toward an ideal of equality and justice.”

The anniversary feels arbitrary to Tran, a math teacher.

“I don't think this country is ‘founded’ at some point in time. It just changes from one form to another,” Tran said. “Even the Native Americans (were) a long time here. I'm pretty sure that was more than 250 years.”

___

The poll of 1,075 U.S. adults who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders was conducted April 20-28, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based Amplify AAPI Panel, designed to be representative of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. This poll is part of an ongoing project exploring the views of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, which are usually not highlighted in other surveys because of small sample sizes and lack of linguistic representation.

The Peacock series that stars Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson as widows of CIA operatives who become intelligence assets in the 1970s Soviet Union has real stakes, and real blood. But its tone is comic first and foremost. And it has been submitted for the forthcoming Emmy nominations as a comedy, despite its hourlong episodes that on television usually mean drama.

The tone-mashing comes naturally to its showrunners, Susanna Fogel and David Iserson, a couple of veterans of film and TV writing. “Ponies” — intelligence-speak for “persons of no interest” — is the first show they have worked on that they created.

“We understand that we’re not a pure comedy and we’re not a pure drama, which is nothing that we wanted, and we were happy with that. But it was always also part of the calculus that when our characters are in peril, we should feel like they could die,” Iserson told The Associated Press in a joint interview with Fogel. “These characters are experiencing grief. These characters are experiencing peril and also they’re funny people, and that is just the way that we both see the world.”

Fogel puts it a little more succinctly: “Funny people in serious situation is our thing.”

Their two stars have youthful vibes but mature acting skills and they seamlessly handle the show's swerves. Clarke's character, Bea, begins as an innocent in a dangerous world the same way her Daenerys Targaryen began on “Game of Thrones.” Richardson's Twila starts as the same sort of worldly, savvy character she has played on “The White Lotus” and elsewhere.

Then both go on major arcs.

“We wanted to give these actresses something new that they hadn’t done, but that didn’t feel like they were fighting some essential part of who they were,” Fogel said.

She and Iserson have what she calls “an open creative marriage.”

Separately, Fogel was a writer on the 2019 film “Booksmart” and the HBO series “The Flight Attendant.” Iserson has written for series including “Mad Men” and “Mr. Robot.”

Together, their work includes the 2018 film “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” which stars Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon as women thrust into espionage. In retrospect, it feels like a dress rehearsal for “Ponies.”

“That was more on the comedic side of the spectrum for both of us and we were more excited to do something that was more grounded but had the same friendship story to it,” Iserson said. “So we took the things we loved about that experience and then used some of our other skills to make something that felt a little bit more in the dramedy sphere.”

The show felt grounded enough to some viewers that if you Google it, a question that pops up on search: “Is the TV series Ponies a true story?”

“I think good comedy is like a high-wire act. In a way it feels like a high-risk, high-reward thing to be able to do anything that’s doing that,” Fogel said. “I’m not sure how you can stand out with things that are just 100% serious.”

The half-hour comedy vs. hourlong drama split, which the overwhelming majority of historic TV series follow, really seems to matter where Emmys are concerned.

It is probably the reason the half-hour “The Bear” has been able to pass as a comedy and dominate those categories at the Emmys, to the chagrin of some makers of more purely funny stuff.

Though the hourlong comedy isn't unheard of and the Emmys have recognized that before. “Ally McBeal” would get an annual raft of nominations in the late 1990s and once won best comedy series. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” did the same in the 2010s.

Many of the Emmys' technical and craft awards, including cinematography and sound, are broken into half-hour and hour categories instead of comedy and drama.

Another Emmy contender, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” HBO's latest “Game of Thrones” spinoff, is the flip side of “Ponies,” since it's a drama with episodes that land at just over 30 minutes.

Showrunner Ira Parker says the old distinctions maybe ought to be scrapped.

“Look at all your favorite dramas of all time, like ‘The Sopranos’ and even like, ‘The Wire,’ how funny those were,” Parker said. “I actually think the difference should be 30 minutes and an hour versus comedy and drama.”

“Ponies” has not yet been renewed for a second season, but a few Emmy nominations could change that.

Details of the deal were not immediately released and Iran signaled implementation would not start until the signing, which key mediator Pakistan said would occur Friday in Switzerland. It could provide a way to end a war that killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran's theocracy, and sparked a historic energy crisis.

But the memorandum of understanding over the war already faced intense challenges. Israel's continued hostilities with the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israel bombed Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday, nearly derailed the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the deal gives just 60 days to resolve what to do about Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and its atomic program. That took years to resolve in Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from that accord in his first term, setting the stage for the tensions that culminated in the war.

“Congratulations to all!” Trump wrote on social media as he celebrated his 80th birthday Sunday with a UFC cage match fight at the White House.

He added, “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade,” which was imposed in retaliation for Iran’s grip on the crucial waterway.

He soon hedged, however, saying the strait wouldn’t open until Friday’s signing.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed the agreement on state television but said Iran would not start implementing it until it was signed Friday. He said the deal followed talks with Qatar, another mediator.

Israel, which has insisted it be allowed a freehand to pursue Hezbollah as it occupies southern Lebanon and has extended its military operations into areas its forces haven't been in a quarter century, did not immediately comment. Israel joined the U.S. in launching the war on Feb. 28.

Benchmark Brent crude oil fell more than $4 a barrel on the news as Asian stock markets rallied.

Pakistan, a key mediator, announces deal

Pakistan first announced the deal, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying “both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” It remains unclear whether Israel, which relies on the U.S. but has launched in wars against its enemies since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, agreed to that term.

He added that mediators this week will facilitate meetings to “lay the foundation for the technical talks.”

Broader negotiations on outstanding issues like Iran’s nuclear program would continue over the next 60 days, two senior Pakistani officials said earlier Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. If the sides fail to reach a resolution within that time, the timeline could be extended.

Iranian state television cited the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council saying the war on all fronts “will end immediately and permanently beginning tonight” — but that the U.S. blockade “will be terminated immediately and in full.”

Qatari mediators later left Tehran following 17 hours of negotiations, said an official briefed on the developments who spoke on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of the talks. Separate preparatory meetings with each side will take place in Doha this week, the official said.

It was not clear who from Iran would sign the deal on Friday. U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News the White House was still figuring out who would attend: “I certainly plan to be there, but it’s possible the president himself could be there.”

But concern among Republicans in the U.S. already could be seen. They included U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who described Vance as “the architect of the deal.”

“I am somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming,” Graham wrote online.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Congress would exercise oversight on any accord with Iran.

“We have seen time and again: War cannot change the Iranian regime," he said.

Interim deal faces intense scrutiny

The first strike of the war killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Khamenei’s son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is now supreme leader. He has not been seen in the public since the war began, but his approval was needed for Iran to sign off on the deal.

There was apparent friction inside Iran in the hours before the announcement, as the government warned that division at home over the deal weakened its negotiating position.

The deal likely returns the region to a status that existed before the war, but with Iran having proven its ability to disrupt shipping in the strait. The waterway is crucial to significant shipments of oil, natural gas and related products like fertilizer, and its effective closure rocked the global economy.

Even with a deal, it will take months for oil and gas supplies to flow freely enough for the world’s needs to be met because shipping and insurance companies want to be confident the agreement will last, energy experts said.

Tehran also still has a ballistic missile arsenal and enough highly enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons, should it choose to pursue them.

Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful and has not publicly committed to giving up the enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under three nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. strikes last year.

The U.S. has sought the removal of the enriched uranium from Iran as part of a deal. Russia has offered to take it. But Iran insists it wants to keep the uranium.

___

Frankel reported from Jerusalem, Sewell from Beirut and Weissert from Washington. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Cathy Bussewitz in New York and Cara Anna in Lowville, New York, contributed to this report.

Before the final against Vegas started, Brind'Amour was clear about one thing.

“We’re not here today without Jordan Staal,” he said. “I can promise you that. We’re very lucky. And as a coach, you’re super fortunate to have a guy like that be your leader.”

The 37-year-old Staal led the Hurricanes to the second championship in franchise history by being the two-way shutdown center and faceoff ace he has been his entire NHL career. By elevating his game and leading them in goals with six in the final against the Golden Knights, Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

He is the oldest player to win the honor.

“He’s always really good, but yeah, he’s stepped it up at such a pivotal time,” teammate Seth Jarvis said. “It’s incredible to watch, and it’s so much fun playing with him and being around him.”

Staal is the longest-tenured player in the organization. He was also the only player on the roster with a Cup ring, from winning with the Penguins in 2009.

The 17 years in between is the longest gap between championships, breaking the record of 16 held by Chris Chelios.

“That’s a lot of years," Staal said. “It’s amazing. This is something I’ve been going after ever since we got the first one. You want to win it again and again and again. What a feeling.”

Staal joined the Hurricanes in 2012 in a trade from Pittsburgh on his wedding day. His first half-dozen years with them passed without a postseason appearance.

“I don’t want to say that the losing that he had to do for four, five years when he got here might have fueled him even more, but I think it did,” fellow veteran Jordan Martinook said. “The fact that he’s seen some pretty dark days here and then to be on the other side of it ... he stuck through it the whole time.”

The past seven seasons, Staal and the Hurricanes made the playoffs but failed to reach the final. He became captain in the middle of that stretch in 2020, taking on a role once filled by Brind'Amour from 2005-10 and older brother Eric from 2010-16.

Staal took on the weight of those premature exits.

“Each scar, each moment just drives a hunger even deeper into you,” Staal said. “Being a part of this core and all the scars that we’ve gone through just brings that care factor for each other that we want it for each other that much more.”

Staal has never gotten the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward, but he has been a finalist and this run shows why. He won more than 56% of his faceoffs and is so valuable on draws that he begins power plays just to get the Hurricanes the puck.

“People got to see what I’ve know for forever — what kind of player he is, what kind of leader he is,” Brind'Amour said. "And here we go, he’s finally rewarded.”

Told of Brind'Amour's pre-series comment that the team would not have gotten this far without him, Staal praised his coach and downplayed changing anything in his game. The two shared a long hug on the ice in the moments after the Game 6 win.

“I’m just being me,” Staal said. “I’m not really anyone different. But just my day-to-day presence is showing up and working. That’s all I’ve done since I got here in Carolina, and being consistent with that must have been enough.”

The offensive outburst against Vegas put Staal over the top for the Conn Smythe after it looked like Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall were Carolina's front-runners. He never scored 30 goals in a season, but his six in the final put him in the record books with the likes of Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy.

“I’m not really surprised,” Brind'Amour said. “You take the goals away, it’d be the same impact. It’s just added that extra element.”

___

AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

“It’s going to be the under in every single fight,” he told the crowd on the Ellipse on Sunday night. “I think it’s not going to last like halfway through. They’re all going to be knockouts or finishes early.”

Tkachuk and his brother Brady — no strangers to occasional pugilism on the ice — were part of pre-fight festivities for UFC Freedom 250, the mixed martial arts event on the South Lawn of the White House on President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. While the crowd around the Octagon was full of VIPs, the Ellipse — an expansive lawn between the White House and Washington Monument — hosted a viewing party for the more common fan.

The Tkachuks appeared on stage and answered a few questions about their interest in UFC. Logan Paul was also among those who showed up to entertain the crowd, and at one point UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland arrived, causing a rush of fans in his direction. Strickland was escorted out by a group of police officers.

U.S. Park Police said Strickland’s presence resulted in disorder. He wasn’t cited or arrested, but was taken to his hotel and told not to come back to the venue.

For a while, the weather was a significant concern, and there were dark clouds hanging over the area around the time the fighting started. But although there were warnings posted on video screens about possible bad weather, the area avoided any storms.

The crowd seemed awed by the flyover at the beginning of the event, quickly starting a “USA!” chant. And there were other ways fans at the Ellipse were able to feel part of the proceedings, such as when competitors were brought back to address them from the stage after winning their fights.

“Maybe the greatest experience of my life,” Bo Nickal said after knocking out Kyle Daukaus in the first round in a middleweight clash. “Just so much fun. I'm so grateful for the opportunity.”

___

AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

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.

“We came here with ambitions and high hopes,” coach Emerse Faé said through an interpreter. “Everything is going well.”

The teams combined to hit the crossbar three times before Diallo — the Manchester United winger who entered as a substitute in the 56th minute — broke through with a left-footed shot from just inside the penalty area that beat diving goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez. Wilfried Singo set up the goal with a strong run down the right side.

“This was a fantastic goal,” Faé said. “(Singo) delivered a wonderful assist to Diallo, and he finished well. Very happy to see just what we worked on.”

Ecuador saw its 19-game unbeaten streak end with its first loss since a 1-0 decision against Brazil on Sept. 6, 2024.

“It hurts,” Ecuador coach Sebastián Beccacece said through an interpreter. “This is a very painful situation. It needs to make you stronger for the future.”

Elye Wahi hit the crossbar in the 52nd minute for Ivory Coast after Ecuador’s John Yeboah and Nilson Angulo did the same in the opening half.

Ecuador, making its fifth World Cup appearance and looking to reach the knockout round for the second time, was playing a virtual home game at Lincoln Financial Field, with most of the capacity crowd of 68,274 wearing the yellow jerseys of La Tri.

“I am very sorry we did not give our fans the joy they came to seek,” Beccacece said.

Ecuador looked strong before Diallo’s goal. Its best chance after halftime came in the 68th minute on Gonzalo Plata’s hard shot from about 25 yards out that was parried away by goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.

“We’re leaving with a loss, but we’re keeping our heads held high knowing that this is just the beginning and there’s still a tournament ahead of us,” Ecuador captain Enner Valencia said.

Ivory Coast was bolstered by the forward play of Yan Diomande. The Leipzig attacker created several scoring chances, particularly down the right side. That included Wahi’s near goal on a flick following Diomande’s hard cross.

“He is very talented,” Faé said. “Incredible player.”

Ivory Coast, which did not concede a goal while going 8-0-2 in 10 qualifying matches, will next face four-time World Cup champion Germany, which defeated Curacao 7-1 earlier Sunday in Group E. Ecuador will meet Curacao. Both matches will be played June 20.

Ivory Coast captain Franck Kessié set the tone for the physical play of Les Éléphant with a hard foul in the fourth minute. Kessié went on to pick up one of three yellow cards for his side, all for reckless challenges, in the opening 45 minutes. Jackson Porozo of Ecuador was cautioned in the 73rd minute.

“We know that high-level football requires much intensity,” Faé said.

___

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

The election system used throughout the political battleground state relies on a QR code printed on ballots to tally the votes. Legislators passed a law two years ago barring the use of that barcode for the official vote count beyond July 1 of this year, but no replacement method of tabulating votes was ever implemented.

One of the instructions Republican Gov. Brian Kemp laid out for lawmakers when he called the special session is to “address issues created” by that law. Meanwhile, the secretary of state's office and the State Election Board have further muddied the waters by issuing conflicting guidance for county election officials about how votes should be cast and counted.

If the issues are not resolved soon, there is likely to be confusion and possibly litigation over the state's elections after July 1. A special election to fill a U.S. House seat is scheduled for that month.

How did we get here?

Georgia's current election system was first used statewide during the 2020 primary. After the general election that year, when Republican President Donald Trump narrowly lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump and his supporters claimed without evidence that the machines had deleted or switched votes.

Trump's backers continued to complain about the touchscreen voting machines, with some loyalists espousing wild conspiracy theories. Election integrity advocates also criticized the machines, saying they are vulnerable to hacking and that voters cannot be sure their selections are accurately reflected because people can't read QR codes.

Republican lawmakers in 2024 tried to address those concerns by passing a law banning barcodes for the “official tabulation count” after July 1, 2026. But in the two years since, no other counting method has been adopted. Now, the deadline is fast approaching and a major midterm election looms.

Trump singled out those machines, which are used in at least some counties in more than a dozen states, in his first executive order on elections shortly after he took office for his second term in January 2025. That order has been blocked by multiple courts and is not being enforced.

The governor steps in

Last month, Kemp announced a special legislative session, scheduled to start Wednesday, to draw new congressional maps for the 2028 elections and to address the QR code issue.

It's possible that lawmakers could extend the deadline in the law to allow the QR codes to be used for now and give themselves some breathing room to come up with a new system before elections in 2028. But in the waning hours of the regular legislative session earlier this year, they rejected a proposal that would have done that.

Even if lawmakers agree on a solution, it might be tough to implement before a special election to fill the remainder of the term of U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died in April. The special election is set for July 28, with early voting beginning July 6.

Secretary of state offers guidance to election offices

The secretary of state's office last week issued guidance to election officials in the six counties included in that congressional district. The office says it's preliminary and subject to change based on any developments from the special session.

The ballots will be run through the scanners, which will read the QR code to generate the election night vote count. Then, before county certification, electronic images created by the scanners for each ballot will be uploaded to a server, where optical character recognition software will be used to tally the votes using the human-readable text. The results of that second process will be the official tabulation count.

The secretary of state's guidance expressly says counties must continue to use the current election system, including the touchscreen voting machines, and that there is nothing in the law that authorizes the use of hand-marked paper ballots for in-person voting.

Conflict with the election board

The State Election Board weighed in two days later with conflicting guidance. Board members argued the plan proposed by the secretary of state is not authorized by law.

The board passed a resolution instructing counties on what to do if the special legislative session does not result in an extension of the deadline for using QR codes. The resolution directs counties to use their emergency backup, which calls for hand-marked paper ballots with scanners used to count voters' selections.

When asked about the conflicting guidance during the election board meeting, Elizabeth Young, a lawyer with the state attorney general's office, said that while the guidance is not binding, "obviously it would cause confusion for elections superintendents if they are getting differing instructions from two agencies, both of which have some authority over what they’re doing.”

The election board has been controlled by a Trump-aligned majority and is often at odds with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who is a frequent Trump target.

Local election officials are in the middle

Henry County in Atlanta's suburbs is one of the counties where voters will go to the polls for next month's special election. Axiver Harris, interim elections director, said the county is aware of the conflicting guidance and is awaiting further clarification from the state.

“Given the uncertainty surrounding the guidance currently available, we believe it is wise to wait for further direction to ensure that any decisions made are consistent with state requirements and election administration best practices,” he wrote in an email.

Marcye Scott, who is running in the special election to serve the remainder of her late father's term, said she is not sure most voters are even aware of the issue and is focusing her attention elsewhere.

“My goal is to get people to the polls, get my people to the polls and get them to vote for me,” she said.

But Carlos Moore, another of the six candidates running in the special election, said he is worried about legal challenges if a new method of vote-counting is implemented without enough time. He hopes lawmakers extend the deadline to allow the use of the QR codes for now.

“I would ask that legislators do the right thing, leave well enough alone for the special election," he said. “Otherwise, it’s almost certain there will be challenges in court.”

It will likely take months before energy companies can resume operations to the point of meeting the world’s demand, according to energy experts. The slow pace of the process of shipping and refining crude oil, and doubts about the security of traveling through the strait mean the effect won't be seen immediately, they said.

Ships loaded with crude oil have been stranded in the Persian Gulf for more than three months, unable to safely travel through the waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gasoline supplies typically traveled before the war began.

“It’s going to take time for people to feel comfortable and for insurance to be in place ... particularly to get people on the ground to restart some of these assets,” said Daniel Evans, global head of fuels and refining research at S&P Global Energy.

Still, oil prices slipped early Monday after the deal was announced.

Brent crude, the international standard, was down $3.45 at $83.89 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $4.03 to $80.85 per barrel.

Those prices are still well above the roughly $70 per barrel where oil was trading before the war started.

As the higher prices unwind, ships that have been stranded will have to exit the strait, and then new tankers will have to come in to be loaded, Evans said.

“To bring a ship in, you need to be confident that you’ve got a big enough window of safety to bring it in, load it and move it out," he added.

Oil tankers also move slowly, he explained. It takes months to travel from the strait to distant countries, deliver the crude oil to a refinery for processing and then arrive at its final destination.

In addition, some producers in the Middle East paused extracting oil from the ground, known as a shut-in, when they ran out of storage space. Restarting those operations can be a slow process.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, where there are alternate pipelines or routes besides the Strait of Hormuz to deliver oil, may be among the quickest to resume production, said Alan Gelder, senior vice president of refining, chemicals and oil markets at Wood Mackenzie, an analytics firm.

“But places like Iraq could be much more challenged because they’ve had a much bigger shut-in, their fields are more difficult ... it may well take about a year before they get back," he said.

Investment in the energy system, which can take years to see the results, ground to a halt after the strait's closure, Gelder said. So it will take time for this capital to restart.

Countries that shut in oil production won't want to restart until they know there is a stable, durable strait, and that a ceasefire will last more than 30 or 60 days, said Daniel Sternoff, senior fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

“We don’t know what open means or what the speed of evacuation of trapped material is going to be,” he said.

If this is what big league baseball looks like in Sin City, pitchers might run for cover in a couple of years under every craps table in town.

Willi Castro had seven RBIs, Hunter Goodman got a career-high five hits and the Rockies set a franchise record for runs with a 23-9 victory over the Athletics on a 101-degree afternoon at Las Vegas Ballpark.

“You’ve just got to make contact and the ball’s gonna go,” Goodman said.

Castro and Goodman each hit two of Colorado’s six homers. Troy Johnston and TJ Rumfield also went deep for the last-place Rockies (27-45), who ended a three-game losing streak.

Scheduled to move to Las Vegas full time in 2028, the A's got a taste of the city this week with a six-game homestand against Milwaukee and Colorado at the site of their top minor league affiliate.

The teams involved combined to score 102 runs in a stretch that began with a wild slugfest last Monday night, when the Brewers outlasted the Athletics 15-14 in a 12-inning game that featured 11 homers and 34 hits.

Colorado's lineup provided an exclamation point Sunday, but Goodman is going to reserve judgment about major league baseball in Vegas.

Because while the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League play outdoors, the A's are gearing up to move into a new $2 billion stadium under construction on The Strip. That building will be enclosed.

“I’ll be curious to see how it plays,” Goodman said. “I think time will tell. With it being indoors, I don’t know if it will play the same or not. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer has participated in plenty of games similar to Sunday’s series finale, especially at Triple-A Albuquerque.

“This is a very, very tough environment to play baseball,” he said. “As you saw, obviously the ball flies in the thin air, the heat and the sun. It’s just a hard place to play.”

Castro finished with four hits, including a grand slam off Scott Barlow in the eighth inning. Goodman drove in four runs and Kyle Karros also had four hits as the Rockies piled up 24 in all — one shy of the team mark established against Houston on Sept. 25, 2011.

Max Muncy and Tyler Soderstrom homered for the A’s (35-36), who had won four straight. Lawrence Butler got three hits and Zack Gelof extended his hitting streak to 18 games.

Tomoyuki Sugano (7-4) got the win despite giving up eight runs and nine hits in five innings. Eiberson Castellano tossed three scoreless innings to earn a save in his major league debut.

Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs (3-7) allowed eight runs — six earned — and seven hits in four innings.

Colorado scored six times in the fifth to build a 14-6 lead. Goodman homered to begin an outburst capped by Tyler Freeman’s run-scoring triple.

A’s right fielder Carlos Cortes moved to the mound in the eighth and was their most effective pitcher, yielding one run and three hits in the final 1 2/3 innings.

The Athletics went 4-2 on their Las Vegas homestand, winning a pair of three-game series. They return Monday to their regular temporary home in West Sacramento, California, for a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

___

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

A violent standoff extended into the evening after a series of incidents — including a car set ablaze and a bank's windows smashed — along the route of an afternoon march that drew an estimated 20,000 people, including some 600 so-called “Black Bloc” militants, according to figures from Geneva police spokesman Alexandre Brahier.

The demonstration, which had been previously organized by a hodgepodge of activist groups after weeks of negotiations with local authorities, was otherwise peaceful — with environmentalists, women's rights advocates, supporters of Palestinians and foes of imperialism, fascism and capitalism.

Early on during the march, firefighters extinguished a Tesla that was set ablaze next to the central bus stop and a phalanx of riot police cordoned off a secure area as a crowd congregated nearby.

A handful of demonstrators ripped down wooden barriers that were previously erected to protect a Banque du Leman and smashed its windows.

Several groups of dozens of youths wearing black hoodies, masks and goggles were mixed in among the other marchers — including behind an anti-Trump banner. Two with their faces totally covered refused to speak with The Associated Press and silently waved off questions before the protest began.

Some protesters fired flares toward officers or tore up chunks of asphalt and chucked them toward police in shields and riot gear.

The clashes continued even after police ordered the demonstrators to disperse.

The vast majority of marchers at the front were advocates of women's rights, many wearing purple T-shirts and holding up banners and posters that decried the “patriarchy,” a lack of women in executive positions and inequality in pay and executive jobs in the workplace.

Other marchers held signs that showed sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza, carried slogans like “Antisemitic never; anti-Zionist always” and criticized Trump — often with expletives — among other sharply worded messages.

Organizers of the protest printed a handbook for demonstrators that included a map of the security perimeter, tips on how to gear up for the march, and advice on how to behave if detained by police.

Travel restrictions and limited border crossings during the summit

Swiss and French authorities have deployed thousands of police to provide security for the three-day summit starting Monday in the resort town of Evian-les-Bains, France. The leaders are set to discuss wars in Ukraine,Iran and the Middle East, and economic issues like global inequality and access to critical minerals.

Ahead of the gathering, authorities in Geneva blocked off roads, banned unauthorized gatherings and pledged financial support for businesses who could be hit by unrest.

Scores of businesses and shops in downtown Geneva boarded up their storefronts with wooden panels as a precaution, leery of upheaval that left a trail of damage in the city during a similar summit in Evian in 2003. Only seven of the 35 roadway border crossings will remain open.

The show of activism began a day earlier: a flotilla of around 20 boats appeared on Lake Geneva off the coast of Evian on Saturday, displaying anti-G7 and pro-Palestinian banners. Swiss media reports said some 20 protesters had been detained on Friday evening.

Resident Robin Hedz lamented the “mess” and expressed bafflement about the “wood-wall everywhere,” while acknowledging the memories of the trail of damaged property over 20 years ago.

The G7 brings together Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, though leaders of several other countries including India, Kenya and Ukraine were expected to join for discussions.

France has announced the deployment of more than 13,000 police and gendarmerie officers to ensure security in the summit area. Over 800 French border control officers will be active, up from about 60 normally.

Trump is the focus of protests

Protests are nothing new around such elite gatherings. This time, activists expressed frustration with Trump’s leadership on issues as diverse as tariffs, the war in Iran, climate, and even his past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The G7 summit takes place as the United States and Iran appear close to a deal to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.

“We are very afraid of the policy and the politics of Mr. Trump and also of the other leaders of the G7, because they are fighting, making war all over the place," said Francoise Nyffeler, spokesperson for the NoG7 coalition behind the demonstration on Sunday.

"The planet is in danger and we are very scared about it and we want to protest and say that the people of the world are against their policies,” she added.

___

Associated Press journalists Oleg Cetinic, Kwiyeon Ha, Baz Ratner and Florent Bajrami in Geneva and Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report.

The Iranians arrived in the Los Angeles area on Sunday from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, just over the U.S. border — about 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the stadium where they will open group-stage play against New Zealand on Monday night. Iran's training camp was relocated from the U.S. after the war began, and the Iranian team has endured numerous distractions since then, including visa problems.

“I have felt the tension from the first moment we arrived at this World Cup,” Taremi said through an interpreter. “At any tournament when there is tension, we won’t have the same beautiful experience we always talk about with peace and joy. ... I know it wasn’t just us. I know several countries had visa problems and changes with training camps. Before we arrived, the feeling, the sensation people always have, how they look forward to the World Cup, I think this time maybe they haven’t had the same feeling.”

The U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and the initial missile strikes killed its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The war has slowed and resumed several times since then, with President Donald Trump even announcing a peace deal earlier Sunday — one that wasn't addressed at the news conference.

“This kind of tension, it undermines that joy and it undermines the message of FIFA and our people, which is that football brings about peace,” said Taremi, the 33-year-old Olympiacos striker who is playing in his third World Cup. “I feel like this World Cup could have provided a better atmosphere than it has, but I hope in the future it will be better for all fans, whatever team they are supporting in the World Cup.”

Iran initially planned to train in Tucson, Arizona, before the war’s outbreak, but quickly moved to Baja California. FIFA then rejected Iran’s desire to play its group-stage World Cup matches outside the U.S., claiming logistics and contracts wouldn’t allow it.

Iran has been beset with logistical problems since then, including the denial of visas for certain members of its delegation. A team spokesperson said Sunday that two members of its media relations group were denied U.S. visas for the opening match. Iran and its traveling fans also have faced multiple issues with match tickets.

“Without any doubt, this will impact negatively the spirit of football,” Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said. “Football is supposed to bring nations and cultures together. Whether we win, whether we lose, that’s a personal feeling we have, but football as a game is about bringing about joy. These conditions, they have impacted our technical focus, but I have really tried to make sure that my players focus on strategy and techniques.”

The Iranian team is limited to brief trips into the U.S. for its matches, flying in the day before the game and reportedly flying out immediately afterward. Iran plays in Inglewood, California, again next Sunday against Belgium, before completing the group stage in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.

Without giving details, Taremi said Iran's travel from Tijuana to SoFi Stadium took roughly five hours, including the very short flight.

“Of course that impacts us,” Ghalenoei said. “I would like to thank the good people of Mexico, but we Iranians, we are accustomed to make opportunities out of hardship, and we don’t think about anything other than bringing joy to people.”

The Iranian team took the field at SoFi Stadium after the news conference, allowing the players to familiarize themselves with the unfamiliar venue. Players walked around the futuristic arena in small groups, pointing out features of the towering stands and examining the quality of the grass.

Iran was among the earliest qualifiers for this World Cup, and its strong team is currently 20th in FIFA’s rankings. But after the war began, Trump suggested the Iranian team might not be safe in the U.S. — and Iranian officials debated whether the team should compete in the tournament at all.

The Los Angeles area likely was picked to host two of Iran's matches in part because it has the world's largest Iranian population outside Iran. The so-called Tehrangeles area of the city is filled with the families of untold thousands who fled the country after the Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s.

Taremi and Ghalenoei are aware that many U.S.-based Iranians will be cheering against their success — both inside the stadium and outside, where various protests against the Iranian government are reportedly planned. Yet another source of possible tumult doesn't bother the team leaders.

“We play for every Iranian, be it in the diaspora or in Iran,” Taremi said. “People have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians wherever they live. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football.”

___

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

Hours before leaving Washington, Trump announced an agreement to end the war — a development that could change the dynamic for the G7 leaders during the talks from late Monday to Wednesday.

Just days ago, when the Iran-U.S. ceasefire was hanging by a thread, with resumed strikes, the gathering on the shores of Europe’s largest Alpine lake appeared headed for stormy waters.

Analysts speculated that tempers could flare and that Trump might not stick around for long in Evian-les-Bains, the Alpine spa town that's been enveloped in a security bubble for the G7 leaders and guests also invited by French President Emmanuel Macron, the host.

Aside from France and the U.S., the other G7 nations are Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Here's what to know about their latest annual summit:

Summit outcomes could depend on Trump's mood

Shared values and interests, leaders' personal chemistry and the informality of G7 gatherings — the club first came together in 1975 to brainstorm fixes for the ailing global economy — have facilitated discussion at previous meetings.

“Many of the great G7 summit initiatives have come from leaders’ spontaneous combustion, created by them on the spot, based on free, unrestricted dialogue about the values, memories and even the sports, like baseball, that they share,” said John Kirton, a G7 specialist at the University of Toronto.

But Trump’s relationships with European allies have been fraught even before he launched the Iran war with Israel in February without consulting them. The Evian gathering is their first get-together since then.

Allies that Trump berated for refusing to join the war are likely to greet any Iran deal with relief if it reopens the Strait of Hormuz and enables Persian Gulf energy exports to flow freely again.

Ukraine wants to make its case to Trump

As host, Macron has packed the meatiest and potentially most contentious topics into the summit’s first 24 hours, including the Iran war and its impact on energy supplies and the Ukraine war that’s largely slipped down the White House's list of top priorities.

Tuesday's morning session on Ukraine will afford invited guest President Volodymyr Zelenskyy an opportunity to showcase progress that Ukrainian forces are making against the Russian invasion. If Zelenskyy is able to convince Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot achieve his aims in the war militarily, he might perhaps also be able to persuade him that Putin should be pushed to the negotiating table.

After his Oval Office thrashing by Trump and Vice President JD Vance last year, Zelenskyy now has "a significantly stronger hand,” said Maria Snegovaya, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

The Trump administration “does tend to look more favorably at those states that have certain positions of power tilting in their favor,” she said.

Outlook uncertain for talks on Iran

A lunch meeting Tuesday on the Middle East could go any number of ways. The U.S.-Iran deal is expected to be signed on Friday, followed by technical talks on details over the next 60 days. Trump will be pressed for more information about the terms of the agreement.

If it reopens the Strait of Hormuz, France and Britain are expected to make the case that they could help rid the narrow waterway of any mines and escort tankers through it. They have been working on such plans with other nations but have been waiting for a stable ceasefire to launch the mission.

G7 leaders are also expected to talk about developing other energy supply routes out of the Gulf, including via Egypt. The Egyptian president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, as well as Qatar’s ruling emir and the United Arab Emirates' president will join those talks. Trump is also meeting with each of those regional leaders privately during the summit.

A dense agenda of other issues

China, not a G7 member, is expected to be a focus of economic talks on Wednesday. G7 nations are concerned that China is flooding export markets with subsidized products, unfairly out-competing their own industries and destroying jobs. China's economy dwarfs those of all G7 nations except the United States.

Discussions are also scheduled on artificial intelligence, including how to protect young people online, and how to economically aid developing countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are attending some of the summit. So, too, are the leaders of South Korea and Kenya.

The G7 has been a force for more than 50 years

The G7 countries take turns hosting and organizing activities. France inherited the G7 presidency from Canada, last year’s summit host, and will pass it to the U.S. in 2027.

The club's first summit, in Rambouillet, France, in 1975, brought together the leaders of six nations — France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. — for brainstorming on how to speed their recovery from the sharpest economic slump since World War II. Canada joined the following year, making the G7.

No G7 leader has ever skipped an annual summit, a perfect attendance record for more than 50 years, said Kirton, the University of Toronto specialist.

Membership has always been limited to democracies, enabling Russia to join as a fledgling democracy in 1998 but ruling out Communist Party-ruled China.

The club has broken off with Russia since 2014, when Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine, foreshadowing the full-scale war now raging since 2022.

___

Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.

Trump disclosed his choice of Collins over former football coach Derek Dooley in a middle-of-the-night social media post that praised the second-term congressman for his loyalty.

“I’ve always said that President Trump has this just impeccable ability to put his thumb on the scale at the right time,” Collins said at a campaign stop Sunday in the northern Atlanta exurbs.

The Republican candidates are competing Tuesday for the chance to unseat Ossoff in one of the most closely watched campaigns in the November midterm elections. Dooley, a political newcomer, is backed by outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, who has clashed with Trump in the past.

Collins called it “encouraging” to have the president's approval. Looking past Dooley to the potential matchup with Ossoff, the congressman said he planned to invited Trump to Georgia, despite the president's sagging approval ratings.

“I’d love to have President Trump in Georgia every day, any day he wants to come down,” Collins said.

Collins has been a stalwart Trump ally

Collins has backed Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement since his first House campaign in 2022, and the president said in his announcement early Sunday on social media that the trucking company owner and second-term congressman “has been with me from the very beginning” and is a ”true friend, fighter, and WARRIOR."

“I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” Trump wrote, while noting that Dooley did not vote in 2016 or 2020, when Trump was on the ballot. Dooley has acknowledged going nearly two decades without voting but says he did vote for Trump in 2024.

Trump also complained that Dooley — accurately — said Trump lost Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, refusing to back the president's lie that the election was stolen from him.

Collins has consistently echoed Trump's false claims about his defeat and, on Sunday, called the 2020 election “legitimately rigged,” arguing that elections officials in Georgia and other states erred by expanding absentee voting and, in the congressman's views, relaxing other election controls.

Collins led Dooley in the May 19 primary but neither surpassed 40%, leaving many Republican votes up for grabs. Trump’s endorsement has proved powerful as he shapes a party identity that is increasingly indistinguishable from his own.

Still, the president’s choice puts him at odds with more traditional Republicans, including Kemp. The endorsement is reminiscent of Trump’s decision to back Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton before his victory over U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in that state’s recent primary runoff.

Dooley maintains confidence despite Trump's decision

Collins supporters cheered enthusiastically at the mention of Trump's endorsement.

“He waited a little bit,” said James Haddad, a 66-year-old retired engineer from Woodstock in Cherokee County. “But he's studied the candidates, and he did the right thing. It's going to help.”

Dooley responded to the president's pick by saying Georgia voters do not want “typical D.C. politicians like Mike Collins.” In an X post, Dooley expressed confidence that he'd still win.

With Kemp as his top surrogate, Dooley argues that a first-time candidate has a better shot to defeat Ossoff, the only Democratic senator facing voters in a state Trump carried in 2024.

Kemp was the top choice of Senate Republican leaders looking for an Ossoff challenger. Kemp recruited Dooley, a childhood friend, to run instead.

Haddad said he voted for Kemp twice and appreciates the job he's done but did not consider the outgoing governor's opinion when deciding who to back for the Senate.

Collins did not mention Kemp on Sunday, paid little attention to Dooley and spent more time criticizing Ossoff.

“He doesn't reflect the state of Georgia,” he told supporters from the bed of a pickup truck. “He doesn’t represent our values — matter of fact, he shouldn’t even be there.”

Trump's uneasy relationship with Kemp

Trump’s choice, and his insistence on bringing up the 2020 election again, puts the spotlight again on his uneasy relationship with Kemp. The governor resisted Trump's pressure not to certify Biden’s presidential electors before the Electoral College convened in December of the election year.

Trump criticized Kemp in the years after and backed a primary challenger, former Sen. David Perdue, against the governor in 2022. Kemp trounced Perdue and coasted in the general election. By 2024, he and Trump managed a detente as Trump worked to return Georgia to the GOP presidential column.

But behind the scenes, it's been clear the alliance was fragile and circumstantial. Kemp’s decision to recruit Dooley in the first place, with an emphasis on the need for a political outsider, has itself been a subtle rejection of Trump’s domination of the party.

In his many campaign stops alongside Dooley, Kemp has reminded voters that Republicans have not won a Senate election in Georgia since 2016 — when Trump was first elected. Each time, the GOP nominee has fully embraced Trump.

The governor points to a trio of first-term Republican senators — Montana’s Tim Sheehy, Pennsylvania’s Dave McCormick and Ohio’s Bernie Moreno — who defeated Democratic incumbents in 2024 running as outsiders who still aligned with the president.

Collins pushed back at Kemp's framing, saying his record in Washington shows he can be staunchly conservative, align with Trump and still court moderates voters who may not like the president.

The congressman sponsored the Laken Riley Act, a 2025 law that requires immigrants be detained when charged with certain crimes. Republicans believe the issue damages Ossoff because he initially voted against the measure before supporting it after Trump returned to the White House.

Collins noted that dozens of Democrats supported the measure.

“Bipartisan is not a bad word,” he said, arguing that metropolitan voters will reward him for results.

And even Kemp deviated from his Senate argument Sunday by endorsing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the GOP's primary runoff for government. That choice puts Kemp on the side as Trump — who endorsed Jones last year — and against billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who's run as an outsider like Dooley.

Trump's primary track record

Dooley’s and Kemp's argument is matched against Trump’s winning streak inside the party. In a matter of weeks, Trump has celebrated victories over Republicans who did not pass his test of loyalty.

Cornyn lost to Paxton, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost to Ed Gallrein, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana failed to make a runoff and several Indiana state senators were defeated by challengers. Dooley needs Georgia to look more like Iowa, where Trump was unable to lift U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra to victory in the state's gubernatorial primary.

Dooley has told voters he will “work with President Trump but fight for you.”

He will campaign again Monday, and Kemp will be at his side.

It is far too soon to know what caused this weekend's crash that happened shortly after a plane took off from a small airport about an hour south of Kansas City. Twelve people died in the crash while some of their family members watched from the ground at Butler Memorial Airport. The NTSB will work to determine what happened over the next year or more before publishing its final report on the cause although the agency will release some preliminary details over the next month.

Just two years ago, another skydiving plane crashed near the same airport, but in that case everyone aboard was able to parachute to safety beforehand. The NTSB found that the handle for deploying a skydiver's emergency parachute got caught on something and sent him crashing into the plane’s horizontal stabilizer as he jumped, causing the crash.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said that too often, a skydiving crash investigation reveals lax maintenance and a weak safety culture. The Federal Aviation Administration rules that govern the industry can allow issues like these to fester because the safety standards for skydiving operations aren't as stringent as the rules for charter flight operators or airlines.

“These skydiving operations don’t have the best maintenance to make sure they’ve got airworthy airframes and engines because they don’t undergo the normal scrutiny that an air charter service does,” said Guzzetti, who used to be a crash investigator for both the NTSB and FAA.

The NTSB said after a 2019 crash that killed 11 people in Hawaii that the FAA’s regulatory system isn’t strong enough to ensure the safety of skydiving flights. In that crash, investigators found that the wing of the plane had been twisted during a previous incident several years earlier and had never been repaired. The FAA inspections that were done on the plane before the crash failed to spot the damaged left wing of the plane.

In a previous review of 32 skydiving accidents between 1980 and 2008, the NTSB found recurring shortcomings in the maintenance and inspections of aircraft and lax pilot training programs. But the FAA never took the recommended actions to strengthen the safety standards for skydiving companies.

The skydiving industry is proud of its safety record overall. Last year, just 16 civilians died while skydiving as 3.47 million skydives were completed nationwide, and most of those were the result of a simple human error, according to the United States Parachute Association.

That translates into a rate of 0.46 deaths per every 100,000 jumps. The annual number of skydiving deaths peaked in the late 1970s, and it has been declining slowly since then.

Sunday’s crash involved a single-engine turboprop Pacific Aerospace 750XL that is popular for skydiving because the nine seats in the back can be easily removed to clear the space for jumpers. The New Zealand-based company that makes these planes, NZAero, says the 750XL can take off and land in less than 800 feet (244 meters), and carry a load of more than 4,000 pounds (1,814 kilograms) even in hot conditions which make it more difficult to get airborne.

The 750XL is also certified to be operated by a single pilot. The plane that crashed Sunday was manufactured in 2010, according to FAA records.

It was operated by Skydive Kansas City, which is part of a group called Bucketlist Experience that promises on its website that it is “Helping Make Safe Skydivers” by helping people interesting in the sport master the basics of safety and technique, so they’ll be ready to enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes with “the exhilarating freedom of flying through the sky.”

The crash happened shortly after the plane took off from a local airport around 11:30 a.m., and some of the occupants' family members witnessed the crash, said Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.

A heap of blue and silver mangled metal lay in the grass near Butler Memorial Airport with a massive lineup of emergency vehicles gathered on a nearby street. Clergy and volunteers went to the site to assist relatives, Anderson said, and officials were working Sunday afternoon to identify all victims and notify their next of kin.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were also on scene Sunday afternoon, Anderson said, and a team from the National Transportation Safety Board was en route.

The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, said Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director. It was identified as a single engine turboprop plane.

“It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Jacobs said. “In my opinion, I think it was losing power, and he was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire.”

Emergency responders put out the fire in the wreckage soon after the crash, Jacobs said, calling the scene “brutal.” First responders also checked the area under the flight path and did not find anyone who might have tried to jump out before the plane came down, he said.

The Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed is a model that’s popular for skydiving and also has proven useful for carrying cargo, aerial surveying and medical evacuation flights. The aircraft can carry more than 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms) and is capable of taking off and landing on short runways, according to the manufacturer. The plane was built in 2010, according to FAA records.

Sky diving companies operate in the region eight or nine months of the year, with the season usually starting in late March or early April and lasting into October or November. Someone answering the phone at Skydive Kansas City declined to speak to a reporter from The Associated Press.

The crashed occurred on a sunny day in the area. Data from the digital flight tracking company FlightAware shows the plane had already completed two short flights on Sunday before the crash. Two more successful flights were logged Saturday, and five on Friday, according to FlightAware.

It’s not yet known what factors may have contributed to the crash, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said, and those details will be part of the investigation carried out by NTSB officials.

The sheriff emphasized that the public is safe and this “appears to be an accident.”

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said poor maintenance has been a factor in a number of previous skydiving plane crashes because these companies are not held to a high standard under FAA rules. Guzzetti said skydiving companies are governed by the same rules any private plane owner has to follow and not the more stringent rules that charter flight operators and airlines adhere to.

“There’s been a whole history of skydiving accidents for inadequate maintenance and deficient safety culture,” said Guzzetti who used to be a crash investigator for both the NTSB and FAA.

The exact cause of Sunday’s crash won’t be clear for a year or more until the NTSB publishes its final report.

The NTSB has previously raised concerns about the weak oversight for skydiving operators in past crash investigations. The agency said after a 2019 crash that killed 11 people in Hawaii that the FAA’s regulatory system isn’t strong enough to ensure the safety of skydiving flights.

.The small airport serves around 30 aircraft, all privately owned, including crop dusting companies and sky dive operators, Jacobs said.

The small town of Butler has a population of around 4,300 people and is roughly 65 miles (105 kilometers) south of Kansas City. The Butler Memorial Airport, as well as the highway that runs beside it, will remain closed while federal investigators are on the scene, Anderson said Sunday afternoon.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Jacobs called the scene “brutal.”

___

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska, along with AP reporter Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa.

His mother, Megan Farias, confirmed Saturday, June 13, that her son’s name was Carson Farias, 14, of Lake Asbury.

“It is with the heaviest heart that we share the passing of our beloved son, Carson Farias, at the age of 14,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “There are no words that can truly express the pain our family is feeling right now. Carson was deeply loved and will forever remain in our hearts. We are grateful for every memory, every smile, and every moment we were blessed to have with him.”

Funeral services for Carson will be held on Friday at 2:00 p.m. at Russell Funeral Home in Green Cove Springs.

The Florida Highway Patrol says the teen had stopped his e-bike in a westbound lane when a 16-year-old driver coming up behind him never saw him in time and struck the bike, which had no lights.

The teen was not wearing a helmet, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Seconds later, a 17-year-old girl in an SUV rear-ended that sedan. The 14-year-old was thrown from the bike and died.

A Community in Grief

Neighbor Miranda Taylor said she was getting ready for bed when the sirens started.

“I just heard all the sirens and the police and just all the lights and everything, and it just broke my heart to hear what happened,” Taylor said.

The grief quickly spread online. One Facebook user wrote that their child came to them crying in the middle of the night, saying a close friend had tragically died. “He told me that he just needed a hug,” the post read.

Another person commented: “Seeing my son scream out for his friend and struggle to understand that he’s really gone has been one of the most gut-wrenching things I’ve ever faced as a parent. My heart aches for him. We’re praying deeply for this sweet boy’s family and friends, asking God to surround them with comfort and peace.”

News4JAX spoke with Holly Zerbe, a friend of the 14-year-old, who would always see him riding the e-bike.

“He was a great kid. He was really nice. He was funny. Good humor. Always lighted up the room. Now that he’s gone, I have to let it set in,” she said, adding that she broke down into tears when she found out that her friend had died.

Nicole Alder, a parent, said she was willing to do whatever she could to help the grieving family.

“I cried last night, even after we walked away from this, after we saw what had happened,” Alder said.

News4JAX also reached out to many of those who commented online. Most declined to speak on camera out of respect for the family.

Neighbors Demand Road Safety Changes

What nearly everyone in Lake Asbury was willing to talk about was the road — and why they believe it needs to change.

Neighbor Jozef Szwabo, who has a 14-year-old child of his own who rides along Sandridge Road, said the focus now should be on making the stretch safer.

“I think that should be the focus — fixing the safety here on Sandridge Road,” Szwabo said. “I know we put the medians in, but really, you’re reinforcing the speed limit and making the lanes a little bit brighter for the children.”

Another neighbor echoed that sentiment. “It would be nice if we had lights along the Sandridge. That would be great,” the neighbor said.

News4JAX reached out to the Clay County School Board and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. We did not immediately receive a response.

Neighbors said a memorial is being planned at a community park near Lake Asbury to honor the teenager.

The heat and humidity will stick around on Monday as tropical moisture moves in from the south. It will be hot and humid with temperatures in the low to mid 90s.

Factoring in the humidity and temperatures in the 90s, it will feel like it’s around 100 to 105 degrees.

Scattered showers and storms will develop in the afternoon and evening. Heavy rain, frequent lightning and gusty wind are possible within any storm.

Storms will remain scattered as we head into the middle of the week thanks a nearby front. Highs will be in the 90s, but the humidity will make temperatures feel like they are around 100 to 105 degrees.

Regarding the drought, the latest drought monitor reflects some improvement across our area. Several areas have been downgraded to a severe drought which reflects the rainfall we saw over the past week.

While we are still in a deficit, rainfall will once again lead to more improvement this week.

TONIGHT: Mostly Cloudy. Low 76.

MONDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 95, Low 76.

TUESDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 93, Low 75.

WEDNESDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 89, Low 76.

THURSDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 92, Low 78.

FRIDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 92, Low 78.

The unanimous decision came after the party's 21-member steering committee heard a challenge filed by Tuberville’s former primary opponent, Ken McFeeters. The challenge argued that Tuberville did not meet the Alabama Constitution’s seven-year residency requirement.

“We looked at it with the facts. The contest was unsuccessful. And Coach Tuberville will be our nominee for governor," said Scott Stadthagen, the state Republican Party chair. Tuberville is often referred to as “Coach” because of his background coaching college football.

Stadthagen did not take questions from the news media. The hearing was not open to the public.

Tuberville has long faced accusations of living in Florida rather than the state he represents in Washington. He has faced the same claim as he runs for governor.

McFeeters did not immediately return a text message seeking comment.

“Does he live in Alabama? No,” McFeeters said before the hearing. “He doesn’t live here.”

Tuberville, who easily defeated McFeeters in last month’s primary and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, called the accusation a “witch-hunt” by the media.

“I’m thankful for the committee holding a hearing today to finally put this ridiculous residency hoax to bed,” Tuberville said. “For the past six years, I’ve proudly represented Alabama in the United States Senate. When I’m not in D.C., Suzanne and I are at home in Auburn and yes, sometimes, at our beach house on the coast.”

The party said Tuberville submitted state tax records, property and home ownership records, driver's licenses, voter registration and other corroborating material demonstrating his residency. The document said McFeeters was given the opportunity to question Tuberville on the witness stand about how much time he spends in Alabama and in Florida.

Property tax records show Tuberville and his wife own a beach home in Florida valued at $5.6 million. His campaign has said his residence is a home in Auburn. The 1,551-square-foot property has an appraised value of about $291,780. The Auburn home was purchased by his wife and son in 2017. The senator’s name was later added to the property in 2024, and the son’s name removed. Both the Auburn and Florida homes appear to have recently been put in a revocable trust.

Tuberville released heavily redacted Alabama income tax returns from 2018 to 2024 as evidence he meets the seven-year residency requirement. The returns list a redacted Auburn address and indicate the Tubervilles moved to the state in August 2018.

Voting records show Tuberville voted in Florida in November 2018. He registered to vote in Alabama on March 28, 2019, about two weeks before announcing his run for Senate.

McFeeters said Tuberville’s Senate travel records also show frequent travel to the Florida Panhandle, which he said buttresses the idea that he resides in the location.

In a seven-page document explaining their decision, party officials cited Tuberville’s evidence, including his voting history in Alabama. The officials said courts have determined voter registration to be an important consideration when determining domicile.

Tuberville was head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. He then coached at Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati. He went to work for ESPN after retiring from coaching. In a 2017 promotional video for ESPN, he talked about moving to Florida after retiring from coaching.

The residency requirement in the Alabama Constitution is awkwardly worded, which could muddy any legal dispute. It says the governor and lieutenant governor “shall have been citizens of the United States ten years and resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election.”

Tuberville faced similar accusations when he ran for Senate in 2020. He was up against Jeff Sessions, who was running for the same seat that he held before he became Trump's first attorney general. Sessions aired a television advertisement describing Tuberville as a “Florida Man.” Tuberville won 61% of the vote, compared with 39% for Sessions, in a Republican primary runoff, and went on to defeat Doug Jones, the Democratic incumbent.

Tuberville and Jones are headed to a rematch in the governor's race in November.

Stadthagen said in a statement that, “it is time for the ALGOP to firmly close and lock this chapter and turn our full attention toward defeating liberal Democrat Doug Jones” and “keeping Alabama the brightest red Republican state in the nation.”

Goodman and Castro each hit two of Colorado's six homers. Troy Johnston and TJ Rumfield also went deep for the last-place Rockies (27-45), who ended a three-game losing streak.

Castro finished with four hits, including a grand slam off Scott Barlow in the eighth inning. Goodman drove in four runs and Kyle Karros also had four hits as the Rockies piled up 24 in all — one shy of the team mark established against Houston on Sept. 25, 2011.

The Athletics ended their Las Vegas homestand with a 4-2 record, winning three-game series against Milwaukee and Colorado at the home of their Triple-A affiliate. The big league club plans to move to the city full time in 2028.

Max Muncy and Tyler Soderstrom homered for the A's (35-36), who had won four straight. Lawrence Butler got three hits and Zack Gelof extended his hitting streak to 18 games.

Tomoyuki Sugano (7-4) got the win despite giving up eight runs and nine hits in five innings. Eiberson Castellano tossed three scoreless innings to earn a save in his major league debut.

Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs (3-7) allowed eight runs — six earned — and seven hits in four innings.

Colorado scored six times in the fifth to build a 14-6 lead. Goodman homered to begin an outburst capped by Tyler Freeman's run-scoring triple.

A's right fielder Carlos Cortes moved to the mound in the eighth and was their most effective pitcher, yielding one run and three hits in the final 1 2/3 innings.

Up next

Rockies: RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 7.54 ERA) pitches Monday night at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.

Athletics: Return home to West Sacramento, California, with J.T. Ginn (4-3, 3.15 ERA) scheduled to face Jared Jones (1-0, 4.73) and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.

___

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

Rio de Janeiro’s Military Fire Department said one of the helicopters crashed on the parking lot of a car dealership, where several electric vehicles were parked, igniting a fire that was extinguished.

Officials said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collision.

Police said that American singer and comedian Oliver Tree was on the list of passengers given to aviation authorities, but they have not been able to identify the bodies of those killed in the crash.

Tree performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina on June 4, and published a video on his Instagram Saturday where he is playing soccer in a Brazilian neighborhood.

Argentine streaming channel Blender said that content creator Gaspar Prim Díaz — also known as Gaspi — was in one of the helicopters.

Gaspi had more than 2.8 million followers on YouTube and was 23.

“Thanks for your art, your magic and your sensibility, every one of us will miss you,” Blender said on its X account.

Fernandes de Freitas, a tire repair worker, said he saw one of the helicopters in flames following the midair collision, and noticed that one of the passengers jumped out of the other aircraft, before it hit the ground.

“It was terrifying, absolutely horrifying,” De Freitas said.

___

Ramiro Barreiro contributed from Buenos Aires.

___

Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Kai Havertz scored two goals as Germany pulled away from World Cup first-timer Curaçao and piled it on in a 7-1 win in group play. The smallest country to ever appear in the tournament hung tight at 1-1 until the 38th minute.

“We really needed this convincing win,” coach Julian Nagelsmann said. “We needed this self-confidence. It was there but it definitely grew.”

He said Sunday's display was important for the country's fans.

“We have to show them that we can perform and we have to have the confidence,” he said. “I think we’re in a better spot than we were entering this match.”

Livano Comenencia tied it at 1-1 with his left-footed shot through traffic from the center of the box in the 21st minute to give Curaçao its first goal in the tournament and send fans of the tiny Caribbean nation into a frenzy.

“Even though it wasn’t me, it felt like it was me, it was all of us, the whole island, everybody,” Curaçao's Jearl Margaritha said. “We screamed our lungs out. So we were happy.”

It was all Germany after that with the team regaining the lead on Nico Schlotterbeck’s header off Nathaniel Brown’s corner kick in the 38th.

“One team has very high expectations and the other one doesn’t and that’s a bit tricky,” Nagelsmann said.

The six-goal margin was well short of the World Cup record of nine, which has happened three times, most recently when Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982. And the performance from the Germans was much more expected than the last time they won 7-1 in a World Cup, beating host Brazil in the 2014 semifinals.

Havertz connected on a penalty shot into the left goal in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-1. Germany was awarded the penalty shot after Felix Nmecha was tripped in the box by Riechedly Bazoer.

Germany wasted no time after halftime to extend the lead, with Jamal Musiala scoring on a right-footed shot across the goalkeeper’s area in the 47th minute.

Brown scored in the 68th minute to push the advantage to 5-1. The 22-year-old has an American father, but made it clear ahead of the World Cup he'd be representing the country in which he was born and raised by his mother.

Deniz Undav added a goal in the 78th minute. Havertz's second goal came in the 88th.

Germany is seeking redemption after failing to get out of the group stage in Russia and Qatar following its 2014 title.

“We are on the right path but of course there are things that we can do better and we will have stronger opponents,” Nagelsmann said.

Nmecha one-timed it with his right foot into the near post just inside the upper box with an assist from Florian Wirtz in the sixth minute to make it 1-0.

The crowd of 68,021 was overwhelmingly rooting for Germany but there was a spirited contingent of people cheering on Curaçao.

It was the first match of the tournament at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans.

Manuel Neuer, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who came out of international retirement for the tournament, had one save in his first appearance for Germany in almost two years.

The match featured the largest age gap between coaches in World Cup history with Curaçao's 78-year-old coach, Dick Advocaat, becoming the oldest ever in the tournament against 38-year-old Nagelsmann, who is the youngest coach in this year’s tournament.

Germany faces Ivory Coast in its next match in Toronto on Saturday and Curaçao meets Ecuador Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.

___

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

Gina Kim and Wilson finished at 17-under 263 at Midland Country Club.

“I haven’t been in a leading position for a long time,” the 19-year-old Wilson said. “Even as a team, I feel like both of us haven’t been in this leading position. We walked down 18 just now and we were like: ‘Does this feel weird to you? Like this is so weird.’ So it’s a little nervy out there. I feel like we handled it really well.”

Gina Kim holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-4 fifth.

“I knew I hit a really good shot and I was thinking, ‘Oh, OK, maybe I’ll tap in in for birdie.’ And then it just disappeared,” she said. “I think that really set the tone for the day.”

The 26-year-old Gina Kim won in her 64th start on the LPGA Tour, while Wilson was making the ninth start of her rookie season.

“This has been the most fun week,” Gina Kim said. “It’s been tough, and it’s nice to have a really good friend to be able to do this by.”

Last year, Wilson — the 2022 USGA Girls' Junior winner — was second and Gina Kim third on the Epson Tour money list to earn LPGA cards.

“Part of the reason I asked Yana to be my partner is we actually played in the final group on Epson and we’ve played together numerous times,” Gina Kim said. “So, I knew she was really, really good under pressure and I trusted her.”

Hyo Joo Kim and Choi finished with a 65.

Somi Lee and Jin Hee Im had a 61 to tie for third at 14 under with former UCLA teammates Alison Lee and Lilia Vu (64).

Juli Inkster, who at 66 became the oldest player in LPGA history to make the cut in an official event, teamed with Angel Yin to tie for 12th at 9 under. They shot 64.

“We had an amazing time,” Inkster said. “Angel played amazing.”

Nelly Korda and Olivia Cowan tied for 17th at 8 under. They rebounded from a third-round 76 with a 66. Korda was coming off a victory in the U.S. Women's Open for her second straight major victory.

___

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

But on Hall of Fame induction day, even guys like Tarver can have trouble getting the words out.

“They always say I’m good on the mic but I don’t know, this is going to be tough,” Tarver said Sunday.

He and Golovkin both got through their speeches near the end of the ceremony for the class of 2026 that is being enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

Golovkin went 42-2-1 with 37 KOs as one of the top middleweights in boxing history. He made a record-tying 20 consecutive title defenses in the 160-pound weight class, earning his first title in 2010 and remaining champion until Canelo Alvarez edged him in 2018 in their second blockbuster bout.

The native of Kazakhstan thanked his family, his trainers, his chef and officials from Madison Square Garden, where he had some of the memorable moments in his career.

“I have a great time with these people, a great time with my boxing family because, like 35 years I stayed in boxing, and this is my life," Golovkin said.

Nigel Benn, like Golovkin also a champion at middleweight and later at super middleweight, where he held the belt for four years, was also enshrined after going 42-5-1 with 35 KOs.

Cut men Russ Anber and Jimmy Glenn, referee Frank Cappuccino and Dr. Edwin “Flip” Homansky, who became just the second physician to be inducted, were also enshrined during the ceremony at the Turning Stone Casino.

Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KOs) won one of his light heavyweight championships in 2004 when he knocked out Roy Jones Jr., who had long been considered the top fighter in the sport. Tarver beat Jones in two of their three fights, but his charisma helped him become known for far more than his success inside the ring. He was a top boxing TV analyst and famously played heavyweight champion Mason Dixon in “Rocky Balboa.”

“To the sport of boxing, you saved my life,” Tarver said. “You give me an identity, you gave me direction and a platform to show the world who I really was. Boxing taught me resilience, courage and the power of belief in yourself when the odds are always stacked against you.”

Before they became rivals, Jones' controversial loss in a gold-medal match in the 1988 Olympics helped send Tarver on his way to greatness.

“When I witnessed the great Roy Jones get robbed, bro, I can’t tell you,” Tarver said. “I got off the couch and ran three miles and I’ve been running ever since.”

Anber was working that match as a commentator, recalling rising from his seat and saying “They’re gonna rob Roy Jones.” During his lengthy career in the corners, he worked with boxing greats such as Oleksandr Usyk, Vasily Lomachenko and Deontay Wilder.

“I’ve spent 48 years sitting on a wooden stool with a steel bucket at my feet, a towel over my shoulder, a Q-tip in my mouth and a glob of Vaseline on the back of my hand, and it’s been the best seat in the house,” Anber said.

Naoko Fujioka, Japan’s first five-division champion who went 19-3-1 with 7 KOs, was inducted, along with fellow women’s champion Jackie Nava, who won titles at bantamweight and super bantamweight in consecutive fights in 2005 to highlight her 40-4-4 career with 16 KOs.

Rounding out the class were Jimmy Clabby, who went 86-21-23 with 46 KOs before retiring in 1923, and journalist Kevin Iole and late broadcaster Alex Wallau from the Observer category.

A smiling Golovkin enjoyed his time with all who were on stage with them. Triple G even declined a request to boast that the event was a “Big Drama Show,” his description of the punishing performances he planned to and so often delivered.

“Not today,” he said. “Today is a different day. It’s a special day for these guys, not for me.”

___

AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing

He signed a two-year extension with Joe Gibbs Racing that runs through 2027 and he insists it will be his last season. At 45, he's the oldest full-time Cup Series driver in the field, but he can't stop winning.

Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday for his third consecutive victory and passed the late Kyle Busch for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time wins list.

Hamlin last week won his 63rd race in NASCAR's top series to tie his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate on the all-time wins list. His eighth career victory at Pocono pushed him ahead of Busch for sole possession of ninth.

His recent success — it is his fourth win of the season, not including the non-points All-Star race — has renewed talk that Hamlin should reconsider retirement when his deal with Gibbs expires.

“I think for Denny, he wants to leave on top, right? He doesn’t want to leave where it was one year too long,” said JGR co-owner Heather Gibbs. "At this rate, what he’s producing out there, it’s not something you would not consider. We want the best drivers in our cars. Our teams work to put the best cars on track.

"If it works out and he’s still producing and he wants to, it’s a huge commitment for him, he’s got his own team that he kind of wants to run. It’s hard when you dangle checkered flags in front of him, too. He so far has put a stop to such talk despite performing at the highest level of his long career."

Hamlin, who wasn't even sure he wanted to return to honor this two-year extension after losing the championship in last November's season finale and then the December death of his father in a house fire, understands he's performing at a high level.

But as far as continuing past 2027? It's not yet on his radar despite how strong he's been on the track.

“I would certainly say it’s the best we’ve been,” Hamlin said. “We come to the racetrack every week knowing we got a great shot to win. The team’s doing an amazing job giving me exactly what I need in the car every single week. That’s why we’re winning.”

Sunday's win comes nearly 20 years to the date after his first career victory, which was at Pocono on June 11, 2006. He swept the races at the Pennsylvania track that year.

Hamlin said Pocono has become “like a second home for me.”

“First win here, so special here. Pocono has mastered the fan experience from the crowd in the stands to the infield here,” Hamlin said. “Just so happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team. The pit crew is flawless right now. We got it all going."

Despite 64 career victories, this marks the first time in his career that Hamlin has won three consecutive races.

The feat tied Richard Petty, who did it in 1966 and 1967, Bobby Allison in 1971 and Darrell Waltrip in 1981. Petty, Allison and Waltrip are all in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

He also took a jab at NASCAR, noting that it was technically his ninth victory at Pocono, but he was stripped of the victory in 2022 when NASCAR said he and Busch's car's failed post-race inspection.

“They aren't getting that checkered flag back,” Hamlin said.

Tyler Reddick, who drives for the 23XI Racing team owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan, finished second as Toyota took the top two spots. Hamlin is now 19 points behind Reddick in the Cup Series standings.

“Everyone is racing hard for track position. Some of it’s just bad luck, I guess, where you catch cars,” Reddick said. “It’s a bummer. I mean, if the 11 wasn’t the winner, you could consider this a good day. I know we finished second. Scoring the points we did just didn’t get the job done.”

When Hamlin tied Busch for all-time wins last week, Hamlin celebrated with a special tribute to Busch. On Sunday, he collected the checkered flag and skipped any tributes to Busch, who died unexpectedly of sepsis at age 41 last month.

Toyota drivers have won 10 of 16 races this season, and JGR has accounted for five of them.

William Byron finished third in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

“I think this is probably the first time in four months that I’ve been able to drive the car this way, just be able to make moves and have the balance stay with me," Byron said.

Byron was followed by John Hunter Nemechek in fourth in a Toyota for Legacy Motor Club. Nemechek led 42 laps Sunday — double what he's led the last two years.

Kyle Larson was fifth for Hendrick and Erik Jones was sixth for Legacy as Toyota drivers took four of the top six spots.

Bell fights through pain

Christopher Bell, driving with a broken wrist after a horrific wreck last weekend at Michigan that registered as the hardest hit in the era of NASCAR's new car, led 18 late laps based on strategy but faded to a 26th-place finish.

“Certainly we were mired back in the 20s and so I think it was an amazing gamble,” Bell said. “The situation is so hard because you don't know if you're racing for the win, if you're racing to finish the race, and so I don't stop shifting until about 10 to go. Certainly adverse conditions, like whenever people make quick moves on restarts and get put three-wide or the car gets loose, things like that are very difficult.”

Bell expected his injured arm will be a hindrance the next two weeks as NASCAR races the street course in San Diego and the road course in Sonoma, California — two tracks where shifting is heavily used.

No rain

NASCAR moved the start of the race up two hours to avoid expected rain in the Pocono Mountain region that could alter the completion of the 400-mile race. By doing so, all inclement weather was avoided and the race was run without interruption.

Up next

NASCAR makes its inaugural visit to San Diego with a first-of-its-kind street race at Naval Base Coronado. The NASCAR San Diego weekend marks the first NASCAR event ever contested on an active military base, with races Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

San Diego will host just the second street course in NASCAR’s modern era. The Chicago street course hosted two national series each of the past three seasons. The race weekend will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Putin’s call with Trump lasted just under an hour, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, who briefed reporters afterward.

On Ukraine, Ushakov said Trump emphasized the need to end hostilities and stated his readiness to influence European allies and Kyiv toward that goal, including at the upcoming G7 summit.

Trump also said that recent strikes on civilian targets in Russia complicate a settlement — though the White House has not confirmed that, nor commented on the call — and said that ending the war quickly could open the door to “a truly new quality of U.S.-Russian relations,” Ushakov quoted him as saying.

Putin, for his part, argued that attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure by Kyiv would not change Ukraine’s position on the battlefield, and said that if Zelenskyy wants a meeting with him, “let him come to Moscow,” according to Ushakov.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Russia soon, Ushakov said.

The leaders also discussed Iran, where Trump said a U.S. agreement with Tehran was close and that he hoped the results of the talks could be made public today, Ushakov said.

Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram Sunday that he had a “wonderful conversation” with Trump.

Beyond congratulating Trump on his birthday, the Ukrainian president said he thanked the U.S. president for supporting Ukraine.

He said they discussed “what could help bring peace closer now,” without providing details. Zelenskyy also informed Trump about how Ukraine’s position along the eastern front line has improved and strengthened.

“We agreed to discuss more during our meeting at the G7 summit,” he said.

The calls came as Trump prepared to mark his birthday with a UFC fight on the White House lawn Sunday evening, an event without precedent in American history. Once it concludes, Trump is set to fly overnight to France for the G7 summit, where Ukraine is expected to be a major topic of discussion Tuesday and Zelenskyy is due to join the gathering.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has long frustrated Trump, who as a candidate claimed he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office. He has since stopped making such claims and tends to pivot away from the topic when pressed. He has also grown increasingly vexed by the war between Israel and Iran, which has driven up gas prices, rattled financial markets and stoked concerns about inflation.

The diplomatic exchanges came against the backdrop of continued fighting. Ukrainian drone attacks killed one person and wounded nine others overnight in a residential building in the regional capital of Russia’s Oryol region, Gov. Andrei Klychkov said Sunday. Another drone attack killed one person Sunday in Russia's Bryansk region, local authorities said.

A separate drone strike hit fuel storage facilities in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, around 440 miles from the Ukrainian border, sparking fires. Zelenskyy said the strike had hit “an oil facility that was important for the reserve of the aggressor state.”

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure in recent months, arguing the sector funds Moscow’s invasion.

Separately, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that the U.K. is investigating a sanctioned tanker, the Smyrtos, suspected of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” of vessels used to evade sanctions tied to the war.

British forces boarded and detained the vessel in the English Channel, in what the Defense Ministry called the first U.K.-led operation of its kind, carried out in coordination with French authorities.

“This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide,” Starmer said.

___

AP writer Will Weissert contributed to this report from Washington.

Why this photo?

I shot this photo because the evening sun was streaming through the stadium, creating long shadows of players on the field from my photo position way up in the catwalk. We usually don’t get to shoot from these elevated positions. It's a kind of catch-all photo position at larger events where we have a team of photographers on the ground. It’s not a primary position, but it can make unique photos that you just don’t see from down below. I thought the shadows could make an interesting frame and break up all the action photos my colleagues were shooting. It just took a little time before a couple players would enter the band of light and cast their shadows.

How I made this photo

I made this photo from the stadium catwalk with a handheld Sony A1 Mark II and 600mm lens. An elevator ride, a hike up the stands and then a few tight ladders to climb. I tried to pack light, but didn’t. No going up and down for forgotten items. Dodging cables and ducking beams. Shooting through the stadium lights. Searching for ethernet lines that worked. Trying not to look straight down.

Why it works

I think this frame works mainly because of the players’ body language and the ball — still flying in — are mirrored and exaggerated by the long shadow. The players' strained faces is a nice bonus.

___

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

However, the number of cases in Congo is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed on May 15, weeks after it is suspected to have begun, and the contact tracing coverage rate is at 56%, a sharp decrease from last week.

The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment, unlike the “Zaire virus,” which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

Fifty-six people have recovered, and the current fatality rate of the outbreak is 23%, the Ministry said.

The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and have spread across the border to Uganda.

Nearly a million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N. humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.

Tracing is also difficult among the thousands of artisanal miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.

Attacks on health workers from angry residents, skepticism among some locals, and armed conflict in hot spots continue to challenge efforts to stop the outbreak.

Last month, U.S. officials said Washington intends to send Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya rather than flying them back home. They said the center would be located at Laikipia Air Base with a capacity of 50 quarantine beds. The move led to protests over the plans to build an Ebola quarantine center, which was later halted by the courts.

This story originally published at GatorsBreakdown.com

Want more Gators Breakdown? Join Gators Breakdown Plus

Get Gators Breakdown merchandise. Shop here

LISTEN: Catch up on previous episodes of Gators Breakdown

Follow David Waters on Twitter @GatorDave_SEC to stay plugged in, or click one of the following to tune in:

Megaphone | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify

In the lawsuit filed Saturday in Los Angeles federal court, the model who created and hosted “America's Next Top Model” said she was interviewed for 3 ½ hours, during which she took responsibility for some of the show's controversial decisions. Those interviews were edited down to 16 minutes and manipulated “to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed,” the lawsuit said.

“The accountability Ms. Banks took ended up on the cutting room floor. It was there, but viewers were never given the opportunity to see it,” her lawyers wrote.

Banks is seeking damages in her lawsuit against Netflix, the directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy and EverWonder Studio. She’s also seeking an injunction barring the use of her image in connection with the docuseries’ soundtrack, released as an album.

Emails seeking comments were sent Sunday to the defendants’ representatives.

“America's Next Top Model” launched in 2003 and ran for 24 seasons. In recent years, the reality competition series has undergone a critical reevaluation over accusations of body shaming, manipulation of contestants and problematic photoshoots. Banks has previously addressed those criticisms, acknowledging “the insensitivity of past ANTM moments” and “some really off choices.”

The lawsuit contends that the producers of the Netflix docuseries used “selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage” to formulate a narrative that Banks allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on the show, used the contestant's trauma to drum up ratings and then couldn't remember it when asked during the interviews.

“Defendants edited the Netflix Series to make it appear that Ms. Banks knew she was being asked about a sexual assault and was intentionally trying to evade the topic,” the lawsuit stated, contending that Banks hadn't been told — or asked — about the assault during the interview.

Banks' lawyers wrote that she wasn't permitted to review the docuseries until a day before its Feb. 16 release. According to the lawsuit, she had not been contacted for fact-checking after her interviews, and was not given an opportunity to respond to accusations from other participants. Other judges from the show, including one her lawyers contend holds a grudge against Banks, consulted on the docuseries.

“Had Ms. Banks known these individuals were so deeply involved in the formulation of the Netflix Series, also serving as consultants shaping the editorial direction, and that she had been excluded from such a role, it would have raised a red flag,” the lawsuit read. “She would have known she was being set up. She would not have participated.”

Banks' lawyers reached out to Netflix in March to request access to the full footage of her interviews. Netflix and EverWonder denied that request, according to the lawsuit. Since the docuseries' release, public reaction has been “swift, harsh, and directed squarely at Ms. Banks” — even SMiZE & DREAM, her ice cream shop in Sydney, Australia, has been subject to review bombing on Google, the lawsuit read.

The Associated Press sent an email seeking further detail from Banks’ lawyers and representatives on Sunday.

“Every other conversation about ANTM’s legacy — including the candid reflection Ms. Banks came prepared to have — is now drowned out by an accusation she was never given the chance to answer,” her lawyers wrote. “This lawsuit is that answer — particularly after her efforts to resolve the matter directly with Netflix and the producers were refused.”

Outside of that zone, winds are lighter and seas are calmer.

Storms brewing near Mexico

A stretch of low pressure running along the eastern coast of Mexico down into the Bay of Campeche is generating clusters of showers and thunderstorms, mostly on its eastern side. The good news is that forecasters do not expect this system to significantly strengthen before it moves inland over eastern Mexico by early Sunday.

What to watch for next week

After moving over land, that same system could re-emerge over the northwestern Gulf on Tuesday or Wednesday, potentially interacting with a frontal weather boundary in the region.

Through Sunday night, the western Gulf can expect:

• Gusty to strong southeast winds
• Moderate to rough seas
• Scattered showers and thunderstorms

Heading into Tuesday through Thursday, a ridge of high pressure pushing in from the Atlantic, combined with lower pressure over South Texas and northeastern Mexico, will keep winds fresh to strong across the western Gulf and moderate across the eastern Gulf.

Tens of thousands of spectators lined Fifth Avenue under sunny skies to watch marchers decked out in red-white-and-blue. This year’s honorees included rapper and singer Daddy Yankee, who served as grand marshal, and actor Anthony Ramos, who was part of the original Broadway cast of “Hamilton.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew cheers as he clutched a small Puerto Rico flag and wore a Knicks jersey over a shirt and tie.

The event, which bills itself as America's largest cultural celebration, honors the contributions of Puerto Ricans on their home island and throughout the nation and world. It’s a been a June tradition in the city since the late 1950s.

U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and jazz musician Charlie Sepulveda were recognized with lifetime achievement awards.

The parade was traveling along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan from 44th Street to 79th Street, spanning 35 city blocks.

The National Puerto Rican Day Parade Scholarship Gala was held on Friday, celebrating academic excellence and student achievement.

McConnell, 84, was the longest serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside from that role while finishing his final term, which ends in January.

“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care," spokesperson David Popp said in a statement without elaboration. It was not immediately clear whether the Kentucky lawmaker was in Washington, his home state or elsewhere.

McConnell's health has been a subject of scrutiny for years.

He fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon in December 2024. He was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. After he returned, he twice froze up during news conferences that summer, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff came to his assistance.

McConnell had polio in his early childhood and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs. In addition to his 2023 fall, he also tripped and fell in 2019 at his home in Kentucky. He had surgery for a fractured shoulder.

McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period.

He remains active in the Senate, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, and recent chairing public hearings and grilling officials from his perch as the chairman for the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense. He has intermittently used a wheelchair to navigate the Capitol and routinely has his security detail, as a former congressional leader, at his side.

AI giant Anthropic said Friday it has taken its latest artificial intelligence models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, offline to comply with a directive from the Trump administration to prevent their use by foreign nationals.

The export controls mark the U.S. government’s most significant step to date to restrict access to the most advanced AI models. Anthropic released Fable widely this week. That model is a limited version of the even more advanced Mythos, to which the company has tightly limited access due to cybersecurity fears.

“The situation we’re in collectively right now with Mythos and Fable is something that can happen with overreliance on certain models” Carney said. “Nobody has done anything wrong in the situation. But we will have done something wrong if we just accept this, don’t take the lesson, don’t build out and diversify.”

Carney made the comments in Ireland ahead of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France. He said artificial intelligence will be one of the major discussions on Monday night.

Anthropic, based in San Francisco, California, has said the new Mythos model it announced on April 7 is so “strikingly capable” that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding and exploiting computer vulnerabilities.

“You’ll hear me say this over and over again. It is never a good idea to have one option,” Carney said.

Carney said he spent 45 minutes talking with French President Emmanuel Macron about artificial intelligence on Friday night. He said there “will not be a mission accomplished banner” that comes out of the summit because the issues are complex.

Carney linked the U.S. AI curbs to Canada’s push to diversify trade and technology. More than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. and Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade. Trump’s trade war is causing a chill in investment.

Carney doesn’t have a bilateral meeting scheduled with Trump at the G7 despite the free trade agreement between U.S., Canada and Mexico being up for renewal. He said USMCA discussions will be held at the summit among Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for U.S. trade, Janice Charette, Canada’s chief negotiator, and U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“The right way to do it at this stage, will be between the principal negotiators, which is going to happen in Evian,” he said.

Carney visited his family’s ancestral village of Aghagower, Ireland earlier Sunday. Carney’s grandfather, Robert Carney, and grandmother, Nora Moran, were both from the town in County Mayo, and immigrated to Canada in the 1920s.

Owen Morgan was with his 17-month-old son, Malachy Morgan -- who was wearing Montreal Canadiens jersey -- and said people in Mayo county are very proud of Carney.

“People are very impressed,” Morgan said. “He’s very much standing up for Canadians, and I think that’s very much admired.”

The crash happened at the intersection of Lem Turner Road and Duane Avenue in Northwest Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

Melanie Collazo, the homeowner, said she was out with family when she received an unexpected call from JSO.

“I was shocked at first. I was like, wait a minute, a car crashed into my house,” Collazo said. “Luckily, myself nor my kids were here at the time of impact.”

News4JAX reporter Ashley French was given access inside the home, where the damage was extensive.

The staircase to the second floor was blown inward and left exposed to the open air, making it impossible to reach the upper level of the home. The coat closet near the staircase had its back wall completely destroyed, with structural debris scattered throughout.

The damage extended into the kitchen, where indentations from the truck were visible on the walls, the refrigerator had been pushed from its position, and the stove was damaged.

Collazo said investigators told her the crash may have been caused by a medical emergency.

“They basically said that, according to witness statements, the driver might’ve had a medical emergency — because it seemed like he didn’t stop at all coming from the intersection,” Collazo said.

JSO has not officially confirmed the cause of the crash or the condition of the driver. News4JAX has reached out to JSO for comment and will update this story when a response is received.

Despite the extensive damage to her home, Collazo said her first concern was for the driver.

“I hope he’s OK. You know, this is materialistic. I wasn’t here. My kids weren’t here — so I hope he’s OK,” she said.

The crash carries additional weight for Collazo, who purchased the home in 2023 after years of active military service at Naval Station Mayport. It is her first home.

“Being active military, you don’t always have family wherever you’re stationed — so I feel very thankful and blessed right now,” she said, referring to the support she has received from family since the crash.

Collazo said she plans to contact her insurance company and is expecting an inspector to assess the structural damage.

“It’s a lot of structural damage — so we’ll see what the insurance and inspector say when they come out,” she said.

She and her children have a place to stay with family in the meantime.

News4JAX has reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for an official statement regarding the cause of the crash and the condition of the driver. This story will be updated once we learn more.

Several residents told News4Jax the gatherings have been happening for about four weeks, often drawing large crowds to the community’s pool area on weekends.

William Guyton, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2017, said he understands that many teens are looking for activities during the summer months. However, he said the size of the gatherings has made some residents hesitant to use the amenities.

“The kids don’t have nothing by us having the only pool from Lem Turner on back this way, so I can understand a little bit of it,” Guyton said. “But it just sometimes can get dangerous and it can get overwhelming because when I want to bring my family up here, I can’t because you never know what could go down.”

Guyton said residents first began noticing the larger gatherings about four weeks ago. He said information about the events is often shared through flyers and social media posts.

“Sometimes they’ll change the day. They’ll change the time. They’ll change the flyer just to do different things to kind of throw the residents off,” Guyton said.

Another homeowner, who requested to remain anonymous, said neighbors have become increasingly frustrated as the gatherings continue.

“They’re frustrated. They’re tired. They can’t bring their kids to the pool,” the resident said. “A lot of residents don’t even come to the pool because it’s twerking, cussing, gambling.”

The resident said the community currently uses pool monitors but worries additional security measures could eventually increase costs for homeowners.

“It’s just kind of annoying knowing that we have to pay money for security, then also living out here and having a pool and can’t use it,” the resident said.

Residents said they have contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office multiple times regarding the gatherings and said the community has a trespass authorization agreement on file with the agency.

Some homeowners believe faster response times and stricter enforcement of trespassing rules could help prevent repeat incidents.

Residents emphasized that they are not opposed to teens gathering or having fun during the summer. Instead, they said they want community rules enforced so homeowners and families can safely enjoy the amenities they pay for.

Outside Madison Square Garden, a crowd watching on a big screen roared as the Knicks rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Soon after, tens of thousands of people filled the streets and the rowdiest among them were clashing with police, smashing windshields, scaling scaffolding, light poles and a statue, climbing into and atop school buses in Times Square and trying to hitch a ride on a moving fire truck.

Around 2 a.m., a 17-year-old was shot near 42nd Street and Broadway, police said. Bystander video captured the sound of at least seven shots and showed people crouching and running for cover. Police took the victim to the hospital because an ambulance could not get through the crowds, police said. A gun was recovered and three people were taken into custody.

Four people were stabbed or slashed and one of the school buses, which was being used for World Cup transportation, was lit on fire and engulfed in flames, police said. Other buses and five police cars were also damaged, police said.

In all, 63 people were arrested, with charges including assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

Knicks owner James Dolan, speaking in San Antonio after the game, urged fans to stay calm.

“We need to tell everybody in New York that we know that they’re celebrating, we want them to have a great time," said Dolan, interrupting guard Josh Hart’s news conference. “Please be safe. Don’t get hurt, don’t hurt anybody.”

The city will officially celebrate the Knicks on Thursday with a parade and City Hall ceremony.

As the clock ticked to the final buzzer on Saturday night, anxiety that had dominated the game's first three quarters gave way to euphoria. An orange-and-blue-tinted fever dream that started with the Knicks' first playoff game two months ago ended in the third title in their 80-year history.

Fireworks boomed over Brooklyn and Central Park. Fans flocked to Times Square and ran through the streets. Outside the Garden, they sang the team's anthem: “Go New York, Go New York, Go!”

Police officers and ambulance workers shouted “Let’s go Knicks” over loudspeakers in Brooklyn. Strangers shook hands and hugged. In the Lincoln Tunnel, where people were riding buses back from the World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, drivers honked their horns in celebration.

“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m so happy,” said Mathieu Ogno, of Long Island, who fought back tears as he soaked in the victory at a team-sanctioned watch party at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

Ogno wore the jersey of Knicks captain Jalen Brunson, whose 45 points propelled the Knicks to victory and him to the NBA Finals MVP. Brunson’s gritty determination and chip-on-his-shoulder style have made him a fan favorite, embodying New York's working-class ethos.

The Knicks' championship — 19,392 days since their last — capped an extraordinary postseason for a franchise that hadn't been to the NBA Finals since losing to the Spurs in 1999. Since April 23, the team has won 15 of 16 games, with its lone loss coming Monday in Game 3.

Their last title, in 1973, was also won on the road in a Game 5. Their first, in 1970, was won at home in a Game 7 thriller. Neither was celebrated with a parade.

“I’m happy to see my Knicks finally make it over the hump,” said Shawn Muoneke, 26. “I’ve seen them knock on the door. They were knocking on the door the past few years. But they finally made it over the hump, and I’m so happy to see it and I’m so happy I’m in the city to experience it.”

Muoneke, born a year after the Knicks’ last trip to the NBA Finals, started rooting for them when he was 10. He drove from Maryland to be in the city for Game 5 at the team's Central Park watch party.

“I saw the ups, the downs and I watched the team come back up, and I was so happy to see them finally reach the highest echelon of stardom as a team,” Muoneke said.

After the Knicks' win, he said, the vibes in the city "are the highest they’ve ever been.”

President Donald Trump, a longtime Knicks fan who attended Game 3 at the Garden with Dolan, congratulated the team in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“What a year it has been but, even more so, what incredible playoff wins we have all witnessed, especially the last four - Maybe the greatest in the history of basketball,” Trump wrote.

With Brunson's clutch performance, he added, “a superstar was born.”

After several dozen arrests throughout the playoffs and violence after Games 3 and 4 in New York that left officers injured and a teen in a coma, police girded for unrest as Saturday bled into Sunday.

“As we celebrate, be responsible, look out for one another, stay safe, be smart, and make this a night that reflects the very best of our city,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media. “Let’s go Knicks.”

__

Emily Wang Fujiyama contributed reporting.

Yellow helmet still on, Hamilton pumped his fists and took a running leap into the arms of his fellow crimson-clad crew members after parking his Ferrari in the No. 1 spot on winner's row following his masterful race at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday.

It had been a throwback, vintage Hamilton win. A victory that showed the seven-time champion, whose last title came in 2020, may just be back to his best at age 41.

Hamilton thanked and thanked again his teammates, the engineers back in Italy, his family and his fans in an emotional celebration for the driver who once dominated the sport but hadn’t won a race in nearly two years.

“I watched Ferrari have all this success when I was younger and wondered what it would be like to win in this car. I’m forever grateful and hopefully the first of many," Hamilton said from the winner's podium while thousands cheered.

His record-extending victory No. 106 may have also ignited a title fight with a Mercedes that looked untouchable following a rulebook overhaul this year and had won all six previous races.

“They are all special in their own way, but this one is something else,” Hamilton said about the importance of a victory that ended a run of 40 races without a win, 30 of which had come since his move from Mercedes to Ferrari at the end of 2024. His last win had come at the Belgian GP in July of that year.

“It’s all starting to come together and I’m just happy in my life," said Hamilton, who looks like a different driver from the despondent racer who struggled with Ferrari last campaign and never even reached the podium in a grand prix.

Hamilton admitted that during his troublesome first year with Ferrari he reached a point when he thought “maybe it is true that you get to a certain point you lose it.

“But you don’t. It takes perseverance to tap into that inner self… now I feel great racing with 19 year olds.”

To sweeten the day for Ferrari, Hamilton was already cruising to victory when Kimi Antonelli, the F1 points leader, came to a stop on the track with just four laps to go when his Mercedes suffered an electrical shutdown.

That ended the young Italian's incredible run of five straight wins.

Antonelli still leads with 156 points after seven races, but Hamilton has closed the gap and has 115. George Russell guided his Mercedes to a second-place finish and now has 106 points.

It was Hamilton’s seventh win at this track, a record at Montmelo, and his first here since 2021.

He was building toward this long-awaited victory with runner-up finishes at Canada and Monaco. He said he had set the “foundation” with Ferrari before he qualified second ahead of Antonelli for the Barcelona race.

“Thank you so much to help me achieve this dream,” Hamilton said on team radio after crossing the finish line more than 19 seconds ahead of Russell. “Thank you for everyone pushing so hard at home, thanks to my family, and to my fans who continue to remind me who I am. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Ferrari outfoxes Mercedes with pitstop strategy

Hamilton took advantage of fresher tires and a superior pitstop strategy by Ferrari to overtake the pole-sitting Russell.

Ferrari opted for a three-stop race to give Hamilton fresher tires on a track that is known to be hard on rubber, especially with track temperatures at 50 Celsius (122 F). The quicker wheels had him slip ahead of Russell, who, like Antonelli, was on a two-stop plan, when a bit of luck sealed it for Hamilton.

A stoppage by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin brought out a virtual safety car, and Ferrari called in Hamilton for his final stop while his rivals couldn’t push the pace, and he emerged in the lead with a fresh set of tires.

Seeing Hamilton slip away, Russell was left to protect his position from Antonelli. They had jousted earlier in the race, before Antonelli eventually swept past.

Moments later, it all unraveled for Antonelli when he stopped and his shot at 18 points vanished.

Russell said his team will need to solve their mechanical issues, after he also had a late breakdown in Canada. He also had some nice words for Hamilton, his former teammate.

“It was a big bold move to join Ferrari and to see it paying off now is great to see, he is going to be a real threat,” Russell said.

Defending F1 champion Lando Norris was third in his McLaren, making it the first all-British podium since 1968.

Max Verstappen for Red Bull in fourth. Oscar Piastri, who won here last year, was fifth in the other McLaren.

Isack Hadjar of Red Bull was sixth, followed by Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto of Alpine. Liam Lawson and Avrid Lindblad rounded out the top 10.

Hamilton's teammate, Charles Leclerc, had to retire late when his Ferrari failed due to a hydraulic problem.

Alonso had a dismal day in what he said is likely his last race in northeastern Spain. The 44-year-old former champion started from the pitlane following an engine change after bottoming out in qualifying and then broke down in the race. Aston Martin’s other car, driven by Lance Stroll, retired early because of a gearbox issue.

This is the last race near Barcelona for two years. It will return in 2028 as it alternates on the F1 calendar with the Belgian GP at least through 2032.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The ship’s crew also ignored eight shows of force by military aircraft that included fired flares and flyovers, as well as two final warnings before being fired upon Wednesday, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. military said an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello. The incident in the Gulf of Oman killed three Indian sailors, Indian officials said.

The U.S. official described the vessel as a shadow fleet ship that has been used to illegally transfer Iranian oil and evade sanctions and was seen trying to break the blockade multiple times. The official noted that U.S. forces communicated with the ship dozens of times over two weeks before the day when the ship was disabled.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command said the military gave the crew 15 minutes to get out of the engine room before the shots were fired that disabled the ship.

“After being in place for more than 60 days, it should be clear by now that U.S. forces will strictly enforce the blockade,” the statement added.

India’s foreign ministry said New Delhi has lodged a “strong protest” with the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Indian counterpart on Friday “that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from U.S. forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait,” according to a summary of the call released by the State Department on Saturday.

“Disclosure Day” opened largely as expected, collecting $92.9 million worldwide over its first weekend. That was good enough to give the 79-year-old Spielberg, who conceived the film's story, his best opening weekend for an original movie, not accounting to inflation.

Of course, Spielberg is the father of the modern blockbuster. But “Disclosure Day,” released by Universal Pictures, is his first summer movie in 10 years. And it opened in a much different movie world than once greeted “Jaws” or “Jurassic Park.” Its closest competition was the indie horror hit “Obsession,” directed by a YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, Curry Barker, more than 50 years Spielberg’s junior.

“It played very, very evenly across all of the U.S. and Canada,” said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. “It did not come across as a coastal big-market movie. It resonated with everybody.”

While a much-watched NBA finals game might have been expected to depress ticket sales, at least in New York, Orr said there was no noticeable dip in the city's box office numbers Saturday night.

After Gen Z propelled moviegoing for the last several weeks, a slightly older audience drove interest in “Disclosure Day.” Some 41% of moviegoers were aged 45 and up.

“What's encouraging is that we had this big an opening with that audience demographic and with the fact that it's an original film,” said Orr. “So if we're opening this well, and we think we're going to have great word-of-mouth, and we have an older audience that doesn't necessarily rush out on opening weekend, all of that points to a great run through the summer.”

“Disclosure Day” returns Spielberg to the subject of alien life. Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo star in a chase to reveal government evidence of UFO encounters. It cost $115 million to make.

While a good start, “Disclosure Day” — like most original movies — will depend on strong legs to be successful. Reviews (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been strong, though audience response wasn't overwhelming. The movie landed a “B” CinemaScore.

“It's off to a solid start,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak. “Let's see how it plays in the coming weeks. If it holds like some of these other films have, like 'Project Hail Mary,' 'Michael,' ‘Obsession,' it will be in good shape. Staying power has been the bread and butter of this year and this summer.”

Meanwhile, the “Obsession” sensation continues. Though it originally opened with $17.2 million, the Focus Features release has exceeded that for four consecutive weekends. It did so again this weekend, collecting $19 million in ticket sales to bring its North American haul to $188.3 million and its worldwide total to $286.5 million.

Having cost less than $1 million to make, “Obsession” ranks among the most profitable releases in recent memory. Focus acquired it for $15 million.

Last weekend’s top film, “Scary Movie,” slid to third place with $14.5 million. The Paramount Pictures release, the sixth entry in the horror spoof franchise, dropped steeply from its opening weekend, down 73%. But with a modest production budget of $30 million, the Miramax-produced sequel is already a considerable success. Its two-week domestic total is $88.6 million.

A24’s “Backrooms” added $11.3 million domestically in its third weekend. It's rapidly grossed $262.3 million globally.

In its second weekend, Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe” fell fast following a disappointing launch. Its box office dropped 71% with $8.7 million. Its two-week domestic total stands at $46.7 million

Next weekend, The Walt Disney Co.'s “Toy Story 5” opens with big expectations at the box office.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:

1. “Disclosure Day,” $44 million.

2. “Obsession,” $19 million.

3. “Scary Movie,” $14.5 million.

4. “Backrooms,” $11.3 million.

5. “Masters of the Universe,” $8.7 million.

6. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” $4.7 million.

7. “Michael,” $4.1 million.

8. “The Furious,” $2.8 million.

9. “Stop! That! Train!” $2 million.

10. “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” $1.8 million.

In the end, he clearly was the right choice.

Brown is now a five-time NBA champion coach — four of those rings won as an assistant, the fifth coming as head coach of the Knicks. He joins only Red Holzman on the list of those who won titles as coach of the Knicks, and fittingly, he did it on June 13.

There's a banner in Madison Square Garden that says “Holzman 613” to commemorate his win total with the franchise. Brown won this title on 6/13.

“I’m pretty good at trying to control what I can control,” Brown said. “I had zero control over who else was interviewing, who was denied permission. I had zero control over that. I just did the best I could in the interview process. I went about my business and waited until it was either going to progress or end. ... I was pretty nonchalant about it as time went on. I just let it unfold the way it unfolded.”

Brown speaks fondly of his days with Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, a place his family still calls home — and the place where the Knicks captured this title after topping the Spurs in five games. He raves about his years coaching with Steve Kerr in Golden State as well.

Brown was an assistant on the 2003 Spurs title team, then was with the Warriors for three more title runs. He was the NBA's coach of the year while with Cleveland in 2009; the Cavaliers wound up firing him. He was the NBA's coach of the year again while with Sacramento in 2023; the Kings wound up firing him, too.

But in New York, he's a legend for life now.

“Mike was invaluable to this run,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “He understands what it is to be a champion. He understands how to build a team, how to build habits that will put you in this position. We’re so grateful, so thankful to have him at the top. He kept us even so many times. He’s brought the best out of us, as people first. I’m so happy for him. He’s the reason why we’re here. He’s the reason why we’re here, and we’ve got love for him.”

Brown kept the mood light throughout the postseason push, didn't blink when the Knicks were down 2-1 in Round 1 to Atlanta after a pair of one-point losses, and always seemed to be the calm in the eye of the storm. Social media was blowing up with how Brown wasn't the right coach for the job when the Knicks trailed the Hawks.

New York went 15-1 from there. And a 53-year wait between titles is now over.

“I am so tired. I mean, I’m gassed,” Brown said. “You know, this stuff is harder than what you think.”

Maybe so, but he makes it look easy.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Roberto Vannacci 's “National Future” party is injecting uncertainty into the conservative bloc that has underpinned Meloni’s government, exposing tensions ahead of the 2027 general election.

Meloni's party has its roots in fascism and she campaigned as an EU-skeptic, prompting analysts to speculate she would be a hard-line nationalist if elected. Instead, she has been a pragmatic conservative leader with a more moderate, pro-European approach, which also ensured a period of unusually long stability for Italy.

In early September, if still in office, Meloni will become the longest-serving head of government in the 80-year history of the Italian Republic, surpassing the late Silvio Berlusconi.

A rival carving out space to her right could test her ability to hold that tack, analysts say. The question is no longer whether Vannacci will influence the vote, but whether Meloni can contain, co-opt or outmaneuver her challenger.

Vannacci calls his party the ‘real right’

“With us, Italy will once again be the home of Italians,” Vannacci said at his party’s founding assembly on Sunday. “Everyone must feel safe in their own home.”

One day earlier, he proudly described his core lawmakers as the “dirty dozen,” stressing his outsider role.

Vannacci, 57, emerged politically with his 2023 self-published book “Il mondo al contrario” (The World Upside Down), which drew controversy for harsh attacks on LGBTQ+ people, migrants and minorities.

He entered politics a year later with Matteo Salvini ’s anti-migration League, winning more than 530,000 preferences in European Parliament elections. He left the League in February to launch his Futuro Nazionale, a break Salvini called a “betrayal.”

Since then, Vannacci has consolidated support. The party says it has surpassed 100,000 members and now has eight deputies, including defectors from the League and centrist Forza Italia, underscoring unease within Meloni’s coalition.

He rejects the traditional “far-right” label, calling his movement the “real right,” and has accused Meloni of failing to turn shared priorities into policies. He's for now ruling out a possible alliance.

Vannacci platform centers on hard-line positions on security and migration, including calls for the “remigration” of foreigners he considers not integrated; opposition to EU policies such as the Green Deal; and criticism of Western sanctions on Russia.

Vannacci’s rise comes as far-right and nationalist parties gain ground across Europe, reshaping the political landscape and focusing on polarizing issues like migration and security.

A potential wild card

Analysts say Vannacci's rise in Italy reflects a political and cultural shift.

“He is commanding a sort of political raid for hard-right votes within the main parties of the coalition,” said Massimiliano Panarari, politics professor at University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. “Meloni’s strategy was to have no one to her right. Now she does.”

Panarari described Vannacci as “an entrepreneur of fear,” whose rhetoric pushes themes that Meloni can no longer openly embrace in government, like openly anti-gay and anti-feminist positions.

Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and polling expert at YouTrend, said the development introduces “something new — an opposition from the right to the current government.”

“Now there is a force outside the majority that challenges it on popular issues like migration, security and culture wars,” he noted.

That shift carries electoral weight. Polls give Vannacci's party single-digit support, but that's a potentially decisive share when time comes for coalition building, given Italy’s main center-right and center-left blocs are so closely matched.

“They could be the difference between finishing ahead or behind,” Pregliasco said, describing Vannacci as a potential wild card.

Meloni has a tough choice to make

For Meloni, the dilemma is strategic.

“In terms of political debate, he introduces instability on the right,” Pregliasco said. “She and her allies must decide whether to absorb him into the coalition — but that would create problems.”

Addressing parliament earlier this week, Meloni accused Vannacci-aligned lawmakers of undermining the government and favoring the left, while her Brothers of Italy party and centrist allies have ruled out electoral agreements.

For now, Meloni has avoided direct confrontation, a strategy seen as both calculation and a bet that Vannacci’s momentum may fade.

“The issue is what to do with this loose cannon of Vannacci, which could drag the right back toward the far right,” Panarari said.

“I’m not sure it would benefit Meloni to shift further right before general elections. Her approach will likely be marked by ambiguity and ambivalence, as long as possible."

The New York Knicks will be feted with a championship parade through the streets of Manhattan on Thursday after a postseason in which they successfully rallied from six double-digit deficits to win games in the playoffs, including all four of their victories in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

It continued the unprecedented run of NBA parity, with eight different franchises winning championships in the last eight seasons — Toronto in 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023, Boston in 2024, Oklahoma City last year and now New York.

“To me, it just really speaks to the state of NBA basketball and the state of the future of the game," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "And now with this draft class coming in this year — again, not just the first pick, but a draft that’s considered the deepest in many years — there's so much talent everywhere. ... So, it’s a really bright future ahead for the league.”

It is, but every team is now chasing the Knicks. They had all the answers.

For 29 other franchises, at least on some levels, there seems to only be questions.

— Will Milwaukee really trade Giannis Antetokounmpo after 13 seasons, 10 All-Star selections, two Most Valuable Player awards and an NBA championship in 2021?

— Will LeBron James come back to the NBA for a 24th season? If so, will it be with the Los Angeles Lakers for a ninth year or will he look for a presumably final chapter elsewhere?

— What will Washington do with the No. 1 pick in the draft later this month?

— And who will coach in Chicago, Dallas and Portland?

Those are just some of the major issues facing teams around the league as summer gets underway. It's going to be hard for the Knicks to repeat, because it's hard for any team to repeat — as the Thunder found out this season.

“The history of the NBA is littered with teams that were not able to find ultimate success again,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. "I think there have only been three teams that have repeated since we’ve been in Oklahoma City, and the reasons for that are many, probably too many to list. But the fact is that it helps illustrate how rare and how special it is when you do have a chance to win at the highest level in this league or in professional sports in general.

"However, NBA history is also built on the backs of those teams that saw their losses as a continued quest for improvement and progress. Most importantly, they saw it as what competition boils down to, what it’s all about at any level of sports."

The Giannis question

Antetokounmpo, the biggest star in Milwaukee, will be eligible this fall for an extension that could be worth up to $275 million.

But the Bucks don't have a roster that's a championship contender. If they trade Antetokounmpo, they can essentially start over with what would be a slew of players and draft picks. If they keep him, there's no guarantee he'll be happy — because it seems like he's primarily interested now in trying to win more titles.

“I just think before the draft is a natural time, right, because if Giannis does play somewhere else we're going to get a lot of assets. ... You've got to get it right,” Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said in May, when the team introduced new coach Taylor Jenkins — who was told that Antetokounmpo may or may not be with the franchise when next season starts.

The draft is next week. And logic would suggest that the Bucks — if they are going to trade Antetokounmpo — may do so at least a few days before the draft, so they have some specific idea of who to target with the capital that they'll get as part of whatever deal might go down.

Miami has been mentioned in the Giannis sweepstakes for months, and the Heat are involved in talks with the Bucks again.

LeBron watch

James has never gone into a summer with this much freedom.

He could stay with the Lakers. He could pick another spot. He could retire. He could demand a max salary. He could take less money to help a team out. Or he could just continue posting videos of chip-ins on Instagram; yes, James has the golf bug.

“When the time comes, you guys will know what I decide to do,” James said when the Lakers were eliminated this spring by Oklahoma City in a 4-0 sweep.

The Lakers have a lot of other decisions, including how to handle an extension for Austin Reaves. But getting some sense from James about his plans will surely go a long way toward having other moves fall into place.

The Spurs

Victor Wembanyama is eligible for a four-year extension that would top $250 million, and there's obviously no reason San Antonio wouldn't want to commit to keep the game's most fascinating player around. The extension would start in 2027-28.

There are some other roster spots to address, but the starters are under contract.

It will be interesting to watch how free agents view San Antonio as a destination, especially since the Spurs will go into next season as one of the favorites — if not the biggest one — for the 2027 NBA title.

“Competitiveness, that’s what makes you better,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “That’s what pushes you to continue to improve in the dark, long hours when nobody is around. We improved a whole lot this year. We have ... more motivation to continue to get better.”

Other top issues

— The NBA still hasn't revealed what, if anything, will come from an investigation by outside counsel into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Kawhi Leonard and a California-based sustainability services company allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to circumvent league salary cap rules.

— Portland hasn't said who will coach next season, with interim coach Tiago Splitter still in the mix. Chicago and Dallas still have openings. It would seem advantageous to have coaches in place by the draft.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Trudeau said he made the decision because his girlfriend, Katy Perry, performed in the pregame show before the match at SoFi Stadium.

“Sometimes supportive boyfriend duties call. But you know who I’m rooting for to take the Cup,” he wrote on X on Saturday.

Trudeau was Canada's prime minister from 2015-25.

Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are co-hosting this year's World Cup. Canada tied 1-1 in a game that started at 3 p.m. EDT and the U.S. beat Paraguay 4-1 in a match that began six hours later.

___

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

Athletes and older adults have long used smoothies and shakes blended with whey protein concentrate – a powdered byproduct of cheese-making – to build or maintain muscle. More recently, food companies have sprinkled it into everything from breakfast cereals, Pop-Tarts and potato chips to bagels, tortillas and Starbucks drinks to meet growing consumer demand.

The average U.S. supermarket now has 38,708 products advertising their protein content, according to NielsenIQ, a market research company. But the eagerness to appeal to ingredient-focused shoppers is causing shortages of food-grade whey protein and pushing prices to new records.

“Demand is very firm and seemingly outpacing supply for right now,” said Kathleen Wolfley, vice president of Ever.Ag Insights, a data provider and consulting company for the agriculture industry.

Wholesale prices for whey protein began rising in 2024, and the pace accelerated last year and so far this year, Wolfley said.

Whey protein concentrate with 80% protein – the type often used by food makers and supplement companies as a booster – is trading on the dairy commodities market at more than $13 per pound in the U.S., up 250% from a year ago, according to Ever.Ag. Whey protein isolate, a more refined vesion that contains at least 90% protein, is 150% more expensive than last year, the company said.

That's raising prices for consumers. U.S. prices for whey protein concentrate powder have increased by around 15% over the past year, while more premium whey isolate powder has seen steeper gains, according to Datasembly, a price-tracking company.

It’s a similar story in Europe. In late May, 80% whey protein concentrate hit a new record average of 26,450 euros ($30,518) per metric ton, a price more than double from less than a year earlier, according to DCA Market Intelligence, a Netherlands-based commodity pricing firm.

Here’s what’s happening with whey protein and when strained supplies might be alleviated.

Curds and whey

Milk contains two proteins: casein and whey. During the cheese-making process, the casein – which forms solid curds – is separated from the liquid whey, which is dried to form a powder. Every pound of cheese yields nine pounds of whey, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. milk consumption has fallen for decades as Americans shifted to beverages like sodas. But the appetite for cheese remained strong, Wolfley said. A nation of cheese-eaters generated a lot of whey protein, and some of the excess used to be exported to China and other countries.

The domestic hunger for high-protein snacks and meals is now keeping more whey protein in the U.S. for use as a food additive or a nutritional supplement. U.S. exports of 80% whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate to China fell 47% from January through April compared to the same four-month period a year ago, according to Vesper, an Amsterdam-based company that tracks commodity prices.

“There simply isn’t enough product for the U.S. customer, and exports have therefore been paused as much as possible,” said Jasper Endlich, a Vesper dairy analyst.

China is seeking more whey protein from Europe, which also is seeing shortages thanks to reduced U.S. exports, Endlich said.

Whey and weight loss

Use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is one of the factors that has supercharged demand for whey protein concentrate, Wolfley said.

Obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound are designed to suppress the appetites of people taking them. The foods they do eat need to be nutritionally dense, experts say. GLP-1 users often are advised to consume enough protein to help them feel full for longer and to retain muscle mass as they lose weight.

Around 6% of obese and diabetic patients in the U.S. and 2% of obese and diabetic patients worldwide were using GLP-1 drugs last year, according to an estimate by the investment bank Morgan Stanley. Some estimates have put GLP-1 use as high as 12% of the U.S. adult population, since not everyone on GLP-1 drugs is obese or diabetic.

Food and nutrition companies are creating added-protein products to attract those consumers as well as people who think drinking protein shakes to replace meals will help them lose weight.

Pricey protein

Tight supplies and higher costs have caused some manufacturers to increase the prices consumers pay for protein powder or protein-enriched products.

Now Foods, an Illinois-based maker of health foods and nutritional supplements, said tubs of whey protein powder are consistently the biggest seller in its sports nutrition category. But after two years of paying more for raw ingredients, the company raised the price of its own whey protein products earlier this year.

Bryan Morin, the sports brand manager at Now, said the company doesn't anticipate further price increases on whey protein powder this year. It's trying to absorb some of its increased costs by cutting back on discounts. It's also considering expanding its portfolio to include products made with milk protein concentrate, a powder that contains less whey and is cheaper.

“From our perspective, broader market dynamics continue to indicate a tight and evolving protein landscape,” Morin said.

More on the whey

Wolfley, at Ever.Ag, said manufacturers are investing in whey protein production, which should eventually improve supplies. But the relief won't be immediate.

Glanbia, an Irish nutrition company, said in November that it planned to increase its whey protein isolate production in New Mexico, but the additional capacity won't be in place until 2027. In February, Canadian dairy company Agropur said it intended to increase whey protein manufacturing at plants in Quebec, Nova Scotia, South Dakota and Wisconsin by 2029.

In the meantime, higher prices could cause some consumers to stop buying whey protein powders, especially at a time when groceries are getting more expensive overall, Wolfley said. Reduced retail demand might reduce shortages at the wholesale level.

“The supply-demand dynamics could start to improve, but I don’t know if that’s a tomorrow dynamic or within a year. Some of these things are going to take time,” Wolfley said.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks.

Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, according to the health ministry. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce.

The number of deaths since the beginning of the war is now 73,001, according to the health ministry's tally. Over 173,200 people have been wounded since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, following the Hamas-led attack into Israel. That attack killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

The health ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally 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.

Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.

Stalled ceasefire

The U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal reached in October ended full-scale military operations and led to the return of all the remaining hostages. But other elements of the deal have stalled as Hamas has refused to disarm and Israeli troops have advanced in Gaza, rather than withdrawn. Both sides accuse the other of violating the agreement but say it is still in effect.

Progress on all other issues — including reconstruction, Israeli troop withdrawals and the establishment of a new Palestinian government — is being held up by the deadlock over disarming Hamas, the top diplomat overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, has said.

The war displaced most of the Palestinian population of over 2 million, left large parts of the territory in rubble and created widespread shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies as the border crossings with Gaza — all but one controlled by Israel — slammed shut.

At least eight more Palestinians killed in the weekend

An Israeli strike on Sunday afternoon in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp killed at least four people and wounded others, according to health officials at the Shifa hospital, where the casualties were taken. An Israeli military official, who spoke anonymously in line with military guidelines, said the military “struck terrorists” in the area, without elaborating.

A 13-year-old boy was among five Palestinians killed in Gaza on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, according to Palestinian health officials. In response to the Saturday night strike that killed two of the five, the Israeli military claimed that it was striking Hamas militants.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo.

The populist Swiss People's Party, which has the most seats in parliament, has stirred up and fostered anti-migration sentiment over the years, notably about an influx of workers from the neighboring European Union.

Some have dubbed the proposal a “Swiss Brexit” because it could jeopardize Switzerland’s deep ties to the European Union anchored by deals that foster economic growth, cultural ties and cross-border travel, among other things. Switzerland is not one of the EU’s 27 member states, but it is all but surrounded by four of them

Recent polling from the gfs.bern agency suggested that it could be a close contest.

Preliminary results shared by the federal government showed that nearly 55% of voters rejected the proposal, with nationwide turnout almost 59%. Results were still pending from many of Switzerland’s 26 cantons.

Right-wing party says Swiss way of life strained by growing population

The number of people living in Switzerland has soared by nearly one-quarter over the last generation, and foreigners today make up nearly one-third of the population.

Critics say the boom in migration has brought foreign labor and skills to sectors such as healthcare, finance, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

The right-wing party put forward the “sustainability initiative” measure, saying Swiss infrastructure, housing, social programs, natural resources and way of life have been strained by the spike in demographic growth.

The federal government, Parliament and EconomieSuisse, a major business association, oppose the idea.

In Geneva, Switzerland's second-largest city and a hub of U.N. institutions and humanitarian groups, early results showed about two-thirds of voters in the region opposed the measure.

Maria Lalu, a former diplomatic mission worker from the Philippines who arrived in Switzerland in the early 1980s, said she supported the proposal. “I have nothing against immigration. I also am a stranger,” she said after casting her vote, adding that she wants immigration to be more orderly.

Schoolteacher Natascha Robert said she voted against the bid, expressing concern that approval could hurt Switzerland's relationship with the EU. She also said Switzerland's growing diversity is an asset.

“I think people always have something to bring us," she said outside a polling station in the central Paquis neighborhood, emphasizing that she was born in Switzerland to two Swiss parents. “Does that mean that we have more foreigners, I feel less Swiss? Really, not.”

International migration is a controversial issue across Europe

Swiss democracy gives voters a direct say in policymaking through referendums typically held four times a year. Most ballots are cast through the mail, and in-person voting ended at noon local time on Sunday.

A “yes” vote would require the Swiss government to take action to cap the population by 2050.

If the population reaches 9.5 million before then, the government would be forced to restrict asylum, family reunification and residency permits, and may have to scrap Switzerland’s EU deal on the free movement of people.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has reported that Switzerland had a foreign-born population of 32% as of 2024, behind only Luxembourg and Australia among the group's 38 member countries.

International migration has long been a sensitive issue in Europe, as nations grapple with an aging population and increasing anti-foreigner sentiment. While that sentiment in other European countries centers on migrants from the developing world, most foreigners in Switzerland are Europeans.

Since Switzerland and the EU eased restrictions on citizens living and working across their borders in 2002, the Swiss population has grown by 23%, to 9.1 million as of the end of last year. Economic output has also increased, up 24% over the same period, government data show.

Swiss voters have repeatedly tackled the immigration issue over the last half-century. Only one such referendum — “Against mass immigration” in 2014 — narrowly passed, after campaigners stoked fears about overpopulation and rising numbers of Muslims in the country.

While many countries have limits on immigration, none has ever voted to limit its population, Swiss experts say.

A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Omar Artan will still be entitled to payment despite not officiating any games at the near six-week long event. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

They said the fee would be determined after the tournament concludes next month.

Artan is one of soccer's top officials and was named Africa's best male referee in 2025. But the Somali national was denied entry after arriving at Miami International Airport from Istanbul last week.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Artan was “inadmissible due to vetting concerns”.

He had originally been issued a visa to travel to the U.S., according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it, and was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and that the host government ultimately determines who is granted entry. As a result it said Artan would not be able to train and officiate at the World Cup.

The 34-year-old Artan was given a hero's welcome when he returned to Somalia earlier this week and vowed to attend the next edition of the World Cup — mainly staged in Morocco, Portugal and Spain - in 2030. He was also appointed to officiate one of European soccer's showcase games, the UEFA Super Cup in August.

“Football is made to connect people and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills,” UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said in a statement.

___

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

___

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

Goalkeeper Patrick Beach made eight saves for the Socceroos in their group opener as FIFA President Gianni Infantino looked on. Australia was playing in its sixth straight World Cup and seventh overall.

Turkey reached the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup but then missed five straight tournaments before qualifying this year by beating Kosovo in a playoff.

Irankunda broke through for the Socceroos in the 27th minute with a low shot while pursued by three defenders. It came less than a minute after the first-half hydration break.

Irankunda celebrated by punching the corner flag in a tribute to Australian soccer legend Tim Cahill. The 20-year-old who plays for Watford is the Socceroo's youngest-ever goal scorer at a World Cup.

Minutes later Beach stopped Abdulkerim Bardakcı's blast from distance. Beach started in goal for the Socceroos rather than experienced counterpart Matthew Ryan in a surprise decision from coach Tony Popovic.

Irankunda said the Socceroos took issue with comments Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu made a day before the match, proclaiming that his side had “more qualities and a more talented team.”

“Yeah, it was extra motivation,” Irankunda said. “Obviously we don't like people to talk bad about us because we're a great team. People underestimate us.”

Kenan Yildiz, a 21-year-old who plays for Juventus, was not in the starting lineup but subbed in for Turkey at half-time.

Turkey had a dangerous free kick in the 57th minute, but Arda Güler's attempt was saved by Beach. Güler, a talented 21-year-old attacking midfielder who plays for Real Madrid, was not yet born the last time Turkey played in the World Cup.

Connor Metcalfe capitalized on Ismail Yüksek's turnover in the 75th minute to double the Socceroos' lead. The Socceroos fell to France in the opener in Qatar but then beat Tunisia and Denmark in their group before getting knocked out by eventual champion Argentina in the round of 16.

Turkey maintained 72% of possession during the match and outshot the Socceroos 30-9, but couldn't manage to score.

“I respect Australia very much. I was expecting that they would play in this way,” said Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella, who took the team to the quarterfinals of the European championships in 2024. “This is football. As for the critics, nobody has underestimated Australia, actually.”

It is the third World Cup appearance for the Turks, who reached the tournament for the first time in 1954.

The teams are in Group D with the United States and Paraguay. The Americans downed Paraguay 4-1 in their group opener on Friday in Los Angeles.

____

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

He grabbed it and lifted it skyward with a yell.

“I want to say something to New York,” Dolan shouted. “Hey New York! I'm sorry it took so long! But here we are, and hopefully it won't take that long again!”

The New York Knicks are champions of the NBA for the first time since 1973, beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games for this title. The clincher came Saturday night in a 94-90 victory, the Knicks' fourth comeback win of the series.

Some will say it’s the first “major” professional sports championship for New York in more than 14 years; that would be true when counting only Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL and the NBA, though it would be wrong to ignore the New York Liberty’s run to the 2024 WNBA title and New York City FC winning the MLS Cup in 2021.

But as far as the teams that have been part of the city’s fabric for generations and generations, yes, this 14-year drought is finally over. The New York Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012, capping the 2011 season.

The Yankees — the most decorated team in U.S. major pro sports history — haven’t won a World Series since 2009. The Mets haven’t brought a World Series title to New York since 1986. The Rangers last hoisted that trophy in 1994, the Islanders in 1983. The New York Jets haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1969.

None of that matters, at least not right now. The Knicks — who won 13 consecutive games at one point in this playoff run and rallied from 29 points down to win Game 4 of the finals at MSG — are the toast of the town.

“Of course I've never seen anything like it, because it'd never happened before,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said of the Game 4 comeback in an interview on NBA TV on Saturday. “But it's been amazing."

The Amazin' Knicks, indeed.

A third title, finally

It took them 80 years — the Knicks won the first game in NBA history in 1946, three years before what was then the Basketball Association of America started being known as the National Basketball Association — but the franchise has now become the ninth that can say it has at least three championships.

Boston has 18, the Los Angeles Lakers have 17, Golden State has seven, Chicago has six, San Antonio has five, and Philadelphia, Detroit and Miami all have three.

Welcome to the club, New York.

“I enjoy watching these guys," Knicks legend Larry Johnson said. "The Garden is back. ... It’s back like when we played and made our little run. The city is behind us.”

It's a franchise that has gone through 24 different coaches and more than 400 players since what was, until now, the most recent championship season. Some of the game’s biggest superstars called Madison Square Garden home and couldn’t end the title drought, names like Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Bernard King and Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks lost a Game 7 in the 1994 finals to Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston, then made a miracle run to the 1999 finals in a shortened season only to lose to San Antonio in five games — the first of what became five championships for Gregg Popovich and the Spurs.

“We didn’t get it done. ... I always say the third time is the charm,” former Knicks guard John Starks said.

Starks was right. It took the Knicks 27 years to get back to the finals, had the Spurs again standing in their way, and to fully flip the script, it was New York prevailing in five games.

MSG, a banner is coming

And finally, the world's most famous arena — which has raised banners for Billy Joel, Elton John and Harry Styles more recently than it had hoisted one for the Knicks — will be adding to the collection swaying from the rafters. If it follows form from the others, the banner will only have the Knicks logo, then 2025-26 World Champions beneath that.

A simple message. Getting to the place where the Knicks could say those words again, that wasn't so simple.

“There are a couple of franchises that are pretty iconic just because of the history that they have, the location that they’re in, sometimes even the building that they’re in,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown, who won this title in his first season with the club. "New York is definitely one of the few that you could say that to in all three facets.

“Everybody goes through their ups and downs. I don’t really think much about the tough times that they had, because everybody has tough times, including individuals. You just want to try the best you can to be a part of whatever you can to bring joy to the city, to the organization. At the end of the day, the chips are going to fall how they fall. I feel blessed, fortunate, lucky, to be a part of what is going on now.”

It is, to put it mildly, an interesting organization. Dolan — who rarely speaks publicly — isn't afraid of clashes, even including ones with former Knicks greats like Charles Oakley, who was at road games in this title run but has remained away from MSG for years. Leon Rose, the team's president, typically doesn't make himself available to reporters either. There is an absolute mystique around the team and how it operates.

It has not always worked. Over a 25-year stretch that ended with the 2021-22 season — not that long ago — the Knicks had the worst record in the NBA. In the four years since, starting with the acquisition of Jalen Brunson from Dallas, the Knicks have the NBA's fifth-best record.

And now, Brunson — the finals MVP — is the best player on the best team in the world.

“It means the world to me,” Brunson said.

Start spreadin' the news ...

And this year, as Frank Sinatra said, the Knicks are king of the hill, top of the heap. Some in the fan base grumbled when the Knicks declined to hang an NBA Cup championship banner after beating San Antonio for the in-season tournament title earlier this season. Turns out, the Knicks were just waiting for something better.

So, the 53-year wait is over. It was a very different league, and a very different game, in 1973.

There were 17 teams in the NBA that season, barely half of the 30 that there are now. Teams called places Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City-Omaha and Seattle home then; the league has expanded many times since, adding 13 teams in nine different states, plus Canada and the District of Columbia.

The top salary in the league then was about $380,000, or roughly $2.9 million in today’s dollars. There was no 3-point line then, no multi-billion-dollar television deal, no international players.

The Knicks flew home on a United Airlines flight from the 1973 title clincher in Inglewood, California, and officials at Kennedy Airport expected what was then called a “rabid” crowd of fans present to greet the plane. They braced for “hundreds” of people that day.

This celebration might be a little bigger.

“To have the fans that we have in New York City and be able to bring home a championship after all these years is absolutely amazing,” Brown said. “It’s a surreal feeling.”

___

AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Three babies between 2 and 5 months became ill in April and May in California, Pennsylvania and Washington after consuming Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Powdered infant formula, which is also sold on Nara.com, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

They were hospitalized and treated with the FDA-approved treatment for infant botulism, the agency said.

Infant botulism is a rare but serious illness that occurs in babies under age 1, whose gut microbiomes are immature. It is caused when infants consume bacteria with spores that produce a toxin in the gut.

Symptoms include constipation, poor feeding, drooping eyelids, weak muscle tone, difficulty swallowing and breathing problems, among others.

Babies who develop those symptoms need immediate medical attention. The sole treatment is BabyBIG, an IV medication made from blood plasma of people immunized against botulism.

Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Infant Formula makes up less than 1% of all infant formula sold in the United States, and the outbreak does not create shortage concerns for parents and caregivers, the FDA said.

People who have the formula are urged to stop using it immediately, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said in a statement. The formula is manufactured in Europe but sold only in the U.S., it added.

The CDC recommended that anyone with an opened can take a picture, record the lot number and use-by date and watch their infants for symptoms.

“Label it ‘DO NOT USE’ and keep it stored in a safe place away from other items you feed your baby for at least a month,” the CDC said. “If no symptoms appear after a month, throw the leftover formula away.”

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was called to Norfolk Blvd late Saturday night in reference to a shooting. Investigators said officers found one victim at the scene suffering from a gunshot wound.

That victim was transported to a nearby hospital in unknown condition.

Shortly after, it was determined that three other gunshot victims had self-transported to a nearby hospital for medical care.

The four victims shot were a 24-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman, a 41-year-old man, and a 16-year-old boy.

All four sustained gunshot wounds and are in non-life-threatening condition.

While RVCU detectives determined there was a large pop-up party at the location prior to the shooting, it’s unknown at this time what caused the dispute that resulted in gunfire.

Detectives are working to determine a suspect description, motive for the incident and if it was gang related. It’s currently believed to be an isolated incident.

Anyone with more information is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500, call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS, or email JSOCrimetips@Jaxsheriff.org.

Storms fire up this afternoon

Thunderstorms are expected to develop across the area this afternoon and continue through much of the evening — roughly 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Some of those storms could pack a punch, bringing gusty winds, frequent lightning and heavy downpours.

The heaviest rain and strongest storms are most likely to develop near the I-95 corridor, where the east coast and Gulf coast sea breezes are expected to collide. Factor in the heat, and storms are going to pop.

The biggest concerns with any strong storms will be wind gusts and flooding.

• Wind gusts: Up to 40–55 mph
• Heavy rain: Isolated areas of minor flooding possible from torrential downpours
• Lightning: Frequent strikes expected with stronger cells

You can still burn with cloud cover

Even with clouds building through the afternoon and some early storm activity, temperatures are still expected to reach the mid-90s for most of the area. Add in the humidity, and it’s going to feel significantly hotter than that.

Overnight, conditions will gradually improve. Expect clouds to clear and temperatures to stay warm with lows in the low-to-mid 70s.

Royal Marine commandos rappelled from helicopters onto the vessel, the Smyrtos, in the English Channel, in what the country’s Defense Ministry called “the first U.K.-led operation of its kind.”

The vessel will be held and monitored off the south coast of England for investigation, according to the Defense Ministry. The operation was carried out “in close coordination” with French authorities, who have previously intercepted a number of vessels linked to the “shadow fleet.”

“This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide,” Starmer said.

Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade sanctions over its war against Ukraine.

Sailing under a Cameroon flag, the Smyrtos left the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on June 5 destined for Port Said, Egypt, according to the MarineTraffic website.

U.K. authorities said that such operations were “directly bearing down on the resources sustaining Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and reducing its capacity to threaten security across Europe and beyond."

Ukraine President Voldymyr Zelenskyy thanked Starmer and the British people for their “principled resolve.”

“It was Russia’s hubris, fueled by high oil and gas revenues, that paved the way for this war, and every decision by partners that deprives Russia of money also limits the war itself," Zelenskyy said on X.

“Europe urgently needs to take legislative steps to enable not only the detention of tankers and restrictions on oil shipments, but also the confiscation of the oil they carry.”

Of course, Brunson parted with more money than any of those fans.

Brunson is now an NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP in large part because of what he did against the San Antonio Spurs in the finals — though, really, his biggest contribution to this title run likely came in 2024, when he left as much as $113 million on the bargaining table to allow the Knicks the financial flexibility they needed to finish building a championship roster.

It was considered an unprecedented move.

It paid off.

Brunson had 45 points — including 13 straight down the stretch — to lead the Knicks to a 94-90, title-clinching win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, one that sealed a 4-1 win.

“I knew it was achievable,” Brunson said.

It was a storybook finish to a story like none other; not only did Brunson make the Knicks champions, he made his dad one as well. Rick Brunson played for the Knicks, and now is an assistant coach on his kid’s team.

“I have all of his trophies,” Rick Brunson said. “He has not one trophy at his house. I’m going to get his MVP trophy, too.”

A Big Apple legend for life

Brunson now has a seat at the table of sports kings of New York, alongside the likes of Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Mark Messier and others. Deliver a championship to the Big Apple and you get celebrated for life. Brunson doesn’t seek attention — in fact, he genuinely seems to dislike it — but such is the risk one takes when he leads a storied franchise to its first title in more than half a century.

There was no doubt Jalen Brunson would win finals MVP. Knicks coach Mike Brown doesn't understand why he wasn't among the top vote-getters for the regular-season MVP as well.

“I hope you guys will listen to me: He's a top-three MVP candidate,” Brown said, holding his grandson on his lap in the championship celebration. “Everybody kind of mentions his name in passing. They don't do it seriously enough. ... He is a fricking 1-A. He is a MVP candidate and I hope tonight you guys recognize what this man is about.

“He is him.”

There are countless reasons why the Knicks have turned their fortunes around over the last four seasons, but the list starts with Brunson. New York had four winning seasons in a 21-year span before Brunson arrived; the Knicks have had four winning seasons in the four years that he’s worn the franchise’s colors. They’ve now won eight playoff series with Brunson in the lineup; they won seven series, total, from 1998 through 2022.

He’s a bona fide superstar as well, with three consecutive All-Star selections and three consecutive seasons in which he’s averaged at least 26 points. The only other players to do that in each of the last three years — be an All-Star and average 26 points in every one — are Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

They’ve all been NBA champions, too. So, now, is Brunson.

“He’s a tremendous player that’s skilled, picks his spots, knows his angles, shoots contested shots without being sped up,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said earlier in the finals. “He’s a phenomenal player.”

Another title won in Texas

Texas has been good to Brunson when it comes to titles. Villanova's 2016 championship was won in Houston, and the 2018 championship came in San Antonio — at the Alamodome, just a few minutes away from the arena that the Spurs call home.

Oddly, Texas wasn't always that good to Brunson as a pro — which is how he ended up in New York.

Brunson joined the Knicks in 2022 after leaving Dallas, which didn't offer him a contract anywhere near what the Villanova guard felt he deserved.

And then, two years later, Brunson took far less than he'd earned.

In 2024, Brunson signed a four-year extension with New York that could be worth $156.5 million if he accepts his option for the 2028-29 season. If Brunson waited until 2025 for his extension, he would have been eligible for a five-year, $269 million deal.

Brown said, if he was in that position, he wouldn't have taken the discount deal.

“He set the bar before he even stepped on the floor,” Brown said.

Brunson will almost certainly recoup some if not all of that money in his next extension, one that could top $300 million — possibly by a lot. But by passing up the much larger guarantee then, he provided the Knicks with the ability to make other moves that are paying off now.

And among the ones that followed his June 2024 decision: The Knicks brought in starters Mikal Bridges (a former Villanova teammate) and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Could all that have happened if Brunson didn’t accept the smaller extension? Maybe, but unlikely.

“I think he’s still underrated in the league, and he keeps proving people wrong, game by game, series by series, playoff appearance by playoff appearance,” said Knicks forward Josh Hart — one of the ‘Nova Knicks,’ the moniker given to the trio of himself, Brunson and Bridges, all NCAA champions at Villanova who have now become NBA champions in New York. “As a friend, as a teammate, it’s funny because you know he’s one of the best players in the league, and you’re happy that he’s starting to get some recognition.”

He’s getting more than some recognition. He’s getting a ring.

“Just thankful that this opportunity presented itself,” Brunson said, “and we were able to get it done.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The Wemby era of the NBA is fully underway, with the 7-foot-4 French star unanimously winning the Defensive Player of the Year award this season, finishing third in the Most Valuable Player balloting and making first-team All-NBA for the first of what could be many, many times if all goes according to his plan.

But the ultimate moment has escaped his grasp for the second time in three years. In 2024, he tearfully watched the U.S. celebrate winning Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics — and now, he relived that moment by seeing the New York Knicks celebrating their first championship in 53 years by winning Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio on Saturday night.

“This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment,” the 22-year-old Wembanyama said. “I can’t tell you exactly what the lesson is, but we’re learning from that, for sure. I’m learning more than any other time in my life before.”

His numbers in the finals: 26 points, 11.2 rebounds. 3.6 blocks per game. They were good, just not good enough.

And his series, fairly or unfairly, will also be remembered for some mistakes: The turnover that led to Jalen Brunson’s go-ahead free throw in New York’s Game 2 win (a game where Wembanyama missed a jump shot to win at the buzzer); and missing a pair of crucial free throws with 1:47 left in Game 4, the one where the Spurs wasted a 29-point lead and lost by one in what became the biggest collapse in finals history. The Spurs wasted double-digit leads in all four losses, including a 16-point cushion in what became the season finale.

“The margin of error is very thin,” Wembanyama said. “Our domination stints are absolute. We absolutely dominated for most of the series. But our errors, our mistakes, are punished so hard that we can’t have ups and downs like this. ... The ups are OK. The downs are the reason we lost.”

It's only Year 3 for Wemby. It's not like every star wins right away.

It took Michael Jordan seven seasons to win his first championship. LeBron James needed nine years. Jerry West needed 12 years for his one and only title. John Stockton and Karl Malone never got one. Charles Barkley, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony didn’t get one, either.

“He’s definitely the future of this league, man,” Knicks legend Larry Johnson said during the series when asked about Wembanyama. “He’s a heck of a ballplayer.”

Wembanyama knows the history, knows that it took some of the greatest to ever touch a ball several years to win a title.

Doesn't mean he likes it.

“It’s painful. It’s painful,” Wembanyama said. “But I’m not running away from that. I’m using it to fuel me. ... I’m not satisfied with not winning. But as I said, this is the biggest lesson of my life. As a team, there’s no better experience than what we just lived.”

His numbers are like almost nothing the game has ever seen before. There have been four seasons in NBA history where someone had 150 blocks, 150 assists and 100 3-pointers. Chet Holmgren did it for Oklahoma City in 2023-24, and the other three instances are all from Wembanyama — who has hit those totals in each of his first three seasons.

“I think for a lot of people, this team seems to be ahead of schedule,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday on NBA TV. “I don’t think they feel that way. I’m amazed at Victor. Not just his play on the floor, but he’s such a curious young man. He’s a pleasure to talk to. He’s very worldly. I mean, he’s got amazing interests off the floor. He’s really dedicated to his craft and he’s got such a bright future ahead of him.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

For the first time in 53 years, New York rules the NBA. Brunson scored 45 points, including 13 straight for New York in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.

The Knicks won the series 4-1, rallying from double-digit deficits in all four of those victories. The deficit was 16 on Saturday night. Brunson and the Knicks were never fazed.

“I have no words,” Brunson, the NBA Finals MVP, said during the on-court celebration. “It's everything I ever dreamed of.”

Brunson, fittingly, closed with a flourish. He set a Knicks record for points in a finals game; it had been 38 by Willis Reed against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the 1970 series. It now belongs to the left-handed point guard who changed the franchise’s fortunes when he arrived four years ago.

“It's surreal,” Knicks coach Mike Brown, who was hired a year ago — making him the franchise's 24th coach since the franchise's last championship in 1973. “I still can't believe it's happened.”

Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — the other two parts of the “Nova Knicks” trio that also includes Brunson, three players who were NCAA champions at Villanova and teamed up in New York to try to do the same — combined to score 27 points. Bridges had 14, Hart 13.

“I don't know what I'm feeling,” Brunson said. “I'm in awe. Whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it.”

Dylan Harper scored 25 for the Spurs, who got 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots from Victor Wembanyama.

“This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment,” Wembanyama said. “I can't tell exactly what the lesson is, but we're learning.”

The Knicks improved to 4-0 in closeout opportunities this season, winning them all on the road. It didn't feel like the road, though — not with thousands of New York faithful having made the trip to Texas to see a moment 53 years in the making.

And back home, on the streets of the Big Apple, celebrations broke out everywhere. Fireworks lit up the night sky, people honked horns on jampacked streets and firefighters — from their trucks — slapped high-fives with delirious fans.

“HISTORY,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on social media, then added that the Knicks' championship parade will be Thursday.

New York got to the brink of this title by rallying from 29 points down in Game 4 to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds left on Wednesday night. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history and the biggest comeback in any game this season, regular season or playoffs.

By comparison, then, a 16-point rally in this one seemed easy. And San Antonio had to shuffle off into the offseason, listening to Knicks fans celebrating in their building.

“We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “The better team won. We did a lot of good things, and we didn’t finish the job. That’s what it is.”

The game followed the same script in the opening minutes as all the others in the series, with the Spurs taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter and then frittering most of it away in the second quarter.

The Spurs became the first team in the play-by-play era, which started in the 1996-97 season, to lead five finals games by 10 points or more in first quarters.

The Knicks simply could not make a shot, missing on 16 of their first 18 tries and each of their first 11 two-point attempts. There even was a point in the second quarter when Wembanyama had more blocked shots (five) than the Knicks had made shots (four). San Antonio’s lead was as many as 10 in the first quarter, as many as 16 in the second.

Of course, none of it mattered much. As always, the Knicks came back.

A 22-9 run in the second quarter got New York within three, before Devin Vassell scored just before the halftime buzzer to give San Antonio a 42-37 edge at the break.

And that capped an opening 24 minutes of either offensive ineptitude or defensive prowess, depending on perspective. The 79 combined points in the first half were the lowest in a finals game since Game 7 of Lakers-Celtics in 2010, and the combined 31.8% field goals shooting by the Knicks and Spurs was the lowest in the first half of a finals game in the play-by-play era.

Brunson won NCAA crowns twice with Villanova — both in Texas, the 2016 one in Houston and the 2018 one in San Antonio, just a few miles away from the arena that the Spurs call home.

A Texas three-step of titles, and this one was surely the sweetest of all.

“It's why I came to New York,” Brunson said.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

No surprise there. Imagining Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong brainstorming with U.S. President Gerald Ford and other leaders would have been unthinkable.

China was in turmoil, nowhere close to becoming the economic giant it is now. Mao had also helped defeat France and U.S. forces in Vietnam, by militarily supporting Ho Chi Minh's communists that took power. So Mao would have been the odd man out had he been at the inaugural Rambouillet summit of six nations, growing into the G7 when Canada joined the following year.

But as U.S. President Donald Trump and his G7 counterparts gather again in France from Monday, China’s exclusion from the informal club's summits also looks odd, given its now immense sway over the world's economic well-being and affairs.

Put simply: Without China, does the G7 make sense?

Here's a closer look:

By the numbers, China would be a shoo-in

If determined only by economic success, China would already be in the club.

Its economy, swollen by decades of growth since Mao's death in 1976, now dwarfs those of G7 nations Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada — leaving only the United States to catch. By this measure, a G7 summit without China is arguably like a soccer World Cup without 5-time winner Brazil.

From being “only a tiny, benign, panda bear” in 1975, ”China has become a great global dragon," says John Kirton, a University of Toronto specialist on the G7.

“So many understandably ask: Would the G7 and the global community be better off if China became a member of the G7 club? A plausible answer is ‘Yes.’”

But it's only for democracies

A year ago, Trump mused about possibly expanding the club to include China, saying “ it’s not a bad idea " when a journalist asked him.

But an unwritten G7 rule has always been that it's only for democracies.

“We are each responsible for the government of an open, democratic society, dedicated to individual liberty and social advancement,” the founding leaders declared in Rambouillet in 1975.

China wouldn’t have cleared that bar then, during Mao’s rule that claimed many millions of lives through famine and revolutionary upheaval.

Nor, under President Xi Jinping, would China do so now. By multiple measures, including the annual Freedom in the World study the World Press Freedom Index or the Canadian Fraser Institute's ranking of economic freedom, China lags far behind G7 nations for civil liberties.

China a priority subject for the G7

China’s clout impacts all G7 countries, in myriad ways. It sells far more goods than it buys, announcing a record trade surplus of almost $1.2 trillion in 2025, which is a source of friction with other industrial powers. It controls supplies of crucial rare minerals. Its technological advances and growing military strength are giving rivals cold sweats. And it is the world’s biggest emitter of climate-warming pollution.

All this means that China will be an elephant in the room at the Monday-to-Wednesday summit in the Alpine spa town of Evian-les-Bains.

As host, French President Emmanuel Macron has carved out time for the leaders to talk about how to rebalance trade with China, amid fears that soaring Chinese exports of cars and other products could wreck G7 industries.

The chemistry between Trump and other G7 leaders has been bad of late — over the Iran war and other bones of contention — but China could be an issue that unites them, said Cédric Dupont, who specializes in international politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

“They agree on the same thing, you know: China is a problem,” he said.

Beijing looking on warily

China's Communist Party-led government has in the past criticized the G7's exclusiveness and painted it as a relic of the Cold War when the world was more divided along ideological lines.

But in a statement to The Associated Press ahead of the Evian gathering, the Chinese Foreign Ministry took a more nuanced view, saying “the G7 should serve as a catalyst for solidarity and cooperation rather than an amplifier of division and confrontation.”

Beijing-based analyst Wang Zichen says that “Beijing is wary of the G7 because it sees the group as structurally aligned with U.S.-led Western power, and increasingly as a venue where China is discussed as a challenge or threat.”

But Chinese leaders cannot ignore it.

“China recognizes that the G7 still represents a very significant concentration of economic, technological, military and financial power," said Wang.

China seen as a threat to G7 cohesion

Analysts say that admitting China into the club could wreck its cohesion, not only because Beijing’s authoritarian system of government, interests and its positions on Russia, Iran and other major issues don’t align with those of G7 democracies but also because its presence could test their long-standing alliances.

“China inside would indeed be a Trojan horse,” said Kirton. With a Chinese leader at the table, “individual members might be tempted to break G7 ranks to secure special favors from him on the economic, critical minerals, digital technology and other issues they address.”

Chris Alden, an international relations expert at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said that adding China “would make it very difficult for it to function.”

Russia's example is also a barrier to China

The G7's last expansion — accepting Russia as a member in 1998 — didn't end well.

The club froze out Russian President Vladimir Putin when he seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, foreshadowing the full-scale war now raging since 2022.

Trump said last year that excluding Russia “was a very big mistake.”

But Kirton said the experience convinced other leaders "that they should never take a chance on a less than fully democratic power becoming a full member of their fully democratic club again.”

___

Associated Press writers Ken Moritsugu and E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.

So far the sport's biggest stage has brought him — and the Scots — a lot more luck.

John McGinn deflected a shot off an opposing defender and past goalkeeper Johny Placide in the 28th minute, and Scotland defeated Haiti 1-0 in Group C of the World Cup on Saturday.

“When it went into the back of the net, you could feel the Scotland fans,” McGinn said.

Scotland, making its first appearance in the tournament since 1998, earned its first World Cup victory since 1990, when it beat Sweden 2-1.

“We came here to get three points. We did and now we move on,” Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson said.

Getting those crucial points did a lot more than that.

Group favorites Brazil and Morocco played to a 1-1 draw earlier in the day, putting Scotland at the top of the group standings.

“We obviously have a little less pressure than everyone put on us in this game," Clarke said. “They deserve to be the team that finally got in under their belt in the World Cup.”

Haiti, whose only other World Cup appearance was in West Germany in 1974, is still in search of its first World Cup point. The Grenadiers had multiple chances in the second half but couldn't quite equalize.

"We’re playing at an extremely high level. But you can get punished with one oversight,” Haiti coach Sébastien Migné said.

McGinn’s goal came off a rebound from Che Adams’ miss in the box that bounced off Placide and into open space. McGinn’s shot ricocheted off a defender from 13 yards out.

Scotland’s Tartan Army supporters were out in mass, creating a wave of red inside a filled in Gillette Stadium, located about 30 miles outside Boston.

Scotland came close to a goal in the 17th minute when captain Scott McTominay got loose and fired a shot that clipped the top of the post.

Haiti had its best opportunities in the second half. In the 74th minute, Ruben Providence sent a cross in to Wilson Isidor, but the forward came up empty on his attempt to direct the ball in.

Then in the 84th, Frantzdy Pierrot, who moved from Haiti to Boston at the age of 11, hit a header that went a wide of the left side.

Scotland stays in town to play Morocco at Gillette Stadium on Friday. Haiti will next face Brazil on Friday in Philadelphia.

___

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

On Sunday, the island nation of 150,000 people will become the smallest country ever to compete at the World Cup.

Coach Dick Advocaat has done his best to keep his players focused and relaxed as they navigate this unprecedented experience.

“Just be yourself, and don’t be nervous,” defender Shurandy Sambo said Advocaat told them, just before the team left its Florida base camp for Houston. “Of course everybody is excited, but just be yourself, show yourself, because this is the biggest stage.”

The Curaçao players have worked hard to ensure they are prepared for their debut. Germany, making its 21st appearance in the World Cup, is a heavy favorite.

“We’ve watched a lot of clips of Germany. How they play, what they can do,” Sambo said.

Advocaat said there is more pressure on teams like Germany that are considered favorites and that his team has “everything to win and nothing to lose.”

He's confident that Curaçao is ready for the challenge of facing Germany, which he referred to as a towering contender.

“We are a minor, very small country compared to Germany and we’re going to make life very difficult for them,” he said. “We’re going to be a very unpleasant team to play.”

Curaçao’s squad is representing a country that rarely has a chance to have moments as big as this on international sports stages.

Due to its strong Dutch ties, Curaçao is not recognized in the Olympics as its own nation, and despite its impressive per-capita production of professional baseball athletes, Curaçao players represent the Netherlands at the World Baseball Classic.

“We are not here to just be here,” midfielder Ar’jany Martha said. “We want to show ourselves and get good results.”

Despite the country’s small population, Curaçao will have plenty of supporters to cheer them on as they make history. Sambo said his own family will be attending, as will 21 families of other players.

“I (would describe us) as one big family,” defender Livano Comenencia said. “If you see us on the bus or outside the bus, in the hotel, we are always with music, always happy. Everybody is around each other.”

___

Gracie Fisher is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

___

AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken contributed to this story.

___

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

Henry presented Yulee graduate Joshua Barnes with a $10,000 scholarship check. Barnes ran track at Yulee and will attend the University of South Florida this fall to study film.

“I’m glad that I was chosen for the scholarship,” Henry said. ”It means a lot. It inspires me to work harder and keep going.”

Henry says he wanted to bless someone from the same high school where he grew up.

“God has blessed me tremendously and I just want to be a blessing back to someone,” Henry said. ”I wanted to do it especially for someone from my high school where I grew up.”

The scholarship was just one part of the day. More than 300 kids received free backpacks, bikes and scooters at the Yulee Sports Complex. Families also took pictures, collected autographs and enjoyed games and water slides.

“So fun. It’s really fun,” 8-year-old friends Rashad Gholston and Marlo Hall said. “I’m choosing this bike. This is my favorite bike.”

And meeting Henry made the day even better.

“This is my favorite player,” a kid who got Henry’s autograph said. ”Since I’ve been little. Since I figured out what football was.”

For Patricia Cribb, seeing the excitement on her grandchildren’s faces was priceless.

“It’s truly a blessing,” Cribb said. ”It is really a blessing. The kids were so excited they couldn’t sleep last night.“

“With how prices are today, you can’t afford anything, so it’s just so great that he does this out of the goodness of his heart,” Cribb continued.

Steve Wilbon says watching the kids enjoy their new bikes was the highlight.

“That’s the best part,” Wilbon said. ”Especially some of the kids that can’t afford stuff like this, it means a lot to them.”

And for Henry, that’s exactly why he keeps coming back.

“It makes my heart smile to be a blessing to these kids,” Henry said. ”Something they look forward to. That’s what we wanted to do this for. This community day where kids can come out and have fun.”

Henry has spent the past decade giving back to the communities where he played football by donating resources to local families.

Facing pressure to win its first World Cup title since 2002, five-time champion Brazil was outplayed early and needed Vinícius Júnior's 32nd-minute goal to gain a 1-1 draw against Morocco on Saturday in a pulsating, high-profile group match.

“We started on a really bad note,” Vinícius said through a translator. “For certain, we got to hold on to the ball. We have to move better.”

A semifinalist four years ago, Morocco had 12 shots in the first 30 minutes and went ahead on Ismael Saibari's 21st-minute goal, a chip over goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

“The team was a bit anxious at the beginning. Nerves were all over the place,” Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said through a translator. “A very imbalanced team.”

Brazil evened the score 11 minutes later. Vinícius exchanged passes with Bruno Guimarães on the left flank, took a few touches to cut around Neil El Aynaoui and rifled a right-footed shot past the outstretched arm of Yassine Bounou for his 10th international goal.

“We are satisfied with the draw,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. "We are not euphoric.”

Fans in Brazil's canary yellow dominated the crowd of 80,663 at MetLife Stadium — only about five sections near the south goal had fans in Morocco's red.

Seleção supporters expected the flowing, entertaining play of Pelé’s era and were subdued before Vinícius evened the score with his spectacular angled effort.

Brazil extended its unbeaten streak in World Cup openers to 21, including 17 wins, since a 1934 loss to Spain. No. 6 Brazil and seventh-ranked Morocco are the only top 10 teams to meet in the first round of the expanded 48-nation World Cup tournament.

“We cannot lose heart,” Ancelotti said. “You don’t win a World Cup based on your first match.”

Brazil plays Haiti on Friday in Philadelphia, then closes Group C against Scotland in Miami Gardens, Florida. Morocco faces Scotland in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Friday, then meets Haiti in Atlanta.

Brazil star Neymar, recovering from a torn right calf, didn’t dress for the game.

One hour before the match, an Uber from Times Square to the stadium, site of next month's final, was $126.95 — up from $83.95 for advance booking for the same time Sunday.

Ancelotti, the Italian who became Brazil's first foreign World Cup coach, wore a three-piece suit with a necktie on a sunny afternoon with a 88-degree Fahrenheit (31-degree Celsius) temperature for the 6 p.m. start.

Morocco went ahead after Lucas Paquetá lost control of a short pass from Roger Ibañez and knocked it off Bilal El Khannouss. It bounced to Noussair Mazraoui, who sent the ball to Brahim Díaz in the center circle.

His through pass split Gabriel Magalhães and Marquinho, and Saibari ran onto the ball at the top of the arc. Alisson was slow to come off his line as Saibari scored his 10th international goal.

Morocco nearly went back ahead in the ninth of 10 minutes of stoppage time. Alisson spilled Aynaoui's long-range shot, which was headed wide, then while on the grass leaned back toward the goal and used his right hand to block Ayoube Amaimouni's follow-up effort.

“We still have to improve,” Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi said. “We have to keep the positive things. We’re going to learn from the mistakes, for sure.”

___

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

The San Francisco 49ers announced Smith's death on Saturday night. The team did not disclose a cause of death.

“We are devastated by the sudden and tragic passing of Aldon Smith,” the 49ers said in a statement. “Aldon’s undeniable talent and sheer dominance on the field were on display from the moment he joined our organization, having recorded one of the best rookie seasons the National Football League has seen. Beyond his excellence as a player, Aldon will be remembered for his infectious smile that lit up every room he walked into.”

Smith was drafted by the 49ers with the seventh overall pick out of Missouri in 2011 and made an immediate impact on the team, helping San Francisco snap a playoff drought and reach the NFC title game his first three seasons with one trip to a Super Bowl.

He had 14 sacks as a rookie when he finished second to Von Miller in voting for the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and had a franchise-record 19 1/2 sacks in 2012 when he was named a first-team All-Pro.

His 33 1/2 sacks in his first two seasons are the most in NFL history. He kept that pace up with 4 1/2 sacks in the first three games in 2013 before the off-field issues started with an arrest for DUI and a stint in rehab for substance abuse that sidelined him for five games.

He was also arrested on a weapons charge that season but returned to the field.

“I’m getting there,” he said after his stint in 2013 on the non-football injury list. "Every day’s just a step closer to getting to where I want to be I’ve gotten a lot of support, from my family, friends, organization, teammates and everything. And it really says a lot that people care about me outside the field and they care about me as a person.”

Smith had 3 1/2 sacks in the playoffs that season but was suspended for the first nine games in 2014 and never made it back to his early level of performance because of suspensions and injuries.

San Francisco then released him in August 2015 after another drunken driving charge — his fifth arrest in three years. He signed with Oakland just before the start of the 2015 season and had 3 1/2 sacks in nine games before being suspended again.

“Aldon proudly wore the Silver and Black, was respected by his teammates and will be missed dearly,” the Raiders said in a statement.

Smith applied for reinstatement to the NFL in 2016, but was not allowed back initially. The Raiders released him in 2018 following a domestic violence arrest. A plea agreement was reached in that case.

He eventually was reinstated in 2020 and played 16 games for Dallas that season and had five sacks.

He signed with Seattle the next season but was arrested again for battery and was released in training camp. He served a six-month jail sentence for DUI in 2023 and never played again in the NFL.

Smith finished his career with 52 1/2 sacks in 75 games.

In college he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection and the recipient of Missouri’s Defensive Lineman of the Year Award in 2010.

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

The news conference Friday night featured the fighters who are preparing to face off Sunday in the Octagon built outside the White House. But it was also a chance to see the UFC fans who have thronged to Washington and endured lightning, humidity and bugs for the spectacle.

Tracy Philbeck and his son Levi drove from Charlotte, North Carolina, with a group of friends to support their favorite fighter, American Justin Gaethje, in the upcoming lightweight title bout against Georgian Ilia Topuria.

"You will hear an eagle screaming when Justin Gaethje wins,” the elder Philbeck chuckled.

David Halstead journeyed from Albany, in Western Australia, to watch the sport he has loved for a decade. Halstead said Trump, who regularly attends the fights, “put UFC on the map."

The UFC has said it spent $60 million on this weekend's festivities, and Republican president has billed it as “the greatest show on earth.”

Not everyone agrees.

The Public Integrity Project described the event as a “private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain” in a lawsuit the watchdog group filed to try to stop it from happening on federal land. A federal judge ruled on Friday that the White House was allowed to go ahead.

Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults consider themselves mixed martial arts fans, according to Ipsos Sports polling conducted in February and March. That polling suggests MMA fans skew male and nonwhite. They are more likely to identify as Republicans than Democrats.

“One misconception is that everyone who watches UFC is a Trump supporter, but that’s not the case," said Ricardo Rodriguez, 24, explaining he loves the physicality of the sport. “People also expect a knock out every time," he said.

Ellie Louizes, who practices Muay Thai, or Thai kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu martial arts, drove from Daytona Beach, Florida, with her boyfriend, Jacob Purvis.

Female fans of MMA are the minority. But Louizes said she knows a lot of women who get into watching the sport through their male partners. She said “female fighters are often way more aggressive” than the men.

Fans brushed off the criticism about White House as host

The fans at the Lincoln Memorial brushed off criticism about the bouts being held at the White House.

Holding fights at the “People's House,” Tracy Philbeck said, "goes back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt.”

Roosevelt regularly held sparring sessions at the White House, though they were not formal public prizefights. He was an enthusiastic amateur boxer who had boxed at Harvard and continued the sport throughout much of his life.

Boxing fans also make up a large part of the UFC's fan base.

At a UFC-sponsored community event this week at the District of Columbia's Midtown Youth Academy, the boxing gym's executive director was helping out with a visit from UFC fighter Randy Brown, who sparred with more than a dozen local teenagers and preteens.

Gloria Lee said meeting the fighter was a big deal for kids at her gym. “It's just been a thrilling week, and I was about to fall out when he came in the door!” she said.

Asked about her personal UFC fandom, Lee said she had not watched it much. But by the end of Brown's visit, she got into the ring with the professional fighter and threw some slugs of her own.

___

Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

Skubal didn't win back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards on fuzzy feelings or nostalgia. The fiery left-hander is all business, and his time away from the mound didn't soften him at all.

“I don’t want to play into that narrative of trying to be back,” Skubal said Saturday following his first start since April 29. "I need to be better, plain and simple. ‘Just happy to be there,’ that’s a loser mentality to me. I need to go out there and pitch and compete and give my team a chance to win and I didn’t do that.”

Skubal showed some rust while pitching 4 2/3 innings as the Tigers again failed to get any timely hits (they stranded 11 runners) i n a 3-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. The left-hander had a loose body removed from his elbow in an i nnovative surgical procedure on May 6 that accelerated his return.

While Skubal wasn't dominant, that hardly mattered to the Tigers. They were just happy to have No. 29 back on the mound and delivering pitches with his familiar high-leg delivery.

“He didn’t execute at the level that we’re used to,” said Detroit manager A.J. Hinch. “But man, it was nice to see him out there.”

Skubal was lifted after 80 pitches by Hinch, who noted it was a “weird start” given the Guardians' lineup changed dramatically in the early innings when Cleveland lost outfielders Angel Martinez (bruised foot) and Chase DeLauter (bruised ribs) to injuries.

Skubal allowed five hits, struck out four and made one big mistake when he elevated a two-strike pitch to Daniel Schneemann, who connected for a two-run homer in the third inning.

“If I want one pitch back, it’s the one to Schneemann,” Skubal said.

Skubal was ahead 0-2 in the count when he missed with a high fastball that Schneeman, a left-handed hitter who had never faced Detroit's ace, drove 417 feet to give the Guardians a 3-1 lead.

“It was bad. Really bad,” Skubal said. "On 0-2, I’m going up and away and I kind of miss. It’s not in enough and it’s not up enough. If I’m going to miss, it needs to be more in and more up. It’s a good swing on it, but the execution on it was pretty poor.”

Skubal's velocity was fine, as his fastball registered in the mid-90s (mph). His breaking pitches had their usual spin, and for the most part he was pleased with his outing.

“My process was really good today,” he said. "Every pitch I was bought-in on. At the end of the day, that’s all I can really control, is me trying to go out there and execute every pitch and sometimes things just don’t fall your way.

"Credit to those guys, too. They had some really good at-bats, and they were in on some pitches, and fouled off some pitches and took some really good pitches, too. You kind of give credit where credit is due. At the same time, I’ve got to be better to give our team a chance to win. I just didn’t do that today.”

___

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

Cleveland star third baseman José Ramírez broke a bone in his left hand on a swing Saturday and will be sidelined for an indefinite period, a massive blow to the two-time defending AL Central champions.

Ramírez sustained a fractured left hamate bone leading off the fifth inning in the Guardians' 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. The team didn't update the condition of the 33-year-old until after the game, when manager Stephen Vogt confirmed the break.

Vogt said Ramírez underwent imaging tests that revealed the fracture.

“He had a similar injury I think to his right hand a few years ago,” Vogt said. "He tried to go back out. He knew the position we were in, grabbed his glove and said ‘Maybe I can still play defense,’ but he couldn’t squeeze his glove. Hosey wanted to get back out there to help us win that game. He just couldn’t.”

A seven-time All-Star, Ramírez is the face of Cleveland's franchise and the Guardians' most indispensable player. Losing him for any time is crippling.

Surgery will likely take place in the next few days, and the Guardians, who moved back into first place, will then have to do their best to survive without their best player. They have options at third base, but none of them is close to being in Ramírez's class.

Ramírez, who is a switch-hitter, suffered a fracture to his right hamate bone in 2019 — the only time he has been on the injured list in his career — but was only out a month following surgery after being expected to miss as much as seven weeks.

He's been struggling at the plate so this season, and entered Saturday's game batting just .238 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs. Ramírez, who has finished in the Top 4 in MVP voting five times, is a career .274 hitter. He holds virtually every major team record.

Ramírez wasn't the only injury Saturday as the Guardians lost outfielders Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez in the first two innings.

DeLauter suffered a bruised right rib cage colliding with the outfield wall Martinez sustained a bruise when he fouled a ball off his foot.

When Ramírez left the game, the Guardians were without the top three hitters in their batting order. Vogt was forced to reshuffle his lineup and put Rhys Hoskins, who began the game at first base, in left field. Hoskins had not played there since 2018, when he was with Philadelphia.

It's not known if DeLauter and Martinez will join Ramírez on the injured list.

“We’re working through the logistics and what the next steps are so we’ll know more tomorrow or the next day," Vogt said. "These things can get complicated.”

Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who has spent the season navigating through a litany of injuries, empathized with Cleveland's situation.

“It was one after another for those guys,” Hinch said. "If there’s any team that understands having injuries at a weird time, it’s us. I didn’t see anything with Ramírez to have him come out of the game, so when Stephen (Vogt) was on the field I had no idea what it was about and they were moving their players all around.

"Obviously health is a premium. Sounds like they’ve got a lot to sort out over there.”

___

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

James M. McDonald, a former federal prosecutor in the office he had been picked to run, served as a financial regulator during Trump’s first term and worked in the White House counsel’s office in President George W. Bush’s administration.

A partner at the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, McDonald is part of the legal team handling Trump’s pending appeal of felony convictions in New York related to hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels as the Republican ran for president in 2016.

Trump said Saturday he would name McDonald to the role of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most influential positions in the Justice Department. He would replace Jay Clayton, whom Trump put forward this week as his pick for the director of national intelligence.

McDonald’s perch as U.S. attorney would give him oversight of arguably the most prestigious of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices, with a vast portfolio ranging from terrorism and espionage cases to security fraud and public corruption.

McDonald was also part of the legal team that last month secured a favorable outcome for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani when the Trump administration Justice Department dropped a fraud and conspiracy case that had been brought under the Biden administration.

McDonald has also served as director of enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during Trump's first term in office and was deputy associate counsel in the White House under Bush.

“I am confident that Jamie will deliver strong results for our Country,” Trump posted Saturday about McDonald on the Truth Social platform.

Nicholas Biase, spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, said it "welcomes the President’s choice to lead the SDNY. Mr. McDonald is widely respected.”

Trump's announcement on Clayton came as pressure increased from Congress to name a permanent replacement for Tulsi Gabbard, who announced her resignation as national intelligence director last month. Trump faced intense pushback over his decision to name Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director.

___

Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

Ohtani hit a leadoff homer for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday in his return to the starting lineup after being sidelined by inflammation in his left knee. He also walked three times and scored twice in a 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

“I felt good waking up in the morning, I feel good now, so I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to stay healthy and should be good to go tomorrow as well,” Ohtani said through a translator.

The two-way star connected on a 1-0 fastball from White Sox right-hander Sean Burke for his 14th homer. The 409-foot drive to right in the first inning had an exit velocity of 109.6 mph.

It was Ohtani's fifth leadoff homer of the season and No. 29 for his career.

“Obviously he’s the best player in the world, so anytime you can get the best player in a world back in your lineup, he’s definitely going to help and he showed it immediately,” teammate Mookie Betts said.

The 31-year-old Ohtani was back at designated hitter after he rested during Friday’s 8-2 loss in the series opener at Chicago. The knee inflammation popped up Thursday night at Pittsburgh, prompting Ohtani to leave an 8-6 win over the Pirates in the seventh.

“We took him out of the game the other night just for precautionary,” manager Dave Roberts said before Saturday's win. “Yesterday, treated it up, today he feels great. All the confidence that he can go out there and hit, feel good, not regress at all.”

Ohtani, who had surgery on his left knee in September 2019, wasn't sure exactly what caused the inflammation.

“It’s actually hard to pinpoint at what moment this happened,” he said. “All I can really know for sure is that I think my mechanics wasn’t quite great in terms of my pitching side. So I believe that had something to do with this.”

Ohtani is scheduled to take the mound again on Wednesday against Tampa Bay. The 6-foot-4 right-hander tested his knee for his throwing motion by playing catch in the outfield before Saturday's victory.

“It wasn’t 100 percent today, but I, you know, with the next three, four days, I feel pretty confident with enough recovery that I should be able to make the next start,” he said.

Ohtani is batting .305 with 41 RBIs and 50 runs scored in 68 games for the NL West leaders. On the mound, the reigning NL MVP is 6-2 with a 1.06 ERA in 11 starts.

Roberts also said Justin Wrobleski is expected to make his next scheduled start Tuesday against the Rays. The left-hander left in the fifth inning on Thursday night because of a left hamstring contusion.

“Yesterday I talked to him and he is a little sore, which is understandable, but he’ll be ready to go on Tuesday,” Roberts said.

Roberts, 54, is going to miss Sunday's series finale against the White Sox. Bench coach Danny Lehmann will run the team while Roberts attends his daughter's college graduation.

___

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

Yamamoto sailed into the ninth inning with a no-hit bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Tristan Peters hit a leadoff homer for the Chicago White Sox. The Japanese right-hander had to settle for a dominant performance in a 7-1 victory on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Yamamoto also carried a no-hitter into the ninth at Baltimore on Sept. 6. He surrendered a solo homer to Jackson Holliday with two out, and Los Angeles went on to a frustrating 4-3 loss.

This time, Alex Vesia closed it out for the Dodgers. But Yamamoto was left to wonder about another close call.

“What I did, I didn't make it, complete it, because of the ninth inning, the no-hitter,” Yamamoto said through a translator. “But how I was pitching, I was pretty satisfied.”

Yamamoto, who was the World Series MVP when the Dodgers won their second consecutive championship, improved to 4-0 with a sparkling 0.94 in his last four starts. He has surrendered 14 hits and struck out 24 in 28 2/3 innings during his win streak.

If he keeps pitching like he has been, there might be more no-hit opportunities on the horizon.

“He can attack the plate on both sides from ball to strike probably better than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said.

Yamamoto retired his last 22 batters while pitching eight innings in a 9-2 win against the Angels in his previous start. Then he retired his first 23 batters against Chicago.

The streak — and Yamamoto's bid for a perfect game — ended when shortstop Mookie Betts mishandled Chase Meidroth's two-out grounder in the eighth inning for an error.

“I’m not making any excuses. I should have made the play,” Betts said.

Jacob Gonzalez bounced to second for the final out in the eighth, but Peters hit a drive to right on a 96.6 mph fastball from Yamamoto. It was Peters' third homer of the season.

Yamamoto departed after Edgar Quero flied to center for the first out in the ninth. He was saluted with a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 37,832 as he made his way off the field.

“One of the best outings we’ve seen from an opponent this year,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “The stuff was outstanding. Lived on the edges. We didn’t have a ton to hit.”

Yamamoto struck out seven. He threw a season-high 109 pitches, 74 for strikes.

Before the ninth inning, Chase Meidroth had the best chance for a hit for the White Sox. He had a liner hook just foul before he struck out swinging for the final out of the fifth.

There was a short delay before the bottom of the sixth while the grounds crew worked on the area around the pitching rubber on the mound. But Yamamoto had no issues when the game resumed, striking out Gonzalez on a full-count cutter before Peters bounced to first and Quero fouled out to left.

“He was in the zone. He kept it out of the middle. I mean, kept them off balance,” Betts said. “I mean that's just Yoshi being Yoshi, you know. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

___

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

Matt Floca, executive director and chief operating officer of the performing arts venue, told a federal court Saturday that the institution had complied with an order to remove Trump's name from the facade. In a filing, Floca said the board of trustees and the center had removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.”

But for onlookers who have gathered on the plaza in front of the center over the past day hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of Trump’s power, it was virtually impossible to see whether the signage was gone. A tarp hung over the scaffolding constructed for workers to perform that task. It was unclear when the tarp might be removed to reveal the original lettering that had endured for decades: “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

A reporter was able to peer through a slight opening in the tarp, which was pulled tightly against the wall, and saw that the letters for Trump’s name were no longer affixed to the building.

By the end, the Kennedy Center's leadership had dug in against a federal judge's order to erase Trump's name from the building. Two courts rejected the institution's last-minute request to retain Trump's name pending an appeal. After severe thunderstorms raked Washington on Friday evening, the Kennedy Center sought one more extension before complying with a noon Saturday deadline.

Those who pushed for the scrubbing of Trump's name were in a celebratory mood. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex officio member of the board who sued to remove references to the president from the building and the center's operations, was spotted in the plaza late Friday and Saturday morning. She posted a video to social media that purported to show her performing the “Trump dance” in one of the Kennedy Center's great halls.

“Today’s victory is the beginning of returning the Kennedy Center to the American people," Beatty said in a statement. “The rule of law prevailed, and that is worth celebrating.”

Leo Bartholomaus, a recent graduate of Syracuse University who lives in Virginia, said he was walking by the Kennedy Center on Friday afternoon after visiting the National Mall to see events related to this weekend's UFC match at the White House. He said he was not happy that Trump added his name to the building.

“My grandmother had a big love of the arts,” he said. “I've been here to see ‘The Lion King.’ I wasn't a fan of Donald Trump putting his name on it. I thought it was better as the Kennedy Center."

Closing an unusual chapter

The removal of Trump's name closes one of the more unusual chapters in the history of the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1964 and was dedicated to the memory of the slain president, Democrat John F. Kennedy. At what is typically one of the few relatively nonpartisan spaces in Washington, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his second term.

Though he rarely discussed the Kennedy Center during his 2024 campaign, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution's leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. His name was quickly added to the building.

While the removal of his name marks a setback for Trump, he is moving forward with plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation's capital in ways that have few modern parallels.

He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place. He remodeled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, moves that could significantly reduce the public's access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Indeed as Trump's name was being removed from the Kennedy Center, the South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a venue for a UFC match intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence but also coinciding with Trump's birthday on Sunday.

Questions linger about the Kennedy Center's future

Back at the Kennedy Center, there are many questions about the institution's future. The same May court decision that ordered Trump's name to be removed from the building also blocked a planned two-year closure for renovations that was set to begin next month.

The Kennedy Center's calendar for the weeks ahead include performances of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Bluey's Big Play.” Comedian Bill Maher is to be awarded the Mark Twain Award for American Humor during a ceremony on June 28.

But little is scheduled for the stages beyond that and, after substantially reducing staff, it is unclear how quickly the Kennedy Center could build out a robust performance list. Trump, angered by the court's order to remove his name, has said he would turn the Kennedy Center over to Congress and has suggested it might simply shutter because of public safety concerns.

In its unsuccessful appeal on Friday seeking a pause on the order removing Trump's name, the Kennedy Center's leadership argued, in terms that seemed similar to the president's speech patterns, that the lower court was interfering with needed renovations.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

The institution also suggested that the president's name could return to the building if the Kennedy Center later wins its appeal.

If the court denied the venue's request for a pause, the Kennedy Center argued it would “be forced to squander time and money — by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal.”

___

Associated Press journalist Emily Wang contributed to this report.

FHP says the crash occurred near 14193 US Highway 1, when the driver of Vehicle 1 attempted to exit the property and turn left to travel southbound on US-1. In doing so, the vehicle traveled into the path of a northbound driver.

The front of Vehicle 2 struck the left side of Vehicle 1

Florida Highway Patrol says the driver of Vehicle 2 sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of the collision and was transported to HCA Memorial Hospital for treatment.

The driver was later pronounced dead at the hospital, FHP confirmed.

Florida Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the crash.