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UK says an Iran-backed group was behind attacks on Jewish community, bans Revolutionary Guard

Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:30:02 +0000

A series of arson and vandalism attacks on Jewish sites in Britain were the work of a proxy group backed by Iran, the U.K. government said Monday.

The government said it is banning the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, or IMCR, also known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.

It also banned Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a threat to national security. Committing sabotage on behalf of the groups will be punishable by up to life imprisonment after Parliament approves the legislation, which the government expects to take place by the end of the week.

Security Minister Angela Eagle said in a statement that the IMCR has claimed seven attacks in the U.K. The group had said online that it was responsible for a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London in recent months, including fires at synagogues and Jewish charity ambulances, as well as a Persian-language media organization critical of Iran’s government. No one were injured in the blazes.

“Sitting behind IMCR were members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, who almost certainly directed IMCR attacks across Europe,” she said. Quds, or Jerusalem, Force is the Guard’s expeditionary unit.

The group sprang up online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Law enforcement officials and intelligence experts say Iran-backed proxy groups are behind a growing number of attacks in Europe, most targeting the Jewish community and Persian-language media critical of Iran’s Islamic government.

They typically work by recruiting members of criminal groups to carry out sabotage and other attacks.

A group under Russian military intelligence also under scrutiny

Authorities said Monday that Britain is also designating the GRU Volunteer Corps, a group controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency, as a national security threat. The U.K. says the group conducts foreign intelligence collection and hostile covert operations on behalf of the GRU.

Authorities said the new measures will make it easier for police and intelligence agencies to tackle what they call “thugs for hire," or anyone supporting the proxy groups.

“We have already taken tough action against the Iranian regime and those linked to it, and against Russian operatives and networks targeting our country. These new powers will make it easier to prosecute and lock up anyone carrying out their dirty work here in Britain," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

The bans come under a new U.K. law that took effect last week, giving the government powers to tackle proxy organizations carrying out hostile activity on behalf of foreign states.

Earlier this month, two Romanian men were given prison sentences over the stabbing of a journalist from a Persian-language television station, an attack the judge said was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.

There was no immediate comment from Iran.

The European Union in January listed the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on protests.

Wall Street mixed and oil prices jump after Iran and the U.S. trade another round of attacks

Elaine Kurtenbach, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 03:59:31 +0000

Oil prices jumped and early trading on Wall Street was mixed Monday after the U.S. carried out airstrikes and Iran retaliated.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged and Nasdaq futures tumbled 0.8%.

Chip and memory companies were dragging indices down, with SanDisk, Western Digital and Micron all falling close to 5% in premarket.

Energy producers ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron all gained around 1% before the opening bell as fighting in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher.

Brent crude, the international standard, climbed as much as nearly 5% early Monday before falling back. As of midday in Europe, it was up 3.4%, or $2.58, at $77.72 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude added 3.5%, or $2.48, to $72.92 per barrel.

Prices for both types of crude oil recently had slipped back to around the levels they were at before the war with Iran began after the two sides set an interim agreement on ending the conflict and ships resumed transporting oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, the United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran into Monday morning over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the strait that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing over the weekend. Iran retaliated by targeting countries across the Middle East.

This week will bring earnings reports from many of the biggest U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo on Tuesday alone.

Meanwhile, worries about how continued fighting with Iran will affect the global flow of crude are clouding the outlook both for energy costs and overall inflation.

High bond yields have been weighing on financial markets worldwide since more expensive oil and high inflation could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

Elsewhere, at midday in Europe, Germany's DAX added 0.2%, as did the CAC 40 in Paris. Britain's FTSE 100 was unchanged.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.9% to 67,242.73, while in Seoul, the Kospi declined 9% to 6,806.93. It's now at its lowest level since early May.

Shares in South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix, which soared 13% in their debut Friday on Wall Street, slumped 15.4% in Seoul. Its bigger rival Samsung Electronics sank 10.7%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.2% higher, to 24,212.36, and the Shanghai Composite index shed 2.1% to 3,913.79.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,808.50.

Fire in Fontainebleau forest near Paris triggers evacuations; 10 still missing in Spanish wildfire

Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 07:38:02 +0000

A fire raging in the historic and much-visited Fontainebleau forest south of Paris on Monday prompted evacuations of some residential neighborhoods and disrupted train and highway traffic.

It was among several wildfires in western Europe as the region bakes under its third red-alert heat wave this year.

In Spain, 10 people were still unaccounted for Monday from a fire that ripped through a remote southern expat community last week, killing 13 people in one of the country's deadliest blazes.

The Fontainebleau forest fire is unusual for its proximity to the French capital — about 70 kilometers (42 miles). The region hosts the Fontainebleau Chateau favored by Napoleon and is popular with visitors from Paris and beyond.

Two water-dumping planes were deployed over the area along with hundreds of firefighters, regional fire service spokesperson Paul Laurain told public broadcaster France-Info.

Trains to and from the bustling Gare de Lyon train station were disrupted late Sunday but were returning to normal Monday morning. A section of the busy A6 highway leading southeast of Paris was shut down because of fire risk.

Large fires in southern France have already scorched thousands of hectares (acres) since last week, disrupting the Tour de France cycling race and stretching firefighting resources.

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave of the summer, with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit ) across western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris.

Spain reeling from deadly wildfire

A 93 year-old British national died Sunday in a hospital from injuries sustained in the Los Gallardos wildfire, elevating the death toll to 13.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was expected to visit the site of the fire on Monday. Regional authorities said the blaze was contained Sunday after affecting some 70 square kilometers (27 square miles) of forest and farmland — larger than the size of Manhattan.

Spain is experiencing extreme heat, which combined with wind and little rainfall is creating the ideal conditions for small wildfires to grow unchecked.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Evacuations underway in UK due to fires

In the U.K., people were evacuated from several dozen rural homes in north Wales after a wildfire broke out across a mountainside on Sunday, British media reported.

Wildfires also burned in several other locations across England as another heat wave brought hot, sunny and dry conditions.

The Met Office said record heat waves since May have led to 2026 becoming the first year with temperatures of 35 C (95 F) or higher in three months.

Natural England’s fire severity index has put much of England at “very high” risk of wildfires, with some areas in southern England and the Midlands at “exceptional” risk.

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A previous version corrected the age of a British national who died Sunday.

Support for Israel isn't a high priority for younger Jewish Americans, an AP-NORC poll finds

Giovanna Dell'Orto And Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:07:32 +0000

Support for Israel is a key component of the religious identity of many Jewish adults ages 45 and older in the United States, but younger Jewish adults are more likely to prioritize other forms of connection, like celebrating Jewish holidays, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

That suggests the generational divide on Israel’s actions since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war in Gaza extends beyond politics to religious identity.

“I pray for people in the land of Israel. I don’t need to pray for the state,” said Cameron Bernstein, a 27-year-old medical student in New Orleans. She was raised with strong ties to Israel, where she celebrated her bat mitzvah, but said that now “it doesn’t play a role in my life, more than another country with people I love.”

The survey of 1,022 Jewish adults from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that this split on support for Israel is particularly apparent among adults like her who identify as religiously Jewish. Jewish adults who are religiously unaffiliated but identify as Jewish in other ways tend to have less of an emotional connection to Israel in general.

Among the religiously Jewish adults — who make up 68% of Jewish adults overall — about 6 in 10 say that being Jewish is “extremely” or “very” important in their life, regardless of their age.

But about half of older religious Jewish adults say that supporting Israel is “extremely” or “very” important for their Jewish identity, similar to the percentage who say that about celebrating Jewish holidays. By contrast, only about 4 in 10 younger religious Jewish adults emphasize support for Israel, while about 7 in 10 say celebrating Jewish holidays is highly important.

Susan Boyer, 72, from Southern California, equates supporting Israel with supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland in the Middle East.

Like many other Jewish Americans, the retiree believes Israel is an essential refuge against the possible repetition of large-scale massacres of Jewish people, like the Holocaust, especially as concern about antisemitism rises among Jewish adults.

“I’ve been defending myself as a Jew since I was a child ... getting mugged by girls in my classes for being a Jew,” Boyer said. “It’s invasive into your daily living that you have to constantly, constantly be defending yourself as a Jew, constantly making sure that nobody is redefining you or nobody is like insulting your land.”

To Ari Pollack, a 30-year-old arts fundraiser in Wisconsin, Israel’s military operations — especially in the last few years — provide fodder for antisemitism and thus make everywhere less safe for Jews.

“I’m personally pretty opposed to basically everything Israel’s doing these days,” said Pollack, who grew up attending religious school. “A source of a lot of frustration that I have for the Jewish establishment is that sort of dogmatic teaching of pro-Israel ideas that I’ve had to unlearn as an adult. And it’s part of what’s kept me away from, you know, attending regular synagogue services.”

Like about 3 in 10 religious Jewish adults under 45, Pollack says that Israel has committed genocide during the war in Gaza, a charge that Israel has vehemently denied. That’s compared with about 2 in 10 Jewish adults ages 45 and older.

The poll suggests that other elements of Judaism remain important to many younger Jewish adults. Americans under 45 who identify as religiously Jewish are more likely than older Jewish adults to say that marking or celebrating Shabbat or avoiding certain foods, like pork or shellfish, are highly important to their Jewish identity.

Phoebe Wapnitsky, a 32-year-old in Connecticut, also strongly opposes Israel’s military actions, which she perceives as unaligned with Jewish values.

“Standing against oppression, promoting social justice — those are the roles that Judaism plays in my life,” she said, adding that she felt disconnected from Israel even before the Oct. 7 attack.

Brian Ebarb, a 47-year-old attorney in Louisiana, also says his Jewish identity was about “action and community” — but those include supporting Israel.

“When the government makes mistakes, it should be criticized,” he said, but added that shouldn’t become an excuse for attacking an entire people. “The existence of the state of Israel is so precarious that we have to be careful and not allow criticism of Israel to become criticism of Jews worldwide.”

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

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The AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults was conducted June 11-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The poll included interviews with 1,022 Jewish adults. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points and the margin of sampling error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The next big races between moderates and progressives are in pivotal Midwestern states

Matt Brown, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:55:40 +0000

Minnesotans are known for their niceness, but pleasantries are rare in the state's Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

The two leading candidates, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, have clashed over electability, their ties to corporate interests and willingness to fight Republican President Donald Trump's administration in Washington. Millions of dollars in political ads have blanketed televisions and phone screens for a race that has become emblematic of Democrats' deeper divides.

The increasingly bitter contest will be among the next races where progressive candidates are facing more moderate rivals. August primaries in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota will be another gauge of Democratic voters’ frustration with the establishment. The races across the Upper Midwest may also offer another test of the electability of hard-left candidates.

After notable progressive successes so far this year, party leaders worry these candidates could damage Democrats' brand and imperil their chances of retaking either chamber of Congress this fall or maintaining the governor's mansion in a battleground state ahead of the 2028 presidential election. The progressive left says recent results prove their message is the party's path to victory.

Flanagan, who is backed by progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, last week convened a press conference to condemn “secretive dark money groups and special interests” she says are at work in the Minnesota race. She argued the groups are working to elect Craig, a more conventional Democrat backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other senior Democratic leaders.

“What we are facing right now in our party,” Flanagan told The Associated Press, “is the very folks who are standing in the way of the things that people need to be able to afford their lives, who are Democrats, are funded by these corporate special interests. That is the choice I think that we have, and people are onto it.”

Craig counters that Flanagan raised campaign funds from major companies while chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. She says that if Flanagan becomes the Democratic nominee, Republicans would focus on her ties to an ongoing fraud inquiry into the state's Medicaid programs.

“The coalition we’re building is people in Minnesota who understand that in order to stop Donald Trump, we’ve got to win elections,” Craig told the AP. She warned that Minnesota is often underappreciated as “the very definition of a swing state, and we simply can’t take this U.S. Senate seat for granted.”

Craig argued that it was important that Democrats do not reject corporate funding while Republicans continue to embrace backing from wealthy donors. She also said she supports major campaign finance reforms restricting the role of money in politics.

“But until we get to that day, it’s naive to think that we’re not going to need resources,” Craig said.

Upper Midwest becomes next theater in Democrats' progressive vs. moderate fight

The Minnesota primary, in which Flanagan and Craig are vying for the seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, is Aug. 11. Wisconsin also holds its primary that day — one week after voters will choose nominees in Michigan on Aug. 4.

In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens is running against progressive Abdul El-Sayed for the state's Democratic Senate nomination in a race Democrats must win to hold the seat held by Sen. Gary Peters, who is retiring and has endorsed Stevens. And in Wisconsin, democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong has surged in the state's Democratic gubernatorial primary against more conventional Democratic lawmakers, including former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.

In each case, progressives hope to prove that an economically populist message resonates with voters beyond deep blue enclaves where they have had recent success, like New York City and Denver. But Democratic leaders fear that the insurgent candidates risk blowing winnable races for Democrats with messages considered too radical for most voters.

Craig also criticized progressives for gambling with Democrats' chances to retake the Senate due to poor campaigning and vetting of candidates. She noted the recent downfall of Graham Platner, who easily won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine in June but dropped out of the race last week after facing an allegation of sexual assault, which he denies.

“We just saw one of our best Senate opportunities go down in flames in Maine, potentially, with that same coalition,” Craig said.

“And many of the same people are working on the lieutenant governor’s campaign as Graham Platner’s campaign," Craig added. "My coalition is statewide. I’m going everywhere. I’m talking to everyone. I’m working to bring people back to the (Democratic Party).”

Following the fallout from the Platner scandal, progressives view the Upper Midwest Senate races as their last chance to shape the Democrats' Senate caucus and prove their theory of the case in the midterm elections.

“Abdul El-Sayed was already the most important primary candidate in the nation, and this underscores the importance of that race, both in the primary and the general,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a political action committee that backs Flanagan and El-Sayed.

The organization views this year's Senate races in Michigan and Maine as key tests of whether progressives’ message and organizing strategies could prove effective in competitive races. The high-stakes strategy was meant to assuage potential concerns among Democratic voters that progressives are unelectable in competitive races ahead of the party’s 2028 presidential primary.

“Our hope is to not have an outlier but a pattern of shake-up-the-system economic fighters who win tough swing state elections," Green said.

A long populist history in the Midwest

The Upper Midwest has populist traditions going back decades, including by electing progressive and conservative populists, said Steven Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. The region was often a model for the Progressive Era’s reform-minded policies, but it also elected some of the most stridently conservative Cold War voices like Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.

“What’s interesting about the Upper Midwest is that you get well-developed and articulated left populism, and well-developed and articulated right populism in competition and combat. It produces some very lively election seasons,” Schier said.

More recently, the Great Lakes region has been the nation's marquee political battleground, with state legislatures and the presidential winner swinging between Democratic and Republican candidates for the last decade. No matter who wins, the results of the midterm primaries in the region will have major ripple effects in national politics.

“This culture will take broad concerns that populists bring up and trumpet them throughout the electoral system, and that’s true on both the right and the left up here," Schier said.

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

Jannik Sinner keeps evolving his game. Just like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic before him

Andrew Dampf, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:37:24 +0000

A perfectly-placed topspin lob winner that sailed beyond reach of his 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) opponent and landed on the outside of the baseline in the second game.

A delicate drop shot which made Alexander Zverev change direction so suddenly that the German player over-extended his right knee at a crucial point of the third set.

Sure, there were plenty of the usual whizzing, missile-like baseline winners from Jannik Sinner in his four-set victory over Zverev in the Wimbledon final. He also showed off the new variety of his game, though — which came in handy when Zverev unleashed more power than he had used before against the top-ranked player.

The variety of shots were what Sinner’s two coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, appreciated most from their player in Sunday's match.

Just like the Big Three and Big Four before them — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — Sinner, Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz (who is out injured) are continually evolving their games, Cahill noted.

“Alexander is now playing a different style of tennis against Jannik,” Cahill said. “We know Jannik is going to have to improve in certain areas to handle that type of game. Carlos is going to come back really strong, as well — as we all hope … You need to keep adding things to his game.

“We saw a lot of the stuff he doesn’t normally like doing, even in the final today: sliced backhands, a couple lobs, couple drop shots. Really stepping up when he needed to in the big moments.”

Deficit to Alcaraz in Slams count reduced

Sinner’s second consecutive Wimbledon victory matched the two titles that Alcaraz won before him at the All England Club and raised his overall tally to five Grand Slams — narrowing the gap to Alcaraz’s seven.

Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury and it remains unclear if he’ll return in time for the year’s final Grand Slam at the U.S. Open.

Zverev’s performance in London leapfrogged him ahead of Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot when the new rankings were released Monday.

Zverev’s run on the grass followed his first major title at the French Open last month – after Sinner’s stunning second-round meltdown in Paris.

“Big, big respect to Sascha, because he’s doing something amazing. His game is growing and growing,” Sinner said, using Zverev’s nickname. “You have always someone who is pushing you to the limit. We hope that Carlos is coming back, as well, because tennis needs him.

“Having Novak still around, having all the young players coming, it’s really, really nice,” added Sinner, who beat the 39-year-old Djokovic in the semifinals. “At the same time, you always need to work hard.”

Sinner's mom couldn't watch on Centre Court

Sinner twice had to come back from a set down in a five-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round — when he also had to deal with blood seeping through his shoe due to a toenail issue.

He didn’t lose another set until Zverev unleashed a barrage of serves at up to 139 mph (224 kph) and backed those up with huge forehands to the corners.

Sinner knew he had a challenge to face when the first-set tiebreaker was decided by an inside-out forehand winner from Zverev.

So did Sinner’s mom, Siglinde, who couldn’t bare to watch some of the more tense moments on Centre Court.

“My mom, I see her, she left the stadium a couple of times,” Sinner said on court during his victory speech, glancing over after she had returned in time for the trophy ceremony. “It’s not easy.”

Chasing the sun

Amid stifling heat and humidity in Paris in late May, Sinner had his 30-match winning streak ended after coming within one game of a straight-set victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56.

Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and acknowledged during Wimbledon that doctors discovered what was bothering him — without revealing the details.

“His medical records are his medical records. We won’t speak about any of that,” Cahill said. “But it’s up to us to make some changes, to do some little things differently.”

Sinner now leaves the court often between sets to refresh himself, change his shirt and get a moment of air-conditioning. During another heat wave the week before Wimbledon began, he used an ice vest to cool down.

“Look, he’s a redhead that lives in the north of Italy, that grew up in the snow and the Alps. Hot weather is a little bit different for him than it is for most people,” Cahill said.

“The more time he spends in the heat, the better he’s going to be at it,” Cahill added. “We might even make some changes to the preseason, chasing the sun a little bit more, getting him more acclimatized to playing in these types of conditions.”

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Who could replace Lindsey Graham? South Carolina's next steps after senator's death

Meg Kinnard, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 04:06:04 +0000

The death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was running for a fifth term, begins a tumultuous new chapter in South Carolina politics during a year that has already been full of upheaval.

As the conservative state's senior senator and an influential ally of President Donald Trump, Graham was presumed to be on a glide path toward reelection.

Now, Gov. Henry McMaster must choose a temporary replacement who can serve until January while the state also prepares a special primary so voters can choose a new Republican nominee for the general election.

The rare open Senate seat has ignited a scramble among South Carolina's most ambitious conservatives, who have been eager to climb the political ladder.

Republicans just finished a sprawling and bruising contest to figure out their nominee for succeeding McMaster, who is wrapping up his second term. State Attorney General Alan Wilson won the nomination, overcoming a field that included Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman — all of whom are now eyeing Graham's seat following his death over the weekend.

How will a special primary work?

According to South Carolina law, a one-week filing period for a special primary election begins on the second Tuesday after the candidate’s death, or July 21.

The special primary election would be held on the second Tuesday after that filing period closes, or Aug. 11. Any necessary runoff would follow two weeks after that, or Aug. 25.

From that point, the new nominee would have just over two months to campaign for the general election on Nov. 3.

All of this is problematic according to federal law, which requires military and overseas ballots to go out 45 days before any federal election. For the general election primary, that would have been June 27. Federal Election Commission officials didn’t immediately return a message seeking clarity about the process.

Who could replace Graham?

Graham died on Saturday night, and a preliminary medical examiner report said he suffered a tear in his aorta, known as an aortic dissection.

In the hours after Graham's death was announced, South Carolina’s Republican circles were already swirling with rumors about possible replacements. Given the proximity of November's election, it's likely that whomever McMaster appoints could be a top contender in the special primary, although it's possible that McMaster's choice will only serve as a temporary caretaker.

Evette, who has served nearly eight years alongside McMaster and received his endorsement in the governor's race, is one possibility. She lost the June 23 runoff to Wilson.

A person with knowledge of Evette's thinking but not authorized to discuss it publicly said that she was getting encouragement from across the state and feels she would have good chances in the special primary.

It's unlikely that any House member would be appointed to finish Graham's current term, since Republicans have such a slim majority in the chamber.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a rumored replacement, said he assured Trump on Sunday that “my goal is to remain in the House to keep his two-vote majority for the American people!!!”

However, that doesn't mean that House members won't run for the next full term. A person with knowledge of Mace's thinking but not authorized to speak about it publicly said she was considering the race. Mace is not running for reelection to the House.

But another Republican from the state, Rep. Russell Fry, could be a possibility. The two-term lawmaker represents the growing area around Myrtle Beach, and he's been a top Trump ally.

A spokesman for businessman Mark Lynch, whom Graham defeated in the primary, didn't return a message Sunday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who lived in South Carolina before joining the Trump administration, has fielded calls about potentially replacing Graham but doesn’t have interest in the role and enjoys working for the president, according to a person who insisted on anonymity to describe private conversations.

How does Graham's death affect the general election?

No Democrat has won a Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double digits. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.

So while history suggests that Graham was en route to a fifth term, Republicans are carefully surveying the landscape.

Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews won the Democratic nomination last month and has raised more than $8 million in the race, and she had just under $3 million cash on hand at the end of May, according to federal filings. Graham had taken in $6 million, with just over $4 million on hand.

In a statement Sunday, Andrews called on South Carolinians to join her “in setting partisanship aside and offering gratitude" to Graham for his service.

Harrison, noting that he and Graham “had our share of political disagreements,” wrote on social media that he “always appreciated that even in our fiercest political battles, we could still share a conversation, a laugh, and a mutual respect for South Carolina and the institutions we were both privileged to serve.”

What happens to South Carolina's Republican clout?

Graham leaves a major void in the Senate, where seniority can determine influence. He served more than two decades in the chamber, positioning himself to lead committees and set the agenda.

Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina's junior senator, has been in office only since 2012 — short by the state's standards. Fritz Hollings served for 38 years, and Strom Thurmond was there for 47.

Scott, who co-chaired Graham's reelection effort, described his former colleague as “irreplaceable.”

“America lost a statesman, but I lost a friend,” he told ABC's “This Week."

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Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.

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

Massive AI buildout poses latest inflation threat as consumers pay more for laptops and electricity

Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:17:15 +0000

American consumers — and the Federal Reserve — are being hit with another high-cost headache.

The gusher of investment in data centers — likely topping $700 billion this year — to power artificial intelligence has made memory chips, computer processors and other equipment, as well as electricity, more expensive. Economists expect it will continue to push up inflation at least through the end of this year.

While it won't be as large a spike as occurred in 2021-2023, when inflation peaked at 9.1%, massive AI spending is likely to keep prices rising more quickly than the Federal Reserve would like. Such increases could lead the central bank to lift its key interest rate later this year to cool spending and bring down inflation. Higher rates from the Fed often boost borrowing costs for auto loans, mortgages, and business loans.

Fed officials will closely watch June's inflation report, to be released Tuesday, for further signs of AI's impact on prices. Inflation last month likely cooled as gasoline prices have fallen after a ceasefire was reached between the U.S. and Iran, though whether that trend continues is now unclear as the U.S. and Iran have resumed fighting.

AI spending is lifting prices for consumer electronics

Just four large tech companies — Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft — are expected to invest $720 billion this year, mostly on data centers.

Those data centers use a lot of semiconductors, and chip supplies have run low. As a result, economists at JPMorgan Chase estimate that the cost of some computer memory chips will have soared by as much as 400% between 2024 and the end of this year.

Americans are already seeing higher prices for a range of consumer electronics, including laptops, smartphones, video game consoles, and computers. Electricity prices are also jumping as data centers absorb a growing share of new electrical capacity.

In a high-profile announcement last month, Apple announced it was boosting prices for laptops and iPads by about 15% to 25%. A topline MacBook will now cost $1,999, up from $1,699.

Many analysts expect price hikes will come for iPhones next.

“The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," Apple said in a statement. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”

On the same day, Microsoft announced that the price of its Xbox video game console will increase $100 by Aug. 1, citing higher prices for memory chips. Sony is also charging more for the PlayStation, while Dell Computer and HP have raised prices for their laptops.

A “wave of AI-related cost pressures spilling over into consumer prices is still in the early stages of building,” analysts at investment bank Evercore ISI recently wrote.

It's the latest in a series of waves that have boosted inflation

The impact on broader measures of inflation may be relatively modest, with many economists forecasting that AI investment will boost core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, by roughly a half-percentage point by the end of this year.

Still, that could be enough to offset declining prices elsewhere, as the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs continues to fade and as rental costs cool. Core inflation, according to the Fed's preferred measure, was 3.4% in May and some economists now expect it may decline only slightly by the end of the year, remaining well above the Fed's 2% target.

The boost from AI may prove temporary, but it follows previous waves of higher prices stemming from tariffs and the gas price spike resulting from the Iran war. The Fed typically “looks through,” or ignores, temporary price increases, rather than boosting rates to fight them, but an ongoing series of temporary price shocks could threaten to create more sustained inflation, which has already been above the Fed's target for more than five years.

“In isolation one or two such shocks is perhaps transitory, something they’re willing to live with,” said Abiel Reinhart, an economist at J.P. Morgan. "A sustained series of shocks, or a wider range of shocks, becomes more concerning to them.”

Federal Reserve officials have increasingly focused on AI

Fed policymakers are increasingly focused on AI's inflationary impact. Kevin Warsh, who took over as chair May 22, has said he believes that over time AI will make the U.S. economy more efficient, which should reduce inflation even as growth accelerates.

He acknowledged in remarks July 1, however, that AI investment is now boosting demand, but declined to speculate on how inflationary the impact would be.

Yet many Fed officials worry that demand for AI-related gear will continue to outstrip available supply, a recipe for persistent price increases.

“If this creates a sustained impulse to demand relative to supply in inflation, I do think that’s the kind of situation where you don’t look through this,” John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said Thursday. Williams is also vice chair of the Fed's rate-setting committee. Williams has supported keeping rates unchanged, but his comment suggests that under some scenarios he could support a hike.

According to the minutes of the Fed's June 16-17 policy meeting, released Wednesday, many other officials share Williams' concerns.

Another channel through which AI could raise inflation is through its huge demand for electricity, which has caused many utilities to raise prices. Power companies throughout the U.S. are adding more capacity, an expensive step that can also boost electricity costs.

According to the government's consumer price index, electricity prices rose 5.9% in May compared with a year earlier, a bigger increase than overall inflation, which was 4.2%. After a pandemic spike, electricity price gains had dropped back to about 2% annually in early 2025.

While prices for computer chips could peak this year and then decline, experts expect electricity demand from AI will push up utility costs into 2028 or even beyond. In February, economists at Goldman Sachs forecast that electricity prices will rise 6% this year and next, and an above-average 3% in 2028.

“We do know what effect AI is having on inflation now, and it is inflationary, not deflationary,” Dario Perkins, an economist at TSLombard, wrote this week.

EU targets Russian intelligence officers accused of running a yearslong cyberspying campaign

Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:32:56 +0000

The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on Russian military intelligence officers, hackers and private companies, denouncing what it called a yearslong cyberespionage campaign to undermine the bloc.

The move targeted nine people and four entities accused of links to an online spying network that the EU said has targeted governments and carried out sabotage operations against critical infrastructure like heating and power plants since 2010.

The European Council said in a statement that those targeted “contribute to Russia’s efforts to destabilize the EU, its member states and international partners.” The espionage and attacks have taken place in at least nine countries.

The names of the individuals and entities — which usually companies, government agencies, banks or other organizations — were not listed on the statement.

It said France, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania and Finland, “among others” have been targeted.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that France intends to summon the Russian ambassador in the coming days. He told French BFM television that the aim of the cyberactivities is “either to capture information, or sabotage the operation, for example, of railway infrastructures as it was the case in Poland.”

The EU focused its measures on the 16th Center of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. It said the FSB has been “controlling a variety of cyberthreat groups,” and said it “has conducted a wide range of malicious cyberactivities with growing severity.”

Some countries have accused Russia of using cyberattacks and propaganda to interfere with elections.

In April, Sweden said Wednesday that a pro-Russian group with links to Russia’s security and intelligence services was behind a cyberattack on a heating plant last year. The announcement followed warnings from officials in Poland, Norway, Denmark and Latvia that Russia is attacking critical infrastructure across Europe.

Another hot, humid, and stormy day ahead

Katie Garner — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:57:27 +0000

Good Monday, Jacksonville!

Expect another classic summer day across Northeast Florida, with a mix of clouds and sunshine through the morning before temperatures climb into the upper 80s by this afternoon.

Heat and humidity will make it feel well into the 90s, so be sure to stay hydrated if you’re spending time outdoors.

As the sea breeze develops, scattered thunderstorms are expected to pop up during the afternoon and early evening.

While not everyone will see rain, any storm that forms could produce heavy downpours, frequent lightning, and gusty winds before quickly moving out.

Conditions will gradually improve after sunset, with warm and muggy weather continuing overnight.

Keep an eye on the sky if you have outdoor plans later today, and have a way to receive weather alerts if thunderstorms approach.

EU chief weighs age restrictions for children using social media

Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:02:53 +0000

A top European Union official on Monday called for limits to be placed on children using social media as a special EU panel looking into the challenge recommended forbidding access for those under 13 until tech companies can prove their platforms are safe.

Growing awareness of the dangers social media poses for young, developing brains has shown up in a wave of new restrictions globally. Australia, the U.K., Turkey, Indonesia and others have passed bans on kids under 16 or 15 from using platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

Laying out a list of her concerns about the use of social media by kids, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — a doctor by training — said that children under 3 should have no exposure to screens at all.

“I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges because childhood won’t wait and once it’s gone, we can never give it back,” von der Leyen told reporters.

“Just as we don’t give our children keys to the car before they have their license, or we do not let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed. We need to set the age at which they can, the children can, legally access social media,” she said.

Von der Leyen noted infinite scrolling as one of the “addictive” traits that tech companies must address.

Beyond toddlers, she did not mention any precise restrictions, but she and the European Commission — the EU’s powerful executive branch — are likely to come up with a proposal for the 27 member countries to weigh in the near future. Von der Leyen’s policy proposals carry great influence with EU member countries.

A special panel set up to study child safety online delivered its report to the EU chief on Monday. The report said that when it comes to safety, “the burden of proof needs to be on providers, not regulators, parents and children.”

“Until they demonstrate that their services are safe by design, social media and other digital services providers should have restricted access to children under the age of 13 in the EU,” said the report, which is likely to influence von der Leyen's thinking.

It recommended that “further precautionary age restrictions” should be considered by EU countries for children over 13.

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters backs Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in contentious race to succeed him

Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:16:31 +0000

Outgoing Michigan Sen. Gary Peters is endorsing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens as his successor, adding to a growing effort by the Democratic establishment to help her defeat progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed in next month’s primary.

Peters, who is retiring after 12 years in the Senate, said Stevens “will be ready on day one to fight for Michigan.” The endorsement, which was announced Monday, marks a reversal for Peters, who told The Associated Press in late May that he intended to stay neutral in the race.

But since then, Democratic leaders have increasingly rallied behind Stevens as the Aug. 4 primary approaches and concerns grow that El-Sayed is too far left to succeed in November. Holding the Michigan seat is viewed as critical to Democrats’ hopes of reclaiming the Senate majority.

Stevens, a four-term House member, has campaigned as a more moderate Democrat focused on manufacturing issues in the critical battleground state. El-Sayed, who has never held elected office, is running on a more progressive platform that includes Medicare for All and campaign finance reform. He's also been outspoken about the war in Gaza, which has been a fault line within the party.

Concerns about Michigan have only intensified after Democrats’ attempt to flip a Senate seat in Maine was thrown into turmoil when nominee Graham Platner withdrew from the race following a sexual assault allegation last week. Democrats there must now choose a new nominee to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Peters’ endorsement also comes after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of Michigan’s Democratic primary earlier this month, transforming the race into a head-to-head contest between Stevens and El-Sayed.

“Senator Peters knows what it takes to win in Michigan, and he knows what Michigan needs from our next U.S. Senator: grit, effectiveness, hard work, and Michigan common sense,” Stevens said in a statement. “I am honored to have his support.”

Peters won two Senate races in Michigan and led Senate Democrats’ campaign arm during the 2022 and 2024 election cycles.

His endorsement adds to Stevens’ growing support from the Democratic establishment, with the race being viewed nationally as a broader fight over the party’s direction.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has also backed Stevens, along with Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. El-Sayed has support from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and, more recently, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.

The campaign has grown increasingly contentious in recent weeks.

El-Sayed has attacked Stevens over tens of millions of dollars in outside spending supporting her campaign, including by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Stevens has criticized El-Sayed for not disclosing his personal financial records.

During a July 7 debate, each accused the other of running a negative campaign.

“Abdul has spent this entire campaign attacking me,” Stevens said.

The Democratic winner will likely face Republican Mike Rogers, a former member of the U.S. House running uncontested for his party's nomination, in what is expected to be one of the country’s most expensive and closely watched Senate races.

Coast Guard, JSO searching for man who went under at Huguenot Park

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:41:16 +0000

Officials are searching for one swimmer after a reported drowning at Huguenot Park on Hecksher Drive.

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says officers were called to Huguenot Park for a reported drowning just after 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Officers found three adults were swimming in the ocean when they began struggling against the undertow.

Bystanders were able to rescue two of the people. The third, a man, went under and never resurfaced.

The U.S. Coast Guard and JSO Marine Unit, Dive Team Homicide Unit and Crime Scene Unit responded.

As of 12:55 a.m. on Sunday, they are actively conducting search and investigative efforts.

This is a developing story.

Sen. Lindsey Graham likely died after aorta tear, medical examiner says

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 06:38:42 +0000

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, died after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner finding shared by his office.

The tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection, was related to the hardening of Graham's arteries. An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing.

Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican and former Air Force lawyer who served in Congress for more than three decades, had turned 71 years old just two days before dying on Saturday night. His office had originally said he had suffered from a “brief and sudden illness."

Trump, who talked to Graham frequently, said he was “like a member of the family. It’s very tough.” He said on NBC’s ”Meet the Press" that Graham had called him on Saturday night after returning from a trip to Ukraine and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect.” The president ordered that flags across the country be flown at half-staff until next Saturday evening.

A noted foreign policy hawk, Graham was one of the most influential figures in Washington on international affairs and he advised Trump on matters such as the Iran war and Russia. On Friday, Graham had announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions.

As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham also had a central role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation on party-line votes while holding a narrow 53-47 majority in the chamber.

Under South Carolina law, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in November. A new nominee will be selected in a special primary, which is required to be held within weeks of a vacancy. The winner of November's general election will start a full six-year term in January.

Graham had a close, complicated relationship with Trump

Graham, elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, long promoted a policy of robust U.S. military interventionism and strong national defense that in later years would put him at odds with the growing isolationist wing of his party.

Over time, Graham became well-known for his close ties with Trump, whom the senator briefly ran against for the presidential nomination in 2016.

Their relationship would begin on a rough note, with Graham calling the then-New York businessman “unfit for office.” Graham used a profanity to describe Trump after Trump made disparaging comments about Arizona Republican John McCain, Graham's best friend in the Senate and a Vietnam War veteran. McCain and Graham, along with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., were known as the “Three Amigos” and frequently traveled together to promote their foreign policy views around the globe.

During a campaign rally in South Carolina, Trump read out Graham’s personal cellphone number and continued to belittle him throughout the 2016 race as Graham made it clear he would not support Trump.

Graham, however, shifted significantly once Trump won the White House and emerged as one of Trump's top allies — speaking with him frequently and becoming a regular presence on the golf course alongside the president — even as McCain remained a critic.

In a 2018 interview with The Associated Press, Graham explained his pivot by saying McCain taught him that the country must move forward after elections and that meant “you have an obligation” to help the president. McCain ran twice for the White House.

“And I’ve tried to be helpful where I could because I think he needs all the help he can get,” Graham said of Trump. “You can be a better critic when people understand that you’re trying to help them be successful.”

Graham was a prominent defender of Trump during the president's two first-term impeachments — a reversal from Graham's role as a House prosecutor during Democratic President Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1998, when he urged senators not to make up their minds before listening to all of the arguments. Both Trump and Clinton were eventually acquitted.

Graham appeared to break with Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, saying in a dramatic speech on the Senate floor that night, “Count me out. Enough is enough." But the senator soon returned to Trump's side and the two remained close during Trump's second term.

Foreign policy was a focus for Graham

Graham had just been in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the senator visited his country 10 times during the years since Russia invaded in February 2022. “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said.

He was also one of the chief backers of Trump's war in Iran, having advocated for years for direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Graham continued to defend Trump this summer even as many of his fellow Republicans questioned a tentative June ceasefire agreement that they worried could send billions of dollars to Iran.

“I’d rather try diplomacy than take it off the table,” Graham said of Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Tehran.

Graham's travels made him a familiar face to dozens of world leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States was inseparable.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said.

Graham led both the Senate Budget and Judiciary committees

As Budget Committee chairman, Graham helped oversee a Senate procedure that allowed Republicans to pass significant policies such as last year’s tax law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.

He had previously led the Senate Judiciary Committee when Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020. The senator was in line to regain that gavel if the party kept its majority after the midterm elections and had pledged to confirm "as many conservative judges as possible.”

Graham was a key player in the Senate’s efforts to craft a massive immigration overhaul in 2013 as a member of a bipartisan group. The legislation passed the Senate with 68 votes but was never taken up by the House, so it did not become law.

Graham’s views on immigration, particularly an endorsement of a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. without legal status, put him at odds with some Republican factions.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who was his ally on that issue, said Graham was “part of every important policy issue and an indispensable player” in bipartisan negotiations.

An ‘irreplaceable’ force in the Senate

Graham often worked across the aisle, even as he remained fiercely loyal to Trump. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, said in a statement that “personal relationships often mattered more to him than the political disagreements of the day."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Graham was “over the moon” with the Russian sanctions deal announced Friday. “The last thing in the world I would have guessed was that he was sick or ill or in any way vulnerable,” Blumenthal said.

Jaime Harrison, a former national and state Democratic Party chairman who unsuccessfully ran against Graham in 2020, said that even during their “fiercest political battles” the two men "could still share a conversation, a laugh, and a mutual respect for South Carolina.”

Graham was unique in the Senate for his influence not only on Trump, but also with his fellow Republicans who were aware of his ability to sometimes move the president’s thinking. He was also known for his sense of humor, often deployed to defuse tensions.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the second-ranking Republican, said Graham will be missed for his “quick wit and infectious laughter.”

McMaster said in a statement that Graham was “irreplaceable.” Former Republican President George W. Bush said Graham “understood how the world works” and “was a kind and funny man who loved our country and loved serving it.”

Graham often spoke about his humble roots, growing up in the back of a South Carolina bar and helping to raise his sister, Darline, after his parents died at a young age. Graham was not married and did not have children.

Special election to replace Graham could be within weeks

Graham won 57% of the GOP vote in South Carolina's primary in June and was up against Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, and several minor party and independent candidates in November.

His death will likely prompt a scramble to fill a rare open Senate seat.

A number of Republican names began circulating as possible replacements to serve out the rest of Graham’s term, including three candidates who fell short for the party's nomination for governor this year — Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Also in the mix is Rep. Russell Fry, who was elected to the House in 2022.

___

Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian and Will Weissert in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Brian P. D. Hannon in Bangkok and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Trump suggests a standing order to attack Iran if it assassinates him. But Vance would make the call

Will Weissert, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 16:48:05 +0000

President Donald Trump is suggesting he has left standing orders for the U.S. military to destroy Iran “ at levels they've never seen before ” if Tehran follows through on its long-standing threats to kill him.

But the U.S. government has no way to create an automatic, preauthorized “dead man’s switch” that would prompt immediate retaliation.

Instead, if Trump were killed, the transfer of power to his successor is governed by the 25th Amendment and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. Vice President JD Vance instantaneously would become commander in chief and have authority for any retaliation.

Under such a scenario, Vance could do exactly what Trump called for, though there also is a chance he could decide not to follow his predecessor's orders — or offer a direct response in a different way.

“The U.S. has, for a whole variety of reasons, never utilized a technical ‘dead man’s switch,'” said Garrett M. Graff, author of “Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself -- While the Rest of Us Die.”

The United States does have extensive contingency plans for continuity of government in the event of a nuclear attack or other major catastrophe that wipes out most or all of Washington. But those plans also do not allow for immediately launching retaliatory strikes upon the death of a president, even if that president had demanded that the military be ready to do so.

Trump nonetheless posted on his social media website Saturday that Iran had made threats “to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate” him and he said 1,000 “missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat.”

Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said hours later that Iranians would continue to avenge the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The elder Khamenei died in the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes that started the war in late February, and he was mourned in funeral events throughout Iran this week. His son said retaliation “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out.”

“We pledge to take revenge for the pure blood of you and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraceful killers," he said in remarks aired on state television. "This revenge is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out.”

The White House on Saturday did not immediately answer questions about what would become of Trump's military orders should he be killed.

During those recent funeral events, mourners repeatedly held posters or banners calling for Trump to be killed along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Israel alerted U.S. officials to fresh Iranian plots to kill Trump. The White House has refused to comment, but Trump appeared to reference such threats in comments during this week's NATO summit in Turkey, saying, “They want to take out the U.S. leader — me.”

Sabrina Singh, former Biden administration deputy Pentagon press secretary, said “Iran wanting to target senior American leaders is something that we know is happening."

“You have to take these as credible threats,” Singh said.

US retaliations would almost certainly come, just not automatically

Trump was targeted in two domestic assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign and saw a gunman storm the White House Correspondents' Association dinner he was attending in April.

The president flew part of the way back to Washington from Turkey this week aboard an older Air Force One jet rather than a new Qatari-gifted aircraft, raising fresh security questions about the newer plane. Images of the jet, which was retrofitted at an estimated cost of $400 million, show it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as earlier versions.

The swap occurred as the U.S. and Iran once again began trading strikes, jeopardizing last month's initial deal to end the war. Asked about Iranian threats, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “I’m No. 1 on their list."

Graff said the U.S. prepared years of plans for how nuclear launch authority would devolve in the event of a surprise attack. That included, during 30 years of the Cold War, the country keeping fleets of airborne command posts flying 24 hours a day with a general aboard one of them who could take over nuclear launch orders in the event Washington was lost.

“What I believe Trump is saying is that he’s left standing orders to attack if he’s killed, e.g., that the Pentagon should proceed with standard launch protocols,” Graff said. “There’s a lot of reason to doubt the legality of such standing orders, since in the event of a president’s death, the nuclear launch authority would immediately pass to the vice president or designated successor — and ultimately it would be up to him or her to determine whether to proceed.”

Trump’s post only refers to firing missiles at Iran, which the U.S. has done scores of times since its war with Iran began. He did not expressly threaten involving nuclear weapons.

Graff said that, in addition to leaving standing orders in case of his death, Trump also might say “something to Vance like, ‘If I’m killed, nuke Iran,'" and that would make ”more sense and would be absolutely legal.”

Biden administration once warned Iran about Trump, too

Washington receiving credible threats against the president and top U.S. leaders from Iran and other foreign adversaries is not uncommon and is often disclosed via national security briefings or other classified means. But far less common is Trump declaring publicly that he personally has been targeted by Iran.

Still, this is not the first time Washington has threatened Iran over threats against Trump.

In 2022, the Biden administration warned Iran against attacking U.S. citizens after the Justice Department's disclosure that a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had planned to assassinate John Bolton, Trump's first-term national security adviser. Now a Trump critic, Bolton last month pleaded guilty to illegally retaining classified documents in a case led by Trump’s Justice Department.

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in 2022 that “should Iran attack any of our citizens, to include those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences.”

Two years later, in the heat of Trump’s campaign against Democrat Kamala Harris, Biden's vice president, the Biden administration again quietly warned Iran. This time, officials made clear that an attack on Trump would be considered an act of war.

Ryan Blaney wins 3-wide battle on final lap of overtime in NASCAR Cup race in Atlanta

Charles Odum, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:48:01 +0000

A late brush with the wall wasn't enough to send Ryan Blaney to pit row.

The decision paid off with a dominant victory.

Blaney emerged from a three-wide battle on the final lap of overtime in the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta early Monday.

Blaney won every stage of the race and led 171 laps after starting on the pole, but the Team Penske Ford driver had to fight off challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who finished second, on the final lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four.

Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and finished 29th instead of second.

There was a delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes because of rain and lightning. The raced ended at 1:45 a.m. at EchoPark Speedway.

Blaney won the first two stages but brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining, causing possible damage on his right side, after he was cut off by Wallace. Blaney remained on the track despite telling his crew he felt a “terrible” vibration.

“I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence,” Blaney said. “You know I think it’s just concrete in the wheels and paint and stuff like that but luckily it still drove really decent. ... It wasn’t too bad. Luckily it wasn’t enough damage we couldn’t keep running.”

Blaney's crew chief Jonathan Hassler said his team was able to view photos of the right side of the car and determine the best chance to win was to remain on the track.

“There were 30 cars on the lead lap at that point and not a lot of laps left,' Hassler said. ”Our best chance to win was to stay out there."

Multiple drivers, including Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst, were involved in a wreck with five laps remaining to set up the overtime.

There had been concern about approaching rain before lighting within eight miles of the 1.54-mile oval track near Atlanta led NASCAR officials to order cars off the track and advise fans to exit the grandstand. Rain began soon after the race was delayed. Following some caution laps and pit stops, the race went back to green at 12:02 a.m.

Blaney said he “took a nap and ate a little food” during the delay. Larson said the resumption of the race a few minutes before midnight “is definitely past my bedtime.”

Blaney won the pole and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano joined him on the front row. A third Team Penske driver, Austin Cindric, moved up to third early in the race for an early strong showing for the Fords.

Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin, who qualified 28th, finished 12th. Tyler Reddick was eighth.

Reddick, who won at EchoPark Speedway in February as part of his string of five wins in the season's first nine races, qualified only 31st on Saturday. By the 35th lap he already had moved up to fourth, proving early that he again would be a factor in Atlanta.

Clean start

The weather delay was the first caution for cause in the race, a dramatic departure from the weekend’s first race.

There were a track-record 13 cautions in Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race won by Justin Allgaier. That total included four red flag incidents, creating an ominous preview for the Cup Series race.

The first caution for an incident on the track in the Cup Series race came when AJ Allmendinger lost control of his Chevrolet with 67 laps remaining. Allmendinger blew a tire and hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to cause another caution.

Design to drive

This was Chase Elliott’s 10th year of his Design to Drive program with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He gave credit to the baseball-themed design of his No. 9 Chevrolet to two patients, 8-year-old Maximus Peace and 9-year-old Noelle Springer.

The program raised $545,500 for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in its first nine years. Elliott finished 13th.

Another strong start for Team Penske

Blaney’s Stage 1 win gave Team Penske Fords yet another strong start in Atlanta. Team Penske drivers have won Stage 1 in six of the last eight races at the track.

Blaney held off Reddick, who finished second in the first stage after qualifying 31st.

Up next

The Cup Series moves to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, next weekend. Christopher Bell edged Joey Logano at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 18, 2025.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Qatar's former ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at 74

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 05:18:22 +0000

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who as ruler of Qatar transformed the tiny Persian Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media and investment, and then shattered tradition by voluntarily turning over power to his son, has died, state media reported. He was 74.

The state-run Qatar News Agency reported his death. It offered no cause.

Sheikh Hamad, who stepped down in June 2013 after 18 years as emir, was the architect of energy-rich Qatar’s stunning ambitions that turned it from a backwater into an international crossroads in less than a generation. Qatar owns the Harrod’s department store in London and founded the powerful Al Jazeera satellite news network.

Qatar’s political reach today stretches from North Africa to Afghanistan and it hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world’s most-watched soccer event. Sheikh Hamad, though long out of power, received thunderous applause from Qataris attending its opening match.

But Qatar’s rise under Sheikh Hamad also rankled regional and Western allies with its independent-minded policymaking, including its close ties to Shiite powerhouse Iran, the Palestinian militant Hamas group and Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Al Jazeera’s blunt reporting, though a much-praised departure from the traditionally deferential habits of Arab media, also was criticized and accused of slanting coverage to suit the views of Qatar’s rulers.

“The future lies ahead of you, the children of this homeland, as you usher into a new era where young leadership hoists the banner,” Sheikh Hamad said as he announced his abdication and the carefully crafted transition to his son, the British-educated crown prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who was then 33.

Sheikh Hamad handed over power to his son

The peaceful, voluntary transfer of power was rare in a region where such change usually results from death or overthrow. Sheikh Hamad himself seized control after deposing his father, Sheikh Khalifa, in a bloodless palace coup in 1995.

His abdication was seen as Qatar’s attempt to stay ahead of Arab Spring-inspired calls for reforms and leadership more attuned to the region’s large and powerful young population. Qatar, a peninsula half the size of New Jersey, is believed to have around 300,000 citizens.

At the time, Sheikh Hamad also was thought to have been in poor health for years. In December 2015, Qatari officials said he was flown to Switzerland for surgery after breaking a leg while on holiday.

Sheikh Hamad attended Britain’s military academy, Sandhurst, and became commander of Qatar’s armed forces and defense minister. He was named crown prince in the late 1970s and gradually broadened his duties to include planning for Qatar’s vast oil and gas reserves.

Sheikh Hamad created Al Jazeera, a powerful voice in Arab media

After seizing power from his father, who then lived in exile for nearly a decade, Sheikh Hamad quickly moved to open an inward-looking nation to outside influences, epitomized by Al Jazeera, which became a major force in global media.

Its reporting not only angered other Arab leaders, sometimes to the point of diplomatic rupture, it also riled Washington. Al Jazeera aired statements from the terror network al-Qaida, even as Qatar hosted one of the key Pentagon logistical hubs following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sheikh Hamad, meanwhile, aggressively sought international prestige through sports, an effort crowned by Qatar’s successful bid to host the World Cup, though marred by accusations that it used its huge wealth to woo poor countries’ support.

Qatar’s brand is also prominent across the sporting world from sponsorship deals with the Spanish football giant Barcelona to a majority stake in the football club Paris Saint-Germain.

Sheikh Hamad also pushed Qatar Airways to expand into a major international carrier, trying to rival neighboring carrier Emirates. The country’s international airport in Doha, Qatar’s capital, which cost at least $15 billion to construct, also bears his name.

Qatar became a powerhouse for diplomacy

Sheikh Hamad had wide-ranging visions for Qatar’s role as a diplomatic broker. Over the years, its mediation was brought to bear on the conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region, Lebanese factional feuding and the rift between the Palestinians’ Hamas and Fatah factions.

In October 2012, Sheikh Hamad became the first head of state to visit the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized control five years previously, promising a total of $400 million in projects and investments. During the visit, Gaza radio stations played a song entitled “Thank you, Qatar.”

Qatar also reached out to Hamas’ main foe, Israel. Sheikh Hamad met in 2007 with Israel’s then-foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, at the United Nations General Assembly. Qatar allowed an Israeli trade office to operate in Doha until it was ordered closed in response to Israel’s attacks on Gaza in late 2008.

While neighboring Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020, Qatar maintained its distance. Israelis at the World Cup also faced a multitude of Palestinian flags and anger over its occupation of lands Palestinians claim for their future state.

During the Arab Spring, Qatar sent warplanes to the NATO-led missions in Libya against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces and provided key military and financial aid to the successful Libyan rebels. In Syria, Qatar was a main political sponsor of the opposition to then-President Bashar Assad and led calls to increase the flow of weapons to the Syrian rebels.

However, its backing of Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood has caused rifts with other nations in the region. Those tensions culminated under Sheikh Tamim, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a yearslong boycott of Qatar, in part over the policies of his father that continued during his rule.

In one of the last initiatives before Sheikh Hamad’s abdication, Qatar formally opened an office for Afghanistan’s Taliban, which set the stage for talks between the United States and the Taliban that ultimately led to NATO and America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Man who killed Dartmouth professors at 17 seeks reduced prison sentence

Holly Ramer And Kathy Mccormack, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 04:16:39 +0000

A Vermont man who was 17 when he and a friend killed a pair of married Dartmouth College professors 25 years ago is seeking to have his life sentence reduced to a minimum of 30 to 40 years.

Robert Tulloch, now 43, was automatically sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the 2001 stabbing deaths of Half and Susanne Zantop. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory sentences of life without parole are unconstitutional for juveniles, and later applied that decision retroactively.

The rulings gave hundreds of juvenile lifers a shot at freedom, including five men serving life sentences in New Hampshire for murders they committed as teenagers. Tulloch’s resentencing hearing, the last of the five, begins Monday in Grafton County Superior Court.

The state hasn’t said what sentence it will seek. But in a court filing last week, Tulloch’s lawyers argue that a minimum sentence in the range of 30 to 40 years is appropriate, based on a review of other murders committed by juveniles in New Hampshire and cases nationwide that were affected by the Supreme Court rulings.

Attorneys Richard Guerriero and Oliver Bloom also said Tulloch’s prison records show he has matured, and that after some initial misconduct early on, he’s had no major infractions since 2012 and no minor infractions since 2017. “The vast majority of his write-ups are for possessing too many books,” they wrote.

Quoting from Tulloch’s therapy records, they said he has expressed “significant remorse” for what he sees as a heinous and unforgivable crime, his “warped youthful thinking,” and his “good capacity for empathy.”

According to Tulloch’s friend, James Parker, the teens were bored with their lives in Chelsea, Vermont, when they concocted a plan to kill strangers, steal their money and move to Australia. For several months, they knocked on doors in New Hampshire and Vermont pretending to be conducting a survey on the environment before being let in by the Zantops. Susanne Zantop, 55, was head of Dartmouth’s German studies department and her husband, Half Zantop, 62, taught Earth sciences.

Parker, who was 16 at the time, told prosecutors that Tulloch stabbed Half Zantop and then directed Parker to attack Susanne Zantop. Tulloch also stabbed her. Fingerprints on a knife sheath and a bloody boot print linked the teens to the crime, but after being questioned by police, they fled Vermont and hitchhiked west. They were arrested at an Indiana truck stop weeks later.

Parker, who cooperated with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to second-degree murder, was released from prison on parole in 2024 at age 40, having served nearly the minimum term of his 25-years-to-life sentence.

“I think it’s unimaginably horrible,” Parker said during his parole hearing when asked by a board member what he thought of what he did. “I know there’s not an amount of time or things that I can do to change it, or alleviate any pain that I’ve caused.”

The Supreme Court rulings addressed only mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles, leaving the U.S. the only country that allows discretionary life sentences for minors. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have banned the practice, while another five states allow it but have no one serving such a sentence, according to the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.

New Hampshire lawmakers have rejected attempts to end life sentences for juveniles, but Tulloch's case could bolster future attempts. After Tulloch argued in 2018 that sentencing juveniles to life without parole violated the state constitution, the judge asked the state Supreme Court to weigh in, but it declined. Last July, Superior Court Judge Lawrence MacLeod agreed with Tulloch, finding that the constitution categorically prohibits such sentences as “cruel or unusual” punishment.

Among the juvenile lifers nationwide who have been resentenced after the U.S. Supreme Court rulings, more than 75% have received sentences of less than 40 years, according to a study published in 2024 in the Journal of Criminal Justice.

In New Hampshire, one man was resentenced to life without parole after refusing to attend his hearing or authorize his attorneys to argue for a lesser sentence. Others received sentences of 25-, 40- and 45-years-to-life.

Is there such a thing as being too old to execute? Aging death row inmates are set to die in Florida

David Fischer, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 04:14:57 +0000

The last prisoner strapped to a table in Florida’s death chamber was 74 years old — the oldest the state has executed in modern times. The next two set to die are older still.

The series of executions, due to be carried out by the end of this month, highlights the nation’s aging death-row population. One of Florida's prisoners scheduled to die in July, a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents in 1986, is 80 years old and would be only the second known octogenarian to be executed in the U.S.

For some, it renews questions about the humanity of administering capital punishment to inmates who might soon die from natural causes. For others, it illustrates how lengthy appeals designed to ensure constitutional protections and prevent innocent people from being executed can also delay justice.

“Is this intentional, as though to say, we’re not going to let a natural death help you escape executions?” asked the Rev. Dustin Feddon, a Catholic priest who has been ministering to Florida death row inmates since 2013. Noting the church's opposition to capital punishment, he added: "To execute those that are the most frail and elderly is even more cruel and unusual.”

Marilyn Gifford, whose sister's killer is set to die Tuesday, doesn't see it that way.

“I’m just happy it’s ever happening in our lifetime,” she said. “I wish my mother was alive to see it.”

Death warrants follow decades on death row

On June 25, Dusty Ray Spencer, who was convicted of fatally stabbing his wife in 1992, became the oldest person executed in Florida in modern history. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the 74-year-old's appeal that his liver disease rendered him susceptible to excruciating pain from lethal injection.

Dennis Sochor, convicted of killing 18-year-old Patricia Gifford just hours into 1982 after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party, would be just a week older if his execution is carried out on Tuesday. Marilyn Gifford said she and her family plan to be there.

Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, has spent nearly four decades on death row after being sentenced in the murders of his ex-girlfriend's parents. He is scheduled to die July 28 and would become the second oldest prisoner known to be put to death in the U.S., after 83-year-old Walter Moody Jr. Moody was executed in Alabama in 2018 for killing a federal judge and a Black civil rights attorney.

There are three inmates older than Occhicone on Florida’s death row.

The scheduling of executions is up to the governor

It's unclear why Florida set the executions for the three prisoners consecutively. Maria DeLiberato, legal director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, noted that in Florida, the governor has practically sole discretion when it comes to the scheduling of executions. In many other death penalty states, the scheduling is up to the courts.

About half of Florida’s 242 death row inmates have exhausted their appeals and could see their death warrant issued at any time. The family of Michael Sheridan spent a year calling and writing to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, requesting he sign a death warrant, before Sheridan's killer was executed earlier this year.

DeSantis' office did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment. He oversaw a record 19 executions in 2025, more in a single year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The state has executed nine inmates so far this year.

DeSantis said last year his goal is to bring justice to victims’ families who have waited for decades.

“Some of these crimes were committed in the ’80s,” the governor said last year. “Justice delayed is justice denied."

Death row gets older

The average age of inmates executed in the U.S. has crept up from the 30s to the 50s over the past half-century, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. While some inmates committed capital offenses later in life, lengthy appeals and mandatory reviews have resulted in many spending decades on death row, sometimes developing medical conditions that can complicate efforts to execute them.

Occhicone has several age-related ailments, including kidney and prostate problems, according to his attorneys. He needs help getting in and out of the shower, they noted.

Under Supreme Court precedent, those who were under 18 when they committed their crimes cannot be put to death. But advanced age alone doesn't provide a legal case for avoiding execution, said Gerod Hooper, an attorney with Florida’s Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, a state agency that provides post-conviction legal representation.

“You’d have to say it’s unconstitutional to execute this 80-year-old because he’s mentally deficient, he doesn’t have capacity to be executed," Hooper said. "Or because of some underlying medical condition, the drug cocktail they inject would cause undue pain and suffering.”

Death row inmates with dementia in Utah and Alabama have avoided execution and later died of apparent natural causes. An inmate in Idaho received at least one stay of execution because of cancer and other health problems, but state officials continue to push for his death.

‘He could live another 20 years’

At the time of Gifford’s disappearance, Sochor was free on probation from a 1980 rape conviction.

“I knew him as a child, and he was a bully,” said Frank Frandel, who grew up as a family friend in Portland, Michigan. “I could believe he could be violent like that.”

Frandel offered no sympathy for Sochor's advanced age, pointing out that Sochor’s father will turn 99 this year.

“He could live another 20 years,” Frandel said. “So no, I don’t feel sorry for him being at that age.”

Senate returns to Washington after Sen. Lindsey Graham's death with uncertain agenda

Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 04:01:10 +0000

Senate Republicans will return to Washington on Monday with an uncertain agenda after the sudden death of prominent Republican Lindsey Graham, a committee chairman and key player who served as a crucial ally with President Donald Trump.

Graham, 71, died Saturday evening after a tear in his aorta, according to a statement from his office on Sunday. The shocking news came after another prominent Republican senator, former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, has been hospitalized for almost a month. McConnell broke a weekslong silence about his health Sunday evening, saying that he was still recovering after suffering from pneumonia and falling in his home.

The continued absence of McConnell, R-Ky., and the surprise death of the South Carolina senator have shaken Republicans who were already at odds with Trump and stalled on several priorities as they return from a two-week recess. And the reduced Republican numbers in the 53-47 Senate are sure to add confusion to what was already expected to be a chaotic and difficult few months before the November midterm elections.

Despite consolidated power in Washington, Republicans have been unable to get much done as the Senate, House and White House have disagreed on legislative priorities and as Trump has criticized Senate Republicans, in particular, for not passing his legislation to require proof of citizenship for voters. Graham, who was one of Trump’s closest friends in the Senate, often served as a pivotal intermediary.

“He was a great — like a gauge, a temperature gauge of the Senate,” Trump said of Graham on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, noting he had talked to Graham on Saturday. “He could go in and get something approved. He would just get people on his side.”

Republican priorities are stalled

The Senate left town two weeks ago after a rough few weeks for Republicans. Trump blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war even as they questioned the strategy and endgame.

He also refused to sign a bipartisan, election-year housing bill that had the support of large bipartisan majorities in both chambers, arguing that they should pass his bill to require proof of citizenship, the SAVE America Act, instead. The bill became law on Friday at midnight after he declined to sign it but did not veto it.

The alliance between Trump and Senate Republicans has also been weakened after the president endorsed the opponents of two Republican incumbent senators who had been reliable votes, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy. Cassidy challenged Trump directly on the Iran war in a Capitol meeting between Trump and Republicans just before they left town that did not go well.

Senate’s agenda is uncertain

Republicans return to a number of important agenda items, including the confirmation of Trump’s pick for attorney general, Todd Blanche, and the confirmation of Jay Clayton, who Trump selected to be director of national intelligence and later temporarily blocked.

They also must find a way to navigate Democratic opposition and Trump’s continued ire to keep the government open and prevent a government shutdown, again. Graham was a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as is McConnell.

Graham also sat on the Judiciary Committee that will consider Blanche’s nomination and is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, which has been under pressure from House Republicans and Trump to move a budget package with increased defense spending for Iran.

There is also bipartisan legislation to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions that Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut had announced on Friday after an agreement with the Trump administration.

Blumenthal told The Associated Press on Sunday that Graham was “absolutely focused on this moment” as they announced the sanctions package after months of negotiations. He said he hopes Graham’s memory will inspire the Senate to move forward.

“We’ve really reached this moment where all of the stars are aligned and we will be lacking Lindsey’s spectacular advocacy,” Blumenthal said.

Graham’s death came after a trip to Ukraine

Senate leaders have not yet announced how they will honor Graham, who died after a tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection, related to hardening of Graham’s arteries, according to his office. An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing, his office said.

Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican and former Air Force lawyer who served in Congress for more than three decades, had just returned from a trip to Ukraine.

A number of Republican names began circulating as possible replacements to serve out the rest of Graham’s term, including three candidates who fell short for the party’s nomination for governor this year — Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Also in the mix is Rep. Russell Fry, who was elected to the House in 2022.

McConnell not expected to return immediately

McConnell’s Sunday announcement revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of mounting speculation about his health.

The Kentucky Republican, who is retiring in January, said in a statement that he was “briefly unconscious” around the time he was first taken to the hospital in June and has undergone a battery of tests to try and determine what led to his fall. He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.

“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” McConnell said, adding that he is now “regaining my strength.”

He said he cannot return to the Senate “quite yet.”

McConnell explained the four-week silence about his condition by saying that “folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older.”

“Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct — I can’t help it,” he said.

China’s 'Green Great Wall' tames desert growth, but scientists warn the fight is not over

Associated Press — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 01:05:39 +0000

For half a century, millions of workers have repeated a task across the deserts in northern China: inserting forearm-length sticks into shifting sand, first in a row, then in an intersecting line, gradually forming a grid. Then saplings are planted at the center of each small square.

The technique, known as “straw checkerboards,” is a simple yet widely used method to stabilize sand dunes against the wind and help plants take root by using water supplied through an irrigation system.

The widespread lattice it created across the sand has become the iconic image of China’s decades-long campaign against the spreading of desert conditions, known as the Three-North Protective Forest Program or the Green Great Wall.

The generations of work have yielded measurable progress, but scientists caution that preserving the gains will require decades of continued effort.

For a long time, drought, overgrazing and farming removed vegetation, harmed the soil and made areas vulnerable to wind and sandstorms. That kind of degradation of the land over time is known as desertification. The area of desertified land in northern China peaked in 2000, and it has been reduced by over 1,000 square kilometers (400 square miles) each year since then, according to data published by state media.

The Chinese government said the initiative launched in 1978 has played a crucial role in transforming vast regions covering nearly half of China from “the desertification advancing and people retreating” to “greenery advancing and the desertification retreating." Forests planted by the program now cover a cumulative 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) .

“The broad significance of the Three-North Program is not only the scale of restoration, but the long-term political commitment behind it,” said Barron Joseph Orr, chief scientist for the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification. In a response to The Associated Press, he wrote that reversing desertification is possible when it becomes part of long-term development strategies.

Elsewhere, efforts to combat desertification have included a project launched in Africa in 2007 to plant trees across a number of countries to hold back the Sahara Desert.

Measuring the success of the Green Great Wall

The progress is the result of the efforts of frontline sand-control workers, along with top-level planning and substantial state investment, said Zhu Jiaojun, a scientist at the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who has long been dedicated to the construction and management of the program. He added that increased rainfall in recent years in some areas has made vegetation restoration easier.

“The achievement of desertification combat is due to people’s hard work and a bit of luck with climate,” he said.

According to long-term monitoring data by Zhu's team, China’s desertified land has shrunk by around 10% overall since 2000, and areas of severely or extremely desertified land have decreased by more than 40%. Forest cover in the program area has risen from around 5% in 1978 to 14% in 2022.

In a recent government-organized media tour to a corner of Kubuqi Desert, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the west of Beijing, 60-year-old Yin Yuzhen recounted her early days of being a sand-control worker as “very lonely.” Working alongside her husband near her hometown in the neighboring Mu Us desert, she said that it felt delightful to encounter any other creature.

"Even the passing of a bird across the sky made me happy,” she said.

Four decades ago, she recalled, the sand often blew so thick that it made it hard to see a short distance.

“But now we can see the sun. We can see the green in the distance. We can see the road,” said Yin.

She and her husband now work from dawn to noon every day, attending to trees and fixing or replacing checkerboards. They are joined by their children and sometimes local volunteers.

Zhu, the scientist, estimated that over 300 million rural laborers have been involved in the program, mostly on a paid, part-time basis.

Sustaining both land and livelihood

Orr said restored ecosystems in drylands can become increasingly self-sustaining over time, but they still require careful management and long-term monitoring, with success depending on factors such as water availability and soil health.

The environmental advocacy group Green Camel Bell in Gansu province works to explain desertification and its risks to farmers and herders, plant trees with them in dryland areas, and help restore and sustain vegetation.

“Efforts to combat desertification and restore forests should be linked to local livelihoods, so communities do not see economic development and ecological protection as an either-or choice,” said its founder Zhao Zhong.

Orr agreed that restoration efforts have a much greater chance of succeeding if they're structured to help communities benefit economically.

Zhu said that a key question for the project is how conservation can be sustained if the scale of human intervention and investment is reduced.

"This is what we are very concerned with and this is also the biggest challenge,” he said.

Yin hopes the younger generation will continue her work.

“We need to teach young people to love this Earth. If we love it with all our hearts, nature will love us in return,” she said.

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Video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this story.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The US launches more strikes on Iran as the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz escalates

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 02:45:08 +0000

The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran into Monday morning over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing over the weekend. Iran retaliated by targeting countries across the Middle East.

Missile alert sirens sounded at dawn Monday in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. There was no immediate word on damage.

Iranian state media acknowledged the latest attacks on its soil early Monday, describing explosions in several locations with at least one person being killed.

Iranian attacks on Sunday stretched Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and even Oman — whose territorial waters with Iran make up the strait. The narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, which once saw a fifth of all oil and natural gas pass through it, has become the key issue challenging an interim deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran and the U.S. are nearly at the midway point of the 60-day period of that deal, which was supposed to set up talks for a permanent end to the war. Instead, it has devolved into a series of attacks over the strait and its future, worrying world leaders the Iran war could resume.

“A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.

Fighting focuses on the status of the strait

The U.S. military earlier Sunday said it hit some 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites — a far-heavier set of attacks than in two previous rounds of strikes in the last week.

“We bombed the hell out of them last night,” President Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting U.S. military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and potentially charge vessels for traveling through it.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard acknowledged in a statement early Monday it had begun a new round of strikes across the Middle East.

“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament and a main negotiator, wrote. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

Iran described the strait as being closed, while the U.S. military and Trump asserted that the strait remained open. Iran since the war began back on Feb. 28 with the killing of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has used attacks on vessels in the region to intimidate shippers into not traveling through the waterway.

Iran's chokehold on the strait, however, has loosened as the U.S. military provided support to vessels moving along a southern route hugging the coastline of Oman. That new route has angered Iran, which launched repeated attacks on ships using it.

Iran’s grip on the strait led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.

Attacks followed more diplomatic talks about the strait

Trump suggested last week that the interim deal in the war was “over.” But mediators, including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt, have continued efforts to reach a final agreement to end the war.

A regional official involved in mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss talks, said efforts to shore up the ceasefire continued Sunday. Pakistan said its foreign minister spoke by phone with Iran’s top diplomat and urged “de-escalation” on both sides.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, unseen since the war began, on Saturday vowed in his first statement since the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Iranians would avenge his killing.

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Weissert and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

Front stalls bringing scattered storms through Tuesday

Chris Holtzman — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 02:07:55 +0000

Tonight will be partly cloudy and warm with temperatures in the 70s.

Monday's forecast.

The heat and humidity will stick around on Monday. We will see a partly to mostly cloudy sky with temperatures in the 90s.

A front will stall close to our region, which will keep rain coverage widespread.

Scattered storms will develop Monday afternoon and evening.

Widespread showers and storms will develop in the afternoon and evening. Heavy rain, frequent lightning and gusty wind will be possible in any storm.

Make sure to keep an eye to the sky and storms could develop rapidly. Activity will eventually dissipate later in the evening.

A front will keep widespread showers and storms in the forecast.

The front will remain close to our area on Tuesday. This will bring scattered showers and storms to our area each day.

It will be hot and humid with highs in the low to mid 90s.

The latest drought monitor.

Regarding the drought, the latest drought monitor reflects improvement across our area. Several areas have been downgraded to a moderate and 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 in the next outlook.

TONIGHT: Partly Cloudy. An Isolated Storm Early. Low 77.

MONDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 94, Low 74.

TUESDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 93, Low 75.

WEDNESDAY: Partly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 94, Low 76.

THURSDAY: Partly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 95, Low 77.

FRIDAY: Partly Cloudy. Isolated Rain & Storms. High 95, Low 76.

Typhoon Bavi weakens but still brings strong winds and rain to China

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 04:16:36 +0000

Typhoon Bavi weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday, hours after making landfall in eastern China 's Zhejiang province, but was still bringing days of strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the country.

The storm's intensity continued to weaken as it moved northwestward across eastern China into the province of Anhui on Sunday afternoon, according to China’s national weather center.

Strong winds and heavy rain are expected to impact many eastern and northeastern Chinese cities on Sunday and Monday, the National Meteorological Center said, adding that heavy to torrential rain was recorded Sunday afternoon in provinces, including Anhui.

In Zhejiang province, more than 2.2 million people were evacuated due to Bavi, according to state media. The city of Shanghai, in Zhejiang, evacuated over 290,000 people from at-risk areas, while Fujian province evacuated more than 180,000 people.

In the coastal city of Yueqing, also in Zhejiang province, more than 1,300 trees were toppled, including at least 700 uprooted, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao International Airport were expected to cancel around 653 inbound and outbound flights due to Bavi, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Bavi passed north of Taiwan on Saturday but did not make a direct landfall. Taiwan’s fire department said at least 134 people across the island were injured, some sustaining injuries while riding motorcycles or bicycles in strong winds or due to slippery road surfaces.

Bishop Snyder, Sandalwood, Glynn Academy have 2 players apiece selected in MLB draft

Justin Barney — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:40:20 +0000

A handful of local players rounded out the final day of the Major League Baseball draft, including a pair of selections who graduated from Sandalwood High School.

In all, the area produced seven draft picks, two apiece from Bishop Snyder, Sandalwood, and Glynn Academy.

On Sunday’s final day, Saints right-handed pitcher Bane Barker was a 12^th-round pick of the Marlins. Saints graduate, and UNF left-handed hurler Dakota Stone went in the 20^th round to the Pirates at pick No. 588.

Glynn Academy’s 22-win season resulted in two players being selected across the two days. Right-handed pitcher Jacob Sammis went in the 12^th round to the Angels. Red Terrors teammate and outfielder Wessley Roberson went in the fourth round a day earlier to the Marlins.

Bishop Snyder, which had never seen a player selected in the draft, wound up having two this year alone. Infielder and pitcher Cody Bosehll was the first local off the board Sunday, going 326^th overall in the 11^th round to the Diamondbacks. Teammate Cole Dennis was a fourth-round pick of the Braves on Saturday.

Former Bartram Trail star hurler Ashton Pocol (Florida Gulf Coast) was picked in the 16^th round by the Cubs.

Local selections in Major League Baseball draft

Round (Pick) Position Player, Local tie Team

4. (112) RHP Cole Dennis, Bishop Snyder, Braves

4. (115) OF Wessley Roberson, Glynn Academy, Marlins

11. (326) 1B Cody Boshell, Bishop Snyder, Diamondbacks

12. (349) RHP Jacob Sammis, Glynn Academy, Angels

12. (355) RHP Bane Barker, Sandalwood, Marlins

16. (487) RHP Ashton Pocol, Bartram Trail, Cubs

20. (588) LHP Dakota Stone, Sandalwood/UNF, Pirates

Lindsey Graham remembered for a vision of American foreign policy that’s fading in Washington

Geir Moulson, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:20:06 +0000

For decades Lindsey Graham traveled the globe selling a vision of the United States as a nation willing to use its military might to protect democracies around the world, even as his party was taken over by a president openly skeptical of that worldview.

Graham — who died unexpectedly at 71 on Saturday night — was a rare bridge between President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and the traditional Washington consensus prioritizing alliances with Europe and Israel, one falling out of favor with many in both political parties.

With that idea of the U.S., Graham remained a staunch defender of Ukraine to the end, even as Trump’s commitment wavered.

Graham represented South Carolina in the House and Senate for more than three decades. He died after what a preliminary report from the Washington, D.C., medical examiner’s office said was a tear in his aorta. The senator's death triggered praise from leaders and diplomats around the world and condemnation from Iran and other countries where he’d agitated for military action.

“In an increasingly isolationist America, Sen. Graham was one of the last titans of the Senate who favored a muscular and engaged U.S. foreign policy,” said Paul Foldi, a former diplomat and top Republican staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He is irreplaceable.”

Trump, whom Graham opposed, then embraced, won the White House partly by harnessing voters' disgust with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — both of which were championed by Graham's wing of the Republican Party.

Graham tied himself to Trump

When Trump returned for a second term, Graham cheered his aggressive approach to Iran but was largely silent as the president dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, questioned the value of NATO, suggested using military force against allies to seize Greenland and praised dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“His moral flexibility over the last few years has been disappointing to many who saw him as a principled patriot,” Dan Baer, a former State Department official under President Barack Obama who is now at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.

Matthew Kroenig, a vice president at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., said Graham once told him there was no point in trying to defy Trump.

“As a good politician, he recognized Trump commanded the Republican Party and the Republican base and if you tried to work against him you'd get nothing done,” Kroenig said.

He argued Graham's approach has paid off in Trump's second term as the president hasn't abandoned Ukraine while also green lighting interventions in Iran and Venezuela that the senator advocated.

“Look at Trump's foreign policy — it's more of a Lindsey Graham foreign policy than a Tucker Carlson foreign policy,” Kroenig said, referring to the conservative commentator who is a prominent opponent of American intervention overseas.

Hailed as a friend of Ukraine

On Friday, shortly after returning from a trip to Kyiv, Graham announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of sanctions against Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Graham, whom he met twice in the past week, had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, and “was here with our people when it was most needed.” He said that “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”

Graham also drew tributes for his longtime commitment to NATO and trans-Atlantic friendship at a time when those ties have been under severe strain.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Graham was “a powerful advocate for America who believed strongly in the NATO Alliance and was actively working to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Rutte's predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, lauded the South Carolina senator's “tireless commitment” to NATO and the trans-Atlantic bond, and his “staunch support” for Ukraine.

Graham commanded respect on NATO's eastern edge, where Russia's intentions are viewed with deep concern.

Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that “Estonia will remember him as a steadfast friend, a strong supporter of NATO’s eastern flank, and an unwavering advocate for Ukraine.” Latvian counterpart Baiba Braže said that he was “among the strongest supporters of NATO and trans-Atlantic relations (and) assistance to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.”

Advocated attacking Iran

Baer, the former State Department official under Obama, said that Graham deserved credit for helping push Trump to retain at least some support for Ukraine. But he noted the South Carolina senator also advocated for the president to attack Iran, sparking an ongoing conflict that Baer argues the U.S. is losing.

“I don't think the historic record of Lindsey Graham's foreign policy record will be black and white,” Baer said.

Graham long backed policies aimed at isolating Iran and limiting its missile and nuclear programs, cheered Trump's decision to strike nuclear sites last year and was a supporter of the latest conflict there.

At one point, Graham advocated using ground troops to seize Kharg Island, a crucial site for Iranian oil processing.

"We did Iwo Jima, we can do this," he told Fox News in March.

Iranian state television announced Graham’s death during a live broadcast in openly hostile terms.

“I congratulate the great nation of Iran on Lindsey Graham, the warmongering and anti-Iranian U.S. senator, having gone to hell,” the anchor said.

A strong ally of Israel's

While Graham was admired in Israel, his position toward the war in Gaza in particular angered many in the Middle East, including U.S. allies who advocated a diplomatic solution.

He was outspoken in supporting Israel’s devastating military operations in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.

In May 2024, after Washington paused some military aid to Israel, Graham urged then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to “give Israel what they need to fight the war.” He likened the threat Israel faced to “Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.” He posted on social media later that year that “the Palestinians in Gaza are the most radicalized population on the planet who are taught to hate Jews from birth.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him “a great friend of Israel” and “a cherished friend of mine.”

Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States are inseparable and the prime minister said that Graham devoted his life to defending America, strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance and standing up for the free world.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said.

But the Gaza war has also helped trigger a shift against Israel among American voters, with 58% of Democrats saying in a recent AP-NORC poll that the U.S. gives Israelis too much support.

In addition, younger Republicans are more likely than their older counterparts to say the U.S. is too supportive of Israelis, raising the possibility of a generational shift.

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Riccardi reported from Denver, Colorado. Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Lindsey Graham's journey from a pool hall to the heights of political power

Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:05:05 +0000

Lindsey Graham, the garrulous son of South Carolina pool hall owners, rose to become a fixture on the global stage and one of the most prominent advocates of American military might in the U.S. Senate.

A former military lawyer who reached the rank of colonel in the Air Force, the wisecracking Graham was known for his Southern drawl, political flexibility and reliably hawkish stance on foreign policy. He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 as a determined opponent of Donald Trump, then became one of the new president's staunchest allies.

In his typical high-energy manner, Graham had just returned to Washington from a trip to Ukraine, having announced a deal with the Trump administration for a new package of sanctions against Russia. He was due to appear on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday to discuss it. Trump appeared in the senator's place.

“I just can’t believe it,” Trump said. “He was like a member of the family.”

Graham died Saturday night after what a preliminary report from the Washington, D.C., medical examiner's office said was a tear in his aorta stemming from the hardening of his arteries. He was 71.

His death brought encomiums from world leaders and, closer to home, Republicans and Democrats alike, a mark of his influence and his ability to befriend colleagues of different political persuasions. In an outpouring of tributes, lawmakers expressed their shock and remembered his good humor, kindness and zest for the political arena.

“He is the quintessential boy makes good story,” said Bob McAlister, a communications consultant who long worked with Graham. “I don’t know of anybody who, or know very few people who, started out with less and gained as much from life as he did. I guess that may be my epitaph for him.”

Graham transformed from Trump critic to ally

Graham was part of the “Never Trump” movement during his 2016 run and feuded heatedly with his reality television star rival during the campaign. He was especially upset at Trump for “slandering” his close friend and political brother-in-arms, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. “You know, run for president, but don’t be the world’s biggest jackass,” Graham said.

In response, Trump announced Graham's cellphone number during a campaign rally, leading Graham to muse about whether he should get an Android or iPhone to replace it.

By coming around to Trump, particularly in the years after McCain's death in 2018, Graham amassed influence as an intermediary to the White House. Graham and Trump enjoyed a close relationship and became frequent golfing partners, though their relationship ruptured for a time after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Still, a year later, Graham was urging Republicans to rally behind Trump again rather than side with critics calling for his political exile.

“Can I just say to my Republican colleagues — can we move forward without President Trump?" Graham said on Fox News in 2022. “The answer is no,” he said, adding “we can't grow without him.”

His journey from the pool hall to Congress

Graham was born to Millie and Florence James Graham of Central, South Carolina on July 19, 1955. The couple owned a restaurant, bar and pool hall in the town. Graham, his parents and younger sister all lived in one room in the back of the building.

“It was one room, where we all slept, we all ate, we watched TV, the sofa, everything was in one room,” his sister Darline recalled in 2015.

As a child, Graham had free reign of the Sanitary Cafe, where he occasionally would sneak a swig of beer or a puff on a customer's cigarette, he wrote in an autobiography. The patrons, who would take him hunting and fishing as if he were their own son, called him “Stinkball.”

“It was a good life,” Graham recalled to The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina. “I could go grab a Coke any time I wanted to. In my world, I was as rich as I could be.”

Like many institutions at the time, the Sanitary Cafe was segregated, Graham wrote. Black patrons had to take their alcohol to drink outside the establishment until the 1970s. But Graham said his father, known to all as “Dude,” would not tolerate his white customers using slurs against Black people.

Only a C student in high school, Graham still became the first member of his family to attend college at the University of South Carolina. While he was at college, his mother died of Hodgkin lymphoma. Months later, his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer and died of a heart attack as Graham started his first semester of law school.

Graham, a lifelong bachelor who never had children, became the guardian for his younger sister after his parents' death, and later in life often extolled the benefits of Social Security that helped keep them financially afloat.

After earning his law degree, Graham served as a judge advocate general in the Air Force, starting as a defense attorney for accused troops and eventually rising to the Air Force's chief prosecutor in Europe, based in Germany. He returned home in 1989 but remained a reserve or National Guard member for decades.

Even in the Senate, Graham briefly switched back to active status to help advise the Air Force during the Iraq War and was awarded the Bronze Star medal for service in 2014 before formally retiring as a colonel in 2015.

Graham had a lead role in Bill Clinton's impeachment

Upon returning to South Carolina, Graham soon dove into politics. He won a statehouse seat in 1992 and then a U.S. House seat in 1994. He became one of a group of young, combative Republican lawmakers who pushed to oust then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich for cutting too many deals with the Democratic president, Bill Clinton.

Graham took on a prominent role in Clinton's impeachment for an affair with a White House intern. “Is this Watergate or Peyton Place?" Graham asked at one House hearing. After the GOP-controlled House impeached Clinton, Graham became one of the managers of the case in the Senate, which voted to acquit the Democrat.

In 2002, when Strom Thurmond, South Carolina's senior senator, decided to retire at 99, Graham ran for his seat and won. He quickly took to the Senate and its emphasis on relationships, starting some mornings by eating alone in the stately Senate dining room, then throwing himself into the day’s bubbling political fights.

Vice President JD Vance recalled experiencing Graham’s approach to politics up close when Vance was first elected to the Senate.

“I remember getting into a shouting match with Lindsey about a Ukraine funding bill at lunch and then learning the very next day that he was pushing rail legislation I really cared about behind the scenes,” Vance said. “That was Lindsey Graham. He fought like hell for the things he believed in, and he was just as willing to go to bat for you when it counted.”

Graham had a gang of ‘Three Amigos’ in the Senate

Much of Graham's career was defined in large measure by his close relationship with McCain and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat who later became an independent. Calling themselves “The Three Amigos,” the senators traveled the world and pushed for U.S. intervention in several places, particularly the Middle East after the 9/11 attacks.

When McCain died in 2018, Graham broke down in tears on the Senate floor as he memorialized his friend.

“He failed a lot, but he never quit,” Graham said. “And the reason we’re talking about him today and the reason I’m crying is because he was successful in spite of his failures.”

In the latter part his career Graham leaned on his legal background to take a key role in judicial appointments, especially to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2018, when Trump's nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, faced accusations of sexual misconduct, Graham helped turn the tide with an impassioned defense of the federal judge.

“Boy, y’all want power. Boy, I hope you never get it,” Graham said, accusing Democrats of setting up Kavanaugh and breaking trust in the nomination process. "I hope the American people can see through this sham.”

Still, Graham's partisan side was usually tamped down as he positioned himself as a dealmaker. Almost any bipartisan “gang” in the Senate always has had him as a member.

“He was a fierce Republican partisan one day and a key bipartisan ally the next,” recalled Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who worked with him on immigration legislation.

Kevin Bishop, who worked for Graham for 27 years and later ran for Congress himself, said the senator inspired fierce loyalty in his staff.

“He was incredibly fun to be around,” Bishop said. People would walk into his office with “pitchforks” and Graham would turn them around, he said.

“He was willing to accept a lot of criticism to move the ball forward,” Bishop said.

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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, and Lisa Mascaro, Seung Min Kim and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

McConnell says a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking weeks of silence about health condition

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 21:33:42 +0000

Sen. Mitch McConnell on Sunday revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about his condition after weeks of mounting speculation about the Kentucky Republican’s health.

McConnell, 84, said in a statement that he was “briefly unconscious” around the time he was first taken to the hospital and has undergone a battery of tests to try and determine what led to his fall. He said he was also treated for mild pneumonia and has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.

McConnell’s statement came on the heels of the unexpected death of his fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. McConnell said he cannot return to the Senate “quite yet.”

Coupled with Graham’s passing, that will temporarily whittle the GOP majority in that chamber down by two, to 51-47, as Republicans try to increase military funding, advance President Donald Trump’s agenda and confirm Trump's nominees.

McConnell explained the four-week silence about his condition by saying that “folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older.”

“Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct — I can’t help it,” he said.

McConnell said he will continue to work with his staff on Senate business. His statement included a smiling picture of the senator with his wife Elaine Chao, a tacit response to speculation online that McConnell had died or was incapacitated.

McConnnell's disclosure comes after growing pressure

McConnell had provided little information since his hospitalization on June 14, his office insisting only that he was “receiving excellent care” and recovering. Speculation about his condition grew so intense that Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear took the extraordinary step last week of issuing a public letter asking McConnell to update the public in a “transparent manner.”

McConnell is retiring at the end of January after one of the most consequential careers in modern politics. Republicans have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Barr to replace him, while Democrats have nominated former state lawmaker Charles Booker. He said he is determined to finish out his term.

“I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf,” McConnell wrote in the statement addressed to Kentuckians, “and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.”

McConnell has a history of health problems

McConnell had polio in his early childhood and has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs.

The physician’s office in Congress in the statement Sunday said McConnell has “experienced several falls through the year” due to his “post-polio condition.” The office said his physical therapy is aimed at reducing the risk of him falling again.

“A comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team determined that he had no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage," the physician's office said.

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 has remained active as a rank-and-file senator, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, often using a wheelchair to get around.

But the senator’s physical condition has visibly declined in recent years.

He was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. He twice froze up during news conferences after he returned, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff. A year later, he fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon.

McGregor's manager says fighter had no knee injury prior to short bout with Max Holloway

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 22:42:18 +0000

Conor McGregor's manager said in a social media post Sunday that fighter did not have a previous knee injury prior to his shortened UFC 329 fight with Max Holloway.

McGregor's first fight in five years lasted just 1:09 due to a knee injury sustained while attempting an opening roundhouse kick.

“That opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warmup. Never an issue,” John Kavanagh wrote on Facebook. “Knee went when he (threw) the very first kick. Doesn’t get any worse than this.”

McGregor's highly-anticipated return to the octagon ended in disappointment when he awkwardly landed on his right knee in the opening seconds of Saturday's fight. McGregor tried to continue, but went to the mat twice more before the scheduled five-round match was halted by the referee.

McGregor and UFC President Dana White both said after the fight there was no pre-existing injury to the knee.

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

Prince William and wife Kate share a moment with Jannik Sinner after his Wimbledon victory

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:28:54 +0000

Prince William joined his wife Kate and two of their children for the men's final at Wimbledon on Sunday in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller.

Kate is the patron of the All England Club and presented the trophy to winner Jannik Sinner after his match against Alexander Zverev. She also handed out the trophy to women's winner Linda Noskova on Saturday, but was not joined by any family members.

The couple's two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, also attended Sunday's match. All four were on hand to watch Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in last year's final as well. After the win over Zverev, the royals had an extended chat with Sinner in a room inside the tournament’s main stadium as he clutched the golden trophy.

“Fantastic achievement,” Kate told Sinner. “It's really inspiring to the children to see tennis at that level.”

Sinner then asked the young royals how often they play tennis themselves.

“Not every day, but weekends,” George said.

Sinner had a similar conversation with the four royals after last year's final.

“You can really see that they love the sport,” Sinner said Sunday. “This is exactly how we feel as players on court when we see them watching tennis. Staying there for four hours under the sun with the heat, it’s really nice. ... Having the whole Royal Box there, as well, the whole people staying for a match like this for four-ish hours, it’s amazing. That’s also the reason why we love to play tennis.”

Other dignitaries in the Royal Box included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italy's sports minister Andrea Abodi.

Former Wimbledon champions Stefan Edberg, Lleyton Hewitt, Richard Krajicek, Jan Kodes and Stan Smith were also in attendance.

Other Hollywood celebrities in the crowd for the match included Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hiddleston and Andrew Garfield.

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Zverev hopes he can be more than just 'the third guy' in tennis after run to Wimbledon final

Mattias Karén, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 21:28:38 +0000

Alexander Zverev is used to being “the third guy” in tennis.

After following up his French Open title with a run to his first Wimbledon final, he's hoping to be more than that in the future.

Despite losing to Jannik Sinner on Centre Court on Sunday, the 29-year-old Zverev thinks he is closer than ever to challenging the top-ranked Italian and his main rival Carlos Alcaraz and giving tennis a Big Three again.

Sinner and Alcaraz had won the last nine Grand Slam tournaments between them before Zverev won his first major at Roland Garros this year.

“There was always this conversation, ‘who will be the third guy?’” Zverev said. “I’ve always been the third guy, but I was just far away from those two. But I’ve always been No. 3 in a way. So if I get closer to them ... it would be great.”

Alcaraz missed this year's French Open — and Wimbledon — with a wrist injury, and Sinner was eliminated in the second round in Paris after wilting in the heat. Zverev lost in five sets to Alcaraz in the semifinals at the Australian Open this year and lost 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 to Sinner on Sunday after overextending his knee in the third set.

“I think I’ve been pushing those guys,” Zverev said. “I haven’t beaten them this year, but I’ve pushed them to the limits, I would say.”

He may have been able to push Sinner even more had it not been for a slip during the third set, on Zverev's only break point of the match. The German fell to the ground and clutched his right knee in pain, with Sinner coming over to check on his opponent before helping Zverev up off the grass.

Zverev said he overextended his knee and that it hampered his serve — his biggest weapon — after that.

“I was struggling to push off on the serve a little bit. So my serve speed went down,” he said. “But everything else went fine. I was moving fine from the baseline and playing from the baseline fine.”

Despite the loss, Zverev will shed the “third guy” moniker in at least one way — he will overtake Alcaraz as No. 2 in the rankings on Monday.

Zverev had never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon before this year, but seems to have finally figured out how to play on grass.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the first time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev told the Centre Court crowd after his defeat.

Sinner seems to share that belief.

“Today you were so, so close. If you play like this, I'm very, very sure you're going to have this (trophy) at home as well," Sinner told his opponent. "I know the goal is for you to become the No. 1 in the world. You're very, very close. So we have to be very careful now.”

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Jannik Sinner bounces back with another Wimbledon title after his French Open meltdown

Andrew Dampf, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 12:31:52 +0000

A year ago, it was a matter of bouncing back after wasting three match points in a devastating loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final and showing that he could still win a Grand Slam after a three-month doping ban.

This year it was about demonstrating that he still has the physical toughness to win a major after a debilitating second-round meltdown at Roland Garros in a Paris heat wave

Whatever gets thrown Jannik Sinner's way in the French capital — it seems lately — only makes him stronger across the Channel in London.

For the second straight year, Sinner responded to adversity in Paris with a title at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday for his second consecutive title at the All England Club after his German opponent appeared bothered by a knee issue following a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set.

When Sinner ripped a forehand winner up the line on his first match point, the Italian dropped to the grass on his back in an unusually dramatic celebration for the normally low-key Italian.

“This one means a lot because (it) was a tough one after Paris again,” Sinner said. “I’m proud of myself and my team, which continues to push me in the right direction.”

Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and didn’t play an official match again until he arrived at Wimbledon, where he twice had to come back from a set down in a five-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round.

Sinner then didn’t drop a set the rest of the way until the final, having dominated against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

“It goes to show the maturity of the player that we’re working with,” said Darren Cahill, one of Sinner’s coaches. “That he can take a kick in the guts like that.

“What makes us the most proud of him and working with him is the way he comes back from those," Cahill added. "It doesn’t put him down for too long.”

It was Sinner’s fifth Grand Slam title.

“I don’t think this one was any more important than any of the others that he’s played," Cahill said. “But it felt damn special, that’s for sure.”

It was Sinner's 10th straight victory over Zverev, who was coming off his first Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Zverev’s previous best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round three times.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the first time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev said.

Prince William joined his wife Kate and two of their children for the final in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller.

“There’s no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.

Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova in an all-Czech women’s final on Saturday for her first Grand Slam title.

Zverev slips

The top two seeds appeared perfectly matched until Zverev earned his only break point of the match at 3-3 in the third set -- 2 hours and 42 minutes in. Sinner produced a drop shot and Zverev slipped and appeared to hyper-extend his right knee as he attempted to change directions behind the baseline.

Zverev grasped his knee in apparent discomfort and Sinner went around the net and helped his opponent up off the grass. Zverev quickly resumed playing but he appeared slightly hampered and slung his racket across the baseline in frustration when he missed a forehand and handed Sinner the first break of the match and a 5-3 lead in the third. Sinner then served it out.

Zverev had also lost 14 straight sets to Sinner and when he claimed the opening set of the final with a forehand winner up the line to conclude a tight tiebreaker, he let out a loud roar toward his box as he bent over in celebration.

Zverev continually cranked out serves at up to 139 mph (224 kph), while Sinner produced a series of well-placed aces at a slightly lower speed.

But Sinner began to read Zverev’s serve better in the second-set tiebreaker and Zverev started to miss forehands.

“He showed once again," Zverev said, “why he’s the best player in the world.”

Sinner produced 58 winners to Zverev’s 49 and had only 25 unforced errors to Zverev’s 45.

Zverev led 17-15 in aces.

Sinner became the first player to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon without conceding a service game in either the semifinals (against Novak Djokovic) or the final since Roger Federer did it in 2003 against Andy Roddick and Mark Philippoussis, respectively, en route to the first of his record eight titles.

Sinner conceded one break point in both the semifinals and final and saved both of them.

Despite the defeat, Zverev will leapfrog Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot in the rankings on Monday.

Alcaraz missed both the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury.

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Associated Press writer Mattias Karén contributed.

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What to know about new rules and technology behind the World Cup's most contentious calls

James Robson, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 22:01:35 +0000

It was another game-changing moment at the World Cup that had more to do with television replays in a room far away than a moment of brilliance on the field.

The sending off of Switzerland's Breel Embolo in Saturday's quarterfinal game against Argentina was the latest call that may have left fans scratching their heads, not least because of the confusing name of the newly implemented law that swung the match.

It is called the “mistaken identity” rule. Yet, technically, Embolo was not shown a second yellow card — resulting in a red — for a case of mistaken identity. It was because the referee Joao Pinheiro did not see in real time that the forward had simulated a foul under a challenge from Argentina's Leandro Paredes.

Paredes was initially shown a yellow card, which is a key factor. Under FIFA rules, because Paredes was shown a card, the video assistant referee (VAR) can intervene and recommend that the onfield official reviews the sideline monitor.

After review the referee deemed Embolo to have committed a “clear simulation” and showed him a second yellow card and sent him off.

The rules state that the VAR can assist when the referee penalizes the “wrong team for an offense that results in a red or yellow card being shown to the wrong player.”

It was a pivotal point in the match, coming five minutes after Switzerland had made it 1-1. Argentina won 3-1 after extra time.

“The referee made the wrong decision,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “I know they will protect their referee but this rule destroyed our game today, and it’s very painful, and to be eliminated in that way hurts a lot.”

It is not the first time at this World Cup that teams have hit out against new rules or technology.

Germany infuriated by disallowed goal

Newly tightened regulations contributed to Germany's shock elimination in the round of 32.

Defender Jonathan Tah’s potentially game-winning goal in extra time against Paraguay was ruled out after VAR review for a foul on goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

Replays showed Germany’s Waldemar Anton push Gill to the ground, but the minimal contact led to criticism of the decision. FIFA’s referees chief Pierluigi Collina said officials had been told to punish incidents when players try to block opponents and make no attempt to play the ball, especially where goalkeepers are concerned.

Germany went on to lose the game in a penalty shootout, with Tah firing a decisive spot kick over the bar.

Elimination could have a seismic effect on German soccer, with coach Julian Nagelsmann resigning and Jurgen Klopp expected to take over.

High tech ball costs Croatia

The words “connected ball technology” will likely haunt Luka Modric and Croatia for years to come.

The high-tech soccer ball fitted with “advanced sensors” used at this World Cup cost Croatia a dramatic late equalizer against Portugal in the round of 32.

Josko Gvardiol thought he'd scored in added time to make it 2-2, but the goal was ruled offside after VAR review because the in-ball sensors picked up the slightest of touches from Croatia's Igor Mantanovic in the buildup that was undetectable to the naked eye or even video replays.

FIFA said the in-ball sensors, which capture data 500 times per second, were so finely tuned to be “capable of determining any slight contact ... allowing officials an unprecedented level of data to make fast, accurate decisions.”

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić, who has since stepped down, was not impressed.

“All these decisions take the joy out of football,” he said.

Egypt heartbroken against Argentina

It was shaping up to be one of the great World Cup upsets. Egypt led 2-0 against defending champion Argentina in the round of 16 and might have been 3-0 up if not for VAR.

With the score at 1-0 in the second half, Egypt's Mostafa Zico finished off a sweeping attack. But wild celebrations were cut short when a foul on Argentina's Lisandro Martinez earlier in the move was confirmed on video review and the goal was disallowed.

Argentina staged a spectacular late comeback to win 3-2.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan launched a furious tirade.

"We have suffered injustice,” he said.

The Egyptian soccer federation went further.

“Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game,” it said.

Questions were raised about the amount time between the foul on Martinez, which happened deep in Egypt's half, and the goal at the other end of the field.

FIFA referees chief Collina responded to criticism to say there was "no defined limit regarding either the distance from goal or the amount of time between the incident and the goal.”

“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials,” he added.

A double blow for Norway against England

The high tech sensor was called into action again as England beat Norway 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

Norway's players and staff were adamant the ball hit a cable that suspends overhead cameras in the buildup to Jude Bellingham's equalizing goal in the first half. If it had, play would have been stopped.

But FIFA insisted there was no contact, saying the sensor “showed no peak in the ‘heartbeat of the ball’ when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire.”

Norway also had a goal disallowed when the score was 1-1 after VAR spotted a foul by Erling Haaland on England's Elliot Anderson. The infringement came before the corner was taken and, under new rules to try to limit fouls by attacking teams during corner routines, VAR is allowed to intervene regarding incidents that happen even before the ball is kicked.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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Several people killed in Chile after car driven by navy officer crashes into an open-air market

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:33:35 +0000

An off-duty member of the Chilean navy driving a private vehicle crashed into an open-air market in the coastal city of Vina del Mar Sunday, killing several people, the navy said in a statement.

Footage circulating on social media from a residential security camera appears to capture the moment the car plunges into the stalls, while other videos show the driver being rushed to a nearby police car, as angry bystanders run after him shouting.

“The accident resulted in the deaths of several people and left others with injuries of varying severity,” the navy said, adding that it was cooperating with authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The navy statement did not provide an exact number of fatalities, but local media reported at least six deaths.

Officials at Gustavo Fricke Hospital said five injured people — including two babies — were admitted with various traumatic injuries that were not in life-threatening. Police, firefighters and paramedics treated numerous people at the scene. Two other injured people were discharged.

“At this stage of the evaluation, they are stable and out of life-threatening danger, but of course they are still awaiting the completion of all the examinations required in these cases,” Denise Cataldo, the hospital’s deputy director, said.

The off-duty member of the navy - the only person detained in connection with the incident - tested negative in a breathalyzer test, Interior Undersecretary Máximo Pavez said.

Col. Jorge Guaita, police prefect for Vina del Mar, told reporters the driver says he doesn’t remember anything and that the cause for the incident is yet to be determined.

“Witness statements from people who saw the crash indicate that the vehicle was traveling in the correct direction of traffic, at high speed,” Guaita said, adding that when the vehicle mounted the sidewalk, it spun around.

“Fortunately, the bus stop brought it to a halt. Otherwise, it might have continued forward and caused even more damage,” Guaita added.

Witnesses told local media the driver may have lost control of the vehicle after a collision.

Chilean President José Antonio Kast said on X that the incident had plunged “the entire country in mourning.”

“All state institutions are working to assist those affected and to establish with complete clarity the responsibilities for this painful event,” Kast said.

The Caupolican market is held every Thursday and Sunday in the upper part of Vina del Mar. It comprises more than 1,000 stalls, in addition to informal vendors in the surrounding area, and is typically visited by large crowds.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Philadelphia's Sánchez to start All-Star Game at home for NL. Toronto's Cease the pick for AL

Noah Trister, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:14:16 +0000

Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies will start Tuesday night's All-Star Game in his home ballpark, taking the mound for the National League against Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays announced Sunday that Cease will be the American League's starter. Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who is managing the NL, said Sanchez is his starter.

“I think he deserves it. He’s the hometown ballplayer and I think the city of Philly will enjoy watching him and supporting him,” Roberts said. “I had a conversation with him this morning. ... He was very grateful. In a time when guys are not wanting to participate, this guy in the Midsummer Classic for fans, I think this is a good thing. He’s very excited about pitching.”

Also Sunday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said New York's Cam Schlittler was not planning to pitch in the All-Star Game, then hours later said the right-hander could be available after all.

With less than 72 hours left before the game, there was no replacement planned for the AL roster if Schlittler wasn't going to pitch.

“The staff's had a lot of injuries this year ... I don't want to put that risk in there of kind of letting the team down,” Schlittler said after New York's win at Washington. “I'm on the roster, and if they need me I'll throw. That's a conversation I'll have within the next day or two.”

Schlittler was a candidate to start, boasting an AL-leading ERA of 2.05. He pitched for the Yankees on Saturday.

Sanchez is 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA this season. He's third in the major leagues with 144 strikeouts. The left-hander's streak of 50 2/3 scoreless innings was a highlight of the major league season so far.

Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski, who leads the majors in ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.76) and strikeouts (167), was replaced on the All-Star team earlier in the week, when it appeared he would be starting for the Brewers on Sunday. Then Milwaukee scratched him from that start because of arm fatigue.

Cease is 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA for the Blue Jays. He nearly threw his second career no-hitter Wednesday against San Francisco, but it was broken up in the ninth inning.

Cease is the first Toronto pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2009.

Cease got the word from his manager, John Schneider, who will skipper the AL squad, during a team meeting before Sunday’s series finale at San Diego.

“It’s pretty surreal. I didn’t know what to say. Everyone’s saying, ‘Give a speech,’ and I’m like, I was pretty speechless, so it was just a really cool experience,” Cease said.

“It’s really cool how all of these things have lined up, you know, even being able to pitch in it and having a good enough first half to be in the running for it and all that. And the fact that pretty much our entire staff is going, it’s really a really great recipe," Cease added.

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AP freelance writers Bernie Wilson in San Diego and Doug Padilla in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Keystone Pipeline system's operator agrees to pay a $26.9M penalty over a major Kansas oil spill

John Hanna, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:20:26 +0000

A proposed legal settlement with the U.S. government would require the Keystone Pipeline system's operator to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty over a major oil spill in Kansas in December 2022 and spend about $40 million more to prevent future accidents.

The agreement would resolve allegations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Kansas that South Bow, based in Canada, violated U.S. and state clean water laws. The rupture dumped nearly 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into a creek running through a rural pasture in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City.

The accident was the largest onshore crude pipeline spill in the U.S. in nine years and surpassed all 22 previous ones on the same pipeline system combined, according to a 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The total amount of oil spilled would have nearly filled an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

South Bow also would pay Kansas more than $3 million for environmental restoration projects under a proposed decree filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas. A judge would have to approve the proposed decree after a 30-day public comment period.

“The oil spill blanketed land and water, rendering the waterway lifeless and useless and requiring extensive cleanup and remediation,” Jeffrey Hall, the EPA's assistant administrator for its enforcement office, said in a statement. “The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the environmental harm.”

South Bow spokesperson Sara Hunter said in an emailed statement Sunday that the company “proactively” launched its response to the spill before receiving formal directives from government officials, including “comprehensive environmental remediation” completed in February 2024. She also said that since the spill, the company has done more than 12,000 miles (19,312 kilometers) of pipeline inspections and 400 excavations to examine pipe and make repairs where necessary.

“This work reflects our ongoing commitment to the safe, reliable operation of our pipeline system and to continuously strengthening pipeline integrity,” she said.

The company that built the pipeline, TC Energy, spun off South Bow as a separate firm in 2024, after the Kansas cleanup was done.

No pipeline workers or area residents were injured in the spill, and officials said public water supplies weren't affected. However, a complaint filed Friday by the U.S. government along with the proposed settlement said more than 2,700 animals were harmed or killed. The area is home to an endangered species, the long-eared bat.

In a May 2023 report for the U.S. government, an engineering consulting firm said that a bend in the Keystone system where the spill occurred had been “overstressed” since its installation in December 2010 — likely because construction activity itself altered the land around the pipe. The complaint filed Friday in court said soil under the pipe had been “improperly compacted” and that while the company re-excavated the site in 2013, it did not replace that section of pipe.

The 2,689-mile (4,327-kilometer) Keystone system carries thick, Canadian tar sands oil to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.

In April, President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead for South Bow and another company to build a second pipeline from Canada to Wyoming, a smaller version of a massive $8 billion pipeline project known as Keystone XL blocked by former President Joe Biden's administration in 2021 over environmental concerns.

World Sailing measures the environmental impact of the sport's Olympic equipment for the first time

Jennifer Mcdermott, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:12:20 +0000

The governing body for sailing is looking at how the sport's Olympic-class equipment is made, used and discarded, to eventually make changes that will reduce its environmental impact.

Alexandra Rickham, director of sustainability at World Sailing, said this first-of-a-kind life cycle assessment project will give the organization the evidence it needs to make smarter choices and shape the future of Olympic equipment.

“Sailing naturally has a close relationship with nature, with the environment. It's seen very much as this clean, green sport using the wind,” she said. “But the reality is that our equipment has an impact. It goes through some major industrial processes.”

Rickham said the project could be useful not just for Olympic sailing but for the broader sailing community and potentially other sports.

Competitive sailing, an Olympic sport since 1900, involves racing boats powered by only the wind and the waves. In the 2024 Olympics, one- and two-person crews sailed boats with hulls measuring as long as 17 feet (5 meters) around a course marked by buoys in the Bay of Marseille.

Outside the Olympics, competitive sailors race throughout the year in local events and larger regattas.

The boats are commonly made of carbon fiber, fiberglass and PVC foam, which take a lot of energy to produce in processes that emit carbon pollution. These materials don't decompose and are challenging to recycle. So when elite sailors are done with them, the boats would need to be sold, passed onto junior sailors or sent for specialized recycling to avoid landfills.

As part of World Sailing's initiative, the sustainability consultancy Marine Futures is collecting data from boat builders about their operations and surveying athletes about how many boats, sails, masts and other gear they use, how often they replace their equipment and how they travel with their vessels.

By the end of this year, the goal is to capture the environmental impact of a four-year Olympic cycle and identify which interventions by World Sailing could make the most difference, said Ollie Taylor, director of Marine Futures. Taylor said those could include encouraging builders to incorporate reusable materials, redesigning boats, shifting competition schedules to minimize travel and boat transport, or taking steps to ensure equipment is reused.

The goal is to remove guesswork and put data behind every decision, Taylor said.

Michelle Carnevale, president of the environmental organization 11th Hour Racing, said the effort shows how much progress has been made in recent years. Sustainability wasn’t talked about much in the sailing world a decade ago, and now environmental monitoring and benchmarking could become embedded into the rules of the sport, said Carnevale, whose organization sponsored the development of software being used in the project.

Walker Ross, an expert on sport ecology and sustainability at the University of Edinburgh, said he loves World Sailing's leadership on sustainability and wishes more sports organizations were as thoughtful.

“Many sports have specialized equipment that can be quite resource intensive to produce and which are therefore difficult to recycle at the end of their useful lives,” he wrote in an email Wednesday.

Stuart Parkinson, executive director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, commended World Sailing for tackling the environmental impacts of boat construction. But Parkinson, whose organization calculates the environmental impact of major sporting events, said the biggest impacts of international sports come from travel, especially air travel by spectators.

Sailors want to be better stewards of the environment

At the Olympic level, sailors often buy equipment in multiples to pick out the best one in the hopes of gaining a competitive edge. That can add up to more waste, said Olympian Dave Hughes, who competed and coached for the U.S. team.

“There is a certain amount of competition to always have the best equipment and that can create a variety of opportunities for places where we can save on waste,” said Hughes, chair of the committee representing athletes at World Sailing.

Hughes said that if World Sailing can work with manufacturers to create higher standards, there would be less variation and less incentive to source multiple options for a given piece of equipment such as masts, foils or sails. That would help the environment and lower teams' costs, said Hughes.

“Our connection to the ocean environment is daily, so therefore our experience of how the planet is changing is also daily,” Hughes said.

Santiago Sampaio, chief technical officer of the International Laser Class Association, which oversees a type of single-handed racing dinghy used in the Olympics, said he thinks it is possible to reduce the amount of equipment used by sailors annually and to use building materials that don't harm the environment. The association is testing whether high-density PVC foam on the ILCA sailboat could be replaced with environmentally friendly recycled PET plastic.

Sampaio said it will be important to consider whether any change would impact a boat's performance or longevity, render thousands of other boats already in use obsolete, or make it unaffordable for some teams to compete.

“We don't want to make a boat that is too expensive. It’s great for the environment, but then we don’t have people in Fiji or in Ghana or Angola that can actually buy this environmentally sustainable boat, and then we lose those people.”

World Sailing hopes to inspire broader changes

Rickham said that ideally any changes or new regulations based on the project's findings will be in place for the 2032 Olympics, if not earlier. The data could be used for selecting some equipment suppliers for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Starting in 2032, Olympic sailing classes will be required to provide an independently verified life cycle assessment.

Rickham said World Sailing hopes the wider sailing community and other sports organizations will follow its lead.

“That’s where our biggest area of impact is: the ripple effect that we can drive across Olympic sports and the industry of boating and recreational boating going forward,” she said.

Madeleine Orr, assistant professor of sport ecology at the University of Toronto, thinks that could happen. World Sailing will have the data needed to push its suppliers to adopt more sustainable materials and circular options, and those suppliers' other clients span the whole boating sector, Orr said.

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Tampa Bay prospect Nathan Flewelling homers, MVP in AL's 6-1 win over NL in All-Star Futures Game

Dan Gelston, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:38:40 +0000

Only 19 years old and a scant 61 years younger than his All-Star Futures Game manager, Nathan Flewelling has tried not to put a timetable on his potential big league debut.

Going deep in a major league ballpark sure gives hope in Tampa Bay that Flewelling could fit in fine once he gets there.

“I think I'm getting more ready every single day,” Flewelling said. “So I think it could be soon.”

Flewelling hit a two-run home run and earned MVP honors, and the American League team managed by 80-year-old Larry Bowa needed only five hits to beat the National League 6-1 on Sunday in the All-Star Futures Game.

Flewelling is rated the second-best prospect in Tampa Bay's organization and was a third-round pick in the 2024 amateur draft. Flewelling and Theo Gillen — Tampa Bay's top-rated prospect — combined for three RBIs in the seven-inning game that included most of minor league baseball's best players.

Flewelling catches for Class-A Bowling Green and the 20-year-old Gillen is an outfielder for Double-A Montgomery.

Flewelling has kept an eye on the standings with the Rays in first place in the AL East.

“I'm really willing to impact the race,” Flewelling said. “I'm excited to get up there one day and hopefully help them out.”

Wood shows promise in his inning

Phillies minor leaguer Gage Wood earned the start for the National League and allowed one run and threw 11 pitches in his one inning of work. Leo De Vries, a 19-year-old Athletics shortstop ranked as the No. 2 prospect by MLB.com, hit a leadoff single and stole second and third and scored on a groundout by Boston's Franklin Arias. Wood threw nine strikes and hit 97 mph on his fastest pitch.

“I know before that first pitch, my heart was pumping,” Wood said.

Former Phillies outfielder and NL Futures manager Shane Victorino made the call to tell Wood he would start the game.

“I hope it was a moment that he’ll never forget, other than the next call hopefully to the big leagues soon enough,” Victorino said. “It’s always an honor to hand the ball to someone obviously that’s a hometown or home-team kid and get that opportunity hopefully someday to pitch for that team.”

The Phillies drafted Wood in the first round (26th overall) last season and signed him for $3 million. He made eight starts this season for Class-A Clearwater and eight for Double-A Reading. Wood has a 3.44 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 55 innings total this season.

Wood naturally hoped to get the call one day to help the Phillies in a pennant race at Citizens Bank Park.

“When I went up those steps and I got out there on the grass, I looked up and I was like, ‘Wow, this looks way bigger than from the suite when we were here when we signed last year,’” Wood said. “That was awesome. The park's huge. Everybody here was like, man, you've got a good home park. I was like, yeah, this place is sick.”

Winners and losers

The NL tied the game at 1-1 in the third on a Jesús Made RBI groundout against Toronto's Nolan Perry. Made is a 19-year-old Milwaukee Brewers infielder who is rated MLB.com’s top prospect.

Wood's teammate and Reading closer Wen-Hui Pan allowed Flewelling's two-run shot into the second row of the right-field seats in the sixth. Flewelling was the third Rays player to ever win Futures MVP honors.

Boston's Anthony Eyanson earned the win and San Diego's Kash Mayfield took the loss.

Former Phillies are the managers

Victorino was the center fielder on the 2008 World Series champion Phillies and Bowa the starting shortstop on the 1980 World Series winners — the only two World Series championship teams in franchise history.

Bowa, a senior adviser to baseball operations for the Phillies, is still a fixture at games and usually can be spotted hitting grounders during infield practice.

He was a five-time NL All-Star and won a pair of Gold Gloves and later managed the San Diego Padres and was the 2001 NL Manager of the Year with the Phillies.

“I've been very fortunate, not only with health and the good man upstairs, but the organization” has been great, Bowa said. “We've had three or four managers; they all tell me to come down to spring training. (Owner) John Middleton's been great. The fact they're letting me do this, I mean without the help of those guys, I couldn't suit up the way I'm doing right now.”

By the numbers

Among past Futures Games players, 86.8% have gone on to play in at least one major league game, while 259 total players (21.3%) have been selected to play in at least one major league All-Star Game.

Twenty-five of the players that appeared in last season's game in Atlanta have played in the big leagues this season.

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Royal Birkdale is a different British Open test than it was in 2017

Doug Ferguson, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:59:37 +0000

Peter Uihlein was back at Royal Birkdale for the first time in nine years, and there were times late Sunday afternoon when he felt as though he was seeing the links course for the first time.

The turf was more brown than green, a sign of hot weather that has been baking Europe and an ominous sign for what figures to be a fast and fiery British Open starting Thursday. The wind was strong, not unusual for links golf along the Lancashire Coast.

From 256 yards away on the par-4 14th, Uihlein hit 6-iron that landed short of the green and wound up 40 yards beyond the hole. From 226 yards into the wind on the 18th, he smoked a 2-iron — he can't remember the last time he had a 2-iron in the bag — and was just short of the green.

But it was the 15th hole that gave him pause.

“What the hell?" he said from the back of the tee of a 241-yard hole. It was only a few holes later that Uihlein, a former U.S. Amateur champion now with LIV Golf, said to no one in particular, “I just don't remember a 240-yard par 3.”

That's because it wasn't there in 2017, the last time the Open was at Royal Birkdale.

It's the second time in four years the R&A has effectively built a new hole, and as Rory McIlroy said last week, it's sure to be a talking point.

Royal Birkdale began to fill Sunday for the final major of the year, a time to get reacquainted or to see it for the first time. Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka were among those who played, both coming down from the Scottish Open after missing the cut — a first for Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, in nearly four years.

Rickie Fowler shook off the jet lag on Saturday with a casual round at nearby West Lancashire and played all 18 holes on Sunday at Royal Birkdale with Akshay Bhatia, a Birkdale newcomer.

While the changes got their attention — No. 15 is the only new hole, but the reachable par-4 fifth has been redesigned and a few angles on other holes are different — what really stood out is the color of the grass, the firmness of the turf and the forecast.

Sunscreen might outpace the sale of fish and chips this week.

“It's as close to Carnoustie as I've seen,” said Joe Greiner, the caddie for Bhatia who worked at Carnoustie in 2018 when it was so yellow that players were driving the first green and Hideki Matsuyama hit a 3-wood into the burn nearly some 425 yards because the ball was rolling so much.

This is links golf at its best.

“It's windy and firm and you need creativity to land it short — very short — of the green and not be afraid of it,” Uihlein said. And then he flipped through the irons in his bag and said, “Loft means nothing when it's like this.”

Jordan Spieth arrived on the weekend to Royal Birkdale, where he won the third leg of the career Grand Slam in 2017 with an astonishing finish. He was in deep grass in the dunes well right of the 13th fairway, took a penalty drop and then got free relief on the driving range and managed to save bogey. He followed birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to win by three.

It would be a nice moment to relive, except that he can't.

The driving range has changed location, and that area where Spieth took his drop is now a Fan's Village and marked out-of-bounds. The par-3 14th where he began his big run no longer exists. Instead the 14th is what used to be the par-5 15th, the fairway shifted.

Uihlein returned to Royal Birkdale as one of 20 players who went through 36-hole qualifiers in the U.K. Three more spots were added from the Scottish Open, including Johnny Keefer.

The final spot was to be decided in a “Last Chance Qualifier” at Royal Birkdale on Monday. The idea was to give 12 players one last opportunity to secure a spot in golf's oldest championship.

As for Scheffler, his next task was the ceremonial return of the claret jug he won at Royal Portrush last year. And then has four rounds to try to win it back.

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

Haeran Ryu beats Brooke Henderson in playoff to win Evian Championship for 2nd straight major title

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 14:26:59 +0000

A second major title in a three-week stretch. The lowest round — an 11-under 60 — in an LPGA major.

It was quite the weekend at the Evian Championship for Haeran Ryu, the latest South Korean sensation in women’s golf.

Ryu, the winner of the Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine on June 29, gave up a three-shot overnight lead, birdied No. 18 to make a playoff, and beat Brooke Henderson on the first extra hole Sunday to win the fourth women's major of the year.

“This," said the 25-year-old Ryu, drenched in Champagne and cradling the trophy in her left arm, “is just a dream right now.”

A day after rolling in nine birdies and an eagle to set the scoring record for women's majors, Ryu couldn't make a putt at Evian Golf Resort and found herself teeing off on the par-5 18th without a birdie on her card and in a tie for the lead with Japanese golfer Aki Iwai. Henderson — a two-time major winner and 2022 Evian champion — was a shot back and on a charge after back-to-back front-nine eagles, including a hole-in-one.

With Henderson hitting her second shot to 8 feet at the last, Ryu needed an elusive birdie from further out to ensure being in a playoff.

A putt finally dropped to complete her level-par 71, Iwai missed her birdie putt to fall out of contention and Henderson curled in for eagle and a 64 to take the championships to extra holes on a gorgeous day beside the Lake Geneva in the Alps.

Ryu and Henderson, who were tied on 19-under par for the week, went back up No. 18 in separate golf carts. Ryu found the middle of the fairway, while Henderson drove left into the rough and had to lay up.

Ryu hit her second onto the green and left an eagle putt 3 feet short. That proved to be the distance needed for the win after Henderson could only make par, and Ryu made no mistake.

“It was so tough today because my putt always missed the cup,” Ryu said. "Just made the one birdie on the last hole.

“Before these three weeks," she added, "I didn’t have a major championship — now two in a row. I am so happy, I can’t believe it.”

For the first time in women's golf, there have been double major winners in the same year.

No. 1-ranked Nelly Korda won the first two of 2026 — the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open.

Henderson was looking to be the first repeat winner of the Evian Championship since it became women's golf's fifth major in 2013.

“Obviously very exciting to get into the playoff,” the 28-year-old Canadian said. “Wish I had played a little bit better, but Haeran has been playing great. Congrats to her.”

Iwai wept as she fell short of winning her first major title and becoming the fifth major champion from Japan since the start of 2024.

Still, third place was her best finish in a major.

“I got a little confidence," she said, fighting back tears. "I never give up.”

The year's final major — the Women's British Open — is at Royal Lytham & St. Annes starting July 30.

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

Disney's live-action 'Moana' crashes to shore with an underwhelming splash at the box office

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:55:48 +0000

The Walt Disney Company’s live action “Moana” may be the No. 1 movie at the domestic box office, but it did not make a big splash in its first weekend in theaters.

The movie, which cost a reported $250 million to produce, earned just $43 million from ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Internationally, it earned $52 million from 50 markets, adding up to a $95 million global debut.

The studio bet big on “Moana,” one of its most popular franchises. The 2016 animated film is the most watched movie on Disney+. Its sequel, which was stitched together from a planned streaming series, made over $1 billion and scored a Thanksgiving record when it opened with $225 million in 2024. “Moana 2” was also released just 19 months ago.

This latest “Moana,” directed by Thomas Kail, brings Dwayne Johnson back as the demigod Maui and introduces Catherine Lagaʻaia as the adventuring Polynesian princess. Despite praise for Lagaʻaia, the film set sail on a wave of dismal reviews from critics for being essentially a shot-for-shot remake of the original.

What audiences say about “Moana”

It’s currently sitting at a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, the majority of whom were women (66%), were less negative: According to PostTrak, 63% said they would “definitely” recommend the film to their friends. Parent reactions were even stronger, with 78% saying they would recommend it to other parents. It also got a promising A- CinemaScore.

Disney’s live action remakes of beloved animated films, new and old, have had their share of successes and disappointments. Some have made over $1 billion, including “Lilo & Stitch,” “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Others have floundered, most notably last year’s “Snow White,” which made only $205 million worldwide. “Moana” opened more on par with “Snow White” ($42.2 million).

Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said “Moana's” debut could also be a product of PG-rated oversaturation in the marketplace: Universal’s “Minions & Monsters” was in second place with $20.5 million and “Toy Story 5” was close behind in third place with $18.5 million.

“Families love going to the movies, but right now there are three of them,” Dergarabedian said. “That’s a lot of competition.”

PG-rated films outgrossed others in 2024 and 2025, so “Moana's” performance may not be a case of “family movie fatigue,” he said, but simply shows there can be a ceiling. Families have to make a choice, and after four weekends, “Toy Story 5” is still going strong with a running global total of $879.1 million.

There also are signs that these movies might not sink or swim based on the opening weekend alone. Although “Minions & Monsters” opened below expectations over the Fourth of July holiday, it also had a modest 45% drop this weekend. Its running domestic total is currently sitting at $108.3 million.

Elsewhere at the box office, horror and history

The weekend’s other big new opener was definitely not PG: The R-rated horror “Evil Dead Burn,” a Warner Bros. release, opened in fourth place with $13.7 million. It’s a significant dip from the previous two films in the series, which both opened in the $25 million range.

Angel Studios’ George Washington movie “Young Washington” rounded out the top five films in its second weekend in theaters, with $6.4 million. Olivia Wilde’s chamber dramedy “The Invite” landed in sixth place in its first weekend in wide release, with $5.7 million from 1,610 theaters.

And though it has dropped out of the top 10 domestically, “Michael” has officially crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, only the second film this year to do so after “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” It’s also now the highest grossing musical biopic of all time, a title previously held by “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The total domestic box office for the year is currently sitting just under $5.2 billion, up about 10.7% from this point last year. While both May and June were very strong — both generating over $1 billion in North America — July, Dergarabedian said, has faced some headwinds with a string of underperformers, including “Supergirl.” Things will likely pick up next week with the arrival of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” followed by “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” the weekend after.

“They could power a stronger August than July at the box office, which would be very unusual,” Dergarabedian said.

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. “Moana,” $43 million.

2. “Minions & Monsters,” $20.5 million.

3. “Toy Story 5,” $18.5 million.

4. “Evil Dead Burn,” $13.7 million.

5. “Young Washington,” $6.4 million.

6. “The Invite,” $5.7 million.

7. “Obsession,” $3.8 million.

8. “Supergirl,” $3.6 million.

9. “Disclosure Day,” $3.2 million.

10. “Backrooms,” $1.5 million.

Ukraine's prime minister steps down as Zelenskyy announces government reshuffle

The Associated Press, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 08:51:30 +0000

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stepped down on Sunday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced fresh changes to Ukraine's government, saying he had offered a new and important position to the former premier.

Zelenskyy, who has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited, has periodically reshuffled his government in an effort to bring fresh momentum to his administration.

Svyrydenko, who has served as Ukraine’s economy minister, was named prime minister in July 2025 at the age of 39 after playing a lead role in securing a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States, seen as an important way of tying U.S. interests to Ukraine’s security.

In a statement on social media, Svyrydenko said she was “proud to have had the honor of leading the government during one of the most difficult periods in Ukraine’s modern history.” She also said she had discussed “next steps” with Zelenskyy, but did not provide further details.

“I remain ready to serve the Ukrainian state and carry out every task aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s position, defending our national interests and bringing a just peace closer,” she said.

Zelenskyy announced her resignation in a post saying that Ukraine was “changing its political strategy.” He also said he had offered Svyrydenko the opportunity to lead “a new, important area” in Ukraine’s relations with a key international partner.

“Each priority area of foreign policy will be assigned to a specific person with substantial experience who is capable of implementing what we agree on at the leaders’ level and what the Ukrainian people expect,” Zelenskyy said, describing the impending reshuffle.

The Ukrainian leader also said there would be changes among the top ranks of Ukraine's law enforcement agencies.

Zelenskyy met with a series of senior officials following the announcement, including Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

The overhaul, which Zelenskyy has yet to explain in detail, would be the fourth major reorganization of his government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine continues strikes against Russian oil sites

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian attack in southwest Russia killed one person and wounded three more, local officials said Sunday, as Kyiv’s forces continued to bombard Russia’s oil facilities.

The head of Russia's Samara region, Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said that a child was among the injured. He also said that residential homes and apartment buildings were damaged in the strike, as well as an unspecified “industrial site.”

Russian media outlets reported that the attack’s target was the region’s Syzran Oil Refinery, with many sharing images that appeared to show plumes of black smoke rising over the site. The refinery, which is owned by oil and gas giant Rosneft and sits some 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the border, has been a repeated target for Kyiv's forces.

Meanwhile the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, said that a tanker had been damaged in a drone attack in the Azov-Black Sea maritime canal. The tanker was empty and there is no threat of an oil spill, Slyusar said.

Ukraine’s drone strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia have triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and rationing in multiple regions and motorists waiting for hours to fill their tanks. Moscow has responded by intensifying its bombardment on Kyiv and other cities, exposing Ukraine’s vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure as part of Kyiv’s campaign of “long-range sanctions” carried out in response to Moscow’s refusal to halt its four-year invasion of its neighbor.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it had attacked the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk in Ukraine’s Odesa region. Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the claims.

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

Israeli fire in Gaza kills 6 people, including a little girl, health officials say

Wafaa Shurafa And Natalie Melzer, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 14:21:59 +0000

Israeli fire in Gaza on Sunday killed at least six Palestinians, including a 9-year-old girl, and wounded over a dozen others, according to local health officials.

A drone strike on a blacksmith shop in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood killed at least four Palestinians, according to officials at Shifa hospital, where the casualties were taken.

The Israeli military acknowledged striking the area, saying it targeted “terrorist infrastructure,” without elaborating. It later said it struck a Hamas weapon production site.

Palestinians received an evacuation order from the military following the first strikes. Roughly an hour later, intense airstrikes targeted the same blacksmith shop. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s ambulance service said the strikes in Gaza City wounded 14 people.

Also on Sunday, Israeli gunfire killed 9-year-old Tala Abu Matar in a displacement camp in central Gaza, according to officials at the Health Ministry. The Israeli military said it was unaware of such an incident.

And an Israeli strike on a displacement tent in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed one Palestinian, according to health officials at Nasser hospital, where the body was taken. Israel’s military said it carried out a strike in that area and called it “part of routine activities.” The military said it was not aware of casualties.

Israeli strikes have lessened considerably since a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, but they continue almost daily. Israel’s military says it targets Hamas and other militants, often asserting they were planning attacks. The strikes have also killed many civilians.

At least 1,098 Palestinians, including at least 260 children, have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed in that time.

The Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 73,221 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical professionals who maintain 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 deaths.

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain largely deadlocked over the implementation of the ceasefire's second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza. Most of the population of over 2 million people remains displaced, with many living in crowded tent camps with little or no basic services or in the ruins of buildings.

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Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel.

From staunch critic to fierce ally: Graham's long, strange and consequential friendship with Trump

Will Weissert, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:01:23 +0000

After the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, Sen. Lindsey Graham said he had finally had enough of the man who was championed by the mob that stormed the pillar of American democracy: President Donald Trump.

“Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president," an emotional Graham said once authorities cleared the rioters and allowed senators to reclaim their chamber. "All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.”

It wasn't, of course.

Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died unexpectedly on Saturday night at age 71, realized that his party's future was inextricably tied to Trump and quickly reverted back to being a staunch defender. The shift made what had once seemed like a final rupture into just another twist in the topsy-turvy relationship between the powerful senator and the president who came to dominate their party.

“Can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no,” Graham said in May 2021, just four months after the Jan. 6 attack. “I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”

Trump, who called Graham a "true American Patriot” in a social media post Sunday, appeared shocked by the lawmaker's sudden passing.

“I just can’t believe it,” the president told NBC's “Meet the Press." “He was like a member of the family."

Graham often advised Trump on foreign affairs, particularly on matters pertaining to Israel, Ukraine and Iran. He was a frequent visitor at the White House.

“At the end of a particularly thrilling and rollicking meeting in the Oval Office, Lindsey Graham turned to the room and said: 'I’ve never had this much fun in my life,’” deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller wrote on X. He said such gatherings "were filled with camaraderie, kinship and uproarious laughter.”

Trump recalled that during his last conversation with Graham, he told his friend, “We’ll see you soon, come over anytime you want.”

Graham once said Trump's candidacy was like ‘being shot in the head’

The senator and Trump first clashed while competing for the 2016 presidential nomination.

Graham described Trump as “unfit for office,” and was angered when Trump denigrated the military service of Graham's close friend, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Trump suggested, “I like people that weren't captured” when talking about McCain's years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Trump got mad enough at Graham to release the senator's personal cellphone number. That prompted a viral video in which the senator dramatically destroyed a series of flip phones. He smashed one with a meat cleaver and another with a golf club, then used lighter fluid, a blender and toaster oven to pulverize others before tossing one off the roof.

Graham eventually likened Trump's winning the nomination to “being shot in the head” and said he refused to vote for Trump that November. But the pair later bonded over golf and what Graham described as a mutual and irreverent sense of humor.

Trump and Graham began so frequently hitting the links together that the senator started seeing it as something of a career builder, leaning heavily into the kind of over-the-top flattery Trump relishes. In 2017, Graham joked that Trump had beaten him “like a drum” on the course — even worse than in the presidential primary.

“Their true friendship could only be seen behind the curtain,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told ABC’s “This Week.” Scott said that relationship was forged as political adversaries but also strengthened by spending 100-plus hours golfing together.

During Trump's first term, Graham helped advance Trump's nominees to the Supreme Court, lent credibility to the White House's legislative agenda and even at times became part of the president's inner circle. He frequently said Trump was maturing in politics and growing on the job.

Graham's political divergence with McCain, who died in 2018, was never more clear than in 2017, when McCain voted against a Trump-backed plan to overturn Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. The effort had been co-sponsored by Graham.

A split that was short-lived, an alliance reignited

In his floor speech after the Capitol attack, Graham said “he’d never been so humiliated and embarrassed for the country.” But the break with Trump ended quickly.

Weeks later, Trump invited Graham for golf and dinner at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, reigniting their alliance. During Trump's 2024 campaign, Graham was a frequent Trump surrogate on television, promoting U.S. military strength that he said would advance “America First” policies.

Graham never shed his more traditional Republican foreign policy views, including outspoken support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion. He was also a leading voice pushing the White House to more fully embrace Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and take a harder line against Iran.

After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February, Graham remained hawkish, staunchly defending the action and working to counter many in Trump's “Make America Great Again” base who thought “America First” meant avoiding such military conflicts.

“To those who say Iran is stronger now than before, that is an insult to the American military and it is delusional thinking because the Iranian economy is in shambles,” Graham posted on social media June 19.

But Graham's admiration for Trump went far beyond Iran. When Graham clinched the South Carolina Republican primary last month, he suggested the president was just short of a deity.

“I want to start with a bunch of thank yous. I want to thank the big guy, God. Trump comes later,” Graham laughed. “Mr. President, you’re not far behind God, but we’re gonna start with him.”

Macron warns of resurgent demons of antisemitism as France honors Alfred Dreyfus

Masha Macpherson, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:08:24 +0000

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday decried a resurgence of the ″demons of antisemitism″ that have darkened France’s past and present.

The French leader and others were inaugurating a statue honoring Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, whose wrongful 19th century treason conviction exposed deeply rooted anti-Jewish bias in France. Sunday marked 120 years since Dreyfus’ exoneration by France’s highest court, where the statue now stands.

Hours before the ceremony, police evacuated some 300 people from the Paris suburb of Sarcelles because intelligence services identified a suspicious vehicle containing a military weapon near a synagogue. Sarcelles has a significant Jewish population, and prosecutors opened a terrorism investigation.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the vehicle contained a ″long military weapon,″ and that it’s unclear if the weapon was meant to target the Jewish community.

France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish population and saw a surge in antisemitic acts, including threats, vandalism and physical violence following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, accused Macron of further fueling antisemitism by deciding to recognize Palestine last year.

“We know that the old demons of antisemitism have never completely disappeared from our country,″ the French president said at Sunday’s ceremony for Dreyfus, calling for constant vigilance to prevent acts that ″target people because of who they are.″

Dreyfus, who was Jewish, was convicted of treason in 1894 after being falsely accused of passing military secrets to Germany, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Prominent intellectuals, including novelist Emile Zola, argued that Dreyfus had been made a scapegoat by the French military.

He was cleared of all charges on July 12, 1906 by the Court of Cassation, France’s highest court. Macron declared July 12 to be a national day of commemoration of Dreyfus’ innocence, starting this year.

After he was exonerated, Dreyfuss rejoined the French army and served in World War I. He died in 1935.

Dreyfus’ 99-year-old grandson Charles was among those attending Sunday’s ceremony.

“I must sadly admit that I would not have imagined, at my age, seeing antisemitism resurface with such virulence in our country,″ Charles Dreyfus said.

His sorrow, however, was tempered by what he called ″the deep joy″ at seeing his grandfather’s statue erected outside the Palace of Justice, depicting Dreyfus proudly wielding a broken sword.

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Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

Hundreds of firefighters battle wildfire in southern Spain that killed at least 12

Sergio Rodrigo And Serge Cartwright, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:03:27 +0000

Hundreds of firefighters backed by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft struggled on Saturday to contain one of Spain's deadliest wildfires that erupted earlier this week and killed a least 12 people.

The blazes, which also lashed France this week, came as parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

In Spain's Andalusia, a combination of light winds and high humidity are helping crews but the sheer size of the fire still poses challenges, Antonio Sanz, head of the region's emergency services, said. The fire has so far scorched some 66 square kilometers (25 square miles) of forest and farmland — about the size of Manhattan.

Sanz said fire crews carried out controlled burns overnight around the perimeter of the fire, which broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierre de Los Filabres mountains in in Almería province, just as Spain was sizzling.

Favorable weather conditions were expected into Sunday, which could help firefighting efforts, Spain's official EFE news agency reported. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said nearly all homes on the fire front's perimeter were undamaged.

Most of the victims, who are believed to be foreign nationals, died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, authorities said. Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars.

Four of the dead were believed to be British because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said.

Sanz said Saturday that authorities had completed autopsies and DNA samples were collected to identify them.

Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has spoken with his counterparts from the U.K., Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands about the fire, EFE reported. Almería is home to one of the largest communities of foreign nationals in Andalusia.

Authorities proactively evacuated 1,448 people from some 11 areas.

Many are fleeing the flames

Jeffrey Kember and his wife, Christine, were watching a favorite TV show in their Los Pinos farmhouse when the blare of a siren alerted them to the fire. The couple jumped into their respective cars while also trying to help a neighbor with two toddlers.

The husband described how they got separated and how he was unable to speak to his wife because she didn't have a phone on her.

“I'm driving through the flames. It was actually flames. I though, ‘I can’t stop, I just gotta go,” he told The Associated Press, his wife now next to him outside an evacuation center. "It was eerie because all of a sudden I came out of the flames and it was all bright sunshine. It was like surreal.”

Meanwhile, Spanish authorities arrested two people for ignoring evacuation orders and returning to a high-risk area, according to EFE. Authorities are still combing through the Bédar area in search for any victims.

Europe withers in intense heat

Spain has battled frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Wind, high temperatures and little rainfall help small wildfires grow into unchecked blazes.

Bolaños, the justice minister, on Saturday attributed the ferocity of the Almeira wildfire to a “climate emergency.” He said the fire, at its most intense, advanced as fast as 100 meters per minute (328 feet per minute.)

Spain’s Meteorological Agency warned that the wildfire risk over the weekend will remain very high.

In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with over 1,000 excess deaths. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.

Wildfires lash France

Several wildfires remained active across France on Saturday as temperatures soared. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that 32 people have been arrested across the country since the beginning of the summer in connection with wildfires.

“Those unacceptable acts, which have disastrous consequences and mobilize our firefighters at the risk of their lives, now fall into the hands of the justice system,” he said. “We will continue our determined action and will not let anything slide.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also weighed in, recalling in a post on X that nine out of 10 wildfires start because of human activity. More than 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres) of land have burned in France since the start of 2026, roughly double the area compared to the same period last year.

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave this summer, with temperatures reaching 40 C across western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris. In the French capital, the Eiffel Tower will close in the afternoon over the weekend instead of late at night, as it usually does. The Louvre and Orsay museum have also announced reduced opening hours because of the heat wave.

Last month was France’s hottest June on record, with deaths surging by nearly a third during the hottest week.

Spain and Portugal have faced deadly fires before

Spain is no stranger to wildfires, with last year's fire season burning more than 393,000 hectares (971,000 acres). according to the European Forest Fire Information System, an area twice as large as London. Four people died.

Spain's deadliest wildfire was in 1979, when 21 people perished in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town about an hour north of Barcelona.

In 2017, a wildfire in neighboring Portugal left 66 people dead in Pedrogao Grande, located 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Lisbon. In that blaze, 47 people died on one road while similarly attempting to flee in their cars.

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This story has been corrected to say the name of the Spanish town in the dateline is Bedar, not Bejar.

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Associated Press writer Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report.

Brothers who ran 33 marathons to spotlight dementia spend a day in the Royal Box at Wimbledon

Ken Maguire, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:32:15 +0000

British brothers Jordan and Cian Adams made sure to bring back little mementos from their day sitting among the VIPs at Wimbledon.

A program. The Royal Box seating chart with their names on it. A hat.

They’re creating and cherishing memories now with their partners because of what’s ahead. The brothers have a rare gene mutation that is all but certain to lead to frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Their mother, Geraldine, died from the disease in 2016 at age 52.

The brothers, who expect symptoms to begin in their mid-40s, ran 33 marathons in 33 days on their mission to raise awareness of the brain disease.

"We have been able to turn adversity into something quite hopeful by advocating for other people and trying to bring the dementia community together and hopefully that will be evidence to them that they can live positive lives too,” Jordan, 31, told The Associated Press in an interview.

It started at the London Marathon, where Jordan ran all 26.2 miles with a refrigerator strapped to his back — symbolic of the weight family members bear for loved ones with FTD.

The next day, they began their “Irish Challenge,” a marathon per day in each of the island’s 32 counties. Their mother’s family has Irish roots and 12 relatives on that side have died of the disease, they said.

The outpouring in Ireland for the “FTD Brothers” was overwhelming, with supporters joining in to run and root them on, appearances on national TV, and an invitation from Ireland’s deputy prime minister to speak to government officials about how they can better support people with dementia.

From the British side, Prince William wrote to congratulate them on their “inspiring journey.” The All England Club then followed with an invitation to the Royal Box, where the brothers and their respective partners watched the men’s semifinal matches on Friday.

They planned to be special guests of the Gaelic Athletic Association on Sunday for the national Gaelic football semifinals at Croke Park in Dublin.

Cruel realities of FTD

The U.K.'s National Health Service describes FTD as an uncommon dementia subtype that is “highly heritable” and characterized by “changes in behavior, personality, language and motor function.” With a MAPT mutation — which the brothers carry — the disease is "fully penetrant," the NHS says, with the mean age of onset at 49 years “with a strong correlation with parental age of onset.”

The brothers' mother died at home in Redditch, just south of Birmingham, about six years after being diagnosed.

“It’s more of a guarantee that we’re going to get it," said Jordan, citing a 99.9% likelihood. “Rather than an if, it’s a matter of when.”

Both Jordan and Cian, 25, have undergone testing that confirmed the genetic problem. Their older sister, Kennedy, tested negative.

There is no cure for FTD.

“If I’m totally honest, and I’m quite brazen about this, I don’t believe that a cure will come in time for me and my brother,” Jordan said. “I’ve got the best part of 10 to 15 years before symptoms likely arise. ... We just want to move things forward in all different areas including vital research but welfare support and services is just as important and something that we get echoed a lot to us by the families and the people who we’re advocating for."

Working with Alzheimer's groups in Britain and Ireland, they've raised nearly 2 million pounds ($2.7 million) and remain focused on getting more government support for services so that “people living with dementia and their families don’t feel alone, don’t feel isolated and that’s just as important as finding the treatment and the cure," Jordan said.

Upcoming plans include running the Chicago Marathon in October and taking a group of people to hike Mount Kilimanjaro through their non-profit FTD Brothers Foundation.

Royal Box experience

The brothers were part of a Royal Box contingent that included actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Hugh Laurie. They chatted with West Indies cricket great Brian Lara and journalist/podcaster Louis Theroux.

“I’ve watched his stuff over the years," Jordan said of Theroux. “He asked what our connection was to the event. We opened up to him about that. He found that very interesting. Very humble man.”

Jordan said his family was “very grateful” for the All England Club's invitation in a bucket-list experience that their partners "can hold on to in those difficult times in the future when sadly we won’t remember them ourselves.”

“It seems silly, but we’ve collected artifacts and come away with a program and our little name placards and the seating plan for the day in the Royal Box and took away a hat each and things like that,” Jordan added.

“It’s things like that hopefully if we have families of our own, and we have children of our own, our partners will be able to show them that along with photographs of the day and show them what we were able to do in the face of adversity.”

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American 16-year-old Jordan Lee wins Wimbledon juniors tournament as a qualifier

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 14:57:01 +0000

American 16-year-old Jordan Lee became only the second qualifier to win the Wimbledon boys' title after rallying to beat Cruz Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday.

Lee is the first qualifier to win any Grand Slam boys' tournament since Noah Rubin did it at Wimbledon in 2014.

“Standing here with the trophy means a lot because very few people know what I've been through this past year and a half, dealing with a lot of injuries,” Lee said in an on-court interview. “A year ago at this time I was sitting at home on the couch, didn't know if I was going to play tennis again.”

The 17-year-old Hewitt is the son of 2002 Wimbledon men's champion Lleyton Hewitt, who was in the stands at No. 1 Court. The Australian was up an early break in the deciding set but Lee broke back for 4-4 and then again in the final game.

He sealed the victory with a backhand winner up the line on his first match point.

Lee is the first American player to win the boys’ singles title here since Samir Banerjee in 2021.

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Vietnam police detain captain after speedboat capsizing kills 15 Indian tourists

Aniruddha Ghosal, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 06:08:30 +0000

Vietnamese police detained Sunday the captain of a speedboat that capsized off southern Vietnam, killing 15 Indian tourists.

The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists and four Vietnamese crew members when it overturned less than half a kilometer (0.30 mile) from shore Saturday afternoon, shortly after leaving Hon May Rut Ngoai island near Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, authorities said.

The captain, Nguyen Hong Hai, 57, is under investigation for alleged violations of waterway transport safety regulations, state media reported.

Sixteen survivors of Saturday’s speedboat accident have been discharged from the hospital and are returning to India, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi said on social media Sunday. One remains in critical condition in a Vietnamese hospital.

The bodies of the victims were being transported to Ho Chi Minh City before being flown to India after official formalities, according to the embassy.

The boat capsizes moments after departure

All 15 victims were on a company trip organized by India’s Lava International, a smartphone and consumer electronics manufacturer, for its employees, distributors and retail partners, the company said.

Ashish Kumar, a 48-year-old distributor for the company from the Indian city of Guntur who took part in the trip, said the party had split into three groups to travel between islands when he witnessed the accident from shore.

The first boat had already departed while the other two were still docked when it capsized.

The boat was relatively close to shore when it flipped, he told The Associated Press over the phone. "We screamed, ‘Help! Help!’”

Nearby boats immediately rushed to the rescue. “But by then it was too late,” he said.

Rough seas hamper rescue efforts

Ha Van Loc, piloting a nearby boat at the time of the accident, told state media VN Express that he spotted the overturned vessel at around 12:40 p.m. local time. He saw about a dozen people clinging to the boat’s hull, while others — without life jackets — were struggling in the water.

“They were being submerged by the waves but still waving their hands for help,” Loc said.

He said he couldn't get close to the upturned speedboat because of the rough seas and was afraid his boat's propeller could injure those in the water. He and his crew threw life buoys attached to ropes and pulled four survivors aboard within 10 minutes.

Realizing others were still trapped, Loc recorded a short video and alerted other boat operators in the area.

Within minutes, nearly a dozen boats and rescue teams arrived at the scene.

Rough seas with waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) high hampered the rescue. Jet Skis were able to reach survivors more easily than larger boats and brought them ashore one by one.

State media VN Express cited passengers as saying the captain told everyone to wear life jackets before departure, but many carried them in their hands. When the speedboat capsized, some passengers were trapped inside and had to escape through the bow or windows, the report said.

Kumar, the eyewitness, said that there was no emergency medical care available at the shore when survivors were brought back.

On shore, tourists and tour company staff took turns performing CPR and giving oxygen to the victims, state media said.

The 17 injured were admitted to Phu Quoc Sun Hospital after two emergency resuscitation doctors and one nurse were dispatched.

The Indian Embassy in Vietnam said 10 of the dead were from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala.

Hundreds of thousands of Indian tourists visit Vietnam each year

Hon May Rut island is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Phu Quoc, one of Vietnam’s most popular beach destinations. Both are known for their white sandy beaches and clear waters, drawing millions of domestic and foreign tourists each year.

India is one of Vietnam’s fastest-growing tourism markets. The Southeast Asian country welcomed about 750,000 Indians in 2025, up nearly 50% from the previous year.

Officials attribute the growth to an expanding network of direct flights between major Indian and Vietnamese cities and Vietnam’s liberal e-visa policy.

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Innovation, data fixes fuel Native American graduation gains at federally funded schools

Savannah Peters, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 12:01:45 +0000

During his senior year of high school on the Puyallup Reservation, Gerald Dillon traded much of his academic coursework for career training. When he walked into the second grade classroom where he worked as a teaching assistant, students would rush from their seats for a fist bump or a hug.

The 18-year-old, who once found classes boring and put in only enough effort to pass, found renewed purpose to come to school everyday.

“It motivates me. I like making connections with the kids, I like helping them,” Dillon said.

It began in his junior year when he enrolled in career training courses. Soon, Dillon said, his grades improved. He graduated in June from Chief Leschi Schools in Washington and is now considering going to college for a teaching degree.

Administrators at the school say a shift in focus to technical training and career readiness is paying off, with more students not only staying in school but graduating on time.

Those gains are emblematic of progress across the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education, which oversees 183 primary and secondary schools serving over 40,000 students. In 2015, just over half of high schoolers at BIE schools graduated within four years. That number soared to a record high of 79% by 2025.

Some BIE educators attribute that surge to local innovations. Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland says they reflect the Trump administration’s commitment to Native American students, including efforts to strengthen teacher training. In addition, the way graduation rates are reported across BIE schools was changed to address flawed data collection that previously depressed the numbers.

But concerns loom that changes reshaping the BIE under the Trump administration — including the planned dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education and continued fallout from cuts instituted by DOGE — could undermine progress and prevent struggling schools from improving.

Reporting standards net more accurate data

The surge in graduation rates reflects, in part, more accurate reporting rather than a sudden leap in student academic improvement, according to agency officials.

For years, school administrators across the system used flawed methods to track graduation rates, often counting students who had transferred to other schools as dropouts.

“We had to come to a consensus and set an accountability framework for our schools,” said Carmelia Becenti, the agency’s chief academic officer.

Beginning in 2018, BIE began standardizing data collection methods. In the years since, Becenti said, the data has painted a more accurate and encouraging picture.

An AP analysis of BIE data found that graduation rates across the system are up 55% since new reporting standards began rolling out, with nine of its secondary schools reporting 100% growth or higher.

New approaches help students connect

Less than one-third of BIE schools are operated by the agency itself. The rest are run by tribes and receive federal funding. At some of those, educators say data collection is only part of the story.

Don Brummett, superintendent of Chief Leschi Schools, said his staff has been working to correct a “disconnect” between the high school's previous laser focus on getting students ready for college and many students’ goals of finding a job upon graduation.

“We devalued the trades. That was a mistake,” Brummett said.

The school launched its career and technical curriculum in 2020 with funding from the Puyallup Tribal Council. Since then, Brummett has seen students who might otherwise have dropped out instead enter health sciences, education and fisheries management and find new motivation to stay in school.

Dillon, the recent graduate, said hands-on job training was a better match for his learning style.

“It was kind of the first time I felt excited to go to school,” said Dillon, reflecting on his time helping second graders practice reading skills and learn the life cycle of a frog.

Between 2019 and 2025, Chief Leschi Schools reported four-year graduation rates rose from 53% to 87%.

A focus on trades is just one of the ways tribal-controlled BIE schools have innovated to keep students on track. At Choctaw Central High School, a BIE school operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw, administrators said a COVID-era experiment in virtual learning contributed to a surge in graduation rates from roughly 70% to 93%.

“For certain kids that have more responsibilities at home, kids that need to work, we saw that (virtual learning) gave them a flexible schedule and an opportunity to earn their diploma,” said principal Alaric Keams.

When pandemic lockdowns lifted, the district maintained a virtual learning option for all high schoolers.

But not all tribal governments have the resources to pay for these kinds of programs or take over management of BIE schools.

Peter Lengkeek, chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, says the BIE-operated high school serving his community is chronically understaffed and crumbling under a backlog of deferred maintenance, including a gymnasium with sinking walls and a rodent infestation. It has reported graduating fewer than 60% of students on time in recent years.

“If we were able to, we would step in and try to remedy a lot of these things,” said Lengkeek. “We have to rely on the government to fulfill its treaty promise.”

Tribal leaders push back against education changes

From the dismantling of the federal Department of Education to DOGE reductions that swept out longtime staffers, as well as repeated threats of deep funding cuts, tribal leaders fear the progress that has been made could be undermined.

In November 2025, the Department of Education began handing off oversight of dozens of programs that serve Native students to BIE.

At a tribal consultation session in February in Washington, D.C., dozens of tribal leaders spoke in opposition, saying the transition could overwhelm the already understaffed and stretched BIE with additional responsibilities. Several accused the department of ignoring its legal responsibility to seek their input before moving forward.

“We are here too late,” said Herschel Gorham, lieutenant governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. “The ink was dry on the agreements before the tribes were ever notified. That should never, ever happen.”

Jason Dropik, executive director of the National Indian Education Association, said turmoil at the agency's Washington office trickles down to schools, pointing to a Trump administration executive order that aimed to turn the BIE into a school choice system but was scaled back after an outcry from tribes.

“That caused some delays and disruptions to services,” Dropik said. “When drastic changes go into motion without tribal consultation, there can be unintended consequences for our students.”

Lengkeek worries the BIE could be consumed by political upheaval while schools like the one serving his community continue to underperform.

“This system holds the future of our nations in its hands,” Lengkeek said. “We need stability. We need increased funding. We need infrastructure.”

——

This story is published through the Global Indigenous Reporting Network at The Associated Press.

Intense heat, severe storms possible across northeast Florida, southeast Georgia

Michelle McCormick — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:54:35 +0000

Dangerous heat is back today across Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, and a Heat Advisory will be in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Along the coast, heat index values could reach 110 degrees during the early to mid-afternoon hours. Inland, along the U.S. Highway 301 corridor, values are expected to peak around 108 degrees. Even areas not in the advisory are expected to feel like 100-107 degrees through the afternoon.

Today, winds are blowing from the west, which will delay the east coast sea breeze until early afternoon.

Evening forecast

Scattered to numerous storms are expected to develop from west to east across northeast and north-central Florida during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Some of those storms could turn strong to severe.

The biggest storm threats include:

Damaging wind gusts of 40-60 mph from a weather phenomenon called a downburst — essentially a powerful blast of air that slams down from a storm and spreads out in all directions at ground level
Frequent lightning strikes
Heavy downpours in localized areas

Georgia teen charged in Apalachee High School shooting to appear in court for plea and sentencing

Kate Brumback, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:31:33 +0000

A judge has set a plea and sentencing hearing later this month for a teenager accused of killing four people in a September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.

Colt Gray, 16, had pleaded not guilty to charges including murder in the shooting that killed two students and two teachers, and left several others wounded, at the high school northeast of Atlanta.

In a court filing Friday, the judge overseeing his case set a “Non-Negotiated Plea and Sentencing Hearing” to begin July 24. The judge had previously said that if Gray wanted to plead guilty ahead of trial, he must notify the state and court by this coming Wednesday.

A non-negotiated plea means that the state and the defense have not reached an agreement on a sentence. Unlike a negotiated plea, or plea deal, where a defendant reaches an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty in exchange for an agreed upon sentence and possibly reduced charges, this leaves sentencing entirely up to the judge who makes a decision after giving each side a chance to present a summary of the case and a sentencing recommendation.

Colt Gray's attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Sunday.

Gray's trial had been set to begin in mid-October in Columbia County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Barrow County where the shooting happened, after the judge agreed to a defense request to change the venue.

Gray's father, Colin Gray, was convicted by a jury in March on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors said he gave his teenage son the assault-style rifle used to open fire at the school. The elder Gray is set to be sentenced later this month.

The Sept. 4, 2024, shooting killed teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire. Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult with 55 total counts, including murder, cruelty to children and 25 counts of aggravated assault.

Investigators testified that Colt Gray carried the rifle given to him by his father onto the school bus with the barrel wrapped in a poster board. They said the teenager left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the rifle, shooting people in a classroom and hallway.

Investigators have said the teenager carefully plotted the shooting at the high school of 1,900 students. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that the boy left a notebook in his classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram to prepare for the assault, including an estimate that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others.

Colt and Colin Gray were interviewed by sheriff's deputies about an online threat linked to Colt Gray in May 2023. Colt Gray denied making the threat at the time. He skipped 8th grade, enrolled as a freshman at Apalachee after the academic year began, and then skipped multiple days of school.

Family members had been seeking psychological help for Colt Gray before the shooting, but it appeared he never saw a counselor.

Colt’s mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators that she had argued with Colin Gray weeks before the shooting, asking him to secure his guns and restrict Colt’s access. Instead, over time, he bought the boy ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories, records show.

Colt Gray even created a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, prosecutors said.

Man shot, drives to Jacksonville Circle K; detectives unable to locate shooting scene: JSO

News4Jax Staff — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 12:26:37 +0000

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a man called 911 to report he had been shot, then drove to a nearby Westside convenience store to meet with officers.

JSO responded around 8:35 p.m. on Saturday to the Circle K off 103rd Street, where they found a man in his late 30s suffering from a gunshot wound to his left forearm. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue transported him to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators say the victim told dispatchers he had been shot before driving himself to the Circle K. However, detectives say he has not cooperated with the investigation and has not provided information about how or where the shooting occurred.

Detectives believe the incident happened at the Pointe Grand Apartments.

Officers responded to the complex after receiving a report of a possible shooting but were unable to locate a crime scene or any shell casings.

At this time, investigators believe the shooting is an isolated incident.

Police have not released any suspect information and say it is unknown whether the victim knew the shooter or whether the shooting was related to a domestic dispute. Detectives also say they have found no evidence the incident was gang-related.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or email JSOCRIMETIPS@jaxsheriff.org. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

Shooting near Toronto street festival kills 2 people and wounds 4, police say

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:28:56 +0000

A shooting near a Toronto street festival killed two men and wounded four other people Saturday evening, police said, adding that what initially prompted an active-shooter warning was an exchange of gunfire between two people targeting each other.

Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said investigators recovered two firearms after the shooting that was reported at 8:12 p.m. near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, where the Salsa on St. Clair festival was underway.

No suspect or suspects had been arrested by the time of a late-night news conference, where Barredo confirmed both of the deceased victims were men.

Officers initially urged the public to avoid the area before later announcing the scene had been secured.

“There was some concern about an active shooter. That turned out not to be the case,” Barredo said. But the two gunmen involved in the shooting “indiscriminately put vast numbers of people in danger.”

Valerie Rodriguez said she was sitting outside a nearby restaurant when people suddenly began screaming and running.

“A bunch of people … told us to lay down onto the floor,” she said. “We got scared because we didn’t know exactly what was happening.”

Festival vendor Patsy Gutierrez said she was serving customers when she saw “a huge wave” of people fleeing.

“Everybody started getting frantic and then we stopped serving,” she said. “I don’t think it should be something that’s happening at these types of events.”

A large police presence remained around the festival, an annual celebration of Latin American culture that draws thousands of people to Toronto’s St. Clair West neighborhood for live music, dancing, food and cultural performances.

“I’m deeply disturbed and angry about this reckless and irresponsible act of violence right in the middle of a festival attended by families,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a social media post that his thoughts were with the victims, families and others affected by the shooting.

“I am devastated by the senseless violence at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival that has claimed two lives and injured others,” Ford said.

Toronto, Canada’s largest city, is among North America’s safest major cities. Fatal shootings, particularly those involving multiple victims in public places, are relatively rare.

“Toronto is one of the safest cities in the world but we are 3 million people and unfortunately we are not immune,” Barredo said.

McCullum fired as England test coach but will continue with T20 and ODI teams

Steve Douglas, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 13:00:40 +0000

Brendon McCullum has been fired as coach of England's test cricket team after four years in charge but will continue to lead the country's T20 and ODI sides.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced Sunday that McCullum "will stand down," with the New Zealander saying in the ECB statement he was “gutted not to be continuing” with the test team — suggesting it was a decision taken by those above him.

“But I respect the decision,” McCullum added. “My focus now is on giving everything I’ve got to the white-ball teams and helping England keep moving forward.”

The announcement came two weeks after England's series loss to New Zealand — its first loss at home in a series of three tests or more since 2012.

That came on the heels of a 4-1 Ashes series loss Down Under in which the England team came under scrutiny for its perceived lack of professionalism.

Ben Stokes quit international cricket after the New Zealand series and now McCullum has gone, too, signaling the end of the so-called “Bazball” era — an entertaining but often flawed period for test cricket in England.

“Brendon breathed new life into England men’s test team during an exciting period which saw some amazing victories, and we’re grateful for all he has given to the role," said Richard Gould, CEO of the ECB. "We now believe that the time is right to make a change for the test team as we target victory in the Ashes next summer.”

The ECB called the “Bazball” era — when McCullum's team played aggressive, fearless cricket — one of the most “exciting and progressive periods” in England's test-playing history.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to watch him shape the mentality of the team," ECB director Rob Key said, "to one the players have loved, and see him develop a new generation of talent who will be at the heart of England men’s teams for years to come.

"He leaves the test team well-set and poised to achieve great things.”

McCullum said there had been “some unbelievable highs and a few tough days along the way, but that’s all part of taking on a challenge like this.”

“I wish the test team nothing but success," he said. "There’s a hell of a lot of talent in that dressing room and they’re a special bunch of lads. I’ll always be backing the boys, with a smile on my face, and hoping they keep taking the game on. I know they’ll continue to make people proud.”

England's next test series is against Pakistan starting next month.

McCullum has combined his white and red-ball roles since January 2025.

England's T20 team has just thrashed India 4-0 in a home series to become the No. 1-ranked side in the world.

___

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

‘They weren’t alone’: Neighbors recount trying to help after car fire that killed Jacksonville woman, 3-year-old boy

Chris Will — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:23:30 +0000

Neighbors living near I-295 on Jacksonville’s Northside said they watched a deadly crash unfold just yards from their homes late Thursday night — and now want the victims’ family to know they were not alone in the final moments.

Florida Highway Patrol says the crash happened at about 10:35 p.m. Thursday on I-295 northbound near mile marker 37.

According to FHP’s report, a black Jeep veered off the roadway, continued off the road and hit a tree. Troopers say the vehicle then became engulfed in flames.

3-year-old boy, woman killed when Jeep veers off I-295, erupts in flames: FHP

FHP says the 42-year-old woman driving and a 3-year-old boy passenger — both from Jacksonville — died at the scene.

Jami-Leigh Ross, who lives behind the interstate near where the crash happened, reached out to News4JAX Friday morning.

Ross told News4JAX she and her daughter were outside when they heard the crash and walked to the end of their driveway.

She said neighbors tried to help using what they had — including a fire extinguisher and a hose — while waiting for emergency crews to arrive.

“I prayed,” Ross said, getting emotional as she described what she felt afterward.

“It’s sadness,” she said.

Ross said she wanted to speak out because she doesn’t want the family to think their loved ones were alone.

“I would like to just let them know that they had seven people right there with them. Seven people that tried, seven people that prayed seven people that watch them enter the Gates of Heaven.”

Ross said she returned to the crash site the next morning after the scene was cleared to reflect on what happened.

Burnt ground just off of I-295 after a deadly crash.

“I just want the family to know that we’re here,” she said. “This address is here for them.”

Volkswagen CEO looks to avoid plant closures as automaker moves to cut costs

Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 08:07:43 +0000

Volkswagen's CEO indicated in comments published Sunday that he's trying to avoid closing plants as he seeks to turn around the automaker's performance.

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company faces pressure to cut costs at home and increasingly intense competition in the lucrative Chinese market, in particular.

Last week, Volkswagen said its “fundamental realignment” over the past three years had reached its next phase, announcing plans to streamline the model lineup by up to half.

It didn't provide specifics, and questions remain over how else it will cut costs. There has been renewed speculation about the future of several plants in Germany.

“There are more intelligent solutions than closing plants,” CEO Oliver Blume told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

He added that a cost-cutting program in Germany already is producing effects. “We were able to improve our factory costs in Germany by an average 20% last year alone,” he said, describing that as “strong progress.”

Blume argued that Volkswagen's products are very popular, but “we just earn too little money with them. So we must continue to reduce our costs. In all kinds of costs.”

14 nations and the EU reaffirm 2016 ruling invalidating China's claims in South China Sea

Jim Gomez, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 04:36:43 +0000

The United States, the United Kingdom and a dozen other Western and Asian countries reasserted on Sunday that China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea are illegal based on a 2016 arbitration ruling.

A joint statement issued by the 14 nations said they rejected “destabilizing” actions in the disputed waters that threaten regional stability. The 27-nation European Union released a separate statement, reaffirming the ruling as a “landmark decision in the peaceful settlement of disputes."

The statements commemorated a July 12, 2016, arbitration ruling by a tribunal established in The Hague under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, saying the landmark decision is “is final and legally binding."

China reiterated Sunday that the ruling was "null and void and has no binding force” and Beijing “neither accepts nor recognizes it.”

China refused to join the arbitration initiated by the Philippines in 2013 after a tense standoff in the contested waters a year earlier that ended with Beijing effectively seizing a disputed shoal.

Beijing rejected the 2016 ruling and continues to defend its claims to virtually the entire sea passage, a key global trade route that has long been feared as one of Asia’s most active flashpoints. The areas has been the scene of repeated territorial standoffs involving China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

“We reaffirm the Arbitral Tribunal’s decision that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on `historic rights,’” the U.S.-led statement said.

The arbitration tribunal largely decided in favor of the Philippines, ruling then that under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, “there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources” in the South China Sea outside of its regular territorial areas recognized under the convention.

The convention, largely regarded as the treaty governing the world’s oceans and seas, took effect in 1994 and has been ratified by more than 170 countries and parties, including China and the Philippines.

In addition to the U.S. and Britain, the other countries listed in Sunday's statement were the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.

“We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilizing or unilateral actions including by force or coercion that threaten peace and stability in the region,” they said.

The nations stressed “our strong opposition to the use of coast guard, military and maritime militia forces to harass, obstruct, intimidate lawful operations by other states at sea or in the air and in so doing endanger the safety of personnel and fishermen and seriously degrade regional peace and security.”

“Freedom of navigation and overflight as well as other internationally lawful uses of the sea as reflected in UNCLOS” must be upheld, the countries said, adding that the territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully based on the 1982 U.N. convention.

In Beijing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the arbitration tribunal and its ruling “seriously contravene the general practice of international arbitration” and “gravely infringe upon China’s legitimate rights as a sovereign state and state party to UNCLOS and are unjust and unlawful.”

“China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on those awards,” the Chinese foreign ministry said, adding that Beijing “does not accept any means of third-party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China.”

Territorial confrontations in the disputed waters have become more prevalent in recent years, particularly between Chinese and Philippine and Vietnamese forces and fishing fleets.

Chinese coast guard ships and support vessels have used powerful water cannons, military-grade lasers and dangerous blocking maneuvers against Philippine forces and fishermen from rival claimant countries that have led to collisions in the high seas and high-risk encounters in the air.

The United States has repeatedly called on China to comply with the arbitration ruling.

The former Biden and current Trump administrations both warned that Washington is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, vessels or aircraft come under armed attack in the disputed waters.

Conor McGregor suffers early knee injury in return, loses to Max Holloway at UFC 329

W.G. Ramirez, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 04:05:17 +0000

Conor McGregor’s return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 ended unceremoniously at just 1:09 of the first round Saturday night because of a knee injury.

Fighting for the first time in more than five years, McGregor flew across the ring with a flying left roundhouse kick when the match started and landed awkwardly on his right knee.

After attempting to kick and strike Holloway (28-9-0) two more times, it was clear McGregor (22-7-0) couldn’t finish the scheduled five-round welterweight bout.

“My head gasket is gone. Destroyed," McGregor said on social media. “I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell.”

Asked if there may have been an existing injury, UFC President Dana White said there were no signs of it Friday at the ceremonial weigh-in.

“Five years off in this sport is rough,” White said. “We’re assuming a blown ACL. That’s what I assumed when I saw it, and that’s what the doctors think, too.”

White added that with the millions of social-media views of McGregor rushing Holloway at the weigh-in, someone would have noticed if anyone was injured.

Holloway said he kept telling referee Mike Beltran to stop the fight because it was apparent McGregor was injured, but the former champion kept saying, “Fight!”

“During the fight, you could see his demeanor change,” Holloway said. “When I saw him hurt, I said, ‘Call this, he’s hurt.'

“I just hope for a speedy recovery.”

Holloway closed a -300 favorite at Bet MGM Sportsbook, which means a bettor would have to lay $300 to win $100. McGregor was a +240 underdog, which means a bettor would win $240 with a $100 wager on the Irishman.

McGregor, who strolled to the ring to the sounds of Notorious Biggie Smalls’ “Hypnotize” and the roar of the sold-out crowd, last fought exactly five years and a day before Saturday night.

The fans were also treated to Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham serving as a guest ring girl before the first round of the main event. White said it was decided eight minutes before she strolled around the cage in a black top and sequenced shorts, stopping occasionally to replicate her highly popular finger point from the recent game against the Phoenix Mercury.

To the delight of a frenzied audience just hours after his home country of England won its quarterfinal match over Norway in the World Cup, Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett (24-4-0) made quick work of Benoit Saint Denis (17-4-0) with a first-round TKO. Pimblett, who closed a +120 underdog, blocked a roundhouse kick, shot in and quickly applied a D’Arce Choke to put Saint Denis to sleep for the win in 52 seconds.

“Light work,” Pimblett said with a smile at the post-fight press conference. “Mother (expletive) got slept.”

In a bantamweight battle, Mario Bautista (18-3-0) defeated Cory Sandhagen (18-7-0) by unanimous decision, after taking advantage of a first-round leg kick and applying pressure in each round after. A flurry of punches in the third round secured the decision.

In a scheduled three-round flyweight bout, Brandon Royval (18-9-0) applied a rear-naked choke on Lone’er Kavanagh (10-2-0) to win by submission at the 3:40 mark of the final round.

In an absolute shocker to start the main card, a bloodied King Green (36-17-0) overcame a beating for nearly the entire first round before landing a right hand to the jaw of Terrance McKinney (18-9-0) with roughly 20 seconds left, and then finished him off for a TKO at the 4:59 mark.

___

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

Alvarez’s 112th-minute goal helps lift Argentina past Switzerland 3-1 and into World Cup semifinals

Dave Skretta, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 01:02:21 +0000

Perhaps it is in Argentina's character that the reigning World Cup champion always finds a way to win.

Perhaps it is simply its ability to suffer.

Whether it was tiny Cape Verde taking them to extra time, or Egypt burying them in a two-goal hole late in their match, Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste have always been able to survive. And that was the case once more on Saturday night, when Julián Alvarez's long-range strike in the 112th minute and Lautaro Martínez's finish later in extra time sent them back to the semifinals with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Switzerland at raucous Arrowhead Stadium.

“We’re among the best four,” Alvarez said, “so we’re meeting our objectives, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The whole match was hard, and we would have loved to have the win earlier, but we tried to get the win however we could.”

“It seems like if there’s no suffering, it doesn’t count,” Argentina’s Leandro Paredes added, “but as long as the results come through.”

Alexis Mac Allister had the other goal off a corner kick from Messi for La Albiceleste, helping to send them into a showdown with England on Wednesday in Atlanta. The Three Lions beat Norway 2-1 earlier in the day.

Messi's nine-game World Cup scoring streak ended, but his pursuit of a second World Cup title continues. With Argentina and England joining France and Spain in the semifinals, it's the first time the top four teams in the FIFA rankings have advanced that far.

“A match is coming up,” Paredes said, “that every kid dreams of playing.”

The game against Switzerland swung on a call sure to rile up those who think Argentina has been favored by World Cup officials.

The Swiss had just tied the game on Dan Ndoye's goal in the 67th minute when Paredes was shown a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. But video showed the Swiss player falling before the Argentina midfielder made contact with him, and since Embolo received a yellow card earlier in the match, he was sent off and Switzerland was left to defend with 10 players.

It was the second time a yellow card has been overturned using the “mistaken identity” protocol at the World Cup. The rule allows the video assistant referee to intervene when an incorrect player is shown a yellow or red card.

“We were punished because of a rule that in my opinion is completely unacceptable,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “I don't understand. It's very painful that we were eliminated that way. I don't think we deserve that today, in my opinion.”

It was a maddening end to the Swiss' first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 1954. They still have never made a semifinal, nor have they beaten Argentina in eight meetings — three of those in the tournament that matters the most.

“It was just a disaster,” Switzerland's Remo Freuler said of the red card.

Argentina has made its base for the past month in Kansas City, training at the home of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City while winning over thousands of new fans. And on Saturday night, they filled Arrowhead Stadium for the second time this tournament, hoping to see Messi make more magic after his hat trick against Algeria in the same building a few weeks ago.

It was brutally hot and humid throughout the day, but the temperatures began to fall with the setting sun, producing a picturesque setting for the 100th match of an expanded World Cup, and the final match of the quarterfinal round.

The defensive-minded Swiss had only conceded three goals in five games, and they dominated the ball in the opening minutes. But leave it to Messi, whose eight goals in the tournament are tied for the most with France’s Kylian Mbappé, to send a jolt through that heavily pro-Argentina crowd which included Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

He helped to earn an early corner kick with some nifty footwork, then delivered the ball that Mac Allister turned into a 1-0 lead.

For most of the match, the Swiss struggled to break down an Argentina back line that had conceded two goals apiece in its last two games. And it didn’t help their cause that they were playing without Johan Manzabi, one of their best goal-scorers, who remained out with a knee injury after missing their round of 16 penalty shootout win over Colombia.

But after forcing Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez into making a couple of tough second-half saves, the Swiss broke through when Ricardo Rodriguez slipped a tidy pass to Ndoye and he easily found the back of the net.

Whatever momentum the equalizer gave the Swiss disappeared with Embolo's red card a few minutes later.

Argentina turned up the pressure with Mac Allister missing wide with a header in the 89th minute, and Messi creating an opportunity in front of the goal that he sent just wide in the second minute of stoppage time, leaving the game tied into extra time.

There, just as they have all tournament, La Albiceleste found a way to keep their quest for back-to-back championships alive.

“We knew this could happen,” Argentina midfielder Thiago Almada said. “They have top players, very good position, they were trying to find people inside. We knew how to hold up and we made it through.”

___

Focus turns to building stronger institutions in Africa to speed shift to renewable energy

By Allan Olingo, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 05:02:57 +0000

Africa’s biggest clean energy challenge is shifting from building projects to building the institutions, markets and regulatory systems needed to deliver them at scale, experts say.

That challenge is emerging even as clean energy reaches a historic milestone globally. Renewables generated 34% of the world’s electricity in 2025, overtaking coal’s 33% share. Together with nuclear power, renewables are expected to provide half of global electricity by 2030.

As industrialization, artificial intelligence and electrification push demand higher, experts say the bottleneck in transitioning to cleaner energy has shifted from technology to the systems supporting it, including funding. Overcoming such obstacles is vital for securing access to power for the 600 million people in Africa who are yet to be connected.

“Clean energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels in virtually every part of the world,” former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, said in late June while announcing a new $285 million Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative to strengthen clean energy industries in emerging and developing economies.

“But fixable obstacles are still slowing down deployment, and with energy demand rising at an unprecedented speed, we can’t allow those obstacles to continue standing in the way,” he said.

Rather than financing solar farms or wind projects directly, the initiative will invest in strengthening market design, regulatory capacity, technical expertise and industry institutions, areas increasingly viewed as essential for attracting private investment and accelerating use of renewable energy.

It reflects a growing consensus that Africa’s energy transition is constrained less by a lack of renewable resources or viable technologies than by the institutional capacity needed to turn those advantages into financially viable projects and electricity on the grid.

Many projects remain delayed by weak market design, limited grid planning, slow permitting processes and fragmented regulatory systems.

“What has been missing is not the potential, but the institutional infrastructure and capabilities to unlock it,” said Saliem Fakir, executive director of the African Climate Foundation. “Philanthropy that targets those gaps directly is the kind of intervention that can shift the trajectory of a continent’s energy system.”

Across Africa, renewable energy costs have fallen sharply while investment appetite continues to grow. However, investors say policy uncertainty, slow permitting processes and limited regulatory capacity are hindering projects.

Wangari Muchiri, founder and chief executive of RE.Think Energy, said the commitment signals that “the next phase of the energy transition is not about proving clean energy works, it’s about removing the barriers preventing it from scaling fast enough.”

The Bloomberg initiative is looking beyond ambitious renewable energy targets to focus on helping projects attract long-term investments and connect to national grids.

“The next chapter of Africa's renewable energy story will not be only by the projects it builds, but the institutions that make these projects possible,” Muchiri said.

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Lionel Messi’s World Cup scoring streak ends, but his assist sparks Argentina’s win over Switzerland

Dave Skretta, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 04:19:00 +0000

Lionel Messi had his World Cup scoring streak snapped by Switzerland on Saturday night, but the co-leader with France's Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot nevertheless found his way to leave his mark with an assist in Argentina's 3-1 victory.

The game was only in the 10th minute when Messi — who needed some help from a trainer after a blow near his right eye in the second half — helped to earn a corner kick with some nifty footwork. From there, the Inter Miami star delivered a perfect ball into the box, and Alexis Mac Allister was there to head it home for a 1-0 lead.

Switzerland equalized in the 67th minute and the game eventually went to extra time, but Julian Alvarez sent a rocket into the upper corner of the net in the 112th minute and Lautaro Martinez added a closing goal for good measure for the defending champions.

Now, Argentina will play England in the semifinals on Wednesday in Atlanta.

One of the first questions asked of Swiss coach Murat Yakin before the match was how to stop Messi, who had scored in his last nine World Cup matches, his last six in the knockout round. He also holds the tournament record with 21 career goals.

“This is a very surprising question,” Yakin replied, jokingly. “There are many solutions, and we will try to find the best solution. ... We can talk a lot about it, but in the end it has to really translate onto the pitch, and we do have our solutions.”

In truth, the Swiss did a good job of holding the dynamic goal-scorer in check.

Messi began his World Cup romp in the same building just over three weeks ago, when he scored his first-ever hat trick in the tourney while sending Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria. He had gone on to score eight goals as his team reached the quarterfinal round.

Not everything has been charmed for Messi during the World Cup, though. He missed penalty kicks against both Austria and Egypt, and the second one could have proven catastrophic given Argentina eventually found itself in a 2-0 hole.

But it also was Messi who helped get Argentina on the board in the 79th minute by assisting on Cristian Romero's header, and it was the unflappable and ageless attacking midfielder who beat Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir four minutes later to level the score.

Enzo Fernandez eventually provided the winner in stoppage time to send Argentina into the matchup with Switzerland.

“He's like a machine,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said of Messi, whose every World Cup match could be his last in a national team jersey. “Those that are not so much acquainted with him might be surprised, and at 39 years of age some people might think he will not rise to the challenge. But I've said this before, as long as he wants to be the best — and I'm not saying this because I'm coaching him — but because if he wants to continue, he will continue to be the best.”

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Bellingham scores twice to lift England past Haaland and Norway 2-1 and into World Cup semifinals

Alanis Thames, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 21:57:30 +0000

Jude Bellingham locked arms with teammate Harry Kane as England fans belted out the Beatles' “Hey Jude.”

Bellingham certainly earned the serenade.

He scored twice on Saturday — an equalizer in the first half and the go-ahead goal in the third minute of extra time — to lift England past Norway 2-1 and into the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 2018.

The Real Madrid star has now matched Kane with six goals in this tournament, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi and one shy of Norway's Erling Haaland, who was held scoreless by England. Bellingham also scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-host Mexico.

England, winner of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title match, is now one win away from getting there. The Three Lions will face Argentina in the semifinals.

“The game is split into loads of different facets. Some of it is technical, tactical,” Bellingham said. “For me, the biggest one is psychological and how you can manage setbacks, how you can manage adversity. This team showed yet again that they can do it and that’s a really valuable skill and trait to have.”

Not everyone was thrilled with England's performance.

“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” coach Thomas Tuchel said in a contentious interview with Fox Sports. “The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but not happy with the performance ... in every sense.”

Tuchel clarified in his news conference that he was “proud and happy” with how his squad has overcome adversity, but added, “I'm also a football coach and I also have demands. ... I think we can play faster. I think we can play more clinical.”

Bellingham seemed to disagree with his coach's critique after England prevailed in the heat and humidity of South Florida, with temperatures reaching 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) at the start of warmups.

“Well, whatever,” Bellingham said, shaking his head. “It's difficult out there. It's a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players out there who put in a great shift.”

Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36th minute for Norway, a squad that reached its first quarterfinals and took the internet by storm with its “Viking row” and the charisma of Haaland, their fearsome 6-foot-5 striker.

Haaland was kept off the scoresheet for the first time in this World Cup. The Manchester City star sat dejectedly on the bench after he was subbed out for Jorgen Strand Larsen in the second half of extra time.

“It was not a tough decision to take him out,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said. “He was finished. Maybe I should have taken him out 10 minutes before. ... He also got a dead leg in the second half, so that combined with the fatigue. He did everything he could.”

Norway nearly went ahead 2-1 in the 56th minute when Torbjørn Heggem put a rebound past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. Following a video review, the goal was disallowed because of a foul by Haaland in the box. Haaland was also denied by Pickford on a point-blank header in the first half.

Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, fired a shot that caromed off the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession to that point. Bellingham’s equalizer from close range elicited a roar from that crowd that included Mick Jagger and England great David Beckham.

Schjelderup, who set up both of Haaland’s goals in Norway’s round of 16 win over Brazil, celebrated by stretching his arms wide and looking at the crowd as his teammates lifted him onto their shoulders. Meanwhile, Kane sat near midfield, grabbing his leg and looking toward the officials. No foul was called.

Moments before Bellingham evened the score, a Norway goal kick resulted in the ball appearing to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England’s Elliot Anderson. The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the cable, play would have stopped and a drop ball would have been utilized to determine possession. FIFA later said the sensor in the ball indicated it did not touch the cable.

There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honor of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa whose death was announced earlier Saturday.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here.

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Investigating Possible Shooting at an Apartment Complex in Lakewood Area

Ashley French — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:05:22 +0000

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies spent hours Saturday afternoon investigating a possible shooting at the Village at San Jose apartment complex after witnesses reported hearing gunshots, but officials have yet to confirm what happened or whether anyone was injured.

The response is centered at the Village of San Jose Apartments on Auburn Road, off University Boulevard, where investigators taped off a stretch of road as the investigation continued into the evening.

A detective and a crime scene unit arrived on scene Saturday afternoon. Officers were seen interviewing neighbors and possible witnesses in the area.

JSO has not released a statement or confirmed the nature of the call.

For at least one neighbor, the response unfolded right in front of him.

The man, who asked not to be identified on camera, told News4JAX he was walking with a friend toward the complex pool when police arrived suddenly and aggressively.

“The police drove up and drove over the curb onto the grass and wanted to know, did we hear gunfire?” he said. “And then he wanted to know what address. And then when we said that, the people were running outside with the baby clenched. And he ran over to them with the defibrillator. And then within one minute, fire rescue and everything was here.”

The frightening scene drew a heavy law enforcement presence to Auburn Road, leaving many nearby residents in shock.

Several neighbors told News4JAX they heard what sounded like gunshots.

“I don’t know if anybody was shot, but apparently shots were fired,” one neighbor said.

News4JAX is working to confirm those details with JSO.

For some who live near the complex, Saturday’s police response was not a surprise.

One neighbor, who lives directly across the street, said he has watched police activity at the Village of San Jose Apartments increase over time. He told News4JAX he is now actively trying to discourage his college-age son from moving in.

“I’m surprised. I’m trying to discourage my son from moving into this place,” he said. He’s still going through college and, you know, breaking out and trying to do his own thing," the neighbor said.

But Saturday’s response, he said, confirmed concerns he already had.

“Yes, definitely. I’ve seen it before. Lots of cops going up and down the breezeways. Looked like more drug-related activities,” he said.

Saturday’s incident has renewed calls from some residents for better security at the complex.

“Could definitely use some on-site security,” one neighbor told News4JAX.

Others expressed a more cautious hope for the community’s future.

“I just hope the good people stay good — and if they can get rid of the problems, “ a neighbor said.

News4JAX is continuing to work to get answers from JSO. This story will be updated as new information becomes available.

Heat and humidity make World Cup quarterfinal challenge for Norway, England even tougher

Gracie Fisher, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 20:26:43 +0000

Carla Gregory was fighting the heat even before watching the World Cup quarterfinal between England and Norway on Saturday.

She carried cold water in one hand. She had an unfolded fan in the other, flapping it with hopes of creating her own little breeze. And the elements seemed to be winning; no matter what she tried, the England fan was still, at best, uncomfortable.

“I can’t imagine playing 90 minutes in it,” said Gregory, who came to the U.S. with her husband from their home in Telford, England to follow their team through the World Cup.

Norway had Harry Kane to worry about. England had Erling Haaland to worry about. And both sides — in what has been a theme for this World Cup — had the weather to worry about. It was 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) when the teams started warmups Saturday, and with the humidity factored in it felt like 104 F (40 C).

That's a far cry from the seasonable 72 F (22 C) in London or 59 F (15 C) in Lillehammer at that time.

“I think we have trained very lightly,” Norway manager Ståle Solbakken said on the eve of the match. “We haven’t done much hard work. We obviously have tactical sessions, but at a lower tempo and have not trained for long periods.”

In other words, rest and hydration took precedence for Norway — which spent much of the week in South Florida to acclimate. England didn't arrive in the Miami area until later in the week.

“Up until now we’ve played in cool conditions, I would say,” England defender Nico O'Reilly said. “But we’re ready for it.”

After England beat Norway 2-1 to advance to the semifinals, coach Thomas Tuchel said several players were dealing with cramping.

This wasn't England's first trip to South Florida on its World Cup journey. The team arrived in Palm Beach Gardens — about 90 minutes north of Miami Gardens — on June 2 for more than a week of training and to get a feel for the heat and humidity.

England also had to adjust to high temperatures at its Kansas City base camp, and survive Mexico’s altitude to beat the co-host in the round of 16, but hadn't faced anything like the combination of heat and humidity that greeted the teams Saturday.

Tuchel praised his team's ability to overcome adversity and reach the semifinals. He was asked if his squad will physically be able to handle two more matches.

“They have to,” he said. “Now it's just about recovery. ... We will be ready.”

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Gracie Fisher is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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'Ted Lasso' stars bring World Cup fever to Kansas City as Argentina faces Switzerland

Dave Skretta, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 22:50:54 +0000

Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champion Argentina playing for a semifinal spot in Ted Lasso's hometown?

You'd better BELIEVE he's paying attention.

The fictional coach of soccer club AFC Richmond — or rather, Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title character on the Apple TV series — was hosting a watch party at CPKC Stadium near downtown Kansas City on Saturday night, when La Albiceleste were playing upstart Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in their quest for back-to-back championships.

The fourth season of the comedy-drama, which has been on hiatus since May 31, 2023, is due to premiere on Aug. 5.

“As much as we've loved football before we got started, I've grown to love it more as we got more immersed in the soccer culture,” said Sudeikis, who grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and still has a deep affinity for the city.

In fact, many of the scenes in the new season of “Ted Lasso” were shot around Kansas City.

That includes riverfront CPKC Stadium, the home of the National Women's Soccer League club Kansas City Current. It's the first of its size built specifically for a women's professional club, and a fitting locale for several thousand people to attend a watch party, given that the new season of “Ted Lasso” will focus on the newly formed AFC Richmond women's team.

It was a concept that the character Keeley Jones — played by the award-winning Juno Temple — subtly pitched at the end of the third season, when it was still unclear whether “Ted Lasso” would return for another run.

“It feels like a perfect moment to be talking about women's football, and representing it — not that I play, obviously,” said Temple, who sported a teal Kansas City Current jersey Saturday. “So that's first and foremost. I hope that's something people really treasure. And I also hope people enjoy the journey each of the characters are going on.”

As for the World Cup, the cast hopes fans of the show have become fans of the game over the years. That has certainly been the case in the Sudeikis household; he played a little soccer as a kid before realizing basketball was more his game.

“I've certainly heard from some people that didn't care about soccer at all until they started to watch ‘Ted Lasso,’” said Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard and is one of the show's writers, and who reflected on the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994.

“As opposed to 1994 when we had the World Cup and people knew even less about soccer, including me, people were ready for it,” Hunt said. “Yes, the world has come with this great energy, but we were more ready to be aware of their presence, and reciprocate energy. And we're not as far behind as far as the sport's popularity as it's made out to be, and this World Cup is showing it.”

The fact that Argentina and Switzerland were playing a World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday night? In Kansas City?

“Luck of the draw,” Hunt said with a wry, bearded smile. “The actual show about to come out after the World Cup? I think someone manipulated that. Might have been a corporate choice.”

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Erling Haaland neutralized by England and subbed off late as Norway's World Cup run ends

Tim Reynolds, Associated Press — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:50 +0000

Erling Haaland's day ended earlier than many expected. About 15 minutes later, Norway's run in the World Cup ended as well.

The Vikings' biggest star didn't shine Saturday.

Haaland was a nonfactor for much of his team's quarterfinal against England and — at least in part because of the strain of dealing with hot and humid conditions in South Florida — was taken out with Norway's hopes hanging in the balance going into the final 15 minutes of extra time.

The final score: England 2, Norway 1. Haaland was kept off the scoresheet for the first time in this World Cup; he had scored seven times in his four appearances going into Saturday, but barely had a chance to add to that total Saturday.

“This has been an insane journey,” Haaland said.

Haaland acknowledged afterward that his energy was gone as the game, which was played with a heat index topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), wore along.

The Manchester City striker was, without question, one of the stars of the tournament — but England silenced him. And his former Borussia Dortmund teammate, Jude Bellingham, wound up stealing the show by scoring both goals.

Haaland and Bellingham shared an embrace when the game ended, before the Norwegian striker made the long, slow walk from the field to the locker room for the final time in this World Cup.

He was already a star within the sport coming into the tournament — but his larger-than-most-in-soccer frame and larger-than-life personality, combined with his long blond hair and unique mannerisms, turned Haaland into a soccer folk hero.

“I think this has changed my life, to be honest,” Haaland said.

England's plan — forged in part by his Manchester City teammates and others who have played with and against him at the club level — was clear: Do not let Haaland get the ball. It was largely successful.

Haaland had two shot attempts in the game, one on goal, and was virtually silenced after the first half. There was a 2-on-1 chance late in the first half where a pass didn't go his way; if it had, that may have been his best scoring opportunity.

There wasn't much for him to get excited about the rest of the way. He stayed on the field for a few minutes after the final whistle, saluting Norway's fans after the team's best World Cup run ever. When the 2030 tournament rolls around, it won't be a surprise if Norway makes another deep run — and that's clearly going to be the goal.

“I think we put Norway on the map,” he said.

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Mexican builder fatally shot by an ICE officer is mourned after making a life in the US

Tim Sullivan, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 04:00:52 +0000

The builder got up every morning long before dawn, left home to pick up his construction crew and then headed out to work on yet another house somewhere across the sprawl of Houston.

Fourteen hours later, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo would return to the wife he’d met as a teenager in Mexico and the modest house he’d built for his family on the city’s east side.

It’s what he’d done for decades, according to Ronaldo Salgado, his oldest son. He said his father built hundreds of houses over 35 years, creating a life for his family and watching as his three sons headed off to college.

On Tuesday, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Salgado Araujo, 52, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his crew to their latest job site. The shooting has outraged Houston leaders and renewed public scrutiny over ICE and Trump's immigration crackdown.

Four Democratic members of Congress who represent the Houston area said at a vigil Saturday that they would push for an independent investigation into the shooting.

“We are never going to forget that his blood is on Donald Trump’s hands,” Rep. Christian Menefee said. “We are not at war. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was not a casualty. He was a human being who was murdered by our government.”

Salgado Araujo was not the target of ICE's operation

Federal agents were looking for someone else when they tried to stop Salgado Araujo’s white van, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said, citing a briefing she received from ICE's acting director. The Department of Homeland Security has said an ICE officer fired at the van in self-defense after Salgado Araujo, who officials described as an “illegal alien,” rammed an ICE vehicle. They have provided no evidence.

The three men that Salgado Araujo was driving said he was shot through a passenger window and that the ICE officer who fired was not in front of the van or even in danger, a lawyer who has spoken with them said Friday.

His family has also disputed the account from ICE. They said lawyers, who were helping him apply for a work permit, had explained how he should behave if immigration agents stopped him. Salgado Araujo was close to obtaining legal status when he was killed, they said.

“He knew what to do,” Ronaldo Salgado told reporters this week. “He knew not to sign anything. He knew that the first phone call he should make should be either to myself or to my mom. So that way we can get the process started of getting him out.”

He believes his father may have been scared that he was being followed by unmarked vehicles, worried someone was planning to steal his van or his tools.

The shooting in the heavily Hispanic neighborhood is at least the eighth death during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign.

A kind, present husband and father

Salgado Araujo entered the U.S. more than 30 years ago, settling in Houston with his wife where they raised their three children.

Education was a constant focus in the house, said Ronaldo Salgado, who is now a teacher. One of his brothers is an engineer. The other is in college studying engineering.

Several childhood friends of Salgado recalled that his father was kind and soft-spoken, always inquiring about his wife’s day and how his sons’ friends were doing after a long day at work.

“We didn’t really see him until the end of the day when he came home to have dinner, but that just shows how much of a hard worker he was,” said neighbor Jessica Alanis Magdaleno. “Everything they have now is thanks to the dedication to that.”

Josué Flores, a friend of Ronaldo Salgado since their freshman year of high school, said he first saw Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at his son’s football game.

“I think it speaks volumes of the kind of person that he was,” Flores said, recalling how Salgado Araujo showed up for his son even after an arduous day of work.

Salgado Araujo’s wife, a relative said, is “inconsolable.”

“She is very upset ... angry, sad, disoriented,” Jose Torres Ramon, a nephew who lives in Mexico, told The Associated Press in a Facebook message.

Ronaldo Salgado, his oldest son, said at the Saturday vigil that he hoped he was making his father proud.

“I’ll keep fighting for him,” he said.

His brother Lorenzo Salgado Jr. said the shooting of his father was “a hard moment to be an American.”

“Even though my government, my federal government took away my father, we the people will bring justice,” he said. “We the people are America.”

After coming home in the evening, Salgado Araujo liked to listen to music on the porch and pet the family dog. His family has described him as a simple man of routine.

“He did not deserve to die,” Ronaldo Salgado said. “He dedicated his life in the United States to giving his family the American dream.”

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Associated Press reporters Jack Brook in New Orleans, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.

New York Times reporters are subpoenaed after Air Force One stories, raising press freedom concerns

Ashraf Khalil, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:24:01 +0000

The Department of Justice has subpoenaed New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, marking a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump ’s campaign against the media that has drawn condemnation for eroding a fundamental freedom of American democracy.

The new jet, a present from the U.S. ally that the administration spent $400 million on to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey and later referenced threats against him made by Iran.

The subpoenas seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, the Times said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes.

They were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House on Friday to talk about the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The journalists subpoenaed included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, the Times reported.

It also said that before its first story was published, a senior official at the FBI contacted a reporter and editor to ask that the article be held, citing national security issues. The newspaper said that the FBI official declined to explain the security issue but asked The Times to disclose its sources for the story, which the Times said it refused to do.

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” David McCraw, a lawyer for the Times, said in a statement.

The White House did not answer messages seeking comment about the subpoenas of the Times journalists.

Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said Trump's “war on the press is looking for another victim.”

He said in a statement that the subpoenas "break from longstanding Justice Department practice to protect the public interest and press independence by requiring prosecutors to only seek information from reporters as a last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted.”

The Justice Department said that "to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

Its statement said "we value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.”

While recognizing “there may always be natural tension there,” the department said "we are not going to ignore the law and stop investigating the people who work in the administration and think it’s okay to leak classified information impacting national security.”

Part of a pattern of anti-press actions

Issuing subpoenas represents further ramping up of Trump's effort to threaten independent new organizations by leveraging the power of the federal government against them. It is also part of a systematic pattern by the Republican president to attempt to undermine press freedom in order to shield him from negative coverage.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department issued subpoenas seeking to compel testimony from reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. In both cases, the department later withdrew the subpoenas, though.

In January, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who has been covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government, as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information.

Adam Steinbaugh, senior attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said Friday's subpoenas and the prospect of “hauling reporters before grand juries sends a chilling message to journalists and whistleblowers alike: Watch what you say, or expect a knock on the door.”

“These tactics are becoming more common,” Steinbaugh said in a statement. “That doesn’t make them normal.”

During his first term, Trump suggested that the press constituted an “enemy” of the American people. Since returning to the White House, he has waged an aggressive campaign against the media unlike any in modern U.S. history.

Trump's attacks against news outlets and media figures he believes are overly critical of him has included filing lawsuits against outlets whose coverage he dislikes, threatening to revoke TV broadcast licenses and seeking to bend news organizations and social media companies to his will.

The Justice Department over the years has developed and revised internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.

Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel reporters to reveal their sources before a grand jury.

In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

Doing so again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.

A memo Bondi issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo stated.

Trump didn't use his new Air Force One while leaving Turkey

The president flew the new Air Force One to Turkey during this week's visit. But he departed Wednesday on one of the older-model Air Force One jets for Mildenhall, a Royal Air Force base in Suffolk, England.

The newer plane also flew to Mildenhall. Trump then switched to that plane for the flight home to Joint Base Andrews.

The abrupt swap came as a shaky ceasefire with Iran had collapsed, with the U.S. launching airstrikes on Iran and Tehran attacking three Gulf Arab states. Iran and Turkey share a border, sparking speculation that the new jet lacked certain sophisticated security and countermeasure systems.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service, and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities.

Trump denied any security concerns, posting on social media that the stop in Mildenhall was so that service members there could view the new jet. During the flight, Trump denied to the reporters accompanying him that security concerns involving Iran were a factor in flying two planes home.

Still, asked if he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump responded, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list."

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

US military says it is striking Iran in response to attack on civilian vessel in Strait of Hormuz

Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 03:35:06 +0000

Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was closed once again after a warning shot fired by its military struck a vessel using an unauthorized route in the critical waterway, further jeopardizing the already tenuous ceasefire agreement with the United States.

U.S. Central Command said a short time later that its forces began a third round of strikes against Iran. There were explosions in Bandar Abbas and Sirik, two towns along the shores of the strait, Iran state media reported.

“The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” the American military said.

A Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit by Iran and suffered “significant engineroom damage” and a civilian crew member is missing, U.S. Central Command said.

Senior U.S. officials had previously said in Washington that negotiations to further cement last month's deal to end the war will be unable to progress without the strait being secure — and even said they wanted Iran to offer public statements to that effect.

Instead, the Revolutionary Guards Corps said multiple vessels "disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route.” One of them “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”

Iran said that the strait would remain closed “until further notice” and said it would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced more attacks.

A little more than an hour later, the U.S. announced its own new round of strikes.

“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media.

Attacks followed more diplomatic talks about the strait

The latest flurry of shots from both sides followed Iran and Oman’s foreign ministers meeting on Saturday to discuss the strait that lies between them, after days of Iranian attacks on ships and U.S. retaliation that dealt a blow to the interim deal to end the war.

Iran’s new supreme leader, still unseen since the war began, also vowed in his first statement since the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Iranians would avenge his killing in the war’s opening strikes on Feb. 28.

Such revenge “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out,” Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement carried on state television, hours after President Donald Trump threatened more missile attacks.

Oman said it and Iran agreed to keep talking about the Strait of Hormuz “at the technical and political levels.”

Iran accuses Washington of violating ceasefire deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said before the new round of strikes that he met with his counterpart in Oman to discuss “appropriate mechanisms for ensuring the safe passage of ships.”

The world for decades has considered the strait an international waterway. Iran has insisted that the strait now remain under its control and that it be allowed to charge ships moving through it, a stance it took after the war began. The U.S. urges mariners to transit on a southern route through Oman’s territorial waters.

About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began. Iran’s grip on it during the war led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.

Iran's top diplomat also accused the U.S. of violating the interim deal by ending waivers allowing Iran to sell crude oil on the open market in U.S. dollars. Washington ended them in response to the attacks on ships in the strait.

“Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance,” Araghchi wrote on social media.

Trump says he responded to threats to kill him

Trump said he's personally been the target of an Iranian plot, and he said the U.S. military would automatically retaliate if he was killed.

He wrote on social media early Saturday that “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat.”

However, such retaliation would have to be ordered by Vice President JD Vance, who would become commander-in-chief if Trump were to be killed.

Trump said he was responding to threats “to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate” him. During Khamenei's funeral, mourners held posters or banners calling for Trump to be killed along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The U.S. president has declared the ceasefire over but said the U.S. would continue negotiations.

U.S. officials, speaking Friday on condition of anonymity about the current situation with Iran, said the resumption of strikes even before the latest round came as a result of what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners who were trying to sabotage the ceasefire.

Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified under the new supreme leader.

After the U.S. wrapped up strikes on Thursday, more attacks reportedly hit Iran, raising questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

Israel didn't claim them, meaning the Gulf Arab states may have launched them, likely as a means to deter Iran from attacking them again. Iran on Thursday retaliated for U.S. strikes by targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.

The strikes in Iran over two days — and prior to the ones in the wake of the warning shot — killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others, Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.

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Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

Khosla family agrees to purchase defending Super Bowl champion Seattle for $9.612B, AP source says

Steve Reed, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 23:25:52 +0000

The Seattle Seahawks are being sold to the Khosla family, including Vinod Khosla, in accordance with the wishes of late team owner Paul Allen, the team announced on Saturday.

The Khosla family entered into a formal agreement to purchase the defending Super Bowl champions for $9.612 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is still subject to approval by the NFL.

The Khosla family will become the team’s controlling owner, according to a social media post by the Seahawks.

“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”

Allen’s estate announced on Feb. 18 it had begun the process of selling the team, which is coming off its second Super Bowl victory in franchise history. Investment bank Allen & Company LLC and law firm Latham & Watkins led the sales process, which was estimated in February to continue through the offseason.

Vinod Khosla is the founder of Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.

His current net worth is $13.7 billion, Forbes reported this month.

The company invests in experimental technologies such as biomedicine, robotics, and was the first venture firm to invest in OpenAI, per Forbes.

The Khosla family will be required to relinquish its ownership stake in the San Francisco 49ers as part of the deal. Khosla joined 49ers ownership group as a minority owner in 2025, purchasing 3.1% of the team.

NFL owners still have to ratify a final purchase agreement and they are expected to meet in August to approve the deal, ESPN reported.

The Seahawks have been in the Allen family since 1997, when Paul Allen bought the team for $194 million from then-owner Ken Behring. Allen was critical in keeping the Seahawks in Seattle, which is where the team is expected to remain after the sale is finalized.

The Seahawks have a lease at Lumen Field that runs through 2032 with three 10-year options.

Since Allen, cofounder of Microsoft, died in 2018 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 65, the Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers have been owned by his sister, Jody.

The estate agreed in September to sell the Trail Blazers to an investment group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon. The Trail Blazers will remain in Portland as part of the deal, which is awaiting final approval from the NBA Board of Governors.

The last NFL team to be sold was the Washington Commanders in 2023. A group led by Josh Harris that includes Magic Johnson bought the team from longtime owner Dan Snyder and his family for a record $6.05 billion.

The Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in the Super Bowl in February.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the name of the family purchasing the team to Khosla throughout.

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AP NFL writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

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

Wrobleski becomes 6th Dodgers All-Star, Peters of White Sox and Griffin of Nats also added

Matt Carlson, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 18:18:00 +0000

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski became the sixth member of the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on the National League All-Star roster and Chicago outfielder Tristan Peters was added to the American League squad on Saturday, a day after becoming the seventh White Sox player to hit for the cycle.

Washington left-hander Foster Griffin also was added.

Wrobleski replaced Cincinnati right-hander Chase Burns, who won't be active for Tuesday night's game at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park because of tightness in his right groin.

Peters took the roster spot of Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz, who was put on the injured list because of a sprained right thumb.

Griffin replaced Milwaukee pitcher Braxton Ashcraft, who threw 98 pitches Saturday against Pittsburgh.

Wrobleski, 26, is 10-2 with a 2.69 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings. He joins two-way star Shohei Ohtani, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, first baseman Freddie Freeman, third baseman Max Muncy and outfielder Andy Pages as Dodgers All-Stars.

Ohtani will have his left knee drained Sunday to relieve continued irritation and will not go to Philadelphia.

Peters joins White Sox teammates Miguel Vargas and Munetaka Murakami on the All-Star roster. Murakami, a rookie slugger from Japan, was added Friday just hours before he returned to action against the Athletics after missing six weeks with a right hamstring strain.

Still a rookie at 26, the speedy, slick-fielding Peters is batting .303 with six homers and 35 RBIs is his first full major league season. He has 20 doubles and three triples; the most recent came in the seventh inning of Chicago's rout of the Athletics on Friday that made Peters the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle since Jose Abreu in September 2017.

Chicago obtained Peters' rights last December from Tampa Bay. He appeared in only four games with the Rays last season without a hit in 12 plate appearances, but the one-time Savannah Banana has taken off in Chicago.

“The White Sox gave me this opportunity and I went into it just trying to make the most out of it and just be who I am as a player, too," Peters said. “I know there was a lot of bunting in the beginning and just trying to figure out who I am at the big league level and you know they give space for that, too. Just an incredibly supportive group and that's helped me thrive.”

A native of Winkler, Manitoba, Peters became the second Canadian to record a cycle. He joins Cleveland right-hander Cade Smith and Miami infielder Otto Lopez, who holds dual Canadian-Dominican citizenship, as Canadians on the 2026 All-Star roster.

Peter's said becoming an All-Star was a pipe dream at the start of the season. But after several months, he thought it might become a possibility.

“I guess toward the end of this first half, I was like ‘OK, maybe there's a chance,' but there's a lot of really, really talented players in this league," he said.

Kurtz is batting .266 with 20 home runs, 66 RBIs and a league-leading 76 walks. The 23-year-old was the AL rookie of the year last season, when he batted .290 with 36 homers and 86 RBIs.

He landed on injured list for the second time in his career after being sidelined with a strained left hip flexor in May 2025.

Griffin, back in the major leagues after three seasons pitching in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants, is 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 19 starts.

“I’m later in my career, and it happened now and I’m super grateful for that and super proud of that," the 30-year-old Griffin said. "Just looking back over all the time and effort and work I put in, it’s a huge honor and I’m excited for it.”

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Hot humid weather persists with scattered storms through Tuesday

Chris Holtzman — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 23:55:59 +0000

Tonight will be partly cloudy and warm with temperatures in the 70s.

Sunday's forecast.

The heat and humidity will stick around on Sunday. We will see a partly to mostly cloudy sky with temperatures in the 90s.

When you factor in the humidity, the heat index will approach if not exceed 105 degrees. A HEAT ADVISORY is in effect for Sunday afternoon and evening.

Scattered showers and storms will develop Sunday afternoon and evening.

Widespread showers and storms will develop in the afternoon and evening. Heavy rain, frequent lightning and gusty wind will be possible in any storm.

Make sure to keep an eye to the sky and storms could develop rapidly. Activity will eventually dissipate later in the evening.

A front will bring widespread showers and storms to our area through early next week.

A front will stall close to our region on Monday and Tuesday. This will bring scattered showers and storms to our area each day.

It will be hot and humid each day with highs in the low to mid 90s.

The latest drought monitor.

While we are still in a deficit, rainfall will once again lead to more improvement in the next outlook.

TONIGHT: Partly Cloudy. An Isolated Storm Early. Low 77.

SUNDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 96, Low 75.

MONDAY: Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 92, Low 74.

TUESDAY: Partly to Mostly Cloudy. Scattered Rain & Storms. High 93, Low 75.

WEDNESDAY: Partly Cloudy. Mainly Dry. High 93, Low 76.

THURSDAY: Partly Cloudy. Mainly Dry. High 94, Low 77.

Bishop Snyder, Glynn Academy stars taken on opening day of baseball draft

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 23:03:39 +0000

Two local stars heard their names called on the opening day of the Major League Baseball draft on Saturday afternoon.

Bishop Snyder star Cole Dennis and Glynn Academy’s Wessley Roberson were selected just three spots apart in the fourth round. Dennis, who projects as a pitcher in pro ball, was the 112^th overall selection of the Atlanta Braves. Roberson, an outfielder, went to the Miami Marlins at No. 115.

The rise for Dennis was meteoric. He had a breakthrough final season, hitting .432 with 12 home runs and going 10-1 with a 2.10 ERA and 101 Ks in 62.2 innings for the Cardinals. He had signed with Jacksonville University but now has a decision to make. His draft slot value is just over $697,000. Teams can sign players for over or under that number.

Dennis is the first player from Bishop Snyder to be selected in the draft.

For Glynn Academy’s Roberson, he’s the first player drafted from that school since Adam Wainwright in 2000.

It was the second consecutive season that the area has had a local player drafted out of high school. Trinity Christian pitcher Aaron Watson was the 51st selection last year by the Reds.

Deadly crash shuts down all lanes I-95 South in Nassau County: FHP

News4Jax Staff — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:35:04 +0000

Nassau County, Fla. - All lanes of southbound I-95 in Nassau County were closed after a deadly wrong-way crash early Friday, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Troopers said the crash occurred around 4:30 a.m. near State Road 200 at mile marker 373. FHP said a sedan driven by a 39-year-old Jacksonville man was traveling north when it collided with an SUV driven by a 49-year-old man from Kingsland, Georgia. The SUV overturned and a third vehicle struck debris while trying to avoid the crash.

The Jacksonville man died at the scene, and the Georgia man later died at a hospital. The driver of the third vehicle was not injured.

Traffic was being diverted at U.S. 17.

Reddick is hoping to regain momentum in Atlanta after losing his NASCAR Cup Series lead to Hamlin

Charles Odum, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 21:30:08 +0000

EchoPark Speedway may be the perfect setting for Tyler Reddick to reclaim his momentum in the NASCAR Cup Series points race.

Reddick won five of the first nine stops on this year's Cup Series schedule, including at EchoPark Speedway on Feb. 22, one week after winning the Daytona 500, to take a dominant lead in the points race.

Reddick’s points lead has disappeared in recent weeks. Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, enters Sunday night’s race leading Reddick by 44 points.

Overall, Reddick has two wins in three starts on drafting tracks this season in his 23XI Racing Toyota, giving him reason for optimism. Reddick said Saturday he is “extremely” confident he can enjoy more success in his return to the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“In my opinion, we’re stronger when we come back here in the summer race,” Reddick said. “We’re still plenty good in the spring, but what we do well at EchoPark Speedway really shows up in the summer. ... Our strength typically is handling and I feel like the more that’s in play the better I do with these kind of races.”

Hamlin was third while Reddick finished 36th in last week's race at Chicagoland Speedway won by Chase Briscoe. Reddick has finished 25th or worse in four of the last five Cup Series races.

“For us to still be second in points ... all things considered I think most people with a race car would do anything to have that,” Reddick said.

Larson looking to end 2 droughts

Kyle Larson is trying to end a 43-race winless streak and also claim his first Cup Series win at the 1.54-mile oval track in Atlanta. He finished third in February 2025.

The winless stretch is his longest since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021. His last win came at Kansas in May 2025. Larson, who won Cup Series championships in 2021 and 2025, finished 34th after qualifying second last week in Chicago. He was in the top five before losing several laps following a spin in Stage 2.

Larson said he feels his Hendrick Motorsports team has been making gains each week.

“I feel like we’ve noticed each week, I feel like Hendrick as a whole has gotten just a little bit better and closed the gap a little,” Larson said. “I think it feels like a large chunk still left to get, but I feel like in this sport ... you’re probably closer than it really feels out on the track.”

Chase Elliott, Larson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, won last summer’s race at EchoPark Speedway to end a 44-race winless streak.

Despite his streak, Larson is sixth in the points race, only one point behind Elliott.

In-Season Challenge continues

The second year of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge continues with the third round. The winner of the five-race, bracket-style tournament will earn $1 million. A compelling matchup is Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

“I guess probably we'll be the underdog against Christopher,” Hamlin said before adding “whoever doesn't wreck” has the advantage.

Elliott is matched against Briscoe, another Joe Gibbs Racing driver. The other matchups are William Byron against Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland against Alex Bowman.

Four drivers will advance to next week's race in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina and the championship round is scheduled for July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bell injury update

Bell will again wear a cast on his left wrist that was broken during a hit at Michigan International Speedway on June 7. He had only a wrap on the wrist Saturday but said he'll add the cast for the race “just in case something happens." He said he hopes this will be the last race with the cast.

“I'm close if not 100% right there,” Bell said.

Billboard fun

Ryan Preece worked with EchoPark Speedway to purchase billboards to promote the race.

Preece put his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher on each billboard. One billboard on Interstate 75 near the track promotes Buescher's hometown by proclaiming “Visit Prosper, Texas. 843 miles” with an image of Buescher in his racing uniform. Another billboard says “Come see me race this weekend” with an image of Buescher wearing a red wig.

Preece promoted the prank on his Facebook account.

Buescher smiled Saturday when he said “So Ryan’s back to shenanigans” and added he was planning to return the favor.

“It is fine, because I’m currently in the process as well, and I look forward to unveiling that before too terribly long,” Buescher said.

Added Buescher: “Ironically I did have that same haircut as a kid. It just wasn’t that red.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Argentine Antonio Rattín, whose dismissal in the 1966 World Cup prompted a rules change, dies at 89

Ramiro Barreiro, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 20:10:49 +0000

Argentine Antonio Rattín, a former Boca Juniors player whose act of defiance while representing Argentina at the 1966 World Cup helped lead to the introduction of yellow and red cards, has died, the country’s football federation said Saturday. He was 89.

Rattín died in Buenos Aires, according to the Argentine Football Association, or AFA, which expressed its “deepest sorrow at the passing of a historic symbol of Boca Juniors and the national team,” with whom he played in two World Cups.

A defensive midfielder known for his physical, hard-tackling style, Rattín won six Argentine league titles with Boca Juniors and was a Copa Libertadores runner-up in 1963.

“Rattín was one of us and loved these colours so much that they were the only ones he chose to defend throughout his 14-year career. A leader, an Argentine and forever a Bostero,” the club said.

With Argentina, Rattín played at the 1962 World Cup in Chile and the 1966 tournament in England, and also finished runner-up in the Copa América twice.

In the quarterfinals of the 1966 World Cup, Argentina faced England at Wembley Stadium. In the 36th minute, Rattín protested a foul and was sent off for “verbal dissent.” At the time, referees did not use cards but instead verbally informed players that they had been dismissed.

As he left the pitch, Rattín crumpled one of the corner flags, which featured the design of the English flag. He then sat down on the red carpet reserved for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The two acts of protest sparked a barrage of objects thrown at him by fans from the stands.

In the wake of the confusing incident, and amid growing concern over the increasingly violent nature of the game, FIFA’s refereeing authorities concluded that a practical, universally understood system was needed to communicate cautions and dismissals.

Kenneth George Aston, who headed FIFA’s refereeing committee, took inspiration from traffic lights and, in 1967, introduced the yellow and red cards that are still used today.

Rattín’s defiant gesture at Wembley also marked the beginning of the football rivalry between Argentina and England. It reached its most iconic chapter in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, when Argentina won thanks to Diego Maradona’s unforgettable goals — one scored with his hand, unnoticed by the referee, and the other after a brilliant solo run.

Argentina plays Switzerland in another World Cup quarter-final on Saturday. Many supporters are hoping for a semifinal meeting with England, who will face Norway in another quarter-final also on Saturday.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

South Africa World Cup midfielder Jayden Adams dies at the age of 25

Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 15:21:16 +0000

South Africa midfielder Jayden Adams, who played at the World Cup, has died. He was 25.

His death was confirmed by Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s minister of sport, arts and culture, in a statement on Saturday.

“It is with profound shock and a heavy heart that I have learnt of the passing of Jayden Adams, midfielder for Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana, at the age of 25," McKenzie posted on X.

"South African football has lost one of its brightest young talents, and our nation mourns alongside his family, his team-mates and the millions of supporters.”

Adams helped South Africa reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time.

Further details of his death were not given.

“The cause of Jayden’s passing has not yet been confirmed," McKenzie said. “I wish to appeal to members of the media and the public to exercise restraint and compassion, and to refrain from speculation.”

A moment of silence in honor of Adams was held ahead of the World Cup quarterfinal between Norway and England in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday.

Adams started in South Africa's first Group A games against Mexico and Czech Republic. McKenzie said Adams played the second game only hours after learning that his grandmother had died. He came on as a second-half substitute in the third game against South Korea.

Adams played several seasons for Stellenbosch before joining Mamelodi Sundowns last year. He helped the club win the CAF (African) Champions League this year.

“Death has cruelly stolen one of our own. It has robbed our nation of a remarkable footballer,” the South African Football Players Union posted on X. “We will forever remember his humility, his extraordinary talent and the pride with which he represented South Africa. Rest in eternal peace, Jayden. You will never be forgotten.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the South African Federation of Trade Unions also expressed their condolences.

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Erling Haaland is Norway's World Cup machine — and the internet's babygirl

Kaitlyn Huamani, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 04:23:15 +0000

Erling Haaland stands at 6 feet, 5 inches, an intimidating force who can make fellow soccer players look tiny in stature and talent. Scoring seven goals across four World Cup matches entering Saturday, the Norwegian player has been described as a machine. But if you ask some loyal new fans, he’s also a babygirl and princess.

Haaland has become a social media phenomenon, with his own posts and memes from others turning even soccer novices into diehard fans.

His domineering physical appearance coupled with his goofy online persona have contributed to the craze. Fans remark on his flowing blond mane, color-coordinated hair ties and playful posts like a Snapchat-filtered selfie in which he proclaimed Shrek his “twin.” The contrast between his strength and skill on the field and his softer, looser online presence has also subjected him to the “babygirl” treatment online. That term is used frequently by fans of endearing male celebrities or characters who come across as sensitive, caring or vulnerable.

Haaland is emblematic of a broader embrace of soccer players as pop culture figures, driven in large part by how they present themselves off the pitch.

Haaland as a ‘pretty Norwegian princess’

Sarah Wilson, a baseball content creator in New York, is new to following soccer, but has become a big enough fan in the past month that she embarked on a lengthy hunt to buy the jersey of her new favorite player.

“I love Erling Haaland more than life itself,” Wilson, 31, said in a now viral video. “I cannot fathom being such a pretty Norwegian princess and also being one of the best strikers in all of football.”

Haaland is being catapulted into a fame even more intense than he had already known as the Premier League's top scorer. This moment boils down to the pairing of elite skills with quirky personality, Wilson said.

“Him being really, really talented — that’s the first pillar of it all. And then you find out that he’s 25 years old and he’s probably the most Gen Z athlete in the World Cup,” Wilson told The Associated Press, noting his use of Snapchat and goofy filters in photos online. Many are thinking, “‘Wow, I love that guy, he’s hilarious. Now he’s my new favorite player,’ which is exactly what happened with me,” she added.

Haaland’s expressive reactions on the pitch and his unique appearance have spawned hundreds of memes. He’s leaned into this virality, posting cheeky selfies on Instagram, uploading long-form vlogs on YouTube and interacting with fans on his public Snapchat stories, often poking fun at himself.

After scoring two goals to knock out Brazil, he posted a smug selfie from the locker room with the caption, “Well well well.” When an Instagram video with nearly 100 million views likened his appearance to a green onion — its wiry roots standing in as his hair — Haaland responded in the comments with a side-eyeing dog GIF. When Google added a Viking row animation to his search results, Haaland wrote on X, “One thing to do today… search my name on Google,” with a winking emoji.

Haaland said in a team news conference on Thursday that he's enjoyed being embraced in the U.S.

“I think it’s a good thing because I like the Americans. I think they are kind of hilarious as well. They are funny. I like the way they are,” he said. “I think it's just good and honestly, on every single thing, the World Cup so far here has been amazing.”

Sports are a “cultural force,” one on par with politics or religion, said Jeffrey Kassing, an Arizona State University professor who has studied fans' and athletes' social media use. It’s natural that Haaland has “crossed over” into non-soccer audiences, he said. A song from his youth has gone viral. A lookalike contest is in the offing. Even dogs are sporting blond wigs.

“There used to be a whole lot of gatekeeping that would happen with athletes; you would only ever hear from athletes maybe in an interview or in a press conference,” Kassing said. Haaland is evidence of how players have much more control in shaping their image now, he added.

Fans also try to ‘shape the perception’ of their favorite players

Fans' access to athletes contributes to what is called a parasocial relationship, defined by one-way knowing, said Gayle Stever, a professor at Empire State University who has studied the dynamics between celebrities and fans for decades. Haaland’s fans feel like they know him on a personal level, but he doesn’t know the nearly 60 million people who follow him on Instagram alone.

The majority of parasocial relationships are “positive, healthy and normal,” Stever said. Only a small percentage of people take it to the extreme, she said.

Skyla Clarke, a 19-year-old sports management student in Brisbane, Australia — and lifelong soccer fan — says she's seen that uglier side rear its head; attacks on players after poor performances, and even unprovoked hate toward athletes’ wives and partners are not uncommon. Haaland himself called AI-generated content of players a “bit scary.” But he noted in Norwegian that the attention on the team and its traditions — the rowing cheer, for example — is a sign of praise.

“Usually if it’s like that, it means that you’re doing something right, and that your country is doing something right,” Haaland said.

Even healthy parasocial dynamics can seem unusual to those uninitiated in internet culture. Haaland is not the only player whose persona has blown up on social media, nor is he the only one fans have anointed a babygirl.

Fans have described feeling “maternal” toward Luka Modrić — especially after Croatia’s elimination in the 40-year-old's final international game. Modrić is a “special case” whose difficult upbringing amid Yugoslavia's dissolution plays into how fans characterize him online, Clarke said. Some will incorporate childhood photos of him into their content, creating “a deeper appreciation for him as a player,” she added. Clarke's TikTok video about Modrić’s potential retirement reached hundreds of thousands of viewers in a matter of days.

Modrić himself has a rather tame social media presence, especially compared with Haaland, but Kassing noted fans “take it upon themselves to try to shape the perception” of those with whom they develop a parasocial attachment. In Modrić and Haaland’s cases, some do this by overlaying bows and hearts on their images.

Ahead of Norway’s match against England in the quarterfinals on Saturday, fans have also focused intensely on Haaland’s friendship with English player Jude Bellingham, his former teammate. Some have “shipped” the two footballers, making edits of them hugging or celebrating together and drawing comparisons to the television sensation “Heated Rivalry,” in which two pro hockey opponents develop a romance off the ice.

“People have been saying ‘heated Haalandry,’” said Nulara Ratwatté, a 19-year-old art student at the University of Melbourne. She's one of many fans whose videos about their newfound love of Haaland have gone viral.

Ratwatté said she’s “not supposed to talk about football” because of her lack of knowledge, but she's not looking back after catching Haaland fever. She describes him as a “big, friendly giant,” and despite her lack of soccer savvy, she's now tuning in to cheer Norway on.

“Truly, from the bottom of my heart,” she said, “I love him.”

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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.

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Noskova's glimpse of Wimbledon trophies on bathroom break helped her regroup to claim 1st Grand Slam

Andrew Dampf, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 14:45:13 +0000

Linda Noskova placed fingers in both of her ears to drown out the noise from the Centre Court crowd.

She draped one of Wimbledon’s strawberry-red towels over her head.

And eventually — after she had wasted five match points and a 5-2 lead and conceded the second set of a drama-filled final — she left the court completely for a bathroom break.

During Noskova's brief time off the court, two shiny objects caught her attention: the Venus Rosewater Dish that is awarded to the women's champion and the smaller dish for the runner-up.

“I was like, ‘I’m not going to take the small one. I’m taking the big one. I have been so close. This will probably be the heartbreak of my life,’” Noskova said. "'I’m going to leave my soul on court in the third set, whatever that be.'”

The 21-year-old Noskova did just as she promised herself, overcoming her second-set meltdown to beat Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in an all-Czech final for her first Grand Slam trophy on Saturday.

When Noskova finally finished it off with a service winner on her sixth match point — and first of the third set — she covered her face and dropped down to the grass on her back.

Minutes later, Noskova was being awarded the Venus Rosewater Dish by Kate, the Princess of Wales.

“It’s never easy to get the last point,” Noskova said during her victory speech. “Karo, you really made me work for it.”

Noskova became the third Czech woman in four years to win the grass-court major, after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

Muchova and Noskova played doubles together at the 2024 Paris Olympics and finished fourth.

“I am so glad that I could play my first Grand Slam final with you,” Noskova told Muchova during her speech. “We made history today. All our Czech fans at home are proud of us no matter the result. It was a good day for both of us.”

Petra Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, was in attendance, as was the greatest Czech-born player of them all, Martina Navratilova — who won a record nine singles titles at the All England Club and was seated next to Princess Kate in the Royal Box; and Jan Kodes, the 1973 champion.

Kipling’s poem

An excerpt of the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling that was placed above the players’ entrance to Centre Court more than a century ago summarizes the challenges Noskova had to overcome.

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster,” the excerpt says. “And treat those two imposters just the same.”

It's not the first time that Noskova has had to overcome adversity at Wimbledon.

Her mother died just before she played the tournament two years ago.

“I definitely would not be standing here without her, so thank you,” Noskova said in a dedication to her mother during her speech when she blew a kiss skyward.

Navratilova wiped away tears listening to Noskova's tribute.

Moments earlier, Muchova began her runner-up speech by calling Noskova “my ex-friend.

“I’m kidding, obviously,” Muchova quickly added. “You’re so young and this was your first final of a Grand Slam and the way you handled it ... was really unbelievable. ... You deserve it.”

It was the 29-year-old Muchova's second Grand Slam final after getting beat by Iga Swiatek at the French Open in 2023.

Wasted chances

Blasting aces and winners from all over the court early on, Noskova looked like she was going to run away with it almost like Swiatek's 6-0, 6-0 rout of Amanda Anisimova in last year's final, which lasted all of 57 minutes.

Saturday's match was just 68 minutes old when Noskova earned her first match point — which ended when she landed a backhand into the net.

Two points later, there was another backhand miss from Noskova; then Muchova took advantage of a net-cord shot on Noskova's third match point in the same game.

Serving for the title in the next game, Noskova double faulted on her fourth match point. And then on the fifth occasion to end it, Muchova produced a big serve and forehand winner.

In all, Noskova lost five straight games.

“It’s hard to watch,” Tracy Austin said on the BBC as she called the match alongside John McEnroe. “We know what that feels like when you start to get tight and you can’t loosen up and then the lead starts to unravel.”

Noskova said, “Winning it this way, really having to fight for it, having all these ups and downs, it matters a lot. I have to learn a lot from this match."

Czech success

It’s Noskova’s second grass title of the season after beating Jessica Pegula in the Berlin Open final.

But as this match displayed, it hasn’t been all straightforward. Noskova saved a match point in the third set of her third-round match against Sorana Cirstea.

The 12th-ranked Noskova will climb to No. 7 — a new career-high — when the next rankings are released on Monday.

She's the youngest woman to win Wimbledon since Kvitova was also 21 in 2011.

Jana Novotna, one of Noskova’s first coaches, also won Wimbledon (in 1998).

How to explain all the Czech success?

“They play on clay in the summer where you have to out-maneuver your opponent and then in the winter they go indoors and it’s first-strike tennis,” Austin said. “The best of both worlds to create an all-court player.”

In the men’s final on Sunday, top-ranked Jannik Sinner will attempt to defend his title against French Open champion Alexander Zverev.

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AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed.

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How do you say Cholowsky? White Sox hope No. 1 pick in the draft spells sure thing in Chicago

Dan Gelston, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 17:48:45 +0000

Expected to go as the first pick in the amateur draft, Roch Cholowsky submitted a video to Major League Baseball with the correct pronunciation of his last name.

For the record, the name is pronounced chil-OW’-skee.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred still botched the pronunciation of Cholowsky’s name at the podium Saturday when the Chicago White Sox indeed made the UCLA shortstop the No. 1 pick of the draft.

No harm done, Cholowsky insisted.

“I didn't hear it get butchered,” Cholowsky said. “I heard Roch and kind of lost it.”

Cholowsky burst into tears at a draft party far from the Philadelphia site of the draft.

He led off the lineup of MLB draft prospects who did not show up at the city’s convention center, just a few miles away from Citizens Bank Park, the home of Tuesday’s All-Star Game. MLB said Friday that no amateur players were scheduled to attend the draft, just like last year.

Cholowsky was thrilled he'll be headed to Chicago, where he enjoyed a fruitful predraft meeting with team officials and mingled in the clubhouse of a team that has been perhaps the biggest surprise in baseball and entered Saturday in first place in the AL Central.

“It really felt like to me like a college clubhouse," Cholowsky said. “It’s just a different feel in there.”

A 6-foot-2 right-handed hitter, Cholowsky was a Golden Spikes finalist at UCLA and had a 1.088 OPS with 21 homers and 60 RBIs in his junior season. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz said in a statement that Cholowsky "is a leader on the field as well as in the clubhouse. He has more than lived up to very high expectations, and we cannot wait to get him into our organization, get started and see him continue his growth and success.”

The next two picks went about as widely predicted.

Tampa Bay selected Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson with the second pick and Minnesota took Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey third.

Just 18 years old, the 6-3, 185-pound Emerson bats left, throws right and is widely considered the best all-around player in the draft. A University of Texas commit, Emerson transferred to Fort Worth Christian for his senior year, when he played under head coach Rusty Greer, a nine-year MLB veteran who spent nine seasons with the Texas Rangers.

The 21-year-old Lackey didn’t receive any Division I offers until his senior year of high school and has since blossomed into one of the top catching prospects in the draft out of Georgia Tech. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder showed some versatility by also playing third base.

The rest of the top 10

San Francisco selected right-handed pitcher Jackson Flora — a noted fried chicken aficionado — out of UC Santa Barbara with the No. 4 pick. The Pirates took outfielder Derek Curiel from LSU with the fifth pick. Louisville outfielder Zion Rose went sixth to Kansas City and Oak Grove High School (Mississippi) outfielder Eric Booth Jr. went seventh to Baltimore.

The Athletics drafted Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress with the eighth pick, Atlanta took Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia with the ninth pick and Colorado selected Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell 10th.

There were just three pitchers selected among the first 20 overall.

The Philly connection

Phillies fans cheered the 34th overall pick in the draft when the White Sox drafted high school star Landon Thome.

The Nazareth Academy (Illinois) infielder is the son of former Phillies, White Sox and Cleveland great and baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome.

Jim Thome helped changed the perception of the Phillies from long-time losers to championship contenders when he left Cleveland and signed a six-year, $85 million contract with Philly ahead of the 2003 season.

The 18-year-old Thome went two picks before the Phillies drafted California high school shortstop Tyler Spangler with the 36th pick — and sent the bulk of the fans fleeing for the exits.

Family affair

The Marlins selected shortstop Jacob Lombard with the No. 14 pick. Lombard is the son of Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard Sr and younger brother of top Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr.

The Brewers took high school shortstop Trey Ebel with the 25th pick. He is the brother of Brady Ebel, whom they drafted with the 32nd selection last year. Their father is Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel — expected to pitch to Phillies slugger Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

The players were no-shows

With former White Sox and Phillies players Jimmy Rollins and Greg Luzinski on hand to rally hundreds of fans at the draft, Chicago had the top selection for the first time since taking Harold Baines in 1977.

Baines was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.

The White Sox, who the No. 1 pick after they lost 102 games last season and won the draft lottery, have pegged Cholowsky as a future star that can help them win their first World Series title since 2005.

Led by All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas, the White Sox have emerged as one of the top surprises and entered Saturday in first place in the AL Central after enduring three straight 100-loss seasons.

“It's definitely a lot more motivation to get up there and join those guys at some point,” Cholowsky said. “Being part of a contending team is pretty cool. I value winning a lot.”

Cholowsky is the first collegiate shortstop to go No. 1 overall since Vanderbilt’s Dansby Swanson in 2015 and was UCLA’s first No. 1 draft pick since Gerrit Cole in 2011.

No players in Saturday's draft went to the podium after their name was called.

Major League Baseball has weaved the idea of forcing players to attend into negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. MLB proposed requiring up to 10 prospects to attend the draft, and each would get a $50,000 draft attendance bonus.

That meant the loudest ovation during draft festivities belonged to the Phillie Phanatic when he was introduced during mascot roll call. Phillies fans just about booed Braves mascot Blooper out of the convention center and had more jeers for Manfred.

Manfred turned the crowd reaction around before the start of the draft as he name-dropped some of the great stars in Phillies history.

There was another announcement to make inside the convention center.

“We’re going to see the arrival of tremendous talent today,” Siera Santos of MLB Network told the crowd.

Just not live in Philadelphia.

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Dangerous heat wave threatens oppressive temperatures in much of the US

Patrick Whittle And Tammy Webber, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 15:20:32 +0000

A widespread and dangerous heat wave was building across the U.S. on Saturday, with triple-digit highs expected in the Southwest and Great Plains this weekend before spreading eastward under a dome of high pressure that meteorologists say could trap oppressive temperatures for a week or more.

Forecasters advised people to stay hydrated and find places to cool off, warning of temperatures 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night — especially bad for people's health because their bodies won't have a chance to recover. The heat dome was expected to affect as much as two-thirds of the continental United States.

“The heat doesn’t necessarily stop when it’s dark out,” said Josh Adam, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, where temperatures will surpass 100 F (37 C) until Tuesday, a dramatic spike for a state where summer temperatures are typically in the 80s.

Tynika Smith of Bloomington, Minnesota, handed out frozen towels and wash cloths along with battery-operated fans at encampments of homeless people in nearby St. Paul and will continue next week, when temperatures are forecast to climb into the mid- to high 90s. The residents put the ice packs around their necks and on their heads.

“They can’t get into a car with air conditioning or go into a house,” said Smith, who also distributed water, freezer pops, food and hygiene supplies.

The encampments are so secluded that it's difficult for the residents to walk or bicycle to cooling centers, she said. There also is little outside shade, while the temperature inside their tents gets even hotter than outdoors.

“I can only do so much,” Smith said, “but at least I can help them stay cool for a little bit.”

Temperature records expected to be broken

The National Weather Service predicted that more than 90 U.S. local temperature records will be tied or broken through Wednesday — with two-thirds of those being overnight heat records. Temperatures were not forecast to drop below 80 F (27 C) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina.

The heat dome — formed when high pressure traps hot air while blocking cooling winds and rain — is one of the strongest to affect the Dakotas in 25 years, said Chad Merrill, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

Record triple-digit highs were forecast for the weekend in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and the Dakotas.

In Helena, Montana, where temperatures were expected to creep above 95 F (35 C), Last Chance Splash Waterpark & Pool was holding a swim meet for hundreds of swimmers.

The timing couldn’t be better, as it’s uncommon for Helena to get so hot, said Sean Swingley, assistant manager.

“It’s certainly a hot day, but the pool is nice and cool,” Swingley said. “Usually in the summer we have a couple 95 degree days, but it mostly hovers around 85 to 90 in June and July.”

Nevada, a state accustomed to hot weather, was even hotter than normal, said Andrew Gorelow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. The temperature there was expected to hit 111 F (48 C) on Saturday, Gorelow said.

Hydrating and finding cool spaces is critical, experts said.

They also warned that the heat could spike fire risk in some parts of the country that already are dry, including the Rockies, where Merrill said dry thunderstorms could develop.

Climate change is supercharging heat

Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is causing more intense and longer-lasting heat waves that cover larger areas, scientists say.

This year's temperatures also are expected to be affected by El Nino, a natural warming of the equatorial Pacific that alters weather patterns and spikes temperatures across the globe.

The current El Nino — which formed last month and is too young to have affected this heat wave much — is expected to rank as among the most intense since the weather service began tracking the phenomena in 1950, experts said.

By fall it has an 81% chance of becoming “very strong” — the top category — according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Democrat announces whistleblower allegations of construction problems at Kennedy Center

Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 20:39:06 +0000

A Democratic senator on Saturday alleged that whistleblowers have detailed several problems stemming from rushed or improper reconstruction of the Kennedy Center, adding a new layer to the travails of the arts complex as President Donald Trump tried to seize control of it and its name.

Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said in a release on Saturday that he had received a whistleblower disclosure from the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit whistleblower protection group, alleging that “the Center rushed a series of renovations driven by the President’s aesthetic whims and his desire to star in a series of televised events in December.”

“The Center’s subservience to the President’s desires and its corner-cutting contracting practices have resulted in steel columns that are rusting through fresh paint, a reflecting pool that may have to be torn out and rebuilt, and a brand-new bathroom floor torn out over an offending tile color,” Whitehouse continued. “This is waste, and it treats a national memorial to President Kennedy as if it were a private renovation project.”

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump seized control of the arts and culture venue, named after former President John F. Kennedy, at the beginning of his second term. Trump ousted the center's prior leadership and replaced it with a Board of Trustees that named him chairman and added his name to the building.

Democrats sued to remove it and a federal judge ruled Trump's name must come off the venue, which had been wracked with boycotts by artists during the turmoil. He tried to close the center for two years, only to be ordered to keep it open by the court because only Congress could change its name.

Whitehouse released a letter he wrote to the center's executive director, Matt Floca, demanding answers by July 23. He said the whistleblower report included “firsthand accounts of multiple former Center project managers, supported by contemporaneous documents and photographs.” He also included an 83-page appendix full of internal center documents, emails and photos of apparently shoddy construction.

The allegations include that the center rushed work before it was authorized by Congress because it wanted it to be complete for Trump to accept the new FIFA Peace Prize that the soccer federation awarded him. In doing so, the letter alleges the center didn't follow required contracting guidelines and wasted money replacing a bathroom because the president didn't like the color and inking no-bid contracts. One $8 million contract to replace the concert hall's floor went to a firm with no experience in concert halls, Whitehouse contended.

Students abducted in May by Islamic militants in Nigeria are rescued, government says

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:30:32 +0000

Students abducted in May by Islamic militants in Nigeria's southwestern Oyo state have been rescued, the government said Friday.

Government spokesman Bayo Onanuga did not specify the total number of students rescued, but authorities said at the time of the abductions on May 15 that more than 40 people had been abducted. One of the teachers abducted alongside the students was killed shortly afterward.

Eight militants were arrested as part of the operation, while an unspecified number of the militants were killed, Onanuga said.

The abductions in a southern state had represented an escalation of the country’s security crisis because most such abductions previously had taken place in the north.

“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular," Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.

In the same week as the Oyo abduction, dozens of children were kidnapped in Borno, the epicenter of Nigeria's security crisis.

Abductions at schools are common in Nigeria, where militant groups target them to put pressure on the government and extract ransoms.

Democratic congressman says he was detained by the Israeli military and settlers in the West Bank

Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 19:00:55 +0000

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna said Saturday that he was detained by settlers and the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank and released only after calls to the American Embassy in Jerusalem. The Israeli Defense Forces denied detaining any visitors in the incident, the latest example of escalating political tensions involving Israel and its ally's Democratic Party.

A representative for Khanna, a California Democrat who is an outspoken progressive, said the confrontation occurred Wednesday in the middle of a three-day tour of the West Bank. As the congressman visited a Palestinian village that had been abandoned after settler attacks, masked men with guns stopped his group and refused to let them leave.

The New York Times said the incident was witnessed by one of its photographers. Khanna's office said it occurred in the town of Khirbet Zanuta.

Khanna said that when Israeli soldiers arrived he was dispirited to see them interact in a friendly manner with the settlers and block the exit for the congressman's party. Not until the U.S. Embassy and Israeli police were called was Khanna's group allowed to proceed.

“If this can happen to an American member of Congress, imagine what life is like for Palestinians who have no smartphones, no security, and no national platform,” Khanna, who is exploring a presidential bid in 2028, said in a fundraising email he sent out shortly after his post Saturday about the incident.

In a statement, the IDF said it received a report of Israeli citizens blocking foreign nationals and media in Khirbet Zanuta.

“Upon receiving the report, IDF troops were dispatched to the scene, quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road,” the military said in a statement. “The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road.”

Democratic politicians from the United States have stepped up their criticism of Israel amid a sharp turn against the country by the party's voters since the war in Gaza began. This past week, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose father was born in Jerusalem and fought in Israel's war of independence, gave a blistering speech last week in Tel Aviv in which he said Israel has become a “territorial pariah.” Emanuel also is a potential White House contender.

In a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about 58% of Democrats said the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israelis.

Also Saturday, the Israeli military said it detained four suspects who were attacking foreign journalists traveling to Sinjil, another West Bank community. The assailants blocked the journalists' vehicle and damaged it and were armed with clubs and knives, according to the military's statement.

CNN reported that it had a team among the journalists who were attacked. The network said the journalists were there to cover the one-year anniversary of the killing of a Palestinian-American man who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers.

The West Bank has seen a surge of settlement construction, and settler violence against Palestinians, in the past few years. Israeli officials have condemned particularly grave violence by settlers but tend to describe the incidents as exceptions, and attackers are rarely punished.

The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal. Israel’s government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under heavy criticism from Palestinians and rights groups for accelerating settlement expansion, which they say is aimed at preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state there.

Israel views the West Bank as disputed territory and says its final status is subject to negotiations. Key Cabinet ministers have pushed for formal annexation of the territory.

Guggenheim Museum among NYC buildings that tested positive for Legionnaires’ amid disease outbreak

Philip Marcelo, Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 19:55:39 +0000

New York City’s famed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was among a number of Manhattan buildings that recently tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease amid the city’s latest outbreak.

The city health department on Friday released a list of 31 buildings on the Upper East Side that have been ordered to clean and disinfect their cooling towers as the city deals with the latest outbreak of the disease, which is a serious form of pneumonia.

The distinctive, cylindrical-shaped art museum was among 19 that have already completed the remediation, according to the department’s list. The rest were expected to complete the work by Saturday.

City officials stressed the positive test results do not confirm any of the buildings as the source of outbreak as the tests conducted could not distinguish between live and dead bacteria.

The museum was also not shuttered at any point because of the positive test or remediation work, they said.

“The city has confirmed that there is no additional action needed at this time, and this poses no risk to anyone inside the building,” the museum said in a statement Saturday, noting that it has an outside company that conducts regular monthly testing and treating of its cooling tower.

The Guggenheim was designed by the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site as one of the defining architectural works of the 20th century.

More than 50 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in connection with the Upper East Side cluster, of which less than 20 remain hospitalized, according to the most recent data from the city health department. No deaths have so far been reported.

Seven people died and more than 100 were sickened during a major outbreak in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem last year that was ultimately traced to cooling towers atop Harlem Hospital and a nearby construction site where the city’s public health lab is located.

Legionella bacteria generally grow in warm water and can spread in building water systems such as showerheads, hot tubs and cooling towers.

The structures are usually found on the top of buildings and control the temperature of systems such as refrigeration, but they do not affect drinking water or the building’s indoor air or air conditioning.

Legionnaires’ disease is also not transmitted person-to-person. People often contract it by breathing in tiny droplets of contaminated water.

Symptoms usually develop two days to two weeks after exposure and include cough, fever, headaches, muscle aches and shortness of breath, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People are at an increased risk for Legionnaires’ disease if they are age 50 or older, smoke or vape, have a chronic lung disease or have a weakened immune system.

The respiratory ailment's name comes from an outbreak that hit attendees of an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976.

Stones, Guehi in England lineup against Man City teammate and Norway star Haaland

Associated Press — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 19:46:09 +0000

John Stones returned to England's starting lineup for its World Cup quarterfinal against Norway on Saturday, essentially taking the spot that was held for the last three matches by suspended defender Jarell Quansah.

The move puts a pair of Manchester City defenders — Stones and Marc Guehi — in England's opening 11 against Norway star striker Erling Haaland, who also plays for the same club.

Quansah is starting a two-game ban issued after he got a red card in the round of 16 win over Mexico. Stones has not started for England since its opening game of the World Cup. Another switch for England: Noni Madueke is back on the wing, sending Bukayo Saka to the bench.

Norway made a switch to its lineup as well, adding midfielder Andreas Schjelderup — who came off the bench to register the assist on both of Haaland's goals in a 2-1 win over Brazil in the round of 16.

It was Schjelderup's second start of the World Cup. He also started Norway's loss to France in the group stage, a match where coach Stale Solbakken went with mostly backups since his team had already clinched a spot in the knockout round.

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