A South African appeals court delivered a ruling Tuesday giving the family of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu the authority to decide where he will be laid to rest, reversing an earlier court order that had sided with the Zambian government’s push for a state funeral.
Lungu served as Zambia’s president from 2015 until 2021 and passed away in South Africa roughly a year ago while undergoing medical treatment. His remains have stayed in South Africa ever since, as a dispute between his family and the Zambian government has dragged on over the proper burial location.
The Zambian government had sought to bring Lungu’s body back to the capital, Lusaka, for burial at a site designated for the country’s former presidents. His family, however, has preferred a private burial in South Africa.
At the heart of the family’s resistance is their belief that Lungu would not have wanted his current successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, present at the funeral. The two men were longstanding political adversaries.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal concluded Tuesday that Zambia’s government had not demonstrated any legal standing under South African law to override the family’s preferences regarding the burial arrangements. The court also dismissed Zambia’s claim that a binding agreement had been reached with the family, finding instead that negotiations between the two sides were still ongoing at the time.
Zambia’s Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha told Reuters that while the government did not fully agree with the ruling, it would honor the court’s decision. “We will not exercise our right to appeal to the Constitutional Court. We will not take the matter any further,” Kabesha said.
South Africa’s government had previously stated it felt obligated to respect the family’s wishes, though it also expressed the view that a state burial in Zambia would be the most appropriate send-off for a former head of state.
During his time in office, Lungu oversaw a significant buildup of national debt. Zambia defaulted on its international debt obligations in 2020, a development widely seen as contributing to his defeat at the polls. President Hichilema is now preparing to seek a second five-year term at an election scheduled for August.
TBILISI — The leader of South Ossetia, a small breakaway region of Georgia supported by Russia, announced Tuesday that he is leaving his post to serve as an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a statement posted to a South Ossetian government website, Alan Gagloyev said his resignation takes effect immediately, and that he will be moving into a role within Russia’s presidential administration. He said his prime minister will take over as president in his place.
Gagloyev explained that his new role will focus on helping carry out a treaty signed between South Ossetia and Russia the previous year. He described the agreement as a step toward what he called a “cherished dream” — the full incorporation of the small territory into Russia.
South Ossetia is home to roughly 50,000 people. The region first separated from Georgia during the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, achieving de facto independence with significant support from Moscow.
A brief but intense war between Russia and Georgia erupted in 2008 over the territory, ending with Georgian forces being pushed out of areas they had previously held within South Ossetia.
In the aftermath of that conflict, Russia and a small number of other nations formally recognized South Ossetia — along with Abkhazia, another Georgian breakaway region — as independent states.
Over the years, various South Ossetian leaders have expressed a desire for the territory to one day become part of Russia. However, neither local officials nor the Kremlin have moved forward with an official vote on annexation.
HELSINKI — Finland could give the green light to Tesla’s self-driving assistance technology sooner than a broader European Union decision anticipated for October, the country’s transport authority announced Tuesday.
In April, the Netherlands became the first nation in Europe to grant provisional approval for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving, known as FSD, marking an initial step toward a possible EU-wide rollout if a qualified majority of member states vote in favor. Estonia and Belgium have since joined the Netherlands in permitting the technology, which enables vehicles to steer themselves — though some regulatory bodies have expressed reservations.
“An EU-wide solution can be expected in October 2026. However, Traficom is prepared to proceed on a faster schedule after the summer if the necessary additional information has been obtained on the key areas of assessment,” the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, known as Traficom, said in an official statement.
Traficom outlined several areas currently under review, including how quickly drivers are able to resume control of the vehicle, how the system handles passing maneuvers in low-visibility conditions on Finnish roads, and a speed offset feature that has drawn concern from neighboring Sweden and Norway.
Despite those open questions, Traficom indicated its general assessment of the system has been favorable. The EU-wide committee vote is set for October, and the next discussion among member states is scheduled for June 30.
Approximately 6,500 vehicles in Finland are already equipped with the FSD system, representing about 0.24% of the country’s 2.7 million passenger cars.
Because Tesla’s FSD still requires a human driver to remain attentive and ready to intervene, it is not classified as fully autonomous. However, Traficom noted that genuinely self-driving vehicles could begin appearing on Finnish roads as early as 2028.
Reuters previously reported in May that Finland was among several European countries Tesla reached out to following the Dutch approval, inquiring whether they would be open to following suit.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A lengthy legal fight over the final resting place of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu may finally be coming to an end. South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal issued a ruling Tuesday in favor of Lungu’s family, rejecting the Zambian government’s attempt to take custody of his body and bring it home for burial.
The decision reverses an earlier South African court order that had required the family to turn over Lungu’s remains to Zambian authorities for repatriation.
Lungu passed away in South Africa on June 5, 2025, at the age of 68. The Zambian government had sought to have him buried at a national cemetery reserved for the country’s leaders, while his family chose to lay him to rest in South Africa instead.
The dispute carried with it the weight of a bitter political rivalry between Lungu and current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema — a conflict that, remarkably, continued even after Lungu’s death. His body remained in a mortuary throughout the duration of the court proceedings.
Lungu’s family stated they were carrying out his final wishes, which included that Hichilema have no involvement with his body and not preside over any state funeral held in Zambia.
The conflict erupted last June when a funeral service organized by the family in South Africa was halted after the Zambian government filed an emergency court case. Authorities argued that national customs and protocols required Lungu to be interred at the national cemetery in his home country.
In a majority decision handed down Tuesday, the panel of judges on the Supreme Court of Appeal concluded that “the common law and constitutional rights of family prevail” over the Zambian government’s position.
The Supreme Court of Appeal ranks as South Africa’s second highest court. The Zambian government still has the option to escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court.
Lungu led Zambia as president from 2015 to 2021, defeating Hichilema in two separate elections during that period. While Lungu held power, Hichilema — then the opposition leader — was jailed for four months on treason charges that were eventually dropped.
Lungu ultimately lost the 2021 election to Hichilema and later claimed that he had been effectively placed under house arrest by officials acting under Hichilema’s direction.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Niger has officially departed from the International Criminal Court, with the country’s leadership accusing the tribunal of practicing selective justice.
The west African nation formally submitted a letter to the United Nations triggering its exit from the Rome Statute, which serves as the court’s foundational legal document.
The letter stated, “While the court had raised great hopes among peoples who cherish peace and justice, it has been misused and exploited.”
Niger joins Mali and Burkina Faso, all three of which announced their intentions to withdraw from the court last year. With this departure, Niger becomes only the third nation ever to exit the ICC, following the Philippines and Burundi.
A military coup removed Niger’s democratically elected government in 2023. Since that takeover, the ruling military junta has cut ties with longtime allies and forged new partnerships — including with Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin is himself the subject of an ICC arrest warrant related to the war in Ukraine.
Mali and Burkina Faso have undergone comparable political shifts following their own military takeovers.
The ICC responded to Niger’s departure with disappointment. “We regret any decision to depart from the collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes,” the court said in an official statement.
Niger’s withdrawal will not take effect until 12 months after the United Nations received the letter. Importantly, any crimes that take place before the withdrawal is finalized will still fall under the court’s authority.
The departure comes amid ongoing violence in the region. Earlier this month, gunmen attacked the main airport in Niger’s capital city of Niamey, killing more than 30 people. It marked the second assault on the airport this year. The facility serves as a critical military hub, housing the ruling junta’s air force base along with the majority of its drones and aircraft. It also serves as headquarters for the regional military alliance uniting forces from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
The attack reflects a broader and troubling trend of armed groups increasingly setting their sights on cities and populated areas across Africa’s Sahel region.
In a related development, Hungary had also moved to leave the ICC last year, but reversed that decision after Viktor Orbán was removed from the presidency following elections held in April.
VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė and her entire cabinet officially stepped down Tuesday, triggered by a realignment of the country’s ruling coalition. The shake-up sets the stage for the Baltic nation’s third prime minister in just two years and a new government that has signaled it wants to pursue a more practical relationship with China after a prolonged period of diplomatic tension.
The government’s fall came after the center-left Social Democrats broke off their coalition agreement earlier this month with the scandal-plagued populist Nemuno Aušra party. The split followed mounting controversy surrounding one of that party’s former leaders, who is facing accusations of antisemitic rhetoric.
That former leader, ex-lawmaker Remigijus Žemaitaitis, was ordered to pay a 5,000 euro fine — roughly $5,800 — by a Lithuanian court last year. The court determined he had incited hatred toward Jewish people, grossly minimized Nazi Germany’s atrocities, and made deeply offensive statements downplaying the Holocaust through social media posts and public remarks made in May and June of 2023. Prosecutors are now seeking a harsher penalty before an appeals court. Žemaitaitis maintains he is not guilty.
Ruginienė’s formal resignation will be delivered to President Gitanas Nausėda, who is widely expected to ask the departing administration to remain in a caretaker role while a new government is assembled.
Before stepping down, Ruginienė — a Social Democrat and former labor union leader — addressed her ministers with words of appreciation. “Despite all the difficulties, we have much to be proud of, and each of you has made a significant contribution to the welfare of our state and the improving lives of its people,” she told them Tuesday.
Under the Lithuanian constitution, the president has 15 days to put forward a prime ministerial candidate to parliament. Based on a coalition agreement signed last week by the new ruling majority, Social Democratic Party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius is the anticipated nominee for the top government post.
The newly formed coalition, made up of the Social Democrats and two other center-left parties, took shape without the Nemuno Aušra party. Together, the new alliance holds 75 seats in the 141-member Lithuanian parliament, known as the Seimas. The coalition agreement calls for at least four ministerial positions to change hands, though the country’s broader policy directions are expected to stay largely intact.
On foreign policy, the coalition’s governing document indicates a desire to rebuild more stable ties with Beijing. The new partners say they back restoring diplomatic dialogue and growing economic cooperation where it benefits Lithuania, while continuing to honor the country’s obligations to the European Union, NATO, and its strategic partnership with Taiwan.
If the Seimas approves the prime minister-designate, that individual will have up to two weeks to present a new cabinet and governing program — developed in coordination with the president — for parliamentary review and approval.
Authorities in the Philippines announced Tuesday that they are temporarily blocking an online gaming app after discovering that one of two teenage suspects in a deadly school shooting was a frequent user of it. The move is intended to help officials determine whether the app had any influence on the attack.
The shooting took place Monday at San Jose National High School in the central city of Tacloban, where two students — ages 14 and 15, each armed with a handgun — opened fire on their classmates. Three students were killed and 20 others were injured in the attack.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center announced the decision to block the app known as Gorebox, citing an active police investigation that revealed one of the suspects was a heavy user of the platform. Officials said the temporary block would allow them to evaluate “whether the platform played any role in the actions of the suspects.”
The block took effect Tuesday, according to a statement from Undersecretary Aboy Paraiso of the cybercrime center.
“We cannot ignore possible online influences that may have contributed to this tragic incident,” Paraiso said, though he did not indicate how long the restriction would remain in place.
Gorebox, which launched in 2023, has been described in marketing materials as “a physics-driven sandbox game where creativity meets unrestrained destruction,” according to the cybercrime center.
Paraiso did not address what steps might follow if a government review concludes that the app encourages violent behavior among players.
“Beyond this temporary ban, we are reinforcing our monitoring efforts to identify online spaces that may pose risks to young users and to ensure that appropriate interventions are made immediately,” Paraiso said. “Our priority is the safety and well-being of Filipino children exposed to the internet.”
While gun-related crimes are common in the Philippines — in part because of the widespread presence of unlicensed firearms — school shootings remain relatively uncommon in the country.
Regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said the suspects told investigators they carried out the attack in retaliation for being bullied at school. However, Capoy and other police officials noted that a full investigation ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will examine all possibilities, including the potential influence of online groups that encourage rebellion and violent behavior among young people.
One of the suspects obtained a 9 mm pistol from an aunt who works as a police officer and is now under investigation. The other suspect had a .38 caliber revolver that came from a security agency employee. Police said the two were able to bring the weapons onto school grounds because security measures at the campus were insufficient for its 1,600 students.
Video footage of the shooting that was shared online captured students hiding beneath desks inside a locked classroom, crying and screaming as gunshots rang out nearby. Some of the students could be heard calling out for their mothers.
All of the victims — both those killed and those wounded — were students, police confirmed. Investigators recovered at least 40 shell casings from the scene.
Due to their ages, both suspects were expected to be transferred to government welfare officials following the investigation. Under a Philippine law enacted in 2006, the 14-year-old cannot face criminal prosecution. The law sets the minimum age of criminal liability at 15, and only when authorities determine the suspect fully understood the nature of the crime and its consequences.
BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai woman stood before a Myanmar court Tuesday as her trial moved forward on an immigration-related charge connected to accusations that she murdered her former husband, a U.S. diplomat, according to an attorney with knowledge of the case.
Pavinee Supasirivisan faces both an immigration code violation charge and a murder charge stemming from the diplomat’s death in May. However, she is currently being tried first on the immigration violation, which applies to any foreign national who commits a crime in Myanmar. The identity of the diplomat has not been made public.
During the hearing at Kamayut Township Court — the second session in her trial — three prosecution witnesses took the stand, including immigration officers. The attorney who provided this information spoke under the condition of anonymity, citing concerns about potential consequences from Myanmar’s military-controlled government.
The attorney noted that Pavinee had two legal representatives present in court, though further details were unavailable. It also remained unclear whether she had entered a formal plea. A conviction on the immigration charge could result in a sentence of anywhere between six months and five years behind bars.
An official from Kamayut township’s immigration and population department confirmed to The Associated Press that witnesses did testify at the proceeding but declined to elaborate. That official also spoke anonymously, as they were not authorized to speak with members of the press.
It remains unknown how long the current trial will take to conclude, or when proceedings on the murder charge will begin. A murder conviction in Myanmar carries a potential sentence ranging from 10 years in prison up to the death penalty.
Myanmar’s military took control of the country in 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. That power grab triggered widespread protests that have since escalated into a full-scale civil war in the country, also known as Burma.
Authorities in Myanmar have largely refused to engage with the media on this case. Police, the prison where the suspect is believed to be held, and the court where she appeared have all declined to comment. Members of the press are barred from attending court proceedings.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry has acknowledged providing consular assistance to the suspect but has not offered any additional details.
According to the attorney, the diplomat was discovered dead on May 11 at the Sakura Residence & Hotel, a property known to be frequented by diplomats, business travelers, and other international visitors. The hotel is situated approximately 1.5 kilometers — roughly one mile — from the U.S. Embassy. The victim had suffered stab wounds to the head and neck.
The U.S. State Department acknowledged the diplomat’s death but has declined to release further information, including the individual’s name.
Hundreds of Indigenous survivors have wept, laughed, and spoken openly — many for the very first time — about what they endured as children in Native American boarding schools. For decades, those stories stayed buried. Now, a major oral history effort is giving them a place to finally be heard.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is concluding its oral history project this Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The nonprofit’s team of historians has gathered video testimony from more than 360 Indigenous survivors spread across 19 states. Those recordings are destined for permanent preservation in the Library of Congress.
Iona Mad Plume, a 74-year-old Blackfeet woman who grew up on her tribe’s reservation in Montana, said she “can’t emphasize enough” how much the experience helped her heal. She sat before a video camera last month in Billings and shared her story of attending the Pierre Indian School in South Dakota, where she was sent at just 14 years old.
Since giving her testimony, Mad Plume said she has felt more grounded and has found it easier to release memories that long haunted her — a dusty blue Greyhound bus pulling her away from her parents’ red pickup truck, school staff striking her with a wooden dowel as she huddled on a bunk bed, and meals of cornmeal or cereal crawling with weevil bugs.
“I got a lot out of that, pretty much a lot of closure,” she said. “It was after almost a lifetime of carrying around questions and different things in my mind — so I don’t have to carry that around anymore.”
Another survivor, Gene Bozicic, of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, shared a similar sense of renewal after contributing her testimony in Michigan in 2024. Bozicic, now 81, attended the Catholic-run Holy Childhood School of Jesus in Harbor Springs, Michigan, starting at age 11.
“As we further went along, I started to feel more confident in what I could do and what I have accomplished, almost like more pride to be Native,” Bozicic said about her video interview. “I hate to see it coming to an end, because they have given me my backbone back.”
The project launched in March 2024 as a partnership between the Minnesota-based coalition and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its mission is to document and make public the widespread abuse that boarding school survivors endured under the federal government’s forced assimilation policies — a system that began in the 1800s and continued for more than a century.
Two years before the oral history effort began, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — a Laguna Pueblo member and herself a descendant of boarding school survivors — led the historic Road to Healing listening tour alongside Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community.
Haaland’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative also produced detailed reports on the long-term, multigenerational damage caused by these institutions. The federal government found that nearly 1,000 Native children were buried at 65 different school sites. Reports documented atrocities ranging from physical and sexual abuse to deliberate attempts at cultural erasure.
Over the course of more than two years, the process of collecting in-person testimonies evolved significantly, said Lacey Kinnart, the coalition’s oral history program co-director. At first, a “quiet room” where survivors could decompress with a fellow elder after their interview was optional. Staff later made it a standard part of the process and added a second such room. They also began pairing survivors with a licensed clinical therapist specializing in boarding school trauma and a licensed social worker.
“Our elders don’t want to be a burden,” said Kinnart, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. “But they really do need that extra support.”
Staff also observed that survivors sometimes felt uneasy around the Indigenous photographer, which showed in the portraits taken. In response, an extra half-hour was added to each session so survivors could get comfortable with the person photographing them.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Department of the Interior are still working out how to present the video interviews publicly. Importantly, survivors retain full ownership of their testimonies and have the sole authority to decide whether their stories are shared with the public. The videos will be stored in a permanent oral history collection at the Library of Congress, with the project’s official end date set for June 2027.
The coalition plans to continue oral history work independently. Staff indicated their next project could cost as much as $13 million — roughly double the $6.2 million received from the Interior Department and the Mellon Foundation for this first effort. Though it would take longer, the next project aims to be even more inclusive.
“We’re just scratching the surface with these stories,” said coalition Oral History Program Co-director Charlee Brissette, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie of Chippewa Indians. “We want to get a more robust picture of the boarding school experience because it does have that intergenerational effect.”
Indigenous people who were not included in this first round of the project may have another chance to participate in the coming years — a prospect welcomed by both survivors and their descendants.
“I’d be interested in doing that, because the whole story needs to be taught,” said Desiray Emerton, 56, a Seminole woman and a descendant of two generations of boarding school survivors. Her relatives attended Goodland Academy and Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma.
Emerton said she has witnessed the generational toll firsthand: her mother, shaped by her own boarding school experiences, struggled to show affection toward her as a child. And her grandmother passed away long before this project ever existed.
“I know time’s running out for those who did go through that personally,” Emerton said, “but I always tell my kids I’m walking on the prayers of our ancestors, and I’m running out of time.”
Dover Police have released the latest Megan’s Law sex offender notifications for the City of Dover.
Residents are encouraged to review the notification images to stay aware of registered sex offenders living in their community.
Anyone who has questions or concerns regarding these notifications is asked to contact the Dover Police Sex Offender Enforcement Unit directly at doverpolice.org.
Financial services firm SoFi announced Tuesday that it has acquired Composer, an artificial intelligence startup designed to give everyday retail investors access to the kind of advanced trading strategies that have traditionally been available only to Wall Street hedge funds and large institutional players.
While commission-free trading has made buying and selling stocks more accessible in recent years, the sophisticated tools used to build and automate complex investment strategies have largely stayed out of reach for ordinary investors. SoFi is now betting that AI technology can help bridge that divide.
The company says its goal is to allow everyday investors — not just financial professionals — to build, test, and automate complex trading strategies without needing any coding background or specialized technical knowledge.
CEO Anthony Noto explained the vision to Reuters: “If you can explain an investment idea in plain English, you can now build, test, and automate it.”
Noto also drew a comparison to how mobile technology reshaped banking, saying, “AI is already a foundational part of investing, and much like how mobile became a foundational part of banking, it will completely transform the industry.”
With the Composer acquisition complete, SoFi says its customers will gain access to thousands of community-built trading strategies and will be able to automate trades all from one platform. The company declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal.
The San Francisco-based fintech reported strong growth earlier this year, with membership rising 35% to a record 14.7 million in the first quarter. Adjusted revenue jumped 41% over the same period to a record $1.1 billion.
The push to attract retail investors has become increasingly competitive since the pandemic-era trading surge brought millions of new participants into financial markets. With commission-free trading now standard across the industry and product offerings looking more and more alike, brokerages are fighting hard to differentiate themselves.
Last month, brokerage Robinhood announced it would let customers set up dedicated trading accounts and use AI agents to trade stocks on their behalf through its platform.
Commenting on how SoFi’s customers are handling recent market swings, Noto said, “Members are staying engaged through volatility and looking for opportunities rather than retreating from the market.”
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took to social media Tuesday to assert that Iran has agreed to permit nuclear inspections well into the future, even as Iranian officials contradict that claim.
“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!)” Trump wrote in an online post. “This will insure ‘Nuclear Honesty.’ If they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!”
Iran, however, has rejected that characterization, stating that it has not entered into any discussions about its nuclear program and has not agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to return to the country.
Trump also addressed the U.S. military presence in the Strait of Hormuz, saying American ships will remain stationed there in the event a blockade of Iranian ports needs to be reinstated — though he described that scenario as “at this point, highly unlikely.” He noted that 19 million barrels of oil moved through the Hormuz Strait on Monday.
Starting Monday, the United States granted Iran a 60-day sanctions waiver following the first round of talks under an emerging peace agreement between the two nations.
Trump further explained that funds being released by the U.S. Treasury will be held in escrow under American oversight and used solely to purchase food and medical supplies from the United States — specifically naming corn, wheat, and soybeans among the goods.
“These are things that are desperately needed by Iran. This is a humanitarian crisis, and I feel it is necessary to help, NOW, before it is too late,” Trump wrote.
Much of the world is currently sweltering under extreme heat conditions, with Europe, Asia, and parts of the United States all experiencing dangerously high temperatures.
How Does Heat Affect Your Health?
Extreme heat can harm the body in multiple ways. Heat exhaustion — which may bring on dizziness, headaches, shaking, and intense thirst — can strike anyone. It is generally not considered life-threatening as long as the affected person cools down within 30 minutes.
Far more dangerous is heatstroke, which occurs when the body’s core temperature climbs above 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 degrees Celsius). This is a medical emergency that can result in lasting organ damage or even death. Warning signs include rapid breathing, confusion, seizures, and nausea.
Who Faces the Greatest Risk?
Certain groups are especially vulnerable, including infants, elderly individuals, homeless people, and those who work or spend extended time outdoors. People living with pre-existing conditions — such as respiratory or cardiovascular disease, or diabetes — face heightened danger, as heat can worsen those conditions.
A 2021 study published in The Lancet estimated that nearly half a million people die worldwide each year due to excessive heat, though data from many lower-income nations remains limited. A separate study examining 854 European cities found that climate change was responsible for 68% of the roughly 24,400 estimated heat-related deaths in 2025, as temperatures rose by as much as 3.6 degrees Celsius.
Professor Liz Stephens, a researcher in climate risk and resilience at Britain’s University of Reading, described the danger in stark terms: “Heat waves are a silent and invisible killer. We don’t often see the impact that they have had on human health until the mortality statistics are published many months later.”
Risks You Might Not Expect
Beyond direct heat exposure, air pollution — particularly smoke from wildfires — presents additional health concerns, including inflammation and tissue damage. Research has also shown that extreme heat can contribute to low birthweight and premature births among pregnant women.
When and Where the Danger Is Greatest
Health experts note that fatalities tend to spike earlier in the summer season, before people’s bodies have had time to adjust to rising temperatures. Geography also plays a role — people in regions unaccustomed to intense heat, such as parts of Europe, are at greater risk.
Still, no one is immune. People across the globe — especially those who perform physical labor outdoors — are at risk during extreme heat events driven by climate change.
Dr. Modi Mwatsama, head of capacity at Wellcome, a London-based global health charity, emphasized the urgency of action: “It is more important than ever that we put in place measures to limit the harm on our health.” She noted that solutions range from providing shade and painting buildings white to building early-warning systems for climate-related infectious diseases such as cholera.
What You Can Do
Several European nations — including Italy, France, and Spain — have already issued public health advisories as temperatures spike across the continent. Spain’s weather agency specifically cautioned that outdoor activity during the hottest parts of the day carries significant health risks, especially for older adults and those with underlying medical conditions.
Scientists are urging outdoor workers to take more frequent rest breaks and dress appropriately for the heat. They also recommend checking in on elderly or isolated neighbors and friends, reminding the public that heatstroke requires immediate medical attention.
AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands has officially signed on to the Pax Silica initiative, a U.S.-backed alliance of allied nations aimed at coordinating AI-related supply chains, according to the Dutch foreign ministry, which made the announcement Tuesday.
The Netherlands joining Pax Silica represents a significant achievement for U.S. technology diplomacy, even as tensions remain between Washington and Amsterdam over export restrictions tied to Dutch chip equipment manufacturer ASML.
The announcement comes as Dutch Trade Minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma traveled to Washington to push back against the proposed U.S. Match Act, a measure that would require allied nations to fall in line with American export controls targeting China.
Both the U.S. and the Netherlands have reached agreement on blocking ASML from shipping its most advanced chip-making tools to China — the kind used to produce circuitry for AI chips. However, the two governments remain divided on whether ASML should be permitted to sell and provide maintenance for certain older, less-advanced equipment to Chinese buyers.
Sjoerdsma and Jacob Helberg, the U.S. undersecretary of state for economic affairs who oversees the Pax Silica initiative, are expected to present the agreement as a step forward for both trade and economic security. The European Union is anticipated to formally join the alliance at some point in the future.
South Korea and Japan have already become members of Pax Silica. Taiwan, which is home to chipmaker TSMC, has expressed support for the group but has not signed on as a full member.
Drivers traveling along Route 1 in the Middletown area should be aware of an ongoing trash removal operation that could affect traffic this afternoon.
According to transportation officials, a rolling trash removal operation is underway along Route 1 between Wrangler Hill Road, also known as Route 72, and Middletown. The operation is expected to wrap up by 4 p.m.
Motorists in the area are advised to use caution and allow extra travel time while crews complete the work.
Travelers heading southbound on Interstate 95 should slow down and stay alert near the Harvey Road overpass, where litter crews are currently working along the shoulder of the highway.
The crews are expected to remain on the shoulder until 4 p.m. Drivers are encouraged to move over when possible and reduce their speed to ensure the safety of the workers in the area.
Drivers traveling along DuPont Parkway, also known as Route 13, are facing a left shoulder closure due to active construction work in the area.
The closure affects the stretch of roadway between Blackbird Forest Road (Road 471) and Summit Bridge Road (Road 71) and is expected to remain in place until 5:30 PM.
Motorists are encouraged to allow extra travel time and remain alert for construction crews and equipment near the roadway. Drivers should follow any posted signage and merge safely as they pass through the affected zone.
Motorists traveling northbound on Dupont Boulevard (Route 113) should be aware of a right shoulder closure currently in effect between West North Street and Bridgeville Road (Route 404).
The closure is the result of construction activity in the area and is expected to be lifted by 5 p.m. Drivers are encouraged to use caution while passing through the work zone.
Travelers heading in that direction may want to consider alternate routes or allow additional time to reach their destinations.
Northbound travelers on Janice Road are facing a right lane closure this afternoon as construction work is underway in the area.
The closure affects the stretch of Janice Road between Nassau Commons Boulevard and Siham Road. The right lane is expected to remain closed until 5 p.m.
Drivers in the area are encouraged to allow extra travel time or consider alternate routes to avoid delays.
Forty mayors representing cities across the globe have put their names to a new agreement designed to give local leaders more influence over how data centers are built and run in their communities. The pact was announced Tuesday during London Climate Action Week.
The agreement was organized through C40 Cities, an alliance of nearly 100 municipalities working to address climate change. The group says roughly 1,700 data centers already exist within its network of cities, and that number is expected to grow by more than 40% in 50 of those cities.
While many new data centers are heading to rural areas where land is cheaper, C40 says urban areas are also facing enormous pressure from this rapid expansion.
The effort got its start when the mayors of Phoenix and Melbourne, Australia, came together over shared concerns — specifically that data centers were consuming large amounts of electricity and water while also competing with housing developers for available land.
“We found out that the challenges in every region around the world were very similar,” said Cassie Sutherland, a managing director at C40. “Our approach was to say OK, how do we now use a global mayoral voice to come together with the conditions under which they will accept data centers.”
Data centers tend to cluster in cities because businesses using artificial intelligence need systems that respond instantly, and companies want their data infrastructure close to their operations. Andrew Batson, global head of data center research at JLL, noted that data centers moving into rural areas is a more recent trend.
Public and political pushback against data centers has been building due to concerns about power outages, higher electricity costs, and the massive amounts of water these facilities require. Some states have already paused tax incentives or are weighing construction moratoriums.
Roughly half of the mayors who signed the pact are from the United States. American cities include Seattle, Palo Alto and Riverside in California, Phoenix and Albuquerque in the Southwest, Beverly in Massachusetts, Lincoln in Nebraska, Chicago and Cleveland in the Midwest, and Miami in the South.
International participants include cities in Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Montreal in Canada. African cities from Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Kenya also joined, along with Asia-Pacific cities in India and Australia, and Lebanon in the Middle East.
Sutherland said the pact must now be turned into real action, with each city using it as a guide for crafting local regulations or policies. Mayors will need support from other government officials, utility companies, and the private sector to make meaningful changes.
The agreement outlines several key standards: data centers should be built on abandoned or underused land, minimize noise, heat, and air pollution, run on renewable energy and battery storage, cut water use and emissions, and capture waste heat. Mayors also want data centers to create local jobs, purchase goods and services locally, fund their own infrastructure upgrades, and engage with community members.
In the Phoenix area, pending permit requests alone could double electricity demand if all proposed data centers are built. Developers are drawn to the region because of its reliable power supply and consistent weather.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego expressed concern that current data center investments are worsening climate change and failing to serve local residents. She said a united front among mayors will prevent developers from simply seeking out communities that lack the power to negotiate better terms.
“We understand the importance of this innovation, it’s creating great jobs in our community,” Gallego said. “We just want to make sure that we get it right for our local residents and for the health of our planet.”
As of Tuesday, no cities from Southeast Asia had signed the pact. C40 said several cities in that region were unable to join due to national policies or other complications, though discussions are continuing.
Southeast Asia accounts for roughly a quarter of global energy demand growth, driven in part by more than 2,000 data centers operating across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, according to the think tank Ember. The International Energy Agency projects that annual energy demand from those data centers will more than double within five years. Malaysia has been a particular hotspot, drawing major investments from tech giants including Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia.
Melbourne played a central role in shaping the pact. According to the city’s Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece, if Melbourne follows through on all its current plans, data centers there could consume up to 20 billion liters — roughly 5.3 billion gallons — of water annually, equal to about 4% of the city’s drinking water supply. That water supply is already under strain from population growth, longer dry spells, and intensifying heat driven by climate change.
Reece said tighter environmental regulations in Melbourne are unlikely to drive away future investment, noting that data centers ultimately go where there is sufficient power, land, and proximity to markets and companies using artificial intelligence.
“We don’t want to see a race to the bottom between cities where governments, desperate for investment, are chasing data centers on any terms possible,” he said. “We want to see a better framework in place so that the investment rush in data centers can be a win-win — a win for investors and also a win for local communities.”
The European Commission is preparing to step up its investigation into Meta Platforms, with new allegations that the company intentionally designed its social media apps to hook children, according to a Bloomberg News report published Tuesday citing sources with knowledge of the situation.
Meta, which owns both Instagram and Facebook, has faced growing scrutiny over the effects its platforms have on the mental health and safety of younger users.
According to the Bloomberg report, European regulators are drafting preliminary findings that accuse Meta of using design tactics specifically intended to keep young people engaged and coming back to its platforms. No timeline has been set for when those findings will be officially released.
Neither Meta nor the European Commission responded to requests for comment from Reuters, which noted it was unable to independently confirm the Bloomberg report.
Regulators are also weighing restrictions on Meta similar to measures already put in place by the United Kingdom and other nations. Those potential curbs are expected to be considered after an expert panel delivers its recommendations next month.
The European Commission first launched its investigation into Meta in May 2024 under the Digital Services Act, citing concerns that the company had not done enough to protect children on its platforms. Then in April of this year, EU officials formally charged Meta with violating its technology regulations, demanding the company take stronger steps to prevent children under 13 from accessing its social networks.
In the United States, Meta has separately been lobbying Congress to grant the company legal immunity from lawsuits tied to harm caused to children. The company is currently facing thousands of legal claims from young users and their families, according to a Reuters report from last week.
Adding to Meta’s legal troubles, a jury in Los Angeles reached a significant verdict in March, finding both Meta and Alphabet’s Google negligent for building social media platforms that were harmful to young people.
FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank took a significant step forward Tuesday, winning key support from a major parliamentary committee for the creation of a digital euro — an electronic payment system designed to make the euro zone less dependent on U.S.-based credit card companies at a time when transatlantic relations are under strain.
The digital euro would function as an electronic wallet backed by the central bank but distributed through traditional banks or financial technology companies. It would give all euro zone residents the ability to make purchases both online and in person.
The project has been in development for six years, but it has taken on new urgency since Donald Trump returned to the White House, imposing tariffs on longtime trade partners including the European Union. The move has fueled concerns that the U.S. could eventually use its control over major payment networks like Visa and Mastercard as a political tool.
Tuesday’s approval of draft rules by the economic committee of the European Parliament follows three years of back-and-forth between the ECB and the banking industry. Banks had raised concerns about losing deposits and revenue, and pushed to scale back the project’s reach.
The proposed regulation states that the digital euro would “reduce overreliance on non-European providers by becoming a pan-European means of payment and would bring the single currency into the digital era by giving Union citizens the freedom to opt to pay with central bank money in their daily transactions.”
Not everyone was on board. Siegbert Frank Droese, representing the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations group in the European Parliament, said his group voted against the measure — raising the possibility that an additional vote may be required when the full Parliament meets in plenary session.
If no objection arises there, lawmakers are expected to begin negotiations with EU governments and the European Commission next month, with the goal of reaching final approval before year’s end.
The ECB is planning a 12-month pilot program beginning in the second half of next year, ahead of a full launch scheduled for 2029.
A top World Health Organization official delivered a sobering assessment Tuesday, stating that the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed every previous African outbreak in terms of confirmed cases recorded within the first month.
The outbreak, which is centered in the Bundibugyo area of eastern Congo, has now infected more than 1,000 people and resulted in 267 deaths. Health experts believe the virus had already been circulating for an extended period before authorities officially declared the outbreak on May 15 — meaning the true timeline of spread is longer than the official record reflects.
WHO’s Abdirahman Mahamud, speaking at a press briefing in Geneva after a visit to Bunia — the epicenter of the outbreak — last week, stressed the urgency of scaling up the response. “The response needs to expand to keep pace with the expanding outbreak — this is beginning to happen,” he said.
The disease has now reached at least three overcrowded displacement camps in eastern Congo. The International Organization for Migration’s Abdoulaye Wone, speaking at the same briefing, confirmed that at least 25 cases have been documented in those camps, with 14 of those individuals dying from the illness.
For historical context, the two deadliest Ebola outbreaks prior to this one occurred in West Africa — specifically in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia — where the disease killed approximately 11,000 people between 2014 and 2016. A separate, less deadly outbreak struck Congo itself in 2018.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that sub-Saharan Africa has experienced more than 20 Ebola outbreaks over the years.
KYIV — Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is set to lead her country’s delegation to a significant reconstruction conference taking place in Poland this week, even as tensions between the two neighboring nations have been growing over a dispute concerning the name of a Ukrainian military unit.
Svyrydenko outlined who would be traveling with her, stating: “The Ukrainian delegation at the conference will include representatives of Ukrainian business, heads of state-owned companies, representatives of our communities from across the country, and, of course, government officials and members of parliament.”
Authorities in both eastern and western Libya have significantly escalated their campaign against migrants and refugees over the past month, carrying out mass arrests, detentions, and forced removals, according to Amnesty International. The human rights group, in a statement released Tuesday, placed blame squarely on the European Union for enabling the abuse.
Libya has long served as a key transit point for people attempting to escape conflict and poverty in search of a better life in Europe. Since a NATO-backed revolt in 2011 that ousted Muammar Gaddafi, migrants have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The country remains divided between competing factions controlling the west and east of the nation.
The EU and its member countries have provided funding and training to the Libyan coastguard for years. That coastguard intercepts migrants trying to cross the sea. Although the EU officially recognizes only the government based in Tripoli, it has also increased its dealings with the rival eastern authorities since last year.
Amnesty detailed the crackdown as including sweeping arrests across several cities, forced evictions, and the expulsion of hundreds of migrants — among them citizens of war-ravaged Sudan — who were given no opportunity to seek asylum or contest their removal.
Diana Elahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, had sharp words for the EU’s role. “The EU has long bankrolled migration control in Libya with its support to the Libyan Coast Guard, which has already made it complicit in horrific violations and abuses,” she said.
Elahawy went further, saying: “Extending this cooperation to eastern-based armed groups with records of committing war crimes and other abuses with impunity shows a shocking disregard, not only for international law, but also for human life and dignity.”
Neither the EU’s executive body, the European Commission, nor the Libyan government in Tripoli, nor the eastern administration responded to requests for comment. EU officials have previously argued that their cooperation with Libya is aimed at saving lives on the water and stopping illegal smuggling operations.
In a letter sent to EU leaders last week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that “continued EU engagement with Libya remains indispensable,” pointing to a surge in irregular crossings toward Greece through the Eastern Mediterranean route.
“We are providing targeted financial and operational support to strengthen border management, search-and-rescue and anti-smuggling capacities, and reduce illegal departures and the loss of lives at sea,” von der Leyen wrote.
Last summer, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner traveled to eastern Libya for meetings with officials there, but was expelled shortly after he arrived.
Drivers in the area should be aware of a temporary lane restriction on Cherry Road between Ivy Lane and Tyne Drive.
According to traffic officials, an intermittent lane closure is in place along that stretch of roadway as a result of construction activity. The closure is expected to be lifted by 5 p.m.
Motorists are encouraged to allow extra travel time or consider using an alternate route to avoid potential delays in the area.
A 61-year-old bus driver and grandfather named Anthony Bailey may find himself back behind bars — not because of anything he did wrong since his release, but because of a recent Supreme Court ruling that changes the rules around compassionate release.
Bailey’s situation is one of approximately twelve cases that could be directly affected by the high court’s decision, which places new limits on how people who are incarcerated can use the compassionate release program to get out of prison early.
The compassionate release program has long served as a pathway for prisoners to seek early freedom, often due to serious health conditions, age, or other significant personal circumstances. The Supreme Court’s ruling now restricts how that program can be applied, putting people like Bailey — who have already been released and rebuilt their lives — at risk of being returned to custody.
Bailey, who has been photographed holding one of his grandchildren, represents a human face on what could otherwise seem like an abstract legal question. For him and others in similar situations, the court’s decision is not just a matter of legal interpretation — it could mean losing the life they have worked to rebuild on the outside.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani isn’t on any ballot Tuesday, but he’s one of the most important figures in the day’s elections. The mayor has thrown his support behind three far-left candidates connected to the Democratic Socialists of America, who are challenging two established Democratic incumbents — Representative Adriano Espaillat in the Bronx and Representative Dan Goldman in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan — while a third candidate backed by Mamdani is competing for an open seat in Queens.
Both Espaillat and Goldman supported other candidates during the mayoral race, and Mamdani views them as not being tough enough in their stance toward Israel during its ongoing conflict with Hamas. Prominent democratic socialists in national politics include Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose congressional district covers parts of the Bronx and Queens.
Mamdani’s involvement puts him in direct conflict with House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, another powerful New York political figure. Jeffries, who would become third in line to the presidency if Democrats recapture the House in November, has a vested interest in protecting Democratic incumbents.
New York, Maryland, and Utah are all holding primaries Tuesday, while South Carolina is hosting runoffs the same day.
Mamdani’s Challengers
The three candidates Mamdani is championing are Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander, and Assembly Member Claire Valdez. Avila Chevalier, who is both an activist and a doctoral student, is running against Espaillat — a five-term congressman who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — in a district that stretches across northern Manhattan and into the Bronx.
Lander, a former New York City comptroller who also ran for mayor, is challenging Goldman in Lower Manhattan. Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, became well known for leading House Democrats’ investigation into the first impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Valdez is competing in a crowded race for the seat being vacated by retiring Representative Nydia Velazquez, whose district covers portions of Brooklyn and Queens. Her opponents include Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and New York City Council Member Julie Won.
The results in these three races won’t change Democrats’ chances of winning the House majority, but they will serve as a measure of Mamdani’s political reach and the broader strength of the democratic socialist movement.
A Vulnerable Republican Learns His Opponent
Republican U.S. Representative Mike Lawler, who holds a district that Kamala Harris carried in 2024, will discover his Democratic general election challenger on Tuesday. The leading Democratic contenders include Cait Conley, a combat veteran and national security expert who is part of a group of female veterans called the “Hell Cats” running for office, and Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson.
Lawler’s lower Hudson Valley district is one of just three Republican-held seats in areas Harris won, making it a prime target for Democrats hoping to flip the House in November. Harris won the district by only 0.6 percentage points, though Lawler himself won reelection by 6 percentage points. Despite a favorable national political climate for Democrats, Lawler is expected to start the general election with a cash advantage of between $3 million and $4 million over whoever wins the Democratic primary.
A Kennedy, a Conway, and Two Lawmakers Battle for Manhattan Seat
A packed Democratic field is competing to replace retiring Representative Jerry Nadler in his Manhattan district. The contenders include two state Assembly members, an attorney whose former wife was a top adviser to President Trump, and a grandson of President John F. Kennedy.
A recent Emerson College poll showed Assembly Members Micah Lasher — a former aide to Nadler — and Alex Bores essentially tied. Both were well ahead of attorney George Conway, whose ex-wife Kellyanne Conway served as a Trump adviser during his first term, and Kennedy family member Jack Schlossberg. Conway and Schlossberg were polling in the low double digits, but nearly one in three likely primary voters remained undecided, leaving the door open for a surprise outcome.
Stand for New York PAC, a super PAC funded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has poured more than $10 million into supporting Lasher. A pro-artificial intelligence super PAC called Think Big has spent close to $8 million in opposition to Bores, who has the backing of three other super PACs.
Schlossberg, 33, is the wild card in the race. Despite a limited professional background, he has built a significant social media following, with more than 850,000 followers on TikTok — a profile that echoes Mamdani’s own digital popularity. Whoever wins this primary will be heavily favored to win the congressional seat in November.
Trump Backs Both Candidates in South Carolina Governor’s Runoff
South Carolina voters are deciding their likely next governor in a runoff between Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson. Trump had initially endorsed Evette, but late last week he signaled to South Carolina Republicans that either candidate would be acceptable.
“These were the two that I was hoping would get into a Runoff, and they did,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!”
Trump’s endorsement record has been mixed recently. While he successfully pushed out Republican Senators John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy and Representatives Thomas Massie and Nancy Mace, two of his gubernatorial picks have fallen short. Earlier this month, Iowa voters rejected Trump-backed Representative Randy Feenstra in favor of businessman and farmer Zach Lahn. Last week, Georgia voters chose billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson over Trump-endorsed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones.
The winner of the South Carolina runoff will face Democratic state Representative Jermaine Johnson in the general election, though the Republican is expected to prevail in a state Trump won by 18 percentage points in 2024.
Among the most critical financial moves to make in the two years before you retire — right alongside sorting out healthcare and easing out of your career — is accumulating a solid cash reserve. Beyond serving as a funding source once you’re retired, that cash buffer can be a lifesaver if circumstances force you to leave the workforce earlier than planned.
When constructing what financial planners call a “Bucket” portfolio, there are three key questions to address: how much cash to set aside, where that money should come from, and where it should be held.
The amount in your cash bucket should cover one to two years of portfolio withdrawals — not your total living expenses. The distinction matters because a portion of your retirement spending will likely come from outside your investment portfolio, such as Social Security benefits or a pension. Those outside income streams may also shift over time throughout your retirement years.
To get a clearer picture, consider this example: A 66-year-old planning to retire in two years anticipates needing $80,000 annually from a $1.5 million portfolio. Because he plans to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security, all spending in those early retirement years will come from his portfolio. After Social Security kicks in, roughly half of his spending needs will be covered by those benefits.
Taking a conservative approach, he could set aside $160,000 in cash — representing the first two years of portfolio withdrawals. A second bucket of high-quality bonds could cover eight years of withdrawals, which at that stage would be $40,000 per year (the $80,000 in total spending minus Social Security income). The remaining $1 million or so could be placed in a globally diversified stock portfolio.
Beyond the size of your cash reserve, you also need to think about where you’ll keep it — in taxable accounts, tax-sheltered accounts, or a combination of both. That decision ties closely to the order in which you plan to tap your accounts during retirement.
Taxable accounts are frequently the first to be drawn down in retirement because they carry higher ongoing tax costs than tax-sheltered accounts. In a taxable account, profits on investments held longer than a year are taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rate, but other income is taxed at the higher ordinary income rate. That said, some retirees may find it beneficial to draw from tax-deferred accounts early in retirement to reduce future required minimum distributions and tax obligations. A financial or tax adviser can help determine the best approach for your situation.
Once you’ve settled on how much cash to hold and where, the next step is figuring out how to build it up — ideally over a couple of years rather than scrambling to find it right before retirement. There are several common ways to grow your cash reserves:
Redirect new savings to cash: If you’re still contributing to retirement accounts, consider routing those contributions into cash. In the example above, if the retiree is contributing the maximum $32,500 to a 401(k) and $8,600 to an IRA, directing two years of those contributions to cash could get him nearly halfway to his $160,000 target — roughly $82,200 — by the time he retires.
Use windfalls wisely: Bonuses, inheritances, or other unexpected cash infusions are natural candidates for padding your cash reserves. These funds are often already in cash and sitting in a taxable account.
Rebalance your portfolio: Selling off some stock holdings and shifting the proceeds into cash and bonds serves a dual purpose for those nearing retirement: it lowers overall risk while helping to fund early retirement expenses. Be aware that selling can trigger a tax bill, so consider doing this rebalancing within tax-sheltered accounts when possible.
Trim problematic holdings: Even if your overall portfolio allocation looks fine, you may have specific investments worth reconsidering — such as a heavy concentration in employer stock, individual stocks that overlap with mutual funds you already own, or expensive actively managed funds that haven’t outperformed cheaper alternatives. These can be good sources of cash when building your reserve, though tax consequences should be carefully considered if they’re held in a taxable account.
This article was provided by Morningstar. Christine Benz is director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast. For more retirement content, visit https://www.morningstar.com/retirement.
ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 20 people lost their lives when an armed group stormed a community in north-central Nigeria, according to police who announced the attack on Monday.
The assault took place Sunday in the Kawel community, situated in the Bokkos area of Plateau State, according to police spokesman Alfred Alabo, who released the information in an official statement.
Officers responded quickly and engaged in a gunfight with the attackers, eventually forcing them to flee the area, Alabo said. Despite the confrontation, no one was taken into custody.
No organization has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the deadly assault, which occurred in an area that has seen repeated episodes of violence over the years.
“The remains of the victims have since been released to their families for burial, as the families declined autopsy,” Alabo said.
Plateau State Gov. Caleb Mutfwang directed the government’s emergency management and humanitarian agencies to deliver immediate assistance and support to those affected, according to a statement from spokesperson Joyce Ramnap.
The United Nations has documented how an ongoing insurgency in northeastern Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives and forced millions of people from their homes over the years. Armed criminal groups continue to operate across the northwest and north-central regions of the country as well.
This latest bloodshed follows a nighttime attack in March that also claimed 20 lives, striking the Gari Ya Waye community in Plateau State.
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stood firm Tuesday, vowing to push forward a sweeping overhaul of the country’s strained pension system — one that would gradually raise the retirement age in step with increasing life expectancy. “Failure is not an option,” he declared.
Merz’s coalition, made up of center-right and center-left parties, has been in power for just over a year. The government came in promising to shake up and reinvigorate Germany’s sluggish economy — the largest in Europe — but has since fallen deeply out of favor with the public, largely due to a perception that the coalition has bickered without producing meaningful results.
After contracting for two consecutive years, Germany’s economy returned to modest growth last year. However, the government projects only 0.5% growth for this year, a figure dragged down by the economic fallout from the war in Iran.
The nation of 83.5 million people was already grappling with stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers, soaring energy costs following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade threats. Layered on top of those challenges are longer-standing structural issues: high production costs, sluggish private investment, and increasingly expensive healthcare and pension systems driven by an aging population.
On Tuesday, a panel of experts and politicians appointed by the government presented 33 recommendations designed to put the pension system on more stable footing. The goal is to prevent pension payouts from declining while also avoiding a major long-term hike in the contributions workers pay into the system. Right now, employees contribute 18.6% of their gross wages.
Germany has long wrestled with the reality that “fewer and fewer contributors have to finance pensions for more and more retirees,” Merz said. “Doing nothing is not an option.”
Among the panel’s key proposals is introducing market-based investments into individual pension insurance — modeled after a system used in Sweden — as a way to ease financial pressure on the overall program.
Two decades ago, Germany began phasing in an increase to the standard retirement age, moving it from 65 to 67. The commission is now recommending going further, tying the retirement age to life expectancy beginning in 2031. According to the national statistics office, life expectancy in Germany currently stands at 78.5 years for men and 83.2 years for women.
Commission co-chairperson Constanze Janda described the proposed retirement age adjustment as “moderate,” estimating it would rise by roughly six months over a decade if life expectancy continues on its current trajectory.
Since the mid-2010s, Germany has allowed workers with 45 years of pension contributions to retire at age 63 without a financial penalty. The panel is recommending that provision be eliminated and that the minimum retirement age be raised to 64.
The commission also proposed raising the age at which workers can begin scaling back their hours in preparation for retirement — from 55 to 58.
Merz said his coalition plans to “implement in full” the commission’s proposals, and to do so swiftly. Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, who also co-leads the center-left Social Democrats, echoed that commitment.
Still, the road ahead won’t be easy. The governing coalition holds a relatively slim majority in parliament, and the reform package has already drawn sharp criticism from labor unions. Despite the obstacles, Merz repeated his firm stance: “Failure is not an option.”
LONDON — Peter Murrell, the 61-year-old estranged husband of former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was sentenced Tuesday to five years and three months behind bars after admitting he stole more than 400,000 pounds — roughly $540,000 — from the Scottish National Party while serving as its chief executive.
Murrell confessed to using party money to purchase an expensive motorhome, two vehicles including a Jaguar, luxury Bremont watches, and various household items — even two toilet seats. He received credit for time already served.
Judge James Young did not mince words during sentencing. “All told, this was a calculated crime of dishonesty,” the judge stated. “And let me make it clear to you, one factor in the sentence which I imposed today will be to act as a deterrent to any senior officials in other large organizations who might be tempted to abuse their position in the way that you did.”
Sturgeon has publicly separated herself from her estranged husband’s wrongdoing, maintaining that she had no knowledge of his criminal actions.
The sentencing brings to a close a turbulent stretch for the Scottish National Party — which advocates for Scotland’s independence from the United Kingdom — and for the prominent political couple that once led it together.
BRUSSELS (AP) — A Taliban delegation arrived in Brussels on Tuesday for private, closed-door discussions with European Union staff, with the talks expected to center on the deportation of Afghan migrants, according to a Taliban official.
Afghans represent one of the largest migrant groups applying for asylum within the EU. However, a growing number of governments across the 27-nation bloc are pushing to accelerate and expand deportations for those whose asylum claims are denied or who have been convicted of crimes in their host countries.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 — following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led military forces — Afghan authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions on civil rights, with women and girls bearing the brunt of those measures.
Human rights organizations said Tuesday’s meeting weakens the EU’s obligations to uphold human rights and could put people at risk both in Europe and in Afghanistan.
“Any engagement with the Taliban needs to prioritize protecting human rights and accountability — not deporting people to danger there,” said Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “EU countries are undermining their credibility by condemning Taliban abuses and pursuing accountability on one hand, while cooperating with the Taliban to forcibly return Afghans on the other.”
Not a single EU member state recognizes the Taliban as a legitimate government, making Tuesday’s meeting in Brussels a notable — if small — break from the group’s diplomatic isolation since it came to power five years ago.
The Taliban’s five-member delegation includes Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a New Zealand-born spokesperson for the Taliban’s foreign ministry, according to a Taliban official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot stated that while Belgium does not recognize the Taliban, it would honor EU requests to issue the group visas.
“Belgium cannot confer legitimacy on a regime accused of serious human rights violations,” he said in a written statement, noting Belgium’s role as host to EU institutions. “Making a meeting possible in the framework of our host-state policy does not amount to recognition, does not amount to legitimacy, and does not constitute an invitation by the Belgian government.”
The Taliban delegation members received visas following security screening. Those visas carry limited territorial validity, allowing just 24 hours in Belgium with no access to other countries within the Schengen border-free travel area.
Because neither Belgium nor the EU officially recognizes the Taliban government, the meeting will not be held in any official EU or Belgian government building. The European Commission has repeatedly declined to provide further details about the gathering.
A European Commission spokesperson said Monday that the meeting was organized in response to pressure from a clear majority of EU member states — 20 of which signed a letter in October calling for stronger migration policies, including a significant increase in deportations.
“They had asked the Commission to coordinate such technical contacts on returns,” said spokesperson Markus Lammert. “Member states are looking into ways to return persons who have committed serious crimes and who are possibly a security threat.”
This is not the first such contact between the EU and the Taliban. An earlier meeting took place in Afghanistan in January, when the Commission sent a mission to Kabul. The Commission also maintains staff there.
The October letter was drafted in part by Belgian Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, who said at the time that “we have sent a clear and powerful message to the European Commission: we can no longer afford a standstill. It is high time for a firm and joint approach, so that Europe can regain control over migration and security.”
Van Bossuyt noted that across the EU, only 2% of the 22,870 Afghans ordered to leave had actually done so.
A separate Commission spokesperson emphasized that the meeting “does not mean by any means recognition” of the Taliban government.
Afghanistan has also been managing the return of roughly 3 million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran over the past year alone — people who were largely forced back to their home country — adding further strain to a nation already grappling with food shortages, economic collapse, and international sanctions against the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate.
Taliban authorities have banned Afghan women and girls from attending school beyond the primary level and from working in nearly all professions, while also imposing strict rules on what women may wear in public.
“The desperate scenes of people — including EU staff — fleeing Afghanistan are a recent memory. It is unconscionable that the EU would now try and deport people to Afghanistan, which has only become more dangerous in the meantime,” said Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.
Facing mounting political pressure to crack down on migration across the bloc, the EU has recently enacted sweeping changes to its collective migration rules. Those reforms aim to increase deportations and include provisions for so-called “return hubs,” expanded domestic surveillance, tighter border controls, and engagement with the Taliban — a government the EU does not recognize due to human rights concerns.
With Afghanistan facing food insecurity and economic deterioration, the Taliban government is seeking humanitarian assistance and hoping to reduce its international isolation.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the results of its yearly bank health evaluations on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Known as “stress tests,” these exercises put major banks’ financial standing up against a hypothetical worst-case economic scenario — one that shifts from year to year. Traditionally, the results carry significant weight because they determine how much money banks must keep in reserve and how much they can give back to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks.
This year, however, the results come during a broad reworking of capital regulations under President Donald Trump’s banking regulators, meaning the findings won’t actually trigger changes to capital requirements — though they will still shed light on the overall health of the nation’s banking sector.
Why Does the Fed Test Banks This Way?
The Fed created these evaluations in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis as a safeguard against future economic shocks. The formal testing program launched in 2011, and in the early years, several major institutions struggled to meet the bar. Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs Group all had to revise their financial plans to satisfy the Fed’s concerns. Deutsche Bank’s U.S. division failed the tests in 2015, 2016, and 2018.
Over time, banks have become more skilled at navigating the process, and the Fed has worked to make it more transparent. In 2020, the agency dropped the old “pass-fail” grading system in favor of a more tailored approach that sets capital requirements based on each bank’s individual risk profile.
How Are Banks Evaluated?
The tests measure whether a bank would remain above the required minimum capital ratio of 4.5% — the share of capital held relative to total assets — during a simulated economic crisis. Well-performing banks typically land well above that floor. The country’s largest global banks must also carry an added buffer known as a “G-SIB surcharge” of at least 1%.
A bank’s performance also determines the size of its “stress capital buffer,” an extra financial cushion introduced in 2020 that sits on top of the 4.5% minimum. The worse a bank performs in the hypothetical scenario, the larger that buffer must be.
This year’s test covers 32 banks and includes a scenario involving a severe worldwide recession, along with heightened stress in both commercial and residential real estate. Banks with large trading operations face the added challenge of a simulated global market shock and the sudden default of their biggest trading partner.
What Makes This Year’s Results Different?
Back in February, the Fed announced it would not update the stress capital buffers following this year’s test, choosing instead to keep the current levels in place for now. That means Wednesday’s results will give analysts and investors a window into each institution’s financial condition, but won’t lead to any changes in how much capital banks are required to hold.
Why Aren’t Capital Levels Changing?
The Fed is holding the line on capital requirements while it reworks the testing process in response to longstanding complaints from the banking industry. Banks have argued for years that the tests are too secretive, too subjective, and too burdensome.
The Fed has already made several adjustments — including dropping the pass-fail system and eliminating a qualitative review component that banks said gave regulators too much unchecked authority to penalize them. The stress capital buffer was also created to simplify the system and make capital requirements more specific to each bank’s risks.
Still, the industry remained dissatisfied, arguing the process lacked transparency, and in 2024 took the Fed to court to push for further changes. Under the Fed’s proposed reforms, banks would gain access to the previously secret models used in the tests and could weigh in on the annual scenarios before they are finalized.
While the banking industry celebrated the proposed changes as a significant victory, critics cautioned that the reforms could make the tests less unpredictable and therefore less effective.
Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, who is leading the reform effort, said keeping capital levels frozen during this year’s test would give regulators the opportunity to take in feedback and “correct any deficiencies.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is putting his political influence to the test Tuesday, as he throws his support behind a group of democratic socialist candidates challenging longtime Democratic incumbents in New York’s primary elections. While the outcomes could shift the internal balance of the Democratic Party, analysts say the results are unlikely to serve as a winning model for Democrats hoping to reclaim Congress in November or the White House in 2028.
Mamdani, whose 2025 election victory stunned the political establishment, is championing a slate of candidates aligned with his democratic socialist vision. Among the most closely watched races is a challenge against a senior Latino member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The push comes on the heels of democratic socialist candidates winning primary contests in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles mayor races, and follows a democratic socialist victory in Seattle’s mayor’s race last year.
The movement has roots stretching back roughly a decade, gaining significant momentum from Senator Bernie Sanders’ unexpectedly strong 2016 presidential campaign and his continued efforts to cultivate a new wave of democratic socialist leaders.
The surge is also being driven by frustration among progressive Democratic voters — anger at President Donald Trump’s agenda and governing approach, as well as dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following a Hamas attack. That conflict has resulted in more than 73,000 Palestinian deaths.
“Energy on the far right ignites energy on the far left. Politics is reactive,” said Steve Israel, a former U.S. House member from New York who spent part of his congressional career working to elect more Democrats.
Tensions Within the Democratic Party
For months following Mamdani’s 2025 primary win, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries faced repeated questions from reporters about whether he would endorse his fellow New Yorker. Jeffries ultimately did offer his endorsement — but waited until just 11 days before the general election to do so. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, meanwhile, stayed silent on Mamdani throughout the entire campaign.
The stakes are high for Jeffries, who is positioned to become U.S. House Speaker — and second in line for the presidency — if Democrats win control of the House in November’s midterm elections.
Winning that majority, however, depends not on solidly Democratic “blue” districts, but on flipping competitive “purple” swing districts currently held by Republicans.
One of the most consequential races Tuesday involves democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is backed by Mamdani and is running against five-term Democratic Representative Adriano Espaillat in New York City’s 13th congressional district, which covers northern Manhattan and the Bronx.
“If a DSA member could knock off the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, that could matter,” said Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, a centrist Democratic consultancy.
Bennett also pointed to controversial statements Avila Chevalier made in past social media posts — including calls to abolish police and border controls, and questions about Israel’s right to exist — as potential ammunition for Republicans. “This is precisely the kind of person that they love to use to weaponize against other Democrats” running in competitive races, he said.
Steve Israel echoed that concern: “I do worry that the strength of democratic socialists in places like New York and California will be misread as the center of gravity for Democrats across the country” heading into November or the 2028 presidential race.
Avila Chevalier has since removed those social media posts and apologized for some of her language. However, in a June 17 interview with a group of editors, she stated: “I think that we just should not have a system that allows deportation to happen at all,” describing such a system as “rooted in deeply racist ideology.”
Espaillat fired back in a June 16 post on X: “We can’t just sweep things under the rug. Darializa has taken very extreme positions as reflected in her comments on social media not too long ago.” He added, “She is unfit for office and voters are smart enough to see that.”
More Socialist Challenges Across New York
Elsewhere in New York City, a democratic socialist is also challenging incumbent Democratic Representative Dan Goldman in the 10th congressional district, while another is competing for the 7th district seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Representative Nydia Velazquez.
Alex Jacquez, a progressive strategist and former senior adviser to Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, said focus groups and polling show Democratic voters are deeply dissatisfied with their party’s leadership. “That is really where you are seeing the fault lines. Are you willing to take on the wealthy and take on corporations and take on the status quo to deliver results. Or are you not,” he said, describing the core populist message democratic socialists are running on.
Outside of heavily Democratic districts in New York, California, and similar strongholds, the party is pursuing a different strategy — recruiting women with strong military backgrounds to run in states like Florida and Colorado.
“Most of the competitive districts for Democrats are red and pink districts that you can only win as a Democrat in … where more moderate stances resonate in races against incumbent Republicans,” Israel said. He noted that presidential victories aren’t decided in reliably blue states. “It’s won in seven moderate battleground states.”
President Donald Trump is hitting the campaign trail again for the first time in two weeks, heading to politically contested Pennsylvania on Tuesday to make the case for American manufacturing and economic revival to voters who are feeling the pressure of rising prices.
Trump is scheduled to tour a Mack Trucks assembly facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania. There, he plans to step away from the ongoing foreign policy focus on Iran and instead spotlight his agenda centered on job creation and bringing industry back to the United States — a message that has long resonated with factory workers who make up the backbone of his political movement.
Trump’s Republican Party is fighting to keep its majority in Congress heading into November’s midterm elections. That effort has been complicated by a nearly four-month military conflict involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran, which has driven consumer costs to their steepest rise in three years. Negotiations toward a possible peace agreement in that conflict are currently underway.
Despite those headwinds, Trump is expected to highlight the brighter side of the economic picture, including steady growth, a strong job market, and the potential for prices to come down if the war reaches a resolution.
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston offered a preview of that message, stating: “Under the President’s leadership, key domestic industries are being revitalized, historic investments are pouring back into communities like Macungie, and families across the country are securing new, high-paying jobs.”
The stop is no accident geographically. Pennsylvania’s 7th congressional district, which covers the Lehigh Valley region of the state, is considered a competitive toss-up. The area includes Allentown — the city immortalized in a Billy Joel song about blue-collar struggle — and still maintains a significant manufacturing economy. Pennsylvania is also expected to be a major battleground in the 2028 presidential race.
The district is currently represented by first-term Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie. Voters there chose former President Joe Biden over Trump in 2020, but then swung to support Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024.
State Democratic Party chair Eugene DePasquale pushed back in an emailed statement, connecting local Republican candidates — including Mackenzie — to what he described as a “costly war of choice that caused gas prices to skyrocket” and “cruel healthcare cuts” championed by Trump.
Formula E, the all-electric racing championship owned by Liberty Global, is set to launch a brand-new race format for its upcoming 2026-27 Gen 4 era — one that draws inspiration from the shorter sprint race concepts that have gained traction in Formula One and MotoGP.
The series is calling the new format “ePrix unleashed,” and it will be used during weekend events where two races are scheduled. Unlike Formula One’s sprint races, which cover roughly a third of a grand prix distance, the unleashed version will be only about 10 minutes shorter than a standard ePrix.
Typical Formula E races run 45 minutes plus one lap — generally between 33 and 45 laps depending on the venue — compared to a Formula One grand prix, which can last up to two hours.
The key difference with the unleashed format is that it strips away much of the energy management strategy that defines a regular race, freeing drivers to push flat out and showcase the car’s full capabilities.
Formula E chief executive Jeff Dodds explained the distinction to Reuters: “It’s a very, very different proposition. Maybe there’s 10 minutes difference between an unleashed race and a traditional ePrix.”
“The difference is one is a purely strategic game of chess on a racetrack — energy management, very complex — the other is more full send, much less energy restrictions and 450kw of four-wheel drive power,” Dodds added. “So they are going to feel like completely different races.”
Dodds also sees the shorter format as a way to attract a wider audience. “I think having a version that’s more clippable, better for social media, much shorter attention span is not a bad thing,” he said. “And we’ll only do them on double-headers. We’ll only introduce them in a format whereby if you come for the weekend, you get to experience both different types of format.”
The expanded 2026-27 calendar will feature 21 races held across 13 cities — more events than the series has ever held. The season will kick off with night races in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on December 18 and 19, 2026, and conclude with night races in Tokyo on July 24 and 25, 2027.
New venues familiar to Formula One fans will join the schedule, including Brands Hatch in southern England, Zandvoort in the Netherlands, and Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
Brands Hatch, located southeast of London, will serve as Formula E’s new home in Britain, replacing its previous London venue. The circuit hosted 12 editions of the British Formula One Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 before the series outgrew it.
“We think for the kind of crowd we would hope to get there, we can fill Brands Hatch up and turn that into a proper amphitheatre and make it feel really special and really busy and really full,” said Dodds. “We think Brands Hatch has the potential to be a long-term home for us in the UK if we do it right.”
Dodds acknowledged that racing at a non-urban circuit more easily reached by car than public transport carries carbon footprint implications, but said those concerns would be offset by reduced equipment haulage and the elimination of temporary structures that street circuits require.
The new Gen 4 car set to debut in this era is a significant step forward in performance. It can exceed 335 kph (208 mph), accelerating from 0 to 100 kph in just 1.8 seconds and from 0 to 200 kph in 4.4 seconds. It will produce 50% more power in race mode compared to the current Gen3 Evo model and is projected to be an average of 10 seconds per lap faster in qualifying mode, with organizers expecting a 5-second-per-lap improvement on street circuits.
JERUSALEM — A former Israeli prime minister has openly confirmed that Israel smuggled Starlink satellite internet receivers into Iran in an effort to support protesters seeking to overthrow the Iranian government.
Naftali Bennett, who served as Israel’s prime minister from 2021 to 2022, made the admission Tuesday while speaking before an audience at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem. He said he personally launched “a process of acquiring and smuggling into Iran tens of thousands of Starlink receptors that would allow continuity of the internet and social networks.”
Starlink is a satellite-based internet service operated by SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk. Iran has previously pointed the finger at both Israel and the United States, accusing them of bringing the devices into the country to destabilize its government. While Starlink is not authorized to operate in Iran, Musk has previously stated that the service is functioning there.
According to Bennett, the goal of distributing the devices was to give protesters the tools to organize and ultimately bring down the Iranian government.
However, Bennett placed blame on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration for failing to continue the program. “Unfortunately, the current incompetent Israeli government stopped doing that,” Bennett said. “And when the protest happened, that infrastructure was not there.”
Netanyahu’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Bennett’s statements, and SpaceX was unavailable for comment outside of U.S. business hours.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly cut off public internet access during periods of civil unrest, including during deadly nationwide protests in January and throughout the conflict involving the U.S. and Israel that began in late February. Reuters has previously reported that some Iranians relied on Starlink during those internet shutdowns.
Bennett, who heads a right-wing political party and is among several opposition figures hoping to unseat Netanyahu ahead of an election scheduled by October, said that if he were to return to power, he would pursue efforts to destabilize and ultimately topple the Iranian government. He indicated those efforts could include economic and industrial sabotage rather than direct military action.
When the 2028 presidential election arrives, President Trump will not be among the candidates — and that reality is already forcing the Republican Party to take a hard look at what it stands for and where it goes from here.
Utah, a state that has long had a complex and at times uneasy relationship with Trump, is drawing attention as a possible blueprint for how the GOP might reshape itself in a post-Trump political landscape.
The question of who and what defines the Republican Party without Trump at the top of the ticket is one that party members and political strategists are beginning to wrestle with in earnest. Utah’s unique political culture and its history of both supporting and pushing back against Trump’s brand of politics make it a particularly interesting case study.
As Republicans nationwide begin the process of determining the party’s next chapter, all eyes are turning to states like Utah to see whether a different kind of conservatism — one that may look somewhat different from the America First movement that has dominated the party in recent years — can find a foothold and chart a course forward.
Good morning, Delmarva! Grab that umbrella before you head out the door today — we’re in for a soggy Tuesday. Rain showers are already possible early this morning before 8 a.m., then showers and thunderstorms move in and stick around through the day. Skies will stay cloudy with a high near 78°F, and northwest winds of 5 to 15 mph could gust up to 25 mph at times. Rainfall totals between a half and three-quarters of an inch are expected, so keep that in mind if you have any outdoor plans. Precipitation is locked in at 100%, so there’s no dodging this one! Tonight, storms gradually taper off, leaving us mostly cloudy with a comfortable low around 60°F. The good news? Wednesday looks absolutely beautiful — sunny skies and a warm high near 85°F with a mostly clear Wednesday night and a low of 65°F. Hang tight, the sunshine is just around the corner! Stay safe out there, Delmarva!
A number of workers employed by government agencies and public institutions who lost their jobs after posting online about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk have reached settlements — some totaling six figures.
While those involved say the legal outcomes have given them a sense of vindication, many are still working through the personal and professional consequences that followed their terminations.
The cases center on employees who made comments on social media related to Kirk and subsequently faced discipline or termination from their employers. The settlements represent the conclusion of legal battles that touched on First Amendment protections for public workers.
One of those involved is an attorney with the Iowa Office of the State Public Defender, who was fired and later reinstated after making online comments about the shooting death of Kirk. She has since settled with the state.
Despite the financial resolutions, those affected say the experience has left a lasting mark, and the road to getting here was far from easy.
China has surged back to the top of the world’s supercomputer rankings, but technology and policy experts say the milestone tells us more about Beijing’s ambitions in chip development than its position in the global artificial intelligence competition.
The machine known as LineShine, located at the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen, China, secured the number one position on the TOP500 — a ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers published twice a year. The system runs entirely on chips designed within China, marking the country’s first appearance at the top of the list in three years.
The announcement arrives at a moment of heightened rivalry between the U.S. and China in advanced computing. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at positioning the United States ahead of China in the growing field of quantum computing.
In the June 2026 edition of the TOP500, LineShine displaced the previous champion, El Capitan — a supercomputer housed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that the U.S. government uses for nuclear weapons development and upkeep.
Despite the headline-grabbing result, experts caution against reading too much into it when it comes to AI. On a separate benchmark test designed to more closely reflect the kind of computing involved in AI applications, LineShine ranked only fourth. The distinction matters because the TOP500 ranking uses tests modeled after traditional scientific computing tasks, not the workloads that power modern artificial intelligence systems.
For decades, supercomputers were built to tackle complex scientific problems — like modeling how atoms interact — and were primarily found at national laboratories and universities. The TOP500 list was designed with those machines in mind. But in recent years, major cloud computing companies including Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Alphabet’s Google have constructed enormous computing systems tailored specifically for AI, and most of those companies choose not to compete for a spot on the TOP500.
A study published last year by AI policy researchers Konstantin Pilz, James Sanders, Robi Rahman, and Lennart Heim concluded that the Colossus system owned by SpaceX’s xAI was already likely more powerful than the U.S. government’s El Capitan.
Jimmy Goodrich, a senior fellow at the University of California’s Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation, put it bluntly: “If the hyperscalers submitted their systems, this ‘world’s fastest’ would not crack the top five.”
Experts say China’s decision to enter LineShine into the rankings after a three-year absence signals a desire for recognition of its domestic chip-building progress. China first claimed the top spot on the TOP500 back in 2010 and exchanged the title with the U.S. and Japan repeatedly until 2023, when it stopped submitting systems — a period that coincided with years of U.S. export restrictions on chips and computing technology, which began under Trump’s first administration and continued under President Joe Biden.
Addison Snell, CEO of Intersect360 Research, a firm specializing in supercomputer analysis, said he wasn’t shocked by the result itself — but by China’s choice to publicize it. “I’m not surprised it’s the number one system. What I’m surprised by is that they submitted it and want recognition for it,” he said.
Notably, the LineShine system does not include any advanced AI chips, according to details released alongside the results — likely because the manufacturing tools needed to produce such chips remain under U.S. export controls.
Goodrich was skeptical of the message China may be trying to send. “China is hoping to convince the world export controls are useless by hoping we ignore the details,” he said.
The National Supercomputing Centre did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
A detailed review of over a thousand endorsements made by President Trump in races for the House, Senate, and governor’s offices spanning the last ten years points to a notable change in how he wields his political influence.
According to the analysis, Trump is now throwing his support behind candidates at an earlier stage in the campaign process than he has in the past. In addition, he appears to be favoring contests where victory is more certain, rather than using his endorsement to tip the balance in highly competitive races.
The findings suggest that Trump’s so-called “complete and total endorsement” has become one of the most powerful forces shaping the direction of the Republican Party, influencing not just who wins primaries, but how and when candidates seek his backing.
The shift in timing and targeting reflects a broader transformation within the GOP, as candidates and party strategists increasingly factor in the possibility of a Trump endorsement when planning their campaigns.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stepped up pressure on artificial intelligence companies Tuesday, demanding they publicly disclose how much carbon pollution, water, and land their operations consume.
Speaking at Europe’s largest independent climate conference — London Climate Action Week — Guterres unveiled what he called the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative. The proposal calls on AI companies to measure and make public the environmental toll of their fast-growing technology, which has already drawn criticism from communities living near data centers and from governments pushing for standardized industry reporting.
Guterres also called on these companies to pledge that their facilities will run entirely on electricity generated by renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, no later than 2030.
“No more hidden costs,” he said at the conference. “No more shifting the burden onto those least able to bear it. It is time to come clean.”
A number of major technology companies have already promised to transition to cleaner energy sources, with some aiming to meet that goal before the end of the decade — including through solar and nuclear power. However, the explosive growth of AI has complicated those pledges, pushing greenhouse gas emissions higher. Regulatory obstacles have also slowed the development of climate-friendly energy projects.
According to the International Energy Agency, coal currently supplies roughly 30% of the electricity used by data centers worldwide. Renewable sources — mainly wind, solar, and hydropower — account for about 27%, natural gas provides 26%, and nuclear energy contributes 15%. Renewables are projected to meet only half of the growing demand over the next five years.
While many, including Guterres, have pointed to AI’s potential to help speed up climate solutions — improving energy efficiency and cutting emissions — the technology’s environmental footprint is already comparable to that of some of the world’s largest nations, according to a UN report released earlier this month.
That same report found that the water consumption, energy use, and pollution linked to AI are expected to double within four years. Data centers powering AI accounted for approximately 1.5% of global electricity use in 2025, a figure projected to climb to nearly 3% by 2030.
“Despite these obvious concerns, communities are often left in the dark about the environmental impact of the infrastructure rising around them,” Guterres said.
The UN chief has consistently pushed world leaders to take aggressive climate action and will again bring nations together at this year’s annual Conference of Parties, set to take place in Turkey.
On Tuesday, addressing AI’s environmental impact was just one piece of a broader set of actions Guterres said are needed to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius — or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit — above pre-industrial levels, a target established under the 2015 Paris Agreement. Last year marked the first time the three-year temperature average surpassed that threshold.
“Every major emitter must accelerate action,” Guterres said. “And every country must over-deliver on its commitments.”
He called for steep reductions in methane — a greenhouse gas responsible for about one-third of global warming and far more potent than carbon dioxide, though it breaks down more quickly in the atmosphere. He also urged countries to reduce their reliance on coal, oil, and natural gas.
Guterres did highlight some encouraging signs in the clean energy transition. Falling costs are driving wider adoption of renewable technologies, and clean power generation — led by solar and wind — outpaced total global electricity demand growth last year. For the first time in modern history, renewables made up more than one-third of the world’s electricity supply in 2025, while coal’s share dipped below one-third of global generation.
China remains the leading force in the global shift toward clean energy, and fossil fuel use in Europe is broadly declining. In contrast, the United States under President Donald Trump has moved to embrace coal, oil, and gas while cutting support for renewable energy and climate initiatives — changes occurring alongside a global energy crisis worsened by the U.S. war in Iran, which Guterres described as “the mother of all energy shocks.”
Drawing on the setting of his London address, Guterres framed the current moment as “A Tale of Two Crises” — a nod to Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities.”
“For the climate agenda, this is indeed the best of times and the worst of times,” he said. “The worst — because climate impacts are intensifying, tipping points are looming, and the energy crisis has exposed the deep risks of dependence on fossil fuels. But also the best — because the renewables revolution is well underway.”
When the Professional Women’s Hockey League was first getting off the ground, executive Stan Kasten had a timeline in mind for when the league would be ready to bring in outside investors — and it wasn’t anywhere close to now.
The plan was to double the league’s size to 12 teams first, and Kasten figured that milestone would come somewhere around year 10 or 12. Instead, it arrived in just two and a half years.
“We thought we’d get there in Year 10 or 12,” said the 74-year-old Kasten, who has held executive positions with teams across major league baseball, the NBA, and the NHL. “And here we are after two-and-a-half years. It’s extraordinary.”
The PWHL’s breakneck expansion is being driven by real numbers — rising attendance, booming merchandise sales, and growing viewership, trends that accelerated even further after the U.S. captured gold at the Milan Cortina Games. Despite concerns from some observers that the league may be moving too aggressively, Kasten isn’t buying it.
“I want to hear the case for going slower. I can’t imagine it,” Kasten told The Associated Press.
The league has yet to turn a profit, but Kasten argues the enthusiasm from fans and the business community tells the real story. Detroit-based Ilitch Cos. and Toronto-based Kilmer Sports Ventures have signed on as the league’s first outside investors, a milestone Kasten says speaks volumes about confidence in the PWHL’s future.
Outside experts share that optimism. Jane McManus, a professor at New York University’s Tisch Institute for Global Sport and author of the book “The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women’s Sports,” said no one would advise a men’s league to pump the brakes under similar circumstances.
“Would you tell a men’s league to go slow if they saw a real upside in a developing market? You just wouldn’t,” McManus said. She added that she witnessed the demand firsthand while attending a sold-out PWHL game at Madison Square Garden in April. “You’d never tell somebody to put a cap on that if it’s happening on the men’s side.”
McManus credited the league’s coast-to-coast expansion strategy as a smart move to establish dominance and fend off potential rival leagues in women’s hockey. She also pointed to the PWHL’s single-entity ownership structure, which centralizes planning decisions, as a key advantage.
At the top of that structure are founders and primary financial backers Mark and Kimbra Walter, who oversee operations alongside the league’s advisory board.
Walter committed hundreds of millions of dollars to launch the six-team league in June 2023, striking a deal with the then-Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association and purchasing the assets of the rival Premier Hockey Federation. That organization had featured the world’s best players, including most members of the U.S. and Canadian national teams.
With those North American stars secured, McManus said the league had the foundation it needed to attract top international talent from Europe as well.
University of Colorado-Denver professor Sarah Fields, who specializes in the history of women’s professional sports, said the next few years will be the true test — but she likes what she sees so far.
“Give credit to the Walters because they took a big swing. And it looks like they’re going to have great success,” Fields said. “If I had the kind of money to invest that the Walters do, I’d do the same thing. I think this is a pretty good bet.”
Montreal Victoire forward and PWHL Players Association president Laura Stacey said she trusts league leadership to set the right pace for growth.
“If they’ve done this and made it this incredible in three years, then I trust that four more (teams) is exactly what we need,” Stacey said at the league’s awards ceremonies in Detroit last week. “People are thriving and really want to be a part of this sport and this movement. I think we’re ready for it.”
The four new franchises will be based in Detroit, San Jose, Las Vegas, and Hamilton, Ontario. Looking further ahead, the league is also exploring hosting an All-Star game, staging an outdoor game, and scheduling games in Europe.
Average attendance last season reached 9,304 per game — a 28% increase over the previous year and up 71% from the league’s debut season. Merchandise sales doubled, and viewership on YouTube climbed 77%, with more than a third of those viewers tuning in for the first time.
Canadian Press has reported that Kilmer’s investment stake is valued at $100 million. The Ilitch family had previously expressed interest in acquiring a franchise during the PWHL’s first expansion phase, when Vancouver and Seattle were added a year ago.
McManus projects the league could eventually sell off individual franchises to private owners at enormous returns. For context, WNBA teams were valued at roughly $25 million each a decade ago before skyrocketing in value — the Golden State Valkyries are now estimated to be worth $1 billion.
“I hope Mark Walter gets absolutely filthy rich, even richer than he is now because of putting his money in this league,” McManus said. “I hope he sells those franchises off in like five years for $500 million each.”
LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham, Britain’s newest member of Parliament and the man most likely to become its next prime minister, spent Tuesday meeting with fellow Labour Party members as he gears up for a leadership race that could end before it even begins.
Burnham holds a commanding lead in the contest to succeed Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced Monday that he plans to step down within weeks. Starmer’s two years in office were clouded by a series of poor decisions and misjudgments that steadily damaged his standing with both the public and his own party.
A former Cabinet minister, Burnham served as mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until recently. He won a special parliamentary election last week specifically to position himself to challenge Starmer for the top job.
His path to the leadership became even clearer on Monday when former Health Secretary Wes Streeting — widely seen as Burnham’s chief rival — threw his support behind him instead of launching his own bid.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, a governing party can swap out its leader — and by extension, the prime minister — without triggering a national election. The next scheduled general election is not required until 2029.
Labour’s leadership nomination window opens July 9 and closes one week later. Should Burnham be the sole candidate, he could be installed as prime minister as soon as July 17. If a competitive race does develop, a winner is expected to be in place by September 1, when Parliament resumes after its summer recess.
As Manchester’s mayor, Burnham earned a strong reputation, guiding the city through a period of significant growth and revitalization. He has promised to bring his distinctive governing philosophy — which he calls “Manchesterism” — to the national stage.
Many within Labour hope Burnham’s personality and ability to connect with everyday people will prove more effective than Starmer’s more reserved, bureaucratic style. However, his stances on many policy issues remain largely undefined and untested, prompting some Labour lawmakers to call for a full leadership contest that would force him to face public debate and scrutiny.
Burnham is expected to deliver a speech next week laying out elements of his economic agenda.
Former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who resigned earlier this month over what he described as insufficient defense spending, said the country needs “a clear and concise discussion about what this country wants to be.” Carns has hinted he could enter the leadership race but told broadcaster ITV, “I’m not ready to make a decision on this in any way, shape or form.”
Some Labour members have floated the idea of Darren Jones, a senior Cabinet minister and close ally of Starmer, entering the contest, though Jones has not yet made any public statement on the matter.
Any candidate hoping to run must secure the backing of at least 81 Labour lawmakers — one-fifth of the parliamentary party — to qualify.
Many party members argue that a drawn-out leadership battle would only highlight Labour’s internal divisions and prolong political instability. “I think the transition should be swift and orderly,” Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told the BBC.
Starmer stepped down Monday following a weekend of reflection, acknowledging that the Labour Party no longer believes “I am best placed to lead us into the next general election.” He becomes the sixth prime minister in ten years to announce a departure from outside No. 10 Downing Street — a milestone that coincides with Britain marking a decade since its historic vote to leave the European Union, a decision that continues to shape the country’s economy and political landscape.
After weeks of publicly insisting he intended to fight for his position, Starmer ultimately yielded to mounting pressure to hand the reins to someone capable of turning around the government’s struggling fortunes. While he led Labour to a sweeping election victory in July 2024, his approval ratings and those of the party have fallen sharply since then.
Starmer faced persistent difficulties in delivering on promises of economic growth, fixing deteriorating public services, and reducing the cost of living. His tenure was also damaged by controversies, including his appointment of Peter Mandelson — a figure with a scandal-filled past and reported ties to Jeffrey Epstein — as the UK’s ambassador to the United States.
Labour is currently being squeezed on two fronts: losing progressive voters to an expanding Green Party while simultaneously facing a surge from Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage that has consistently topped national opinion polls.
Marie Lansley recently relocated to San Francisco for a new job while simultaneously navigating the world of dating. As she searches for a partner, the 36-year-old said she has been “trying everything” — and that includes turning to artificial intelligence for a little help.
For Lansley and a growing number of singles, AI chatbots have stepped into the role of informal dating coach and relationship advisor.
She consults AI chatbots to help her get conversations going — something she finds awkward on dating apps, even though she has no trouble striking up chats with people face to face. While she remains hopeful about what the technology can offer, she recognizes the tension between romance and algorithms.
“I am open to AI finding me the love of my life, but I’m also not fully convinced that it can,” Lansley said. “AI is great at making dating more efficient. But the chemistry — that’s always going to be analog.”
People are using AI in a variety of ways to pursue romance. Some sign up for AI-powered matchmaking services. Others lean on the technology to polish their dating profiles. The most widespread use, however, is having chatbots write opening messages to potential partners or help decode messages received from them.
Lansley switches between OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude depending on her needs. Other daters rely on tools like Elon Musk and X’s Grok, Google’s Gemini, and similar platforms. Dating apps and AI companies are embracing this trend — both ChatGPT and Gemini have shared content on TikTok highlighting their chatbots’ personalized, character-driven relationship tips.
Dating coach Carey Gaynes drew a literary comparison to describe the phenomenon. “Claude is the new Cyrano,” she said, pointing to the 19th century French play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” in which the main character secretly supplies the romantic words another man uses to woo a woman. “You’re using a voice that isn’t yours.”
Gaynes said she has heard from daters of all age groups who are turning to AI — both through her coaching clients and her YouTube channel, Coffee with Carey. She can see its usefulness but shares a common concern about people depending on it too heavily.
People’s feelings about AI in the dating world span a wide spectrum, from genuine enthusiasm to outright resistance and plenty of skepticism in between.
Lansley said she was caught off guard by how emotionally aware chatbots can seem. When she went through an onboarding process with the AI matchmaker on an app called Known, she said the questions asked by the bot went “one or two levels deeper” than what typical dating apps ask, and the bot appeared to be genuinely trying to show empathy. That said, it didn’t guarantee a great outcome — her first match through the service wasn’t the right fit.
Mason Naung, a 25-year-old student in Los Angeles, said he personally doesn’t use chatbots to come up with messages, but he can understand how they might help with “icebreakers” in those early exchanges with someone new.
“I’ve been on Hinge on and off for a year or two, and sometimes I kind of struggle to think about what the opening line should be like with this girl, right?” he said. Still, he noted that if AI-written messages continued beyond those first few exchanges, that would be a “small red flag” in his view.
Chatbots aren’t just helping people start conversations — they’re also being used to end them. Dani Cohen, a 27-year-old business owner in San Diego, said she would far prefer receiving an AI-written goodbye message from someone she had dated a few times over being “ghosted” — cut off entirely without any explanation.
“Obviously, in a perfect world, everyone knows exactly what they want to say and how to say it in the kindest way possible and they do that. That’s not the world we live in,” she said. “Anything to get people to communicate, and to communicate their thoughts kindly and effectively, is great.”
A number of people who spoke with The Associated Press — including some who have used AI for dating purposes — said they had reservations about applying the technology to such a deeply personal area of life. Many said there was a point at which using AI in dating would feel inappropriate to them.
Others said they wouldn’t consider using a chatbot for their love life at all.
Clara Sullivan, a 22-year-old student in Los Angeles, said she would not respond to a potential partner if she found out their messages had been written by AI. “I think it’s really scary how reliant people are on it,” Sullivan said. “It’s completely gotten rid of people’s ability to think creatively and on their own.”
That concern is widely shared. A 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center found that 53% of American adults believe AI will diminish people’s ability to think creatively. Half of those surveyed said they think AI will make it harder for people to build meaningful relationships.
Despite the unease, the blending of AI with the highly profitable dating industry was probably inevitable. Many dating platforms have been quietly incorporating AI features for years.
Tinder offers an AI-powered tool called Chemistry that recommends profiles based on a user’s preferences. Hinge has AI-driven conversation starters and profile-building tools designed to make interactions easier. Meanwhile, the founder of Bumble recently announced the app will move away from its well-known swipe feature in favor of AI-driven matchmaking. After some pushback, Bumble CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd released a statement saying what they are building “is rooted in a simple belief: technology should make love and connection feel more human, not less.”
Mohammed Nizami, 23, said he uses AI for certain things in his daily life — but romance isn’t one of them. “We’re all craving for some degree of authentic connection. Certainly with your partner, you want that,” he said. “If there’s some filter or barrier between you and your partner or potential partner, I think that’s just not a great way to start a relationship.”
Nizami also questioned whether chatbots even offer the best advice, noting that many tend to be agreeable rather than honest — which might feel reassuring but doesn’t always lead to sound guidance.
Despite all the hesitation, AI’s footprint in modern dating is expected to grow.
“It’s kind of a sad commentary on the state of the world. Dating is supposed to be one of the things that cannot be replaced, right?” said Jake Clay, a 30-year-old content creator in New York City. “It’s kind of sad to think that something so pivotal to your life journey is being outsourced to an AI who can’t understand the emotions around it.”
Clay did note one silver lining: his friends have stopped texting him as often to help them interpret messages from people they’re seeing, since they now go straight to chatbots instead. He joked that he appreciates AI “lifting the load” in that regard — but also called it a “Catch-22,” since it bypasses “some of the normal processes in life that I feel like should be a little bit more sacred.”
The United States is working to secure a fair and reciprocal trade agreement with India — one that expands access for American exporters and creates mutual benefits for both nations, according to a statement posted Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy in India on X.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer sat down with Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Tuesday as part of ongoing efforts to push forward negotiations on an interim trade agreement between the two countries, the embassy said.
Independent energy firm NatPower and Tesla announced Tuesday that they have struck a deal to develop 25 gigawatt hours of battery storage capacity across Italy and the United Kingdom — representing the opening phase of a project valued at up to $5 billion.
The announcement comes as European nations continue pushing forward with large-scale battery storage initiatives designed to help manage the unpredictable nature of renewable energy sources on the power grid.
As part of the multi-year partnership, NatPower will deploy Tesla’s Megapack battery storage system at its facilities. The agreement also includes the use of Tesla’s energy trading technology, which is designed to determine the most advantageous times to buy and sell electricity on the market.
Five initial projects are set to be constructed as part of the first phase. The broader program ultimately aims to surpass 100 gigawatt hours of total storage capacity, with construction costs expected to fall between $4 billion and $5 billion. The two companies also stated that combined revenues could potentially exceed $15 billion across a 20-year span.
NatPower CEO Fabrizio Zago spoke to the significance of the partnership, saying: “The sector has access to technology and capital but still struggles to deliver infrastructure consistently and within the required timelines. What we have built with Tesla is an ecosystem that enables alignment between capital and execution, and that can be replicated across multiple markets.”
LONDON — The former chief executive of the Scottish National Party has been handed a prison sentence of just over five years after confessing to stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from the political organization he once led.
Peter Murrell was sentenced to five years and three months at Edinburgh High Court on Tuesday, following his guilty plea last month to charges of embezzling £400,310.65 — roughly $540,000 — in SNP funds. The stolen money was spent on multiple vehicles, a motorhome, and high-end products from luxury brands including Estee Lauder and Harrods.
Presiding judge Andrew Young stated that the sentence was intended to send a clear message, saying it needed to serve as a deterrent to others.
Murrell is the former husband of Nicola Sturgeon, who served as the SNP’s longest-tenured leader before abruptly stepping down in 2023. Shortly after her resignation, Sturgeon was arrested as part of a broader investigation into the party’s finances. She was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing in March of last year.
Following Murrell’s guilty plea, Sturgeon publicly reaffirmed her innocence, stating that she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever that he was using SNP funds for personal purposes.”
The scandal — which involved the arrest of a former party leader and the conviction of her ex-husband — has raised deeply uncomfortable questions for the SNP, a party that has held a dominant position in Scottish politics for close to twenty years.
Heineken has chosen Rafael Oliveira to serve as its new chair and chief executive officer, making history as the first outsider ever appointed to lead the iconic Dutch brewing company. The announcement came Tuesday, with Oliveira set to officially take the reins on October 1 for a four-year tenure.
Oliveira currently serves as CEO of JDE Peet’s, a Dutch coffee and tea company, a role he has held since 2024. Heineken, which ranks as the world’s second-largest brewer and makes well-known brands including Tiger and Sol alongside its signature lager, said it expects the new leader to speed up the company’s existing strategy aimed at delivering results through 2030.
“After a rigorous global search, the supervisory board unanimously chose Rafa for his unique mix of strategic vision, operational expertise, and financial acumen,” the company said in a statement.
Investors responded positively to the news, sending Heineken’s shares up 3% — outpacing the broader market and reaching their highest point since March. The uncertainty surrounding who would lead the company had been a drag on its stock price for months.
The vacancy at the top dates back to January, when former CEO Dolf van den Brink shocked the industry by announcing his resignation after six years in the role. Heineken has been operating without a permanent CEO since the beginning of June.
Van den Brink’s exit was part of a broader wave of leadership changes across the consumer goods industry over the past year, including at major drinks companies Diageo and Remy Cointreau. In each case, hiring committees and investors have turned to outside candidates hoping fresh perspectives can breathe new life into struggling businesses.
Oliveira will face significant challenges from the start. He must oversee a plan to eliminate 6,000 positions, work to reverse declining sales volumes in the face of a projected drop in global beer demand, and close the gap with rival Anheuser-Busch InBev when it comes to returns for investors.
Those challenges are made steeper by industrywide pressures including rising costs of living, evolving consumer drinking habits, growing concerns about alcohol’s health impacts, and newer threats such as weight-loss medications that could further dampen alcohol consumption.
In a statement, Oliveira expressed confidence in Heineken’s direction. “I am confident we will accelerate growth, drive productivity and future-fit Heineken, winning the hearts of consumers worldwide,” he said, describing the company’s 2030 strategy as a strong foundation for what lies ahead.
Heineken noted that Oliveira brings roughly two decades of experience working across both established and developing markets, along with a history of sharpening business strategies and improving performance. Before joining JDE Peet’s, he held the role of president of international markets at Kraft Heinz.
Analysts pointed to Oliveira’s background in consumer goods and his earlier experience in capital markets as qualities that could help him satisfy investors who have grown frustrated with Heineken’s performance. Laurence Whyatt, an analyst at Barclays, noted that in just 17 months at JDE Peet’s, Oliveira “demonstrated a clear ability to diagnose and reset strategy rapidly.”
The move to Heineken comes after Keurig Dr Pepper, which acquired JDE Peet’s, had tapped Oliveira in April to lead its planned new global coffee business. The company had been preparing to split into two U.S.-listed entities — one focused on beverages, one on coffee — and wanted him at the helm of the coffee side. In a statement released Tuesday by Keurig Dr Pepper, Oliveira acknowledged that leaving was not an easy choice.
Still, some analysts flagged concerns. Oliveira has no direct experience in the beer or spirits industry, which could present risks as he learns the specific dynamics of that market. “As a beer industry and Heineken outsider, he will have a lot to prove,” analysts at ING wrote in a research note.
BERLIN — A pension commission appointed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz has put forward a plan to gradually increase Germany’s retirement age and establish a new fund similar to Sweden’s pension model, as the country works to address the challenges of an aging population.
The commission’s report, unveiled on Tuesday, recommended creating a fund based on the Swedish pension structure, where both workers and employers would be required to make contributions. Those funds would then be invested in financial markets to help cover future pension payments.
“The aim is to strengthen the state pension by introducing an additional, compulsory, individually allocated funded pension,” Merz said at a news conference held to present the findings. The report will now be taken up for debate by the coalition government.
Germany’s existing pension system relies on current workers’ contributions to pay the benefits of today’s retirees. That model has come under growing pressure as the population ages and the ratio of working-age people to retirees continues to shrink.
Merz said the proposed changes would help keep contribution levels affordable while also giving younger workers greater confidence that a reliable pension would be waiting for them in the future.
Among the other recommendations in the report: eliminating the current option that allows workers to retire at age 63 without any reduction in benefits, and gradually raising the retirement age in line with life expectancy — potentially reaching age 70 by the early 2090s. Under the current plan, the retirement age is already scheduled to reach 67 by the early 2030s.
The report arrives at a politically sensitive moment, as Merz’s coalition government faces pressure to finalize a package of tax and welfare reforms before parliament heads into its summer recess next month.
Calls to move Germany’s pension system away from its contribution-based model toward one that also draws on capital markets have grown louder for years as demographic trends have shifted. However, previous reform efforts have repeatedly stalled due to political disagreements and the difficult balance between the interests of current retirees and those of younger workers still paying into the system.
Deadly weather has swept across the Midwest over the past several days, as thunderstorms and tornadoes have struck numerous communities in the region.
At least three people have been killed as a result of the violent storms, which have brought a sharp rise in tornado activity to the area.
The Midwest has seen a significant increase in the number of tornadoes during this stretch of severe weather, raising concerns for residents throughout the affected communities.
A federal judge has put a stop to the Trump Administration’s push to legally compel Minnesota officials to hand over records after those officials publicly criticized the federal government’s immigration enforcement operations.
In blocking the subpoenas, the judge made a pointed statement, saying there was “no doubt the subpoenas were issued to harass President Donald Trump’s political opponents.”
The ruling represents a significant legal setback for the administration’s efforts to use the subpoena process against state and local leaders who have voiced opposition to federal immigration policies.
PARIS (AP) — Millions of French residents are waking up exhausted after sweltering overnight temperatures, as most of the country faces extreme and exceptional heat conditions.
France’s national weather service, Meteo France, has issued red heat wave alerts for 54 departments, warning that dangerously high temperatures will persist around the clock.
The country lacks widespread air conditioning, and the effects are widespread — schools have been disrupted, train service has been impacted, and sporting events have been affected. Authorities have also reported roughly 20 drowning deaths since the weekend.
Meteo France described the situation bluntly: “Sunshine continues to dominate across France, maintaining oppressive and exhausting heat throughout the country.” The agency expects extreme conditions to continue at least through the end of the week, with afternoon highs topping 40 degrees Celsius — that’s 104 degrees Fahrenheit — in many locations.
The weather service also warned that more records could fall. “Further record-breaking temperatures are expected, including some that could surpass all previous records, regardless of the time of year,” Meteo France said.
The current heat wave is notable for arriving so early in the summer season, though forecasters describe its duration as “still uncertain.” Comparisons are already being drawn to the devastating August 2003 heat wave, when extreme temperatures — the highest in more than 50 years — led to an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of them elderly individuals living in apartments and care facilities without air conditioning. France created its heat watch warning system in the aftermath of that tragedy.
Scientists point to human-caused climate change as a driving factor behind increasingly severe heat events. The United Nations climate agency projects that the next five years will see even more heat records broken worldwide.
Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with temperatures rising at twice the global average rate since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. That same agency found that 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded in Europe and globally, and the continent experienced its second-highest number of “heat stress” days on record.
The World Health Organization’s Europe office reported this month that more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes over the past four years — and that most of those deaths could have been prevented. Extreme heat can lead to heat exhaustion and potentially fatal heat stroke.
Climate researchers warn that rising temperatures are making heat waves and drought conditions more frequent and more severe, particularly in southeastern Europe, increasing the risk of both health emergencies and wildfires.
Security forces in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, launched sweeping raids Tuesday, taking more than 200 people into custody who are suspected of ties to extremist organizations, including the Islamic State group — all in preparation for next month’s high-profile NATO summit.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Ankara for the July 7-8 summit, joining fellow leaders from the 32-nation military alliance.
Turkish authorities are putting extensive security measures in place for the event. Plans include prohibiting public demonstrations, limiting access to roads near airports, and creating secure perimeters around the summit venue and hotels where visiting delegations will be staying.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made security a top priority, with law enforcement conducting raids on a regular basis. Just last month, a nationwide operation resulted in 324 arrests of individuals suspected of connections to the Islamic State group.
Turkish prosecutors issued detention orders for 241 suspects early Tuesday. By later in the day, police and gendarmerie units had taken 209 of those individuals into custody across the Ankara area, according to a statement from the chief prosecutor’s office. Efforts to detain the remaining suspects were still ongoing.
Of those arrested, 56 were identified as alleged Islamic State militants, while 35 were said to be members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front — a far-left organization with a history of armed attacks and assassinations inside Turkey.
The Islamic State group has been responsible for a number of deadly attacks on Turkish soil, including a 2017 New Year’s Eve shooting at a nightclub in Istanbul that left 39 people dead.
An Australian man who works as a professional air conditioner cleaner and serves part-time as an honorary town crier has earned a spot in the record books as the world’s loudest person.
Guinness World Records officially recognized Joseph McGrail-Bateup, 58, of Canberra, Australia, last week for producing the loudest shout ever recorded by a single individual. His thunderous cry of the word “now” registered at 122.4 decibels.
That single syllable was enough to topple a record that had been held since 1994 by Northern Ireland schoolteacher Annalisa Flanagan, who had yelled the word “quiet” at 121.7 decibels. To put that volume in perspective, 122.4 decibels falls in the same noise range as a chain saw, a jet aircraft during takeoff, or an ambulance siren heard up close.
McGrail-Bateup said on Tuesday that there was simply no way to prepare for such a feat. “There’s no way that you can actually practice for it. You have to just keep it for the day, especially with the world record attempt,” he said.
The record did not come easily. “It took me seven attempts just for one word, which was the word ‘now,’ and my voice was shot for the next couple of days as well. It was husky. It was terrible. So no, you can’t really practice for it. But it’s a lot of fun when you’re doing it,” he added.
McGrail-Bateup was careful to note that he views himself as the world’s loudest man, not the loudest person overall — a distinction that allows Flanagan to retain her own place in history. “I’m pleased that she gets to keep her record. So she’s still the loudest woman in the world and I’m the loudest male in the world,” he said. There had been no previous Guinness record specifically for the loudest man.
His path to the record began when he searched the Guinness World Records database for achievements related to town crying and came across Flanagan’s entry instead. He had been appointed the official town crier of Canberra in 2017, a part-time honorary position created by the local government. He goes by the title Lord Joseph in that role and describes it as “a bit of fun.” His duties include making announcements at community gatherings, school fetes, and car shows.
Taking on that role also brought him membership in the Ancient and Honorable Guild of Australian Town Criers, a competitive organization dedicated to keeping alive the historic and ceremonial traditions of town crying. In a 2024 guild competition, he claimed top honors with the loudest “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez” at 98 decibels — the traditional call used to command silence and attention before a proclamation is made.
Before landing on “now” as his record-attempt word, McGrail-Bateup tested several other options. His shout was captured on May 2 inside a Canberra radio studio, with a professional acoustic engineer handling the recording and witnesses on hand to verify the attempt. The documentation was submitted to Guinness World Records, which announced the new record last Friday.
This is not McGrail-Bateup’s first time in the record books. Back in 2019, he broke a speed record for an archer firing 10 arrows, completing the feat in 60.03 seconds — shaving a fraction of a second off a record that had stood since 2015. That record lasted just nine months before a 7-year-old boy beat it by 11.4 seconds.
Despite that experience, McGrail-Bateup said he has no interest in chasing the archery record again and is equally unbothered about someone eventually topping his new shouting record. “If someone beats me, that’s fantastic,” he said. “Records are meant to be broken.”
Iran’s government announced Tuesday that no visit has been arranged for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to examine nuclear facilities that were struck by U.S. military forces.
The statement came from Esmail Baghaei, who addressed reporters during a news conference held in Tehran, Iran’s capital city.
Baghaei’s comments stand in direct contrast to statements made by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who claimed that diplomatic talks held in Switzerland had produced an agreement allowing the IAEA to visit Iranian nuclear locations.
The IAEA has made multiple trips to Iran following Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran in 2025, but inspectors have not been permitted to enter the enrichment sites that were targeted and bombed by the United States during that war.
During the same news conference, Baghaei was asked whether Iran might purchase agricultural goods from the United States. He responded that Iran would base any import decisions on “prices and quality,” stopping short of directly responding to remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance on the subject.
Baghaei also offered a pointed critique of what he described as a shift in the stated purpose of the military campaign. “It is interesting that the philosophy and goal of the war, which was the destruction of the Iranian civilization and the collapse of Iran, has become enriching American farmers,” he said.
Stock futures fell sharply on Tuesday, June 23, with contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping 2% and leading losses across Wall Street as investors grew increasingly worried about looming interest rate increases and the mounting costs of debt-fueled artificial intelligence spending.
The turbulence was not limited to U.S. markets. Stocks across Europe and Asia also came under pressure, continuing a global selloff that began on Wall Street the previous session. Crude oil and precious metals declined as well.
At 3:33 a.m. Eastern Time, Dow E-mini futures were down 372 points, or 0.71%. S&P 500 E-mini contracts fell 101.25 points, or 1.34%, while Nasdaq 100 E-mini futures dropped 693.25 points, or 2.25%.
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, traders now anticipate the Federal Reserve will raise borrowing costs by a combined 50 basis points before the end of December — a significant shift from expectations of just a single 25 basis point increase two weeks ago. The more aggressive outlook reflects investor expectations of tighter monetary policy under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
The yield on the 2-year Treasury note — a short-term government bond — dipped roughly 4 basis points to 4.19%, pulling back after reaching a four-month high on Monday.
Concerns about inflated valuations in AI-related stocks have been building following a strong rally earlier this quarter that came in the wake of a Middle East ceasefire. Analysts suggest the weakness in AI stocks may continue as high borrowing costs make large-scale AI investment more expensive to sustain.
Semiconductor stocks had bucked the trend on Monday, with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index reaching a record high. Investors will be watching results from Micron on Wednesday for signals about the direction of memory and AI chip demand.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX became the latest major company to tap the bond market, doing so despite recording net losses the prior year and following a blockbuster initial public offering earlier this month. SpaceX shares lost 16% on Monday, with stocks of Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.com also falling sharply.
Meanwhile, investors are closely monitoring events in the Middle East after the United States granted a 60-day sanctions waiver to Iran following the first round of talks under a developing peace agreement. President Donald Trump stated he will “do what I have to do” if Iran fails to honor its commitments under the deal.
Later Tuesday, markets will focus on a set of private surveys measuring business activity for June. The week’s bigger event comes Friday with the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. Economists are forecasting the index to come in at 4.1%, more than double the central bank’s 2% target.
The United Nations is pushing major artificial intelligence companies to come clean about the environmental damage caused by their rapidly expanding data centers, with the UN’s top official launching a new transparency initiative on Tuesday.
Speaking during London Climate Action Week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres painted a stark picture of just how resource-hungry the AI industry has become. “By 2030, they could use more power than all but five countries – and enough water to meet the basic needs of all 1.3 billion residents of sub-Saharan Africa for an entire year,” he warned.
The worldwide boom in data center construction to support the AI industry has already raised alarms among environmental groups, who have pointed to the facilities’ enormous appetite for both energy and water, as well as a general lack of transparency from the companies involved.
As part of the newly unveiled UN AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, Guterres urged AI companies to track and publicly report their water usage, carbon output, and land use. He also called on those firms to commit to powering all of their data centers with renewable energy by the year 2030.
“If AI is to help build a better future, it must be honest about what it costs us now,” he said.
Currently, AI companies largely depend on voluntary net-zero pledges and renewable energy goals to reduce their carbon footprints. Many are also turning to natural gas or promoting nuclear power as energy sources for new facilities.
Guterres expressed frustration that the world is falling short of its global climate targets and pushed back against those advocating for greater fossil fuel use. He argued that expanding renewable energy projects and using them to power transportation, buildings, and industry is one of the quickest paths to cutting emissions and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Beyond AI, Guterres also introduced a call to action targeting methane emissions, directing fossil fuel companies to repair leaks, end routine flaring, and adopt a science-based global standard for emissions. “I am urging the fossil fuel industry to step up and do what is long overdue,” he said, noting that methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas responsible for roughly one-third of current global warming.
Additionally, Guterres announced he plans to bring world leaders together this September in the lead-up to COP31, the UN Climate Conference scheduled to take place in Turkey, with the goal of accelerating a “just transition” away from fossil fuels.
Nepal’s former finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was taken into custody late Monday evening on money laundering charges, according to police, as the nation’s new Gen Z-backed government pushes forward with a sweeping crackdown on alleged corruption tied to past administrations.
Paudel, 66, is a senior leader within the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and was a prominent figure in the former government led by K.P. Sharma Oli. Police say he was apprehended at a hotel located in western Nepal.
Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle confirmed that Paudel was being transported to Kathmandu, where he would be turned over to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.
The arrest follows the collapse of Oli’s government, which was brought down in the wake of violent anti-corruption protests. Those demonstrations resulted in the deaths of at least 76 people and left more than 2,500 others injured. Several government buildings were set on fire during the unrest, including the parliament building.
Oli himself, along with his home minister, was previously arrested for failing to stop the violence. Both men have since been released on bail.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a 36-year-old former rapper who transitioned into politics and assumed office in March following a landslide election victory built on an anti-corruption platform, has vowed to hold those responsible for past misconduct accountable.
Attempts to reach Paudel for comment were unsuccessful. A UML party official indicated that top party leaders planned to convene on Tuesday to address the situation. Paudel has served in a number of ministerial roles across multiple governments throughout his political career.
A Belgian investigating judge has issued a European arrest warrant for former Greek European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, according to a Greek government official who confirmed the development late Monday. Belgian and Greek media had previously reported the warrant.
The warrant is tied to a major corruption scandal that first came to light in 2022, in which a number of European Union officials are accused of accepting bribes from Qatar in exchange for influencing EU policymaking. The case, widely referred to as “Qatargate,” has become one of the most significant scandals in the history of the 27-member bloc.
During the original investigation, authorities conducted raids and seized approximately €1.5 million — roughly $1.6 million — in cash. Some of that money was found stuffed inside a large suitcase at a Brussels hotel.
In a statement released Monday, Avramopoulos firmly rejected any accusations against him. “There was no direct or indirect involvement of mine in anything reprehensible,” he said. He also stated that he would not invoke parliamentary immunity to shield himself from the process. “On the contrary, I will appeal to the Greek judiciary myself, requesting that the matter be fully investigated and a decision be made,” he added.
Avramopoulos currently holds a seat in the Greek Parliament as a member of the ruling conservative New Democracy party. He previously served as the European Commissioner for Migration, a role he held until 2019. After leaving that post, he became affiliated with Fight Impunity, a non-governmental organization that has been linked to the Qatargate investigation. Fight Impunity did not respond to requests for comment.
The Belgian prosecutor’s office also declined to comment on the warrant. Qatar has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with the scandal.
Plastic sheets cover empty window frames and balconies hang crookedly at the partially built Ostafyevo housing complex on the outskirts of Moscow, where frustrated apartment buyers say they have taken the developer to court.
Russia set a record for housing construction in 2023, driven largely by government-subsidized mortgages. But the withdrawal of those subsidies, combined with steep borrowing costs and an ongoing economic slowdown tied to the war in Ukraine, has since hammered the construction industry.
Figures from Russia’s state statistics agency show that the amount of residential space completed in the first quarter dropped 28% compared to the same period the previous year. Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, warned that the entire construction sector had essentially stalled during that time.
Buyers at Ostafyevo say their expected move-in dates have been pushed back several times since March 2025. About 20 of them confronted the developer, Samolet, at a meeting held in May.
“Who is working there? Are they even working? Because … we have not seen any changes since January,” one buyer said at the meeting.
Another buyer showed Reuters footage filmed inside one of the half-finished units, revealing exposed breeze block walls with wiring dangling loose and a large water stain spreading across the ceiling.
In a written statement responding to media questions, Samolet said it understood the buyers’ frustration and was “making every possible effort” to speed up the move-in process. The company did not explain what caused the delays but noted that several contractors had been swapped out for what it called “reliable partners.”
The Ostafyevo development’s website promotes a large residential campus with landscaped grounds, schools, and shops — illustrated with a video of children playing on a sunny playground. Apartment prices begin at roughly 7.5 million rubles, or about $101,500.
Samolet said construction has wrapped up on three of the complex’s six phases, with residents already living there. Apartments in the fourth phase and some in the fifth are ready for occupancy, and the company said a gradual handover of remaining units would begin by September 30. “All obligations to clients will be fulfilled,” the company stated.
The financial strain on Samolet mirrors broader troubles across Russia’s real estate sector. After strong revenue gains in 2023 and 2024, the company reported a loss in 2025, partly due to high borrowing costs. Cut off from state subsidies, it restructured a portion of its debt in February. By the end of 2025, the company’s total debt exposure had reached 373 billion rubles, equivalent to roughly $5 billion.
The construction slowdown is adding further pressure to Russia’s economy, which shrank for the first time in roughly three years during the January-to-March period. Russia’s construction minister was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying that construction and related industries together made up 13% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2025.
Russia’s central bank noted in a June financial stability report that requests for loan restructuring from construction and real estate companies climbed 10% in the first quarter compared to the prior quarter. It described the difficulties facing some developers as “limited” and said they posed “no systemic risks.” The bank also pointed to a 37% year-over-year jump in new project launches during the first quarter as an encouraging sign, and said the number of delayed housing completions had declined after a moratorium — which had prevented buyers from seeking penalties for missed deadlines — expired in January.
Buyers at Ostafyevo said they moved quickly once they were able to take action. “Many have filed lawsuits, I have as well,” said Elena Skripnichenko, speaking alongside other buyers outside the Samolet office at the construction site.
She said some of the buyers had recently slipped past a fence to speak directly with workers on site, who told them they were not receiving their wages. At the May meeting, a Samolet representative acknowledged that workers were being paid, though “probably not the amount they want.” The company did not address questions about worker pay or the number of lawsuits filed in its written response.
A mid-May survey by Russia’s state housing agency found that nearly 75% of developers missed their first-quarter sales targets, and more than half expect conditions to get worse over the coming year — even as some report that severe labor shortages are beginning to ease slightly.
For some at Ostafyevo, hope is fading. Tatyana Lubentsova had planned to move her young family into their new apartment in March 2025. The family had left their hometown of Belgorod, a city near the Ukrainian border that has been repeatedly struck by drone and missile attacks. “Now we are in May 2026, and we still do not have any keys,” she said.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The roar of “GOOOOOOOOOAL!” echoes through a working-class neighborhood in downtown Mexico City, where a crowd has gathered around a television balanced on plastic tables, surrounded by a maze of street vendors. Across Mexico, fans are watching their national team rack up victories in the FIFA World Cup on screens set up in public plazas, beneath highway overpasses, and inside taco stands.
Locked out by skyrocketing ticket prices for a tournament their own country is co-hosting with the U.S. and Canada, many Mexicans have decided to create their own version of the celebration — right in their own streets.
“Honestly, there’s nothing like going to the stadiums, but I prefer being here in the street. … For me it’s like watching the game from my living room,” said Esmeralda Serrato, who watched a street television alongside dozens of her neighbors. “I feel the blood rushing through my veins saying ‘This is the World Cup.’”
The excitement has been enormous, with hundreds of thousands of people pouring into mass watch parties in host cities including Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey following Mexico’s two straight wins.
But the festive atmosphere exists alongside months of growing anger at FIFA over what critics describe as outrageously high ticket prices. In a country where the typical worker brings home around $433 per month and soccer is widely seen as a sport that crosses class lines, the exclusivity of stadium access has struck a nerve.
That disconnect has stirred social tension and left many feeling like outsiders at their own party, according to Diego Merla, fiscal justice coordinator for Oxfam Mexico.
“The World Cup is built around the logic of squeezing as much value out of it as possible,” Merla said. “It’s about getting those who are willing and able to pay the absolute maximum. And that ends up excluding a lot of people.”
When tickets first went on sale earlier this year, prices ranged from $140 to $8,680. Since then, costs have climbed dramatically — with some tickets to the World Cup final now running around $32,970.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has pushed back against the criticism, arguing that the prices reflect the American market.
“You cannot go to watch in the U.S. a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300,” Infantino said. “And this is the World Cup.”
For fans like Guillermo Ramírez, the answer was simple: do it themselves.
Ramírez, 49, grew up in Tepito, a working-class Mexico City neighborhood known for its sprawling street markets, which are currently packed with pirated World Cup jerseys. Soccer carries deep meaning in Tepito — a symbol of community identity and resilience in an area often associated with crime. At the center of the neighborhood’s dense market streets sits a soccer field named after Bernardo Manolete Hernández, a celebrated Mexican soccer player who was born there.
Just a block from that field, Ramírez — dressed in a bright green and white Mexico jersey — set up a television and speakers on plastic tables in front of his home and small corner shop before Mexico’s match against South Korea. He recalls watching the 1986 Mexico World Cup as a boy, from TVs set up by neighbors who also couldn’t afford stadium tickets.
“There are a lot of us who simply can’t afford to go to the stadium,” Ramírez said. “Tepito is a soccer barrio, and when there’s a match on, everyone takes out their TVs to watch, especially now during the World Cup.”
Neighbors pack around his screen wearing green and red lucha libre masks, holding their children, and grabbing beers from Ramírez’s corner shop. When Mexico wins, the celebration spills into the broader city, with tens of thousands flooding the streets and heading to Mexico City’s central monument, the Angel de la Independencia.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also voiced concern over the costs, saying last week that FIFA leadership should reconsider its pricing approach.
“Soccer has to be something else,” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum has encouraged fans to attend free public watch parties organized by local governments and FIFA in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. Nearly 20 such venues have been set up across the capital, including in lower-income parts of the city. During one match, more than 200,000 Mexican and international fans filled the city’s main plaza, the Zocalo, in a sea of green jerseys.
Armando Soriano brought his wife and two children from the outskirts of the city to a smaller Fan Fest at a plaza about a mile from where Ramírez lives. Locals arrived on motorcycles, and vendors sold beer, tequila, and snacks from plastic tubs on rolling carts. To Soriano, that scene felt more genuinely Mexican than the central FIFA-organized event.
“I want (my family) to be swept up in the spirit — to feel, more than anything, what it means to be Mexican, and to experience the traditions that people here live and breathe,” Soriano said.
Pakistan’s successful role in helping negotiate a peace agreement in the Iran war has earned Islamabad widespread diplomatic praise — and with it, the possibility of economic rewards. But analysts are skeptical that such gains can address the country’s long-standing economic troubles.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir were present at talks between Iran and the United States held in the Swiss town of Buergenstock last weekend. The meeting marked the conclusion of months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic work by Pakistan in one of the world’s most significant international negotiations.
The warm reception Pakistan received was on full display when U.S. Vice President JD Vance spotted Munir at the resort location. “This guy. What’s up, man?” Vance said before embracing the army chief. Leaders from multiple countries have expressed gratitude to Islamabad for helping bring an end to a conflict that threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, disrupt global oil supplies, and destabilize the world economy.
The diplomatic achievement has elevated Pakistan’s standing on the world stage. Analysts say the nation of 250 million now has a window to turn that international goodwill into concrete economic gains. However, they caution that no amount of diplomatic prestige is likely to fix the country’s deeper problems — including economic inequality, a narrow tax base, and a pattern of repeated bailouts from the International Monetary Fund.
Pakistan is aiming for economic growth of 4.0% and inflation of 8.2% in the coming fiscal year, compared to projected growth of 3.7% in fiscal 2026, which ends in June, and an average inflation rate of 6.7% during the July through May period of the current year.
An adviser to Pakistan’s finance minister offered an optimistic take: “A nation that delivers stability at home and helps advance stability abroad becomes a more credible destination for investment,” said Khurran Schehzad. He added that “a growth-oriented economic agenda, coupled with a reputation as a force for peace and stability, places Pakistan in a uniquely favourable position to attract investment into its people, infrastructure, technology and future growth sectors.”
Many observers are anticipating some form of financial reward from the United States, though no concrete benefits have materialized yet.
Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow and director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said one significant opportunity for Pakistan is the “huge potential to be a more integrated part of the broader Middle East,” which could eventually lead to wider economic and defense partnerships in the region.
A former finance minister, Miftah Ismail, pointed to another possibility: if sanctions on Iran are lifted, it could open the door to “huge trade between Iran and Pakistan,” especially through the land border in Balochistan.
Analysts drew comparisons to what happened after the September 11, 2001 attacks, when Pakistan’s alignment with Washington led to debt relief from more than a dozen countries, renewed IMF support, and U.S. assistance. Despite those opportunities, Pakistan failed to capitalize on them due to structural weaknesses in its economy.
Economic commentator and journalist Khurram Husain said the current moment resembles the post-9/11 period, but with a key distinction: that earlier episode came “at the start of a long ruinous war in which Pakistan had to play a frontline role,” whereas today “Pakistan is playing the role of a peacemaker.” That difference means Pakistan’s leverage now comes from being valuable to multiple parties at once — including Washington, Tehran, Gulf states, Turkey, and China.
Former finance minister Ismail, however, struck a more cautious tone. While acknowledging that the diplomatic role has boosted Pakistan’s global image, he said it does nothing to address the high costs, weak exports, and debt repayments that keep the country reliant on the IMF. “Our house is in such disorder that foreigners can’t really help us unless we help ourselves,” he said. “Nothing here in this war changes that and we will be continually dependent on the IMF.”
Asim Ijaz Khawaja, a professor at Harvard University and director of the Harvard Center for International Development, urged Pakistan to resist accepting short-term financial concessions that don’t actually improve productivity. Instead, he recommended pursuing academic exchanges and scholarships, better market access for textiles and technology services, technology transfers, and green investment frameworks.
Britain’s minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, visited last week and thanked Islamabad for its peacekeeping efforts. He told Reuters the UK sees “huge scope for deepening trade links” with Pakistan and that a British trade minister is expected to visit in the coming months. Diplomats from two other Western nations also indicated their governments are exploring ways to strengthen economic ties with Pakistan following its peace efforts, though they asked not to be named.
Atif Mian, a professor of economics, public policy, and finance at Princeton University, said Pakistan should avoid using diplomacy simply as another way to secure deposits, debt rollovers, or IMF-style relief. The real opportunity, he argued, is what he called a “peace pivot” — both internationally and domestically — built on regional trade, energy connections with Iran, and stronger ties with the Gulf and Turkey through exports, technology transfer, and shared industries.
Despite the optimism in some quarters, analysts were united in warning that new economic opportunities won’t solve Pakistan’s deeper challenges. “If structural reforms are not implemented, the country is poised for an implosion in coming decades,” said Adeel Malik, associate professor of development economics at Oxford University. “There are deep-seated grievances among the young and the shrinking middle classes against Pakistan’s ruling elite. The prevailing system has given ruling elites an extended lease of life but has made the country socially and economically insecure.”
A single swing from Manny Machado was all the San Diego Padres needed Monday night, as they shut out the Atlanta Braves 1-0 behind a dominant pitching performance.
Michael King took the mound and delivered seven shutout innings, giving up six hits while walking nobody and striking out five. It marked King’s first victory since May 18, when he also earned a 1-0 decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers. King, who had dropped his previous four decisions, threw 62 of his 93 pitches for strikes. He improved to 5-6 on the season.
Adrian Morejon handled a clean eighth inning, and Mason Miller navigated some late trouble in the ninth to record his 21st save in as many opportunities. Austin Riley singled and Dominic Smith drew a walk, but Mike Yastrzemski went down on a called third strike to end the game.
Atlanta starter Grant Holmes fell to 4-4 after allowing three hits and the game’s lone run across 4 2/3 innings, walking five and striking out four. The Braves’ bullpen contributed 3 1/3 scoreless frames, but it wasn’t enough as Atlanta dropped its eighth game in its last 11.
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Holmes left a 1-2 slider up in the zone, and Machado didn’t miss it — driving his 14th home run of the year to center field. The ball traveled an estimated 418 feet, landing in the San Diego bullpen.
Atlanta had opportunities to get on the board against King but couldn’t deliver when it mattered. In the second inning, Michael Harris II and Riley opened with back-to-back singles, but King induced two grounders and a lineout to strand both runners.
The Braves threatened again in the sixth when Matt Olson singled and eventually reached third base on Ozzie Albies’ groundout, aided by a throwing error from first baseman Ty France. However, Harris grounded out to leave Olson stranded.
San Diego also left runs on the table, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranding nine baserunners. Rodolfo Duran grounded into a double play in the second with two runners on, and struck out with runners at the corners in the fourth. In the eighth, Machado led off with a double and Xander Bogaerts drew a two-out walk, but pinch-hitter Jase Bowen struck out to end the threat.
Riley finished as the game’s top hitter, going 3-for-4 on the night.
PARIS — French authorities confirmed Tuesday that roughly 20 people have drowned since the weekend, as residents across the country sought ways to cool off during a dangerous heatwave gripping large portions of Europe.
Weather forecaster MeteoFrance reported that much of France was expected to see temperatures climb to around 40 degrees Celsius — the equivalent of 104 degrees Fahrenheit — on Tuesday alone.
French sports minister Marina Ferrari spoke about the rising death toll during an appearance on France Inter radio. “There have been around 20 deaths since last weekend,” she said.
Ferrari also issued a direct warning to the public about the dangers of swimming outside of designated, supervised areas during such extreme conditions. “To go swimming in unauthorised areas, during a heatwave, is not something to take lightly,” she stressed.
The Brooklyn Nets landed former All-Star forward Julius Randle on Monday night in a three-team trade involving the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Chicago Bulls, just one day before the NBA Draft.
Reports from multiple media outlets indicate that Minnesota sent Randle along with the 28th overall draft pick to Brooklyn in exchange for the 33rd overall selection.
As part of the deal, the Nets shipped center Nic Claxton to Chicago, while the Bulls sent forward Mouhamadou Gueye to Minnesota. The Timberwolves are reportedly planning to waive Gueye after the transaction is complete.
Randle, who is 31 years old, is set to earn $33.3 million during the upcoming season. He also holds a player option worth $35.8 million for the 2027-28 campaign.
The three-time All-Star put up 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game last season. Over his 12-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2014-15 through 2017-18, the New Orleans Pelicans in 2018-19, the New York Knicks from 2019-20 through 2023-24, and Minnesota from 2024-25 through 2025-26, he has posted career averages of 19.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Randle was also honored as the NBA’s Most Improved Player during the 2020-21 season.
Claxton, 27, has spent his entire seven-season NBA career with Brooklyn. Last season he appeared in 69 games, starting 68 of them, and averaged 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. His career averages stand at 10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. He is under contract for $23.3 million in 2026-27 and $21.1 million in 2027-28.
Gueye, also 27, made his NBA debut during the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Raptors, coming off the bench in 11 games. He appeared in two reserve games for Chicago last season. Across his NBA career, he has averaged 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game.
Nissan has quietly pulled the plug on plans to develop a fully electric version of its most popular vehicle in Europe, according to six people with knowledge of the decision, as the automaker works to reduce costs and streamline its product lineup.
The decision to halt work on an all-electric Qashqai SUV comes at a time when both established competitors and newer Chinese automakers are flooding the European market with competitively priced electric vehicles.
While abandoning the project saves money in the short term, Nissan risks falling behind its competition in an important market category. Even if the company decides to revive the effort, two of the sources said the vehicle would not be available for purchase until the early 2030s.
Back in 2023, Nissan announced its intention to manufacture an electric Qashqai at its Sunderland facility in Britain — the country’s largest car plant — a move that was celebrated by the UK government as reinforcing Britain’s standing as a global hub for electric vehicle production. At the time, Nissan did not provide a specific timeline for delivering the electric model.
Since then, the company has undertaken a sweeping global restructuring. It is currently in discussions with the London government about securing financial backing for an updated plan for the Sunderland plant, which is expected to be announced in the coming months, Reuters previously reported.
That upcoming announcement is expected to shed light on Nissan’s current intentions for the electric Qashqai, development of which was suspended early last year, according to the sources, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.
The Sunderland plant already produces the electric compact Leaf, and in April Nissan revealed that an electric crossover version of the Juke would also be built there.
When asked for comment, Nissan did not directly address its plans for a fully electric Qashqai. Instead, the company said it remains committed to growing its “electrified” vehicle lineup, which includes hybrid models. Nissan also noted that the European market has seen “significant volatility” in electric vehicle demand, and said it is pursuing a “balanced” approach to electrification.
A spokesperson for the UK government declined to weigh in on Nissan’s business decisions.
The Qashqai is currently sold in petrol and hybrid versions, and it represented roughly 45% of Nissan’s total European sales of 330,000 vehicles in 2025, according to sales data reviewed by Reuters.
Any new government funding for Nissan is expected to be tied to the automaker’s commitments to produce new models or variants and to protect jobs at the Sunderland plant, which employs around 6,000 workers in England’s industrial northeast, sources previously told Reuters.
Nissan also announced this month that it has entered into an agreement with Chinese automaker Chery to explore the possibility of manufacturing Chery vehicles at one of the two production lines at Sunderland.
Britain is additionally consulting with automakers about potentially easing rules that require them to meet electric vehicle sales targets or face heavy financial penalties, two of the sources said. Those potential rule changes could give Nissan more flexibility to produce hybrid vehicles at the Sunderland plant, which last year accounted for more than 35% of all cars manufactured in Britain, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The shelving of the electric Qashqai reflects a wider reassessment of Nissan’s global vehicle lineup. Earlier this year, the company confirmed it was scrapping plans to build two electric SUVs at its Canton, Mississippi, plant, choosing instead to focus on hybrids. Globally, Nissan has said it plans to reduce its total number of models from 56 to 45.
Proposed European Union regulations that would impose local content requirements on electric vehicles have also created uncertainty for manufacturing those cars in Britain, which departed the EU in 2020. About 60% of vehicles produced in Britain are exported to the EU, and the UK car industry lobby group warns that being excluded from “Made in EU” status poses a serious threat to Britain’s automotive sector.
That uncertainty is already rippling through Nissan’s supply chain. A separate plan to build a three-in-one electric vehicle powertrain at a Sunderland factory operated by Nissan subsidiary JATCO has also been scrapped, the companies confirmed in statements to Reuters.
A deadly shooting inside a Northern California library Monday evening left two people dead and a suspect behind bars, according to local police.
Officers rushed to the scene shortly after 5 p.m. following a 911 call in which gunshots and the sounds of screaming could be heard coming from inside the Chico branch of the Butte County Library. The city’s chief of police, Billy Aldridge, shared those details during a news conference following the incident.
When officers entered the building, the suspect slipped out through a back exit, Aldridge said. Law enforcement stationed behind the library was able to apprehend the individual.
“The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community,” Aldridge said.
Streets surrounding the library were temporarily shut down, and a family reunification center was established for those who had been inside the building at the time of the shooting. A child was also transported to the hospital with a minor injury.
Aldridge stated that there is no ongoing serious threat to the public, and investigators are actively working to determine what led to the shooting. Authorities believe the gunman acted alone.
Police have not released the suspect’s name or a motive for the attack. The identities of the two people killed are also being withheld until their families can be notified.
County officials urged residents to stay away from the area and announced that all Butte County library branches would remain closed on Tuesday.
In a Facebook post, the county extended its “deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.”
Lebanon is heading into another round of face-to-face negotiations with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, with Beirut determined to push forward with direct diplomacy even as a recent agreement between Iran and the United States threatens to overshadow those efforts.
Lebanese officials have maintained that direct talks with Israel represent the only path to ending a war that has been raging since March 2, when armed group Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel in support of Iran. Those strikes triggered Israeli air and ground operations that have since killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon.
Despite four rounds of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations since April, no lasting ceasefire has been achieved. The longest pause in fighting actually came this week — not from those talks, but after Iran and the United States agreed to a memorandum of understanding calling for a halt to hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon.
That agreement strengthened Iran-backed Hezbollah’s hand while weakening the Lebanese government, whose leaders — including President Joseph Aoun — had repeatedly warned that Tehran has no authority to negotiate on Lebanon’s behalf.
A Lebanese official and two foreign officials involved in Lebanon-related diplomacy told Reuters that the Iran-U.S. deal had left the Lebanese state in its most vulnerable position to date, raising serious doubts about what this week’s talks could realistically accomplish.
The Lebanese official expressed little confidence that the three-day negotiations would produce anything concrete. “There remains a fundamental problem of trust between us and the Israelis in these talks. We cannot fulfill their demands, and they reject all of ours,” the official said.
One of Beirut’s primary goals heading into the talks is securing a commitment from Israel to withdraw its military forces from Lebanese territory. However, senior Israeli officials have stated that troops will remain in southern Lebanon for the foreseeable future. The Lebanese official said Beirut intends to push Israel to provide a “reasonable” withdrawal timeline during the negotiations.
“This is the only chance we have to generate momentum in these talks, and in this tug-of-war with Iran,” the official said.
Israel, for its part, has framed the purpose of the upcoming talks differently. According to a pre-negotiation briefing by Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer, Israel’s goal is “disarming Hezbollah and achieving a genuine peace agreement” with Lebanon. Mencer argued that Hezbollah is the sole obstacle to reaching a deal, “which is why we believe that they should be disarmed and dismantled.”
Since 2025, the Lebanese government has taken a cautious approach to the question of Hezbollah’s weapons, attempting to reduce the group’s military capacity without directly confronting it — a move officials fear could ignite civil conflict. Hezbollah has flatly refused to disarm and has called on the Lebanese government to abandon its direct negotiations with Israel altogether.
Karim Safieddine, a fellow at the Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, warned that Israel could adopt an even harder line in the Washington talks given Israeli officials’ frustration over the U.S.-Iran agreement. While that deal has brought a degree of calm to Lebanon, Safieddine told Reuters there has been “no structural change” in the underlying positions of Lebanon and Israel that would suggest a breakthrough is near.
President Aoun first proposed direct negotiations in March, but talks did not begin until mid-April, after the U.S. announced a ceasefire meant to open a diplomatic path that Washington said could eventually lead to a peace agreement. Israeli air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs largely stopped at that point, though intense fighting continued in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces pushed further into Lebanese villages.
In early June, the U.S. put forward another ceasefire proposal tied to the Lebanese-Israeli negotiating process, but it required Hezbollah to stop firing — a condition the group rejected outright.
Hezbollah is now banking on Iran to press for an Israeli withdrawal as part of any final deal with the United States, and the group is urging the Lebanese government to rely on that diplomatic track rather than continuing its own direct talks with Israel.
SEOUL — South Korea has declared it stands ready to accept every North Korean prisoner of war captured by Ukrainian forces, provided those soldiers wish to come to South Korea, according to a statement from Seoul’s foreign ministry released Tuesday.
The ministry made clear that South Korea is firmly against any forced return of these prisoners to either Russia or North Korea. The position underscores Seoul’s commitment to honoring the wishes of captured North Korean soldiers who served alongside Russian forces.
Ministers from South Korea and Ukraine are scheduled to sit down for formal discussions in Seoul on June 30.
On a Monday morning in London, Keir Starmer stepped out into the sunlight on Downing Street, surrounded by his staff and his wife, his voice breaking with emotion as he announced he was no longer the right person to lead the United Kingdom.
Starmer, who came to power in one of the largest electoral landslides in British political history, is leaving office after fewer than two years — making him the sixth British prime minister to resign in just a decade. That rate of leadership turnover is the highest the country has seen in nearly 200 years.
Like those who came before him, Starmer was unable to quiet widespread public frustration over living standards that have barely moved since the 2008 financial crisis. At the same time, a swelling national debt — driven by global crises including the COVID-19 pandemic — has severely limited what any government can spend. The ongoing failure to address illegal immigration has added another layer of political tension and division.
Anthony Seldon, a historian who has written extensively about British prime ministers in works including “The Impossible Office,” told Reuters that Britain finds itself in a very deep hole after Starmer and predecessors such as Liz Truss and Boris Johnson all failed to establish the public trust and clear direction the country needs.
Looking ahead to who might follow Starmer, Seldon offered a sobering assessment: “If Andy Burnham fails as prime minister, the outlook for Britain is bleak.”
There was a time not long ago when Britain was considered a model of political and economic stability — home to leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, whose combined 21 years in power helped define modern Britain. But the global financial crisis hit the country especially hard, given how heavily the British economy leaned on its financial sector. The years of public sector austerity that followed left the nation poorly equipped to handle the challenges that came next.
In fact, the last prime minister to win an outright election victory — without relying on another party’s support — and serve a full term was Blair, between 2001 and 2005. Britain, which once laughed at Italy’s famously unstable parade of leaders, now finds itself looking at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with something closer to envy. She is on track to become the longest-serving head of government in the history of the Italian Republic, with nearly four years in power.
While many political observers trace Britain’s instability to the Brexit vote a decade ago to leave the European Union, Jill Rutter — a former finance ministry official and senior fellow at the Institute of Government think tank — argues the trouble really began with the financial crash.
“There has just been a general sense that we don’t see our lives getting better and we don’t see the lives of our children getting better,” she said. “And each government since has seemed to be unable to change that.”
The 2016 decision to exit the EU upended Britain’s long-standing foreign policy approach and reignited the independence movement in Scotland, where voters had chosen to remain in the bloc. The financial toll of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine then pushed national debt to just under 100% of the country’s GDP.
While countries like Japan, Italy, the United States, and France all carry higher debt-to-GDP ratios, Britain faces steeper borrowing costs — partly due to persistent inflation and investor concerns about the country’s reliance on foreign capital to cover its deficit. That squeeze on government finances has taken a real toll on everyday living standards.
Data released in 2025 from a major supermarket chain and the Centre for Economics and Business Research revealed that while average real disposable income in the UK was technically rising, the bottom 40% of earners actually had less purchasing power than they did in 2021.
Sam Freedman, a former government adviser, argued in his recent book “Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It” that Britain’s problems stem partly from a system that is too centralized, with key government offices too understaffed to handle the demands placed on them.
Rutter and Roger Gale — one of Britain’s longest-serving lawmakers, who first entered parliament in 1983 — both pointed to a deteriorating political culture as another major factor. The constant pressure of rolling television news and social media has pushed politicians into making hasty decisions rather than thoughtful ones.
Gale, a Conservative lawmaker, told Reuters that the government simply needs to slow down. “There is too much legislation. A lot of it is bad and a lot of it is badly drafted,” he said. “We need more grown up government.”
Starmer himself drew criticism for taking office without a well-defined plan for tackling a long list of urgent challenges — from skyrocketing electricity costs to spurring economic investment, overhauling the health service, and boosting defence spending.
His likely successor, Burnham — a career politician who most recently served as mayor of Greater Manchester — could potentially step into the role within weeks. He will need to quickly assemble a cabinet and lay out a compelling vision for the country’s future.
Rishi Sunak, the last Conservative prime minister, who lost the 2024 general election to Starmer, weighed in with a warning for Burnham. Writing in the Sunday Times, Sunak said Burnham must come in with a clear plan. “Without that, he will become yet another prime minister lying awake fretting about why it isn’t working,” Sunak wrote.
Crews in Los Angeles are still working to extinguish a stubborn fire that broke out at a large frozen-food storage warehouse situated near downtown, with the blaze now entering its sixth day.
Firefighters have been battling the massive cold storage facility fire since it ignited, and as of the latest reports, the effort to fully contain it remains ongoing.
Two more individuals have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to carry out an attack on a UFC event hosted at the White House, authorities announced.
One suspect was taken into custody in Missouri, while a second was arrested in Washington state, bringing the total number of people detained in the case to at least three.
According to law enforcement officials, investigators first learned of the potential threat on June 10 — four days before the event was held on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14.
The UFC event took place at the White House, where President Donald Trump was in attendance as Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Toupruia in the lightweight championship bout at UFC Freedom 250.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan launched a five-day series of military exercises on Monday, designed to sharpen the island’s combat readiness in the event of an attack by China.
In Taoyuan — the city that houses Taiwan’s largest international airport — tanks rolled through city streets and highways as armored vehicles from the Army’s 269th Infantry Brigade carried out combat readiness patrols Monday morning. Videos and photos captured the striking scenes of military hardware moving through civilian areas.
The exercises, known as the Immediate Combat Readiness Exercises, are intended to measure how quickly military units can be deployed, particularly in response to a sudden increase in Chinese grey-zone warfare. Grey-zone tactics are aggressive actions — ranging from naval ship patrols to drone flights — that stop short of outright combat.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense announced the drills on Sunday afternoon, describing them as realistic in nature, with a focus on what it called “real-time, live-fire and on-site” conditions.
According to Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency, the exercises are structured to simulate the period just before an enemy force would launch its naval vessels. Officials noted that unplanned drills could also be added going forward, including live responses to Chinese military activity.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported that China’s People’s Liberation Army sent 23 aircraft toward the island between Sunday and Monday morning, along with seven navy ships and five additional Chinese government vessels. China routinely dispatches warplanes, drones, and naval ships toward Taiwan on a daily basis.
Taiwan holds combat readiness exercises on a regular basis as it works to strengthen its defenses against persistent military pressure from China. Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not taken the option of using military force off the table. Earlier this June, Taiwan fired rockets in the direction of China for the first time during a military exercise.
MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat have landed their next superstar, acquiring two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks in a massive trade completed Monday night.
The deal brings an end to a lengthy pursuit by Miami for a marquee player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber. The 31-year-old is not only a two-time Most Valuable Player but also a 10-time All-Star, a nine-time All-NBA selection, and was named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary list honoring the greatest players in league history. He led Milwaukee to the 2021 NBA championship and averaged 27.6 points per game last season before an injury cut his year short.
According to a source who spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity — because the trade has not yet received the required league approval — the terms are as follows: Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis will go to Miami, while Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, and Kasparas Jakucionis head to Milwaukee. The Bucks will also receive at least four draft picks, including the No. 13 pick set to be used in Tuesday night’s NBA draft.
In the final days leading up to the deal, the Bucks weighed competing offers from both Miami and Boston before ultimately choosing the Heat’s package.
This type of blockbuster acquisition is nothing new for Miami. The franchise made similar splashes when it brought in Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 — a move that helped deliver the 2006 NBA title — and again in 2010 when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade, resulting in four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
With Antetokounmpo now in the fold, the Heat are widely expected to offer him a substantial contract extension later this year, betting that the Greek superstar still has plenty of productive seasons ahead of him.
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has acknowledged in a written response to Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley that the San Francisco Giants dropped the ball when it came to informing players that wearing rainbow-themed caps during the team’s annual Pride Night celebration was entirely their choice.
During the event earlier this month, several Giants players — including starting pitcher Landen Roupp — chose to write Bible verses on the Pride-themed caps rather than simply wearing them as issued. That decision triggered a warning from the league, which noted that writing on caps runs afoul of official uniform policy.
Sen. Hawley had previously written to Manfred expressing what he described as “grave concern” over the league’s warning to those players. Hawley called the warning “dubious,” arguing that MLB was already taking a political stance by requiring Pride-themed uniforms in the first place.
Manfred’s reply to Hawley was shared publicly by the senator on social media Monday. In that letter, Manfred explained that back in 2023, the league moved to ban clubs from using special uniforms, caps, or equipment during themed celebration events — a policy shift driven in part by the discomfort some players had expressed about wearing such gear. Narrow exceptions were carved out for things like patches honoring members of the baseball community who had passed away.
That same year, both the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers — franchises located in cities with some of the country’s largest LGBTQ+ communities — were granted special exemptions allowing Pride symbols on caps and uniforms during Pride Night. The exemption came with conditions: no player or uniformed staff member could be required to wear the items, and the team was obligated to speak with players in advance to ensure everyone was comfortable.
According to Manfred, those conditions were not adequately met this year. “Unfortunately, this year the Giants’ communication with players was inadequate and not clear,” he wrote. “Some players apparently did not understand that they had the option to wear their normal uniform and elected to add messages to their hats bearing the pride logo as a result.”
Manfred went on to clarify that the players were permitted to wear the caps with their biblical inscriptions throughout the entire game. The league’s warning came only after the game had ended — and before league officials were aware of the Giants’ failure to properly inform the players. “The players were neither fined nor disciplined, nor will they ever be,” Manfred wrote.
LONDON — Ten years ago this Tuesday, British voters made a decision that would reshape their nation’s future — and not necessarily in the ways they were promised. On June 23, 2016, the U.K. voted 52% to 48% to exit the European Union after more than four decades as a member. What followed was a decade of political upheaval that shows little sign of settling down.
The country is now preparing to install its seventh prime minister since that fateful vote. Conservative leader David Cameron, who called the referendum while personally arguing for the U.K. to remain in the EU, resigned the very next day after the result came in.
Every leader who followed has struggled — most without much success — to manage the aftermath of that break. The most recent, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, announced Monday that he too is stepping down. His two years in office were marked by a sluggish economy, government dysfunction, and a weary, divided public — conditions that experts trace, at least in part, back to Brexit.
Even though Brexit has largely disappeared from daily headlines, academic Chris Grey, who has spent years studying the consequences of Britain’s EU departure, says its influence hasn’t gone away. He described “the subterranean trace of Brexit” as something that still runs beneath the surface of the country’s increasingly chaotic political landscape.
Those who campaigned for leaving the then-28-member political and economic union told voters it would allow Britain to “take back control” of its laws, its economy, and its borders. The “remain” side focused heavily on economic warnings, while the “leave” campaign leaned on emotional appeals.
Boris Johnson, one of the most prominent voices for leaving — and who would later serve as prime minister — declared weeks before the vote: “We can see the sunlit meadows beyond. I believe we would be mad not to take this once-in-a-lifetime chance to walk through that door.”
Margaret MacMillan, an emeritus professor of history at the University of Toronto, said Brexit drew on a complicated mix of motivations, including nostalgia “for an imagined past.”
“It was against what people saw as unrestricted immigration. It was against what they saw as EU regulations. And then there was this mix of nostalgia — ‘We fought alone in the Second World War.’ Which was of course not true,” she said. “It was never clearly explained what Brexit might entail.”
The bold promises — tighter immigration controls, new trade deals, more funding for public services, and freedom from Brussels-issued regulations — quickly ran into hard reality. Bitter negotiations stretched on for years. Britain officially departed the EU on January 31, 2020, with an 11-month transition period before the full separation took effect.
Theresa May, who took over from Cameron, stepped down in 2019 after being unable to get exit terms through a deeply split Parliament. Johnson then took the helm, pledging to “get Brexit done,” and eventually secured a minimal trade agreement — though one that left relations between the U.K. and EU deeply strained.
Johnson himself was pushed out by his own party in mid-2022 amid a wave of financial and ethical controversies. His replacement, Liz Truss, lasted just 49 days in office. The next leader, Rishi Sunak, managed to slightly warm relations with the EU but stopped short of any major shifts in policy.
Starmer came in promising a “reset” with Europe but ruled out rejoining the EU’s single market — the tariff-free, barrier-free trading zone. Now, as he prepares to leave office, Brexit remains unresolved.
Historian Anthony Seldon noted that Cameron originally called the referendum hoping to put to rest the long-running arguments about Europe that had torn apart the Conservative Party for years. That didn’t happen.
“The people who obsessed about it still obsess about it. Britain’s problems have continued,” Seldon told Times Radio.
During the drawn-out exit negotiations, Conservatives who favored a gentler form of Brexit and closer ties with Europe were effectively driven out of the party by the dominant pro-Brexit wing. Labour, while more sympathetic to Europe overall, faces its own internal split between those who want to move closer to the EU — or even rejoin — and senior figures like Starmer who prefer not to reopen old divisions.
A decade later, millions of voters have walked away from both major parties, turning instead to alternatives like the left-leaning Green Party and the hard-right Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage. Farage may be the single biggest political beneficiary of Brexit. He championed the divorce, then argued it had been betrayed. His anti-immigration message has evolved over the years, shifting from concerns about European workers to asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats. His party now consistently tops opinion polls.
The British economy has also had a rough decade. Businesses have faced new hurdles trading with the country’s nearest neighbors, though Brexit isn’t the only factor — the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the conflict involving Iran have all contributed to sluggish growth.
Hannah White, director of the Institute for Government think tank, said a broader failure of political honesty has made things worse. “We just haven’t had politicians who’ve been upfront with the public about the fact that when they get into power, they won’t be able to have no increases in taxes, no increases in debt, and better public services all in the same breath,” she said. “And so people are disappointed.”
Immigration — one of the central issues driving the Brexit vote — remains as contentious as ever. Net migration actually climbed after Brexit, reaching more than 900,000 in 2023, before dropping to 171,000 last year. In recent years, misinformation and agitation have helped spark anti-immigration street violence tied to crimes committed by, or falsely attributed to, immigrants.
Grey warned that a line once held firm in British public life — separating mainstream political debate from street-level violence — is now weakening. “I think that boundary is being eroded. And I think that did to some large extent begin with Brexit,” he said.
Polls suggest growing second thoughts about the original decision. A recent Ipsos survey found 52% of people in the U.K. would now like to rejoin the EU, while 33% are opposed. Last Saturday, hundreds of people marched through London waving blue and yellow EU flags in a “rejoin” demonstration — though the turnout was far smaller than the massive protests seen during the height of the Brexit battle. Many Britons simply want to move on.
But Brexit remains a subject politicians tread around carefully. Even if Britain were to seek re-entry into the EU, the path back would be long and uncertain, with a wary bloc on the other side.
Grey offered a stark assessment of what lies ahead if leaders continue to dodge the issue. He compared Britain to someone dealing with a persistent, draining illness. “A chronic thing, in this case perhaps not incurable,” he said. “But it’s just that they don’t fancy going to the doctor because they know it’s not going to be very nice.”
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rode a wave of historic electoral success into office in 2024, only to step down Monday after barely two years on the job, driven out by a rebellion within his own Labour Party following crushing losses in local elections.
His time in power was marked by a faltering economy, a string of policy reversals, a deeply problematic diplomatic appointment, and a widespread sense that his government lacked a clear direction. Those factors combined to deal Labour a severe defeat in spring local elections, sparking internal calls for his departure that ultimately opened the door for a challenger to force him out.
When Starmer’s party swept to power on July 4, 2024, capturing 411 of 650 seats in Parliament and ending 14 years of Conservative Party rule, the mood was jubilant. It was a dramatic reversal from the party’s previous electoral collapse.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood declared that Starmer would never be forgotten for guiding the “party from the brink, back to power.”
In his victory remarks, Starmer painted a picture of national renewal and a government that would work for “working people.” “And now we can look forward,” he told supporters. “Walk into the morning, the sunlight of hope, pale at first but getting stronger through the day, shining once again, on a country with the opportunity after 14 years to get its future back.”
The optimism faded quickly. Britain’s public finances had been badly strained by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, leaving little room for major spending initiatives.
Voters who had thrown out the Conservatives in hopes of economic relief found that Labour’s early efforts produced little improvement. Starmer and his Treasury chief, Rachel Reeves, may have made matters worse by painting an overly gloomy picture of what they had inherited — dampening consumer and business confidence and prompting further economic caution.
Policy choices added to the damage. Labour’s election platform had explicitly promised not to raise income tax or sales tax. Faced with a budget shortfall, the government instead chose to increase a payroll-related tax on businesses, a move that proved deeply unpopular and led many employers to scale back hiring.
A series of additional policy retreats followed, each one feeding the narrative that Starmer’s government was rudderless. The administration reversed course on plans to eliminate winter heating subsidies for millions of retirees, backed away from proposed cuts to welfare spending, and softened a new agricultural inheritance tax after farmers staged angry protests and drove tractors through the streets of London.
On other issues, the government also reversed itself — including Starmer’s decision to launch a national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse, which came after pressure from opposition politicians and Elon Musk.
Among the most damaging episodes of Starmer’s tenure was his decision to appoint controversial Labour figure Peter Mandelson — a man long known by the nickname “Prince of Darkness” for his aggressive political maneuvering — as Britain’s ambassador to the United States. Starmer made the appointment knowing Mandelson had maintained a friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
At first, the move appeared shrewd. Mandelson’s background in trade negotiations and his comfort among wealthy and powerful circles helped Britain secure a favorable trade deal with the United States, with lower tariffs than many other nations received from the unpredictable U.S. President Donald Trump.
But in September 2025, new revelations surfaced showing Mandelson had been far more closely connected to the late financier Epstein than he had previously admitted. Starmer dismissed him. The fallout continued to dog the prime minister long after the firing.
Internal government records later revealed that Mandelson had been flagged as a “reputational risk” before his appointment, that he had failed a security background check, and that he was under investigation for allegedly sharing sensitive government information with Epstein during his time as a Cabinet minister more than 15 years ago. Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing.
The final blow came from local elections held last month. Labour suffered a devastating performance as Reform UK, a relatively new hard-right, anti-immigration party, captured the largest share of local seats, while the growing Green Party pulled voters away from Labour on the left flank.
More than 100 Labour members of Parliament publicly called on Starmer to step aside. Several government ministers, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, resigned from their posts in protest, with speculation mounting that Streeting might challenge Starmer for the leadership.
A sitting member of Parliament gave up his seat to allow Andy Burnham, the widely popular Mayor of Greater Manchester, to return to London and mount a direct challenge to Starmer. Burnham won that contest last week.
Starmer spent the weekend at the prime minister’s country estate, weighing his options as party insiders pressed him to announce a departure timeline. On Monday morning, an emotional Starmer announced his resignation. Burnham was sworn in later that same day in the House of Commons, receiving a triumphant reception from lawmakers.
Whether any other candidates will enter the race remains to be seen. Labour’s national executive committee is scheduled to open nominations on July 9 to formally select Starmer’s permanent replacement.
Ship traffic is gradually returning to the Strait of Hormuz following a temporary agreement between Iran and the United States, but the waterway’s long-term future remains deeply uncertain. Disputes over who controls the strait and whether ships will be forced to pay fees to pass through it are already threatening to complicate negotiations toward a permanent peace deal.
Tensions flared again this past weekend when Iran announced it had reclosed the strait, pointing to Israel’s most recent strikes on Lebanon as justification. The U.S. quickly pushed back on that claim. Maritime tracking data showed that dozens of vessels made the crossing on Saturday and Sunday — though the numbers were still far below what was typical before the conflict began.
President Donald Trump floated the idea that the U.S. could impose its own tolls on ships passing through the strait if a final agreement with Iran isn’t reached within the countries’ 60-day negotiating window. Before the war, passage through the strait was free. Iran, however, created a new governmental body last month — the Persian Gulf Strait Authority — to collect fees from vessels, and has indicated it still expects ships to register with that authority.
No single nation owns the Strait of Hormuz, which runs along the coastlines of both Iran and Oman. A memorandum of understanding reached last week gave Iran temporary authority to manage the strait while talks continue with Oman and six other Gulf nations about how the waterway will be governed going forward. As part of that arrangement, Iran agreed not to charge tolls for 60 days.
Legal experts and maritime industry groups have repeatedly warned that a toll system would break with decades of established international trade practice. Even if the U.S. and Iran reach a final agreement, analysts say it could take months before the flow of oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and other goods returns to pre-war levels.
Data and analytics firm Kpler confirmed that 71 ships traveled through the strait between Friday and Sunday, with the highest single-day count being 35 crossings on Saturday. Before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February — and before Tehran responded with its own attacks and effectively shut the waterway — roughly 100 to 130 vessels made the trip each day.
Under the terms of the provisional framework, Iran committed to completing demining operations within 30 days and removing what the agreement called “technical and military obstacles” to shipping. Iran’s lead negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, told Iranian state media on Monday that his country would manage the strait in line with international maritime law.
The strait’s main central route remains mined and closed. Ships have been rerouting through a smaller northern passage that runs through Iranian waters or a southern route through Omani waters. Kpler noted that caution remains evident, with many vessels either following Iran’s designated route or turning off their transponders to hide their locations and identities.
Early in the conflict, Iran began screening ships and demanding payment before allowing them through — a practice shipping analysts called a “tollbooth” arrangement. In early April, Iran formally demanded the right to collect tolls as a condition for loosening its grip on the strait.
Although the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the Persian Gulf Strait Authority late last month — with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing Iran’s actions as an attempt to extort global maritime trade — the president suggested on Saturday that the U.S. might charge its own fees for what he called “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.” The administration has not explained how any such U.S.-imposed charges would actually work if negotiations break down.
Shipping analysts have expressed surprise at how much authority the initial agreement handed to Iran. “Almost all the power goes into Iran to determine the arrangements going forward in the future. This is what we really need clarity on,” said Philip Belcher, marine director of Intertanko, a trade association for independent tanker owners, speaking Thursday.
Charging tolls in the strait would likely conflict with one of international maritime law’s foundational principles: the freedom of peaceful navigation. That right was formally established through the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea, which entered into force in 1994. The treaty guarantees ships the right to unobstructed “transit passage” through more than 100 straits around the world, including the Strait of Hormuz. Importantly, this protection applies only to natural waterways — fees can legally be charged for man-made passages like the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal.
Oman is among more than 170 countries that have ratified the U.N. convention. The U.S. and Iran have not, though maritime associations argue that all nations are still bound by its provisions.
James Kraska, a professor of international maritime law at the U.S. Naval War College and a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, points out that both the U.S. and Iran belong to the International Maritime Organization — the United Nations agency responsible for shipping safety and security — and are both parties to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. In straits like Hormuz, he said, fees may only be collected at designated ports of entry or for services a ship specifically requests, such as specialized navigation assistance through dangerous waters.
“If Iran wants to apply those to everybody, then it has to adjust the traffic separation scheme rules, and that can only be done through the member states of the International Maritime Organization,” Kraska said.
“You can’t impose fees for a ship exercising its right of transit passage,” he added. “So the bottom line is, no — fees in this context are just not lawful.”
Kraska noted that countries have previously worked together to share the costs of maintaining a strait. As one example, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore collaborated with the International Maritime Organization and other nations on a cost-sharing arrangement for the Strait of Malacca — but that model relied on negotiated contributions from the states using the passage, not charges levied on individual ships.
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has shifted rapidly throughout the conflict. While the outlook has improved since both countries agreed to extend their ceasefire, Marcus Baker, global head of marine, cargo, and logistics at insurance brokerage and risk management firm Marsh, said there remains “a degree of nervousness around the situation.”
Baker said there is strong insurance support for ship owners trying to move cargo during this period, but he cautioned that the interim deal between Iran and the U.S. does not guarantee the strait will remain toll-free once the negotiating window closes. “We’ll see what the next six weeks brings us,” he said.
President Donald Trump is turning his attention to the U.S. economy with a Tuesday visit to a Mack Truck facility in the Allentown area of Pennsylvania — his first major public appearance outside Washington since signing an interim agreement to bring the Iran war to a close.
The stop at the Macungie, Pennsylvania, plant is part of an effort by Trump to move past the conflict and the higher gas prices it triggered, with November midterm elections approaching. Pennsylvania has been a frequent destination for the president, and this marks his fifth second-term trip to the state — a critical swing state whose electoral votes helped carry him to the White House in both 2016 and 2024.
The facility sits within Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie — a freshman lawmaker — is defending his seat against Democratic challenger Bob Brooks in November. Brooks, who serves as president of the state firefighters’ union, has earned the backing of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is also on the ballot for reelection this year. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, and districts like this one are considered essential to keeping that control intact.
The visit takes place against a backdrop of economic uncertainty. A June poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that roughly one-third of American adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy — consistent with numbers from the prior month.
The Iran conflict has also proven to be a political challenge. That same June AP-NORC poll, conducted as Trump announced a tentative deal with Iran and completed just before the interim agreement was formally signed, found that approximately 65% of U.S. adults disapprove of how Trump has managed the situation — a figure unchanged from May. While most Democrats and independents hold a negative view of his actions, only about 3 in 10 Republicans share that dissatisfaction.
Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, also visited the same Mack Truck facility, using it as a backdrop to promote policies aimed at boosting manufacturing employment. Manufacturing jobs in the U.S. peaked in 1979 at nearly 19.6 million, declined following the 2001 recession and again during the 2007-09 Great Recession, and currently stand at 12.6 million as of May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Tuesday’s trip is the latest in a series of Pennsylvania visits that highlight the state’s importance as a political battleground. Trump traveled to Mount Pocono in December to test messaging around affordability, visited Pittsburgh in July 2025 to highlight major energy and technology investments, went to West Mifflin in June 2025 to announce a doubling of tariffs on imported steel, and attended the NCAA wrestling championship in Philadelphia in March 2025.
Clive Davis, a towering figure in the music business who passed away at the age of 94, was renowned for building deep, trusting bonds with the artists he worked with. That mutual respect allowed him to guide their careers — and in return, those artists helped shape who he became as an executive.
Over a career spanning six decades, Davis worked with an extraordinarily diverse roster of talent — from the Grateful Dead to Alicia Keys. Here is a look at some of the most notable partnerships he forged along the way.
Janis Joplin
Davis played a pivotal role in Janis Joplin’s career, though she may have had an even greater influence on him. After becoming president of Columbia Records at just 35 years old, he attended the Monterey Pop festival in California on the hunt for new talent. There, he encountered Big Brother & The Holding Company, with Joplin as its standout performer. In a 2022 speech, he described that moment as his first major test as head of the label: “Should I personally sign an artist just based on my gut?”
“I did make that decision, and my life would never be the same,” he said.
Davis convinced Joplin to release a shorter version of “Piece of My Heart” so it could get radio airplay, and he also encouraged her to step away from Big Brother and pursue a solo career. After her death in 1970, Davis discovered her recording of “Me and Bobby McGee” within the sessions for her album “Pearl,” which was released after her passing to widespread acclaim.
Santana
Davis first brought Santana to Columbia Records in 1968. The guitarist and singer went on to score major hits including “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va,” along with a legendary appearance at Woodstock in 1969.
Years later, Davis reconnected with Santana at a time when the artist was searching for renewed relevance. Davis proposed an album blending some of Santana’s original material with collaborations featuring contemporary musicians. The outcome was the 1999 release “Supernatural,” which included “Do You Like the Way” with Lauryn Hill, “Maria Maria” with Wyclef Jean, and “Smooth” with Rob Thomas. The album earned eight Grammys, tying the record previously set by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
In a social media tribute, Santana wrote that Davis “believed in Santana from the beginning, and years later he believed in us again.”
Bruce Springsteen
Davis signed a 22-year-old Springsteen to Columbia Records in 1972. He later recalled being convinced that Springsteen was far more than a Bob Dylan imitator — that he had the makings of a “poet warrior” and one of the greatest live performers of all time.
When Springsteen delivered his debut album, Davis sent him back to the drawing board, saying it lacked any singles. Springsteen responded by writing two new songs: “Blinded by the Light,” which later became a hit for Manfred Mann, and “Spirit in the Night.” Davis also offered the young artist early advice about using a large stage fully rather than standing in one spot — advice he shared during an appearance on the “Late Show” with David Letterman.
“He changed my life when he signed me to Columbia Records,” Springsteen wrote in a social media post.
Whitney Houston
No artist was more closely linked to Davis than Whitney Houston. He first encountered her at a New York club called Sweetwater’s, where the 19-year-old was performing alongside her mother, Cissy Houston, a well-known gospel and soul singer. Houston sang “The Greatest Love of All,” a song Davis had originally commissioned for the Muhammad Ali film “The Greatest.”
“As soon as she started singing that song, I was stunned,” Davis recalled in a 2022 CNN interview.
He signed her to Arista in 1983, and the label spent a deliberate two years finding the right songs and producers before releasing her debut album — one of the biggest-selling debut albums ever. Houston went on to become the label’s top-selling artist and one of the most celebrated singers in history. Her relationship with Davis was so close that her team negotiated a “key man” clause allowing her to exit her contract if Davis ever departed from Arista.
Davis also had a hand in shaping the soundtrack to Houston’s 1992 film “The Bodyguard,” pushing for a stripped-down arrangement and her now-iconic a cappella introduction to her unforgettable cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
The Grateful Dead
Davis had long wanted to sign the Grateful Dead — or at least frontman Jerry Garcia — to Columbia Records, dating back to the late 1960s. However, the band was under contract with a competing label. Instead, Davis signed the New Riders of the Purple Sage, a psychedelic country group that included Garcia. When the Dead were seeking a new major label in the late 1970s, Davis brought them to his newly established Arista Records.
Late guitarist Bob Weir once described Davis as “the one suit we weren’t distrustful of.” At concerts, Weir occasionally changed the lyrics to the band’s standard “Jack Straw” from “We used to play for silver, now we play for life” to “We used to play for acid, now we play for Clive.”
Davis took a relaxed approach to the band’s studio recording, telling them to record only when they felt ready, according to author Blair Jackson’s biography of Garcia. The Dead — famously indifferent to commercial success — ultimately delivered their biggest chart hit, 1987’s “Touch of Grey.”
Alicia Keys
Keys was just 15 when she signed with Columbia Records in 1996. Creative tensions arose quickly, with the label pushing to bring in outside professionals to work with her — an approach Keys later said left her feeling disrespected.
Davis, who was parting ways with Arista at the time, helped free her from that Columbia contract and eventually signed her to his new venture, J Records, in 2000. When she performed some of her songs for him at his office, he recognized her exceptional talent and believed she deserved full creative control over her music.
Her debut album, “Songs in A Minor,” was a critical and commercial triumph, winning five Grammys in 2002. Davis recognized, however, that her sound was difficult to categorize and might not receive the radio attention it deserved. In a 2002 interview, he recalled personally calling Oprah Winfrey and asking her to feature Keys on her show. Winfrey agreed, and the single “Fallin’” became a massive hit.
In a social media post, Keys described Davis as “the visionary who transformed dreams into reality, leaving an indelible mark on music and lives worldwide.”
Kenny G
The market for instrumental music was thin in the early 1980s, but Davis spotted soft jazz saxophonist Kenny G performing at a club and saw something special. He signed Kenny G to Arista in 1982, and the musician went on to become the best-selling instrumental artist of all time.
In a CNN interview, Kenny G credited Davis with his success, saying Davis had a gift for knowing when to give an artist freedom and when to step in with guidance. In his case, that meant not dictating how a saxophone solo should sound, but instead finding vocal artists — such as Michael Bolton — to collaborate with him.
“I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for him taking chances on me,” Kenny G said.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Republicans are casting ballots Tuesday in a heated runoff election to settle who will carry the party’s banner in the governor’s race — and the contest has turned into an all-out political brawl between two of the state’s most prominent figures.
President Donald Trump originally threw his support behind Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette over state Attorney General Alan Wilson ahead of the June 9 primary, but neither candidate managed to secure the outright majority required to clinch the nomination. Then, as Wilson appeared to gain traction heading into the runoff, Trump announced Friday that he was endorsing both candidates — leaving voters who had been looking to the president for direction without a clear signal.
Trump’s endorsements have proven decisive in many primary contests this year, though not always in gubernatorial races. His picks in Iowa and Georgia both came up short earlier this month.
For months, South Carolina voters have been bombarded with television commercials, direct mail pieces, and billboards as the race got underway more than a year ago. The contest attracted significant attention as the state’s first truly open governor’s race in over a decade. With Trump remaining a popular figure in South Carolina — despite some national softening on issues such as the economy — candidates across the Republican field made their closeness to the president a central part of their campaigns.
Just one week before the runoff, the two finalists squared off in their only scheduled debate. The event quickly spiraled into chaos.
Because the debate format allowed each candidate to respond any time their name was mentioned, the opening thirty minutes became a rapid-fire back-and-forth of accusations involving mudslinging and taxpayer-funded pay raises. The crowd responded with loud jeers and shouts throughout.
Reporters covering the debate at Coastal Carolina University observed audience members walking out as the noise level continued to rise — at times completely drowning out what the candidates were saying — with moderators and organizers doing nothing to restore order.
Wilson attacked Evette for skipping earlier debates and accused her of falsely claiming credit for signing legislation that Gov. Henry McMaster had actually signed. Evette fired back by labeling the longtime prosecutor a “career politician” and reminding the audience that Trump had endorsed her — not Wilson — going into the primary.
Throughout the campaign, in advertisements and mailers alike, Evette has consistently highlighted the fact that Trump singled her out from the Republican field as his preferred candidate for governor. She has also received the backing of McMaster, who selected her as his running mate in both the 2018 and 2022 governor’s races.
After Trump’s Friday announcement that he was supporting both candidates, Wilson wasted no time claiming the endorsement as his own. Shortly after Trump posted about the race on social media, Sen. Tim Scott announced his support for Wilson. A person familiar with Scott’s thinking, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the South Carolina Republican had been making phone calls on Wilson’s behalf, helping with fundraising, and working to persuade Trump to back him.
Wilson has also picked up support from several candidates who didn’t make the runoff, including U.S. Reps. Ralph Norman and Nancy Mace, along with state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, who dropped out just before the primary. On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz traveled to South Carolina to campaign for Wilson.
The competition to win Trump’s favor has overshadowed nearly every other aspect of the primary campaign.
Even before Evette received Trump’s endorsement ahead of the primary, she regularly used photos and videos of herself alongside the president in her campaign materials. Mace and Norman also leaned heavily into their support for Trump’s policies and legislative agenda.
Wilson, who has served as South Carolina’s top law enforcement officer since 2011, has frequently pointed to the legal briefs he has filed in support of the Trump administration. He also made a trip to New York City to show support for Trump during his criminal trial over hush money payments, which ended in a conviction.
SALT LAKE CITY — Deeply red Utah has become an unexpected battleground for the ongoing tug-of-war inside the Democratic Party between its progressive and moderate wings, with a key primary election taking place Tuesday.
A court-mandated redrawing of Utah’s U.S. House districts has produced a new, strongly Democratic-leaning seat in the Salt Lake City area — and the competition to claim it has been fierce.
Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, who by one political analysis was ranked the most conservative House Democrat during his single term in office, is facing three opponents who all position themselves further to the left. McAdams has been working to distance himself from his moderate label, while his rivals have been pressuring one another to step aside and unite behind a single progressive candidate.
The remaining three of Utah’s four congressional seats are expected to stay firmly in Republican hands, including the 3rd District, where Tuesday’s GOP primary pits a conservative challenger against a sitting Republican congresswoman.
Utah is an unusual case among Republican-dominated states — it’s one where the GOP is projected to actually lose a U.S. House seat following a prolonged legal dispute over the previous district boundaries.
That newly drawn 1st District seat, along with several in California, represents one of the few places where Democrats are expected to flip a seat — part of the fallout from a nationwide redistricting effort that President Donald Trump launched last year in an attempt to preserve the Republican majority in the House. Democrats need only a small net gain in November to take control of the chamber.
Contenders in the new Salt Lake City-area district have been competing to prove who is the most progressive — a sharp contrast to the traditional Democratic approach of appealing to Utah’s largely conservative voter base.
Given how the 1st District lines were drawn, whoever wins the Democratic primary will be a heavy favorite in November against Republican Riley Owen, a Navy Reserve intelligence officer who secured the GOP nomination at the state party’s spring convention.
Utah Democrats are running an open primary, which means any registered voter in the district — regardless of party — can participate. That format may work in McAdams’ favor, given his wider appeal across party lines.
When McAdams ran in 2018 — successfully ousting a Republican incumbent during the first midterm elections of Trump’s first term — he described himself as pro-life and campaigned as a moderate. Now, running in a far more Democratic district, he has pledged support for abortion rights and says he is only “moderate in tone.”
One of his main challengers is state Sen. Nate Blouin, a progressive voice in Utah’s Republican-controlled state legislature who is trying to recover from a social media controversy. In April, Blouin apologized for posts he made on internet forums between 2009 and 2015 that disparaged women and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah-based faith commonly known as the Mormon church.
Blouin has been working to energize voters he says have grown too comfortable with candidates who will “play nice” with Republicans. He has earned endorsements from some of the nation’s most prominent progressive figures, including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Greg Casar, and Maxwell Frost.
Two political newcomers are also in the race: Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell. Mohamed, a former employee of Meta and TikTok, made a splash at the state Democratic convention earlier this year, winning the party’s official endorsement after five rounds of ranked-choice voting — beating out McAdams in the process. His opponents still qualified for the primary ballot by collecting voter signatures. Mohamed has the backing of U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.
On the Republican side, the newly redrawn map has also created a challenge for U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy, who is facing a primary threat from someone positioned even further to the right.
Maloy, who carries Trump’s endorsement, is being challenged in the redrawn 3rd District — which covers most of southern and eastern Utah — by former state lawmaker Phil Lyman. Lyman has promoted false claims of fraud from the 2020 presidential election and has long been a favorite among the state’s most conservative voters.
Lyman is perhaps best known for organizing an illegal ATV ride in 2014 to protest a federal decision to close a canyon in southeastern Utah to motorized vehicles. That closure was put in place to protect Native American cliff dwellings, artifacts, and burial sites. Lyman argued the move was federal government overreach.
A jury found him guilty of misdemeanor illegal ATV use and conspiracy, and a judge sentenced him in 2015 to 10 days in jail and three years of probation. Trump pardoned him in December 2020.
Maloy was first elected to Congress through a special election in 2023 and won a full term in 2024. She previously worked as a soil conservationist and an attorney specializing in public lands and water policy.
The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary will face Democratic nominee Kent Udell, an engineer, in the November general election. The Republican candidate is heavily favored to win in the reliably conservative 3rd District.
NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic incumbents are fighting off energetic primary challenges Tuesday in at least two of New York’s congressional races, marking the latest battleground between the progressive left and the party’s establishment wing.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat are both working to hold onto their seats against candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist who hopes the momentum from his election last year will help him transform the city’s congressional delegation.
Goldman is being challenged by former city Comptroller Brad Lander, while Espaillat is facing another Mamdani-backed contender — Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who previously helped organize pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University.
In a separate race drawing considerable attention, Democrat Jack Schlossberg — the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy — is hoping to add his own page to the family’s storied political legacy. He’s running in a crowded contest for the seat being left open by retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler. Mamdani has not weighed in on that particular race.
Schlossberg is competing in one of the nation’s most affluent congressional districts, which covers a large portion of central Manhattan. However, he has faced scrutiny over his limited professional background compared to more experienced rivals.
Others in that field include state Assembly members Micah Lasher, a veteran government figure with backing from Democratic party leaders, and Alex Bores, whose push to regulate artificial intelligence has drawn pushback from the tech sector. Also running is George Conway, a former attorney who co-founded the anti-Trump organization The Lincoln Project and has built his campaign around the goal of impeaching the president.
Only a few months into leading the city, Mamdani drew some surprise by actively endorsing candidates who are going up against Democrats favored by the party’s leadership.
Should his endorsed candidates win, Mamdani — who is a registered Democrat — could establish himself as a democratic socialist power broker with new allies in Congress. However, the strategy also carries the risk of deepening divisions within the Democratic Party and damaging his ties to party leadership.
Last month, the mayor threw his support behind Avila Chevalier, 32, in her contest against Espaillat, 71, who made history as the first Dominican American elected to Congress and currently represents a district spanning upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Espaillat had supported former Gov. Andrew Cuomo during last year’s mayoral race but later backed Mamdani after Mamdani secured the Democratic primary.
Avila Chevalier has no prior political office experience and presents herself as a political outsider free from corporate and real estate influence.
She has also attacked the incumbent over his past support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Espaillat’s allies have pushed back, pointing to a record of inflammatory and profane social media posts Avila Chevalier made when she was in her 20s as evidence she is not qualified for the position.
Lander, a well-known figure among the city’s progressive Democrats, secured the mayor’s endorsement in his race against Goldman, a progressive former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment proceedings.
The ongoing war in Gaza has emerged as a key dividing line between the two candidates, both of whom are Jewish. Lander has criticized Goldman for not taking a harder stance against Israel’s military campaign against Palestinians. Goldman has regularly condemned Israel’s government and denounced settler violence, but has declined to label the conflict a genocide — a term Lander has used.
Despite his position, Goldman has been pushed to sharpen his criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war in response to Lander’s attacks and evolving voter attitudes, even as he tries to keep his campaign centered on the rising cost of living and opposition to Trump’s agenda.
Mamdani and Lander were rivals during last year’s mayoral primary but later joined forces to block Cuomo’s attempted political comeback. Lander’s endorsement of Mamdani also helped calm some concerns among Jewish voters about Mamdani’s critical stance toward Israel.
Mamdani has additionally endorsed democratic socialist ally and state Assembly Member Claire Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the race to fill the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, which covers portions of Brooklyn and Queens. Velazquez has endorsed Reynoso.
In northern New York state, the Republican primary for a seat soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik features a Trump-endorsed political newcomer going up against a conservative state lawmaker.
Anthony Constantino, who heads the custom sticker company Sticker Mule, has made his enthusiasm for the president abundantly clear — placing a massive “Vote For Trump” sign on one of his company’s buildings, releasing a hip-hop album called “Thank You President Trump,” and commissioning a statue of Trump that he presented to the president in Florida. Trump has given Constantino his endorsement.
Constantino’s opponent, conservative state Assembly Member Robert Smullen, has strong backing from local Republicans. Smullen has argued that Constantino’s behavior — including frequent attacks on the state Republican Party — disqualifies him from serving in the House.
SYDNEY — KPMG Australia announced Tuesday that its chairman and two senior audit partners have stepped down in connection with the firm’s mishandling of whistleblower allegations that it improperly used confidential client information to win audit business.
Chairman Martin Sheppard, along with audit partners Paul Rogers and Eileen Hoggett, are the latest officials to exit the firm as the scandal continues to widen. The company’s CEO and audit chief had already resigned before these most recent departures.
Interim CEO Stan Stavros addressed the situation in a formal statement: “The decisions announced today are necessary and immediate.”
Stavros added, “We did not meet the standards expected of us, and we recognise the impact this has had on the whistleblower, our people, our clients and the community.”
The controversy centers on allegations that KPMG misused confidential board documents belonging to real estate company Lendlease to bolster bids for major audit contracts. The whistleblower’s claims became public in March and specifically identified Rogers and Hoggett as the lead partners on the Lendlease audit team involved in the alleged misconduct.
Both Rogers and Hoggett are currently under investigation by Australia’s corporate regulatory authority.
In response to the growing controversy, KPMG said it plans to bring on an independent chair and add independent members to its Australian board as part of efforts to strengthen the firm’s governance structure.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday that it has launched a civil rights investigation into a small New York City coffee shop chain after the business declared online that it would have refused service to a pro-Israel congressman if it had recognized him during his visit over the weekend.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced the probe on X, stating, “The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation and will bring an enforcement action if warranted.”
Dhillon added, “Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin.”
According to The New York Times, Democratic Representative Dan Goldman stopped into Poetica Coffee in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on Sunday, visiting outside his own district alongside his 7-year-old daughter. Goldman said the stop was made so his daughter could use the restroom, and that he purchased a coffee as a gesture of appreciation to the staff for accommodating her.
The coffee shop responded to Goldman’s visit with an Instagram post directed at him. “We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee,” the post read. “We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers or anyone in between. Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”
The shop also stated it had issued Goldman a refund and closed its message with, “Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
By Monday, the Instagram post was no longer visible, and the account itself appeared to have been deactivated.
Goldman is currently endorsed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and is heading into a June 23 primary election against Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller who is backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Both Goldman and Lander are Jewish.
The incident comes amid ongoing debate over the conflict in Gaza. Israel’s military campaign there, which has stretched beyond two years, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, widespread hunger, and the displacement of Gaza’s entire population. Multiple human rights experts, scholars, and a United Nations inquiry have described the situation as a genocide. Israel maintains its actions are acts of self-defense, citing a Hamas-led attack in October 2023 that killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 individuals being taken hostage.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are moving forward Julius Randle along with a first-round draft selection to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-team arrangement that also brings in the Chicago Bulls, according to a source familiar with the agreement who spoke Monday evening.
Minnesota will be sending the 28th overall pick in Tuesday’s draft to Brooklyn, while receiving the 33rd pick — a second-round selection set to be announced Wednesday night. The source spoke to the Associated Press under the condition of anonymity, noting the deal has yet to receive the necessary sign-off from the league office.
ESPN, which broke the story, reported that the Bulls would receive Nic Claxton from Brooklyn as their piece of the transaction.
The move carries major financial implications for Minnesota. It generates a $33 million trade exception for the Timberwolves and frees up cap space the team can use to re-sign Ayo Dosunmu and pursue additional players when free agency opens.
Randle, a three-time All-Star, will now be suiting up for his fifth NBA franchise. He previously played for the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans, New York, and most recently Minnesota. This past season he averaged 21.1 points per game, though he struggled with efficiency — shooting just 39% from the field and 24% from three-point range across Minnesota’s 12 playoff games.
Claxton wraps up his seventh NBA season, all of which were spent in Brooklyn. He averaged 11.7 points per game this past year.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian stock markets turned in an uneven performance early Tuesday, as a recent stretch of strong gains gave way to caution over the uncertain path toward ending the war in Iran.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9% in morning trading, landing at 71,681.29.
“We’ve had eight days of strong markets. The market was up for about 12.5%, and now it has cooled off a little bit,” said Neil Newman, Managing Director and Head of Strategy at Astris Advisory Japan.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up less than 0.1% to 8,822.10 in early trading. South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 2.8% to 8,863.52. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.4% to 23,678.22, while China’s Shanghai Composite inched up 0.2% to 4,170.58.
Back on Wall Street, Monday brought a directionless session as oil prices retreated and major technology stocks fell. The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, retreating 27.79 points to 7,472.79. That index had posted gains in 11 of the past 12 weeks but now sits 1.8% below the all-time high it reached earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 148.01 points, or 0.3%, closing at 51,712.71. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.3%, falling 351.33 points to 26,166.60.
In the oil market, prices declined after the United States and Iran held weekend discussions about the conflict. U.S. Vice President JD Vance described the talks as creating a “good foundation for a successful final deal.”
A resolution to the war could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers and restore the full flow of deliveries from the Persian Gulf. Iran’s military claimed Saturday that it had shut the strait again, though U.S. Central Command has contested that assertion.
By early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude had climbed 35 cents to $74.21 per barrel, while Brent crude — the global benchmark — added 23 cents to reach $78.13 per barrel.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.50% from 4.46%. Yields have been trending upward amid speculation that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this year to combat inflation, which has been climbing due in part to higher oil costs tied to the Iran conflict. Economists anticipate a report due Thursday will show a key measure of consumer inflation accelerated to 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% in April.
SpaceX shares fell 16.4% to $154.60, marking the company’s third consecutive day of losses following a high-profile three-day surge after its debut on the U.S. stock market, where it initially priced shares at $135 each. The company is backed by xAI.
Among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 were Alphabet, which fell 5%, Amazon, which dropped 4.7%, and Broadcom, which declined 4.5%.
In currency markets, the U.S. dollar edged higher to 161.60 Japanese yen from 161.52 yen. The euro slipped slightly to $1.1427 from $1.1431.
The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2026 on Monday, with Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price, and Keith Tkachuk leading a group of six honorees.
Bergeron, Price, Tkachuk, Pekka Rinne, and Cindy Curley were chosen as player inductees, while longtime NHL executive Brian Burke will enter the Hall as a builder.
Bergeron earned the honor in his very first year of eligibility. The forward spent 19 seasons skating for the Boston Bruins, capturing the Stanley Cup in 2011 and setting a record with six Selke Trophies — awarded annually to the league’s top defensive forward. Over his career, Bergeron tallied 417 goals and 613 assists across 1,294 regular-season games, adding 128 points in 170 playoff contests.
His accomplishments stretch beyond the NHL as well. Bergeron won Olympic gold twice representing Canada, at the 2010 Vancouver Games and again at the 2014 Sochi Games. He also claimed gold at the 2004 IIHF World Championship, the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship, the 2012 Spengler Cup, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Goaltender Carey Price, a longtime rival of Bergeron on the ice, spent 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and retired as the franchise’s all-time wins leader with 361 victories. He posted a career 2.51 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage, and 49 shutouts over 712 games. Price is entering the Hall in his second year of eligibility.
In 2015, Price took home both the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player and the Vezina Trophy as its best goaltender. He also stood alongside Bergeron on Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2014 Olympics.
Tkachuk had to wait considerably longer for the call — this was his 14th year of eligibility. During his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Atlanta Thrashers, he scored 538 goals and added 527 assists in 1,201 games. Those numbers place him third all-time in goals among American-born players.
The timing of Tkachuk’s induction carried a personal touch. Just one day before the announcement, his two sons became teammates again when the Florida Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators to join his brother Matthew on the roster.
Rinne will become only the fourth Finnish player ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He spent 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators, finishing with 369 wins, a 2.43 goals-against average, and a .917 save percentage. He earned the 2018 Vezina Trophy as the league’s premier goaltender.
Curley, 62, made history as a member of the United States’ first-ever IIHF Women’s World Championship team back in 1990. She still holds the single-tournament points record from that year with 23 points, and was previously honored with induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.
Burke, 70, built a lengthy career as an NHL general manager, holding that role with the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also served in front-office capacities with the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins. His crowning achievement came when he helped guide the Ducks to the Stanley Cup championship in 2007.
The induction ceremony for the Class of 2026 is scheduled to take place in Toronto on November 9.
MANILA — The U.S. government has handed over four Ocean Aero Triton autonomous underwater and surface vehicles to the armed forces of the Philippines, in a transaction valued at $13 million, according to the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines.
The embassy announced the transfer on Tuesday, stating that the delivery underscores America’s dedication to its alliance with the Philippines and will strengthen the country’s capacity to identify and respond to challenges in its surrounding waters.
“The delivery demonstrates how aligned investments, training, and shared standards translate into credible, ready capabilities that deter aggression and support regional stability,” the embassy said in a formal statement.
PHILADELPHIA — Kylian Mbappe delivered two more goals and Ousmane Dembele chipped in a third as France rolled past Iraq 3-0 on Monday, securing their place in the World Cup’s last 32 — all while enduring the tournament’s first major weather stoppage.
The match marked Mbappe’s 100th appearance for the French national team, but the evening’s drama extended well beyond the pitch. Thunderstorms rolling through the Philadelphia area forced a halt to the game just before the second half was set to begin, pushing the restart back by nearly two hours. As a result, Mbappe’s two goals were scored almost three hours apart.
France manager Didier Deschamps praised his team’s ability to refocus after the lengthy interruption. “The first half was good,” Deschamps said. “In the second half, we picked up where we left off, bearing in mind that it wasn’t easy given what happened, and we managed to put the game beyond reach. That’s a very good thing.”
With his 16th career World Cup goal, Mbappe pulled even with Germany’s former all-time record holder Miroslav Klose. Earlier the same day, Lionel Messi raised the bar even higher, netting two goals in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria to reach 18 World Cup goals total. Mbappe’s four goals in this tournament put him just one behind Messi in the race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot.
Dembele, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, had drawn criticism following what many considered a lackluster showing in France’s 3-1 opening win over Senegal. Deschamps stood firmly behind his player. “There’s no issue,” the manager said. “Ousmane is confident in himself. He can sometimes get people talking, but I have complete faith in him. He’s still finding his bearings because his role is different from the one he has at his club.”
France will now face Norway on Saturday with first place in Group I at stake. The Norwegians defeated Senegal 3-2 on Monday, drawing level with France at three points.
Mbappe got France on the board in the 14th minute, taking a pass from Michael Olise, touching the ball to his left, and firing a powerful shot from outside the penalty area past goalkeeper Ahmed Basil. The goal came after what appeared to be a fairly routine buildup on the right side of the field.
Iraq, who spent much of the opening half chasing the ball, had hoped the weather break might help them regroup. Instead, a costly error on a goal kick in the 54th minute made things worse. Basil could not control a short pass from defender Zaid Tahseen, and Dembele was there to set up Mbappe for an easy tap-in. Twelve minutes after that, Dembele scored himself, finishing low past Basil after receiving a sharp pass from Olise.
Iraq substitute Ali Al-Hamadi, who entered the match in the 26th minute after Aymen Hussein came off with an apparent injury, reflected on the difficulty of the night. “You have one moment of excellence from one of the best players in the world,” Al-Hamadi said. “And then we have to go inside and wait for an hour and a half. You know, it’s really difficult to come out and keep the same intensity against these great players. And in the end I think we made too many mistakes again.”
Hussein, who had scored in Iraq’s 4-1 opening loss to Norway, may be unavailable for their final group match against Senegal. Iraq remain in contention for one of eight third-place spots, though they will likely need a win and some favorable results elsewhere to advance.
As for the storm itself, referee Drew Fischer blew the halftime whistle just as the weather was beginning to deteriorate. Conditions worsened quickly after that, and stadium officials directed fans to seek cover in the concourse areas. Players returned for warm-ups roughly one hour and 40 minutes later, but even then, ground crews had to use squeegees to clear standing water from the east side of the field before play could resume.
ATLANTA — In a World Cup designed to cast the soccer spotlight broader than ever before, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have wasted no time delivering the kind of superstar performances that FIFA, television networks, and American fans have been hungry to see. Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, and 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal have added to the excitement with their own jaw-dropping contributions.
If there is one thing American sports culture thrives on, it is the magnetism of a true superstar — someone whose individual talent and personality can elevate an entire event. Messi has answered that call emphatically, becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history just two matches into the tournament.
The nearly 39-year-old struck a hat-trick as Argentina rolled past Algeria 3-0, then kept the momentum going on Monday. Even a missed penalty could not overshadow the sense that Messi is savoring every moment of what is almost certainly his final World Cup appearance.
He scored both goals in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria, pushing his career World Cup tally to 18. Hot on his heels is France’s Mbappe, who is closing the gap quickly.
ONE STAR INSPIRES ANOTHER
Mbappe scored twice as France defeated Senegal 3-1, then added two more in Monday’s 3-0 victory over Iraq, leaving him just two goals behind Messi on the all-time list. After a challenging season at club level, the 27-year-old Real Madrid forward appears reinvigorated, playing with visible joy and confidence.
Spain’s Yamal has also captured the imagination of fans. Spain struggled to find the net in a scoreless tie against Cape Verde without him, but when the 18-year-old returned Sunday for his first start in two months, the buzz inside Atlanta Stadium was unmistakable.
Fans rose to their feet as Yamal opened the scoring to spark Spain to a commanding 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia. Spain had the match wrapped up by halftime, enabling the coaching staff to take Yamal off — a player who performs with a freedom that suggests he feels no burden from the enormous expectations placed on him.
Messi made his World Cup debut back in 2006, and now, two decades later, Yamal — wearing the same number 19 jersey — looks poised to carry that torch forward.
Norway’s Haaland has also shaken off any early nerves in his debut World Cup, tallying four goals across two matches. He bagged a brace in the 4-1 win over Iraq and did it again in Monday’s 3-2 thriller against Senegal.
Haaland and Mbappe are set to square off Friday when Norway and France clash for the top spot in Group I, with both prolific strikers eager to extend their leads in the scoring race.
Meanwhile, Kane’s two-goal effort against Croatia drew him level with Gary Lineker at 10 World Cup goals for England, making the Golden Boot chase one of the tournament’s most compelling subplots.
Four years ago, Mbappe and Messi dominated the tournament. Mbappe led all scorers with eight goals — one more than Messi — yet it was the Argentine who lifted the trophy after a final in which even Mbappe’s hat-trick was not enough to tip the scales. A rematch between the two nations is beginning to look like a genuine possibility, though this World Cup may also crown an entirely new hero in a country that has always had a soft spot for rising young talent.
A California-based artificial intelligence startup co-founded by Australians has announced it raised $1.5 billion in a new funding round, placing the company’s total valuation at $13 billion — a milestone that reflects the enormous wave of investment currently pouring into AI companies.
Baseten revealed late Monday that the funding round was spearheaded by U.S.-based investment firms Sands Capital and Wellington Management. Australian venture capital firm Blackbird VC also participated, contributing what it described as the largest single investment in the firm’s history, though the exact dollar amount was not disclosed.
The company’s core business involves selling software and infrastructure tools that allow other companies to build and customize their own AI models. Baseten positions itself as a more affordable option compared to well-known AI providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Baseten reported that its revenue has expanded 20 times over the past year, driven by growing demand for what the industry calls “inference” — the process by which a trained AI model produces real-world results and outputs.
This latest fundraise marks the fourth time in just 18 months that Baseten has gone to investors for capital, reflecting strong appetite among backers for companies that provide the underlying infrastructure needed to bring generative AI into commercial use.
Blackbird partner Michael Tolo described the firm’s decision to increase its stake in Baseten as a show of confidence. “It’s a signal of conviction,” he said in a phone interview.
Tolo also suggested that Blackbird’s latest investment may rank as the largest ever made by an Australian venture capital firm. He added that for businesses incorporating AI into their technology systems, Baseten offers a competitive pricing advantage over rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, calling it “the biggest shift that we’ve seen in both unit economics and competitive leverage within the AI market so far.”
Baseten said the newly raised funds will go toward expanding its computing capacity, developing additional software, and growing its workforce.
New Zealand is accelerating approval of gold mining projects and actively recruiting mining investors as skyrocketing bullion prices breathe new life into an industry that has been shrinking for years — all while raising questions about the country’s famous “100% Pure” marketing image as the government scrambles to strengthen a struggling economy.
Based on Reuters calculations, New Zealand’s gold output is on pace to double by the mid-2030s, reaching its highest level in at least 30 years. Two new projects have already received approval, and a third is still awaiting a final green light. If that trajectory holds, the country would surpass the government’s goal of raising annual mineral exports — including coal and silver — to NZ$3 billion (about $1.8 billion U.S.) by 2035.
Mining companies see untapped opportunity in the nation, which they consider underexplored, especially as the government works to create jobs amid unemployment levels not seen in nearly a decade and declining business confidence. New Zealand issued 163 new permits for prospecting, mining, and exploration last year — a 16% jump compared to the previous year, according to government data.
However, the mining push is drawing pushback from environmental advocates and some in the agricultural industry, who worry that a larger mining presence could tarnish the clean, natural image that New Zealand has built for its tourism and export industries.
Two major challenges loom for the sector this year: the outcome of a closely watched November 7 election that could reshape existing mining policies, and whether a contentious mining project clears its final regulatory hurdle.
Jake Klein, founder of Australia’s second-largest gold mining company, Evolution Mining, and chairman of Endura Mining — whose Snowy River project is scheduled to begin production in December — said the country has long been overlooked. “New Zealand has been under-recognised as a mining jurisdiction for a long period of time,” he said. “The mining industry likes to discover new jurisdictions … but it’s going to be dependent on success and consistency of government policy,” he added.
Resources Minister Shane Jones told Reuters that the government — which last month cut its economic growth forecast for next year to 2.3% — remains firmly behind the industry. “Our economy needs every arrow in the economic quiver shot with amazing accuracy,” he said.
Gold stands out as one of the few bright spots in New Zealand’s economy. Export revenues from the metal have nearly tripled over three years to NZ$1.83 billion, now making up 2.3% of total goods exports compared with just 0.9% in 2022.
To help jolt the sluggish economy, New Zealand enacted a law in late 2024 designed to cut approval timelines for major infrastructure, mining, and energy projects from years down to months. The fast-track permitting system allows qualifying projects to bypass certain standard regulatory steps and restricts public comment periods and legal challenges. The opposition Labour Party has stated it would amend the law to ensure environmental protections cannot be overridden.
Canadian-listed OceanaGold has already secured approval through the fast-track process, while Santana Minerals is still waiting on a decision under the same streamlined system.
The Snowy River project is expected to bring 250 jobs to the region and add at least NZ$350 million per year in export revenue, according to government projections. Klein said the company hopes to recruit New Zealanders currently working in Australian mines who want to return home. “If we can find New Zealanders working in mines in Australia who want to get back home, we’ll hire them,” he said.
New Zealand’s largest gold producer, OceanaGold, plans to invest NZ$1 billion in its Waihi North project, with production expected to begin in 2032. Senior Vice President Alison Paul noted that the company’s operations draw workers — including some from Australia — who are drawn to regional living and enjoy spending their days off “hunting or fishing or farming, or being with kids and family.”
Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon offered a measured take, noting that while mining is a highly productive industry, much of the financial gain would likely flow to mine owners rather than broadly transform the wider economy.
The most heated debate over gold mining is playing out in Central Otago on New Zealand’s South Island, where Australian-listed explorer Santana Minerals is waiting on consent for its Bendigo-Ophir gold project. A decision is due by October 29, 2026.
Santana Minerals CEO Damian Spring, a New Zealander who lives about an hour’s drive from the proposed mine site, emphasized the well-paying regional jobs the project would generate. “Responsible mining is not a contradiction in terms here. It’s a choice New Zealand is making,” he said.
Government estimates project the proposed mine would contribute an average of NZ$360 million annually to GDP and directly employ 351 people. Still, the project faces significant opposition from wineries, heritage organizations, and environmental groups.
Wine producers in Central Otago are worried the open-cast mine could threaten water supplies and expose their vineyards to airborne pollutants, potentially undermining a premium wine industry that has been built up over decades.
Actor Sam Neill, who owns the Two Paddocks winery in Central Otago, issued a stark warning about what approval of the mine could set in motion. “This would be disastrous. #ravageandpillage,” he said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Zoe Hawkins, an organizer with Natural Capital — a group representing local residents opposed to the Santana project — said the fast-track permitting system gave community groups only 20 working days to file a response. “I would really like to say that we do have a chance of stopping it. I think that the odds have really been stacked against us,” she said.
The U.S. dollar remained strong on Tuesday as investors positioned themselves for the possibility of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, while the Japanese yen hovered dangerously close to a level not seen since 1986.
U.S. Treasury yields stayed high following a surge on Monday, with yields on 2-year notes — which are particularly sensitive to interest rate changes — sitting near a 16-month peak. Traders are increasingly expecting the Fed to raise rates before the year is out.
Market futures are currently pricing in a 75% chance of a rate hike by September. Both BofA Global Research and Deutsche Bank have scrapped their earlier predictions of no policy change and now forecast the Fed will increase rates this year, pointing to the economy’s continued strength.
“The dollar is holding firm on rising yields and hawkish Fed bets,” said Sim Moh Siong, an FX strategist at OCBC, adding that limited guidance from the Fed has been stoking market volatility. He noted that his bank now expects a modestly stronger dollar given the growing likelihood of tighter U.S. monetary policy, walking back a previous forecast that the currency would trade in a narrow range.
Siong also said the dollar index — which tracks the greenback against six other major currencies — could gain an additional 2% to 3% if it clearly breaks above the 14-month high of 101.97. The index was trading slightly higher at 101.01 on Tuesday, just below last week’s one-year peak of 101.13.
Oil prices also lent support to the dollar on Tuesday, rebounding after a steep decline the day before. The previous session’s drop came amid signs of progress in U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks, but investors are waiting for clearer confirmation that crude oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz will actually be restored before making further moves.
The euro was last changing hands at $1.1423, near a three-month low, after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde downplayed concerns about a second wave of inflation. The British pound traded at $1.3246, largely stabilizing after Prime Minister Keir Starmer stepped down and set the stage for an orderly handover of power.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars each slipped about 0.1%, trading at $0.6991 and $0.5704, respectively.
Yen Teeters at Four-Decade Low
The Japanese yen was last trading at 161.59 after briefly sliding to a two-year low of 161.93 late Monday as the dollar extended its broad advance. A move above 161.96 would push the yen to its weakest point since 1986.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama held a virtual meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent late Monday, according to a source who spoke with Reuters, as anxiety grows over dramatic swings in the currency’s value. The discussion centered on how to respond to the yen’s historic weakness, with currency intervention among the options potentially on the table.
Japanese financial officials have kept markets guessing about whether they plan to intervene, with the absence of clear signals pointing to a possible change in how authorities are communicating their intentions.
“The market is now watching closely for signs that Japanese authorities will step in to defend the 161.95 level in the sessions ahead,” wrote Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. “We think they are likely to intervene and try and hold the line at least temporarily,” he added, though he cautioned that any such action would probably not produce a long-lasting effect.
Women’s golf is set to reach a new financial milestone this week as the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship tees off with a record-breaking $13 million purse — the biggest prize pool in the history of women’s golf.
The tournament runs Thursday through Sunday at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, and draws a 156-player field that includes every one of the top 100 players in the current Race to the CME Globe standings. Leading the pack are World No. 1 Nelly Korda and defending champion Minjee Lee of Australia.
LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler highlighted the significance of the event in a prepared statement. “The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship continues to raise the bar for women’s golf,” he said. “Record purse increases, enhanced broadcast coverage, and one of the strongest fields of the year makes this tournament a can’t-miss event for fans.”
Beyond the record prize money, this year’s championship introduces a range of technology upgrades designed to give both players and viewers a richer experience. The KPMG Performance Insights platform brings AI-powered player reels and a live outcome prediction engine, among other features.
Broadcast enhancements through KPMG CHAMPCAST will also deliver 3D course imagery, radar tracking data, shot trails, green views, and individual shot video highlights throughout the competition.
Coverage of the four-day event will air on NBC, Golf Channel, and Peacock, with close to 100 hours of live, streaming, and supplemental programming planned in total.
PGA of America CEO Terry Clark expressed enthusiasm for the championship in his own statement. “Together with KPMG and the LPGA Tour, we are excited to once again present a world-class experience at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship,” Clark said. “This Championship is a testament to our continued investment in growing the women’s game, setting new standards with a record purse, innovative technology enhancements and comprehensive broadcast coverage. We look forward to seeing 156 of the world’s best players compete.”
Hazeltine National is no stranger to hosting major events. This marks the course’s second time welcoming the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, having previously hosted the event in 2019. The club has also been home to two PGA Championships, held in 2002 and 2009, as well as the 2016 Ryder Cup — an event that is scheduled to return to Hazeltine in 2029.
A blockbuster deal that brings brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk together on the same NHL team has sent oddsmakers scrambling, pushing the Florida Panthers into the upper tier of Stanley Cup favorites heading into the 2026-27 season.
The move came as something of a surprise given that Florida finished 14th in the Eastern Conference last season and failed to reach the playoffs. General manager Bill Zito made an aggressive push to reshape the roster, giving up a hefty package that includes three first-round picks. Earlier that same Sunday, Florida also shipped Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken before finalizing the deal to bring Brady Tkachuk aboard to play alongside his older brother Matthew.
At BetMGM, the Panthers’ Stanley Cup odds improved dramatically — shifting from +1100 before the trade to +800 afterward. The sportsbook also noted that since the deal was completed, 64% of all bets placed on next season’s Stanley Cup winner have gone toward Florida.
Only two teams currently carry shorter odds at BetMGM: the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche, both sitting at +750. The Panthers’ surge pushed them past the Vegas Golden Knights, now listed at +900, and further ahead of the Edmonton Oilers at +1100.
Interestingly, the Golden Knights remain the book’s biggest financial liability despite attracting just 7.7% of total bets placed — because 80.6% of all money wagered on the Stanley Cup champion has gone toward Vegas. In terms of total bet volume, Colorado leads with 16.5%, followed by Florida at 12.6% and Carolina at 11.5%.
On the other side of the deal, the Ottawa Senators saw their own title odds worsen, moving from +1800 to +2500 following the departure of their franchise cornerstone.
Brady Tkachuk, 26, was Ottawa’s fourth overall selection in the 2018 NHL Draft and stepped right into the lineup after being chosen. Over eight seasons with the Senators, the forward accumulated 463 points — 213 goals and 250 assists — across 572 games.
Both Brady and his brother Matthew, 28, were part of the Team USA squad that captured Olympic gold earlier this year. Now the two aim to deliver championship success to Florida, a team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups before falling short of the playoffs last season.
Ottawa did make the postseason in each of the last two years — the first playoff appearances during Brady Tkachuk’s tenure — but the Senators have not advanced past the first round since 2017.
In return for Tkachuk, Ottawa will receive Florida’s two first-round picks in this year’s draft, slotted at ninth and 25th overall, along with a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2029 and a second-round selection in 2027.
Bill Foley, the man behind the Vegas Golden Knights, has officially thrown his hat in the ring to bring a National Basketball Association expansion team to Las Vegas.
Foley already has an extensive sports ownership portfolio that includes two European soccer clubs — AFC Bournemouth in England’s Premier League and FC Lorient in France’s Ligue 1. If awarded the NBA franchise, he plans to house the new team at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, the same venue where his NHL squad plays its home games.
“Las Vegas has earned its place among great sports cities in America, and an NBA team belongs here,” Foley said in a written statement. “We built the Golden Knights into a championship organization from the ground up, and we are prepared to do it again — with the same standard, the same commitment to this community, and the same insistence on winning. We have the market, a proven world-class arena and a best-in-class organization in place. Our intention is to be ready the day the NBA is ready.”
Foley indicated that if his bid is selected, he anticipates bringing in a small group of minority investors. The price tag to secure an NBA expansion franchise is expected to fall somewhere between $7 billion and $10 billion.
Las Vegas is already in the midst of a major sports expansion era. The city is set to welcome Major League Baseball’s A’s in 2028, and it already hosts the WNBA’s Aces, the NFL’s Raiders, and the NHL’s Golden Knights — teams that now call a city home that was once considered too unpredictable for permanent professional sports franchises.
“This is the NBA’s decision to make,” Foley added. “Our job is to provide the league a Las Vegas option that is ready, credible, and built to last.”
The NBA’s board of governors opened up exclusive expansion bidding in March, targeting two potential cities: Las Vegas and Seattle. Currently, six NHL team owners also hold a primary ownership stake in an NBA franchise.
