TOKYO — SoftBank’s LY Corp and Bain Capital have once again raised their offer to acquire Kakaku.com, the Japanese operator of a popular price-comparison website, placing the company’s total value at 670 billion yen — approximately $4.12 billion — and pulling further ahead of a competing bid from Sweden’s EQT.
The legally binding proposal, announced late Wednesday, sets the per-share price at 3,384 yen, up from the 3,232 yen per share that LY and Bain had proposed back in May.
The two bidders also indicated the offer could climb even higher — to 3,500 yen per share — if KDDI Corp, one of Kakaku.com’s largest shareholders, agrees to back the deal.
EQT’s current standing offer remains at 3,000 yen per share, now trailing the LY-Bain proposal by a significant margin.
In response to the revised bid, Kakaku.com announced Thursday that it plans to open talks with EQT about its offer price, while still expressing general support for the Swedish investment firm. However, the company pulled back its formal recommendation that shareholders back EQT’s bid, moving to a “neutral” position and stating it would engage with both competing bidders going forward.
Jaylen Brown’s run in Boston has come to a stunning close, as the Celtics have agreed to ship him across the rivalry divide to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brown — the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star, and the fourth-highest scorer in the league this past season — is headed to Philadelphia, according to a source familiar with the agreement who spoke Wednesday on the condition of anonymity, citing the fact that the trade still awaits required league approval.
In return, Boston will receive Paul George along with a package of draft selections that could amount to two first-round picks and two second-round picks, the source said. ESPN was first to report the deal, which was subsequently confirmed by The Boston Globe.
The move is the latest in a series of major roster shakeups around the NBA this offseason. LeBron James is departing the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, while other headline deals have included Giannis Antetokounmpo moving from Milwaukee to Miami, a swap between the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers centered on Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Ingram, and Ja Morant being sent from Memphis to Portland.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wasted no time reacting on social media, writing: “Welcome to Philly, JB! Sixers get way better and, as a bonus, the Celtics got worse!”
The trade dissolves one of the most productive duos in recent NBA history. Brown and Jayson Tatum formed the backbone of the team that won the 2024 NBA championship. With Tatum sidelined for much of this past season recovering from an Achilles tear suffered during the 2025 playoffs, Brown shouldered an even heavier burden — finishing with career-high averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.
Reports had surfaced that Brown felt undervalued in Boston, particularly after it emerged that the Celtics had included him in trade discussions with Milwaukee when Antetokounmpo was available. Over the weekend, Brown took to social media to make his case: “Nobody has won more combined regular-season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago.” The numbers back him up — Boston has won 523 games with Brown in uniform, including postseason contests, which is six more than Denver has won with Nikola Jokic over the same stretch.
Brown now heads to a Philadelphia squad that already features guard Tyrese Maxey and center Joel Embiid — the latter of whom Brown recently called a flopper during a livestream. Brown didn’t mince words, saying: “Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in (expletive) basketball history. Flops. He know it. This ain’t breaking news.”
The potential trio of Brown, Maxey — who ranked fifth in the league in scoring this past season — and Embiid, a two-time NBA scoring champion, could be a formidable force. The fact that Boston played a hand in assembling that group only deepens the mystery around why the Celtics chose to move Brown at all.
For Paul George, the trade closes the book on a deeply disappointing two-year stretch in Philadelphia. The 36-year-old, who was acquired with two years remaining on a four-year, $212 million contract, never came close to recapturing the All-Star form that earned him nine selections at that level. His time with the Sixers was further derailed by a 25-game suspension last season after he failed a drug test, with George citing mental health reasons for the violation of the NBA’s anti-drug program.
George averaged just 16.7 points across his two seasons in Philadelphia — a stark drop from the nine consecutive seasons in which he eclipsed 20 points per game while playing for Indiana, Oklahoma City, and the Los Angeles Clippers. His first year was plagued by knee and adductor injuries that led to one of the worst statistical seasons of his career, averaging 16.2 points in only 41 games. He then underwent surgery on his left knee in July and missed the first 12 games of the following season.
The deal marks the first major move under new team president Mike Gansey, who took over after Daryl Morey was let go. Morey was fired following the Sixers’ inability to advance past the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs during his tenure. Philadelphia was swept by the eventual NBA champion Knicks in last season’s second round — though not before pulling off a stunning comeback from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate Boston in the first round.
Brown himself reflected on that series after the Game 7 defeat: “Philadelphia is a good basketball team” — words that now carry extra weight, given that he’ll soon be suiting up for them. His mission going forward will be to make that good team even better — and chase the franchise’s first title since 1983, something a succession of stars including Ben Simmons, James Harden, and George all failed to deliver when paired alongside Embiid and Maxey.
Former NFL running back Chris Johnson is working to revive the Ice Bucket Challenge as he wages his own personal battle against ALS, a deadly disease that attacks the nervous system.
The Ice Bucket Challenge first swept the nation in the summer of 2014, encouraging people to film or photograph themselves having a bucket of ice-cold water poured over their heads, then daring friends and family to do the same. The viral movement made a significant impact — the ALS Therapy Development Institute reports it generated roughly $135 million in the United States and approximately $220 million across the globe for ALS research and treatment efforts.
Johnson made his push to restart the challenge through an Instagram post on Wednesday, just two days after he publicly revealed his diagnosis on “Good Morning America.” He said the inspiration came after watching a video posted by former Utah men’s basketball player Hunter Mecum, who poured ice water over himself in a show of support for the 40-year-old former running back.
“The support you’ve shown me over the last few days has meant more than I can put into words,” Johnson wrote in his post. “Seeing this video reminded me of something powerful. Years ago, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge united millions of people around one cause and helped change the fighting against this disease. Today, I’m asking you to help me do it again.”
Johnson specifically called out former All-Pro running back Marshawn Lynch, along with ex-Tennessee Titans teammates LenDale White and Adam “Pacman” Jones, urging them to take part. He later shared Instagram Story clips showing White and others getting soaked in the challenge.
During his “Good Morning America” appearance, Johnson disclosed that he received his ALS diagnosis last year.
A first-round draft pick in 2008 out of East Carolina, Johnson had a standout 10-year career in the NFL that included time with the Titans from 2008 to 2013, the New York Jets in 2014, and the Arizona Cardinals from 2015 to 2017. His best season came in 2009, when he rushed for 2,006 yards and earned The Associated Press offensive player of the year honor. Over his entire career, he accumulated 9,651 rushing yards.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling announced Wednesday that he plans to retire, ending a three-year run at the helm of one of the country’s largest law enforcement agencies.
Snelling took charge of the 12,000-officer department three years ago, making community trust and reducing violent crime central priorities of his leadership. He emphasized innovation and stronger relationships between officers and the neighborhoods they serve.
Crime statistics from the department show that murders and shootings — traditionally the key indicators of crime trends in Chicago — have dropped significantly this year, falling 32% and 41%, respectively, compared to 2023.
In a written statement, Snelling did not specify what motivated his decision to leave, but expressed appreciation for the support he received. “I am closing out this chapter of my life with a heart full of gratitude for every Chicagoan and every community partner who embraced me during my time at the Chicago Police Department,” he said.
The superintendent’s role in Chicago has long been a challenging one. Many of Snelling’s predecessors lasted only a few years before stepping down amid pressure from various interest groups, including the local police union.
Among the more difficult periods of his tenure, Snelling oversaw the department as hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed to Chicago as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts targeting cities with Democratic leadership. He had to balance maintaining public safety without appearing to align too closely with federal immigration authorities — a position that risked damaging community trust and sparking protests.
In 2024, Snelling helped coordinate security for the Democratic National Convention, during which then-Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted her party’s presidential nomination. Officers received training in constitutional policing and de-escalation techniques, while a select group underwent specialized preparation for responding to civil unrest and riots.
Snelling also guided the department through its ongoing compliance with a federally monitored reform plan — known as a consent decree — approved by a federal judge in 2019. The plan was put in place following a U.S. Justice Department report that identified widespread civil rights violations within the department. It called for expanded community policing efforts and enhanced training on the use of force.
Mayor Brandon Johnson praised Snelling’s service in a statement of his own. “We’re grateful for Superintendent Snelling’s dedicated leadership and the work we’ve accomplished together to advance a community safety strategy rooted in strong partnerships and deep community engagement across Chicago,” Johnson said.
Snelling, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, joined the police department in 1992 as a patrol officer, according to the mayor. He later rose to lead the department’s counterterrorism division. In 2023, the City Council voted unanimously to confirm him as superintendent.
His retirement takes effect July 15. Fred Waller will serve as interim superintendent while officials conduct a search for a permanent replacement, Mayor Johnson said.
HERSHEY, Pa. — The small Pennsylvania community of Hershey is widely celebrated as the “Sweetest Place on Earth,” a nod to its chocolate-making heritage. But these days, the town has another claim to fame: it’s the hometown of Christian Pulisic, the biggest star on a U.S. national soccer team that’s making a serious run at the World Cup as one of the tournament’s co-hosts.
The Americans punched their ticket to the round of 16 on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, setting up a Monday showdown against Belgium.
“Hershey to me is everything — it’s where my family is from, it’s where I grew up,” Pulisic said in a recent Instagram post, where he was also promoting limited-edition Pulisic’s Milk Chocolate Bars produced by the Hershey Company, complete with custom wrappers bearing his signature. “It’s where I learned how to play. It’s just home.”
Pulisic was raised in this south-central Pennsylvania town, nestled among farms and gently rolling hills, where even the streetlights along Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses. The community was established in 1903 by Milton S. Hershey, the American businessman and philanthropist who also built worker housing, a hotel, and a theme park — one Pulisic frequently visited with his family growing up.
More than 120 years later, the Hershey Company remains the backbone of what locals call Chocolatetown, USA. But the “Man Behind the Chocolate Bar” now shares the title of hometown hero with the soccer player the world knows as “Captain America.”
Pulisic’s ties to Hershey go far beyond geography, and as the U.S. team has delivered some of the most thrilling soccer in recent memory, his community has been cheering every step of the way.
“It’s pretty amazing that he came from Hershey and played for my club,” said Cecelia Stefanelli, a rising freshman at Hershey High School, who was recently seen scoring a goal against her father on a field where Pulisic once played.
The U.S. team’s win Wednesday evening marked their first World Cup elimination-round victory in 24 years. Despite playing shorthanded for more than 35 minutes, they defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in the round of 32. Pulisic was back on the field after missing the second group-stage game with a calf injury and playing only 33 minutes as a substitute in the final group match against Turkey.
“I’d love if USA won the World Cup; it’d make me happy,” said Stefanelli, a center back who also plays for the Pennsylvania Classics soccer club — the same organization Pulisic credits with shaping his development. He spent eight years with PA Classics and returned in 2021 to cut the ribbon on new fields he personally funded and helped design. Those fields are now called the Pulisic Stomping Grounds.
The club sits in Lancaster County, surrounded by chicken and dairy farms whose pungent smell of manure and fermenting feed drifts across the fields.
On a recent afternoon, players Liam Gustafson and Moussa Oumarou were juggling and passing a soccer ball during warm-ups in front of a sprawling photo collage documenting Pulisic’s journey — from early childhood training sessions to his starring role on the U.S. World Cup squad.
“It’s really special to see someone from around here, where we live, playing in the World Cup,” said Gustafson, a 17-year-old forward who dreams of a professional career and looks up to Pulisic as his role model. “It’s really inspiring to see someone who paved the way, so that we can do that someday.”
Pulisic’s path to soccer stardom began early, shaped in large part by his parents. He was born in Hershey on September 18, 1998, to Kelley and Mark Pulisic, who both played collegiate soccer at George Mason University. His father later played professional indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat. The family spent a year in England while his mother participated in a Fulbright Program teacher exchange, during which a 7-year-old Pulisic played for the Brackley Town youth team.
“Mark and Kelley could write a playbook on how to raise a humble, smart, kind superstar, while maintaining family relationships,” said Tara Seymour, a family friend and retired health and physical education teacher at Hershey Middle School. Seymour met the Pulisics at a soccer camp and developed a close friendship with Pulisic’s mother.
“She just quietly said to me one time, ‘We have never seen anything like this,’” Seymour recalled. “This is a kid who could juggle the soccer ball hundreds of times when he was in elementary school.” Pulisic, she added, would spend hours in his backyard practicing moves he watched professional players perform on television.
“He has an intensity that couldn’t be taught,” Seymour said. “I think he had the opportunity to go pro earlier or go to Europe earlier and they held back just to make sure emotionally and maturity-wise he was ready.”
After the family returned to Hershey, Pulisic joined PA Classics at age 10. Doug Harris, the club’s president and co-founder, said Pulisic’s exceptional ability allowed him to compete with older age groups, even though he was often the smallest player on the pitch.
“I think if you were to pull kids in the world who want to achieve the level of Christian Pulisic, you’d have millions that would step up, raise their hand. They’re all gifted; they all can play,” Harris said. “But there’s something fundamental about what Christian has been able to do and I’d credit Mark and Kelley Pulisic with a lot of that.”
The last time the U.S. men’s team won a World Cup knockout match was June 17, 2002, when they beat Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in South Korea. Pulisic has said the team’s mentality heading into this round remains unchanged, and the atmosphere in the squad stays relaxed despite the enormous pressure.
“It’s just special to be here,” he said. “You just don’t want it to end.”
Before the Bosnia-Herzegovina match, PA Classics coaches Brittney Jakobson and Nick Jakobson brought their children, Declan and Camden, out to kick a ball at Pulisic’s former training ground. Both coaches believe the U.S. has a real shot at winning the whole tournament — but they say the team’s impact goes well beyond any trophy.
“Their goal is to inspire a generation and it’s really fun to see that happening in real time … to hear people going out and watching the games, to see people buying the jerseys,” Brittney Jakobson said.
“Pulisic, obviously, in the short term is a great kind of figure to follow,” Nick Jakobson added. “But he does very much encourage that it’s not just about him. It’s not about just these four years. It’s about the next eight, 12, 16. It’s forward-thinking, and they’re laying a good foundation for what we can build on.”
Federal authorities confirmed Wednesday that the case of a missing elderly woman — mother of a well-known television news personality — is still being handled as a kidnapping for ransom investigation, even after several purported ransom notes were found to be fraudulent.
The FBI’s Phoenix field office released a statement on the social media platform X, saying that over the five months since 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home, investigators have received multiple notes that lacked legitimacy.
“Some have been determined to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such,” the FBI stated.
“This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case,” the agency added.
An FBI official had told Reuters on Tuesday, speaking under the condition of anonymity, that investigators concluded three high-profile kidnapping-related messages were not credible. Two of those messages had been characterized as ransom notes, and the third was a message reported by a celebrity news outlet.
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was 84 years old and in fragile health with limited mobility when she was last seen on January 31 at her residence. A friend alerted family members the following day after she failed to appear at church as expected. When relatives went to check on her, they found her gone.
A search of her home revealed she had left behind critical personal belongings, including her wallet, cellphone, hearing aid, and medication. DNA testing later confirmed that blood discovered on her front porch was hers.
The first of the three widely publicized notes was received by a CBS-affiliated television station in Tucson on February 2 — two days after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing. That note set two deadlines for ransom payment in Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The FBI acknowledged the note at the time but said it had not yet confirmed its authenticity.
A second note, reported by NBC News last week, reportedly referenced Guthrie as having died, but did not include a demand for payment or any offer to return her remains.
The celebrity news website TMZ.com also reported last week that it had received a third note from someone claiming to know who carried out the abduction, saying they possessed video footage of the person they described as the “main guy” involved, as well as video of Guthrie on the day she allegedly died.
The anonymous FBI official told Reuters that the first two notes were traced to the same sender and were both ruled not credible, as was the third note obtained by TMZ.
Separately, the head of the Phoenix FBI field office, Heith Janke, disclosed at a February 5 news conference that an individual had been taken into custody in connection with a fraudulent ransom demand sent to Guthrie’s family members.
Court documents from that date show that Derrick Callella was charged with two counts of harassment by telecom devices. Prosecutors allege he sent a fake ransom demand by text message to Savannah Guthrie’s sister and brother-in-law on February 4.
Callella entered a not guilty plea, but court records indicate a change-of-plea hearing in his case was scheduled for Thursday in federal court in Tucson.
Folarin Balogun’s Wednesday night at the World Cup was one for the record books — though not entirely for the right reasons. The American striker opened the scoring and paid homage to an NBA legend, only to be sent off the field later in the same game, leaving his team shorthanded heading into a crucial knockout round.
Balogun netted his third goal of the tournament to give the United States a first-half advantage in their 2-0 round-of-32 victory over Bosnia on Wednesday. After putting the ball in the net, he channeled LeBron James, mimicking the basketball star’s well-known “Silencer” celebration — raising his knees, pounding his chest, and pushing both arms downward repeatedly in front of a fired-up crowd in Santa Clara.
James himself caught the moment. “Helluva goal there Young King!” the NBA star posted on social media while the match was still underway, amplifying Balogun’s highlight with some added celebrity shine.
The good feelings didn’t last long. After halftime, a Video Assistant Referee review resulted in Balogun receiving a red card for making contact with Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle with his boot. The contact appeared unintentional, and no card had been issued on the field initially — but the VAR review changed everything, forcing the U.S. to finish the match with ten men.
The moment briefly threatened to cast a shadow over everything Balogun had contributed. It also brought back difficult memories for American soccer supporters of Tim Weah’s red card against Panama at the 2024 Copa America, when the U.S. fell apart and was eliminated in the group stage on home soil.
This time, the outcome was different. Rather than crumbling under the pressure, coach Mauricio Pochettino’s squad stayed organized and disciplined, holding their shape while still threatening on the attack. Malik Tillman eventually doubled the lead with a free kick, sealing the win despite the numerical disadvantage.
“We had to dig deep for that one,” said Christian Pulisic.
“Obviously, I felt we put on such a good performance and didn’t deserve the red card. I mean, I didn’t see it, but it’s unfortunate. But for us to dig in deep, get another goal and defend the way we did, it took a real team effort, but we’re proud of that,” Pulisic added.
For Balogun, the evening was a study in contrasts — another sharp finish that cemented his role as the centerpiece of the U.S. attack, followed by a suspension that will force him to watch from the sidelines when the Americans take on Belgium in the round of 16 in Seattle on Monday.
The U.S. showed Wednesday they can survive without him. Come Monday, they’ll need to prove they can do it again — right from the opening whistle.
The United States men’s soccer team advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup on Wednesday with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Bosnia, ending a 24-year wait for a win at that stage of the tournament.
The match, played in the San Francisco Bay Area in Santa Clara, California, was a high-energy, physical affair that saw the Americans finish with just 10 men but still manage to secure the win.
Folarin Balogun opened the scoring near the end of the first half, giving the crowd-backed hosts an early advantage. However, Balogun was shown a red card after halftime for a serious foul on Tarik Muharemovic — a challenge that appeared to be accidental — leaving the U.S. a man down for the remainder of the game.
Despite the disadvantage, Malik Tillman sealed the result with a beautifully struck free kick eight minutes before the final whistle, putting the outcome beyond doubt.
The Americans had additional goals from Balogun and Christian Pulisic ruled out during the match, adding to the drama of the evening. Still, the U.S. showed plenty of quality throughout, with Pulisic returning to the lineup and making his presence felt, while Weston McKennie and Tillman also impressed.
The win snapped a 10-match losing streak for the United States against European competition and set up a round-of-16 showdown with Belgium in Seattle. Belgium earned their spot in that match by coming from two goals behind to defeat Senegal 3-2 in extra time.
Asian stock markets took a hit Thursday as investors moved away from chipmaker stocks after a remarkably strong quarter, while currency and bond markets held their breath ahead of a key U.S. employment report that could shape expectations around interest rate increases.
Oil prices slid to their lowest levels in four months, with Brent crude falling 0.8% to $71 per barrel. The drop came after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that talks with Iran had gone well in Qatar, and as additional oil tankers began moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
MSCI’s broadest measure of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan declined 0.8% on Thursday, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.1%, continuing losses from the first day of the new quarter.
South Korea’s KOSPI index was among the hardest hit, dropping 2.7% — extending a 2% decline from Wednesday. The pullback followed a stunning 68% surge during the second quarter, driven by soaring demand for memory chips tied to artificial intelligence.
SK Hynix shares plunged 7.7% and Samsung fell 6.2%. The selloff came after a report revealed that Meta Platforms is developing a cloud business to sell off excess AI computing capacity. That news sent Meta’s own shares — the company that owns Facebook — up 8.8% in overnight trading.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index went against the regional trend, posting a gain of 1.8%.
In a broader trend, foreign investors sold off Asian stocks at the fastest pace in at least 16 years during the first half of 2026. The AI-fueled rally had pushed valuations so high that investors began trimming their biggest winners in South Korea and Taiwan while searching for cheaper alternatives.
All eyes are now on the U.S. non-farm payrolls report, which is being released Thursday this month because Friday is a federal holiday for Independence Day — which falls on a Sunday this year.
Economists surveyed by Reuters are forecasting a gain of 110,000 jobs for June, though estimates range widely from 25,000 to 200,000, leaving plenty of room for a surprise. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.3%.
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, weighed in on what traders are hoping for: “For the equity traders, there is probably no single rigid playbook to work from. Ideally, equity players want a Goldilocks outcome: respectable job creation, a stable unemployment rate.”
Weston added, “Anything that avoids a marked increase in the implied probability of near-term rate hikes is likely to be welcomed by equity bulls.”
At the Sintra Forum, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation risks had eased somewhat in recent weeks, though his comments gave only brief relief to Treasury markets. Warsh also made clear he would hold firm to the 2% inflation target and would “disappoint” anyone expecting a looser approach to monetary policy. Markets are currently pricing in roughly 80% odds of a rate hike in September.
Treasury yields have been climbing as traders prepare for a potentially strong jobs number, which could further increase bets on a near-term rate hike. U.S. 2-year yields edged up 1 basis point Thursday to 4.1785%, and are up 9 basis points so far this week. The 10-year yield held at 4.4811% after rising 10 basis points over the same period.
Rising Treasury yields continued to support the U.S. dollar.
The euro slipped 0.4% against the dollar overnight after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said inflation and growth risks were becoming more evenly balanced. The euro steadied during Asian trading hours Thursday at $1.1379.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 162.59 per dollar, after hitting a fresh 40-year low of 162.84 on Wednesday. The decline has prompted the usual warnings of possible intervention from Tokyo, though previous interventions in April and May had only short-term effects — even after Japanese authorities spent nearly 12 trillion yen.
Gold bounced back 0.5% to $4,050 per ounce, recovering slightly after a difficult quarter.
A California man has been handed a one-year jail sentence in connection with the death of a Jewish man during a clash between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protesters in late 2023.
Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji was sentenced to one year in Ventura County Jail along with two years of felony probation for the November 2023 death of Paul Kessler. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced the sentence in a statement Wednesday.
Alnaji entered a guilty plea in May to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say Alnaji turned a verbal dispute with Kessler into a physical confrontation during competing street demonstrations in Thousand Oaks — a community located roughly 35 miles west of Los Angeles. The two men were participating in opposing pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli rallies at the time.
During the altercation, Alnaji hit Kessler in the head with a megaphone, causing Kessler to fall and strike his head on the pavement. Prosecutors noted that Alnaji remained at the scene, dialed 911, and gave a statement to investigators. Kessler later died from the injuries he sustained. Alnaji was taken into custody within days and formally charged with causing Kessler’s death.
Prosecutors pushed for a state prison term and formally objected to the court’s decision to impose the one-year jail sentence combined with probation rather than a harsher punishment.
Civil rights advocates have raised concerns about a surge in threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab Americans since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
A series of deadly incidents has deepened those concerns. Among them: a 2023 fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American child in Illinois, whose killer was sentenced to 53 years in prison and later died in custody; a 2026 shooting at a San Diego mosque that left five people dead, including two teenage suspects; a 2025 shooting that killed two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington; and a 2025 fire-bomb attack in Colorado that killed one woman, with the attacker receiving a life sentence.
KYIV, Ukraine — A massive Russian assault using missiles and drones hammered Ukraine’s capital overnight into Thursday, with powerful explosions rattling the entire city of Kyiv for hours.
The strikes left one person dead and wounded numerous others, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that at least 11 people were injured in the attacks, which also caused damage to residential buildings throughout the city.
The assault — carried out with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones — hit all 10 of Kyiv’s districts, spanning both banks of the Dnipro River. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials issued early warnings about the incoming attack, many residents sought safety inside metro stations.
Klitschko urged the public to stay in shelters, calling it a relentless “furious enemy attack” on the capital. He reported that five people were hurt in the Shevchenkivskyi district, including one paramedic who was left in extremely critical condition.
In the Desnianskyi district, residents became trapped inside a damaged nine-story apartment building, prompting rescue crews to rush to the scene. A fire ignited on the roof of a multistory building in the Holosiivskyi district, while blazes and debris trapping people were also reported in the Sviatoshynskyi and Darnytskyi districts.
Tkachenko said the attack partially destroyed a residential structure in the Desnianskyi district and sparked fires near homes in two locations within the Pecherskyi district, as well as near an administrative building in the Solomianskyi district. Additional damage was recorded in the Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts as well.
The assault comes amid a period of escalating Russian strikes on Kyiv in recent weeks, even as Ukraine has continued its own long-range drone campaign targeting Russian military installations and energy infrastructure — a campaign that has triggered fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia.
SEOUL, South Korea — When Lee Geon Hui wanted to give his father a meaningful gift, he came up with something far from ordinary. His father, who raised him alone and sacrificed greatly as a single parent, deeply missed Lee’s late grandfather. So Lee hired a Seoul-based technology company to bring that grandfather back to life — digitally.
In December, Lee, 28, worked with the tech firm Vaice to produce a short AI-animated video clip featuring a digital version of his grandfather delivering a heartfelt message. In the video, the virtual likeness referred to Lee’s father as “my most precious son,” offered an apology for putting him to work on the farm as a child, and expressed regret for having opposed his son’s dream of becoming a hairstylist.
“My father said he wouldn’t watch the video. But then he did, and he shed tears. So I felt rewarded,” said Lee, an office worker. “I wrote the script … as it was what I actually wanted to tell my father.”
Lee’s story is not unique. A rising number of tech-savvy South Koreans are exploring AI’s power to recreate the deceased on screen. Several startups now offer services that produce video likenesses of late loved ones, and television programs have featured AI-generated versions of dead celebrities, including pop stars and actors.
The trend is generating both hope and concern. Supporters say the technology can bring comfort to people who are grieving, while critics raise difficult questions about the ethics, psychological impact, and legal implications of simulating the dead.
“It’s a double-edged sword, as it deals with human emotions,” said Yong Man Ro, an AI specialist at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. “As AI technologies become part of people’s lives, they can also bring about cultural experiences and shocks that we have never experienced.”
Vaice’s CEO, Jeongu Won, said the company handles around 300 clients per month. Most are people in their 40s or 50s seeking videos of their deceased parents, while others — like Lee — commission videos of late grandparents to give as gifts to their own parents.
Won explained that creating a likeness requires only a handful of photographs and brief audio samples of the deceased. A standard video running three to five minutes is priced at 600,000 won, which comes to roughly $390.
Customers often play these AI videos during family memorial gatherings or major Korean holidays, Won said. Clients typically write the scripts themselves, and most include the phrase “I love you.” Some also address unresolved conflicts with their late parents or express hopes for healing.
Lee’s grandfather passed away unexpectedly in a car accident before Lee was even born. Lee said he sensed that his father carried regret — that he never got the chance to show his grandfather that he had succeeded as a hairstylist and had a son of his own.
“I don’t know much about my grandfather. But when I saw tears running down my father’s face, I felt a bit emotional as I realized my father still misses him,” Lee said.
Another company, JL Standard, launched a comparable service five years ago. According to company executive Choi Yu Ha, it initially faced skepticism from some grieving potential customers who worried the technology would reopen their wounds. However, acceptance has grown, partly driven by the appearances of deceased celebrities in AI-simulated form on television.
Won said he has not received any reports from customers saying the videos made their grief more difficult to handle.
Still, observers caution that recreating the dead digitally raises serious ethical concerns and could put vulnerable individuals at risk by blurring the boundary between what is real and what is virtual.
Choung Wan, an emeritus professor at Kyung Hee University Law School in Seoul, said legislation is urgently needed to protect the dignity and rights of deceased individuals. He argued that laws should prohibit creating AI versions of people who objected to such use before their death, and should place firm restrictions on the commercial use of a person’s image and voice.
Looking ahead, experts say the ethical challenges could become even more complicated as the industry moves toward so-called “griefbots” or “deathbots” — AI systems capable of simulating two-way conversations between a bereaved person and a digital version of someone who has died. Some startups are already testing these products.
“Psychologically, a healthy mourning involves a process to acknowledge the absence of the deceased and pass through the pains of their losses,” Choung said. “But speaking with an AI system simulating a living person could undermine the process of accepting deaths and rather cause a negative effect of leaving bereaved families trapped in a fantasy.”
Won said he is proceeding carefully when it comes to launching an AI chatbot service, noting that real-time conversations cannot be monitored by company staff and could lead to unforeseen ethical issues.
Nevertheless, both the technology and public acceptance of it continue to advance rapidly.
Choi noted that technological improvements now allow companies to replicate even fine details like wrinkles and skin pores, and that customers are increasingly saying the AI likenesses truly resemble their loved ones.
Ro said interactive chatbots still face technical obstacles, including mismatches between what the AI says and its facial expressions, as well as a tendency to seem less convincingly human as conversations grow longer.
“Some people ask why we can’t have an hour-long conversation with chatbots, though we can talk with them for five minutes. There are efforts to develop the technology to make an hour-long conversation possible,” Ro said.
Ro shared that he personally created a one-minute AI video featuring likenesses of both of his parents after they died last year, and screened it at a family gathering with his siblings. Seeing digital versions of their parents say “Don’t worry” and “Take care” moved the entire family deeply.
Even so, Ro said neither he nor his siblings have watched it since. “One time was enough to watch it to honor our late parents who were quite elderly. We moved on,” he said.
SEOUL — South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix announced Thursday that it intends to pour 80 trillion won — roughly $51.46 billion — into building a brand-new factory dedicated to NAND memory chip production, with the project set for completion by 2029.
The new facility, which the company has designated M17, is slated to break ground next year in the South Korean city of Cheongju. The announcement was made at a company event attended by SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
According to the company, the push to expand production capacity comes in response to a growing shortage of NAND memory chips, a shortage being fueled largely by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence technology.
In addition to the new chip factory, SK Hynix has outlined plans to invest another 20 trillion won to construct a chip packaging plant, also located in Cheongju, with that facility expected to be finished by late 2027.
Crude oil prices declined in early Thursday trading after Qatar announced that the United States and Iran had achieved “positive progress” during indirect negotiations that wrapped up Wednesday in Doha.
Brent futures slipped 73 cents, or 1.02%, to $70.84 per barrel as of 0102 GMT. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 83 cents, or 1.21%, settling at $67.75 per barrel. Both benchmarks had already fallen more than 1% in the prior session, reaching their lowest points in four months.
According to sources familiar with the talks, negotiators from both countries spent two days in Doha working through issues related to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical waterway that handled one-fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war — as well as the release of frozen Iranian assets.
While tanker traffic through the strait has begun to recover, tensions remain high. The two nations exchanged military strikes last weekend following an Iranian attack on a cargo ship. U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated that oil flows through the waterway had returned to pre-war levels, though he did not provide specific figures.
Two senior Iranian sources indicated that Iran is intent on securing international recognition of its authority over the strait, by force if necessary. Tehran has also repeatedly stated it plans to begin collecting tolls on shipping starting in mid-August, once a toll-free grace period established under an earlier agreement runs out.
Market analysts at Haitong Futures noted in a research report that as the strait remains open and oil continues to flow, competition for market share is driving prices lower, with growing concerns about an oversupply situation developing.
Adding further pressure to the market, sources said Wednesday that OPEC+ member nations are expected to agree on another increase in production targets when they convene Sunday. The planned output hike for August is approximately 188,000 barrels per day — matching the same increases applied in June and July.
On the domestic front, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that crude oil stockpiles dropped by 3.8 million barrels last week to 408.4 million barrels — the lowest level recorded since September 2018. However, that decline fell short of analyst expectations from a Reuters survey, which had projected a draw of 4.5 million barrels.
China’s government-backed iron ore purchasing body has directed some of the country’s steel mills to refuse deliveries of specific iron ore products from Australian mining company Fortescue, according to industry insiders familiar with the situation.
China Mineral Resources Group, known as CMRG, verbally informed certain mills that beginning July 15, they are prohibited from accepting portside shipments of two Fortescue products — Super Special Fines and Fortune Fines — both of which are considered lower-grade iron ore. Five sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed the directive, all of whom requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter.
Fortescue declined to offer any comment on the situation. Despite the news, Fortescue’s share price remained essentially unchanged as of 12:57 GMT Thursday, while shares of competing miners BHP and Rio Tinto each dropped more than one percent.
The action represents an escalation of CMRG’s broader effort to tighten its grip on how iron ore flows into the Chinese marketplace. A similar standoff with BHP stretched on for months before concluding in April, when Beijing lifted restrictions on several of that company’s products after supply contract negotiations wrapped up.
Fortescue sends the majority of its iron ore exports to China and is currently in the middle of supply negotiations with CMRG. CMRG did not respond to requests for comment made outside of business hours on Wednesday.
According to a separate anonymous trader, stockpiles of Fortescue’s Super Special Fines sitting at major Chinese ports totaled 7.22 million tons as of June 30. Based on data from the consulting firm Steelhome, Reuters calculated that figure represents close to five percent of all iron ore held at Chinese ports.
The friction between the two parties has been building for some time. Last month, CMRG told some Chinese steelmakers not to hold any discussions with Fortescue regarding a new product called Fortune Fines, which was set to begin shipping in July.
Adding to the turbulence, Fortescue’s China president stepped down in June after only four months in the role — a departure the company confirmed last week.
CMRG was created in 2022 as part of a Chinese government initiative to consolidate iron ore purchasing and gain stronger bargaining power against major global mining companies.
Motorists traveling southbound on Route 13 near the Route 40 split leading toward Schafer Boulevard should plan for a lane restriction currently in place.
The right lane in that area is closed, and drivers are advised to use caution and allow for extra travel time when passing through the affected stretch.
The lane closure is expected to be lifted by 6 a.m.
Authorities in Greece ordered residents of two villages in the central part of the country to leave their homes Wednesday as a massive wildfire raged through the area — coming just one day after a forest fire in northern Greece claimed the lives of a father and his 12-year-old son.
Firefighters confirmed Wednesday that a body discovered inside a home destroyed by the previous day’s blaze was that of the young boy. His father had already been found dead Tuesday outside the same property, which was located in a wooded area northeast of the northern city of Thessaloniki. The children’s mother survived the fire but sustained burns and is currently receiving hospital treatment.
The Wednesday wildfire was tearing through both forested land and farmland in the central Greek region of Fthiotida, according to the fire department. A massive response was mounted, including 19 water-dropping planes, six helicopters, and 135 firefighters working alongside volunteers and specialized forest fire units.
Three additional wildfires ignited across Greece on Wednesday — one in the northern region of Halkidiki, another on the island of Salamina near the nation’s capital, and a third in the country’s south. Fire officials said all three were brought under control quickly.
Greece regularly contends with wildfires during its hot, dry summer months, though the country has so far avoided the intense heatwaves that have gripped much of western Europe in recent weeks.
The nation has a painful history with such disasters. In 2018, a fire east of Athens killed more than 100 people. In 2023, a massive blaze that swept through a remote nature reserve in northeastern Greece became the largest wildfire ever documented in the European Union.
In response to the growing threat — worsened by climate change — Greece has been ramping up its use of technology. The country is now integrating a dedicated group of four satellites, launched into low orbit this past May, that will be used to detect and monitor wildfires.
Viewed from above, more than 3 million solar panels arranged in the shape of a galloping horse shimmer across the desert landscape at the Dalad Banner solar farm — a nod to Inner Mongolia’s nomadic roots. Just a short distance away, one of the region’s numerous coal-fired power plants hums along, sending electricity 700 kilometers, or about 435 miles, to Beijing.
That striking contrast captures what energy experts describe as an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to power in Inner Mongolia, which has emerged as China’s top producer of both renewable energy and coal. The region’s energy path reflects the broader situation across China: wind and solar are growing at a rapid pace, but coal remains a cornerstone of the country’s power supply.
China has been adding wind and solar capacity faster than any other nation on Earth. Even so, coal-fired plants still accounted for roughly 51% of China’s electricity generation in 2025, according to the most recent figures from the National Energy Administration.
Energy consultant David Fishman of The Lantau Group, who has personally toured Inner Mongolia’s coal plants and solar installations, put it plainly: “While China as a whole is transitioning away from coal, Inner Mongolia is most certainly the most paradoxical part of the story. In Inner Mongolia’s case, more renewables often means more coal capacity as well.”
Regional officials say they want wind and solar to gradually take over electricity duties currently handled by coal, while also keeping up with the country’s surging power needs. For now, however, both coal and renewables will keep growing — coal is still needed to step in when clouds block the sun or the wind dies down.
Gu Qing, an official with Inner Mongolia’s energy administration, addressed the apparent contradiction while standing at the edge of the Dalad Banner solar farm. “Many people see there is a conflict or a competitive relationship between traditional energy and renewable energy,” he said. “As more renewable energy capacity is added, coal-fired power will also continue to grow, although the pace will gradually slow.”
Associated Press reporters visited the Dalad Banner solar farm on a recent government-organized tour. The facility currently produces around 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year and is part of a larger clean energy initiative launched in 2018 in northern China’s Kubuqi Desert.
Inner Mongolia plays a central role in China’s West-to-East Power Transmission Project, which moves electricity from resource-rich western regions to the industrialized east. In 2025, about 40% of Inner Mongolia’s electricity output — roughly 350 billion kilowatt-hours — was shipped to other parts of the country, enough to power 120 million households for an entire year.
Over the past five years, solar and wind capacity in Inner Mongolia has more than doubled, yet coal still dominates actual electricity production. Coal plants generated approximately 590 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025, compared to about 277 billion kilowatt-hours combined from solar and wind. Coal power capacity in the region has continued to expand throughout that same period.
Huang Zhiqiang, vice governor of Inner Mongolia, explained the ongoing dependence at a recent news briefing: “Because wind and solar are intermittent…we cannot do without the support of coal-fired power.” He added that the role of coal is shifting: “What is changing is that coal power units are turning from supply-guarantee units to serving as a supporting and regulating role.”
Inner Mongolia has mined roughly 1.2 billion tons of coal in recent years, making up about one quarter of China’s total coal output. More than 60% of that coal is transported to other provinces. Ordos, the city that oversees the Dalad Banner area, is also one of five major coal-producing centers designated by China’s central government.
Officials say coal plants are being retooled to ramp down when renewable energy is plentiful and ramp back up when it isn’t. Huang said all coal power units in the region have been refurbished to operate at as low as 15% of their capacity, reducing coal consumption during periods of high renewable output.
However, Fishman cautioned that operating at 15% capacity is “an aspirational or best-unit capability rather than something that applies across the whole fleet in day-to-day operations,” noting that doing so creates both technical and financial strain.
Anika Patel, China section editor at the climate change research organization Carbon Brief, echoed that concern: “Just because a plant can operate flexibly doesn’t mean that it is operating flexibly.” She said economic and political incentives tied to coal make it difficult to truly push the fuel into a backup role. She also pointed out that long-term power contracts in China limit how much flexibility the grid has to buy renewable electricity, and that lengthy trading agreements between provinces make it harder to incorporate solar and wind power.
The government says Inner Mongolia is not only expanding renewables to meet rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence computing, electric vehicle charging, and manufacturing — it is also investing in energy storage, transmission upgrades, and other grid improvements. Gu said the region plans to encourage factories to shift their production schedules to better align with times when wind and solar generation is highest, making renewable energy use more efficient.
For more than a decade beginning in the early 2010s, China saw a surge in solar and wind development driven largely by government targets and financial incentives, which eventually led to problems including overcapacity.
Coal’s role in Inner Mongolia goes beyond power generation. The region is also a major center for coal chemical industries, where coal is converted into chemicals or fuels used to make other products — a process that releases more carbon dioxide than burning coal for electricity. Huang said Inner Mongolia plans to deploy carbon-capture technology to reduce those emissions.
He also said the region is expanding its coal-to-oil, coal-to-gas, and coal chemical production capacity. Citing the Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as examples of how global energy supply chains can be disrupted, Huang argued that domestic coal conversion offers China a buffer against reliance on imported energy. “At the industrial level, this can help offset and ease China’s reliance on imported oil and gas, reducing dependence on overseas supplies,” he said.
While the FBI has dismissed certain ransom notes tied to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie as fraudulent extortion attempts, the agency announced Wednesday that other notes received in the case are still being assessed and may be legitimate.
The FBI declined to give a specific count of how many notes have been received, saying only that there have been “several.” The agency reaffirmed its position on the case, stating, “This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is also working the investigation alongside the FBI. While the department would not comment specifically on the ransom notes Wednesday, officials said they are treating every lead and tip in the case with full seriousness.
Tucson television station KOLD reported that it received two notes — one demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin in exchange for Guthrie’s safe return, and a second claiming she had died. Entertainment outlet TMZ also reportedly received a note.
Nancy Guthrie is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, who has long hosted the “Today” show. Investigators believe she was kidnapped or otherwise taken against her will on February 1. Blood was discovered near the front entrance of her home located just outside Tucson, and the FBI later released surveillance video capturing a masked individual on her porch that same evening.
In the weeks following her disappearance, volunteers and search teams combed through the surrounding desert landscape — an area dense with cactuses, bushes, and boulders. More recently, a volunteer group conducted a search for her remains near the Arizona-Mexico border.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal audit made public Wednesday revealed a stark reality for Puerto Rico: just 25% of approximately $14 billion in federal money committed to rebuilding the island’s power grid has actually been delivered, nearly ten years after Hurricane Maria destroyed it.
Of the roughly $11 billion committed by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, only about $2.7 billion has been paid out — primarily for equipment, materials, and architectural and engineering design work — according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. When the government obligates funds, it is legally required to spend that money for the designated purpose.
The 86-page report stems from an audit conducted between August 2024 and June 2026 and was released by Democratic members of Congress.
“The people of Puerto Rico have waited nine years for their government to keep its word,” said Rep. Jared Hoffman, a California Democrat, in a written statement. “They watched billions get appropriated and almost none of it arrive.”
Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a ferocious Category 4 storm, leaving some neighborhoods without power for nearly a full year — the longest blackout in U.S. history. An estimated 2,975 people died in the brutal heat and chaos that followed.
Just two weeks before Maria made landfall, Hurricane Irma had already clipped the island’s northeastern edge as a Category 5 storm, also knocking out electricity. The power infrastructure was further weakened by a string of powerful earthquakes that struck southern Puerto Rico in late 2019 and into early 2020.
The relentless blackouts led Puerto Rico’s governor to declare a state of emergency in April 2025, yet outages continue. Roughly half of those incidents are attributed to vegetation growing over transmission and distribution lines.
As of February, federal funds had paid for clearing only 400 miles out of a planned 16,000 miles of power lines. In total, nearly 2,800 miles of lines were cleared during fiscal year 2025, according to Luma Energy, the private company responsible for overseeing power transmission and distribution on the island. Luma Energy is currently the target of a lawsuit by Puerto Rico’s government seeking to end its contract; the company has filed a counter lawsuit in response.
The audit identified several factors slowing progress, including high staff turnover, what it called “onerous” project review processes, and the dire financial condition of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, which is still working to restructure more than $10 billion in debt.
An additional setback came in June 2025 when the then-Homeland Security Secretary implemented a policy requiring personal approval of any Department of Homeland Security expenditure exceeding $100,000. That policy was reversed in April by the incoming Homeland Security Secretary.
As of December 2025, nine large FEMA-funded projects had been completed — most tied to power generation — while 133 projects remain in various stages of progress. FEMA has also committed roughly $1.3 billion toward 24 critical generation projects, seven of which are finished.
The report also pointed out that repair work frequently requires planned outages, and that sourcing replacement parts can take as long as two years.
Of the $2.9 billion allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to modernize and fix the grid, only around $589 million had been paid out as of February. The U.S. Department of Energy, which obligated $1 billion, has disbursed approximately $255 million so far.
About $365 million originally set aside for solar energy projects has been redirected toward the power grid for what department officials described to auditors as “practical fixes and emergency repairs.” The Department of Energy also canceled up to $350 million in grants under a solar access program. However, the full $1.2 million designated for hubs meant to supply electricity to vulnerable communities during disasters was fully disbursed.
The Government Accountability Office recommended that FEMA update its guidance to reflect available flexibilities, and urged the Department of Energy to clarify roles and responsibilities and develop a coordination plan.
“Given the complexity of funding, the numerous players involved, and the various plans for grid recovery, extensive coordination across Puerto Rico and federal entities is vital,” the report stated.
Both the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security agreed with the recommendations, though Homeland Security noted that “the government of Puerto Rico is ultimately responsible for developing a comprehensive solution and rebuilding the electrical grid.”
Tropical Storm Douglas came to life Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center — though residents along any coastline have nothing to worry about.
The storm’s center remains entirely at sea, sitting roughly 1,220 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. No land areas are currently under threat from the system.
As of the latest update, Douglas is packing maximum sustained winds of around 40 mph, with occasional stronger gusts. The storm has been tracking northward at about 7 mph, and forecasters say a gradual shift toward the northwest is anticipated later this week.
Tropical-storm-force winds are reaching outward up to 90 miles from the storm’s center. The National Hurricane Center noted that Douglas could gain some strength Wednesday night before beginning to weaken on Thursday.
Currency markets were largely quiet on Thursday as investors held their breath ahead of a closely watched U.S. jobs report, while the Japanese yen’s dramatic decline to levels not seen in four decades kept traders on edge about possible government intervention.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback’s value against a group of major currencies including the yen and euro, slipped just 0.02% to 101.38.
Economists surveyed by Reuters expect Thursday’s non-farm payrolls report to show U.S. employers added around 110,000 jobs in June, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.3%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said Wednesday that inflation expectations and price risks have eased in recent weeks. Separately, the ADP National Employment Report showed private-sector hiring increased in June, though the gain fell short of forecasts.
Despite the cautious mood, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank senior analyst Akihiko Yokoo warned in a note that a stronger-than-expected jobs number could push the dollar higher. “If the payrolls data exceed market expectations, the dollar could accelerate higher on a rebound,” he wrote.
The dollar has been buoyed by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. A strong labor market has reinforced optimism about U.S. economic growth, particularly after job numbers beat forecasts for three consecutive months. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence has also drawn investment into U.S. assets, providing additional support for the dollar.
The euro was trading at $1.138 against the dollar, while the British pound edged up 0.06% to $1.3279.
JAPAN ON WATCH FOR CURRENCY INTERVENTION
The Japanese yen has been among the hardest-hit currencies amid the dollar’s rise, placing Japan’s Ministry of Finance in a tough spot regarding whether to step in to prop up its currency.
During overnight trading, the yen fell as low as 162.84 per dollar — a 40-year low — surpassing the levels that previously prompted Japanese officials to intervene just weeks ago. In early Thursday trading, the yen was little changed at around 162.50 per dollar.
Many traders believe Friday’s U.S. public holiday could offer Tokyo a strategic opening to intervene, as reduced market activity would likely magnify the impact of any action taken.
Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia, suggested that the U.S. jobs data could itself serve as the trigger. “A robust jobs print would provide fresh fuel for momentum and macro accounts to add to longs, pushing the pair toward the top of the trend channel 165–166 area,” he said. “Conversely, a softer-than-expected report — for example, payrolls of around +65k with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.4% or higher — would take some of the heat out of the recent rally.”
In that case, Sycamore added, Japan’s finance ministry might choose to intervene during the low-volume trading period ahead of the Fourth of July weekend to get “more bang for their buck.”
The Australian dollar fell 0.09% against the greenback to $0.6885, while the New Zealand dollar traded at $0.5672.
In digital currency markets, bitcoin dipped 0.2% to $59,934.94, and ether dropped 0.7% to $1,605.88.
The United States government is deep in negotiations with major artificial intelligence companies to develop voluntary guidelines governing how new AI models are released to the public, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the discussions. An official announcement could come as soon as next week.
Federal officials have been stepping up oversight of new AI model releases amid concerns that cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology could be exploited by military or intelligence agencies in China, Russia, or other nations considered adversarial to the U.S.
According to the Financial Times report, the proposed standards would establish performance benchmarks for advanced AI models along with release timelines, and would clarify who is permitted to access those models — both within the United States and internationally.
Reuters, which first covered the story, was unable to independently confirm the report. The White House, Anthropic, and OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment made outside of normal business hours.
The negotiations follow an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in June, which directed federal agencies to collaborate with leading AI developers on testing advanced models prior to their public release and drafting formal standards for the industry.
Google has separately been in talks with the government ahead of plans to release advanced coding models with significantly enhanced capabilities, a source told Reuters Wednesday. That source added that Google is also participating in the broader industry-wide standards discussions. The Financial Times was first to report those details.
The U.S. Commerce Department also made headlines this week when it lifted export restrictions Tuesday on Anthropic’s most advanced AI models — known as Fable and Mythos — less than three weeks after suspending their export over national security concerns.
OpenAI has faced its own set of restrictions. The company delayed a full public rollout of its GPT-5.6 model last week at the request of the U.S. government, restricting access to a limited group of pre-approved partners. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are currently preparing for initial public offerings.
Bayer announced Wednesday that it is moving all of its U.S. glyphosate operations under its Ruveon unit, just one day after the company asked Washington to impose tariffs on Chinese imports of the chemical — the same ingredient found in its well-known Roundup weedkiller.
Bayer holds the distinction of being the only domestic manufacturer of glyphosate in the United States. On Tuesday, the company stated that “the domestic glyphosate business as it stands today is not sustainable,” a comment that drew sharp criticism from farmers who warned the tariff push would drive up the cost of herbicides they rely on.
The Ruveon unit, headquartered in St. Louis and remaining under Bayer’s ownership, will take control of all facets of U.S. glyphosate operations — including pricing decisions, sales strategies, manufacturing, and distribution logistics.
Bayer described the restructuring as part of a broader five-year plan for its Crop Science division. In the company’s own words, “Ruveon is expected to be a more nimble and well-positioned player within its commodity-based market, which requires a specialized approach to address competitive dynamics.”
The announcement follows a significant legal win for the German pharmaceutical and agriculture giant. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked thousands of state-level lawsuits accusing Bayer of failing to inform users that glyphosate may cause cancer.
Bayer veteran Alfonso Alba Ordonez has been named to lead the Ruveon unit going forward.
Darnell Nurse’s 12-year run with the Edmonton Oilers has come to an end. The veteran defenseman, originally selected by Edmonton with the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft, has been traded to the San Jose Sharks.
The deal, completed Wednesday, sends Nurse to San Jose in return for defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp.
Nurse, 31 and a native of Hamilton, Ontario, leaves Edmonton with an impressive statistical legacy. Over 798 regular-season games between 2014 and 2026, he recorded 88 goals, 236 assists, and a plus-66 rating. He also contributed seven goals and 22 assists across 100 Stanley Cup playoff appearances. Among all-time Oilers, he sits first in career blocked shots with 1,466 and hits with 1,692, second in games played, and fifth in total points with 324.
Nurse carries a hefty $9.25 million salary cap hit tied to an eight-year contract that runs through the 2029-30 season. The Sharks, who have considerably more cap flexibility than Edmonton, were able to absorb that contract as part of the transaction.
Mukhamadullin, 24, was originally a first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 2020 draft. This past season with San Jose, he put up five goals and seven assists in 50 games, bringing his career NHL totals to seven goals and 15 assists over 83 games.
Sharp, 21, has not yet played professional hockey. The Sharks drafted him in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. He spent two seasons at Western Michigan, contributing 10 goals and 18 assists while helping the program capture the 2025 NCAA championship.
Wednesday was a busy day for the Oilers beyond the Nurse trade. Edmonton also signed free agent defenseman Ryan Shea to a five-year contract worth $20 million. Shea, 29, put together a strong season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, tallying 35 points — six goals and 29 assists — over 80 regular-season games.
Additionally, Edmonton acquired goaltender Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres, sending a 2028 third-round draft pick and a 2028 seventh-round selection back to Buffalo. Levi, 24, went 2-7-0 last season with a 4.12 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage in nine games, including eight starts.
Travelers using Valley Road between Hunter Way and Grove View Drive should be prepared for intermittent lane closures as construction work continues in the area.
The lane restrictions are scheduled to remain in place until 6 a.m., according to traffic officials. Drivers are encouraged to use caution when passing through the construction zone.
Motorists may want to consider alternate routes to avoid potential delays during this time.
A westbound left lane on Kirkwood Highway is shut down for construction between Meadowwood Drive and Pike Creek Road, according to Delaware Department of Transportation traffic information.
The closure is expected to remain in effect until 6 a.m. Motorists traveling westbound in that stretch should be prepared for lane restrictions and may want to consider alternate routes to avoid delays.
No further details were provided about the specific nature of the construction work taking place in the area.
Travelers using DE-2 between Dillwyn Road and Cleveland Avenue should be aware that the right lane is currently closed.
The lane restriction is expected to remain in place until 6 AM, according to Delaware transportation officials. Drivers in the area are encouraged to allow extra travel time or consider using an alternate route until the lane reopens.
State fire investigators are working to determine what sparked a house fire in Smyrna on Wednesday afternoon.
The Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office reported that the fire broke out shortly before 2:30 PM on July 1, 2026, at a residence in the 100 block of South Main Street in Smyrna.
The Citizens Hose Company of Smyrna responded to the scene, joined by several mutual aid fire companies and EMS personnel to help bring the situation under control.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Newly released documents from crash investigators show that UPS never mandated the in-depth inspections that could have detected the defect responsible for an engine breaking away from one of its aircraft before it went down — even though Boeing had recommended those inspections years before the accident.
However, UPS pushed back in its own filing with the National Transportation Safety Board, arguing that the reason it never required those enhanced inspections of bearings inside the pylons — the structures that attach engines to the wings of its MD-11 freighters — was because Boeing had incorrectly told the company that a failure of those bearings would not pose a threat to flight safety.
The aircraft went down last fall while picking up speed on the runway at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport. Three pilots and 12 people on the ground were killed, and 23 others were hurt.
The inspection failures that prevented mechanics from closely examining the critical components holding the engines to the wings were brought to light during two days of investigative hearings in May. However, the documents made public Wednesday added new layers of detail to what was already known.
The NTSB may not release its final report on the deadly crash — which occurred as the UPS aircraft attempted to take off in Louisville, Kentucky, last November — until late this year or possibly into early next year. Still, UPS stated it is already evident that “once the pylon separated from the aircraft, the crash was inevitable.”
During the hearings, officials from both Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration admitted they had misjudged the dangers tied to a potential failure of a steel bearing and metal sheath in the engine mount. They had not recognized that such a failure could cause the fasteners securing engines to the MD-11’s wings to break apart. Because the bearings are buried deep near the pylons, spotting problems requires removing each engine for thorough inspections.
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said that the actions of Boeing, UPS, the FAA, and maintenance company STE San Antonio Aerospace all played a role in causing the crash.
“There’s just lots of subtleties and semantics that these four entities are using. But in the end, this got missed and to some degree, all four have some role to play in that,” said Guzzetti, who previously investigated crashes for both the NTSB and the FAA. “Safety is a shared responsibility, and I think the NTSB’s task now is to apportion that responsibility.”
Chris Hentz, Vice President of STE San Antonio Aerospace, said UPS only required its mechanics to look for corrosion, not for evidence of bearing failure. Both Hentz and UPS pointed out that even when Boeing acknowledged that changes to the bearing inspection requirements were warranted, the manufacturer stated in the same correspondence that the existing inspection requirements were already sufficient.
Hentz noted in his letter that Boeing “stated that while the MD-11 inspection intervals and requirements for an inspection of the aft bulkhead were sufficient, changes to the inspection requirements of the spherical bearing were warranted to ensure that the migration of the outer race would be reliably detected and identified during inspection.”
UPS also noted that while Boeing developed an improved inspection procedure and added it to the MD-11 maintenance manual, the company never incorporated that procedure into its federally approved maintenance schedule.
“Relying on Boeing’s representations that the issue was not safety-of-flight and that existing MPD inspections were sufficient, UPS determined that no additional changes to its maintenance program were necessary beyond what was already being performed,” the package delivery company said.
At one point, Boeing successfully lobbied the FAA to stretch the required inspection interval from once every 19,900 takeoff-and-landing cycles to once every 29,260, allowing airlines to bundle major maintenance tasks together and reduce downtime.
Boeing sought that extension even after it had already received reports of seven instances of bearing defects — all discovered well before the planes had reached the original inspection thresholds. In the years following the loosened schedule, three additional cases were found before the crash occurred.
The UPS plane that went down after losing its engine had completed 21,043 cycles, meaning it should have undergone a thorough inspection under the original schedule. Only one other crash involving a similar aircraft losing an engine has been recorded, and that incident, which happened decades ago, was attributed to improper maintenance rather than the same type of defect.
FedEx and other MD-11 operators reported at least 10 additional instances of bearing failures or failures of the surrounding components in the years leading up to the UPS crash. It remains unclear whether those other carriers were following different maintenance practices.
FedEx resumed flying its MD-11 fleet in May after the FAA signed off on Boeing’s safety plan. Engine mounts were thoroughly inspected following the November crash, and going forward, the spherical bearings will be swapped out on a regular basis — after every 4,000 takeoff-and-landing cycles. UPS, meanwhile, chose to retire its entire MD-11 fleet early in the wake of the disaster.
Sixteen children have been rescued by authorities from a deteriorating rural home in Hamden, Ohio, where officials say the young victims endured horrific living conditions over the course of approximately four years.
According to authorities, the children were largely restricted to one room inside the dilapidated property for much of that time, with conditions described as deeply troubling.
The Associated Press has put together a photo gallery, curated by AP photo editors, offering a visual look at the home where the children were found.
Motorists traveling southbound on US-13 should be aware of a right lane closure currently in place between 2nd Avenue and Wilton Boulevard.
The closure is expected to remain in effect until 7 AM. Drivers are encouraged to allow extra travel time or consider alternate routes until the lane reopens.
The Boston Red Sox announced Wednesday that starting pitcher Connelly Early has been placed on the 15-day injured list, sidelined by inflammation in his left elbow.
Along with Early’s IL placement, the Red Sox made a series of additional roster moves: left-handed pitcher Jovani Moran was activated from the 15-day injured list after recovering from his own elbow inflammation, lefty Alec Gamboa was called up from Triple-A Worcester, and right-hander Tommy Kahnle was designated for assignment.
Early, who is 24 years old, took the mound Tuesday and turned in four innings of work — allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out five — before leaving the game with left shoulder soreness. Boston dropped that contest to the Washington Nationals by a score of 8-1 at home.
Early reflected on the situation after the game. “It’s tough,” he said. “I thought I was throwing the ball really well. I felt really good going into the game, so just a little unfortunate thing that happened there.”
The first-year pitcher carries a 7-5 record with a 3.44 ERA, 34 walks, and 93 strikeouts across 91 2/3 innings this season. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday to assess how serious the injury is.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy addressed the decision Wednesday, explaining why the team wasn’t willing to push Early through the discomfort. “Yeah, he comes out of the game. There’s soreness,” Tracy said. “He’s feeling better today, but it’s still a little sore. So with one more start remaining prior to the All-Star break — it’s not just the start right, it’s like, (are we really) going to have this guy go out in two days and throw a side? That’s not something we’re going to do with that kid.”
Tracy added that Early had pushed back against being shut down, but the organization made the call for his well-being. “Connelly will tell you that he fought to not have it happen. But between that and having to use as much bullpen as we did and some of the moves we had to make to make sure we got arms, that’s an easy decision to make sure you take that out of his hands and do right by him.”
Early made his big league debut last September and holds an overall record of 8-7 with a 3.24 ERA, 38 walks, and 122 strikeouts over 21 starts at the major league level. Boston selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia.
As for Kahnle, the 36-year-old right-hander struggled in Tuesday’s loss, surrendering four runs on four hits and a walk in a single inning of work. In his first season with Boston, he finished with a 0-0 record, an 8.00 ERA, six walks, and five strikeouts across nine innings. Over his entire career, Kahnle is 11-19 with 17 saves and a 3.70 ERA in 464 relief appearances across six different teams dating back to 2014.
Moran, 29, has put together a solid season, going 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA, 15 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 33 innings over 21 appearances, including three starts. For his career, he is 3-5 with one save and a 3.94 ERA in 102 games, having previously pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 2021 to 2023 before joining the Red Sox.
Gamboa, a 29-year-old rookie, made his major league debut with Boston on May 5 and impressed in two appearances, retiring five batters without allowing a hit, run, or walk while striking out three. At Triple-A Worcester this season, he went 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA, eight walks, and 40 strikeouts over 42 innings in 13 outings.
The Boston Celtics are making a major move, agreeing to send All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in return for veteran forward Paul George and four draft picks, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday.
According to ESPN, the draft package heading to Boston includes two first-round selections — a 2028 pick that could include a swap favorable to Boston, and an unprotected 2031 pick — along with two second-round picks in 2028 and 2030. Brown, who finished sixth in NBA MVP voting this past season, put up career-best numbers with 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.
Brown’s standing in Boston had been in question after he was reportedly offered as the centerpiece of a failed bid to acquire Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. He still has three years remaining on the five-year, $285 million supermax contract he signed back in July 2023.
The 29-year-old has been a Celtics fixture since Boston selected him with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Over 674 games across 10 seasons, he has posted averages of 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. A five-time All-Star and two-time second-team All-NBA selection, Brown earned NBA Finals MVP honors when the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks for the 2024 championship.
In Philadelphia, Brown will join former MVP Joel Embiid and standout guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, giving the 76ers a roster that could suddenly emerge as a serious Eastern Conference threat.
George, 36, spent the past two seasons in Philadelphia following earlier stints with the Indiana Pacers from 2010 to 2017, the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2017 to 2019, and the Los Angeles Clippers from 2019 to 2024. Knee, adductor, and finger injuries plagued his time with the Sixers, limiting him to just 78 games over those two seasons. The nine-time All-Star has put up 20.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game across 945 games over 16 NBA seasons.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday that his office is closing its Conviction Review Unit — a program dedicated to examining cases where individuals may have been wrongfully convicted — pointing directly to a funding cut by the Trump administration as the reason.
“Following the Trump Administration’s refusal to renew federal grant funding that supported the program, my Office is suspending our Conviction Review Unit,” Ellison said in an official statement. “Current budget constraints do not allow the program’s costs to be absorbed without compromising other core responsibilities.”
The Conviction Review Unit was established in 2020 and began accepting case applications in 2021. Ellison explained that the unit initially received a $300,000 federal grant covering its first two years, which funded the work of one attorney. That grant was later renewed at $500,000 for an additional two-year period. However, when the office sought another renewal, the Trump administration’s Justice Department turned down the application.
Minnesota, which is governed by Democrats, has been a repeated target of the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze federal funding. The state has also been at the center of a sweeping federal immigration enforcement operation that brought thousands of federal agents to conduct deportation roundups.
President Trump has defended the immigration crackdown as a necessary step to strengthen domestic security and reduce illegal immigration. Critics, including various civil rights organizations, have pushed back sharply, arguing the effort infringes on free speech and due process rights and has created a climate of fear — especially among ethnic minority communities who have raised concerns about racial profiling.
Earlier this year, the enforcement operation in Minnesota resulted in the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens by federal agents, sparking widespread protests across the state.
Beyond Minnesota, the Trump administration has moved to cut or freeze federal funding to universities, colleges, school districts, and Democratic-led states over a variety of policy disagreements. Those disputes have involved issues including transgender policies, climate-related programs, pro-Palestinian protests, and diversity initiatives.
Maryland’s Veterinary Technician Committee has announced a virtual meeting set for July 9th, 2026, beginning at 7pm.
Those attending will see several topics addressed during the session, including reviews of licensing and VTNE applications, as well as consideration of applications for appointment to the Veterinary Technician Committee itself.
Anyone looking for additional information can contact the board by calling 410-841-5862 or by sending an email to [email protected].
Drivers heading northbound on US-13 near School Lane should be aware of ongoing traffic restrictions related to signal work in the area.
According to traffic officials, the three right lanes on northbound US-13 at School Lane remain open, however side streets in the vicinity have been closed as crews carry out the signal work.
Motorists are advised to use caution when traveling through the area and should anticipate possible delays until the work is completed.
Travelers passing through the intersection of East 4th Street and North Church Street should expect intermittent lane closures that are scheduled to remain in place until 4 a.m.
The closures may cause delays in the area, and drivers are encouraged to use caution when approaching the intersection. Alternate routes may be advisable for those looking to avoid potential slowdowns.
No additional details regarding the cause of the closures were provided. Motorists should stay alert to changing traffic conditions in the area.
NEW YORK — Former NBA shooting guard Malik Beasley appeared in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea to charges alleging he intentionally manipulated his performance in certain 2024 games to benefit sports bettors and help erase his own financial debts.
Beasley, the latest high-profile name swept up in a wide-ranging federal gambling investigation, said very little during his arraignment. He responded to the judge’s questions with “yes, your honor” and allowed his attorney, Jason Goldman, to formally enter the plea on his behalf.
Following the hearing, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard stood silently as Goldman addressed reporters outside the courthouse. When a reporter asked whether he had a message for his fans, Beasley declined to respond. The 29-year-old, who spent nine years playing for six different NBA franchises, sat out the most recent season while under federal investigation. During that time, he played for a Puerto Rican basketball team co-owned by rapper Bad Bunny.
“He looks forward to fighting. He’s fought every day,” Goldman told reporters. “He’s presumed innocent and that has to mean something still, obviously.”
Beasley and sports agent Paolo Zamorano, 39, both entered not guilty pleas Wednesday. They are among six individuals named in an indictment unsealed earlier this week.
The two are the most recent defendants in a gambling crackdown that has produced more than three dozen arrests. Others caught up in the investigation include former Miami Heat star Terry Rozier, accused of conspiring with associates to help them win bets, and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, who faces accusations of conspiring to fix high-stakes poker games.
Zamorano previously represented fellow co-defendant and former NBA player Ed Davis, who had lent money to Beasley. Davis is accused of serving as Beasley’s “gatekeeper” in the alleged scheme.
“We look forward to our day in court,” Zamorano’s attorney, Kenneth Breen, told reporters outside the courthouse.
Both Beasley and Zamorano were released on bond. A status conference is scheduled for August 6.
According to the indictment, Beasley is accused of fixing or attempting to fix his on-court performance in at least four games while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024 — either underperforming or overperforming against bookmakers’ expectations. In return, the indictment alleges, bettors bribed Beasley and his debts to Davis were reduced or wiped out entirely.
“Only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting,” Davis wrote to Beasley in a January 26, 2024 text message cited in the indictment. “Everything else they got the edge.”
One specific example detailed in the indictment involves a March 10, 2024 game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers. Beasley allegedly told Davis he would try to exceed the 3.5 rebound line set by sportsbooks for that game. With one second remaining and the Bucks leading by seven, Beasley contested a Clippers shot, weaved past four defenders, and snagged his fourth rebound just as the buzzer sounded — securing a win for the bettors.
The indictment says one bettor walked away with a $3,252 profit on a $2,838 wager, while another earned $2,107 on bets totaling $2,400. However, some bettors lost money after what appeared to be a miscommunication led them to wager incorrectly on Beasley underperforming the rebound total.
“What’s funny is after he got it he had a big sigh of relief,” a co-conspirator wrote in a text message quoted in the indictment.
Beasley reportedly racked up millions of dollars in gambling losses and borrowed money from Davis, a former teammate, to cover them. His well-documented financial troubles include disputes with a Detroit landlord, a Milwaukee barber, and a Minnesota dentist. A 2025 lawsuit filed by a sports marketing agency resulted in a $1 million default judgment against him.
Goldman used the case to call attention to broader issues within the sports gambling industry. “There’s a bigger conversation here about the industry, about individuals and institutions that are profiting billions and billions of dollars and fueling the addiction,” he said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Weintraub noted that Beasley has been aware of the federal investigation for approximately one year.
Beasley last played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons under a one-year, $6 million contract during the 2024-2025 season, averaging 16 points per game. He scored 20 points in his final game, a playoff loss to the New York Knicks. He is one of only five players in NBA history to record more than 300 three-pointers in a single season.
Beasley’s release was co-signed by his parents, actors Michael and Deena Beasley, who participated in the arraignment by phone from their Georgia home. Beasley remained stone-faced for most of the hour-long proceeding but cracked a smile when his mother responded to Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl’s question about how frequently they speak.
“I probably call him every day. He might not answer every day,” Deena Beasley said, drawing laughter from the courtroom. “If I call him six times a week, he’ll answer five times.”
San Francisco-born martial arts legend Bruce Lee is set to make history as the first Chinese American to have an annual namesake day in California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Tuesday officially making May 17 Bruce Lee Day in the state. The announcement came from the office of state Assemblymember Matt Haney, who represents San Francisco.
The date holds special significance — it was on May 17, 1959, that an 18-year-old Lee arrived back in San Francisco after growing up in Hong Kong.
Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter and CEO of the Bruce Lee Foundation, called the recognition a reflection of her father’s lasting impact as someone who brought cultures together.
“From young people who found confidence and possibility in his philosophy, to families who finally saw themselves represented on screen, to athletes who still draw on his teachings of discipline and inner strength, his reach is profound,” Shannon Lee said in a statement.
Assemblymember Haney described Lee as the very best of what California represents. “At a time when Asian Americans were too often absent from or stereotyped on screen, Bruce Lee helped generations see themselves represented with strength and dignity,” Haney said.
The Bruce Lee Foundation and several Asian American organizations hope the day will be observed each year through voluntary activities across California, including cultural exhibits, community events, and lessons in schools.
Lee was born in 1940 to Chinese parents who were in the U.S. on an opera tour, which entitled him to birthright citizenship. His family returned to Hong Kong shortly after, where he became a child actor and began studying Chinese kung fu. He came back to the U.S. in 1959 and enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle two years later, though he eventually left school to dedicate himself fully to practicing and teaching martial arts.
In the 1960s, Lee broke into Hollywood, with his most notable role being Kato in the TV series “The Green Hornet.” However, studios pushed him toward racially stereotyped roles and paid him less than his white co-stars. He returned to Hong Kong, where he quickly became a superstar through martial arts films like “The Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury.” Lee passed away in 1973 at the age of 32 following an allergic reaction to pain medication.
Decades after his death, Lee’s name and image remain widely celebrated. Fans mark his birthday each year, and a TV action series concept he developed served as the inspiration for the HBO Max show “Warrior.”
Christian Pulisic is back where he belongs — in the starting lineup — as the United States squares off against Bosnia in a round-of-32 showdown on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California.
The American star had been limited to a substitute role in the team’s most recent group stage outing, a 3-2 loss to Turkey, after battling a calf injury earlier in the tournament. Now fully back in the fold, Pulisic joins a starting 11 that U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino has essentially reset to the same group that dominated Paraguay 4-1 in the Americans’ opening group match.
On the other side, Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez made three adjustments to his squad heading into the knockout round. Notably, U.S.-born winger Esmir Bajraktarevic will begin the match on the bench.
The stakes are high — whoever comes out on top Wednesday will advance to the round of 16 to face Belgium.
U.S. Starting Lineup: Matt Freese; Sergino Dest, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Alex Freeman, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun.
Bosnia Starting Lineup: Nikola Vasilj, Tarik Muharemovic, Sead Kolasinac, Amar Dedic, Nikola Katic, Stjepan Radeljic, Armin Gigovic, Ivan Sunjic, Ermedin Demirovic, Edin Dzeko, Kerim Alajbegovic.
French biotechnology firm Abivax SA completed an $800 million share sale Wednesday, driven by strong investor demand that pushed the company’s valuation to nearly $11 billion and reduced the urgency for the company to seek a buyout in the near future.
Abivax focuses on developing therapies for chronic inflammatory conditions, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and has long been considered a prime acquisition candidate for larger pharmaceutical companies looking to expand their inflammation and immunology portfolios.
The company’s primary drug in development, obefazimod, is currently undergoing late-stage Phase 3 clinical trials. According to a company statement, the funds raised are sufficient to support research and day-to-day operations through the second quarter of 2029.
While a future sale of the company has not been ruled out, the newly secured financing provides Abivax with greater strategic options and removes the kind of time-sensitive pressure that typically drives biotech acquisition negotiations, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The original offering was set at $600 million, but Abivax expanded it by one-third to $800 million after investor orders outpaced the available shares, the company announced.
CANCER CASES CREATED INVESTOR UNCERTAINTY
Abivax shares listed on the Nasdaq closed at $132.56 on Wednesday, recovering significantly after dropping as low as $72.50 last month. That earlier decline followed investor alarm over cancer cases that emerged during clinical trials.
When Abivax disclosed positive Phase 3 results for obefazimod on June 1, the good news was overshadowed by reports of seven malignancy cases among 195 patients who received the 50-milligram dose. The company stated that investigators determined those cases were unrelated to the treatment.
The safety concerns caused some pharmaceutical companies to hold off on any potential acquisition discussions while they waited for more data, according to two people close to the matter.
The decision to move forward with the capital raise came after the company held talks with potential buyers in mid-June, at a time when Abivax’s market value stood at roughly $7 billion, said a second source who asked not to be identified because the information is not public.
On Tuesday, Abivax released additional Phase 3 maintenance trial data that helped ease some of the worries that had been dragging down the stock earlier in June.
SHARES PRICED ABOVE MARKET AVERAGE
Abivax is selling 6.4 million American Depositary Shares, with each share representing one ordinary share, at a price of $125 each.
The offering was priced at a 2.39% premium above the stock’s three-day volume-weighted average price, a reflection of the strong demand from investors.
Underwriters have also been granted an option to purchase up to 960,000 additional shares, which equals 15% of the total deal. If fully exercised, that option could bring total proceeds to approximately $920 million.
Abivax said the money raised will be directed toward the potential commercialization of obefazimod in the United States, along with continued clinical development for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Leerink Partners, Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler, and Guggenheim Securities are serving as joint bookrunners on the deal. Law firm Cooley also provided counsel to Abivax.
The Boston Celtics have reportedly agreed to bring in center Mitchell Robinson on a three-year contract worth $47.4 million. Robinson spent the past season with the New York Knicks, who won the NBA championship.
Known primarily for his defensive impact, Robinson appeared in 397 games with the Knicks since joining the league in 2018, averaging 7.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocked shots per game over that stretch, with 215 of those appearances coming as a starter. He has surpassed 100 blocked shots in four separate seasons, accumulating 690 total blocks in his career.
During the most recent regular season, Robinson averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks across 60 games, logging 19.6 minutes per night and swatting away 70 shots in 16 starts.
In the playoffs, the 28-year-old averaged 4.8 points and 5.5 rebounds over 18 games while playing roughly 14 minutes per contest. Remarkably, he pushed through a broken right pinkie finger as the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games to claim the NBA title.
Boston also reportedly struck a one-year agreement with point guard Mike Conley, who is preparing to enter his 20th season in the NBA — a milestone reached by only 13 players before him.
The 38-year-old Conley posted career-low averages of 4.5 points and 2.9 assists in 54 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, with 15 starts.
Conley built his reputation over 12 seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he was considered one of the league’s top players. He then spent 3½ seasons with the Utah Jazz, earning an All-Star selection in 2021, before another 3½ seasons with Minnesota.
A four-time recipient of the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award and a two-time Teammate of the Year honoree, Conley holds career averages of 13.6 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds across 1,226 games and 1,143 starts. His 6,782 career assists place him fifth among active players, and he sits just 14 three-pointers away from reaching 2,000 for his career.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to expand the approved use of a gene therapy made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, now allowing children as young as two years old with certain inherited blood disorders — including sickle cell disease — to receive the treatment. This marks the first time any such therapy has been cleared for this younger age group.
The treatment, known as Casgevy, is a one-time therapy created using a patient’s own blood stem cells. Prior to this approval, it was only authorized for individuals aged 12 and older who had either sickle cell disease or transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.
Here is what you need to know about the disease and the new approval:
Sickle cell disease is a hereditary blood condition that causes the body to produce abnormally shaped hemoglobin. This prevents red blood cells from effectively delivering oxygen throughout the body’s tissues, often leading to significant pain and health complications.
In a clinical trial involving children between the ages of five and under 12 who had sickle cell disease, all eight patients who could be evaluated experienced zero severe painful episodes — known as vaso-occlusive crises — for at least 12 consecutive months within the first two years following their infusion.
For children with beta thalassemia, eight out of nine evaluable patients achieved independence from blood transfusions for 12 straight months, with a median duration of 20.1 months.
The FDA moved quickly on this approval, completing its review in just 53 days after the application was submitted. That fast turnaround was made possible through the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher, a newer program designed to speed up the review process for certain drug applications.
Back in 2023, the FDA had previously approved gene therapies from both Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Genetix Biotherapeutics for sickle cell disease, but only for patients 12 years of age and older.
Other established treatment options for sickle cell disease include bone marrow transplants, which depend on finding a compatible donor, and the chemotherapy medication hydroxyurea.
World Cup soccer fans have taken legal action against StubHub Inc., accusing the popular ticket resale platform of failing to deliver tickets they paid for to attend the world’s biggest soccer tournament.
The proposed class action lawsuit was filed late Tuesday evening in federal court in Manhattan. The fans at the center of the case argue they “did not get what they paid for” because StubHub never came through with the tickets they had been promised.
StubHub did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Throughout the tournament, which is being held across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, fans have taken to social media to voice their frustration with StubHub. Their complaints center on last-minute ticket cancellations and the company’s failure to follow through on promises to provide replacement tickets.
Numerous ticket buyers say they had traveled significant distances to attend matches, only to find that refunds did little to ease the financial pain — they were still on the hook for airfare and hotel costs.
The lawsuit’s complaint put it bluntly: “[Fans] were lied to and purchased World Cup Tickets for large sums of money – only to incur tremendous financial losses. This is a new low for a sports ticketing industry that has been rampant with consumer protection issues time and time again to the detriment of the fans who make sports special.”
For its part, StubHub has pointed the finger at FIFA’s ticketing infrastructure, saying it is responsible for the problems with ticket resales. FIFA, for its part, had previously encouraged fans to use only its own official resale platform, describing it as reliable.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages of no less than $5 million on behalf of thousands of U.S. buyers who never received the World Cup tickets they purchased through StubHub. The legal claims include alleged violations of various consumer protection and false advertising laws.
A seafood company based in Busan, Republic of Korea, has issued an allergy alert and is pulling certain frozen sashimi products from the market after discovering that accompanying condiment packets contain allergens not properly disclosed in English on the packaging.
Eunha Fisheries Co., Ltd. announced on July 1, 2026, that it is recalling select Sliced Korean Halibut and Flounder Sashimi products. The issue centers on the small soy sauce and vinegar red pepper paste packets included with the products — those packets contain wheat, soy, and sesame, none of which were declared in English on the individual condiment packaging.
Anyone who has purchased these products and has a known allergy or sensitivity to wheat, soy, or sesame should not consume the condiment packets and should follow guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding the recall.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Gabriel García Luna, who stepped into the role of Guatemala’s attorney general in May, announced Wednesday his intention to dismantle what he characterized as the “repressive and vengeful” legacy left by his predecessor — a figure who faced sanctions from multiple nations, including the United States, for undermining anti-corruption work.
Guatemala had previously been considered a reliable U.S. partner in fighting corruption throughout the region. That changed under Consuelo Porras, whose tenure saw corruption investigations suppressed, justice officials and journalists targeted, and many individuals forced to flee the country. Porras also made attempts to block President Bernardo Arévalo from taking office and sought to invalidate his presidency through unproven fraud claims.
“Everyone has a concept of a Public Prosecutor’s Office that can be used in a certain way, and we can no longer have that,” García Luna told The Associated Press. “It is not a political entity, nor a political weapon for anyone, and I do not intend to repeat the actions taken in previous administrations.”
García Luna has already taken steps to steer the institution in a new direction, breaking up the network of loyalists that Porras had placed in administrative and prosecutorial roles — individuals accused of using the office to criminalize and persecute former justice officials. He has also established a commission to examine cases involving people who were allegedly targeted.
Porras has rejected the accusations leveled against her. While she led the Public Prosecutor’s Office, it issued statements arguing that the allegations infringed upon her “right to honor, dignity, reputation and the presumption of innocence.”
During Wednesday’s remarks, García Luna outlined his commitment to sweeping reform, including a review of potential abuses that occurred under the previous administration and efforts to rebuild a prosecutorial profession that suffered greatly from the mass departure of experienced staff during Porras’ time in office.
García Luna said his predecessor “formed a parallel government that destroyed the prosecutorial profession, mainly by dismissing between 800 and 1,000 employees during her eight-year tenure.”
The new attorney general did not close the door on potential legal action against Porras, who faces several complaints including one related to human trafficking in irregular adoptions, as well as against her associates.
In instances where the prosecutor’s office — acting under Porras’ direction — allowed alleged corrupt officials, drug traffickers, and others accused of crimes to go free, García Luna stated those cases are being revisited, reopened, and that legal steps will be taken to prevent impunity.
Former prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval, who now lives in exile after accusing Porras of persecuting him for his work on major corruption cases, is among those calling for accountability. He and others argue the allegations against Porras and her associates must be handled through an “impartial and independent” process.
“These should not go unresolved, in accordance with the principle of equality before the law and the principle that no one should be above the law,” Sandoval said.
García Luna has received backing from the U.S. government and European Union member nations, which have pledged support in the fight against transnational crime, including drug and human trafficking. He also noted that the Attorney General’s Office is working alongside the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which has set an August 4 hearing to review cases involving individuals who reported political persecution under Porras.
A federal judge in Arkansas has struck down several state laws that imposed extra hurdles on citizens attempting to collect signatures for ballot initiatives, ruling that the measures infringed on voters’ constitutional free speech protections.
The ruling delivered multiple wins for the League of Women Voters of Arkansas and other groups that filed the lawsuit last year. The case came amid a broader push across multiple states to make it more difficult for ordinary citizens to change laws or amend state constitutions through the ballot initiative process.
Among the challenged restrictions was a requirement that anyone signing a petition first show a photo ID. These additional restrictions on ballot initiatives were put in place by Arkansas’ Republican-controlled state government after election officials used a legal technicality to throw out petitions filed by abortion rights advocates during a 2024 campaign to legalize abortion in the conservative state.
One of the groups involved in the lawsuit, Protect AR Rights, described the ruling as an “important victory for the people of Arkansas and their constitutional right to direct democracy.”
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued the decision on Tuesday. While it favored the plaintiffs on several points, Brooks also rejected some of their challenges and sent three additional disputes to trial.
Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester, a Republican who defended the laws in court, responded with a statement saying his office intends to appeal and “will fight tirelessly for common sense safeguards like voter ID.”
Among the laws Brooks invalidated were 2025 measures requiring canvassers to verify a petition signer’s identity using a photo ID, as well as rules requiring either the canvasser to read the ballot question aloud or the signer to read the entire question before signing. Those ballot questions are frequently several hundred words in length.
Brooks wrote that forcing a petition signer to show photo ID “before engaging in core political speech” is a clear violation of free speech protections. He also noted that the Arkansas secretary of state’s office already checks every signature to confirm the signer is a registered voter.
In his ruling, Brooks explained that the ID requirement dictates what a registered voter “must do before signing a petition and what a canvasser must do before allowing them to,” adding that it “impedes supporters of a measure from expressing their views by signing a petition.”
State officials had argued that requiring the ballot question to be read before signing was needed to stop canvassers from misrepresenting what the petition was about. However, Brooks noted that the state had declined to prosecute reported cases of canvasser misconduct, and said the state should enforce its existing laws rather than “imposing burdensome speech codes on good and bad actors alike.”
Russian military forces unleashed a drone assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv late Wednesday night, sparking a blaze at a hotel located on a prominent central boulevard and leaving wreckage strewn across two separate districts of the city.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko took to Telegram to report that the roof of a hotel on Shevchenko Boulevard had caught fire. Images circulating online showed flames burning out of control at the top of the structure.
The mayor confirmed that emergency response teams had been sent to the scene to address the situation.
At least one witness reported hearing explosions in the western parts of the city, adding to the widespread alarm among residents.
Mayor Klitschko also noted that drone fragments had come down both in the city center and in a northeastern suburb of Kyiv.
Additional footage shared on unofficial Telegram channels captured residents flooding into underground metro stations seeking shelter from the attack.
Earlier in the evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had issued a warning that intelligence information pointed to a likely overnight strike on the country. He announced he was ending his visit to Dublin ahead of schedule in response to the threat.
The U.S. Treasury has announced its selection of two BlackRock exchange-traded funds to serve as the investment vehicles for Trump Accounts, a new federal child savings initiative scheduled to go live on July 4. Vanguard has also been designated as an alternate fund partner in the program.
The two chosen funds are BlackRock’s iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, trading under the ticker IVV, and the iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF, known as ITOT. Both funds carry an expense ratio of just 0.03%. Vanguard’s Total Stock Market ETF, ticker VTI, was identified as an alternative investment choice.
BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink expressed enthusiasm for the program, stating: “By giving younger Americans the opportunity to start investing earlier, Trump Accounts can help millions build long-term financial security.”
The way the program works is straightforward: the U.S. Treasury will place $1,000 in seed funding into an investment account for every child who has a valid Social Security number and is born between 2025 and 2028.
The initiative has also drawn support from the private sector. BlackRock and a number of other major investment firms and corporations have announced they will match the government’s $1,000 contribution for their own employees’ children.
Experienced big man Nikola Vucevic is heading back to Orlando, inking a new contract with the Magic on Wednesday to begin his second chapter with the franchise.
While the team declined to reveal the financial details of the agreement, ESPN reported that Vucevic signed a one-year deal worth $3.9 million. During his original run with Orlando, he suited up for 8.5 seasons and earned All-Star honors twice.
Vucevic was a consistent double-double threat throughout his time in Orlando, reaching that mark in six of his eight complete seasons with the club. He was well on his way to another double-double campaign in his ninth season when the Magic shipped him off to the Chicago Bulls ahead of the 2021 trade deadline.
Now 35 years old, Vucevic logged five seasons in Chicago before being dealt to the Boston Celtics prior to last season’s trade deadline. Across 64 total games, he put up averages of 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds — though his numbers dipped significantly in Boston, where he averaged just 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 16 appearances, including only one start.
Vucevic’s NBA journey began when the Philadelphia 76ers selected him in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2011 NBA Draft. He was then traded to Orlando following his rookie year.
Over the course of his career spanning 1,036 games and 957 starts, Vucevic has averaged 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and has connected on 998 three-pointers.
In addition to the Vucevic signing, Orlando announced it has also brought in guard Jevon Carter and forward Jonathan Isaac. Carter, 30, agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract, according to multiple reports. Last season he averaged 7.2 points, 2.3 assists, and 20.4 minutes per game across 30 contests, with just one start.
Isaac, 28, was recently released by the team before his $14.5 million salary for the 2026-27 season became guaranteed, and has now been re-signed. He averaged 2.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 10.0 minutes per game in 52 games last season — all coming off the bench and all representing career-low figures.
The San Jose Sharks made two significant roster moves on Wednesday, inking veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba to a four-year deal worth $33 million and adding goaltender Eric Comrie on a two-year contract valued at $2.3 million.
Trouba, 32, spent last season with Anaheim, where he put up 35 points — including 10 goals and 25 assists — along with 31 penalty minutes across 81 regular-season games. He topped the Ducks’ roster with 149 blocked shots and ranked third on the team with 143 hits. He also chipped in a goal during 12 playoff appearances.
When asked why he chose San Jose, Trouba pointed to the organization’s talent level. He specifically highlighted star center Macklin Celebrini as a big draw.
“(Macklin) Celebrini as a player, and how he plays the game, and it’s not just the high-level skill and talent,” Trouba said of the Sharks’ leading scorer. “He works hard, he’s on pucks, he’s kind of a dog out there. That’s the kind of guy you want dragging everybody into the fight on your team.”
Beyond the on-ice appeal, Trouba said the length of the deal played a major role in his decision, especially with family considerations in mind.
“It’s not just me anymore, it’s a wife and kids, and that’s a decision for the family more than it is just for hockey,” Trouba said. “I think hockey-wise, this will end up perfectly for me. (It’s) also a great place for my family. But term-wise, you don’t want to be moving around a whole bunch, as much as you can try to control it or protect it. Term and security means a lot to me and my family, and I’m grateful San Jose is where we ended up.”
Originally selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the ninth overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Trouba has built an impressive career resume. Over 906 regular-season games with the Jets (2013–19), the New York Rangers (2019–24), and the Ducks (2024–26), he has accumulated 358 points (84 goals, 274 assists), 701 penalty minutes, 1,943 blocked shots, and 1,846 hits.
In 2024, Trouba earned the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, an honor given to the player who best demonstrates outstanding leadership on and off the ice while also making a meaningful impact in his community to grow the game of hockey.
As for Comrie, the 30-year-old goaltender went 12-11-1 last season with Winnipeg, posting a 3.13 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage in 25 games, with 24 starts. Winnipeg originally drafted him in the second round of the 2013 draft.
Across 102 NHL appearances — including 97 starts — with the Jets (2016–19, 2021–22, 2024–26), the Detroit Red Wings (2019–20), the New Jersey Devils (2020–21), and the Buffalo Sabres (2022–24), Comrie holds a career record of 45-47-4 with a 3.11 GAA, a .896 save percentage, and four shutouts.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Karina Guerra stood in line for a full hour this week to claim her World Cup keepsake — and she did not spend a single cent to get it.
Every World Cup seems to produce its signature fan accessory. The 2010 tournament had the vuvuzela, the 2018 edition featured the foam Kokoshnik — a traditional Russian headdress — and the 2026 tournament has produced its own phenomenon: the “fan band.” These free, customizable charm wristlets have flipped conventional sports marketing upside down.
Over 700,000 of the bracelets have already been claimed during the tournament. Fans can book appointments to build personalized versions at fan festivals, or pick up premade bands distributed by tournament sponsor Bank of America outside stadiums on match days.
“Last time we waited for two hours,” said Guerra, a fan from El Salvador who said she had collected four of the bracelets so far, bypassing the pricey merchandise stands just inside the gates at New York New Jersey Stadium. “It’s spectacular. It is something very original.”
Each host city has its own set of charms — New York’s lineup includes a pizza slice and the Statue of Liberty. A fresh collection of charms tied to the Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final was also unveiled this week.
One thing fans may not notice right away is that Bank of America’s branding is nearly invisible on the bands. The sponsor’s name does not appear anywhere on the wristlets — only their logo is hidden within the design.
“The one thing fans sometimes don’t catch is there is a flagscape bead — there’s one that looks like a flag. And that is actually the Bank of America logo. But people perceive it as it’s the 250th anniversary (of the United States), (or) it’s a celebration of the U.S. Men’s National team,” said Bank of America’s Head of Sports and Entertainment Marketing Cindy Nguyen Thomas.
“To see it go viral the way it did as quick as it did very organically surpassed our expectations,” she added.
Bank of America is planning to distribute two million bands in total. The bracelets have already begun showing up on resale platforms, with sellers asking anywhere from around $50 to $500 per band.
“That’s a part of the virality is understanding that it’s limited edition,” said Nguyen Thomas, whose team drew inspiration from the friendship bracelets popularized at Taylor Swift’s record-breaking “Eras Tour” in crafting what has become the hottest item at this year’s World Cup.
The bracelet campaign stands in sharp contrast to the broader commercial atmosphere surrounding the tournament, which has been marked by steep ticket prices, costly merchandise, and wall-to-wall advertising — including newly introduced “hydration breaks” that create additional advertising windows during matches.
Stadiums have even had their corporate names stripped away in favor of geographic titles — MetLife Stadium, for example, is now called “New York New Jersey Stadium” — as brands pay enormous sums just to be associated with the world’s biggest sporting event. Bank of America reportedly paid $100 million for its FIFA sponsorship deal.
“There’s just an inundation of brands all over the place,” said Lauren Anderson, director of the Warsaw Sports Business Center at the University of Oregon. “Society is kind of trying to turn a little bit away from all the like trinkets and trash and junk. And if it’s something you’re going to keep, you maybe don’t want a brand slapped all over it.”
While most corporate giveaways end up tossed in the trash, fans at matches in Atlanta and East Rutherford lined up for more than an hour this week to collect bracelets they said they plan to hold onto forever.
Noah Sigal arrived at New York New Jersey Stadium when the gates opened on Tuesday — the day France defeated Sweden in the Round of 32 — and waited an hour and a half in line for his fan band. He has no plans to sell it.
“This is all like a once-in-a-lifetime item. You’re never going to get it anywhere else,” he said. “I’m going to keep this forever.”
Drivers heading eastbound on Pike Creek Road should be aware of intermittent lane closures currently in effect due to construction activity in the area.
The affected portion of the roadway runs between Upper Pike Creek Road and Kirkwood Highway, also known as Route 2. The lane restrictions are expected to remain in place until 6 PM.
Motorists traveling through this stretch are encouraged to allow extra travel time or consider alternate routes to avoid potential delays.
The United States Supreme Court has handed down a significant decision, ruling that a sitting president has the authority to dismiss the heads of independent federal agencies whenever they choose — without needing a specific reason to do so.
Legal observers say the ruling could have far-reaching consequences, potentially weakening the regulatory oversight that those agencies provide over corporate interests and business activity across the country.
The decision is among the most consequential to come out of what is shaping up to be another landmark term for the nation’s highest court.
Listen to the Evening Delmarva Farm Report Update — July 1, 2026
DELMARVA — The National Weather Service has upgraded Delaware’s heat alert to an Extreme Heat Warning covering all 3 counties, in effect through July 4. The most dangerous stretch is expected Thursday and Friday, with highs reaching 100°F Thursday and 101°F Friday. Officials warn the conditions pose life-threatening risks for anyone working outdoors across Delmarva.
Livestock operations and field workers face the greatest exposure during peak afternoon hours. Farmers are advised to plan field work and chores around early morning hours and to provide animals with additional water and shade.
Crop Health
The combination of heat and humidity is also raising disease pressure in corn and soybean fields. Damon Smith, an Extension field crops pathologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is urging growers to be selective before applying fungicides. With tight margins, Smith recommends prioritizing the worst-pressure fields rather than making blanket applications across every acre.
Markets
Grain futures closed higher Wednesday. September corn settled at $4.22¾ per bushel, up 6 cents. August soybeans closed at $11.33¼, up 9 cents. September Chicago wheat finished at $6.00 even, a gain of nearly 11 cents.
At Laurel Grain Company in Laurel, Delaware, September corn is bidding $4.68 per bushel and November soybeans are at $11.00.
On the livestock board, August live cattle closed at $241.82, down 60 cents. August lean hogs fell $1.15 to $97.05.
Forecast
Temperatures reached 95°F Wednesday, with an overnight low of 75°F expected. Thursday will hit 100°F under sunny skies. No rain is in the forecast until the holiday weekend.
This article is based on the Delmarva Farm Report Update Evening Edition, July 1, 2026. Hosted by Tom Bradley.
U.S. and global stock markets kicked off July and a new quarter without much momentum on Tuesday, as technology shares — and chip stocks especially — pulled Wall Street lower.
At the same time, comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh suggesting that inflation risks have diminished gave gold prices a lift and helped dial back earlier gains in the U.S. dollar.
Key Market Movements at a Glance
Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic finished lower, with Europe’s STOXX index also slipping. The semiconductor sector took a particularly hard hit, falling 6.3%. Meta shares bucked the trend, surging after a report indicated the company is developing a cloud business to sell off surplus artificial intelligence computing capacity.
The dollar gave back its earlier gains after Warsh toned down his inflation language, while the Japanese yen bounced back from a 40-year low. U.S. Treasury yields also pulled back following Warsh’s remarks. In energy markets, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% and international benchmark Brent crude dropped 1.4%. Gold, meanwhile, jumped higher.
Today’s Major Talking Points
President Donald Trump’s annual financial disclosure filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics showed he earned more than $1.4 billion last year from his family’s cryptocurrency operations. The bulk of that — nearly $800 million — came from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture he co-founded with his sons. An additional $635 million came from sales of his Trump meme coins. The disclosure underscores how much of the president’s income now flows from digital assets that have been shaped by his own administration’s policies.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh made his first international appearance in that role at the European Central Bank Forum held in Sintra, Portugal. He defended the Fed’s independence but, like other central bank leaders present, stopped short of offering specific guidance on the economy or where interest rates are headed. Warsh also expressed hope that the Fed would shift toward using real-time data when making monetary policy decisions, rather than relying heavily on government surveys that look backward in time.
U.S. and Iranian officials held technical-level discussions in Doha, focusing on the Strait of Hormuz. The talks centered on restoring the flow of shipping through the critical waterway, unfreezing Iranian assets, and locking in a lasting ceasefire. Those efforts are grounded in a 14-point interim agreement signed last month, which opened a 60-day window for negotiations toward a permanent peace deal. Progress on the more complicated sticking points has been limited, with recent back-and-forth airstrikes putting the fragile truce under strain.
Economic Data in Focus Today
Reports released Tuesday showed U.S. factory activity slowed in June, with a key measure of prices paid falling but still remaining elevated. Separately, growth in private sector payrolls came in below expectations, while announced layoffs declined. In Europe, manufacturing output in the euro zone wrapped up its strongest quarter since 2022, with war-related cost pressures easing. German banks pushed back against a potential European Central Bank move to double the minimum reserves banks are required to hold. Additionally, the Trump administration chose not to extend the existing U.S. trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, setting in motion a 10-year process to renegotiate the deal before it expires.
What Could Move Markets Wednesday
Investors will be watching the June U.S. payrolls report and May factory orders data. Developments in the Middle East, energy market movements, and social media posts from President Trump could also influence trading. Overseas, the euro zone unemployment rate for May, Switzerland’s June inflation reading, France’s May budget balance, and services sector data from China, Japan, Australia, and Ireland are all on the calendar. Several Federal Reserve officials are also scheduled to speak, including the presidents of the New York, San Francisco, and Dallas Federal Reserve banks.
The University of Delaware’s swimming and diving programs have something to celebrate beyond the pool. Both the men’s and women’s teams have been named College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America teams for the 2026 spring season.
The CSCAA made the announcement Wednesday, recognizing both Blue Hen programs for their academic achievements during the spring season.
The Indiana Pacers have reached an agreement with free-agent forward Kelly Oubre Jr. on a two-year deal worth $17 million, ESPN reported Wednesday.
Oubre, 30, spent his most recent seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged more than 14.1 points and over five rebounds per game across three years with the club, starting 150 of the 178 regular-season contests he appeared in.
The veteran forward has proven himself a reliable offensive contributor, putting up double-digit scoring averages in each of his last nine NBA seasons. Over the course of 705 career games — including 352 starts — Oubre has averaged 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. His NBA journey has taken him through the Washington Wizards (2015-18), Phoenix Suns (2018-20), Golden State Warriors (2020-21), Charlotte Hornets (2021-23) and the 76ers.
Oubre is set to join an Indiana team that is looking to get back on track after a tough turnaround. Following a trip to the NBA Finals in 2025, the Pacers struggled through an injury-riddled season that resulted in a 19-63 record.
Motorists traveling southbound on S. DuPont Boulevard, also known as Route 13, are facing a right shoulder closure between Huntfield Drive and Brenford Road this afternoon.
The restriction is the result of active construction in the area and is expected to remain in place until 4 p.m.
Drivers are encouraged to use caution when passing through the affected stretch and to allow extra travel time if their route takes them through that corridor.
Of all the weather hazards that threaten communities, flash floods rank among the most dangerous — and the most difficult to predict. Unlike hurricanes or winter storms that can be tracked days in advance, flash floods can develop in a matter of minutes, leaving little time for people to reach safety.
Forecasters who specialize in flash flood prediction face a unique challenge: they must combine an understanding of rainfall intensity, soil conditions, terrain, and stream behavior to estimate where and when dangerous flooding might occur — often with very limited lead time.
The science behind flash flood forecasting involves monitoring how much rain is falling in a given area, how quickly the ground can absorb that water, and how fast runoff will travel into streams and low-lying areas. When rainfall overwhelms the ground’s ability to soak up water, the excess rushes downhill and can quickly fill valleys, roadways, and neighborhoods with dangerous, fast-moving water.
One of the greatest challenges is that flash floods are highly localized. A storm that drops several inches of rain in one neighborhood may leave a nearby area completely dry. This makes it difficult to issue warnings that are both specific enough to be useful and broad enough to protect everyone at risk.
Advances in radar technology and computer modeling have improved forecasters’ ability to detect dangerous conditions earlier, but experts acknowledge that significant uncertainty remains. Even with the best available tools, predicting exactly where and when a flash flood will strike is far from a perfect science.
Public awareness plays a critical role in keeping people safe. Meteorologists urge residents to take flash flood warnings seriously and to never attempt to drive through flooded roadways — a decision that accounts for a significant share of flood-related deaths each year. The phrase “turn around, don’t drown” has become a cornerstone of public safety messaging for exactly this reason.
As extreme rainfall events become more frequent in many parts of the country, the stakes for accurate flash flood forecasting continue to grow. Researchers and weather agencies are investing in better tools and communication strategies to help communities respond more quickly when dangerous conditions develop.
Health officials across the country are sounding the alarm about West Nile virus, warning that this season is shaping up to be the worst in more than 20 years — and urging people to take steps now to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that at least 48 confirmed cases had been reported through June 30, with 38 of those considered severe. That’s a dramatic jump from the typical pace — since 2004, the CDC has averaged roughly 10 cases by the end of June. Officials also noted that 23 states have reported West Nile virus detections, the highest count in a decade.
“These findings serve as an important reminder that mosquito season is well underway,” said Dr. Erin Staples, a CDC expert on insect-borne diseases. “As families gather outdoors to celebrate Independence Day, we encourage everyone to enjoy their holiday while taking simple steps to protect themselves and their loved ones from mosquito bites.”
The bulk of cases have been concentrated in Arizona, which has recorded 32 infections — 29 of them in Maricopa County, the region surrounding Phoenix. That county has also reported four deaths tied to the virus so far this year.
Local health officials there have called on residents to apply bug spray with DEET, repair damaged window screens, and eliminate any standing water around their properties, since mosquitoes commonly use still water as a breeding ground.
“Even an overturned bottle cap can hold enough water for mosquitoes to breed,” said Melissa Kretschmer, a county health department official. “It’s important that we remove these breeding sources that can form after rain or watering plants.”
The CDC is also advising people to wear loose, long-sleeved clothing when spending time outside, which makes it more difficult for mosquitoes to reach the skin. Experts recommend avoiding outdoor activity during dusk and dawn, the hours when the mosquitoes most likely to carry the virus tend to be most active.
West Nile virus first appeared in the United States in 1999 in New York before slowly spreading throughout the country. The virus reached its peak in 2003, when nearly 10,000 cases were documented nationwide.
Researchers note that many infected individuals — potentially tens of thousands each year — never realize they’ve been exposed because they experience no symptoms or only minor ones, such as headaches, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea, or rashes.
In more serious cases, the virus can attack the central nervous system, triggering dangerous inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. People over the age of 60 and those with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems are at the greatest risk for these life-threatening complications.
Over the past decade, health officials have received reports of roughly 2,000 cases per year on average, including approximately 1,200 cases involving severe neurological illness and around 100 deaths annually.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Wearing white coats and marching in formation, dozens of Haitian medical students took to the streets Wednesday to pressure the government into relocating and reopening one of the nation’s largest public hospitals — a facility they say is essential to completing their training as future doctors.
The students set out peacefully from their university’s downtown Port-au-Prince campus and made their way toward the outskirts of the prime minister’s office, where anti-riot police formed a barrier to stop their advance.
An Associated Press journalist on the scene witnessed a uniformed officer fire his weapon into the air from inside a vehicle in an apparent attempt to break up the crowd. As he brought the gun down, it discharged a second time, striking a student in the arm.
The students responded by hurling rocks at the officer’s vehicle, shattering multiple windows, while shouting, “We are not armed!”
Esdras Paul, president of the faculty of medicine council, described the police response as unacceptable. “Not only did the police use tear gas on us, the police fired live bullets at us,” he said. “We have students who are actual victims who are being cared for. We condemn this because we are holding peaceful demonstrations.”
The University Hospital of Haiti — more widely referred to as the General Hospital — was shut down in 2024 after gang violence made it impossible to operate. The government attempted to bring the hospital back online on Christmas Eve of that year, but the effort ended in tragedy when suspected gang members opened fire at the scene, killing two journalists and wounding seven more. A police officer also lost his life in the attack.
Johnson “Izo” André, widely regarded as Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and a key figure in the Viv Ansanm gang coalition — which is believed to control roughly 70% of Port-au-Prince — took credit for the assault. In a social media video posted around that time, he stated that the coalition had not given its approval for the hospital to reopen.
Shortly after the attack, the government removed the country’s health minister from office. The hospital has not reopened since.
Medical student Jean Pierre said the country’s top leader must understand what is at stake. “The prime minister needs to hear that the work we do is for the people in Haiti,” he said.
In February 2025, gangs set fire to the General Hospital, further damaging the already shuttered facility. Its prolonged closure has put enormous pressure on the few remaining health institutions still operating in the country. An estimated 70% of public health facilities were closed last year due to gang activity, leaving approximately 4.4 million people without access to medical care.
This was not the first time students have taken a stand — they also marched peacefully the previous week over the same issue, with police responding by deploying tear gas to end that demonstration as well.
NEW YORK — The New York Police Department is gearing up to send thousands of officers into the field this holiday weekend to manage security for a jam-packed series of major events, including Independence Day festivities, a World Cup soccer match, and a celebrity wedding — all while a dangerous heat wave bears down on the city.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Wednesday that authorities are not aware of any specific or credible threats heading into the celebrations. The weekend’s events will feature parades of sailing ships and naval vessels moving along the Hudson and East rivers, military jet flyovers, and a massive fireworks display — all of which will be complicated by extreme heat that could also stretch emergency medical services thin.
Adding to the weekend’s complexity is the anticipated wedding of pop star Taylor Swift and NFL player Travis Kelce, which is expected to draw enormous crowds and media attention to the city.
Commissioner Tisch made a pointed, if lighthearted, reference to the nuptials during her security briefing. “In a briefing about major events happening this weekend in New York City, I would be remiss not to mention an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night,” she said. “The NYPD will, of course, have a detail in place, but I am not going to go into more specifics on that at this time.”
A law enforcement official familiar with the security arrangements told the Associated Press that the wedding ceremony is planned for Friday, with a rehearsal dinner scheduled for Thursday evening. That official spoke under the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to publicly discuss the event.
For the Sail 250 maritime celebrations taking place Friday, Saturday, and beyond, uniformed officers, K-9 units, and heavy weapons teams will be stationed along the city’s waterfront. Roughly 100 vessels and approximately 27,000 sailors, crew members, and dignitaries are expected to arrive in the city for those events.
Anyone wishing to access waterfront viewing areas on Saturday will be required to pass through security checkpoints, officials said.
That evening, the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show will light up the sky as 85,000 shells are fired from six barges, accompanied by a laser display projected from the Brooklyn Bridge. The police department’s aviation unit and drone teams will also be airborne, keeping watch for any unauthorized drones entering the restricted airspace above the show.
“The message is clear: If there is any illegal drone activity that violates our temporary flight restrictions, your drone will be seized,” Commissioner Tisch warned.
The department’s full security arsenal will be in play, including counterterrorism resources, explosive-detection K-9 units, bomb squad teams, heavy weapons personnel, plainclothes officers, and a harbor unit to patrol the waterways.
On Sunday, the city will impose special security measures at its busiest rail hub to manage the flow of thousands of soccer fans crossing the Hudson River to watch Brazil face Norway in a World Cup match. Only ticket holders will be permitted into certain sections of the station.
Officers have already begun setting up crowd-control barriers and posting no-parking signs near Madison Square Garden — which sits directly above the rail hub — in anticipation of Swift fans and curious onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of wedding-related activity.
A Mississippi family is pushing back against the official police account of how their 1-year-old son was fatally shot, presenting new autopsy evidence they say undermines the officers’ claim that they were in danger at the time of the shooting.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced Wednesday that a preliminary autopsy — commissioned by the family of baby Kohen Wiley — indicates the child was struck by a bullet fired from the side of the car, not from the front. This finding directly contradicts the officers’ assertion that the vehicle was moving toward them when one of them opened fire. Kohen’s mother, who was seated in the passenger seat holding her son, maintains that the driver was moving away from the officers, not toward them.
Kohen and his mother are Black. The June 14 shooting has ignited protests and widespread anger in the small town of Senatobia, where residents say troubling interactions with local police have been a recurring problem. According to Crump, the entire incident was set in motion when officers were called to a Walmart parking lot over diapers that may have been shoplifted.
Speaking from the pulpit of Senatobia Church of Christ, flanked by more than a dozen supporters including the baby’s grandparents — some holding “Justice for Baby Kohen” signs — Crump said, “We’re going to try to continue to demand transparency.”
Crump was careful to note, however, that the pathologist who conducted the preliminary examination did not have access to all available information. He said the family intends to keep pressing until authorities release police body camera footage, dashcam video, and surveillance recordings from the Walmart.
A spokesperson for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is overseeing the ongoing probe, declined to make any comment on Wednesday.
At the church, the family displayed photographs and diagrams of Kohen’s injuries, along with a photo of the car involved. The passenger-side window was shattered, and what appeared to be a bullet hole was visible in the windshield on the passenger side. Authorities have confirmed that another woman in the vehicle was also seriously injured.
Crump said the broken passenger window is consistent with a bullet being fired into that side of the vehicle. The preliminary autopsy findings, he said, show the bullet entered the baby’s torso on his right side and exited on his left — a conclusion he said is further supported by clusters of cuts on the right side of the child’s chest and abdomen, which would be consistent with shattered tempered glass.
“That’s very important as we try to solve a puzzle,” Crump said. “The reason that we’re having to try to solve the puzzle is because they won’t release the video.”
The initial statement from state investigators described the encounter this way: “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene.”
Ian Adams, a policing expert who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said investigators will need to examine the vehicle’s position, the seating arrangement of those inside, and where the officers were standing. He cautioned against drawing firm conclusions too quickly.
“We need to know a lot more before drawing firm conclusions based on bullet wounds alone,” Adams said.
The death has drawn comparisons to other high-profile cases in which Black individuals lost their lives over accusations of minor offenses, including the murder of George Floyd. Kohen’s mother has said she believed her friend had paid for the diapers.
Crump, who gained national recognition representing the families of Floyd and other Black people killed by police, pointed out that the officers’ own report acknowledges they saw two women and a child get into the car before the shooting occurred. He questioned why an officer would discharge a weapon knowing a child was present.
“They want us to believe that it was a life-or-death situation,” Crump said. “They told us that, but they have not showed us that.”
Multi-day extreme heat warnings went into effect Wednesday for New York, Boston, and Philadelphia as a wave of dangerous heat swept eastward just in time to disrupt Fourth of July festivities in a region steeped in American independence history.
The National Weather Service is forecasting temperatures in the high 90s Fahrenheit — around 30 degrees Celsius — across the Northeast. Philadelphia and Boston could push past 100 degrees by Thursday. Factor in the humidity, and the heat index will feel even more punishing at times.
A heat dome — a weather pattern in which high-pressure systems sit over a region and trap heat and moisture below — has been bearing down on a wide swath of the country, stretching from the Midwest all the way to the East Coast. The oppressive conditions are expected to cast a shadow over 250th anniversary Independence Day events, including parades, ship flotillas, outdoor concerts, and a public reading of the Declaration of Independence from a historic balcony in Boston on Saturday.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged city residents to seek cool spaces indoors and steer clear of what he called “extraordinary temperatures.”
“To be breaking into triple digits over the course of these many next days — it is of immense concern given that too often the heat is something that is underestimated,” Mamdani said.
In Hamptonburgh, New York, the air conditioning system failed aboard a bus transporting Junior ROTC cadets, leaving several with heat-related illnesses, according to Orange County authorities. Some of the cadets were transported to hospitals as a precautionary measure.
While humidity is nothing new in the Northeast, Dr. Alexander Azan of NYU Langone Health in New York cautioned that the combination of high air temperatures and elevated humidity can be especially dangerous for people in the region.
“Their body doesn’t have that level of acclimatization to respond appropriately to the heat, and so heat stress in the form of what we call heat exhaustion, and in more severe cases, heat stroke, can occur at much lower temperatures than we see in people who live in the South,” Azan said.
Experts point out that urban areas face even greater risks during heat events. Vijay Limaye, a climate scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, explained that the built environment itself intensifies the danger.
“The concentration of concrete, asphalt, steel, all of those materials help to retain heat,” Limaye said. “The number on your phone may actually not reflect the true temperature profile that you’re going out into.”
New York City announced that more than 200 teams of city workers and volunteers would fan out to check on people experiencing homelessness and encourage them to get indoors. Hundreds of cooling centers are being made available across the city, ranging from the Javits Center convention hall to mobile vans and outdoor areas equipped with misting fans.
The American Kennel Club’s Museum of the Dog in New York is opening its doors to visitors and their dogs through Sunday, giving four-legged companions a chance to cool down. Executive Director Christopher Bromson said the idea came to him after watching his own Newfoundland stretched out on the museum’s cool floor.
“I thought every dog should have access to this,” he said.
In Washington, D.C., where temperatures reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), children waiting in line for the Ferris wheel on the National Mall were seen grabbing cold water bottles handed out by U.S. Park Police.
Out in the Midwest, heat dangers continued as well. Taylor Harnist, who runs a Cincinnati business that installs and fixes air conditioning systems, said he has been making sure his crew takes regular breaks and stays hydrated with water and electrolyte drinks.
“You get an attic job when it’s this hot, we do them but it’s strenuous,” Harnist said. “It’s so hot the attics will reach temperatures of 145 degrees.”
Jeff Schlegelmilch, an associate professor at Columbia University Climate School, said extreme heat is among the clearest indicators of climate change.
“We have seen a continued increase in longer summers, hotter temperatures, hotter temperatures earlier on, more evaporation of moisture, higher humidity — effects like that,” he said.
WASHINGTON — The nation’s nuclear power oversight agency has put forward a proposal to overhaul a rule designed to protect people from radiation exposure, marking the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration aimed at accelerating the growth of atomic energy while reducing costs for new reactor construction.
President Donald Trump signed executive orders in 2025 aimed at speeding up the reactor permitting process and restructuring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He also directed the Energy and Defense departments to collaborate on building nuclear facilities on federal lands. The administration’s broader goal is to quadruple the country’s nuclear power output by 2050 to keep pace with growing electricity demands driven by data centers, electric vehicles, and cryptocurrency operations.
At the center of Wednesday’s proposal is the elimination of a radiation protection standard known as As Low as Reasonably Achievable, or ALARA, which sets objective limits on radiation doses. NRC Chairman Ho Nieh defended the proposal, telling reporters, “This rulemaking is raising the bar on clarity in our regulations. It is not lowering the bar on our safety standards.”
The nuclear industry has long pushed back against ALARA, arguing it is based on a model called Linear No-Threshold, which holds that even the smallest amount of radiation exposure carries some cancer risk. Industry representatives have called compliance with ALARA expensive, time-consuming, and riddled with uncertainty.
Under the proposed changes, the agency would shift to a graduated approach to managing radiation doses based on risk levels and specific operational situations. Plant operators would also gain more freedom to apply what the agency describes as “modern methods for evaluating radiation doses to workers and the public.”
Nieh said he does not expect existing nuclear plants to undergo major changes if the rule is finalized, but he believes it could help fast-track the development of new reactors. “Now they have a very clear picture of what the requirements for radiation protection are going to look like, that will inform how they build and design their reactor, in terms of the shielding and the materials that they’re using,” he said.
Not everyone is on board with the proposal. Edwin Lyman, a physicist and nuclear safety advocate at the Union of Concerned Scientists, acknowledged that the NRC has correctly upheld the scientific consensus that no level of radiation is completely safe and that cancer risk increases with dose. However, he sharply criticized the removal of ALARA.
“In eliminating its use of the ALARA principle, the agency’s sweeping new proposed rule would allow nuclear facility workers and the general public to be exposed to higher levels of cancer-causing radiation just to save the nuclear industry money,” Lyman said. He added, “This will only increase the disease burden at a time when cancer rates are already rising among younger people.”
The radiation proposal comes just weeks after the NRC put forward separate rule changes affecting security standards at nuclear plants — changes the Union of Concerned Scientists said would “dramatically weaken measures that protect their facilities from terrorist attacks.” A separate rule also announced Wednesday would make broad changes to the reactor licensing process, including streamlining how new reactors are built.
The public will have 45 days to submit comments on the radiation protection rule before it moves toward finalization.
A federal judge has put the brakes on what would have been the first state-imposed price cap on a prescription drug in the United States, blocking Colorado from limiting the cost of Amgen’s widely used arthritis medication Enbrel.
Chief Judge Daniel Domenico of the Denver federal court issued the preliminary injunction on Wednesday, finding that forcing Amgen to sell Enbrel at a lower price would likely cause the company serious and irreparable financial damage. The judge noted the cap could also disrupt Amgen’s future contract negotiations with wholesalers and distributors.
In his ruling, Domenico wrote that “as a matter of basic economic logic, Amgen is likely to be significantly harmed by a cap on the price of its product, even if the cap applies unevenly” throughout the supply chain.
The judge acknowledged that Colorado has a legitimate interest in making Enbrel more affordable for patients. He suggested the state could pursue alternatives such as subsidies or price negotiations — similar to approaches used at the federal level — but concluded that “capping the price of a patented drug” was not a legally permissible path.
Last October, the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board had set an Enbrel price ceiling of $600 for a 50-milligram weekly dose, which works out to $31,200 annually. That cap was set to take effect on January 1, 2027. Amgen had been facing a July 5 deadline to decide whether it would continue offering the drug in Colorado at all.
Enbrel, known chemically as etanercept, treats arthritis and plaque psoriasis and is one of Amgen’s top-selling products, generating $2.23 billion in sales in 2025. Its current list price tops $100,000 per year.
The Thousand Oaks, California-based pharmaceutical company had argued that Colorado’s price cap conflicted with federal patent law, violated its constitutional due process rights, and put patients’ access to the medication at risk.
A spokeswoman for Colorado’s Division of Insurance, Genna Morton, said the agency is unable to comment while the case is ongoing. Representatives for Amgen and its legal team did not respond to requests for comment.
The case highlights a broader challenge facing American consumers: the U.S. spends roughly three times what other wealthy nations pay for brand-name medications, prompting both federal and state governments to seek ways to bring those costs down.
Judge Domenico was appointed to the federal bench by Donald Trump. The president has since nominated him to serve on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Colorado.
American tennis star Coco Gauff is expressing support for the decision to move the WTA Finals out of Saudi Arabia and into Indian Wells, California — though she’s calling for the season-ending championship to eventually find a stable, long-term location.
The WTA announced Wednesday that this year’s Finals, scheduled for November 8-15, will be pulled from Riyadh ahead of schedule, ending a three-year hosting agreement that was signed in 2024. The 2026 edition of the tournament is also set to be held in the United States.
Gauff, who claimed the title in the Saudi Arabian capital two years ago, said she has no complaints about the shift — even if she acknowledged a personal bias toward the new location.
“I’m really biased, so I’m really happy it’s in the U.S. As an American, it’s cool,” Gauff told reporters at Wimbledon. “It’s going to be weird going to be in Indian Wells in November. I’m very curious if we’re going to be playing in the night or the day. I hope the day, because I feel it’s going to be a little chilly at night.”
She also reflected warmly on her time competing in Saudi Arabia. “Obviously I have great memories in Saudi, playing and winning my title there two years ago. We had a warm reception from them. It was really cool just to bring I think the first women’s professional tennis event being held there,” she said.
Still, Gauff made clear she’d like to see the tournament stop bouncing around. The event has previously been held in Shenzhen, Guadalajara, Fort Worth, and Cancun since 2019. “I definitely would like to see a more permanent home for it,” she added.
Gauff’s fellow American Jessica Pegula described the ongoing venue instability as a continuing “saga,” while suggesting the WTA itself shouldn’t bear all the blame.
“The saga of the WTA Finals continues,” Pegula said. “It’s like we can’t catch a break, and I don’t necessarily think it’s our fault. There tends to be a lot of world conflicts that seem to happen and get in the way.”
The WTA did not offer a specific explanation for departing Saudi Arabia early. The kingdom has faced criticism from human rights advocates who accuse it of using major sporting events to improve its international image — a practice often referred to as “sportswashing.” Saudi Arabia denies those accusations and says its laws are designed to protect national security.
The Saudi Tennis Federation said it worked alongside the WTA to reach thousands of people through community programs aimed at supporting women, and credited the partnership with raising the profile of women’s tennis both within the kingdom and internationally.
Pegula said she understood the WTA had to make the decision it felt was right, and noted that Indian Wells has a proven track record of hosting top-tier tennis events.
“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t quite end in Riyadh on a good note. But things happen. So we just have to go along with that decision. Hopefully I can be there in November,” Pegula said.
American Eagle Outfitters announced Wednesday that it is bringing in Ravi Thanawala as its new chief financial officer, with the change set to take effect on August 3.
Thanawala is currently serving as CFO at pizza chain Papa John’s, a position he has held since November 2025. Before that, he spent roughly three years as CFO of Nike’s North America division prior to joining Papa John’s in 2023.
He takes over from Mike Mathias, who has deep roots at the denim retailer. Mathias first joined the company back in 1998 as a finance manager overseeing stores and operations, and worked his way through several positions before briefly departing in 2016. He returned the following year and was elevated to the CFO role in April 2020.
Once Thanawala officially assumes his duties, Mathias will move into a full-time non-executive role as a strategic advisor to CEO Jay Schottenstein, according to the company.
American Eagle also took the opportunity to reaffirm its financial outlook for both the second quarter and the full year of 2026, maintaining the projections it had previously released in May.
SoftBank Group has reopened negotiations with a group of major lenders seeking a $10 billion loan secured by its stake in OpenAI, after earlier discussions broke down over concerns about how to value shares in a privately held company, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
In an effort to ease lender hesitation, the Japanese technology conglomerate is now offering to personally guarantee repayment of the loan. That means banks would have a claim against SoftBank itself — not just the OpenAI shares used as collateral — if the value of those shares were to decline.
The group of lenders involved in the deal is expected to include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Mizuho Financial Group, the sources said. SoftBank and OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment, while Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Mizuho all declined to comment.
This type of financing arrangement, known as a margin loan, functions similarly to a line of credit. It is part of SoftBank’s broader strategy to fund its aggressive push into artificial intelligence investments.
Originally, SoftBank sought a loan backed entirely by its OpenAI stake, with no additional guarantee. Banks objected to that structure because it would have left them with no recourse beyond the pledged shares if the collateral lost value — and SoftBank would not have been required to repay the debt under those terms.
The renewed discussions reflect a broader wariness among lenders when it comes to loans tied to stakes in private companies. Unlike publicly traded stocks, privately held company shares are harder to appraise and more difficult to sell quickly if a borrower defaults.
It remains unclear whether lenders have specific reservations about OpenAI’s current valuation. The estimated worth of major artificial intelligence firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic, has skyrocketed in recent years as competition intensifies across the AI industry.
SoftBank has emerged as one of the largest financial backers of OpenAI, driven by founder Masayoshi Son’s vision of making the conglomerate a central player in the AI sector. The company has committed more than $60 billion to OpenAI and related AI infrastructure projects, including the Stargate data center venture announced alongside OpenAI and Oracle last year.
To fund those commitments, SoftBank has leaned heavily on debt and asset-backed financing. In recent months, the company explored a $5 billion margin loan backed by shares in chip designer Arm Holdings — a publicly traded company, which made that collateral easier for lenders to assess and potentially sell.
Bloomberg News previously reported that SoftBank had initially sought at least $10 billion through an OpenAI-backed margin loan before scaling the target back to roughly $6 billion after running into lender resistance.
One development that could change the picture: OpenAI confidentially filed paperwork in June for a U.S. initial public offering. If the company eventually goes public, SoftBank’s stake would become much easier for lenders to value and liquidate if needed.
SoftBank is also working against a deadline — it must repay a $40 billion bridge loan used to help finance its OpenAI investment by March 2027. The company has indicated that repayment would likely come through the use of existing assets and additional financing measures.
Under Son’s direction, SoftBank has significantly ramped up its AI spending this year, making investments across data centers, semiconductors, and robotics as it works to establish itself at the heart of the industry’s rapid growth.
A new nationwide poll paints a complex picture of how Americans feel about their country — proud, yet uncertain about what lies ahead.
The survey, conducted by NPR, PBS News, and Marist, found that most Americans hold a sense of pride in the United States. However, at the same time, a large portion of those polled expressed worry about the country’s direction going forward.
The findings highlight a dual sentiment taking hold across the nation — one where patriotism and concern appear to coexist side by side.
RIO DE JANEIRO — The waters off Rio de Janeiro are seeing a remarkable comeback story, as humpback whale sightings along the coast continue to climb following decades of population recovery after commercial whaling nearly wiped out the species.
According to Enrico Marcovaldi, co-founder of the Humpback Whale Project, the species’ numbers have grown from approximately 2,000 to around 35,000 over roughly 40 years — a figure approaching their pre-whaling population levels. As a result, the whales are being spotted with increasing frequency in Rio’s famous Guanabara Bay.
“It’s wonderful. It shows that the whales are making a recovery, are healthy and thriving, and hopefully they’ll continue to do so,” Marcovaldi said.
The turnaround traces back to 1982, when the International Whaling Commission voted to halt commercial whaling across all whale species and populations, with the ban taking effect beginning in the 1985/1986 season.
The whales’ growing presence hasn’t gone unnoticed by local entrepreneurs. Louise Raulais, who operates the Rio Ocean Club alongside her partner Theo Andrade, has begun capitalizing on the trend. This year, the company launched sailboat tours for groups of five to ten passengers to observe the whales up close. Raulais said a biologist is always on board to educate guests, with the goal of inspiring conservation efforts.
“These animals are so iconic and charismatic that they have the power to transform people, to change the way they see the world,” Raulais said.
Humpback whales are well-known for their long-distance migrations across major ocean basins, typically following routes passed down from mother to calf. During warmer months they feed on krill and small fish, then move to tropical waters during winter to breed.
Each year between June and November, thousands of humpback whales pass through Brazilian waters on a roughly 2,500-mile (4,000-kilometer) journey from their feeding areas in the Southern Ocean to breeding and calving grounds off northeastern Brazil.
The majority of the whales congregate around the Abrolhos Bank, a coral reef area stretching along the coasts of Bahia and Espirito Santo, considered one of the most biologically diverse marine environments in the South Atlantic.
The Humpback Whale Project launched a scientific expedition — scheduled to run from June 26 through July 9 — aimed at studying the animals’ behavior, size, and overall health, while also mapping their travel routes, key gathering spots, and how far from shore they tend to travel.
“They’re exploring this area,” said Pedro Fróes, a biologist with the Humpback Whale Project who is taking part in the expedition. “They want to find out whether, in the future, it could become a place for them to rest, to mate, or to give birth to a calf,” Fróes added.
NEW YORK (AP) — The man once known primarily as a real estate developer has transformed into a billion-dollar cryptocurrency mogul.
President Donald Trump’s most recent mandatory financial disclosure shows he pulled in roughly $1.2 billion last year, with cryptocurrency holdings far outpacing the real estate empire that originally made him a household name and helped launch his political career.
While it took Trump decades to build his property portfolio, his crypto wealth exploded in just over a year — a rapid rise fueled by his own administration’s favorable stance toward the industry, along with support from billionaires and other parties with significant business interests before the federal government.
The 900-plus-page report reveals Trump tapped into several new income sources last year, prompting scrutiny over whether he is financially benefiting from holding the nation’s highest office.
He collected tens of millions of dollars from new property ventures in foreign nations — many of which were simultaneously negotiating with the U.S. over tariffs, military assistance, and other critical issues. He also received tens of millions more through lawsuits against media companies that faced potential regulatory consequences, including broadcast license threats and pending deal approvals.
Trump also demonstrated his knack for branding on a smaller scale, earning millions by attaching his name to Bibles, guitars, and watches — with watches alone generating $4.7 million.
His company World Liberty Financial brought in more than $500 million selling what are known as
Chinese technology company Alibaba has agreed to pay $600 million to settle a dispute with the federal government over claims that the Hangzhou-based firm allowed illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, regulated chemicals, and pill-making equipment to be sold and shipped into the United States.
Alibaba is the parent company behind some of the world’s biggest online shopping platforms, including Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com.
Federal authorities allege that Alibaba’s U.S.-based payment processing arm, AUS Merchant Services, broke federal law by failing to block merchants from selling and importing prohibited products through those platforms.
In its agreement with the Justice Department, Alibaba acknowledged that from January 2016 through December 2024, the company failed to halt approximately 80,000 transactions involving illegal imports that violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other federal statutes.
According to a news release announcing the settlement, Alibaba employees had internally raised red flags about the company’s compliance systems being insufficient to stop illegal product sales. In some cases, merchants even used Alibaba’s own messaging service to redirect buyers to outside platforms where illegal transactions could take place.
Investigators from the FDA, FDIC, IRS Criminal Investigations, and other agencies carried out more than 40 undercover purchases of pharmaceuticals and equipment that were prohibited from being imported into the U.S. The resolution came in the form of a non-prosecution agreement between the company and the Justice Department.
IRS Criminal Investigations Chief Jarod Koopman commented on the outcome, saying the resolution “underscores IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to following the money and ensuring that companies operating in the United States comply fully with federal law.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — July 1, 2026 — The National Pork Producers Council, the voice for more than 60,000 pork producers across the United States, issued a statement Tuesday following the decision to not renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement — commonly known as USMCA — in its current form.
The organization emphasized that trade has been one of the most stable and positive aspects of the pork industry, even as producers face many other uncertainties. Canada and Mexico together account for one-third of all U.S. pork exports, making both countries essential trading partners.
In its statement, the council said: “Amidst the many uncertainties that come with pork production, trade has remained a bright spot for U.S. pork producers, whose neighbors to the north and south represent a third of all U.S. pork exports.”
“Ensuring USMCA remains intact is vital to continuing the mutually beneficial trading relationships U.S. pork enjoys with both Canada and Mexico,” the statement continued.
Though the group had hoped to see the agreement renewed right away, it acknowledged Ambassador Greer’s pledge to remain at the negotiating table. “While we would have liked to have seen immediate renewal of the USMCA, U.S. pork producers appreciate Ambassador Greer’s commitment to staying at the negotiating table with Mexico and Canada to make sure U.S. pork’s market access is preserved,” the council stated.
The council also highlighted the economic weight of pork exports, noting they add more than $66 in value for every hog brought to market and support over 155,000 American jobs. In 2025, Mexico ranked as the top export destination for U.S. pork, while Canada came in fourth. The council said USMCA plays a key role in keeping those markets stable and maintaining the strength of U.S. pork export values.
Motorists traveling eastbound on Pike Creek Road should plan for delays as construction crews have prompted an intermittent lane closure along a key stretch of the roadway.
The affected area runs between Upper Pike Creek Road and Kirkwood Highway, also known as Route 2. Drivers in the area can expect periodic lane restrictions as work continues on site.
The lane closure is expected to remain in effect until 5 PM. Travelers are encouraged to allow extra time or consider alternate routes to avoid potential slowdowns in the area.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with their candidates, and a former top campaign finance official is breaking down what that decision could mean for American elections.
Former Federal Election Commission Chairman Trevor Potter testified before a Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing on artificial intelligence and the future of elections on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as recently as September 27, 2023. Now, he is offering his analysis of the Court’s latest ruling on political party spending.
Potter explained the Supreme Court’s decision and what removing these coordinated spending limits could mean for the broader landscape of campaign finance in the United States.
The ruling represents a significant shift in how political parties may be allowed to operate financially alongside their candidates, potentially opening the door to far greater coordination between party organizations and the campaigns they support.
A federal judge issued a ruling Wednesday blocking the U.S. Postal Service from putting new restrictions on mail-in voting into effect.
The judge determined that the proposed limitations would break the terms of a settlement the Postal Service had previously reached with a prominent civil rights organization. That agreement required the agency to handle mail-in ballots on an expedited basis.
Former CIA Director John Brennan took legal action Wednesday, filing a lawsuit aimed at compelling the U.S. Justice Department to hold onto records connected to federal investigations that have scrutinized his involvement in a U.S. intelligence community assessment concluding that Russia worked to boost President Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016.
Brennan’s attorneys argued in a filing in Washington federal court that those records and internal communications will be essential if Brennan needs to mount legal challenges against a potential indictment — particularly to support claims that any future prosecution was driven by revenge and initiated at Trump’s direction.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami has been looking into whether Brennan, who headed the CIA during former Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration, made false statements to Congress when discussing the intelligence assessment. Investigators are also examining whether he was part of a broader, long-running criminal conspiracy against Trump’s constitutional rights.
Brennan has publicly described the investigation as politically motivated, and his legal team has accused the Trump administration of using improper tactics during the probe.
Trump has spent years pushing back against any suggestion that his 2016 campaign had ties to Russia, repeatedly calling it the “Russia Hoax” and calling for prosecutions of officials involved in those efforts.
The Justice Department issued a response through a spokesperson, saying: “While we cannot comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of an investigation, it is certainly rich that John Brennan is accusing anyone of a ‘retribution campaign.’”
The lawsuit is also designed to capitalize on an emerging trend in the courts, where judges have shown increasing willingness to step in early during investigations they view as targeting Trump’s critics or political opponents. Courts have already moved to block subpoenas this year in separate probes involving former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Democratic officials in Minnesota.
Brennan’s legal complaint contends that internal DOJ records and communications are at risk of disappearing, pointing to the Trump administration’s use of disappearing-message apps like Signal and alleged failures by officials to follow federal recordkeeping requirements.
His attorneys say those materials would be critical to any future effort to have an indictment thrown out. The suit asks a judge to order the DOJ to preserve a broad range of materials connected to both investigations before any charges are filed.
“A careful examination of the prosecutors’ emails, texts, instant messages, internal memoranda and the like would enable a court to determine whether their decisions were based on legitimate law enforcement concerns or on a desire to selectively and/or vindictively prosecute Director Brennan,” the complaint states.
Sandra Lith stepped to the front of Ms. Ann’s Boutique in Inglewood, California, and approached a World Cup visitor who was browsing inside. She asked him three questions: Did he feel safe? Were people treating him well? Did he enjoy the small city nestled in the Los Angeles area?
When the visitor — who was from Canada — said yes to all three, Lith had a message for him to carry home. “You go back to Canada and tell them Inglewood is nice, Inglewood is friendly, and they should all come here some time,” she told him.
That exchange captures what Inglewood is trying to accomplish during the World Cup. The city is counting on the global attention brought by international soccer fans flooding into SoFi Stadium to help reframe how the world sees it — shifting the narrative away from poverty and crime and toward fun and recreation. With the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, and many of those events also scheduled for Inglewood, city leaders see a back-to-back opportunity to reshape the city’s reputation.
It won’t be easy. Inglewood’s image took a serious hit following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, whose epicenter was just a few blocks north of the city. The area’s reputation for danger spread worldwide, reinforced by 1990s gangsta rap. Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre immortalized it in a 1996 track with the line, “Yeah, Inglewood, Inglewood, always up to no good.” Rapper Mack 10 referenced “mo’ murders than a horror flick” in his 1997 song Inglewood Swangin’.
Those lyrics reflected a real crisis. During the 1990s, Southern California sank into a deep recession that hit Black communities especially hard. Inglewood’s official poverty rate topped 21% in 1993, and police recorded more than 2,500 violent crimes per year in the early part of that decade. In 1990 alone, 55 murders were reported.
The numbers today tell a dramatically different story. Violent crime has fallen sharply, with fewer than 10 murders recorded in both 2024 and 2025, and total violent crimes dropping below 700 in a city of roughly 105,000 residents. The poverty rate remains elevated at around 15%, but the downward trend in violence is significant.
City officials credit much of the turnaround to the development of major sports and entertainment venues in Inglewood. Billionaire investors — including Arsenal Football Club and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and Steve Ballmer of the Intuit Dome — have poured money into the area, bringing thousands of jobs, improved city finances, and a boost to local businesses.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts, Jr. has been one of the loudest voices championing the city’s transformation. Speaking at the opening of rapper Snoop Dogg’s new store directly across from SoFi Stadium, he declared, “This is a whole new era in the city of Inglewood, it’s a whole new era. We just happen to be the number one city in the country.”
Snoop Dogg has become one of Inglewood’s most prominent boosters. The rapper, who has spent much of his career connected to the city, has opened several businesses there, including the branded clothing shop near the stadium. When he was named Los Angeles Community Chairman for the World Cup, he said, “We’re going to bring the world together, West Coast-style — unity, respect and a whole lotta love for the beautiful game.” He has also been actively promoting the upcoming 2028 Olympics.
Mayor Butts said roughly five million visitors per year are now coming through his part of Los Angeles County. Two NFL teams, an NBA franchise, and a steady calendar of concerts and events at Inglewood’s stadiums are generating a continuous flow of revenue, employment, and tax dollars for the area. “The City of Inglewood is a massive boost to the economy of the south of Los Angeles,” he said on May 6 as the city was gearing up for the world’s attention.
SoFi Stadium sits about three miles from a major SpaceX facility that employs thousands of workers, some of whom have recently benefited from a company IPO.
One Inglewood police officer stationed near the stadium noted that the tax revenue flowing in from sports and entertainment events has kept city finances healthy — enough that officers like himself are paid better than their counterparts in the City of Los Angeles. He acknowledged that some areas still struggle with elevated crime but said formerly dangerous neighborhoods have become much calmer. “You can feel it on the streets,” he said. “It’s a lot better.” Officers are even marking the occasion with special World Cup-themed badges.
Not everyone in Inglewood is celebrating, however. Residents frequently voice frustration over traffic gridlock and scarce parking on event days, which happen often. Housing advocates have raised alarms about rising home prices and rents that have pushed some long-time residents out of the city as demand for homes near the sports complex has grown.
Back at Ms. Ann’s Boutique, Lith and the shop owner said they haven’t personally seen an uptick in customers because of the World Cup, and they’ve noticed the traffic is even more congested than usual. Still, they said they’re genuinely excited that visitors from around the world are getting to experience an Inglewood that is far more welcoming than its old reputation might have led them to expect.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department took action Wednesday, officially labeling the Ecuadorean gang known as Chone Killers a Foreign Terrorist Organization and imposing sanctions against the group for what officials described as a pattern of violent attacks.
In addition to the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the gang was also classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
“Chone Killers … has committed numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers, and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials,” Rubio said in an official statement.
The designation is part of a wider effort during President Donald Trump’s second term to confront gang activity across the Americas. The administration has moved to label several groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and has carried out a series of strikes targeting suspected drug trafficking vessels off the coast of Venezuela and along the Pacific coast of Latin America.
Rubio also addressed the partnership with Ecuador in combating narcoterrorism, saying, “The Trump Administration, in partnership with Ecuador and President Daniel Noboa, will continue to protect our hemisphere by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding violent narcoterrorists.”
SANTA CLARA, California — A World Cup featuring 104 matches, 48 teams, and 39 days of action spread across three nations is a grueling test for players — but the broadcasters keeping audiences informed are dealing with their own extraordinary challenge.
The North American World Cup has shattered previous records in both revenue and reach. More than 100 networks are delivering coverage to 223 territories around the world, and FIFA is projecting over six billion media engagements — a full billion more than the 2022 tournament generated.
The sheer scale of the expanded format has placed enormous demands on everyone involved in coverage, from production crews to the commentators calling the action live.
BBC commentator Steve Bower has spent three decades in broadcasting, but says nothing has prepared him for the scope of this tournament. After covering nine matches across six cities and two countries, he put it simply.
“This tournament is crazy,” Bower said. “The number of teams, the volume of matches, the travel, the different nations … this competition has tested our skills in new ways.”
New Challenges at Every Turn
One unexpected hurdle has been identifying players on the field. Commentary positions are located high up in large NFL-style stadiums, and many players are wearing identical fluorescent pink boots, making it harder to tell them apart from a distance.
Bower said staying focused during simultaneous matches and rapidly shifting group-stage standings is especially demanding, made even more complicated by the new format’s rule allowing the best third-place finishers to advance.
“Experience helps you handle those situations better but the responsibility remains,” Bower said. “The adrenaline gets you through the broadcast, but there’s always a degree of nervous energy.”
With four time zones, 16 additional teams, and 40 more matches than previous tournaments, host-nation broadcasters have had to expand their operations significantly.
U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo has set up World Cup studios in Mexico City, Miami, and New York, deploying 80 on-air personalities, 1,400 production staff, reporters, and dozens of cameras spread across all 16 host cities.
Canada’s Bell Media, which operates TSN, began preparing for the tournament back in 2023. The network has studios in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, a team stationed at FIFA’s broadcast headquarters in Dallas, and multiple crews working in rotation to sustain coverage across the 39-day event.
Shawn Redmond, Bell Media’s VP of sports, described the production as likely the largest media undertaking in Canadian history.
“It’s a tremendously logistics-heavy operation,” he said. “There’s a responsibility and an obligation that we take seriously to get it right and do right by Canada.”
‘Best Seats in the House’
On the U.S. side, Fox Sports has broken its own World Cup viewership records, averaging five million American viewers per group-stage match — a 92% increase compared to the Qatar World Cup. The network has deployed 12 former top-level players as studio analysts and nine commentary teams to cover all 104 games.
Among those commentators are Darren Fletcher and former England player Owen Hargreaves, a pairing known for their lively on-air chemistry. Working out of a Dallas base, the two have been flying back and forth to cities including Toronto, Guadalajara, New York, Houston, and Atlanta.
Fletcher, who also works with Britain’s TNT Sports, adjusts his commentary approach depending on his audience and focuses heavily on preparation. He watches replays of every match he calls, reviewing each line of commentary to find ways to improve.
“I try to concentrate, know all the eventualities as the big games start. I’m a fan like anyone and I’m likely to cock it up as much as anyone else is,” Fletcher told Reuters. “You’ve got to be across it. There’s nothing genius about it.”
Correctly pronouncing players’ names is another ongoing challenge. Fletcher addresses this by writing out phonetic spellings in his pre-match notes, which he prints and laminates to protect them — a lesson learned the hard way.
“Someone once spilled a drink all over my notes — they were unreadable,” he said. “So now I’m prepared for that.”
Despite all the demands, both Bower and Fletcher say they wouldn’t trade their roles for anything, especially as soaring ticket prices have put attending matches out of reach for many fans.
“I genuinely believe it’s the best job in the world,” Bower said. “I never complain.”
Fletcher echoed that sentiment: “We’ve got the best seats in the house, watching the World Cup next to my mate — it’s more than you could ever ask for. When you cover games, you’re being invited all the time into strangers’ living rooms. That’s an honour for us. We’re privileged and it’s such a buzz.”
With the Fourth of July just around the corner, the Delaware Department of Transportation wants everyone hitting the road — or the sidewalk — this holiday weekend to make safety their top priority.
Officials are warning that traffic volumes will be higher than normal throughout the state as Delawareans and out-of-town visitors gear up for the holiday. The reminder applies to anyone traveling by car, bus, bicycle, or on foot.
The agency is also emphasizing the importance of sober travel. Impaired driving remains a serious concern during holiday weekends, and officials are urging all travelers to plan ahead and never get behind the wheel after drinking.
The call to action comes as Delaware has already recorded 57 traffic fatalities on its roads so far in 2026 — a sobering reminder of the dangers that come with increased holiday travel.
A 41-year-old New Castle man is behind bars after Delaware State Police say he resisted arrest and attempted to tamper with evidence during a cocaine distribution sting on June 29, 2026.
The Delaware State Police Special Investigations Unit began building a case against John Dupree II in early June 2026, after receiving a tip that he was moving large amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine across both New Castle and Kent counties. Through their investigation, detectives learned Dupree had plans to carry out another major drug transaction on June 29 at Beaver Brook Plaza in New Castle.
Shortly before 4 p.m. that afternoon, detectives spotted Dupree pulling into the shopping center and parking his vehicle. When officers moved in and ordered him to step out, Dupree refused. He repeatedly reached around inside the vehicle and ignored commands from troopers. Officers eventually forced entry into the vehicle and took Dupree into custody without any further struggle.
A search of the vehicle turned up approximately 127 grams of suspected powder cocaine. Investigators also determined that Dupree had tampered with the suspected drugs during the standoff while refusing to comply with officers’ orders.
Dupree was transported to Troop 3, where he was formally charged, arraigned before the Justice of the Peace Court, and committed to the Department of Correction on a $51,100 cash bond.
He faces the following charges:
Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance Tier 3 Quantity (Felony)
Possession of a Controlled Substance Tier 3 Quantity (Felony)
A nuclear energy startup called Valar Atomics has announced a new partnership with Nvidia to build a small data center in Utah, with both companies saying the project will show how facilities powering artificial intelligence can use far less water than traditional operations.
California-based Valar made the announcement at the Utah location where its small nuclear plant — known as a microreactor — is situated. As part of the unveiling, the company ran a live demonstration powering Nvidia’s Blackwell, the chipmaker’s newest AI chip design for data centers. According to the two companies, this marked the first time a small nuclear reactor has ever been used to power a data center.
Valar is among roughly 10 nuclear energy startups participating in a Department of Energy reactor pilot program. That program set a target of having three small reactors reach criticality — the point at which a nuclear reaction can sustain itself on its own — by July 4.
Nvidia revealed last week that its newest data center design, called DSX, will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system. The company says this approach can slash the amount of water a facility uses for cooling from approximately 2.6 million gallons per megawatt each year down to nearly zero.
The announcement comes at a time when data centers are facing increasing pushback from the public. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last month found that only one in three Americans support the rapid pace at which data centers are being built — an issue that is drawing attention from voters ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
To meet their enormous power needs, many companies in the industry have been pursuing their own private power sources — sometimes called “behind-the-meter” plants — which allow them to sidestep traditional permitting processes, public input requirements, and grid connection procedures. While most of these projects have involved natural gas, some companies are now looking at emerging small nuclear reactors to fuel their AI infrastructure.
The Trump administration has signaled strong support for small nuclear reactors as part of a broader push to expand power generation across the country. President Donald Trump issued executive orders last May aimed at quadrupling the pace of nuclear deployment.
“Through this work with Valar Atomics, Nvidia is exploring how behind-the-meter, waterless advanced nuclear systems could support future AI factories built for the scale and reliability accelerated computing requires,” said John Josephakis, a global vice president at Nvidia.
Valar founder Isaiah Taylor said the company is working to prove that nuclear projects — which typically face lengthy regulatory hurdles — can actually be completed at a much faster pace. The company says its high-temperature reactor uses helium rather than water for cooling.
Valar also joined a lawsuit filed last year by the states of Texas and Utah against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, arguing that the agency does not have the authority to license certain nuclear microreactors and small modular reactors. The suit seeks to shift that oversight responsibility to individual states.
New data from the federal government indicates that manmade fiber consumption on the cotton system totaled 17.6 million pounds during the month of May 2026.
The figures were published by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service as part of its ongoing tracking of fiber use across the U.S. textile sector.
The report provides industry observers and agricultural stakeholders with a measure of how much manmade fiber is being processed through cotton system operations during the reporting period.
The latest federal report on broiler hatchery activity shows the U.S. poultry industry is seeing slight growth, with both eggs set and chicks placed ticking upward.
According to the report, the number of broiler-type eggs set in the United States increased by 2 percent compared to the prior period. At the same time, the number of broiler-type chicks placed across the country also rose by 2 percent.
The figures were published by the federal agricultural statistics agency as part of its ongoing tracking of the nation’s broiler poultry production activity.
The latest government figures on domestic fats and oils production show that U.S. processors crushed 6.39 million tons of soybeans to produce crude oil during the month of May 2026, a total that equals approximately 213 million bushels.
The numbers were released by federal agricultural officials as part of a routine monthly report tracking how the nation’s oilseed supply is being utilized by the crushing industry.
Soybean crushing is a key indicator of demand for both soybean oil, which is widely used in food production and biofuels, and soybean meal, a major protein source used in livestock feed across the country.
Elon Musk pushed back sharply on Wednesday against a Wall Street Journal report alleging that SpaceX had shown investors and other stakeholders a prototype of an AI-powered handheld device prior to its high-profile IPO.
Musk offered a blunt two-word rebuttal on X, his social media platform, writing simply: “Utterly false.” He did not provide any further explanation.
According to the Journal, which cited sources with knowledge of the situation, the device resembled a handset and was built to operate on a proprietary operating system. The report said the gadget would incorporate AI technology from xAI and run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips.
The Journal also noted that SpaceX had informed certain investors the project was still in its early phases, with the design continuing to change and no guarantee the device would ever actually be produced.
SpaceX has poured billions of dollars into growing beyond its original launch and satellite internet operations, directing funds toward AI infrastructure, xAI’s Grok large language model, and ambitions for space-based computing as Musk works to put the company at the forefront of the AI industry.
Neither SpaceX nor Qualcomm responded to requests for comment in time for publication.
Reuters had previously reported in February that SpaceX was working on plans for a mobile device tied to its Starlink satellite internet network that could compete with conventional smartphones.
Back in January, Musk himself acknowledged that a Starlink-connected phone was “not out of the question at some point,” while noting that any such device would look and function very differently from phones currently on the market.
In related tech news, Microsoft last month unveiled its own prototype — an AI-powered badge device designed for workers that features Qualcomm wearable chips. The company described it as an always-connected assistant capable of using AI agents, voice commands, a touchscreen, and a camera to help employees get things done.
New data released by federal agriculture officials shows that corn consumption for alcohol production and other uses totaled 524 million bushels during the month of May 2026.
The report, which tracks grain crushing activity across the country, covers two months of data. April 2026 was recorded as a 30-day month, while May 2026 spanned 31 days.
The figures reflect total corn usage across all reported categories for the May 2026 period.
The National Weather Service has raised the stakes on its heat alert for Delaware, upgrading the existing advisory to an Extreme Heat Warning for all three counties in the state.
The warning took effect this afternoon on July 1st and will remain in place through July 4th. Forecasters say the most intense and dangerous heat is expected to arrive on Thursday and Friday.
An Extreme Heat Warning is only declared when life-threatening heat conditions are either already underway or are considered imminent. Residents across Delaware are urged to take the threat seriously and take precautions to stay safe during the holiday weekend.
Travelers on northbound Route 1 between Rehoboth Avenue Extension and DE-24 should expect some extra time behind the wheel, as congestion is currently causing delays of roughly 5 to 10 minutes along that corridor.
The slowdown is attributed to traffic congestion in the area. No additional details regarding the cause of the backup were provided.
Drivers are encouraged to allow extra travel time or consider alternate routes if possible.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A government spokesperson in Ivory Coast confirmed Wednesday that flooding has taken the lives of at least 59 people in the country this year.
Following a Cabinet meeting, spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly addressed reporters, stating that “the council deplores the particularly high death toll of 59 this year.”
The latest disaster struck Monday, when a combination of floods and landslides — triggered by several days of heavy rainfall — hit the capital cities of both Ivory Coast and Ghana, killing at least 24 people and leaving others unaccounted for.
Coulibaly did not provide a breakdown of how many deaths were specifically tied to the most recent flooding event in Ivory Coast.
In Ghana’s capital, Accra, entire buildings and roads were swallowed by floodwaters on Monday, cutting off multiple neighborhoods in the city as well as the nearby city of Tema.
Within Ivory Coast, the sustained rainfall caused flooding that killed more than a dozen people, with the majority of victims located in the Abidjan municipalities of Attécoubé and Yopougon, according to the Minister of National Cohesion Myss Belmonde Dogo.
Coulibaly called on residents to heed government safety guidelines and evacuate any zones that authorities have identified as high-risk.
Fatal flooding is a recurring problem across parts of Africa. The World Meteorological Organization notes that Africa is one of the regions most exposed to extreme weather events globally, even though the continent accounts for only a small share of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
Worcester County officials have announced that Shytina Drummond will serve as the next warden of the Worcester County Jail, according to a release from the county.
The announcement was made on July 1, 2026, marking a new leadership appointment for the county’s correctional facility.
No further details regarding the transition timeline or Drummond’s background were included in the official announcement.
MEXICO CITY — A man clad entirely in bright orange carefully loads a stack of cardboard boxes onto a luggage cart at Mexico City’s international airport. He’s not just another traveler, and the contents of those boxes are far from ordinary.
Inside them are body bags.
The man is Germán Bello, a 39-year-old volunteer with the Brigada Internacional de Rescate Topos Azteca — one of Mexico’s most well-known civilian search-and-rescue organizations. The nonprofit group was born out of the catastrophic 1985 Mexico City earthquake and has since built a global reputation by responding to major disasters both at home and overseas.
On Tuesday night, Bello was on his way to one of Venezuela’s worst natural disasters in recent memory. Nearly a week after two strong earthquakes tore through the country’s Caribbean coastline, officials announced Wednesday that more than 2,200 people have lost their lives and upward of 11,000 others have been hurt.
International rescue teams are still combing through the wreckage of collapsed apartment buildings and homes in the hardest-hit state of La Guaira. But as the days pass, hope of finding survivors continues to dim, and the focus is gradually shifting from rescue to recovery.
Bello has no idea when he’ll be back home. In addition to rescue equipment, he packed body bags and other supplies that may be needed to recover victims of the earthquakes.
By profession, Bello is an electrical engineer who runs a small auto repair shop. Within the brigade, he goes by the nickname “La Secre” — short for secretary — because he serves as the right-hand man to the group’s founder, veteran rescuer Héctor “El Chino” Méndez.
Méndez, now 80 years old, helped organize grassroots civilian rescue operations following the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and has guided Topos missions across the globe for four decades. He was already on the ground in La Guaira, working to locate any survivors who might still be trapped under the rubble.
“The hardest part is telling someone that their loved one has died,” Bello said.
Fellow volunteers say that once they arrive in a disaster zone, keeping emotions under control is essential — because staying focused can be the difference between saving a life and losing one.
“There is no hunger, no heat, no sleep,” said volunteer Merry Valencia, who has been with the brigade for 14 years, reciting part of the group’s code of conduct. “There is no fear.”
Once rescuers evaluate the stability of a collapsed structure, they divide into small teams and take on different sections of the debris field. They squeeze through tight gaps and hollow spaces inside flattened buildings — a technique that earned the group its name, “Topos,” which means moles in Spanish. Thermal cameras and other specialized tools are frequently used to detect any signs of life.
Equipped with shovels, hand hammers, and various other tools, the rescuers chip away at rubble piece by piece, carefully working to avoid setting off further collapses.
“We are rescue workers from Mexico. If anyone is alive, make some noise or call out now!” a Mexican Army rescuer shouted on Saturday while searching the ruins of a collapsed building in La Guaira.
Seconds later, he raised a clenched fist into the air.
That gesture is a command for total silence — a search technique that originated during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and was later formalized by the Topos. Variations of the method are now standard practice for rescue teams around the world.
The signal ripples instantly through the disaster zone. Rescue workers, soldiers, volunteers, and journalists all go quiet. For a brief but tense stretch of time, silence is the only sound.
Rescuers then listen with intense focus for any trace of life — using sensitive microphones, telescopic cameras, or simply pressing an ear to the rubble, hoping to catch a voice, a knock, or even the slightest movement.
Back at the Mexico City airport, a young man wearing glasses spotted Bello and approached after learning he was bound for Venezuela. He asked if Bello and his colleague were part of the rescue mission.
When Bello confirmed they were, the man broke down in tears.
“Thank you for going. My family is in Caracas,” said Venezuelan engineer Diego Bejarano.
Bello pulled him into a tight embrace. It would likely be the first of many such moments in the days ahead, as he joins other international teams working in Venezuela’s disaster zone.
After Bejarano walked away, Bello wiped the tears from his own eyes and explained what keeps driving him to volunteer for missions like this one.
“That’s my reward,” he said. “Being able to give someone a little hope.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — During the bleakest stretches of World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt worked through mountains of paperwork at it. George W. Bush sat behind it to speak to a shaken nation following the September 11 attacks. And in a moment that became one of the most enduring images in American history, a young John F. Kennedy Jr. crawled beneath it and peeked out through the front panel while his father worked above — a scene so iconic that President Joe Biden later recreated it with his own grandson.
The Resolute Desk is widely considered the most recognizable piece of furniture in the White House, and perhaps in the entire country. Serving as the president’s working desk, it has stood at the center of American history for close to 150 years.
That distinctive front panel carries its own historical debate. Many accounts suggest it was added during Roosevelt’s time in office to hide his wheelchair and leg braces from public view. However, some historians push back on that story, arguing that Roosevelt kept the desk in his private study rather than in public-facing spaces, and that the panel wasn’t actually installed until after his death.
Despite its place in American lore, the desk’s roots are entirely British. It was built from the wood of the HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that departed for the Arctic in the early 1850s on a mission to locate Sir John Franklin, an explorer who vanished while searching for the Northwest Passage. The ship became locked in Arctic ice and was ultimately abandoned by its crew. An American whaling vessel later came across the ship adrift in those frozen waters.
The United States had the vessel repaired and returned it to Queen Victoria as a gesture of goodwill. The ship continued its service for a number of years before being taken out of commission.
After the HMS Resolute was retired, Queen Victoria chose to honor the American gesture by having the ship’s timbers fashioned into several pieces of furniture. Among them was a large, ornate desk that she presented as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.
For much of its early time at the White House, the desk remained largely out of the public eye. That changed in 1961, when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had it moved into the Oval Office.
Since then, every president beginning with Jimmy Carter has used the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office — with one exception. President George H.W. Bush opted to place it in the Treaty Room instead. In more recent decades, the desk has also taken on a new tradition: outgoing presidents leave a personal letter atop it for their successor to find on Inauguration Day.
More than just a place to work, the Resolute Desk stands as a lasting symbol of the American presidency and a testament to the long-standing bond between the United States and Great Britain.
This story is part of a recurring series called “American Objects,” produced in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday that Alibaba and AUS Merchant Services have reached a $600 million agreement to settle allegations that the companies failed to stop illegal pharmaceutical sales.
Federal officials say both companies did not do enough to prevent unlawful drug transactions from occurring through their services.
Alibaba had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the announcement.
Robinhood announced Wednesday that it intends to bring cryptocurrency trading to the United Kingdom while also widening its perpetual futures lineup in Europe to cover assets beyond digital currencies.
Here is a breakdown of the company’s latest moves:
Eligible investors in Europe will now have access to perpetual futures contracts tied to commodities, exchange-traded funds, and foreign exchange markets. Those offerings include gold, silver, crude oil, and the euro-dollar currency pair, with leverage of up to 10 times and around-the-clock trading availability.
Perpetual futures — often called “perps” — are futures contracts that carry no expiration date. They have attracted growing interest in the United States since the CFTC gave the green light in May for their trading on domestic exchanges.
In a separate announcement, Robinhood said it plans to roll out crypto trading for customers in the UK as part of its broader goal of building an all-in-one investing platform for that region.
The company also introduced Robinhood Earn, a new lending product that allows eligible U.S. customers to lend their dollar-backed stablecoin, known as USDG, through a self-custody wallet. The product offers an estimated annualized return of 7%.
Robinhood Earn also comes with insurance coverage for certain losses resulting from cyberattacks or smart-contract exploits, with that protection arranged through Lloyd’s of London and RELM.
Additionally, Robinhood announced it is entering the Canadian market following its acquisition of WonderFi and confirmed it has received a capital markets services licence in Singapore.
The trading platform currently serves more than 28 million customers in 38 countries and has been actively expanding into additional financial services in recent years in an effort to become less dependent on trading activity alone.
The company reported weaker-than-expected transaction revenue for the first quarter, a result tied in part to volatility in the cryptocurrency market.
