Give

Scott was not being caught, though. Not tonight. Not here. Not with his Scotland kit on and his team looking to him to spark their Games.

A Games which he has backed vocally since Glasgow salvaged it from the wreckage of Victoria’s aborted bid.

Almost exactly 12 years after he won his first Commonwealth medal in this very building, he was taking his 14th in his fourth Games. And it was going to be gold.

“I don’t usually feel the expectation, but that one I probably did,” he told BBC Sport Scotland. “Simply because it’s day one and I love representing Scotland and you want to try and get the whole team off to a good start.

“I think there was a bigger picture of trying to get good momentum for the crowd involvement for the rest of the week, and the team as well. So I felt that expectation, but it’s nothing I couldn’t deal with.”

You got the sense there was little that could have discomfited the Alloa native – a momentary loss of his accreditation apart – and even a post-race visit to the drugs testers wasn’t going to trouble him.

Scott’s got the weekend off now – he’s an old boy among the swimming set, after all – but he’s more than done his bit to set Glasgow 2026 off on the right note.

Protesters are inviting soccer fans to join them in issuing referee-style red cards during the World Cup final.

A coalition of artists, community organizers and advocacy groups will be handing out tens of thousands of specially designed commemorative red cards to those headed to Sunday’s championship showdown between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

In addition to the slogan “Unitas Mundi” — Latin for “unity of the world” — the mock referee cards direct people to a website explaining the coalition’s campaign and invite them to participate in a collective demonstration inside the stadium to denounce FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Trump.

The action comes amid increased scrutiny around Infantino and Trump‘s relationship. Infantino has announced that Trump will join him at the final to present the trophy to the winner. He also awarded Trump the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize — created after the U.S. leader was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — in December.

And it was after Trump called Infantino to ask for a review of a red card issued to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun that the star forward’s suspension was delayed to allow him to play in the next game. The controversial move prompted an international uproar and accusations that Infantino has violated established rules around political neutrality.

FIFA has strict rules prohibiting political messaging on flags, banners and other items displayed by players and attendees in and around stadiums.

Organizers of the Final Red Card demonstration are also calling out the Trump administration’s immigration and mass deportation policies, which are back in the spotlight after three people were killed within a week during separate encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The fatalities include two people who were shot and killed by ICE officers in Houston and Maine during immigration operations, and another killed in a car crash while fleeing ICE officers in Florida.

At least 10 people have been killed during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns.

The coalition behind the campaign includes Contra-ICE, the arts collective that was also a part of the Flags in the Stands Super Bowl action that involved the “ICE OUT” rally towels. Partner organizations also include Make the Road New Jersey, 50501, People vs the Machines and South Asians for America, according to a press release.

In separate speeches delivered a few hours apart, California’s two gubernatorial hopefuls stuck to familiar themes — offering a preview of the issues that could define the November election to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, sought to tie Republican rival Steve Hilton to President Trump during his remarks Wednesday at the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in downtown L.A.

Hilton focused on his immigrant roots and how to help small businesses in California, and ignored Becerra’s attacks.

California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks at the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on Wednesday.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Their appearances at the conference marked one of the first times both candidates have appeared at the same event since the June 2 primary.

Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and former California attorney general, placed first in the primary, winning 28% of the vote. Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, followed with 24.6%.

Republicans make up only a quarter of registered voters in the state, so Hilton may face an uphill battle to victory in November.

Democrats, including Newsom, have sought attention by attacking Trump and defending California policies, and Becerra appeared to lean into that approach on Wednesday.

Without mentioning Hilton or Trump by name, Becerra labeled the president a “false” prophet during his 10-minute address.

“We don’t need people who make a promise to end a war in one day, and today, we still fight it and others,” said Becerra, referring to the ongoing U.S. attacks on Iran. “We don’t need someone who said they will lower the price of gasoline and then raise it by starting a reckless, illegal war.”

California doesn’t “need those prophets and worse. And I tell you this — in California we will not accept their disciples,” said Becerra, seemingly referring to Hilton.

Hilton, who spoke for about five minutes, acknowledged he was endorsed by Trump. He then pivoted to the topic of immigration and alluded to the red tape and regulations in the state that he blames for hurting small businesses.

He recounted how his parents moved from Hungary to Britain, and then how he moved to California in 2012.

“That story of the immigrant aspiration, climbing the ladder of opportunity in a new country, that is my story,” Hilton said.

Hilton attended the University of Oxford and worked a senior advisor to former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron before moving to the state. He also talked about his time running restaurants.

“That is a really tough business, and it is especially tough today in California for small business owners, for working-class Californians, and that’s what I’m fighting for in this campaign,” he said.

Hilton said he is “not an ideologue,” and doesn’t “want to tell anyone how to live their life or run their business.”

“I just want everyone to have a shot at climbing that ladder of opportunity,” he said.

Becerra also chastised Hilton over an incident in May, when Hilton filmed himself eating a Del Taco taco, which he called a “street taco.”

Becerra, looking amused, told the NALEO audience that you don’t get street tacos “in some establishment that’s been around for a long time.”

“You get it on the street from the guy who’s been making it for a long time in his little cart,” he said.

Newsom and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) also previously spoke during the conference, which included discussion of the recent killings of immigrants by federal officers.

“The price of freedom, of democracy, of inclusion, is high,” said Becerra, adding that the price of “simply driving while brown” is “so high.”

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is moving at light speed toward its Sept. 22 opening, announced Thursday that it will give free annual passes to its South L.A. neighbors living in the 90037 ZIP Code. The 300,000-square-foot, $1-billion museum located in Exposition Park will also host a special community preview day on Sept. 13, more than a week before the general public gets to step inside.

The 90037 ZIP Code has a population of more than 65,000 and is bordered roughly by the 110 Freeway to the west, Slauson Avenue to the south, Central Avenue to the east and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north. Residents can register for passes at lucasmuseum.org/lm37 and will be alerted in August when the program launches. Pass holders can reserve tickets for themselves and one guest.

Tickets for non-pass holders go on sale July 21. They cost $25 for adults and $21 for seniors. Kids 17 and under are free.

“Storytelling has the power to bring people together and create a sense of community,” said Lucas Museum Chief Executive Tracey Bates in a news release about the program. “Through LM37, we are inviting our South Los Angeles neighbors to make the museum part of their lives and take their own path of discovery through the art, programs and experiences that will help shape this new cultural hub for Los Angeles.”

The community preview day is designed to give local business owners, community partners, civic leaders and registered LM37 pass holders a sneak peak of the 10,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as the expansive gardens with 11 acres of park space.

The opening programming, curated by co-founder George Lucas, features 20 inaugural exhibitions across more than 30 galleries, including one titled “Star Wars in Motion,” containing vehicle designs, high-speed racers, flying vessels, props, costumes and illustrations from the first six films in the beloved franchise.

More than 1,200 objects will be on display from Lucas’ personal collection of narrative art. Highlights include work by Norman Rockwell and Dorothea Lange, as well as a variety of manga, children’s book illustrations and comics.

Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

One of the big discoveries for me at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was the erotic thriller “Night Nurse,” which opens in theaters this week. A remarkably confident feature debut from writer-director Georgia Bernstein, the film is hypnotic and entrancing, with a powerfully sustained sense of mood and menace. Brought to life by two assured lead performances, the story is about a young woman (Cemre Paksoy) who takes a job as an attendant at a senior living community and is assigned to help a man (Bruce McKenzie) who quickly ensnares her into an ongoing phone scam in which he swindles other residents.

Taking cues from the likes of Catherine Breillat and David Cronenberg, there are moments where you start to feel turned on and then feel weird about feeling turned on. It’s delightful stuff, full of the unexpected and unnerving, with shifting power dynamics that destabilize everything. See it with someone you maybe aren’t so sure about.

‘Hudson Hawk’ will have its day

Andie MacDowell and Bruce Willis in the 1991 movie “Hudson Hawk.”

(Columbia TriStar / Getty Images)

Its name has become synonymous with box office bomb, with tales of an out-of-control production leading to terrible reviews and rejection by audiences. Yet 1991’s “Hudson Hawk” is one of those movies that over the years has seen its reputation slowly turn around and is now en route to becoming a cult classic in the vein of “Ishtar” or “Showgirls.”

On Monday at Brain Dead Studios there will be a 35th anniversary screening of the film in 35mm with director Michael Lehmann and co-writer Daniel Waters in-person. Presented by Hollywood Entertainment, the evening could be ground zero for the next stage of the misbegotten movie’s revival.

The movie is a playful buddy-comedy / caper-heist hybrid, starring Bruce Willis as the title character, a master thief newly released from prison who reteams with his old partner (Danny Aiello) as they are drawn into a convoluted conspiracy involving the CIA, a villainous ultra-rich couple (played with maniacal, scene-stealing glee by Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard) and ancient designs by Leonardo da Vinci. Upending action movie conventions, “Hudson Hawk” is simply a fun hang.

On a recent video call together, there is a certain gallows humor shared by Lehmann and Waters over the film, which at the time threatened to derail both of their careers. Waters was already working on the script for Tim Burton’s “Batman Returns” by the time the movie came out, while Lehmann admits he spent some time in director jail — “I was in director federal penitentiary and death row for a while,” he says — before going on to direct films such as “Airheads” and “The Truth About Cats and Dogs.”

“You can’t escape a big failure in Hollywood,” he adds. “You have to be good-natured about the fact that you’ve made something that so many people hated when it came out, but that you feel still has some value — quite a bit of value, I think. And that eventually people would start noticing that.”

The project began as an idea between Willis and his friend Robert Kraft that snowballed into having action super-producer Joel Silver attached and a screenplay draft by “Die Hard” writer Steven E. De Souza. Eventually Lehmann became involved to direct and he helped bring on Waters, the two having worked together on the hit black comedy “Heathers.” (Waters had also worked with Silver on “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.”) The reunited writer-director team set about subverting what began as a more conventional action movie.

“My intention was to turn that kind of movie on its head,” says Lehmann. “I thought people have seen these things so many times, they must be ready to see the truly odd version of it.”

“In the Olympics you can’t just go up and make any dive,” says Waters. “You tell the judges what dive you’re going to do and then they grade you. And ‘Hudson Hawk,’ we never told the judges what dive we were doing. I think people got angry: Wait a minute, you didn’t give us a Bruce Willis action movie.”

Leading up to the film’s release, there were reports of a shoot hijacked by a star whose ego was getting the better of him as he rode the wave of the success of the first two “Die Hard” movies. Lehmann admits the clash of personalities made for a complicated shoot.

“Of course, when you’re hired by Bruce Willis and Joel Silver to do what is essentially a vanity project of Bruce’s, you’re not going to have the kind of control that you have when you make a piece of personal filmmaking,” says Lehmann. “But it was really difficult to deal with somebody who, in theory, was one of my bosses as producer on the film and a big star, which is always a thousand-pound gorilla.”

Author David Hughes recently published “The Unmaking of Hudson Hawk,” a book on the film’s production, reception and afterlife. Calling from England, Hughes thinks the critical reappraisal and resuscitation of the movie has gained a bit of momentum — and is in danger of slipping.

“I feel like any day there’s going to be a headline that says, ‘Nope, despite what you’ve heard, “Hudson Hawk” is still s—.’ The pendulum is about to swing back the other way and people are going to start saying that it’s bad again. And when that happens, I think that will be the most perfect life cycle of the film.”

But for now two of the key people behind making the film in the first place want to enjoy a moment they have rarely been allowed.

“People are finally laughing with the movie, not at the movie,” says Waters.

Celebrating a fallen friend

Harry Dean Stanton, photographed in Los Angeles in 2013.

(Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP)

To celebrate the centennial of the birth of the beloved character actor Harry Dean Stanton, Vidiots will screen the 2013 documentary “Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction” on Tuesday. Director Sophie Huber will be joined in conversation by actor Logan Sparks for an evening hosted by Cherry Jones.

The film is a tender portrait of Stanton, who found relative fame later in life with roles in films such as “Alien,” “Paris, Texas,” “Repo Man” and “Pretty in Pink.”

“He makes it look really easy,” said Stanton’s friend and frequent collaborator David Lynch around the time of Stanton’s death in 2017. “But it’s not that easy to be looking like it’s easy.”

A flaky love story

Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel in the 1971 movie “Minnie and Moskowitz.”

(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

One of my most memorable moviegoing experiences of the last few years was seeing John Cassavetes’ 1971 “Minnie and Moskowitz” for the first time. The movie has a joyful, unpredictable energy thanks to the openhearted, dynamic performances of its two leads, Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel, as two mismatched strangers who find temporary solace in each other. Romantic, funny and with lots of great L.A. locations and moments — I often think of a perilous U-turn across La Brea by Cassel — this is a singular gem.

It was just announced that a new restoration of the film will premiere later this year at the Venice Film Festival, but there is no reason to wait. The movie is showing tonight at the Philosophical Research Society as part of its “YesterdayLA” series celebrating the city. On Saturday there will also be a rare theatrical screening of 1972’s “Columbo: Étude In Black,” starring Cassavetes as an L.A. symphony conductor who may have committed the perfect crime until he catches the attention of Peter Falk’s rumpled detective.

On the road again

Maribel Verdú, left, Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal in the movie “Y Tu Mamá También.”

(Criterion Collection)

Playing as part of the American Cinematheque’s “Summer Breakdown” series, which, true to its name, features movies about car trouble, Alfonso Cuarón’s 2001 “Y Tu Mamá También” is showing tonight and tomorrow at the Los Feliz Theater in 35mm.

It stars Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna as two teenage best friends who set off on a road trip with an alluring older woman (Maribel Verdú) they don’t know particularly well. Emotions fly fast and furious among all three of them, as the film seems at times like a horndog teen comedy and at others like a subtle exploration of class and sexual dynamics. Of course, it is all of those things, made with a fresh sense of style.

As Kenneth Turan put it in his 2002 review, “Nominally a simple road movie about two Mexican teenagers taking off to look for a mythical beach in the company of a suddenly available woman of 28, ‘Y Tu Mamá’ manages to be comic, dramatic, erotic, sociological and even political, all without breaking a sweat.”

New this week

• Amy Nicholson calls the new movie “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” a “screwball joy … a sex comedy that’s as innocent as a Labrador puppy.”
• Less positively, Amy reviewed the live-action adaptation of “Moana,” noting “Every one of Disney’s remakes and spinoffs of its animated hits has been a naked cash grab.”
• The new “Evil Dead Burn” is brutal and not much else, per our reviewer Joshua Rothkopf: “The gore comes like a tide, shockingly for a mainstream studio wide release.”

Pickford made an uncertain start to the World Cup, at fault when he was beaten at his near post when DR Congo took the lead against England in Atlanta before captain Harry Kane’s two late goals saw them through.

In the pressure cooker of the Azteca, however, Pickford had his finest game for England, with two brilliant first-half saves from Mexico striker Raul Jimenez, followed by an outstanding display of penalty-area command in a frantic second period.

“It was a very brave display of goalkeeping,” said Robinson. “I really admired what he did out there in that second half and his two saves in the first half kept England in the game. They could have been out of it by half-time if it wasn’t for him.”

Pickford won widespread praise for the way he took charge of his penalty area, taking the initiative by coming for crosses and corners on a regular basis as England, down to 10 men after Jarell Quansah was sent off early in the second half, came under siege.

“He decided that he was going to stand up. He came for crosses, made decisions to go for balls, making life easier for his defenders because of how good he was.

“The easiest thing as a goalkeeper is to stay on your line because you don’t get criticised. If you stay on your line you can’t make a mistake, but he showed maturity and bravery.

“He showed the way his game has developed by coming off his line, making those decisions, making big bold calls. That’s where you see how much he has evolved.

“Jordan took it upon himself, punched the ball, caught the ball, made life easier for his defenders.

“He doesn’t mind what players are in front of him. It doesn’t faze him. He’s played with a different back four for most games, with the full-backs alternating and a change in central defence.

“The players know him and trust him. I think there is a good relationship there.”

And Pickford’s Mexico masterclass can bolster England’s confidence as they try to overcome the dangerous Norwegians and master striker Erling Haaland, who demonstrated their threat by beating Brazil 2-0 in the last 16.

“I think Jordan Pickford’s confidence will be at an all-time high and the team’s will be as well after their win against Mexico,” added Robinson.

“I questioned them on air when Thomas Tuchel went to a back five after 71 minutes. I was thinking I wasn’t sure they would hang on, and that would have been a stick he would have been beaten with.

“It did go right and Jordan Pickford was a big part of it going right.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is directly asking Sen. Mitch McConnell, the state’s most powerful figure in Congress, to disclose more about his condition after three weeks of silence from the 84-year-old since he was hospitalized in Washington.

The letter released Wednesday from Beshear, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, to the former Senate Republican leader says “Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.”

McConnell, whose physical condition has visibly declined in recent years, was hospitalized June 14. He has not released a public statement, photos or videos since. Aides have disclosed nothing specific about his condition, other than to say last week that McConnell “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

That lack of detail has fueled rampant speculation about his prognosis and whether he will return to the Senate when it reconvenes next week. The firestorm was enough that Republican Senate leaders made public statements Tuesday saying they had talked to McConnell and that he was alert and discussing current events.

McConnell is retiring at the end of his term in January, and the campaign to elect his successor already is underway. Kentucky’s Senate succession law, which Republican legislators have twice changed during Beshear’s tenure, does not give the governor a role in picking a temporary successor should McConnell’s seat become vacant before his term ends.

Under the latest change in 2024, Beshear would call a special election if the seat became vacant. The winner of that election could take office after the result is certified. The general election winner would be sworn in as part of the new Congress in January. But there are unresolved questions about the timing of a special election under the untested law, and the seat could remain vacant until January.

Beshear ended the letter by wishing McConnell “a safe and speedy recovery.”

A look at what an absence from the Senate or a vacancy could mean.

What happens if McConnell isn’t able to return?

There is not much, if anything, that Beshear, Kentucky lawmakers or the Senate could do if McConnell remains in office but is unable to perform his duties between now and when the current Congress expires in January.

Senate rules do not allow proxy voting. But there have been extended Senate absences before, and the chamber has continued its business with however many senators are in attendance. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 advantage. Without McConnell, that means a maximum of 52 Republican votes are available.

McConnell had been among the senators blocking war powers resolutions that seek to limit President Trump’s military options in Iran. Without him, the administration has less of a buffer. On the other hand, McConnell had already been among the Republicans refusing to support Trump’s sweeping elections law overhaul.

Why wouldn’t Beshear have a say in filling any vacancy?

The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution calls for Senate vacancies to be filled by popular elections. But it allows state legislatures to empower governors to appoint an interim senator to serve through those campaigns. Most states have taken this option, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Kentucky law allowed interim appointments until 2021, when McConnell and other state GOP leaders persuaded the Republican-run Legislature to make a change. They did not want Beshear to shift the partisan balance in Washington if he got the opportunity. They called for a committee of the previous senator’s state party to select three people from whom the governor could choose an interim senator. In this case, that would mean Beshear picking which Republican would fill a vacancy. Several states have this system.

Kentucky lawmakers changed the law again in 2024 to require a special election. The only role for the governor is to call that election.

Beshear vetoed the 2021 and 2024 changes, but Republican lawmakers overrode him.

How would a special election work?

The 2024 law says Beshear “shall” issue a proclamation for a special vote but it does not say when he should make that proclamation or what the election date must be. Separate laws require certain minimum windows between a proclamation and the election date, but not necessarily a maximum window.

Some officials have argued that any vacancy after Aug. 3 would mean a special election concurrent with the general. They have even speculated that at some point, it would be impractical to have a special election at all given the regular election already taking place.

The Kentucky secretary of state’s office declined to speculate on a hypothetical time frame.

If a special election was needed, the simplest option would be to hold it at the same time as the regular general election.

For the full Senate term that begins in 2027, Republicans nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, and the Democratic nominee is former state lawmaker Charles Booker. Concurrent elections would be separate, requiring new nominations by the parties, though they could choose Barr and Booker. Regardless, in this scenario, voters would be electing the immediate replacement and the full-term lawmaker on the same Election Day.

Multiple vacant House seats have been filled that way with little national attention.

Could there be a legal fight?

Yes. The 2024 law has never been tested. If a vacancy occurred, there could be different interests between parties and even among Republicans about special election timing and whether to hold one at all. That could create any number of legal questions and disputes that have to be settled by the courts.

Beshear’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how he interprets the law.

Barrow writes for the Associated Press.

ANKARA, Turkey — President Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will give a license to Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to help counter Russian missile attacks, a huge coup for Ukraine which has badly needed the technology for the war now in its fifth year.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a NATO summit in Turkey. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce. Zelensky has for years been asking for more of them, and more recently for a license so that Ukraine can manufacture its own.

The tone of Trump’s meeting with the Ukrainian leader was a break from earlier encounters which ended in acrimony, and Trump praised Zelensky’s willingness to reach a deal on ending the fighting in Ukraine.

He said the Ukrainian president has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war.

“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe,” Trump said, adding he believed a deal on ending the war was on the horizon and that the U.S. would “work on some kind of security package” to provide to Ukraine.

Trump takes aim at NATO partners

Trump wasn’t as friendly, however, with some his NATO partners, saying he was unhappy with the alliance for pushing back against his efforts to take control of Greenland and for not supporting his war in Iran.

NATO’s European members plus Canada have scrambled to meet the increased defense spending targets Trump has demanded, as the U.S. draws down the number of troops it has in Europe and insists that the continent take more responsibility for its own security.

But Trump reopened old wounds as he arrived at the meeting of 32 NATO leaders by insisting again that the United States should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. He blasted some European countries for refusing to participate in the Iran campaign, singling out Spain as “a terrible partner in NATO” and renewing his threats to cut off trade.

Ahead of the summit, Trump said Greenland “is very important” for the U.S. but not for Denmark, declaring, “We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States.”

But Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack, and would rely on NATO allies to honor their commitment to defend each other.

Trump’s criticisms have in the past drawn European countries closer together as they confront wars in Ukraine and Iran, a ballooning trade deficit with China, and threats from Russia.

The president’s renewed interest in Greenland could put at risk the entire future of NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sought to tamp down the president’s ire by giving him credit for recent increases in defense spending from NATO allies.

“Grab the win. It’s there,” Rutte told Trump on Wednesday.

NATO chief backs latest U.S. strikes on Iran

Ahead of the summit, Rutte praised Trump for the series of U.S. strikes on Iran overnight, after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,” Rutte said to Trump. “It was a very strong response, and I’m with you on this.”

The U.S. strikes, as well as the revoking of a license allowing Iran to sell its oil on global markets, underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting.

Trump said of the interim agreement with Iran: “For me, I think it’s over” — but added he will allow talks to continue.

“It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said.

NATO leaders sought to show Trump they were boosting defense

Rutte has dedicated a huge amount of energy to keeping Trump’s support for NATO and to holding the summit together.

The NATO chief pointed to countries including Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Denmark that are investing more in defense, but noted the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadians will equalize their spending with the United States.”

Last month Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.

As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.

At last year’s summit, the allies agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on infrastructure so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.

Yet figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic have struggled to meet the alliance’s old spending target of 2% of GDP.

The Trump administration wants to see a leaner “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.

The Pentagon has launched a six-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.

Ukraine’s Zelensky pushes for NATO entry

Zelensky made a fresh appeal Tuesday for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities.

He’s highlighted Ukraine’s adaptability and its ability to strike deep inside Russia. He said Ukraine’s armed forces are “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month.

Concern has been mounting among some countries with borders near Russia that Moscow might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as President Vladimir Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.

Trump will also meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent who led the offensive that unseated autocrat Bashar Assad in December 2024. Despite having once been an al-Qaida fighter, al-Sharaa has won Trump’s backing as he seeks to rebuild Syria and restore its shattered ties with the West.

Cook, Kim and Fraser write for the Associated Press. AP journalists Collin Binkley and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

July 2 (UPI) — Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologized in person Thursday to women and some of their children who were caught up in a historic forced adoptions scandal in England and Wales dating back to the 1950s through the 1970s.

Stamer issued a formal apology on behalf of the British state, calling the taking of an estimated 185,000 babies from unmarried women, railroaded into allowing their children to be put up for adoption, a “stain on our history.”

The shame is not yours. The shame was never yours. The shame is ours,” he said in a statement to the House of Commons after earlier hosting a group of survivors in Downing Street.

“Mothers, many young, vulnerable, and without support were coerced, bullied, or misled into feeling that they had no choice but to have their children taken away from them. What a thing to do,” he said.

Speaking as some of those whose lives were severely impacted watched on from the public gallery, Starmer said that what happened to them and to tens of thousands of mothers, children and families “should never have happened.”

“It is a stain on our history,” he said.

Starmer said the victims had “very powerfully” relayed to him the “gut-wrenching” shame they were made to feel and how it was drummed into them that they were immoral young women whose children would be better off without them.

The experiences stayed with them through their lifetimes, while their children grew up believing they were unwanted, he said.

“We are deeply and profoundly sorry to the mothers who were told they were unfit, who were prevented from caring for the children they desperately wanted to help and to keep, and who have carried this loss for decades,” said Starmer.

Starmer acknowledged that the practice was deliberate and widespread, particularly between 1949 and 1976 when it was, he said, “embedded within systems across local authorities, across voluntary and faith-based institutions, and in health and social care services,” including parts of what is now the National Health Service.

“All institutions that operated with power over people’s lives, yet they did so without compassion, without consent, and without dignity or proper safeguards,” said Starmer.

He said some women, including those placed in Mother and Baby Homes and other institutions, were prevented from seeing their families and partners, denied education and job opportunities and kept in harsh living conditions.

Some of the treatment meted out to the women was tantamount to manipulation and abuse, said Starmer.

Mothers and adoptees campaigned for years for the state to acknowledge wrongdoing but no offer of compensation was forthcoming, although the government has announced a $5.3 million fund to improve access to adoption records and assist family reunions.

Survivor Ann Keen, whose baby son was adopted in 1966 after she was sent to a mother and baby home in Swansea in Wales at the age of 17, told the BBC she had “no say” in the decision.

The former Member of Parliament in the ruling Labour Party, told BBC Radio ahead of Starmer’s statement to lawmakers that she was eagerly anticipating the moment she would finally be “released from my shame.”

She said she and 31-year-old Ana Luz were extremely close and would talk every day on video calls. Her sister always had Kleiber by her side.

“Wherever she went, her son went too. Whatever Kleiber wanted, she would please him. If she didn’t have money, she would call me: ‘Kleiber wants this’ or ‘he’s missing this,'” Andreína said.

“She is my older sister and I always trusted her and could tell her my problems and whenever I spoke to her on a video call, the child was by her side.”

Andreína said she was certain that her sister would have been next to Kleiber in the rubble.

As she sat with her nephew in hospital, desperate search and rescue efforts were continuing after the earthquakes.

Some 2,295 deaths have been officially recorded, but the final toll is expected to be many times higher. Tens of thousands have been reported missing, and the United Nations has said it is procuring 10,000 body bags for the country.

Andreína said she had not lost hope that Kleiber’s parents would be rescued.

“Just as they found my nephew, I have faith that they are going to find my sister and my brother-in-law,” she said.

Looking affectionately at Kleiber, she said she believed “he has a purpose in the world”.

“When this child grows up, God willing, this will be his story,” she said.

Additional reporting by Euridice Ledezma

MINNEAPOLIS — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is planning for right fielder Kyle Tucker to be out for the rest of the series against the Minnesota Twins, after he left Monday’s game with low back spasms.

Roberts hopes to write Tucker into the lineup Friday, when the Dodgers open a three-game series in San Diego, after three days off, plus most of the game Monday.

“Hopefully he [can take] advantage of this, obviously to get right, but also kind of a mental reset,” Roberts said. “Hopefully the four days will suffice.”

Tucker, who said he felt a little better Tuesday but still sore, especially when rotating, is “pretty confident” that he’ll be able to avoid the injured list. And if he can take swings on Wednesday, he’ll probably be on track for that Friday return.

“But if he doesn’t, then we’ll have probably a tougher decision on Friday,” Roberts said.

Tucker, who has a .707 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage this season, has had a slow offensive start to his Dodgers’ tenure. He wasn’t ready to make any declarations about the potential benefits of time off to reset.

“Maybe,” he said. “We’ll see after I get back. We’ll see how that goes.”

The news on catcher Dalton Rushing, who exited Monday’s game to rule out a concussion, was more straightforward.

Rushing hadn’t yet gone through the second round of concussion testing needed to clear him to play when Roberts addressed the media Tuesday afternoon. But Rushing had told Roberts he was ready to play.

“That doesn’t carry too much weight until I hear from the medical staff,” Roberts said. “But it is good to know that he said he’s good to go. My hope is that he’ll be available off the bench in some capacity.”

As a downpour hammered the tarped field early Tuesday evening, it was unclear when exactly the Dodgers would be playing. But despite plenty of rain in the forecast Tuesday evening, the teams and Major League Baseball identified a window for the game.

The Twins announced an estimated 5:05 p.m. PDT first pitch, representing a 25-minute rain delay.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is exploring ways to ensure Americans benefit directly from the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, raising the possibility of the government acquiring stakes in leading AI companies. The idea comes as firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic pursue valuations that could make them among the most valuable companies in the world, fueling debate over whether the public should share in the wealth generated by AI technologies.

Why the Idea Is Gaining Attention

The AI boom is expected to create enormous wealth for technology companies, investors and founders. Policymakers and advocates argue that because AI development relies heavily on public infrastructure, government research and vast amounts of publicly generated data, ordinary citizens should receive some of the financial benefits.

The debate has intensified as major AI developers seek billions of dollars to build data centers, chip infrastructure and advanced computing systems.

Option One: Taxing AI Companies Through Equity

One proposal would require AI companies to pay part of their taxes in shares rather than cash.

Under this approach, the government would gradually accumulate ownership stakes in AI firms without directly investing taxpayer money. Supporters argue that it would allow the public to benefit from future growth while avoiding large government expenditures.

Some advocates have gone further, proposing substantial government ownership stakes and board representation to give the public a direct voice in how AI companies operate.

Option Two: Equity in Exchange for Government Support

Another model would involve the government receiving equity stakes in return for financial assistance or incentives.

This approach mirrors previous arrangements in strategic industries where federal funding was provided in exchange for ownership interests. Given the enormous capital requirements of AI infrastructure, government funding could potentially become a source of financing for companies building advanced computing facilities, semiconductor plants and other critical projects.

Supporters argue this would allow taxpayers to benefit if publicly supported companies become highly profitable.

Critics contend that such arrangements could blur the line between regulation and investment, potentially creating conflicts between public policy goals and financial interests.

Option Three: Public Wealth Funds and Citizen Dividends

A third proposal focuses less on government ownership and more on distributing AI-generated wealth directly to citizens.

Under this model, revenue generated through AI-related taxes or investments would flow into a public wealth fund, which would then distribute dividends to Americans.

The concept resembles Alaska’s Permanent Fund, which uses energy revenues to provide annual payments to residents. Advocates argue a similar system could ensure that AI-driven economic gains are shared more broadly across society rather than concentrated among a small number of technology firms and investors.

Some AI companies have expressed interest in versions of this idea, including proposals for digital dividends funded by taxes on the sector.

Why AI Companies Matter

The debate carries major financial implications because leading AI developers are becoming increasingly valuable.

OpenAI and Anthropic have both reportedly taken steps toward potential public listings, while companies across the sector are raising unprecedented sums to fund AI expansion. Some analysts believe the industry could generate trillions of dollars in economic value over the coming decade.

As a result, even relatively small government stakes could potentially produce significant long-term returns.

Challenges and Obstacles

Any effort to give the government ownership in AI companies would face significant legal, political and economic hurdles.

Questions remain over:

• How ownership stakes would be valued
• Whether companies would voluntarily participate
• The impact on private investment
• Potential conflicts of interest for regulators
• How revenues would be distributed to citizens

There is also likely to be strong opposition from free-market advocates who argue that government ownership could discourage innovation and distort competition.

What Happens Next

Trump has not outlined a specific mechanism for acquiring stakes in AI companies, and no formal proposal has been introduced.

However, the discussion highlights a growing debate over who should benefit from the AI revolution and whether existing economic structures are sufficient to distribute the gains from one of the most transformative technologies in modern history.

Analysis

The significance of Trump’s proposal lies less in whether the government ultimately acquires stakes in AI firms and more in what it signals about the future political debate surrounding artificial intelligence. As AI companies approach trillion-dollar valuations, pressure is likely to grow for policymakers to ensure that the economic gains extend beyond investors and technology executives.

The discussion mirrors earlier debates over natural resources, where governments sought ways to ensure that public assets generated public benefits. In this case, supporters argue that AI is built on public research, public infrastructure and publicly generated data, creating a rationale for broader wealth sharing.

At the same time, the proposal raises fundamental questions about the relationship between government and the private sector. Direct ownership stakes could provide taxpayers with financial upside, but they could also create tensions between the government’s role as regulator and its role as investor.

The debate is likely to become more prominent as AI companies grow larger, seek additional funding and exert greater influence over economic growth, employment and national competitiveness. Whether through equity ownership, taxation or public wealth funds, the central political question is increasingly becoming not whether AI will generate enormous wealth, but who will ultimately receive it.

With information from Reuters.

Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey both scored twice as the rampant Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1 in a World Cup warning to the favourites.

The big win on Saturday in front of nearly 69,000 at Houston Stadium put the delighted Dutch on the cusp of the knockout rounds and gave them lift-off after being held by Japan.

Ronald Koeman’s side top Group F with four points from two games, ahead of Sweden on three, Japan (one) and Tunisia (zero).

Despite the sobering loss, the Swedes had plenty of chances but were denied by good goalkeeping and wasteful finishing.

Sunderland striker Brobbey got his first start of the tournament and repaid Koeman with predatory goals after five and 17 minutes.

Before that, the 24-year-old had scored only once for his country since making his debut three years ago.

In a game full of top Premier League talent, Liverpool’s Gakpo – who set Brobbey up for the opener – scored twice early in the second half.

Substitute Anthony Elanga from Newcastle United pulled one back for Sweden just before the hour with a classy finish.

West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville had the last word for the five-star Dutch.

Two crew members from the historic Artemis II lunar mission were among the VIP guests, a nod to Houston’s place as the home of space flight.

There was no problem here as the Dutch, twice pegged back in a lively 2-2 draw with Japan to start their title bid, made the brighter start in front of their orange-clad fans and King Willem-Alexander.

Brobbey, who came in for Summerville despite the winger scoring against Japan, started and finished the first goal.

It was made in the Premier League, with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Gakpo all involved.

Brobbey exchanged passes with Gakpo, before the Anfield attacker crossed in low from the left for his team-mate to stab in from close range.

Sweden, who thrashed Tunisia 5-1 in their first game, could not handle Brobbey’s muscular presence.

Up front, the much-vaunted attack of Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal were feeding on scraps for Sweden.

Gakpo’s half

Twelve minutes after his opener, Brobbey made it 2-0 when a deflected Denzel Dumfries cross from the right fell perfectly into his path and he toe-poked past Kristoffer Nordfeldt.

Sweden’s English coach, Graham Potter, was in deep discussions with his backroom staff as the game threatened to run away from them.

At the unpopular hydration break, Potter made a beeline for left-sided defender Gabriel Gudmundsson of Leeds United, who was being overrun by the flying Dumfries and Donyell Malen.

Sweden then had their best chance, Gyokeres crossing for an unmarked Yasin Ayari, who completely miscontrolled the ball with his chest.

Gyokeres was next to fluff a good chance, failing to make proper contact after being played in by the largely anonymous Isak.

Gyokeres and Ayari both had further sights of goal, only to be denied by the increasingly overworked Verbruggen.

The Netherlands were hanging on by the end of the half.

Koeman sent on Summerville for Malen at the break and two minutes later it was mission impossible for Sweden, Gakpo prodding in from close range after yet another dangerous low cross from Dumfries.

All three goals were strikingly similar.

Gakpo scored a lovely fourth on 54 minutes, turning inside his defender before firing low into the bottom corner.

Elanga pulled one back five minutes later when he raced clear of the Dutch defence and rattled the ball past Verbruggen.

Summerville made it five in the dying minutes with his second goal in North America.

Sweden are still in with a good chance of progressing into the last 32.

Japan and Tunisia play later Saturday in Monterrey, Mexico.

Sweden face Japan next, while the Netherlands play Tunisia.

Spike Lee couldn’t contain himself.

“We did it!” the legendary filmmaker shouted during an ESPN interview after the New York Knicks sealed their first NBA championship since 1973 on Saturday night. “We did it! We did it! We did it!”

If any fan can be excused for using “we” when speaking of their favorite sports team, it would probably be Lee.

The “Do the Right Thing” star, director and screenwriter was 13 when he witnessed the Knicks defeat the Lakers in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. And he was on hand in San Antonio at age 69 when the Knicks finished off the Spurs with a title-clinching 94-90 victory in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

In between, Lee has become the Knicks’ most famous and visible fan. He has been a season-ticket holder since 1985, the rookie season of Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, and has been a courtside fixture for decades. In 2024, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s superfan gallery.

During a 2020 appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” Lee laughed when he was informed that his Knicks seats cost around $300,000 a year and that he had spent roughly $10 million on tickets over the years.

“I look stupid now,” he joked.

So, yeah, he’s considered by many to be an honorary member of the Knicks — and as such, he’s also considered by many to be more than worthy of an NBA championship ring. The idea has taken off on social media, with several celebrities offering their support.

“Give @officialspikelee a CHAMPIONSHIP RING DAMN IT!!!!!!!!” comedian and actor Kevin Hart wrote Sunday on Instagram.

Legendary sports broadcaster Dick Vitale wrote Monday on X: “I agree with Kevin Hart – yes the LOYALTY of SPIKE LEE to the @nyknicks should be recognized & rewarded- Spike is truly a dedicated & genuine LOYAL Knicks fan .YES I agree with Kevin – SPIKE should get a Championship ring !”

“First Take” host and fellow die-hard Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith reposted on X a graphic calling for Lee to receive a ring for his “decades of loyalty.”

Spike Lee celebrates with a crowd of New York Knicks fans after Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday in San Antonio.

(Darren Abate / Ap Photo/darren Abate)

“I completely support this for Spike Lee,” Smith wrote. “No Knicks’ fan deserves this more than him.”

The Times reached out to a representative for Lee and the Knicks for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Lee is likely less concerned with a championship ring for himself and more concerned with his beloved team earning another one in 2027.

“You know what I’m thinking?” Lee asked during an on-court interview with WABC-TV in New York immediately following Saturday’s victory, before shouting the answer to his own question: “Back to back!”

A crime drama on BBC iPlayer has been branded a “masterpiece” and a “must-watch” by fans

Fans of crime dramas have been devouring a “masterpiece” series that’s currently available on BBC iPlayer.

Television viewers are being encouraged to tune into a gripping drama centred on a respectable businessman, who attempts to outrun his family’s sinister past.

McMafia is a series created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, who also took on directorial duties. It draws inspiration from the non-fiction book McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by journalist Misha Glenny – which has been hailed as “riveting” and “chilling”.

The drama features James Norton as Alex Godman, the British-raised son of a Russian mafia boss residing in London, whose father is desperately attempting to break free from the world of organised crime.

The official synopsis reads: “Alex Godman, the English-raised son of Russian mafia exiles, has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of their past, building his own legitimate business and forging a life with his girlfriend, Rebecca,” reports Wales Online.

“But when a murder unearths his family’s past, Alex is drawn into the criminal underworld where he must confront his values to protect those he loves.”

Alongside James Norton, the ensemble cast also includes David Strathairn, Juliet Rylance, Merab Ninidze, Aleksey Serebryakov, Maria Shukshina, David Dencik, Oshri Cohen, Sofia Lebedeva, Caio Blat, Kirill Pirogov, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Karel Roden.

McMafia was shot across numerous international locations, with key scenes unfolding in London, Zagreb, Split, Opatija, Mumbai, Prague, Cairo, Belgrade, Istanbul, Moscow, and Tel Aviv.

The drama debuted on BBC One in 2018, running for a single series. Crime drama enthusiasts can now delve into Alex’s perilous world, as all eight compelling episodes are available to stream free on BBC iPlayer.

McMafia currently maintains a 71% critic score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 38 reviews. Audiences have likewise expressed widespread acclaim for the programme on social media, with numerous viewers declaring it superior to James Norton’s other popular crime series Happy Valley.

One IMDb user penned: “One of the best series I have ever seen. Binged in one night. 100 stars.”

Another contributed: “Best show since The Night Manager. A 10+ for intrigue and suspense,” while a third stated: “Thriller of the year! An outstanding and engrossing series that grabs your attention from the start and ramps up the suspense as each episode progresses.”

Someone else remarked: “I loved McMafia. The best TV series yet. Great acting. On par with Breaking Bad,” with another individual posting: “Chilling, thrilling and re-watchable.”

A sixth audience member reinforced the sentiment, declaring: “This series is a masterpiece, and a must-watch for thriller lovers. The plot is obviously complex, but absolutely intriguing and well developed, with a large number of themes connected to the most topical reality. For me, McMafia is one of the most interesting shows I have seen in the last few years.”

McMafia is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

England have a golden opportunity for victory in the first Test against New Zealand despite a chaotic collapse of four wickets for one run in 11 balls on the second day at Lord’s.

After 16 wickets fell on day one, another 17 came on Friday on a devilishly difficult surface for batting – an alarming amount of uneven bounce has been added to the sideways movement.

At the end of it all, New Zealand are 36-3 in pursuit of a victory target of 254. Captain Tom Latham was out to the third ball of the chase and, crucially, Kane Williamson was palpably lbw to Josh Tongue, before Gus Atkinson cleaned up nightwatchman Will O’Rourke.

Though the weather forecast for Saturday and Monday is poor, there will be a result in this match, with England strong favourites to secure a morale-boosting win following their heavy Ashes loss.

Ollie Robinson marked his comeback with best Test figures of 5-39, taking the final wicket as New Zealand were bowled out for 113 in their first innings – an England advantage of 27.

England, helped by Emilio Gay’s half-century on debut and more New Zealand dropped catches, steadily built what looked to be an imposing lead. Gay was put down and could have been out lbw in his 57.

When Gay eventually fell, it began the carnage. Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ben Stokes all followed inside two overs. While an England implosion was familiar, perhaps only Stokes was culpable for his dismissal.

England’s lead was 154, with four wickets in hand. They were in danger of handing the initiative to New Zealand, only for important runs from the lower-order. Jamie Smith made 39, Atkinson 14 and Robinson swiped 29.

The hosts were eventually bowled out for 226, New Zealand’s Nathan Smith outstanding for his six wickets.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana lawmakers passed a new congressional map Friday designed to pick up a Republican seat while leaving the state with just one of its two majority-Black House districts represented by Democrats.

Approval of the new House map came a month after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s current map as an illegal racial gerrymander, weakening the landmark 1965 federal Voting Rights Act. That decision intensified a national redistricting battle fueled by President Trump’s efforts to protect the Republicans’ slim House majority in the midterm elections.

Louisiana Republicans had considered drawing a map giving the party a shot at winning all six of the state’s U.S. House seats. But that would have required adding more Black voters to Republican-held districts, potentially backfiring with losses. Some Republicans said a 5-1 map better protects U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson from facing a difficult reelection.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to sign the new map into law.

In the weeks following the Supreme Court’s decision, several other Republican-controlled Southern states have seized upon a weakened federal Voting Rights Act to try to redraw their own congressional districts. It’s the latest flare-up in a heated national redistricting battle heading into the November elections, spurred along by Trump.

So far, Republicans are winning the redistricting contest. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they will win a narrowly divided U.S. House in November. So far, Republicans think they could gain as many as 14 seats from their redistricting efforts, while Democrats think they could gain six seats from new districts in California and Utah.

In Louisiana, Republicans currently hold four of six congressional seats on a court-ordered map drawn in 2024 to comply with the Voting Rights Act by including a second district with a majority-Black population.

That map, however, was challenged in court, and the Supreme Court responded on April 30 by striking it down as an illegal racial gerrymander.

Landry postponed the state’s U.S. House primary, scheduled for May 16, until later this summer to allow time for Republican lawmakers to draw and pass a new map.

The proposed map redraws Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields’ district, clustering it around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana. It also adds part of Baton Rouge to a heavily Democratic, majority-Black district based in New Orleans currently represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Troy Carter.

More lawsuits were expected over the new map.

Democrats say the proposed map could still constitute a racial gerrymander because it packs Black voters into a single congressional district. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision criticized the Legislature’s map for leaving a majority-Black district in place.

Several other Southern states also have acted on redistricting since the Supreme Court’s decision.

Florida’s Legislature passed new congressional districts just hours after the ruling, completing a redrawing that was in the works in anticipation of the decision. It could yield Republicans as many as four additional seats in the midterm elections.

Tennessee adopted new U.S. House districts a week after the ruling, carving up a majority-Black district based in Memphis in a Republican attempt to win an additional seat.

In Alabama, Republicans are attempting to pick up another seat by redrawing two districts where Black residents compose a majority or close to it. Democrats hold both seats, and the proposal is mired in a court battle.

South Carolina’s Senate, meanwhile, decided against redistricting, despite pressure from Trump.

Brook and Levy write for the Associated Press.

CLOVIS, Calif. — In the waning days before California’s primary election, the two top Republicans running for California governor delivered closing arguments in front of a friendly Central Valley audience Friday evening.

Though Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton have attacked each other throughout the campaign, they abstained from feuding and instead focused on common enemies — Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers who control the Legislature.

Hilton criticized Newsom’s new $20-million program to provide free diapers for families of newborn babies, referring to the outgoing governor as “the great loaded diaper of California himself.”

Earlier this year, Hilton and Bianco topped the governor’s race polls as a packed field of Democrats split many of the state’s liberal voters. Under California’s “jungle primary” system, where the top two candidates advance from the primary to the general election regardless of political affiliation, that led to fleeting hope among Republicans that the two candidates could shut Democratic candidates out of the November election.

“That idea was always a fantasy,” Hilton wrote in an op-ed published in the New York Post earlier this week in which he urged Bianco to drop out of the race “for the sake of the state we both love.”

“Steve, it is time for you to drop out,” Bianco retorted in a video posted to social media soon after. “In no world, no world does Steve Hilton beat a Democrat in November.”

After winning an endorsement from President Trump in early April, Hilton has steadily outpaced Bianco in polls. A poll commissioned by the California Democratic Party released last week showed Hilton leading the field with support from 22% of likely voters, followed by Democrat and former Biden Cabinet member Xavier Becerra with 21%. Bianco was at 10%, down from 15% in a previous poll conducted two weeks prior.

Still, Bianco, the two-term sheriff of California’s fourth most populous county, is a favorite of many Republicans in the state and won more support from delegates during the party’s recent endorsing convention than Hilton, though neither reached the necessary 60% to win the party backing.

While the two candidates have needled each other with personal digs and insults throughout much of the campaign, they appeared to set that energy aside during the Clovis forum and even traded some compliments. Hilton praised “sheriffs like Chad who actually understand what public safety looks like” while Bianco acknowledged that his opponent “should be very proud” to have Trump’s endorsement.

State Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who moderated the more than 90-minute event, praised their “extraordinary civility” before she pressured each to commit to backing whichever Republican makes it through the June 2 primary — or if they both advance, continue to focus on policy debates over attacks.

The forum was hosted by the Fresno County & City Republican Women Federated as part of a fundraiser and dinner honoring the upcoming 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. About 450 attendees were served dishes inspired by presidential favorites including sirloin steak for Theodore Roosevelt, a chopped salad from Chasen’s, a favorite Los Angeles eatery for Ronald Reagan, and a chocolate pie with cherry vanilla ice cream for Trump.

The Central Valley stretches from Bakersfield to Redding and is home to some of the nation’s most lucrative farmland. It also includes the heart of California oil country in Kern County. Yet residents feel largely neglected by statewide politicians who are more drawn to the ample votes and wealthy donors in Southern California and the Bay Area.

“We are the breadbasket of the world but we’ve been overlooked for too long,” said Andrea Shabaglian, a vice president of the Fresno Republican women’s group. “When gubernatorial candidates come here to sit down and listen to our communities, they realize that a stronger Valley means a stronger California.”

Though he lost California handily to former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, Trump dominated in the state’s midsection. Even in Fresno County, where the Republican forum was held, Trump beat Harris by a four percentage point margin despite Democratic voters slightly outnumbering Republicans.

“We need a Republican in office because California is a mess. I mean, anybody with common sense can see that,” said LuAnne Pinedo-Madden, a retiree living in the Sierra foothill community of Coarsegold who listed transgender girls being allowed to compete in girls’ sports and government corruption as her top concerns.

Pinedo-Madden said she was “pretty sure” she had decided which of the Republican candidates to vote for but declined to say whom. “I feel that if we don’t get a Republican in office, we’re looking at moving” to Utah, Idaho or Nevada, she said. “We can’t take this anymore.”

Bianco and Hilton spoke about their plans to improve public safety, small businesses, homeowner’s insurance and water management, a crucial issue for the conservative-leaning owners of vast swaths of California’s agricultural heartland.

Signs along the major highways that straddle California’s Central Valley proclaim that “Food grows where water flows” and criticize Newsom for allowing water to flow into the ocean instead of capturing and storing more of it for farming.

Both of the GOP candidates described their visions for the state, which include building new dams and raising existing ones to store more water.

“We don’t have the water problem. We have a water management problem,” Bianco said before falsely arguing that “we get more water every single year than any other state in the country” and that California has “never, ever, ever been in a drought.”

“The water will be flowing to our farmers, the oil will be flowing to our refineries, the forests will be managed, the timber will be harvested” and used to build new single-family homes, Hilton said. “We’ve got the best weather, we’ve got the best people, we’ve got the best farmers, we’ve got everything we need to make this place amazing, except a good governor. Very soon we’ll have that as well.”

Though a Republican governor would likely face a hostile Legislature intent on blocking many priorities, Bianco and Hilton both promised sweeping cuts and cutbacks of state agencies. Both pledged on Friday to replace every member of the state’s parole review board, which drew criticism in February when it granted elderly parole to a man convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation in 1999.

“California criminal justice is absolutely broken and it was forced upon us in the name of reform. What I’m going to do is make it a crime to hear the word reform again, because we lost track of what that word even means,” Bianco said.

He also pledged to eliminate laws and environmental regulators often blamed for slowing housing development: the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Coastal Commission and the state Air Resources Board.

Though his opponent has the coveted Trump endorsement, Bianco argued that it will hurt Hilton’s chances of winning the general election. The Republican president has never been popular in deep-blue California; just 25% of adults in the state approved of Trump’s performance according to a February survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

“Steve should rightfully be proud of being endorsed by President Trump [but] we have to actually realize, is that a good thing in California? It’s a good thing in this room,” Bianco said as the crowd cheered at the mention of the president’s name. “We have to realize strategically that President Trump ran three elections in this state, and he lost 60-40 in all three of them.”

The Riverside sheriff argued he is “the only person that can actually sway Democrats to vote for a Republican across party lines on a public safety platform.”

Oleksandr Usyk defends his WBC world title against Rico Verhoeven on Saturday in Egypt.

The fight is unusual in location as in nature, with kickboxing world champion Verhoeven getting a title shot in just his second boxing fight – and first since 2014.

The 37-year-old Dutchman is aiming to pull off arguably the biggest upset in the sport’s history.

Ukrainian Usyk, 39, is aiming to continue his near 17-year winning streak.

Will we see an underdog win for the ages or will Usyk’s dominance continue?

BBC Sport asks the boxing world for their predictions.

Read his lips: Sichuan Beef Proper, baked stuffed lobster, whiskey steak, chicken fajitas. There’s nothing like a good meal to chase those S&L; blues away.

George Bush, who never met a menu he didn’t like, eats out in restaurants about once a month–more than any President in recent history. Whenever he finds himself with a free evening and a craving for Chinese food, he slips out of the White House and into a corner table for a little Yan Chow fried rice. Just like your average all-American guy.

Well, not exactly. Where the President is concerned, there’s no such thing as a casual dinner on the town.

Your average guy doesn’t have someone who brings special bottled water for him to drink. Or salt, pepper and sugar for his table. Or an entourage of White House staff, Secret Service and reporters in tow.

Not to mention the food taster.

Yes, Virginia, the President does have a food taster. And no, the White House will not comment on food tasters–or anything else, for that matter–when it comes to protecting the Presidential palate.

But whenever the chief executive goes out to eat, there’s a man in the kitchen standing over the food. Sometimes he just watches; sometimes he digs right in.

The night the First Couple went to I Ricchi, an Italian restaurant in downtown Washington, the food taster washed their plates, glasses and utensils before the meal and kept them in sight at all times; tasted every dish to be served to the President; watched as the food was put on the plates and served; and uncorked and tasted the bottle of wine reserved exclusively for the President and Mrs. Bush.

In April, right after traces of benzene were found in Perrier water, Bush joked with an audience in Indianapolis: “I’m sorry I couldn’t get over here to have lunch with you today; I wasn’t allowed to. On the way over I was notified that the Secret Service had found my food taster face down in the salad. Somebody had washed my lettuce with Perrier.”

Traditionally, Presidents give up public dining when they move into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Nixon occasionally strolled across Lafayette Square, Secret Service alongside, for dinner at Trader Vic’s at the Capital Hilton. Ford and Carter rarely dined out. The Reagans, especially after the assassination attempt in 1981, kept close to the White House for meals. When Nancy Reagan did venture out, she favored the cloistered atmosphere of the Jockey Club.

But George Bush, determined to maintain as normal a lifestyle as possible, roars out of the Oval Office and into one of his favorite restaurants at the drop of a Daily Special.

The restaurants love it, of course. It inevitably boosts business. And it’s a big thrill for other customers.

But any spontaneous jaunt is a complicated logistical maneuver for the Secret Service. His security staff gets nervous when the President goes out in public and even more nervous when he does it unexpectedly. But these excursions are safer than his announced appearances in two respects: There’s the element of surprise–what the public doesn’t know can’t hurt him. And he goes out to restaurants so often, they’ve got the drill down pat.

When George and Robert Tsui get a call from the Secret Service reserving Table N-17, they know exactly what to expect.

By now, the two brothers who run the Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church are old hands at handling the hullabaloo that accompanies a visit from the First Customer–it’s the President’s favorite spot for a family dinner. Bush has been a VIP customer of the restaurant for the past five years and still stops by every couple of months: He came right before his inauguration, on the eve of the trips to Poland and Colombia, and to celebrate his son Marvin’s birthday, to name a few occasions.

“They treat this, just like any other American family, as their little favorite Chinese restaurant,” says Robert Tsui. “We try to be as low-key as we can.”

Low-key, all things considered. The President is brought in one of the restaurant’s seven doors; it varies each time and is always a last-minute decision by the security detail. There are Secret Service agents and police both inside and surrounding the restaurant. Customers are waved with a portable metal detector when they arrive for dinner. And then there’s the taster . . . er, make that “nutrition expert.”

“When President Bush was vice president, he didn’t have a nutrition expert in the kitchen,” says George Tsui. “After he became President, the nutrition expert stays in the kitchen to understand what he’s eating.”

The President sits at a big round table in a partitioned area that has a bulletproof window installed by the Tsuis. The Secret Service waits right on the other side of the partition, and only the Tsuis and waiter Tak Chung Pang–all wearing official pins–are allowed past. Bush reportedly wields a mean chopstick and is partial to the Sichuan Beef Proper, a spicy shredded-beef dish with roasted sesame seeds; Peking duck; and the giant spring onions the Tsuis grow on their Virginia farm.

After dinner the President comes into the dining room to greet customers. “There’s no better attraction than the No. 1 man–wherever you go,” says Robert Tsui. “Whether they are Democrat or Republican, whether they politically agree with the man or not, they always love the fact that they’re dining with him.”

An “above average” tipper (20%), Bush pays most of the time by check, which the Tsuis cash. “The thing is, it would be abusing the privilege not to cash the check, because the check may be more valuable uncashed,” Robert explained. “We cash them out of respect to the President.”

But elsewhere in the country, there’s at least one Bush check on display: “George Bush, Business Account, The White House”–now hanging on the wall of Patsy Clark’s restaurant in Spokane, Wash.

House Speaker Tom Foley invited Bush, who was visiting Washington state for its centennial celebration, to join him, his wife, Heather, and Environmental Protection Agency Director Bill Reilly for dinner there last fall. Foley had intended to pick up the tab, but the President pulled rank and paid the $121 bill with a check for $140.

The next morning, a newspaper article said owner Tony Anderson planned to keep and frame the check as a souvenir. “About 2 p.m. that day, a Secret Service guy showed up at the restaurant with an envelope,” says Anderson. “It was a thank-you note from Bush with $140 in cash enclosed. He wanted to pay for dinner. He was insistent on it.”

Anderson only had 20 minutes’ notice of the Presidential supper, which had been reserved under the name of an assistant to the President. There were Secret Service agents “everywhere–35 or 40 guys” including, says Anderson, the one who brought salt, pepper, sugar and bottled water for the table in a shopping bag. The food taster watched, but did not sample, the President’s medium-rare Jack Daniel’s whiskey steak. Anderson found out later that the Secret Service had been visiting his restaurant for two weeks, posing as regular customers, and had the place thoroughly staked out.

“He was a wonderful person to have as a customer,” says Anderson. But having both Bush and Foley under his roof was nonetheless nerve-racking. “I was thinking, ‘These guys are two of the most powerful people in the world. What if something happens?’ I was actually sort of relieved when they left.”

Until it happens, no restaurant can imagine what goes into a visit from the President.

The operative word is secret .

Palm owner Wally Ganzi, who is also a personal friend of the President, knew several weeks in advance that the Bushes would join him and his wife, Reva, along with actress Cheryl Ladd and her husband, Brian Russell, for sirloin steak, onion rings and cheesecake last November. But his staff was told only the day before, when the Secret Service arrived to inspect the premises.

“Someone should pay the Secret Service a compliment,” says Ganzi. “They really try their best in every possible way. They’re not rude, very courteous. They really try not to disturb your business. They don’t strong-arm you.” The one thing they really concentrate on is egress–the quickest way to get the President out if there’s a problem.

Christianne and Francesco Ricchi, on the other hand, got the shock of their lives when I Ricchi’s owners found out they’d be cooking for a very VIP guest–only one month after the restaurant opened last year.

“My husband approached me and said, ‘You will never guess who’s coming to dinner,’ ” says Christianne Ricchi. “The Secret Service flashed their badges and says, ‘Are you the owner?’ He thought it was immigration.”

The couple only had two hours’ notice to prepare for the presidential appearance at the dinner, hosted by former Bush speech writer Vic Gold. “Our concern was making sure that everything was absolutely perfect,” says Christianne Ricchi.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service searched the restaurant, brought in bomb-sniffing dogs, stationed men outside all the entrances and on the roof across the street, and brought in the food taster, who played an unusually active role–sampling all the food and wine.

Time and security were equally tight in May when the Bushes joined former Republican National Committee chairman Dean Burch and his wife, Pat, for dinner at La Chaumiere in Georgetown. Antoine de Ponfilly, who served the Presidential party, found out at 5 p.m. that “someone important” was coming that night, but the Secret Service would not say who it was.

The Secret Service chose the private room upstairs for the President and then positioned two men on the roof, two in the back, three on the stairs and “a lot” in front of the tiny French restaurant, de Ponfilly says.

When the Bushes went up to eat, customers were inspected with portable metal detectors but didn’t find out who was in the restaurant until Bush came downstairs after dinner.

It was more down-home last July at Rio Grande Cafe, the Tex-Mex restaurant in Bethesda, when Bush and fellow Texan Robert Mosbacher, the secretary of commerce, came in for quesadillas, cheese enchiladas, beef and chicken fajitas and the specialty of the house: mesquite-broiled quail.

Manager Jerry Green noticed two police cars in front of the restaurant when he arrived at 3 p.m. Three hours later, the Secret Service toured the restaurant and picked a table for Bush in a back corner.

The food taster asked Green to point out what food would be served to the Presidential party. Green pointed to the 40 pounds of beef already cooking on the grill.

“He got the same old stuff that everybody gets here,” says Green. “Honestly, I’m not going to change my food just for the President. But I did give him an extra quail. I figured I could do that much for him.”

The party lasted two hours and everyone else in the restaurant lingered to watch Bush tackle his fajitas; since he sat facing the front, the customers could get a good look.

“Nobody would leave,” says Green. “The Secret Service finally closed the door when we were filled to capacity with a two-hour wait.”

After Mosbacher paid the bill with his American Express card, Green grabbed the chair Bush had been sitting in “right after he finished with it.” Within two days it was back on the floor–painted red, white and blue.

When Mabel Hanson of Mabel’s Lobster Claw Restaurant in Kennebunkport, Me., curls her hair, you know something’s up.

“The President said, ‘Hiya, Mabel. How are you? What are you all dressed up for?’ ” says Hanson, who just happened to be spiffed up when Bush dropped by last year. “I cried when he came–just a few sniffles. I can’t help it. It’s the President coming through your door.”

Mabel’s has been a Bush family favorite for almost 20 years. There’s a whole wall devoted to the Bushes: lots of pictures of George and Barbara, a few of George and Mabel, a portrait of the President with “He’s Our George” above it and a banner from the President’s inauguration–Mabel’s first trip ever to Washington.

You can usually pick out the Secret Service: They’re the only guys in Kennebunkport wearing suits.

Bush sits at his favorite corner table, where he usually has lobster stuffed with sea scallops. He’s “not too much for desserts” but occasionally treats himself to butter-crunch ice cream or Mabel’s famous peanut butter ice cream pie.

“These people couldn’t change if they tried,” she says. “They’re as natural as grass growing.”

Earlier this month, the Bushes and daughter Dorothy Bush LeBlond went to the Breakwater Inn in Kennebunkport with Bush golfing buddy Spike Heminway, his wife, Betsy, and daughter Alex. Unlike most dinner visits, owner Carolyn Lambert got advance word when Heminway made the reservation the night before and said the Bushes would be joining them.

“It was very important to me that this didn’t get out of hand,” Lambert says. “I told my employees when they came in the next night, ‘If you told any of your friends to come down here and hang around, call them back and tell them not to come.’ ”

In the morning, the Secret Service and a White House staffer showed up and told Lambert, “There need to be people in the dining room. If Mr. Bush felt you were going to lose business because of him, he would be unhappy.”

The restaurant, not surprisingly, was full of the inn’s regular customers and a few enterprising reporters who had wheedled reservations that afternoon for the remaining tables. Except for the food taster in the kitchen, it was a typical Sunday-night dinner in Maine. The President had the pan-fried chicken breast special and mud pie.

When Bush goes to his other hometown, he usually makes a beeline for Otto’s Barbecue in Houston, where he chows down on pork ribs or link sausage with beans.

On his first visit there as President, the Secret Service checked out the bathrooms and sneaked Bush through the back door into the back dining room. “But the customers knew something was up,” says manager June Sofka. “Then the President came in the main dining room and shook hands with everybody. It was just exhilarating.”

“I was busy running around so I didn’t get my picture taken with the President. But I picked up his plate and the silverware and took it home. I still have it.”

Those words showed maturity but also the teenager’s high standards.

Corteen-Coleman perched herself next to England’s coaches on the balcony for much of her side’s chase. She believed her work for the day was done, but her most consequential moment was still to come.

Ten runs were still needed when she emerged as the last batter to join Dean.

Crucially, she helped Dean run twos and, with solid defence, bettered her previous high score of one not out in The Hundred to finish unbeaten on three and sealed the win.

“I am glad I looked calm because I definitely wasn’t,” she said.

“The main point for me was to keep it really simple.”

Corteen-Coleman did not, of course, complete the win alone.

Central was the role of Dean, who admitted to exposing her team-mate more than she intended by taking singles early in the over, but otherwise played the situation well.

Much has been made of Dean’s ability to hold her mettle in chases. There has been some success but failure too – notably in the Mankad ODI at Lord’s in 2022 and the second ODI of the Women’s Ashes last year.

This time, standing in as England captain for the first time, Dean dragged her side over the line.

If England’s training camp with the army last week was supposed to develop leaders, this was Dean’s Passing-Out Parade.

“I have worked on having that calmness and being ready in any situation but that mainly came from Deano,” added Corteen-Coleman.

“If I came out and she was panicking I would have been under the pump.”

Corteen-Coleman emerged with the words of coach Charlotte Edwards in her ears. She told her to back her strengths and keep a clear mind.

That was backed up by Dean in the middle.

“She came out with good clarity,” said Dean.

“I said, ‘Yorkers have been successful for them so they will probably look to get under your bat’.

“We decided getting forward was the best option.

“Tilly is really proactive with her thinking. She has a good cricket brain.”