Greg

Sept. 10 (UPI) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Wednesday banning sales of hemp-based THC products to people under the age of 21 amid an ongoing push for state lawmakers to establish THC regulations.

Abbott called the order “safety for kids, freedom for adults,” in a post on X.

The order directs the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to ban sales of hemp-based THC products to those under 21 years old and requires retailers to verify age with a government-issued ID. Retailers that don’t follow this law will lose their retailer’s license.

Additionally, the DSHS must review existing regulations on hemp-based THC products, including labeling requirements. The DSHS, TABC and the Department of Public Safety must also partner with local law enforcement to increase enforcement of the new law.

Though the Texas Senate — backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — approved of a more sweeping ban on the sale of THC products in any form, lawmakers failed to agree on a final law to regulate the products. Abbott vetoed the full ban, seeking a less restrictive law.

“Texas will not wait when it comes to protecting children and families,” Abbott said in a statement announcing his executive order. “While these products would still benefit from the kind of comprehensive regulation set by the Texas Legislature for substances like alcohol and tobacco, my executive order makes sure that kids are kept safe and parents have peace of mind now, and that consumers know the products they purchase are tested and labeled responsibly.”

Abbott also directed the DSHS, TABC and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to study a framework for wider THC regulations based on Texas House Bill 309 filed in August. The legislation, submitted by Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Republican, seeks to create a Texas Hemp Council to regulate products derived from hemp, including food items and beverages.

Britain’s Alfie Hewett began his bid for a third straight US Open wheelchair singles title with a commanding victory over American Charlie Cooper.

Second seed Hewett needed just 61 minutes to record a 6-0 6-2 win against the 17-year-old.

Wheelchair tennis is making its return in New York after conflicting schedules with the Paralympics meant the competition was not held last year.

Hewett, who won the title in 2022 and 2023, is chasing a second Grand Slam singles title this season after triumphing at the Australian Open in January.

His long-term doubles partner Gordon Reid won later on Wednesday, claiming a hard-fought 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-1 victory over Spain’s Daniel Caverzaschi after two hours and 33 minutes.

Fellow Britons Greg Slade and Andy Lapthorne also made it through to the second round of the quad singles.

Slade saved three match points before wrapping up a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (11-9) win against Brazil’s Leandro Pena, while Lapthorne – a two-time winner at the US Open – beat South African Donald Ramphadi 6-2 6-3.

In the women’s wheelchair singles, Lucy Shuker fell to a 6-3 6-0 defeat by Dutch 23-time Grand Slam champion Diede de Groot, who has yet to win a major title this season after making her comeback from hip and shoulder surgery.

Greg Louganis is starting a new chapter in his life.

The U.S. diving legend has auctioned off three of the five Olympic medals he won between 1976-1988, sold his home and is parting with most of his other possessions as part of a journey of self-discovery that is taking him, at least for now, to Panama.

“So, as life moves forward, what are you prepared to leave behind?” Louganis wrote Friday in a Facebook post. “I am 65 years old, and I am asking just that. I am no longer who I used to think I was. Not even close to ‘What’ other people or ‘Who’ other people think I am.”

Louganis shared some details of his plan in that post and expanded on them on two Instagram Live posts, one recorded from Los Angeles in his final night in the United States and the other recorded the following day from Panama City, the first stop in a journey that will eventually take him and his dog Gerald to Boquette.

That’s where they’re going to settle down — “for now,” Louganis said on Instagram.

“I don’t know how permanent, or, you know, I don’t know how long it’s gonna be,” he said. “I’m just embracing the ‘I don’t know,’ and also staying open for discovery. I think that’s what this part of my life is about, being open to discover what’s next and really, really, really do my best at being present in every place I go with every person I meet.”

About a year ago, Louganis said, he was in a bad place mentally, feeling “really, really alone and isolated.”

“It was really, really severe, real bad depression,” Louganis said. “And now I’m realizing, I have things to offer. So what that is and what that looks like, I haven’t figured it out. And I think that that’s what this is kind of about, is recalibration and figuring out what is next. … and just discover who I am too. I mean, that’s a big question.”

U.S. diver Greg Louganis spreads his arms and bends at the waist while in mid-dive during a springboard diving competition.

(Sadayuki Mikami / Associated Press)

Louganis says part of the process has been letting go of many of the items he didn’t realize were weighing him down. Last month, he received more than $430,000 at auction for three of his Olympic medals ($201,314 for his 1988 gold medal in 10-meter platform, $199,301 for his 1984 gold medal in 3-meter sprinboard and $30,250 for his 1976 silver medal in 10-meter platform).

“I needed the money,” Louganis wrote on Facebook. “While many people may have built businesses and sold them for a profit, I had my medals, which I am grateful for. If I had proper management, I might not have been in that position, but what is done is done; live and learn.”

Louganis has not mentioned what, if anything, happened with his other two gold medals, won in 1984 for 3-meter springboard and in 1988 for 10-meter platform.

Also on his posts, Louganis mentions that he sold his home last week. Public records list Louganis as the owner of a residence in Topanga. According to Zillow, a house at that address sold on Aug. 28 for $750,000.

As for most of his other belongings, Louganis wrote, “I decided to donate, sell what can be sold, give gifts, and give where things might be needed or appreciated. … A thought occurred to me, I had many friends, people I was close to, lost everything in the Woolsey Fire, and then the Palisades Fire just this year.

“I know I am choosing to do this, but their resilience is an inspiration for me to start anew, with an open heart and an open door. Opening up to possibilities.”

On Instagram, Louganis described the experience as “freeing.”

“The memories will always be in here,” Louganis said, placing his hand over his heart. “And so the other things are just stuff, you know? We don’t realize how much we hang on to, and what I’m also learning now in this process is how oftentimes we don’t realize they weigh us down. You know, like the shipping, the storage, all of that stuff.

“Actually, I was kind of discussing that with Michael Phelps, because he heard that I auctioned my medals. He said, ‘How was that?’ I said, ‘You know what it was? It was a relief, you know, because then it was like it was a weight off my shoulders.’”

Late night has a new tone in 2025, and Greg Gutfeld is the one setting it, one unpredictable quip at a time. Rewriting the rules and bringing his signature acerbic style to “Gutfeld!” on Fox News, his show is drawing in more than 3 million viewers nightly, making it the most-watched show at the edge of prime time at 10 p.m. Eastern time / 7 p.m. Pacific time, airing over 90 minutes earlier than such hosts as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon

Stacking up gigs, he’s also the resident wild card on the network’s hit show “The Five,” and he hosts the new reality game show “What Did I Miss?” on Fox Nation, which was just renewed for a second season. Gutfeld isn’t just leaving his mark on the network; he’s reshaping it.

Before he became polarizing to some, and well before his New York Times bestsellers and his night of reminiscing on Jimmy Fallon’s couch, Gutfeld was climbing the editorial ranks at magazines like Men’s Health, Stuff and Maxim. His biggest break came when he landed the very late slot hosting his own Fox News show, “Red Eye,” which would set the stage for his runaway success.

Taking nothing too serious while being surrounded by complete seriousness, and with “Gutfeld!” pulling in some of the strongest ratings on TV, he’s proving that irreverence can be its own kind of relevance. His refusal to put so-called untouchables on a pedestal has everyone taking notice, and like him, loathe him or don’t know what to think about a grown man obsessed with unicorns, there’s no denying that Gutfeld has turned having a good time into a full-time job. And he’s just getting warmed up.

How do you find out you’re No. 1 in the 10 p.m. timeslot ? Is there a cake and a massive check?

It’s more brought to you and then happens over time. I get ratings every single day, so I was able to watch us win. I guess I wasn’t that surprised by it; I just knew that it was going to take time. I thought, yeah, maybe in a couple of years, but it was in like a matter of months.

For old–school fans of “Red Eye,” “Gutfeld!” feels familiar, with the blended panel that’s always down to have a good time. But now everyone gets more comfortable chairs, which is nice too.

I agree. “Gutfeld!” is basically “Red Eye” but for everybody. Red Eye was operating on the assumption that you really had a select group of people awake at 2 or 3 in the morning. It wasn’t trying to be a cultlike pleasure; it just happened to be that way. We did want it to be for everyone, though. Now we have 10 times the viewers and we’re No. 1, so in my mind I’m going, I want the same sensibility, but I don’t want to completely confuse the viewers. I realize that my humor on “Red Eye” was deliberately obtuse in some ways, and not really deliberately. It was just surreal and bizarre, and maybe that won’t fly in prime time or late night, but like “Red Eye,” our show now is as interesting and unpredictable as that show was. And that’s 90% of the fight.

There’s definitely an unpredictability theme going on because “The Five” can get somewhat fiery at times, but not for the reasons one would think.

With “Gutfeld!” and with “The Five,” I really push the concept of teasing, because when I genuinely like somebody, I tease them. When everybody is together teasing each other, it’s a very fun thing and the viewers are in on it. On “Red Eye,” we were all basically roasting each other, and on my show, we’re all making fun of each other, some more than others. On “The Five,” of course, I needle Dana [Perino] and Jesse [Watters], they needle me, I go after Jessica [Tarlov], she makes fun of us all — we all do it, and I think that’s really the secret sauce to the success of “The Five,” “Gutfeld!” and why “Red Eye” was so beloved. You felt like you were with the people. It was like a perverted version of “Friends.”

There really is this vibe that, no matter what gets said, when the camera goes off you’re all knocking back a few together.

Yeah, I think the key is that nothing you say should warrant an apology. Meaning, if I were to insult you, you’re not going to demand an apology from me. When somebody wants an apology for a comment I always ask them, “How would that apology sound? I’m sorry that the jokes I made hurt your feelings?” How insulting is that to that person you’re apologizing to! I’m sorry I hurt your feelings with this insult. It’s like the people that are demanding an apology don’t even see how absolutely insulting it is that they are asking for it.

Some people really write their own headlines. I imagine yours ramped up after you took “The King of Late Night” joke and ran with it?

I’m trying to think where “the king” came from, and I think I have to credit Dave Rubin. I think Rubin was on during the first week of the show and said something like, “You’re going to be the king of late night. You’re going to be No. 1.” I don’t like saying stuff like that because then it’ll just be thrown back in your face, but he was right! Then, of course, I had to put it on my book cover. I don’t even know how that all happened, but putting it on the cover of my book was just, like, this audacious and ridiculous thing, having me on the top like I’m a skyscraper where King Kong swatted down people.

Silly is definitely your lane. What do you think the term “late night” even means anymore? It used to be pretty neutral, and now it’s almost like you better choose a side before you watch this comic make their TV debut!

Yeah, it kind of became defined as maybe a person who wanted to go to bed angry with somebody who wanted to go to bed happy. One thing that I always want to do is not send people to bed enraged. Sure, maybe you’re sad that Biden lost, but we’re going to have so much fun, and this is going to be great! And then Trump wins. This is going to be so much fun, and this is going to be great! So, we’re going to have fun, and things are going to be great no matter who wins or loses. I’m not going to let that impact the time that we have. I think doing a late-night show that makes everyone feel bad is a disservice. I don’t understand that. That’s when you have people switching the channel to come to us. They didn’t even know that we existed until then.

What a shakeup that channel flip caused and, also, it’s pretty monumental because the viewers are staying.

You know, for a long time they couldn’t even mention my name and it was a personal thing for them, but then I think they realized that all I did was point out what was missing. I mean, they gave me the opportunity by not addressing most of the country, and it was there for the taking. There was literally free money on the table, and so I took it, and I showed [mainstream media] that they don’t own the culture. I think it’s not just about late night; it’s about all of culture. It’s the ability to tell people, you aren’t the cool kids at the table anymore. You took people for granted, you insulted everybody else, and we’re the ones now who are having fun.

Seeing you on Fallon also looked like a lot of fun. You could seriously feel your excitement as you told him your drunken story of meeting him. You think he’d ever come on ”Gutfeld!”?

It was fun! It went the way I think we both wanted it to go, which was like an old-school TV segment you would have seen on Carson. Just two people having a fun conversation. I probably talked too much, but I had to tell that drinking story because I’ve been telling that story for years, and the only person I hadn’t told that to was Jimmy. So yeah, we were both happy about it, and it’s good to see two industry people in whatever “supposed rivalry” who genuinely like each other without that other bull—. I haven’t asked him to come on, though. Our show is a little different because if you come on, you’re on for the whole hour. You’re also on with other people so it’s kind of a bigger ask of someone, but the president did do it so…

Aug. 29 (UPI) — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed legislation for a new congressional map in the state in an attempt to add five GOP seats in the U.S. House for the 2026 midterm elections.

The border-changing in the Lone Star state has triggered efforts in other states to redraw their maps, including Democrat-dominant California, the largest state ahead of Texas.

Early Saturday, the Texas Senate sent the legislation to the governor for the new redistricting maps, three days after the state’s House passed the bill. For several days, the House couldn’t reach a quorum because Democrats fled the state, including to California and New York. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to arrest them.

“Today, I signed the One Big Beautiful Map into law,” Abbott said in a video on X. “This map ensures fairer representation in Congress. Texas will be more RED in Congress.”

Holding the document with his signature, he said: “Texas is now more read in the United States Congress.”

The state currently has 38 congressional districts, 25 of which are controlled by Republicans.

In the U.S. House, Republicans currently hold a 219-212 advantage with vacancies from the deaths of three Democrats and one GOP member who resigned.

Congressional maps are traditionally redrawn every decade after data is released from the U.S. Census, which is next scheduled to take place in 2030.

President Donald Trump had asked Abbott to redraw the borders, which required a 30-day special legislative session. When Trump was first president, Democrats took control of the House in 2018. This led to blocking some of his legislative policies and two impeachments.

“I promised we would get this done, and delivered on that promise,” Abbott said in the statement after the Senate approval, calling the legislation “a bill that ensures our maps reflect Texans’ voting preferences.”

He had vowed to call additional special sessions if the quorum still was elusive.

State Sen. Phil King, a Republican, said while the maps will create more competitive districts, he expects Republicans will win the seats.

He said with House Bill 4 that “I believe, should elect more Republicans to the U.S. Congress, but I’m here to tell you, there are no guarantees.”

The redistricted maps are facing a court test. A three-judge panel in a U.S. District court in El Paso set a preliminary injunction hearing for Oct. 1-10.

“This isn’t over — we’ll see these clowns in court,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said. “We aren’t done fighting against these racially discriminatory maps, and fully expect the letter of the law to prevail over these sycophantic Republican politicians who think the rules don’t apply to them.”

Democrats say the new borders are racially discriminatory, including in metro areas of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

“Members, it breaks my heart to see how this illegal and rigged mid-decade redistricting scheme is dividing our state and our country,” Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat, said. “This is Texas, it’s not Washington D.C. The impulses of outside politicians and their billionaire backers shouldn’t dictate what we do in this chamber, in this House.”

Rep. Todd Hunter, a Republican who wrote the bill, said four of the five new districts were “majority-minority Hispanic” but now trending Republican.

And in California, the new map could add five seats for Democrats, who hold a 43-9 edge. But unlike in Texas, voters in November must approve the change. California’s borders are drawn by a nonpartisan group and new legislation left it up to a referendum.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the so-called “Election Rigging Response Act” on Aug. 21.

“The People of California will be able to cast their vote for a Congressional map. Direct democracy that gives us a fighting chance to STOP Donald Trump’s election rigging,” Newsom said on X after the legislation was approved. “Time to fight fire with fire.”

Other states with a Democratic majority, including Illinois, New York, Maryland and Oregon, are considering changing the borders.

On the flip side, legislatures in Ohio, Indiana and Florida may redraw congressional borders before the 2026 midterm elections.

And late Friday, Missouri’s Gov. Mike Kehoe announced a special legislative session to draw a new voting map for his state will begin next Wednesday. Trump had been requesting the move in that state, too.

These states traditionally redo their borders at the start of each decade but in Ohio, under state law, a new congressional map must be approved by November 30. The previous map lacked bipartisan support.

On Tuesday, Utah Judge Dianna Gibson threw out the state’s congressional map, forcing Republicans to defend the current lines or draw a new one. Republicans overruled a ballot measure passed by voters to outlaw gerrymandering.

Republican legislatures control 28 of the 50 states with 18 by Democrats and four chambers divided politically.

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbot is threatening to call a series of rolling special legislative sessions to push the Trump administration’s efforts to redraw voting district boundaries in the state, the governor said Sunday.

Abbott argued during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that he has the authority to keep the Texas Legislature in session indefinitely, which would extend penalties for Democrats who have fled Washington for liberal-leaning states in an effort to sidestep a vote on efforts by the Trump administration to redraw Texas’ congressional voting district to favor the GOP.

Democratic lawmakers from Texas fled the state to deny the legislature the quorum it needs to vote on the change to legislative districts, which they contend are being crafted to benefit Republicans and disenfranchise Democrats, many of whom are Black and Latino.

Democrats flew to Illinois and other states run by Democratic governors, where they have received backing from state officials and politicians and who have criticized the GOP for its efforts to shape the voting districts in Republicans’ favor.

Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker has been vocal in his support of the Texas Democrats, and among the most vocal opponents of President Donald Trump and the Republican party’s efforts to remake the voting districts. Abbott has called the Illinois congressional voting map a joke.

“Governor Abbot is the joke,” Pritzker said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.

Pritzker bristled at allegations that Illinois’ congressional lines have been gerrymandered, which Abbott and other members of the GOP have contended.

Pritzker offered as evidence the fact that Trump won 44% of the statewide vote in the 2024 presidential election even though Republicans hold just 3 of the state’s 17 congressional districts.

Pritzker said Illinois took public opinion into account before designing Illinois’s voting boundaries, and said they are fair.

“We held public hearings, legislative hearings,” Pritzker continued. “People attended them. They spoke out. There was a map put out. There we actually made changes to the map. And a map was passed, and it was done at the end of the census, to the decennial census. So that’s how it’s done in this country.”

Abbott pressed his point and said Texas Democrats would be arrested upon their return.

“If they show back up in the state of Texas, they will be arrested and taken to the Capitol,” Abbott said Sunday. “If they want to evade that arrest, they’re gonna have to stay outside the state of Texas for literally years.”

Abbott argued that Democrats are violating an article in the Texas constitution that requires them to act on measures before the legislature. He said because they are violating a constitutional mandate, “they are not fulfilling their oath of office, and they can be removed from office in this legal action that I am taking.”

Abbot has gone further, threatening to increase the redistricting margin for Republicans if Democrats fail to return to Austin.

Jimmy Fallon once grabbed a cigarette out of Greg Gutfeld’s mouth, crinkled it up and tossed it to the ground, hollering at the Fox News personality, “Those things will kill you!” But it sounds like the place where they were hanging out had a shot at killing them too.

The two late-night hosts were both “wasted” about 15 years ago when he and Fallon met for the first time at an illegal Hell’s Kitchen bar run by a mutual friend — one who looked like “a cross between a Viking and a larger Viking,” the “Gutfeld!” host said Thursday night on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

The bar looked “like a place where special-ops forces waterboard terrorists,” he added. “There was no bar … it was a cooler, like the kind you take to a beach.”

“Dude, you’re not making this up,” Fallon said. “I totally know what you’re talking about. … I think I remember bringing beer into the bar and then him charging me for my own beer.”

The men’s magazine editor-turned-satirist recalled that their mutual friend operated that way. “He is very cheap, but if you want someone dead, he’ll do it.”

So he walks into the illegal bar with his buddy Andy Levy after the two had just finished taping something — perhaps “Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld” — and Fallon sees him and then tackles him, he said, “like a giant golden retriever.” Then the NBC host grabs Andy and the two fall to the ground wrestling. So Gutfeld decides it’s a good time to spark up a cigarette.

But Fallon leaps up, rips it out of his mouth and shouts the aforementioned you’re-gonna-die warning. “I go … ‘Dude, I’m not rich. You’re rich,’” Gutfeld said. “Cigarettes are expensive in New York City.”

He said Fallon’s face suddenly changed to one of sadness. “And then you left.”

Five minutes later, the “Saturday Night Live” alumnus came back toting a fresh pack of Parliaments, which he handed to the co-host of “The Five.”

“And I go, ‘That was really sweet. You want me to die.’”

Gutfeld, who was on “The Tonight Show” to promote a new game show he’s hosting, then remembered the group piling into Fallon’s car and tooling around to another bar that was, well, in the same building. “We literally drove from one door to another door … I think you wanted to impress that you had a driver.”

These are the things, apparently, that happen to the rich.

“Yeah!” Fallon said. “We had a nice ride, right?”

A nice ride indeed. Short, but nice. Meanwhile, over on “Gutfeld,” fill-in host Kat Timpf was talking about her erstwhile boss taking two full days off work to get a colonoscopy. Oh, how times have changed.

And the tables have indeed turned quite a bit in the last 15 years: “Gutfeld!,” which airs on Fox News at 7 p.m. local time and 10 p.m. Eastern and riffs on politics and the news of the day, is leading the nighttime chat show pack with — according to LateNighter — 3.289 million viewers in the second quarter and 238,000 in the advertiser-coveted demographic of those ages 18 to 49.

Fallon’s “Tonight Show” drew only 1.19 million viewers in the second quarter with 157,000 in the demo. That trails Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” which has a year to go before cancellation and leads the 11:35 p.m. broadcast pack with 2.42 million viewers and 219,000 in the demo in the second quarter, followed by “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” with 1.77 million viewers and 220,000 in the demo.

Greg Papa, the legendary sports radio voice in the Bay Area, is stepping away from his broadcasting duties while undergoing treatment for cancer, he announced Friday.

Papa, the radio voice of the San Francisco 49ers and a longtime host on KNBR (680 AM), did not specify the type of cancer he is battling in a statement released by the radio station but said he expects a full recovery.

“As I fully focus on my treatment and work toward a full recovery, I’m stepping away from my broadcasts but look forward to returning soon,” Papa said. “Thanks to everyone for your prayers and good wishes as I begin this fight.”

Papa, 62, began his career doing radio play-by-play for the Indiana Pacers in 1984 but launched a decades-long career in the Bay Area when hired by the Golden State Warriors in 1986.

He transitioned to television in the ‘90s, calling games for the San Antonio Spurs. He also called baseball games on TV, beginning with the Oakland Athletics before jumping to the San Francisco Giants in the mid-2000s.

When play-by-play announcer Dave Flemming’s microphone went dead for 10 seconds after Barry Bonds hit his 715th career home run to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time list in 2006, Papa took over the broadcast and explained what had transpired.

“To lose a mic like that, I’ve never seen it,” Papa said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this.”

Flemming was distraught but took it in stride with Papa’s help.

“I think it’s the last gasp of the curse of the Bambino,” Flemming joked. “Now, I’m starting to rethink my whole world.”

Papa’s coworkers rallied to support him when the diagnosis was announced.

“Greg is not just our teammate at The Sports Leader, he’s one of the most iconic play-by-play men in the history of our beloved Bay Area,” said Brian Murphy, the popular longtime KNBR talk show host. “Nobody else has done the Warriors, Raiders, Giants, A’s and 49ers like Greg, so he has every Northern California fan base rooting hard for him to come out healthy and get back behind the mic.”

Papa, a three-time winner of the California sportscaster of the year award, has been the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers since the 2019 season. His contract with the 49ers extends through the 2028 season.

“The 49ers family extends our unwavering love and support to Greg Papa and his family following his recent cancer diagnosis,” the 49ers said in a statement. “We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to the radio booth as the ‘voice of the 49ers’ whenever he is ready.”

July 9 (UPI) — Legendary cyclist Greg Lemond on Wednesday became the first cyclist and 10th athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

Lemond, 64, joins the likes of Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Billie Jean King and Jack Nicklaus in being so honored by Congress.

Lemond was the first American to win the Tour de France with a victory in 1986 and won two others in 1989 and 1990.

He also is the only American to officially win the prestigious, multiday cycling event following disqualifications of Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis over doping allegations, USA Today reported.

A strong and faithful support system

“Throughout his life, Greg has put his talent and success to good use, speaking up for children and our military veterans, for fairness in the sport and for the next generation of cyclists, ” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during Wednesday’s award event.

“As Greg will tell you, no race gets easier, and no great victory is won all alone,” Johnson continued. “Behind every champion stands a strong and faithful support system.”

Johnson cited Lemond’s wife, Kathy, and his extended family as the cyclist’s support system and acknowledged their attendance at the Gold Medal ceremony.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., called Lemond an “American and worldwide cycling legend” who initially was a skier but began cycling as a way to stay in shape during the off season at age 13.

“Once he got on two wheels, he had a new passion,” Thompson said of Lemond.

“After just one year of training, Greg placed second in his first club ride,” Thompson said, “He rode in a tank top, jogging shorts and tennis shoes.”

Lemond “didn’t have the right gear or the right bike, but it didn’t matter,” Thompson added. “His rocket-ship rise to success had begun.”

Honoring people, places and moments

Lemond and his family joined Johnson and other lawmakers on the stage for the medal presentation.

“The honor is more than I ever expected, and I accept it with deep gratitude and a profound sense of humility,” Lemond said of the Congressional Gold Medal.

“Today isn’t just about reflecting on my own journey,” Lemond told the audience. “It’s also about honoring the people, places and moments that shaped it.”

He thanked his parents and family for their support and all of the teammates who helped make him a champion.

“Cycling was an unusual sport for a 14-year-old kid in 1976,” Lemond said. “I didn’t even know the sport existed until one day a bicycle race passed my home.”

Lemond said he became “passionately obsessed with racing” after winning his first cycling event and “believed that, as an America, if I worked hard enough, anything was possible.”

His dream was to become the world’s best cyclist, so he moved to Europe at age 19 to make it happen.

Just a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid

“I brought an American attitude to the sport of cycling,” Lemond said. “I was open to new ideas and bringing innovation and technology to a very traditional sport. That was a huge competitive advantage.”

He said Europeans taught him a lot and embraced him as “le American.”

“I was just a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid from America, and for some reason, that resonated with people,” Lemond said. “I think Europeans saw in me what the U.S. has meant to Europe at critical times — as an ally, a liberator and a friend.”

He recalled a recent encounter in a village of about 80 people in the French Alps, where he said an old man approached him and announced he was the one who invented the carbon fiber disc wheels that Lemond was the first to use and that helped him to win the 1986 Tour de France.

Lemond told the man he wished he still had those wheels. The man told him they were in his mother’s garage and asked if he would like to have them.

“They were the first carbon fiber wheels to win the Tour de France,” Lemond said.

A legacy of sacrifice and courage

Lemond, his wife, Kathy, and the man walked to the 104-year-old woman’s home, where the old woman hugged him, invited them into her home.

She had an old U.S. flag and lots of American-related memorabilia in her home and told Lemond and Kathy that she witnessed the Nazis occupy France in 1940.

Her brothers fled into the mountains to join the resistance, and she rode her bicycle through the countryside to deliver food and information, Lemond told the audience.

“Sadly, one of her brothers was killed in the fighting, and then the Americans came,” he said.

The woman told him Americans saved her father, her family and her country.

“She cried as she told us, and so did we,” Lemond said. “That moment has stayed with me.

“It reminded me that being an American, especially abroad, carries a legacy of sacrifice, of courage and showing up when it matters most,” he said. “So I am honored beyond words to receive this Congressional Gold Medal.”

Lemond said the honor isn’t his alone and belongs to every teammate, supporter, family member and to “all the extraordinary Americans whose courage and sacrifice made my life possible.”

Greatest U.S. cyclist who raced clean

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest award that a civilian can receive from Congress, which Congress initially awarded to Lemond in 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic delayed Lemond’s receipt of the Gold Medal until Wednesday.

Lemond was born in northern California and grew up in Reno, Nev., where he was graduated from Wooster High School in 1979 and soon after pursued his cycling dreams in Europe.

He is considered the greatest U.S. cyclist who did not resort to performance-enhancing drugs to become a champion.

Lemond’s final two wins came he was nearly killed when accidentally shot during a turkey hunt on his family’s ranch in northern California in 1987.

His 8-second margin of victory during the 1989 race is the closest in the history of the Tour de France, which covers more than 2,000 miles in the French Alps over 21 stages each summer.

It is one of the world’s most popular sporting events and its oldest and most prestigious cycling race.

Scotland left-back Greg Taylor has signed for PAOK, the Greek top-flight club have announced, after rejecting a new contract with Celtic.

The 27-year-old, who has 14 caps for his country, spent six years with the Scottish champions after signing from Kilmarnock.

Scotland mainstay Kieran Tierney, who can operate at either left-back or in central defence, has returned to Celtic at the end of his contract with Arsenal.

But manager Brendan Rodgers had been keen to keep Taylor as well with loanee Jeffrey Schlupp having returned to Crystal Palace.

The Galaxy have re-signed coach Greg Vanney to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced Friday, ending speculation over the coach’s future the team.

Vanney, 50, led the Galaxy to their sixth MLS title last season, triggering a one-season contract extension. But the team (0-10-3) is winless in its first 13 games this season, the worst start in franchise history, heading in Sunday’s match with cross-rival LAFC.

In four-plus seasons the Galaxy are 54-56-39 in MLS play under Vanney.

In addition to extending Vanney’s contract, the team also hired Ravi Ramineni as director of quantitative analysis, promoted former midfielder Juninho to the newly created position of special adviser to the general manager and promoted Zack Murshedi to director of team administration and player care.

The moves, a team spokesperson said, “reflect a real commitment to the team’s vision.”

“Greg is one of the most respected and successful coaches in MLS history and we are excited to be continuing under his leadership,” general manager Will Kuntz said in a statement. “While this season’s results haven’t reflected our standards, this was a decision made following our 2024 MLS Cup victory and we remain confident in the project we are building with Greg.”

The team had a magical season in 2024, matching a modern-era franchise record with 19 victories and going unbeaten at Dignity Health Sports Park. After finishing in the penultimate spot in the Western Conference standings the season before, the Galaxy tied for the top spot last season, becoming the first team since 2011 to go from second to last in the conference to the MLS Cup in one season.

It was also the first team in MLS history to have four players — Riqui Puig, Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic — reach double digits in goals scored.

This season has been the opposite. Salary-cap issues aggravated by the team’s success in 2024 forced Kuntz to trade MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman, valuable midfielder Mark Delgado and Joveljic, who led the team with six goals in the playoffs. The Galaxy have also missed Puig, their midfield playmaker and assists leader, who hasn’t played since tearing his ACL in last November’s conference championship game.

They did return 11 of the 14 players who appeared in December’s MLS Cup final, but injuries have forced nine players to the sidelines for multiple games. As a result Pec and Paintsil, who combined for 26 goals and 24 assists last season, have just one goal and three assists this season for a team that has been shut out six times.

Only three MLS teams have fewer goals than the Galaxy’s 10 and no club has conceded more goals than the 31 the Galaxy have allowed. The -21 goal differential is also worst in the league.

Vanney, 50, a defender on the Galaxy’s original roster in 1996, played 10 seasons in MLS, making 193 of his 270 league appearances during two stints with the Galaxy, with whom he won three Western Conference titles, a Supporters’ Shield, MLS Cup and a CONCACAF Champions Cup. He also played 37 times for the U.S. national team, making the 2002 World Cup roster before being forced out of the tournament with an injury.

Vanney began his coaching career as an assistant with Chivas USA in 2011 and got his first managerial job with Toronto after Ryan Nelsen was fired with 10 games left in the 2014 season.

In his first full season as coach, Vanney guided Toronto to its first playoff berth. A year later, it played in the first of three MLS Cup finals under Vanney, winning the title in 2017.