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AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Larson denied Denny Hamlin his first career championship when a late caution at Phoenix Raceway sent the title-deciding finale into overtime.

Hamlin was three laps from shedding the label as the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship when fellow title contender William Byron got a flat tire and hit the wall to bring out the caution.

Hamlin led the field down pit road and got four new tires on his Toyota; Larson only took two tires on his Chevrolet. It meant Larson was fifth for the two-lap sprint to the finish, with Hamlin back in 10th.

With so little time to run down Larson, Hamlin came up short with a sixth-place finish as Larson finished third. Ryan Blaney, who was eliminated from title contention last week, won the race.

It is the second championship for Larson, who won his first title in 2021 when he joined Hendrick Motorsports.

As Larson celebrated, Hamlin sat in his car motionless for several seconds, then wiped his face with a white towel, never showing any emotion.

“I’m just numb,” Hamlin said after consoling his crying daughters on pit road. “We were 40 seconds away from a championship. This sport can drive you absolutely crazy because sometimes speed, talent, none of that matters.”

Larson, who has been in a slump since his disastrous Memorial Day attempt to race both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, was also in shock.

“I really can’t believe it. We didn’t lead a lap and won the championship,” Larson said. “We had an average car at best and had the right front [tire] go down, lost a lap and got the wave around, saved by the caution with the wave around. It’s just unbelievable. What a year by this motorsports team.”

When Hamlin finally got out of his car he embraced his crew members but it was a scene of disbelief among the Joe Gibbs Racing crowd. Team members were crying, some sitting in shock on the pavement, Gibbs himself stood silent, one hand on his hip and a look of disbelief on his face.

It is the sixth shot at a title to slip away from Hamlin in his 20 years driving for Gibbs. He led 208 of the 319 laps and started from the pole.

“Nothing I could do different. I mean, prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend and my team gave me a fantastic car,” Hamlin said. “Just didn’t work out. I was just praying ‘no caution’ and we had one there. What can you do? It’s just not meant to be.”

He said crew chief Chris Gayle made the correct call with four tires, but too many others only took two, which created too big of a gap for Hamlin to close on Larson in so little time.

“Just numb. Feel like there’s still some racing left. I can’t believe it’s over but there’s nothing I can do but just suck it up,” Hamlin said. “I just needed 40 more seconds of green flag.”

Larson was OK during the race, but hasn’t won since early May, a slump that has now extended to 24 consecutive races.

Hamlin teammate Chase Briscoe finished 18th in his debut in the championship finale, while Larson teammate Byron was 33rd after his late issue. He felt awful for ruining Hamlin’s chance even though his Hendrick Motorsports teammate won the championship.

“I’m just super bummed that it was a caution obviously. I hate that. Hate it for Denny. I hate it for the 11 team,” Byron said. “I mean, Denny was on his way to it. I hate that. There’s a lot of respect there. I obviously do not want to cause a caution. If I had known what tire it was, known that a tire was going down before I got to the corner, I would have done something different.”

Fryer writes for the Associated Press.

Summoned last minute by the president of the United States, the world’s most powerful leaders dropped their schedules to fly to Egypt on Monday, where they idled on a stage awaiting Donald Trump’s grand entrance.

They were there to celebrate a significant U.S. diplomatic achievement that has ended hostilities in Gaza after two brutal years of war. But really, they were there for Trump, who took a victory lap for brokering what he called the “greatest deal of them all.”

“Together we’ve achieved what everyone said was impossible, but at long last, we have peace in the Middle East,” Trump told gathered presidents, sheikhs, prime ministers and emirs, arriving in Egypt after addressing the Knesset in Israel. “Nobody thought it could ever get there, and now we’re there.”

“Now, the rebuilding begins — the rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part,” Trump said. “I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part, because the rest comes together. We all know how to rebuild, and we know how to build better than anybody in the world.”

The achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza has earned Trump praise from across the political aisle and from U.S. friends and foes around the world, securing an elusive peace that officials hope will endure long enough to provide space for a wider settlement of Mideast tensions.

Trump’s negotiation of the Abraham Accords in his first term, which saw his administration secure diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, were a nonpartisan success embraced by the succeeding Biden administration. But it was the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and the overwhelming response from Israel that followed, that interrupted efforts by President Biden and his team to build on their success.

The Trump administration now hopes to get talks of expanding the Abraham Accords back on track, eyeing new deals between Israel and Lebanon, Syria, and most of all, Saudi Arabia, effectively ending Israel’s isolation from the Arab world.

Yet, while the current Gaza war appears to be over, the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains.

Trump’s diplomatic success halted the deadliest and most destructive war between Israelis and Palestinians in history, making the achievement all the more notable. Yet the record of the conflict shows a pattern of cyclical violence that flares when similar ceasefires are followed by periods of global neglect.

The first phase of Trump’s peace plan saw Israeli defense forces withdraw from half of Gazan territory, followed by the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas since Oct. 7 in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

The next phase — Hamas’ disarmament and Gaza’s reconstruction — may not in fact be “the easiest part,” experts say.

“Phase two depends on Trump keeping everyone’s feet to the fire,” said Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who served in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations.

“Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction are tied together,” he added. “The Saudis and Emiratis won’t invest the big sums Trump talked about without it. Otherwise they know this will happen again.”

While the Israeli government voted to approve the conditions of the hostage release, neither side has agreed to later stages of Trump’s plan, which would see Hamas militants granted amnesty for disarming and vowing to remain outside of Palestinian governance going forward.

An apolitical, technocratic council would assume governing responsibilities for an interim period, with an international body, chaired by Trump, overseeing reconstruction of a territory that has seen 90% of its structures destroyed.

President Trump speaks during a summit of world leaders Monday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

(Amr Nabil / Associated Press)

The document, in other words, is not just a concession of defeat by Hamas, but a full and complete surrender that few in the Middle East believe the group will ultimately accept. While Hamas could technically cease to exist, the Muslim Brotherhood — a sprawling political movement throughout the region from which Hamas was born — could end up reviving the group in another form.

In Israel, the success of the next stage — as well as a long-delayed internal investigation into the government failures that led to Oct. 7 — will likely dominate the next election, which could be called for any time next year.

Netanyahu’s domestic polling fluctuated dramatically over the course of the war, and both flanks of Israeli society, from the moderate left to the far right, are expected to exploit the country’s growing war fatigue under his leadership for their own political gain.

Netanyahu’s instinct has been to run to the right in every Israeli election this past decade. But catering to a voting bloc fueling Israel’s settler enterprise in the West Bank — long the more peaceful Palestinian territory, governed by an historically weak Palestinian Authority — runs the risk of spawning another crisis that could quickly upend Trump’s peace effort.

And crises in the West Bank have prompted the resumption of war in Gaza before.

“Israelis will fear Hamas would dominate a Palestinian state, and that is why disarmament of Hamas and reform of the PA are so important. Having Saudi leaders reach out to Israeli public would help,” Ross said.

“The creeping annexation in the West Bank must stop,” Ross added. “The expansion of settlements must stop, and the violence of extremist settlers must stop.”

In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Netanyahu faced broad criticism for a yearslong strategy of disempowering the Palestinian Authority to Hamas’ benefit, preferring a conflict he knew Israel could win over a peace Israel could not control.

So the true fate of Trump’s peace plan may ultimately come down to the type of peace Netanyahu chooses to pursue in the heat of an election year.

“You are committed to this peace,” Netanyahu said Monday, standing alongside Trump in the Knesset. The Israeli prime minister added: “I am committed to this peace.”

Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer won his first career MotoGP after newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez and polesitter Marco Bezzecchi collided on opening lap.

Rookie Fermin Aldeguer earned the first victory of his fledgling MotoGP career at the Indonesia Grand Prix, while newly crowned champion Marc Marquez crashed out and was injured after a crunching collision with Marco Bezzecchi.

Gresini Racing rider Aldeguer surged past KTM’s Pedro Acosta to take the lead on the 10th lap, eventually finishing well clear of the competition on Sunday.

The win will have helped Aldeguer erase the pain of his second-placed finish in Saturday’s sprint, where he led for most of the 13-lap race before finishing second behind Bezzecchi.

Acosta finished second, with Aldeguer’s teammate Alex Marquez completing the podium.

Aldeguer is the first rookie to win a MotoGP race since Jorge Martin achieved the feat at the Austrian Grand Prix in 2021. His victory at the Indonesian Grand Prix makes the 20-year-old the second youngest MotoGP winner in history.

Marc Marquez crashes, suffers collarbone injury

Pole-sitter Bezzecchi had an awful start to the race, finding himself in sixth place after the first two turns, and the Aprilia rider was a touch too forceful in his desperation to climb back up into the lead.

As he charged back into the fray, Bezzecchi nudged the rear of Marquez’s Ducati and the pair hurtled into the gravel at high speed, with Marquez appearing to be in significant discomfort after the fall.

The Spaniard, who won his seventh MotoGP championship at last week’s Japanese Grand Prix, was hunched over on the side of the track for a couple of minutes before staggering to his feet and lurching away while clutching his shoulder.

The crash continued a dreadful streak of luck for Marquez at the Mandalika International Circuit, where he has never been able to finish a Grand Prix in four attempts.

There did not appear to be any bad blood between Bezzecchi and Marquez, however, as they shared a quick handshake before Marquez was taken to the medical centre.

Post race, it was revealed that Marquez had suffered a collarbone injury as a result of a collision with Bezzecchi, the team said.

“As a result of today’s crash at Indonesian GP, Marc Marquez has suffered an injury to his right collarbone,” Ducati said in a statement on social media.

“The Spanish rider will travel tonight to Madrid (Spain) for further medical tests and to decide on the treatment to follow.”

The injury was on the shoulder of the arm Marquez fractured in the 2020 July season-opening Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, which ruled him out for an extended period and required several surgeries.

Ducati’s afternoon then went from bad to worse a few laps later when two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia’s bike slipped out from underneath him and dumped him onto the asphalt.

The Italian, who has endured a torrid campaign this year, cut a frustrated figure as he looked up to the sky and gestured angrily with folded hands.

Earlier on Sunday, KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda won the Moto3 race in Indonesia to clinch the 2025 title.

INDIANAPOLIS — Bubba Wallace became the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, surviving a late rain delay, two overtimes, concerns over running out of fuel and a hard-charging Kyle Larson on Sunday in the Brickyard 400.

The third NASCAR Cup victory of Wallace’s career was also his most significant — his first win at one of the series’ four crown jewel races.

It snapped a 100-race winless streak that dated to 2022 at Kansas. He also won at Talladega in 2021, but this milestone victory also gave him a playoff spot. No Black driver has won the Indianapolis 500, and Formula 1 raced on the track’s road course.

“Unbelievable,” Wallace shouted on his radio after crossing the yard of bricks.

And while the final gap was 0.222 seconds, he didn’t reach victory lane without some consternation.

Larson trailed by 5.057 seconds with 14 laps to go but the gap was down to about three seconds with six remaining when the yellow flag came out because of rain. The cars rolled to a stop on pit lane with four to go, giving Wallace about 20 additional minutes to think and rethink his restart strategy.

But after beating Larson through the second turn, a crash behind the leaders forced a second overtime, extending the race even more laps as Wallace’s team thought he might run out of gas.

Bubba Wallace celebrates after winning the Brickyard 400 on Sunday.

(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

Wallace risked everything by staying on the track then beat the defending race winner off the restart again to prevent Larson from becoming the fourth back-to-back winner of the Brickyard.

It also alleviated the frustration Wallace felt Saturday when he spent most of the qualifying session on the provisional pole only to see Chase Briscoe surpass with one of the last runs in the session.

He made sure there was no repeat Sunday, giving an added boost to the 23XI Racing co-owned by basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin, as it continues to battle NASCAR in court over its charter status.

The race inside the race — the In-Season Challenge — went to Ty Gibbs, who had a better car than Ty Dillon in qualifying and on race day. Gibbs finished 21st to win the inaugural March Madness-like single-elimination tournament and collect the $1 million prize.

Dillon, a surprise championship round entrant after making the field as the 32nd and final driver, finished 28th.

Three-time series champ Joey Logano appeared to have the edge with 26 laps to go until his right rear tire went flat. Though he was able to drive it into pit lane for a tire change, he lost power and struggled to get back on the track, knocking him out of contention.

Ryan Blaney held off Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin to win the second stage, giving Blaney his fifth stage win of the year. Pole winner Chase Briscoe won the first stage, finishing ahead of Bubba Wallace and William Byron. It was Briscoe’s second stage win of the season, his first since Pocono.

Bubba Wallace kisses the Brickyard 400 trophy after winning Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Trump might look to take a victory lap on Monday after their recent joint strikes on Iran, hailed by both as an unmitigated success.

But as they meet for the third time this year, the outwardly triumphant visit will be dogged by Israel’s 21-month war against Hamas in Gaza and questions over how hard Trump will push for an end to the conflict.

Trump has made clear that following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, he would like to see the Gaza conflict end soon. The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu could give new urgency to a U.S. ceasefire proposal being discussed by Israel and Hamas, but whether it leads to a deal that ends the war is unclear.

“The optics will be very positive,” said Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington. “But behind the victory lap are going to be some very serious questions.”

Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu praised the cooperation with the U.S. for bringing a “huge victory over our shared enemy.” He struck a positive note on a ceasefire for Gaza, saying he was working “to achieve the deal under discussion, on the terms we agreed to.”

“I think that the discussion with President Trump can certainly help advance that result, which all of us hope for,” Netanyahu said.

‘It changes from day to day’

Israel and Hamas appear to be inching toward a new ceasefire agreement that would bring about a 60-day pause in the fighting, send aid flooding into Gaza and free at least some of the remaining 50 hostages held in the territory.

But a perennial sticking point is whether the ceasefire will end the war altogether. Hamas has said it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu says the war will end once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile — something it refuses to do.

Trump has made it clear that he wants to be known as a peacemaker. He has repeatedly trumpeted recent peace deals that his administration facilitated between India and Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and Israel and Iran, and for years has made little secret of the fact that he covets a Nobel Peace Prize.

He has been pressuring Israel and Hamas to wrap up their own conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, ravaged Gaza, deepened Israel’s international isolation and made any resolution to the broader conflict between Israel and the Palestinians more distant than ever.

But the precise details of the deal, and whether it can lead to an end to the war, are still in flux. In the days before Netanyahu’s visit, Trump seemed to downplay the chances for a breakthrough.

Asked on Friday how confident he was a ceasefire deal would come together, Trump told reporters: “I’m very optimistic — but you know, look, it changes from day to day.”

On Sunday evening, he seemed to narrow his expectation, telling reporters that he thought an agreement related to the remaining hostages would be reached in the coming week.

Leaders are more in sync than ever

Those mood swings also have embodied Trump’s relationship with Netanyahu.

After Trump’s decision to get involved in Israel’s war in Iran with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the two leaders are more in sync than ever. But that’s not always been the case.

As recently as Netanyahu’s last visit to Washington in April, the tone was markedly different.

Trump used the photo-op with Netanyahu to announce that the U.S. was entering into negotiations with Iran over its nuclear deal — appearing to catch the Israeli leader off guard and at the time, slamming the brakes on any Israeli military plan.

He also praised Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fierce critic of Israel’s, in front of Netanyahu, and the two made no apparent progress on a trade deal at the height of Trump’s tariff expansion.

Trump, whose policies have largely aligned with Israel’s own priorities, pledged last week to be “very firm” with Netanyahu on ending the war, without saying what that would entail. Pressure by Trump has worked on Netanyahu in the past, with a ceasefire deal having been reached right as the president was taking office again.

Netanyahu has to balance the demands of his American ally with the far-right parties in his governing coalition who hold the key to his political survival and oppose ending the war.

But given the strong U.S. support in Israel’s war against Iran, highlighted by joint airstrikes on a fortified underground Iranian nuclear site, Netanyahu may have a tough time saying no.

On Sunday evening, Trump said one of the matters he expected to discuss with Netanyahu “is probably a permanent deal with Iran.”

Trump also may expect something in return for his recent calls for Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be canceled — a significant interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.

“Trump thinks that Netanyahu owes him,” said Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel affairs at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. “And if Trump thinks that he needs to end the war In Gaza, then that is what he will need to do.”

Trump’s regional vision

The two men will likely discuss the ceasefire with Iran and how to respond to any perceived violations.

But beyond Iran is Trump’s grand vision for a new Middle East, where he hopes that additional countries will join the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel brokered during Trump’s first term.

Netanyahu and Trump are likely to discuss how to bring Syria into the fold. The country, a longtime enemy of Israel’s, has new leadership after the fall of President Bashar Assad, and experts say conditions might be ripe for some kind of nonbelligerency agreement.

But Trump’s ultimate goal is to include regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis, whose clout could open the door for other Arab or Muslim countries to join, have expressed interest in normalizing ties with Israel but only if it is accompanied by serious steps toward resolving Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians. For starters, that would seem to require action in Gaza.

“The most important thing [for Trump] is to end the war in Gaza,” Gilboa said. “That is the key to all the regional peace in the Middle East.”

Goldenberg and Price write for the Associated Press. Price reported from Washington.

When Wu-Tang Clan and Run the Jewels took over the Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. on Sunday night, it wasn’t just a concert — it was a cultural earthquake. Crammed full of rap royalty, fans were packed together tighter than a “36” Chain” in a charged celebration of hip-hop’s powerful lasting impact.

The stop was part of the group’s Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber farewell tour that began June 6 in Baltimore and concludes July 18 in Philadelphia, comprising 27 shows.

The tour features Wu-Tang’s surviving members — RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and Cappadonna — along with Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son, Young Dirty Bastard, and DJ Mathematics.

The night began with an fierce performance from Run the Jewels, who set the tone with their explosive energy and charisma. Killer Mike and El-P, self-described as the new PB&J, commanded the stage effortlessly as they tore through their set list, kicking off with “Legend Has It” and moving into iconic hits like “Gold,” “Lie, Cheat, Steal,” “Ooh La La” and “Close Your Eyes.” The crowd was electric, rapping every word in unison while raising hand pistols and fists in solidarity. The duo’s sharp-witted lyrics, relentless rhythm and uncontainable passion ensured that their performance would be etched in memory as one of the highlights of the evening.

RZA of Wu-Tang Clan performs Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

By 9 p.m., it was officially time for Wu-Tang Clan to “Bring Da Ruckus,” and it did so with the fiery conviction of a team that defined an era in hip-hop. Arguably one of the most influential groups in music history, Wu delivered a performance that was both nostalgic and invigorating. Each member’s unique style and lyrical prowess shone brightly as classics like “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Protect Ya Neck,” “Method Man,” “Can It Be All So Simple” and Triumph” reverberated through the arena, igniting waves of energy throughout the audience. The powerful bass lines and raw, unfiltered sound reminded everyone why Wu-Tang Clan remains one of the most significant outfits in hip-hop.

Inspectah Deck and U-God of Wu-Tang Clan perform Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Every hit Wu performed was like a time machine, taking the crowd on a ride through decades of influence, innovation and street-born poetry. The chamber members didn’t just perform, they took victory laps in front of a crowd that knew every word. You could feel the respect and weight of history in every moment.

Young Dirty Bastard and Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan perform Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Adding a poignant touch to the evening, YDB took the stage to honor his late father, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, with renditions of his hits “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” and “Got Your Money.” The crowd rapped along passionately, creating a collective moment of tribute. The show also featured an unexpected twist, with multiple interludes promoting RZA’s latest action thriller, “One Spoon of Chocolate,” as well as the “Purple Tape Files” doc produced by him and Raekwon, blending entertainment with strategic promotion. Smart? Probably — even if it did seem oddly shoehorned in the middle of the show.

Fans of Wu-Tang Clan cheer as the band performs Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Sunday at Crypto.com was much more than a gathering of two legendary crews sharing a stage. It was a historic celebration that lighted up Los Angeles with the full force of hip-hop excellence. From the thundering beats to the infectious energy of the crowd, every moment served as an in-your-face reminder that music shapes, inspires, and unites. And the performances? Those were a living testament to hip-hop’s enduring role in culture, and the audience left buzzing with the echoes of greatness that had filled every corner of the arena — Wu-Tang forever.