penalty

Tennessee’s Supreme Court says Byron Black’s execution can proceed amid worries that a medical device may prolong his death.

A court in the United States has ruled that the southern US state of Tennessee can move forward with the execution of a man with an implanted defibrillator, despite concerns that the device could result in a botched execution.

The case before the Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday concerned Byron Black, currently on death row after his conviction in a 1988 triple murder.

Black’s execution has been delayed multiple times, but a date was set on August 5 for him to receive a lethal injection.

However, in July, his defence team argued the execution could not proceed without first deactivating Black’s defibrillator, for fear it would continuously shock his heart as he passed away, resulting in an unnecessarily painful and prolonged death.

Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins previously ruled that Black’s defibrillator would have to be removed prior to execution.

But the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned that decision, arguing that removing the defibrillator in advance would amount to a “stay of execution”.

The state justices added that the lower court’s order was invalid because it had exceeded its authority.

Kelley Henry, one of Black’s attorneys, said that she is looking at the opinion before making a decision about next steps.

Lawyers for the state said on Wednesday that healthcare workers, many of whom view participation in the execution process as a violation of medical ethics, were not willing to facilitate the defibrillator’s removal.

The court did not address concerns over whether possible complications to the execution caused by the device could violate Black’s constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment. It also left open the possibility that Black could still win a reprieve against his execution.

Botched executions have been a subject of debate for years in the US, one of the few Western countries that still uses capital punishment.

Capital punishment carried out through methods such as lethal injection and electrocution can be frequently error-prone, sometimes resulting in painful, drawn-out deaths for prisoners.

A 2022 report by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) found that seven out of 22 attempted executions in the US were “visibly problematic” and included “executioner incompetence, failures to follow protocols, or defects in the protocols themselves”.

According to Amnesty International, the US executed 24 people in 2023, the third-highest number of confirmed executions in the world after Iran and Saudi Arabia. The US also had the fifth-highest number of death sentences, after China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.

A 2024 Gallup poll found that 53 percent of people in the US still support the death penalty, while 43 percent disapprove. Those figures, however, represent some of the lowest levels of support on record, with favour dropping sharply over the last several decades.

With the City Section now having more girls flag football teams (93) than 11-man teams (71), the growing popularity of the sport is clear. But the sport faces a huge challenge when official practice begins on Aug. 8 — rule changes.

Confusion among all the stakeholders — coaches, players, officials, parents — is certain to take place in the early games.

That was evident during a meeting on Wednesday. City Section coaches received a briefing from Nelson Bae, the section’s rules interpreter. There were so many questions that City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos had to halt them or the meeting would have lasted for hours. Coaches were told to submit their questions later.

A national rulebook was established by the National Federation of State High School Assns. and some of the changes are massive, such as the addition of punting and screen blocking.

“Crazy stuff is going to happen,” Bae told the coaches. “All of us are going to have to adjust. I’ve already seen some things, ‘This is going to be a problem.’”

Screen blocking could be a vocal point of confusion because, as Bae said, penalties could be called on every play similar to holding in 11-man football. No contact is allowed when blocking but deciding who made the contact and who receives the penalty will be the judgment call that could have parents yelling in the bleachers if they don’t understand the correct interpretation.

Coaches are having to train players not to use their hands and rushers can’t run into moving screens or a penalty is supposed to be called.

“Go around,” Bae advised.

It will be confusing in early games, particularly until everyone adjusts.

There will be four playoff divisions, up from three last season, as the sport enters its third season in the City Section.

Coaches have been seeking out soccer players to serve as punters. Prepare for the unexpected this fall.

BASEL, Switzerland — England thrived in the high drama yet again to take down Spain in a penalty shootout and win another Women’s European Championship title on Sunday.

Chloe Kelly lashed in her spot kick to give defending champion England a 3-1 win in the shootout after a 1-1 draw after extra time.

It’s the second straight Women’s Euros final decided by Kelly scoring.

England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved spot kicks from Mariona Caldentey and Spain superstar Aitana Bonmati, before substitute Salma Paralluelo dragged her shot wide of the goal.

England’s Chloe Kelly scores the winning penalty against Spain goalkeeper Catalina Coll during the Women’s Euro 2025 final at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday.

(Martin Meissner / Associated Press)

The defending champion won the only way it knew how at this thrilling Euro 2025.

England fell behind in the first half, fought back in the second and relied on its superb substitutes — just as it did against Italy and Sweden previously in the knockout rounds.

England leveled the score in the 57th on Alessia Russo’s header from a cross by Kelly after Caldentey had given Spain the lead in the 25th by finishing Ona Battle’s cross.

Spain trailed for only four minutes in the entire tournament — and not for one second against England — yet the reigning World Cup winner could not seal its first European title.

Kelly had scored an extra-time winning goal for England at Wembley three years ago to beat Germany 2-1.

In extra time, Spain had good possession in the England penalty area so many times yet did not force a decisive goal.

Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll saved spot kicks from England captain Leah Williamson and the first by Beth Mead.

It was appropriate in England’s memorable tournament that Mead’s penalty was retaken under a brand new soccer rule that allows a second chance when a player scores by slipping and touching the ball twice. It did not matter after Hampton’s saves.

Classic Arsenal goals

Arsenal attackers like scoring with perfectly placed headers from inviting crosses sent to the ideal spot.

Spain took the lead Sunday with a very English goal — a fullback’s cross from the byline finding the head of an Arsenal player to score, on a rain-slicked field on an overcast, cloudy day.

The strong Spanish flavor leading to Caldentey’s opener was in the neat passing to find Athenea del Castillo in the penalty area and her vision to see Battle’s direct run into space.

Caldentey was in the Arsenal team that won the Women’s Champions League final in May beating a Barcelona side with six starters who also lined up for Spain on Sunday. Spain used three more Barcelona players as substitutes.

The Arsenal forward line in that final, Russo and Kelly, combined to tie the Euro 2025 final. Kelly’s right-foot cross from the left was floated toward the head of Russo who guided the ball back toward the top corner of the Spain net.

Wiegman’s hat trick

England coach Sarina Wiegman has still never before been eliminated from a Women’s Euros tournament. Despite how close she came three times this month.

The top female national-team coach of her generation has a Euros hat trick after leading England to victory in 2022 and her native Netherlands to the 2017 title.

Both those titles were won as the host nation team and no England senior team, men or women, had previously won a world or continental title abroad.

Wiegman also extended the run of title-winning women coaches to eight Women’s Euros editions across 28 years. Women were outnumbered by male coaches each time.

Royal appointment

There was royalty from both nations in the VIP box at St-Jakob Park, including heirs to each throne.

Prince William, the first son of Britain’s King Charles, was with his daughter Princess Charlotte. He is president of the English Football Assn.

Also present were Princess Leonor of Spain and her younger sister, Infanta Sofía. At the 2023 World Cup final Sofia was at the game with her mother, Queen Letizia in Sydney, Australia.

Dubar writes for the Associated Press.

The Lionesses beat La Roja 3-1 on penalties after drawing 1-1 in extra time to retain the European Championship.

Chloe Kelly scored the decisive spot kick as England beat Spain 3-1 in a penalty shootout to win Euro 2025, successfully defending the title they won three years ago after an enthralling encounter that ended 1-1 after extra time.

Spain dominated possession in Basel, Switzerland on Sunday and made the breakthrough in the 25th minute as Ona Batlle crossed and the England defence was caught flat-footed, allowing Mariona Caldentey to head the ball past Hannah Hampton.

With Lauren James faltering due to an ankle inury, England were struggling, but Kelly came off the bench to replace her just before the break, and it proved an inspired substitution from England manager Sarina Wiegman.

Kelly helped close down England’s porous left flank and provided the cross for Alessia Russo to level in the 57th minute, the forward heading home her inch-perfect assist.

Spain continued to monopolise the ball, but could not find another goal before the end of normal time, and the story continued through extra time as they probed and probed, but could not break through the English defence as the game finished 1-1.

The Spaniards got the shootout off to a great start when Catalina Coll saved Beth Mead’s effort, but England keeper Hannah Hampton stepped up and saved from Caldentey and then from Aitana Bonmati to put England in the driving seat.

Coll got Spain back into it with another one-handed stop to block Leah Williamson, but Spain substitute Salma Paralluelo then fired her kick wide of the target.

That set the stage for Kelly to repeat her 2022 heroics, when she scored the extra-time winner over Germany that won her team the title at Wembley.

Kelly made her trademark prancing run-up before smashing the ball into the net and peeling away in ecstasy to celebrate with the rest of the players in front of the England fans.

“I’m so proud, so proud of this team, so grateful to wear this badge, and I’m so proud to be English … I was cool, I was composed and I knew I was going to hit the back of the net,” Kelly said.

Spain trailed for only four minutes in the entire tournament – and not for one second against England – yet could not seal their first European title.

The final was the first time since the inaugural edition in 1984 that the game was decided by a penalty shootout – a match in which England were beaten by Sweden.

Speaking to the BBC, England goalkeeper Hampton said: “This team is just unbelievable, incredible.

“We’ve shown throughout this tournament [that] we can come back when we go a goal down. We have that grit. We never say die – we just keep going, and we did that today.”

US president has pushed other countries to crack down on manufacturing and exportation of fentanyl.

United States President Donald Trump has said that China may start sentencing people to death for involvement in the manufacture or distribution of fentanyl, whose trafficking Trump has sought harsh measures to counteract.

Speaking as he signed anti-drug legislation on Wednesday, the US president said that the need to combat fentanyl was one of the reasons for his imposition of tariffs on countries across the world.

“I think we’re going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country,” Trump said. “I believe that’s going to happen soon.”

China, which has long imposed severe penalties on people involved with drug distribution, including capital punishment, has been at the centre of Trump’s ire over the opioid that helped fuel an overdose epidemic in the US.

The country raised outrage when it executed four Canadian dual citizens earlier this year for drug-related offences, despite pleas for clemency from the Canadian government.

Experts have questioned whether such penalties will help address the distribution of fentanyl, which China has said is driven largely by demand from people in the US.

Trump has previously linked his tariffs on countries such as Mexico and Canada to fentanyl, although trafficking from the latter into the US is close to nonexistent.

Drug overdoses in the US have been a subject of concern and political debate for years, with the country’s opioid epidemic beginning with the aggressive promotion of painkillers by pharmaceutical companies but later being mostly driven by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

Overdose deaths have started to drop in recent years, giving experts cause for optimism after years of communities being ravaged by opioids. Overdoses over a 12-month period ending in June 2024 dropped by 12 percent compared with the same period the previous year, down from 113,000 to 97,000.

The contrast to the outcome of a very similar incident in Canada two races ago between Mercedes’ George Russell and Verstappen was notable.

In Montreal, after the stewards took no action, Red Bull lodged a protest, but it was dismissed out of hand.

Piastri said: “Going back to Canada, I think he had to evade more there than he did today. So, yeah, I’m a bit confused to say the least.”

There was also the feeling within McLaren that Verstappen may have ‘gamed’ the system by exaggerating how much it affected him.

“I don’t think he had to evade me,” Piastri said. “He managed the first time.”

Team principal Andrea Stella said: “We’ll have to see also if other competitors kind of made the situation look worse than what it is.

“Because we know that as part of the race-craft, some competitors definitely have the ability to make others look like they are causing severe infringement when they are not.”

Verstappen said: “The thing is that it happened to me now a few times, this kind of scenario. I just find it strange that suddenly now Oscar is the first one to receive 10 seconds first.”

Was that because because there was no difference from what Russell did in Canada?

“Well, to the stewards, yes, (there was),” Verstappen said.

The end result was that Norris has moved himself on to four wins for the season, one short of Piastri.

“I felt like I drove a really strong race,” Piastri said. “Ultimately, when you don’t get the result you think you deserve, it hurts, especially when it’s not in your control.

“I will use the frustration to make sure I win some more races later.”

Both have two weekends off to reset and refresh before battle recommences at the Belgian Grand Prix, the start of the second half of the season.

The doctoral student has admitted to breaking into the rental home and killing four University of Idaho students.

A former criminology doctoral student has pleaded guilty to murdering four roommates in an Idaho college town in 2022.

Bryan Kohberger, 30, admitted to the killings under a plea agreement that takes the death penalty off the table. The case drew national attention in the United States for its brutality and the shock it caused in a community where murders are relatively rare.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Kohberger answered a series of questions from Judge Steven Hippler.

“Did you, on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?” the judge asked.

“Yes,” Kohberger replied.

“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” the judge then inquired.

“Yes,” Kohberger said.

Kohberger had previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and burglary charges. On Wednesday, however, he confirmed to the court that he had broken into a rental home where four University of Idaho students were staying.

Passing through a sliding door in the kitchen, Kohberger then killed the four friends, who appear to have no prior connection to him. Prosecutors did not disclose a motive for the slayings.

The plea agreement, as outlined by Hippler, called for Kohberger to be sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison and to waive his rights to appeal or seek reconsideration of the sentence.

Formal sentencing is tentatively set for July 23.

The killings initially baffled law enforcement and unnerved the rural college town of Moscow, which hadn’t seen a murder in five years.

The victims were identified as Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen.

Mogen and Goncalves hailed from Idaho, while Kernodle was from the southern state of Arizona. Her boyfriend, Chapin, was from Washington state. All four of the victims were either 20 or 21 at the time of their deaths.

Autopsies showed each was stabbed multiple times, including some defensive injuries.

Families react as Kohberger faces life sentence

The murders occurred during the early morning hours in an off-campus house the three women shared.

Kernodle and Chapin had attended a party the night before, while best friends Mogen and Goncalves had visited a local bar and food truck. All four are believed to have returned to the house before 2am local time (9:00 GMT). Their bodies were found hours later that morning.

Two other women in the house at the time survived unharmed.

According to prosecutors, a surviving roommate told investigators she heard someone crying in one of the victims’ bedrooms on the night of the murders and opened her door to see a man, clad in black, walk past her and out of the house.

Authorities said they linked Kohberger to the murders using DNA evidence, cellphone data and video footage. He was arrested weeks after the killings in Pennsylvania, where he was visiting family, and was returned to Idaho to face charges.

In a statement through a lawyer, Goncalves’s family criticised the plea agreement as mishandled: a “secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families”.

On Wednesday, prior to the hearing, Steve Goncalves, father of victim Kaylee, was asked whether he believed the four life sentences provided justice in the case.

He replied, “No, of course not. It’s daycare. Prison is daycare.”

But a statement read by a lawyer representing Mogen’s family members said they “support the plea agreement 100 percent”, adding that the outcome brought them closure.

Takahiro Shiraishi was hanged for the murders of eight women and one man whose body parts he concealed in his small apartment.

Japan has executed a man who was found guilty of killing and dismembering nine people he made contact with on social media, the first use of capital punishment in the country in nearly three years.

Takahiro Shiraishi was hanged on Friday after he was sentenced to death for the 2017 murders of eight women and one man in his apartment in Zama city in Kanagawa near Tokyo.

He was dubbed the “Twitter killer” as he had contacted his victims via the social media platform, now known as X.

Shiraishi admitted to committing the murders after reaching out and offering to help people – who were contemplating suicide – to die. He had stashed bits of the bodies of his nine victims in coolers around his small apartment, according to media reports.

Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, who authorised Shiraishi’s hanging, said he made the decision after careful examination of the case, taking into account the convict’s “extremely selfish” motive for crimes that “caused great shock and unrest to society”.

The execution on Friday was the first in Japan since July 2022 of a man sentenced to death for a stabbing rampage in Tokyo’s Akihabara shopping district in 2008.

It was also the first time the death penalty was carried out since Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government was inaugurated last October.

Last September, a Japanese court acquitted Iwao Hakamada, who had spent the world’s longest time on death row. The court found he was wrongfully convicted of crimes committed nearly 60 years ago.

One of the highest-profile executions in Japan was carried out in 2018 of the guru Shoko Asahara and 12 former members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which orchestrated the 1995 sarin gas attacks on Tokyo’s subway system that killed 14 people and made thousands ill.

Capital punishment is carried out by hanging in Japan, and prisoners are notified of their execution just hours before it is carried out, which has long been decried by human rights groups for the stress it puts on death-row prisoners.

Japan and the United States are the only two members of the Group of Seven industrialised economies to retain the death penalty.

There is strong public support for the practice in Japan. A government survey in 2024 of 1,800 respondents found that 83 percent viewed the death penalty as “unavoidable”.

The death sentence has been removed from eight criminal offences in Vietnamese law and replaced with life imprisonment for offenders.

Vietnam will end capital punishment for eight categories of serious crime – including embezzlement, attempts to overthrow the government and sabotaging state infrastructure, state media has reported.

The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday that the country’s National Assembly unanimously passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that abolished the death penalty for eight criminal offences.

Starting from next month, people will no longer face a death sentence for bribery, embezzlement, producing and trading counterfeit medicines, illegally transporting narcotics, espionage, “the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war”, as well as sabotage and trying to topple the government.

The maximum sentence for these crimes will now be life imprisonment, the news agency said.

Those who were sentenced to death for capital offences before July 1, but have not yet been executed, will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the report said.

The death penalty will remain for 10 other criminal offences under Vietnamese law, including murder, treason, terrorism and the sexual abuse of children, according to the report.

During a National Assembly debate on the proposed criminal code amendment last month, the issue of dropping the death sentence for drug trafficking was the most contentious.

“Whether it’s a few grammes or a few tonnes, the harm caused by drug transport is immense,” one legislator said, while another said removing the death sentence for drugs would send the wrong signal at a time when drug cases were increasing in the country.

Capital punishment data is a state secret in Vietnam and it is not known how many people are currently on death row in the country.

Execution by firing squad in Vietnam was abolished in 2011 and replaced by the administration of a lethal injection.

Brazilian international Lorena stopped a penalty kick and countrywoman Bia Zaneratto scored to keep the Current perfect at home on Friday night.

The 1-0 victory secured a sixth consecutive win for Kansas City, which remained atop the NWSL standings. The Current (11-2-0) have won all six of their games at CPKC Stadium. Kansas City hasn’t dropped a game at home since a July 2024 loss to Orlando.

With the score tied 0-0, Lorena leapt to her right to parry a spot kick by Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson in the 56th minute. The ball was tipped onto the crossbar before bobbling out for a corner kick.

It was Lorena’s first penalty save and Thompson’s first failed conversion in the NWSL.

Reigning NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga broke away on a dribble and had her low shot saved by Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, only for Zaneratto to scoop up the rebound and the tuck the ball away in the 69th minute.

Zaneratto has five goals, tied for the second-most of any Current player behind Chawinga with eight.

Angel City (5-5-3) is winless in its last five games, and has secured one tie and two losses since Alex Straus took over as coach three weeks ago.

SINCE Sky’s Soccer AM left our screens two years ago, its celebrity penalty shootout has been much missed.

But I can reveal the fan-favourite format has now inspired a copycat segment from Graham Norton‘s So Television.

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Just like Sky’s original version, the new series will see a line-up of big names stepping up to the penalty spot to try to score.

But with comedian Chloe Petts in charge of proceedings, it will feature fellow comics only.

So far stars including Nish Kumar and Harriet Kemsley are on the team sheet.

A source said: “Penalties frequently provide some of the funniest moments in football, so adding comedians to that mix will bring about endless laughs.

“Soccer AM had big names like Stormzy, Ed Westwick and Louis Tomlinson desperate to be involved so everyone is very excited that this new spin-off could run and run.

“Chloe Petts is a genuine football fan and brings a wealth of knowledge, as well as humour. Filming begins this week in London and everyone can’t wait to see how it turns out.”

In an increasingly common move, the series is first heading to YouTube.

The source added: “This kind of content lends itself brilliantly to a short-form media and so will live online for now.”

Soccer AM ran for 29 years on Sky until it was shelved in May 2023 due to falling ratings.

As well as the penalty spot, other segments included the Nutmeg Files, Unbelievable Tekkers and the Crossbar Challenge.

Plenty of comedic inspiration there too, I’d say.

Palestine are denied by late Oman penalty in a 1-1 draw that ends their dreams of a first FIFA World Cup appearance.

Palestine’s historic Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was ended by a late Oman penalty in a 1-1 draw in their final group game.

Needing a win to reach the fourth round of the AFC qualifiers, Palestine led deep into five minutes of injury time through Oday Kharoub’s goal early in the second half.

The scoreline would have been enough to propel Palestine past Oman into the fourth and final qualifying spot in Group B of the third round of the AFC qualifiers – a stage they had also reached for the first time.

However, a tug of the shirt on a runner chasing a free kick from the deep was spotted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), and Palestine’s dream of a first appearance at a football World Cup ended with Essam Al-Subhi’s spot kick in the 97th minute of the match.

Kharoub’s headed goal came after a fine first half for Palestine, in which Michel Termanini struck the bar with a header.

Wessam Ali had a second for Palestine ruled out for a marginal offside, only moments after Oman’s Harib Al-Saadi saw red for a second yellow following a foul on Hamed Hamdan in the 73rd minute.

The decisive moment came, though, when Muhsen Al-Ghassani ran clear in the box in an attempt to reach a looped ball in the area. Ahmed Taha’s grab at the runner was deemed illegal and the eliminating kick was awarded against Palestine.

Palestine’s AFC Asian Cup nearly the spark for World Cup dream

The run to the third round of the AFC World Cup qualifiers for the first time followed Palestine’s remarkable feat of reaching the knockout stages of the last AFC Asian Cup for the first time.

A first appearance at football’s global showpiece was only one more round away until the late drama at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan, where Palestine were forced to stage their home matches due to Israel’s war on Gaza.

The full-time whistle, and with it, anticipated scenes of wild celebration was cruelly only seconds away for Palestine.

Instead, the tension that was palpably building ahead of the referee calling an end to the match turned to scenes of despair as tears rolled down the cheeks of the Palestine players, many of whom collapsed to the floor in disbelief.

Oman now join Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Indonesia, who lost 6-0 to Japan earlier in the day, in the fourth round of qualifiers, from which two teams will join the already six qualified nations from the third round of qualifiers.

One final chance will be available for the third-placed team from the fourth round of qualifiers, as that nation will progress to the FIFA Intercontinental Playoffs in a last-chance saloon to line up at next year’s finals.

Australia became the final team to confirm their automatic qualification from the third round of qualifiers when they saw off Saudi Arabia’s challenge for second spot in Group C with a 2-1 win in Jeddah.

Alongside Australia – Japan, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Jordan, finished as the top two finishers in their group to book their places at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The latter two qualified for a World Cup for the first time.

Ruben Neves scores winning penalty kick as Portugal defeat Spain 5-3 in a shootout to win the Nations League title.

Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears as Portugal picked up their second Nations League title by beating holders Spain 5-3 on penalties following a thrilling 2-2 draw in the final.

Ronaldo’s 138th international goal took the final on Sunday to a shootout, with Alvaro Morata’s miss proving costly for Spain as Ruben Neves struck the winning spot kick to spark wild scenes of celebration, with emotion overwhelming the veteran captain.

Spain’s exhilarating 5-4 victory over France in Thursday’s semifinal ensured Luis de la Fuente’s side had continued an unbeaten run that stretched back to March 2023 coming into Sunday’s showpiece final in Munich.

They appeared on course for yet another trophy, on the back last year’s European Championship triumph, as Martin Zubimendi tapped home his second international goal in the 21st minute.

The holders’ lead did not last long, however, as flying Portugal full-back Nuno Mendes slotted home the equaliser after good work from Ronaldo in the build up.

A sublime pass from midfielder Pedri helped Mikel Oyarzabal, who netted the winner against England in last year’s European Championship final, restored Spain’s lead before the break.

The tussle between the Iberian neighbours was billed as a clash between old and new – 40-year-old and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo and Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal.

While Yamal, among the favourites to take home one of the most prestigious individual awards this year, struggled to make inroads, Ronaldo pounced on his chance, firing Portugal level from close range just past the hour mark.

Ronaldo went off injured late on and neither side could find a winner in extra time, with the game going to a shootout and Portugal netting all five of their penalties to claim the trophy.

Earlier on Sunday, Kylian Mbappe led France to third place with a 2-0 win over host nation Germany in Stuttgart.

The Real Madrid star scored one goal and set up the other for Michael Olise as France recovered from a lethargic first half.

There are many reasons why people object to the death penalty. Opponents point to the ever-present risk of wrongful conviction. They note that there’s bias against people of color and low-income defendants, as well as geographic disproportionality in its administration. And there’s the fact that most other civilized societies around the world have concluded that it should be abolished.

But these days, there’s also a strong economic argument for doing away with capital punishment. With California facing its most severe fiscal crisis in recent memory — with draconian cuts about to be imposed from Sacramento that will affect every resident of the state — it would be crazy not to consider the fact that it will add as much as $1 billion over the next five years simply to keep the death penalty on the books.

Here’s the math.

Today, California has 678 offenders on death row, more than any other state. Yet, in the last 30 years, we’ve had only 13 executions. With 20 more people sentenced to death each year — and an average wait of 25 years from sentencing to execution — the number of inmates on death row is continuing to climb.

Now consider what capital punishment costs. According to the final report of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, which I chaired from 2006 to 2008, the cost of a murder trial goes up by about half a million dollars if prosecutors seek the death penalty. Confinement on death row (with all the attendant security requirements) adds $90,000 per inmate per year to the normal cost of incarceration. Appeals and habeas corpus proceedings add tens of thousands more. In all, it costs $125 million a year more to prosecute and defend death penalty cases and to keep inmates on death row than it would simply to put all those people in prison for life without parole.

On top of that $125-million extra cost per year, California is also facing the need to build a new death house for death penalty inmates at an estimated cost of $400 million.

The commission, whose members were evenly divided between opponents and proponents of the death penalty, agreed that the present system is, as state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George has said, “dysfunctional,” and it unanimously recommended a series of steps to rectify the most serious flaws in the system. We recommended increased staffing in a number of areas, including a 33% increase in the staff of California state public defenders to handle direct appeals and a 500% increase in the California Habeas Corpus Resources Center to take on habeas corpus filings at a much earlier time than is now the case. We also called for a commensurate increase in the staffing of the attorney general’s office to handle the increased caseload.

These staffing increases would cost $95 million more per year. They would bring the time needed to administer California’s death penalty down to about 12 1/2 years, near the national average.

Our report was issued almost a year ago, on June 30, 2008. Since that time, there has been no movement in Sacramento to seek implementation of our proposed reforms. They appear to be in quicksand. And with the fiscal crisis confronting the state, they look to be locked in granite.

So let me make another recommendation. I think it’s time to do away with the death penalty in California.

The system simply isn’t working. No one is being executed; there’s been a moratorium on executions for three years because of legal challenges. Yet death penalty cases are being prosecuted at great expense. We have a lengthy appeals process, death house overcrowding as offenders pile up and millions of dollars being wasted on a system that does not do what it is supposed to do.

It’s time to convert the sentences of those now on death row to life without parole. Doing so would incapacitate some of the worst of the worst for their natural lives, and at the same time ensure that a person wrongfully convicted will not be executed. And it would save $125 million each year.

A courageous governor facing an unprecedented budget crisis would take this step and use the taxpayer money saved to preserve some of the vital services now on the chopping block.

EDMONTON, Canada — Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play in overtime, Stuart Skinner made 29 saves and the Edmonton Oilers erased a multigoal deficit to beat the defending champion Florida Panthers 4-3 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final rematch on Wednesday night.

After Tomas Nosek’s penalty for putting the puck over the glass, Draisaitl’s goal 19:29 into OT sent the home fans into a frenzy and made sure the Oilers would not start this series like they did a year ago, when they fell behind three games to none.

For a while, it looked like they would at least start out trailing. Draisaitl’s goal 66 seconds in was followed later in the first period by Sam Bennett deflecting a shot in past Stuart Skinner after falling into him.

Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference, with the NHL’s situation room ruling that his own player, Jake Walman, tripped Bennett into Skinner. The resulting penalty paved the way for Florida’s Brad Marchand to score the go-ahead goal on the power play.

Bennett scored his second of the night early in the second period to put the Panthers up 3-1. They entered 31-0 over the past three playoffs since coach Paul Maurice took over when leading at the first or second intermission.

With Connor McDavid leading the way, the Oilers rallied. Fourth-liner Viktor Arvidsson brought the crowd back to life early in the second, and fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm — playing just his second game back from an extended injury absence — tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid.

At the other end, Skinner made a handful of saves that were vital to keeping the Panthers from extending their lead or tying it late in the third. Florida counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky did the same, in between derisive chants of “Sergei! Sergei!” that followed goals he allowed.

Skinner was greeted with friendlier chants of “Stuuuu” after saves, including one in the first minute of overtime on a quality scoring chance. Bobrovsky stone-cold robbed Trent Frederic nine minutes in but eventually cracked.

Game 2 is Friday night in Edmonton before the series shifts to Sunrise, Fla., for Games 3 and 4.

Oscar Piastri strengthens his F1 world championship lead, beating McLaren teammate Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen drops to 10th spot after post-race penalty.

Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri has won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two to go 10 points clear of teammate Lando Norris in the world championship title battle.

The Australian’s win on Sunday by 2.4 seconds over Norris was his fifth in nine races this season and McLaren’s seventh.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium places on Sunday after passing Max Verstappen’s Red Bull six laps from the end following a safety car period that triggered the main talking point of the afternoon with the champion demoted from fifth to 10th place.

“It’s a nice way to bounce back from Monaco. A superb weekend,” said Piastri, who finished third last weekend in a race won from pole by Norris.

Verstappen, who made four stops in total and ended up on the slower hard tyres against rivals on softs, collided with Leclerc and twice with Mercedes’s George Russell after the safety car restart.

The Dutch driver was given a 10-second penalty – added to his overall time post-race – for the second Russell collision, which was clearly his fault.

He and Leclerc also faced a post-race investigation for their clash, which could lead to further sanctions.

“I tried to push him to the left. There was a bit of contact but fortunately no consequences,” Leclerc said. Verstappen claimed the Monegasque had rammed into him and should have given back the place.

Russell finished fourth after eventually being let through by Verstappen, who reluctantly did as his team told him.

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg finished a surprising and morale-boosting fifth for the future Audi team after passing Ferrari’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap.

Hamilton was a disappointing sixth, Isack Hadjar seventh for Racing Bulls and Pierre Gasly eighth for Renault-owned Alpine.

Home hero Fernando Alonso scored his first points of the season with Aston Martin, who had only one car on the grid due to Lance Stroll’s withdrawal through injury after Saturday’s qualifying.

Piastri keeps his cool out front

Piastri led away cleanly at the start with Verstappen seizing second from Norris while Hamilton and Leclerc moved up to fourth and fifth at the expense of Russell.

Hamilton let Leclerc through on lap 10 of 66 after the two Ferraris had run nose to tail.

Norris took back second place from Verstappen on lap 13 with the Dutch driver making no attempt to defend against the quicker McLaren and pitting on the next lap for new tyres.

Verstappen took the lead again on lap 23 after Piastri pitted. Norris made his first stop on lap 21 and came out behind the Red Bull, but that lasted only until Verstappen pitted for a second time on lap 30.

Verstappen came in for a third stop on lap 47, and Norris pitted a lap later to defend second place.

A safety car was deployed on lap 55 after rookie driver Kimi Antonelli beached his Mercedes in the gravel, bunching up the field and triggering a rash of pit stops.

The McLarens came in together for new tyres, double-stacking, and comfortably resumed ahead of Verstappen, who questioned the switch to a set of hards but was told that was the only option available.

The next round of the 2025 season will be the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on June 15.

Before the madcap final laps, Verstappen had pressured the McLarens throughout with Red Bull’s strategy.

The Dutchman took second place from Norris into the first corner, after the Briton made a slow start but, after initially pressuring Piastri on the first lap, the McLaren began to pull away as Verstappen started to struggle with his tyres.

Soon, Norris was on Verstappen’s tail and passed him on lap 13, using the DRS overtaking aid down the main straight, and Verstappen made his first stop on the following lap.

McLaren stuck to their two-stop guns, leaving Norris and Piastri out for a further seven and eight laps.

When Verstappen stopped again on lap 29, McLaren knew he was on a three-stop strategy. He soon regained the third place he had lost to Leclerc and began closing on the McLarens in front of him.

Norris, about three to four seconds back from Piastri most of the time, held Verstappen four seconds behind.

And when the Red Bull pitted for the third time on lap 47, McLaren responded with first Norris and then Piastri on subsequent laps.

After the pit stops, the three were running nose to tail, but Piastri began to edge away from Norris, who likewise distanced himself from Verstappen before the safety car intervened.

Behind Russell, Nico Hulkenberg scored a great result for Sauber by passing Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari for fifth place after the restart.

Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took seventh from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and Fernando Alonso fought back from running off track into the gravel in the first stint – after locking up a front brake into Turn Five – to claim his first points of the season with ninth place, ahead of Verstappen.

Federal prosecutors in the US will not seek the death sentence for Joaquin Guzman Lopez if he is found guilty at trial, court documents show.

Federal prosecutors in the United States said they will not seek the death penalty for the son of Mexican drug lord “El Chapo” if he is found guilty of multiple drug trafficking charges when he goes on trial.

According to media reports, federal prosecutors in Chicago filed a one-sentence notice on May 23, saying they would not seek the death penalty for Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman – the former leader of Mexico’s feared Sinaloa Cartel who is serving a life sentence in a US prison.

The notice did not offer any explanation for the decision by the federal prosecutors, or further details.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 38, was indicted in 2023 along with three of his brothers – known as the “Chapitos”, or little Chapos – on US drug trafficking and money laundering charges after assuming leadership of their father’s drug cartel when “El Chapo” was extradited to the US in 2017.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s lawyer said in an email to The Associated Press news agency on Tuesday that he was pleased with the federal prosecutors’ decision, “as it’s the correct one”.

“Joaquin and I are looking forward to resolving the charges against him,” Lichtman said.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez has pleaded not guilty to the five charges of drug trafficking, conspiracy and money laundering against him, one of which carries the maximum sentence of death as it was allegedly carried out on US territory.

He was taken into US custody in a dramatic July 2024 arrest alongside alleged Sinaloa Cartel cofounder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada on a New Mexico airfield.

Zambada has also pleaded not guilty. But his lawyer told the Reuters news agency that he would be willing to plead guilty if prosecutors agreed to spare him the death penalty.

Another of the brothers, Ovidio Guzman, is expected to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges against him at a court hearing in Chicago on July 9, according to court records.

“El Chapo” Guzman is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.

Reporting from Sacramento — Past efforts to repeal the death penalty in California have centered on moral or ethical objections. This year, proponents of Proposition 62, which would replace the punishment with life in prison without parole, are focusing on economics.

Prominent supporters of the measure have repeatedly pointed out that the state’s taxpayers have spent $5 billion on the executions of only 13 people in almost 40 years. Online ads have urged voters to end a costly system that “wastes” $150 million a year.

“Sometimes, something is so broken it just can’t be fixed,” a voiceover says in one commercial, as a blue-and-white china vase shatters to the ground.

“Let’s spend that money on programs that are proven to make us safer,” a crime victim pleads in another.

But as voters weigh two dueling death penalty measures on the Nov. 8 ballot — one to eliminate executions, another to speed them up — researchers are at odds over the actual costs and potential savings of each. Independent legislative analysts, meanwhile, believe Proposition 62 could save taxpayers millions, while concluding that the fiscal impact of Proposition 66’s attempt to expedite death sentences is unknown.

Death penalty cases are often the most expensive in the criminal justice system because the costs associated with capital punishment trials and the incarceration of death row offenders are vastly higher.

The expenses begin to accrue at the county level. Capital cases require two trials, one to decide the verdict and another the punishment. They require more attorneys, more investigators, more time and experts and a larger jury pool.

The costs grow as the state must pay to incarcerate inmates during a lengthy appeals process: The average cost of imprisoning an offender was about $47,000 per year in 2008-09, according to the nonpartisan state legislative analyst’s office. But housing a death row inmate can lead to an additional $50,000 to $90,000 per year, studies have found.

Paula Mitchell, a professor at Loyola Law School who is against the death penalty and has advised the Yes on Prop. 62 campaign, puts the cost of the entire death penalty system since 1978 at about $5 billion.

That figure, updated from data compiled in a 2011 report, includes 13 executions since the death penalty was reinstated through a 1978 ballot measure; it was suspended in 2006 because of legal challenges over injection protocols. The figure also includes the cost of trials, lengthy appeals and the housing of nearly 750 inmates on California’s death row.

The initial study estimated taxpayers spent $70 million per year on incarceration costs, $775 million on federal legal challenges to convictions, known as habeas corpus petitions, and $925 million on automatic appeals and initial legal challenges to death row cases.

Mitchell and other researchers said Proposition 62, which would retroactively apply life sentences to all death row defendants, would save the state most of that money.

“It is sort of a fantasy that this system is ever going to be cost efficient,” said Mitchell, who has been named the university’s executive director of the Project for the Innocent.

But proponents of Proposition 66 argue the system can be reformed. The ballot measure would designate trial courts to take on initial challenges to convictions and limit successive appeals to within five years of a death sentence. It also would require lawyers who don’t take capital cases to represent death row inmates in an attempt to expand the pool of available lawyers.

In an analysis for its proponents, Michael Genest, a former budget director for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, contends such changes would save taxpayers $30 million annually in the long run. Proposition 62, in comparison, would cost taxpayers more than $100 million due to this “lost opportunity” over a 10-year period.

But independent researchers with the legislative analyst’s office found plenty of factors could increase or reduce the chances of either ballot measure saving taxpayers money.

Overall, they found Proposition 62 was likely to reduce net state and county costs by roughly $150 million within a few years.

The actual number could be partially offset if, without the death penalty, offenders are less inclined to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence in some murder cases. That could lead to more cases going to trial and higher court costs, according to the legislative analyst’s office.

Yet over time, the state could see lower prison expenses, even with a larger and older prison population, since the costs of housing and supervising death row inmates is much higher than paying for their medical bills, analysts said.

“If Prop. 62 goes into effect, they can be housed like life-without-parole inmates, some in single and some double cells,” legislative analyst Anita Lee said. “It would fall to [the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] to do an evaluation of risks.”

Calculating the fiscal impact of Proposition 66 is much more complicated, the office found, as the measure leaves more open questions on implementation, such as how the state would staff up with additional private attorneys.

Silicon Valley is pouring millions into repealing California’s death penalty. Will it make a difference? »

Legislative analysts said the costs in the short term were likely to be higher, as the state would have to process hundreds of pending legal challenges within the new time limits. Just how much is unknown, but the actual number could be in the tens of millions of dollars annually for many years.

Also unknown, analysts said, is the proposition’s effect on the cost of each legal challenge. The limits on appeals and new deadlines could cut the expenses if they result in fewer, shorter legal filings that take less time and state resources to process.

But they could increase costs if additional layers of review are required for habeas corpus petitions, the initial legal challenges in criminal cases, and if more lawyers are needed.

Meanwhile, potential prison savings could reach tens of millions of dollars annually, depending on how the state changes the way it houses condemned inmates. Transferring male inmates to other prisons rather than housing them in single cells at San Quentin could lead to lower costs. But how much depends on how many the state can move.

Mitchell said it was “pretty much delusional” to expect Proposition 66 to ever save the state money. For that to happen, she said, California would have to execute “one person every week, 52 people a year for the next 15 years, assuming they are all guilty.”

But Kent Scheidegger, author of the proposition and legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, argued the legislative office’s numbers were skewed, while security costs for dangerous inmates would likely have to remain just as high.

“They don’t become any less dangerous if you change their sentence from death row to life without parole,” he said.

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@jazmineulloa

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