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Nov. 1 (UPI) — Berkshire Hathaway has a record-high cash reserve of $381.7 billion after increasing its third-quarter earnings by 34% from a year ago, the firm said in its quarterly report on Saturday.

Berkshire Hathaway generated $13.485 billion in revenue during the third quarter, which is a 34% increase from $10.1 billion a year earlier.

“Investment income continues to benefit from rising cash balances and relatively high, though declining, yields on cash and short-term securities,” Edward Jones analyst James Shanahan wrote after the earnings report was released, as reported by MarketWatch.

Income from insurance underwriting topped $2.37 billion during the quarter, which was a 200% increase, partly due to relatively little by way of natural disasters and other common drivers of catastrophic losses.

The Omaha, Neb.-based conglomerate’s primary insurance and reinsurance companies produced pre-tax quarterly profits after reporting losses a year ago.

Although its insurance sectors posted profits, property and casualty insurer GEICO’s underwriting profits dropped by 13% due to an increase in claim amounts, according to Bloomberg.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A and Class B shares each rose 5%in value so far in 2025, and the firm did not undertake share buybacks through the first nine months of the year, CNBC reported.

It’s also the fifth consecutive quarter in which Berkshire Hathaway did not buy back any shares, which boosted its cash reserves to its current record of $381.6 billion.

That amount exceeds the prior record of $347.7 billion, which was set during the year’s first quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway also continued its recent trend of selling more equities than it buys, with a $10.4 billion gain from equities sales.

How many fans that will be there to watch Wales this autumn remains to be seen with the current discontent surrounding the Welsh game.

There has been very little success on the field and disarray off the pitch in the past couple of years, with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) now preparing to cut a men’s professional side.

The Principality Stadium capacity is 74,500 meaning the four matches could attract 298,000 supporters in November.

A WRU statement read: “With more than 200,000 supporters expected to visit Cardiff over the four-match series, to match average attendances over the last 10 years, ticket sales are tracking well against targets for the Quilter Nations Series.

“Fans are keen to see Wales take on Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa on home turf.

“As you would expect, the All Blacks game is the best seller and Principality Stadium’s best chance of a sell-out this autumn.”

TORONTO — As Shohei Ohtani leads a wave of international baseball popularity, major league officials are working with the players’ union and LA28 officials to conclude an agreement for major league players to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

The concepts on the table include an extended Olympic break during the 2028 season, which could include an All-Star Game in San Francisco to keep baseball’s best players on the West Coast for two weeks rather than shuttling them around the country, and an Olympic baseball schedule that could start before the opening ceremony.

There is no final deal. But, for the first time over years of discussions, commissioner Rob Manfred said publicly that the owners have stopped wavering about whether to interrupt the major league season for a week so that baseball’s biggest stars can play in the Olympics.

“I am positive about it,” Manfred said Saturday at the World Series. “I think the owners have crossed the line in terms of, we’d like to do it if we can possibly make it work, but there are logistical issues that still need to be worked through.”

Manfred suggested that major leaguers participating in the Olympics might be a one-time event. Stopping the season for one week and flying players to Los Angeles, he said, would be very different than stopping the season for two weeks in 2032 and flying players to Australia.

“The chances that we’re playing in Brisbane? Difficult,” Manfred said. ‘“Way more difficult than being in L.A.”

Manfred said the World Baseball Classic would “remain our centerpiece” for international competition. With a Canadian team in the World Series, and with Ohtani as the face of the sport, ratings and merchandise sales are soaring outside the United States.

In the Olympics, Ohtani would play at Dodger Stadium.

“Shohei has just absolutely been the greatest benefit to the game you can imagine throughout the year,” Manfred said. “In the LCS, he had probably the greatest game of all time, and we are fortunate to have him here in the World Series.”

When Jerome Powell speaks, markets listen. As well they should. Powell serves as the chair of the Federal Reserve Board. As part of this role, he also leads the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets the monetary policy of the U.S.

Powell recently hinted at a monetary policy change that seems positive for the stock market. But should investors actually be worried?

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell answers reporters’ questions at the FOMC press conference on Sept.17, 2025. Official Federal Reserve Photo.

Good news for investors?

Powell spoke last week at the National Association for Business Economics conference held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of his key points in his address was an update on the status of the Fed’s “quantitative tightening” approach.

Quantitative tightening is the term used to describe when the Federal Reserve reduces the size of its balance sheet. To accomplish this goal, the Fed allows assets such as government-issued bonds to mature, or it actively sells those assets. This usually results in higher long-term interest rates, lower inflation, and a cooling down of an overheated economy.

The opposite of quantitative tightening is quantitative easing. With this approach, the Fed increases the size of its balance sheet. Quantitative easing is an expansionary policy that’s usually associated with a rising stock market.

In his recent remarks, Powell hinted that the Fed is close to ending its program of quantitative tightening. He said:

Our long-stated plan is to stop balance sheet runoff when reserves are somewhat above the level we judge consistent with ample reserve conditions. We may approach that point in coming months, and we are closely monitoring a wide range of indicators to inform this decision.

Powell always chooses his words deliberately and can often be somewhat ambiguous. However, the takeaway from his comments is that the Fed’s quantitative tightening policies could be almost over. This would seem to be good news for investors.

A more complicated picture

I chose those words deliberately and left room for ambiguity just as Powell likes to do. Why? Because there’s a more complicated picture if the Fed stops its quantitative tightening policies.

For one thing, the end of quantitative tightening doesn’t necessarily mean a return of robust quantitative easing. Some saw quantitative easing as something akin to steroids for the economy and stock market, while quantitative tightening was like a depressant. Using that analogy, discontinuing taking a depressant doesn’t boost strength in the same way as frequently taking a steroid might.

It’s also important to understand that the end of quantitative tightening could be a warning sign about the economy, and by extension, corporate earnings. The Fed doesn’t reduce the size of its balance sheet when the economy is weak. Powell’s remarks, indicating that quantitative tightening could soon taper off, might reflect significant underlying concerns by the Fed about the health of the U.S. economy, despite his seemingly positive statement last week that the economy “may be on a somewhat firmer trajectory than expected.” As the economy goes, so goes the stock market — usually.

Finally, there is a real risk that ending quantitative tightening could backfire. One of the main goals of the policy is to fight inflation. If the Fed returns to expanding its balance sheet, inflation could roar back. The effects of the Trump administration’s tariffs could add fuel to the fire, at least initially. Powell acknowledged in his speech at the National Association for Business Economics conference, “There is no risk-free path for policy as we navigate the tension between our employment and inflation goals.”

The Fed could find itself in a situation where it has to reverse tactics, which would likely create significant uncertainty for the stock market. If there’s anything investors hate, it’s uncertainty.

Should investors worry?

I think celebrating the Fed bringing its quantitative tightening policies to a halt is premature. However, it’s also too soon to worry about the potential impact on stocks from the decision.

We don’t know yet how quickly the Fed will begin increasing the size of its balance sheet. We don’t know how aggressively it will move if and when quantitative tightening comes to an end. We don’t know what else will be happening with the economy or the stock market.

What we do know, though, is that the stock market rises over the long term. Anyone with an investing time horizon measured in decades shouldn’t have anything to worry about, regardless of what the Fed does or doesn’t do in the near term.

The statistics of the last four races over the past month and a half are quite remarkable.

After the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen was 104 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the championship, and 70 adrift of Lando Norris. Now, he is 40 points behind the Australian, whose lead over his team-mate has been cut to just 14 points.

Verstappen expressed his own incredulity at what he had achieved. If someone had told him after Zandvoort this would happen, he said, “I would have told him he was an idiot.

“But we found a good way with the car. It’s simple as that. Of course, we put some upgrades on the car, but we just understood our car a bit better, where we wanted it to perform better.”

A 64-point gain in four races tells its own story, but how it has come about is just as remarkable.

McLaren trounced Red Bull through the summer races in Europe – until the Italian Grand Prix in early September, when an upgraded floor and front wing finally gave Verstappen the balance he had been craving all year.

Since then, the Red Bull has been the fastest car. Until this weekend in Austin, that could have been explained away through circuit characteristics – Monza, Baku and Singapore are all short, slow corners, and require good braking and traction.

The McLaren’s strengths are not in this area – they are in long-duration, medium-speed corners, where they crush everyone else.

But Austin is a “normal” circuit, a road course not a street circuit, not a high-speed outlier like Monza, with a good range of corners. And Verstappen won again.

There are five races left, two of them sprint events. If he keeps closing on the McLaren drivers at the rate he has been, he will win a fifth consecutive title, it’s as stark and simple as that.

Sources familiar with the mediated talks between Israel and Hamas say that progress was made on Monday, with negotiations to continue.

The first day of resumed indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt ended on a positive note, amid hopes of a potential deal to implement US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war on Gaza, multiple sources told Al Jazeera and other media outlets.

Negotiators are set to return for more discussions on Tuesday.

Sources told Al Jazeera Arabic that the meeting in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday was “positive” and that a roadmap was drawn up for how the current round of talks would continue.

The Hamas delegation told mediators that Israel’s continued bombing of Gaza poses a challenge to negotiations on the release of captives, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

The Hamas delegation included Hamas leaders Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, two negotiators who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in central Doha that killed five people last month.

Talks on day one covered the proposed exchange of prisoners and captives, a ceasefire, and humanitarian aid entering Gaza, according to Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said Trump was pushing for an early exchange of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners, in a bid to build “momentum” to implement other parts of his plan to end the Gaza war.

“The technical teams are discussing that as we speak, to ensure that the environment is perfect to release those hostages,” Leavitt said, adding that teams were “going over the list of both the Israeli hostages and also the political prisoners who will be released.”

Trump, speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, said that “we have a really good chance of making a deal”, while also noting that he still has his own “red lines”.

“But I think we’re doing very well. And I think Hamas has been agreeing to things that are very important”, Trump added.

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reporting from Washington, DC, said that Trump had not “not given any details of how he thinks the discussions are going beyond his general positive assessment.”

“The US President also was very complimentary of the joint Arab-Turkish support to keep Hamas at the bargaining table, he was complimentary of the Israeli people and of course, he was complimentary about his own special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was leading the US delegation in these negotiations,” said Jordan.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a real estate developer, is also reportedly part of the US delegation.

Egypt’s Al-Qahera News, meanwhile, confirmed that the talks were expected to continue on Tuesday, which marks two years since the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,139 people and saw about 200 people taken captive.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed at least 67,160 Palestinians and wounded 169,679 in Gaza, in a war that has been described as genocidal by a United Nations inquiry, leading genocide scholars and leading human rights groups — including Israeli non-profits.

And even as the talks were held on Monday, Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinians in attacks across Gaza, including three who were seeking humanitarian aid, according to Al Jazeera sources.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shared a social media post late on Monday, New York time, acknowledging the two year anniversary of Hamas’s “abhorrent large-scale terror attack on Israel”, on October 7, 2023.

Guterres also said that the “recent proposal” put forward by Trump “presents an opportunity that must be seized to bring this tragic conflict to an end.”

“A permanent ceasefire and a credible political process are essential to prevent further bloodshed and pave the way for peace,” the UN chief wrote.

Weather forecasts suggest Maiduguri and surrounding communities in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, are set for reduced rainfall in the coming days, offering some relief to a city haunted by last year’s Sept. 10 devastating flood.

The chance of rain, which stood at 74 per cent last week, is expected to drop to 11 per cent today, easing pressure on the city’s fragile drainage systems and flood-prone neighbourhoods. ​According to AccuWeather, scattered showers are still expected, but without the intensity that typically triggers flash floods.

For residents, however, the reassurance is tempered by painful memories. Nearly half of Maiduguri was affected last year, with at least 150 lives lost, according to the National Emergency Management Agency, and over 400,000 people displaced. Critical infrastructure was damaged, livelihoods destroyed, and many survivors are still struggling to recover. 

The improved forecast offers hope, but Maiduguri’s long history of flooding means residents remain wary. Last year’s calamity was not caused solely by rainfall but by inadequate infrastructure, blocked drainage systems, and the dam’s failure. HumAngle reported extensively on the series of events that led to the flood. 

Babagana Zulum, the state governor, who visited the Alau Dam recently, assured residents that water levels are now stable after controlled releases since July.

“Based on current engineering analysis, there is no cause for alarm,” he told journalists.

Yet not everyone is convinced. Timothy Olanrewaju, a resident who was affected by last year’s flood, said the government’s assurance should be taken with a grain of salt.

“We can’t assume that just because the rain is easing compared to last month that we won’t experience flooding,” he said. “Two communities, 505 Housing Estate and Fori Layout, were flooded last weekend, even though there was no heavy rainfall in the city. The Ngada River simply overflowed its banks, and the water made its way into those communities.”

Like many residents, Timothy said he has yet to replace most of the items he lost in the last flood. “Even my car, which was submerged in the water for over a week, is still in terrible shape. I’ve spent a lot of money on it, but it’s not fully repaired,” he said, adding that he is still traumatised. 

“Every time I hear the sound of rain, I start to panic, thinking the flood is coming. A few days ago, I learned that some communities in the city were flooded, and it made me anxious. I began to worry that we would experience the same things we did last year.”

Residents take precaution

In the absence of certainty, some communities are taking matters into their own hands. At the State Low-cost Estate, one of the hardest-hit areas last year, residents have begun desilting their clogged drains during environmental sanitation exercises.

“We were blamed for the flooding we face here because of blocked drainage,” said Abdulkareem Mai Modu, a resident of the estate. “So, in order not to take any chances, we decided to pool our resources and clear all our waterways to avoid any disaster.”

Others, like automobile mechanic Yahaya Garba, remain displaced. ​“We are still taking temporary abodes at the homes of our relatives. I hope there will be a permanent solution to this annual calamity that comes to our homes,” he said. Yahaya’s home in Bulunkutu is still submerged from the recent excessive rainfall.

In the 505 Housing Estate, where floodwaters recently breached perimeter fences, resident Babagana Wakil described wading through knee-deep water.

​“Many residents to relocate as quickly as possible,” he said.

“The government needs to step up and ensure they monitor the flow of water and, when they see danger, pass on information to residents as quickly as possible so people can evacuate from flood-prone areas,” Timothy added.

Indian leader’s remarks follow Trump reaffirming their personal friendship and downplaying his earlier remarks about ‘losing India’ to China.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says ties with the United States remain “very positive”, after US President Donald Trump reaffirmed their personal friendship and downplayed earlier remarks about “losing India” to China.

“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties,” Modi said in a statement posted on X on Saturday, adding that India and the US “have a very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership”.

Strains have emerged between the two longtime allies after the Trump administration imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on Indian imports, accusing New Delhi of fuelling Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil.

Speculation of a deepening rift further intensified when Trump remarked on Friday that India, alongside Russia, seems to have been “lost” to China. This came after Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a security summit in China.

Earlier this week, Xi hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries – including Modi and Putin – for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. It was Modi’s first visit to China in seven years, signalling a thaw between the two Asian powers.

“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote in a social media post, with a photo of Modi alongside Xi and Putin.

When asked by reporters later on Friday about his remarks, Trump downplayed his earlier statement, saying he did not think the US had lost India to China.

“I don’t think we have,” he said. “I’ve been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil, as you know, from Russia. And I let them know that.”

Trump insisted that he “will always be friends with Modi”, adding that “India and the United States have a special relationship“. “There is nothing to worry about,” he said.

Since his first term in office, Trump and Modi, both right-wing populists, have shared a strong bond.

But recently, Trump also appeared irritated at New Delhi as he sought credit for what he said was Nobel Prize-worthy diplomacy for brokering peace between Pakistan and India following the worst conflict in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.

India, which adamantly rejects any third-party mediation on Kashmir, has since given the cold shoulder to Trump on the matter.

Trump has also been frustrated at his inability to convince Russia and Ukraine to reach an end to their war, more than three years after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

BY rights, I shouldn’t really be talking to The Black Keys duo, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney.

But here they are on a Zoom call with me to discuss their thirteenth studio album, No Rain, No Flowers.

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The 11 tracks are coming kicking and screaming into the sunlight earlier than expected — and for good reason.

Last September, The Black Keys were supposed to start a North American arena tour in support of their previous album, Ohio Players, noted for songs written with Noel Gallagher and Beck.

But, to their dismay, the dates were scrapped, prompting the pair to fire their management team.

Without going into detail, Auerbach says: “The first thing I wanted to do was kill somebody and the second thing I wanted to do was kill somebody.”

Carney adds: “I don’t want to get into it too much because we’ve gotten letters telling us not to talk about it by one of the most powerful people in the music industry.

“We got f***ed by the person who was supposed to be looking out for us.

“So, because of some bad advice, we were left with no plans for the summer. We had to take one on the chin.”

The situation was a rare mis-step in The Black Keys’ upward trajectory, which stretches back nearly 25 years.

Starting out in a dingy basement in Akron, Ohio, childhood friends Auerbach and Carney took their exhilarating mix of bluesy garage rock to the world stage, drawing on soul, hip hop, psychedelia, you name it, along the way.

Their new album, however, is the product of unplanned time on their hands. Still smarting from losing their tour, they convened at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio in his adopted hometown of Nashville — and set about turning adversity into triumph.

‘Reminder of the power of our music’

“We realised that maybe we’d better do something positive with this free time,” says the singer/guitarist.

“So we dove head first into working with people we’d never met and trying things we’d never tried before as a band. Ultimately, it really helped us.”

For drummer Carney, it was a natural reaction to what had happened.

“When Dan and I are not on the road, we’re in the studio,” he says.

“So we thought, ‘Let’s just get back in there and reboot’.”

One thing that remains undiminished is the cast-iron bond between Auerbach and Carney.

The latter affirms: “We’ve been doing this together for almost 25 years — from the struggle to the big s**t.

We got f***ed… so we thought we should do something positive

Carney

“Dealing with being broke, dealing with getting money, headlining Coachella, dealing with getting married, getting divorced, having kids, we’ve been through it all.

“As screwed up as last year was, it had very little to do with us so we got back on it, to prove to ourselves what we can do.”

As we speak, The Black Keys have been back on tour — on this side of the Atlantic.

Carney says it can be “brutal chasing the festivals, sleeping on the bus or in hotel rooms.

“But getting out here and getting in front of these crowds has been the biggest reminder of the power of our music.

“Seeing the fans flip out has helped us to get our heads out of music-business bulls*t and back into what it’s all about”.

Auerbach agrees: “The show in London [at Alexandra Palace] was the biggest headliner we’ve ever played.

“It was great after the year we had. Whatever happens, we know the fans are still there for us.”

Another thrill was playing Manchester’s Sounds Of The City festival two days before the first Oasis homecoming gig at the city’s Heaton Park.

“The atmosphere was electric. Our audience was so up for it,” says Auerbach.

Noel and Liam are both incredible — we’re really happy for them

Auerbach

He credits Oasis with lifting the mood. “I feel like they’ve transformed the continent. We’ve never seen anything like it.”

And he couldn’t resist visiting the Oasis Adidas store. “I had one of the black soccer jerseys made — Oasis on the front and AUERBACH on the back. Had to do it, man, they’re the kings.”

It was in 2023 that The Black Keys visited Toe Rag Studios in Hackney, East London, to write three songs with Noel Gallagher, who they describe as “the chord lord”.

Auerbach says: “It was amazing. We just sat in a circle with our instruments and we worked things up from nowhere.

“Not too long after that we played a song with Liam [in Milan] and hung out with him afterwards. He gave us some really good advice about our setlist.

“Noel and Liam are both incredible — we’re really happy for them.”

‘We’d never written with a piano player’

We return to the subject of their new album, No Rain, No Flowers, which involved a new approach for The Black Keys.

Instead of big-name guests like Noel and Beck and, before them, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, they turned to acclaimed songwriters — the unsung heroes — for their collaborative process.

They welcomed into their world Rick Nowels (Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Lana Del Rey), Scott Storch (Dr Dre, Nas) and Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves).

Auerbach had encountered Nowels while producing Lana Del Rey’s 2014 third album Ultraviolence and had long been impressed with his keyboard skills.

He says: “We’d never written with a piano player before. After 20-plus years in the band, it was cool to try something new in the studio.”

Carney adds: “The way we worked with each one of these people was completely different.

“With Daniel, for instance, we’d start with a jam session. With Rick, it was all about getting the title of the song.”

And Auerbach again: “Scott’s all about instrumentation. He didn’t want to think about the words. He just lets you do that stuff afterwards.”

One of the co-writes with Nowels is the life-affirming title track which begins the album.

With lines like, “Baby, the damage is done/It won’t be long ’til we’re back in the sun”, you could be forgiven for thinking it reflects on the band’s recent woes.

Auerbach says it does, but only up to a point. “It started with the title and we built it from there.

“We tend to shy away from diary-type songs. It gives us ‘the ick’ when it sounds like somebody’s reading from their diary.

“But there’s a lot of truth in the song. It’s us trying to be positive, which maybe wasn’t how we were feeling.

“It was a nice thought to write a positive anthem but still have blood in the eye.”

If The Black Keys’ go-to sound has been the blues, this album is remarkable for its funky, airy and soulful vibe.

Auerbach says: “We were heavily influenced by soul growing up, maybe more than anything, and it really shows.

“With us, it’s all about the feel. When we started out, we didn’t know what the hell we were doing, but we knew when it felt right.”

Another strong touchstone has been hip-hop, which is why Auerbach and Carney are thrilled to have worked with Scott Storch, another dazzling keyboard player, who started out in the Roots and went on to work with Dr Dre, 50 Cent, Beyonce and Nas.

“We are a product of where we were raised,” affirms Auerbach. “We grew up in the golden age of hip- hop. That’s what pop music was for us.

“The first time I heard the Geto Boys was at the middle- school dance and it affected us.

That’s the s**t on those blues records I love so much. You hear Son House grunting when he’s playing slide guitar

Auerbach

“But then my mom’s family played bluegrass — I would listen to my uncles sing. And when The Stanley Brothers sing, it’s white soul music. I love it all.”

As for Storch, Auerbach continues: “We’ve obsessed over videos of him since we were in high school. Seeing him play all the parts of his hits makes our jaws hit the floor.

‘You can hear Scott physically grunting’

“The idea of getting him in the studio seemed crazy because he seemed like a larger-than-life figure.”

Auerbach was mesmerised by Storch when he arrived at Easy Eye Sound.

He says: “Scott’s a real player, an absolute musical savant. As a hip-hop producer, he tends to spend 99.9 per cent of the time in the control room.

“But we have all these acoustic pianos, harpsichords and analogue synthesisers. He was in heaven, and so were we watching him go from keyboard to keyboard.

“On Babygirl, he’s on an acoustic piano with microphones and you can hear him physically grunting in time with his playing. That’s got to be a first for Scott Storch on record.

“That’s the s**t on those blues records I love so much. You hear Son House grunting when he’s playing slide guitar.”

The No Rain, No Flowers album is loaded with hook-laden songs — the exhilarating rocker Man On A Mission, the psychedelic Southern rock swirl of A Little Too High.

One explanation for their eclectic approach is The Black Keys’ regular Record Hang in Nashville, which involves Auerbach and Carney hosting all-vinyl DJ dance parties.

For these, they scour online marketplaces and record shops for obscure but revelatory old 45s.

Carney explains: “We end up exposing ourselves to thousands of songs that somehow we’ve never heard.

“It’s really cool to be so deep into our career and uncovering all this incredible music. It’s totally reinvigorating — particularly when one of us finds a record that the other hasn’t heard and it’s a banger.” So check out Carney’s discovery Nobody Loves Me But My Mama by Johnny Holiday, which he describes as “f*ing insane — psychobilly fuzz rock”.

Then there’s Auerbach’s fave, Yeah Yeah by Blackrock, “a rare 45 instrumental which rearranged our minds. It still hits like crazy”.

We just fell right into it, started playing it and luckily we were recording

Auerbach

With The Black Keys, you always get a sense of passion for their craft, and for other people’s.

Auerbach says: “Pat and I were talking about this earlier — music can hypnotise you. You can use it for good or for evil. It’s a very powerful tool.”

And Carney: “It’s my biggest passion and it has been since I was 11.

‘Sensitive about what we listen to’

“I also think about the delicate balance you need when you do it for a living. You’re taking the thing you love the most but you never want to ruin it for yourself.

“Dan and I are very sensitive about what we listen to. We were at a music festival in a spot in between seven stages. It sounded horrible. I said, ‘This is the kind of thing that could make me hate music’.”

Finally, we talk about another of their own songs, the sublime, festival-primed anthem Neon Moon, which closes No Rain, No Flowers.

Written with Daniel Tashian, Auerbach modestly calls it a “first-take jam” but that doesn’t really do it justice.

“I think it just started with the ‘neon moon’ lyric,” he says. “We just fell right into it, started playing it and luckily we were recording.”

As the song gets into its stride, he sings: “Don’t let yourself get down too long.”

It’s a line that The Black Keys have taken to heart.

THE BLACK KEYS

No Rain, No Flowers

★★★★☆

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Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit suspend Ruth Chepngetich after record marathon runner’s positive doping test.

Women’s marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been provisionally suspended for a positive doping test.

Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said on Thursday that Chepngetich tested positive for a banned diuretic and masking agent in March and “opted for a voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU’s investigation was ongoing.”

The Kenyan runner set the world record by almost two minutes at the Chicago Marathon last October in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds. It was her third win in Chicago.

She also won the marathon at the 2019 world championships in Qatar, where the women’s race started at midnight to avoid extreme daytime heat.

The AIU gave no timetable for a disciplinary case for the 30-year-old runner.

Chepngetich was interviewed in person in Kenya in April and “complied with requests regarding our investigation”, AIU official Brett Clothier said in a statement.

The substance Chepngetich tested positive for, hydrochlorothiazide or HCTZ, can be used to disguise the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

July 11 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Friday in his first trip to Asia since his appointment to the cabinet post.

Rubio and Wang spoke for about an hour while at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rubio told reporters it was a “very constructive, positive meeting” and said there is more the two countries could work on together.

He hinted at a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said the odds for that meeting are high, and “I don’t have a date for you, but I think it’s coming.”

At the meeting, Rubio has been working to try to shore up support for United States policies on trade with China. Wang has been pushing Southeast Asian nations to resist American pressure and lean on Beijing.

During the meeting, Rubio emphasized the importance of keeping channels of communication open, and they agreed to explore areas of potential cooperation, while seeking to manage differences, according to State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

“The Secretary emphasized the need for continued discussion on a range of bilateral issues. The Secretary also raised other issues of regional and global importance,” she said in a press release.

Trump has made new tariff threats on Southeast Asian nations, angering the foreign leaders at the conference, including the host country Malaysia. Japan and South Korea are also facing the threats, which cast doubt on Rubio’s efforts.

Wang met with a Bangladeshi official on Friday and said it was unreasonable and unethical for the U.S. to put 35% tariffs on Bangladesh, which is one of the least developed in the world. China has warned countries that they would face consequences if they worked with the U.S. to impede Chinese exports.

“China has always been the most reliable stabilizing force in a turbulent world and the most reliable partner” for Southeast Asian countries, Wang said on Thursday at a meeting with the region’s diplomats.

Palestinian group Hamas says it has given a “positive” response to a United States-brokered proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, raising hopes of a possible breakthrough in halting Israel’s deadly offensive.

US President Donald Trump earlier announced a “final proposal” for a 60-day truce in the nearly 21-month-old war, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in the coming hours.

Hamas said late on Friday that the group had submitted its reply to Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating the talks.

“The movement [Hamas] has delivered its response to the brotherly mediators, which was characterised by a positive spirit. Hamas is fully prepared, with all seriousness, to immediately enter a new round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework,” a statement by the group said.

Trump said earlier this week that Israel had accepted the main conditions of a proposed 60-day truce, during which time negotiations would aim to permanently end the war. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly endorse the plan.

Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes in Gaza, is expected to meet Trump in Washington on Monday.

According to Israeli media reports early on Saturday, Israeli government officials had received Hamas’s official response to the latest ceasefire proposal framework and were reviewing its contents.

Details from the proposed deal

According to a translated copy of the framework shared with Al Jazeera, the deal would include a 60-day truce, guaranteed by Trump, with a phased release of Israeli captives and increased humanitarian aid.

The proposed exchange includes the release of 10 living and 18 deceased Israeli captives from the “List of 58”. Releases would occur on days one, seven, 30, 50, and 60 – beginning with eight live captives on the first day.

Under the plan, aid would flow into Gaza immediately following Hamas’s approval, in quantities comparable to the January 2025 agreement. Distribution would be handled by agencies including the United Nations and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

As part of the proposed Gaza ceasefire framework, all Israeli military operations would stop once the agreement takes effect, Al Jazeera has learned.

The deal includes a pause in military and surveillance flights over Gaza for 10 hours each day – or 12 hours on days when captives and prisoners are exchanged.

Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would begin on day one under the supervision of mediators. Talks would cover a full exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners, Israeli troop withdrawal, future security arrangements, and “day-after” plans for Gaza.

‘Much-awaited response’

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said the Hamas response was “much-awaited, much-anticipated”, with anxious besieged Palestinians asking when it would come.

“We don’t know whether this response … is going to bring an end to the ongoing killings … or the presence of the [Israeli] drones,” he said.

Heavy shelling and gunfire continue near food distribution points, and uncertainty remains over whether serious negotiations will lead to relief.

“None of this is clear right now,” Mahmoud added, “but at least it’s a first step.”

Trump, speaking early on Friday, said he expected clarity from Hamas “over the next 24 hours”.

He added, “We hope it’s going to happen. And we’re looking forward to it happening sometime next week. We want to get the hostages out.”

Israel pushing for side deal with Trump

Despite Hamas’s endorsement, the group has reportedly sought guarantees that the proposed truce would lead to a permanent end to Israel’s war and prevent Tel Aviv from resuming attacks at will.

According to two Israeli officials quoted by the Reuters news agency, details of the proposal are still under negotiation. Meanwhile, Israel is said to be pressing Trump for written assurances that it can resume operations if its key demands – Hamas disarmament and the exile of its leadership – are not met.

Israeli broadcaster Channel 14, citing a senior political source, reported earlier this week that the deal includes a side letter from Trump granting Israel the authority to “renew the fire” should Hamas fail to comply. The document would allow Israel to determine whether the terms had been fulfilled.

Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that any Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza must be dismantled as a precondition for peace – an issue that remains a major sticking point.

A previous two-month truce ended when Israeli strikes killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18 and led to what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called “the cruellest phase of a cruel war”. More than 6,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel broke the truce.

Overall, Israeli forces have killed at least 57,268 Palestinians and wounded more than 130,000 since October 7, 2023.

Smith has been a resounding success since taking over at Glasgow in 2022.

He led the club to the European Challenge Cup final in his first season, delivered an extraordinary United Rugby Championship title success in his second, and while injuries took a toll last season, Warriors still reached the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and the last four in the URC.

Smith has been linked with other jobs throughout the season – most notably the vacant Wales head coach position – and has done little to quell talk that he is seeking a fresh challenge.

“We really like all three coaches we have got on the men’s side and we would really like to retain them,” Williamson said.

“So those conversations are ones I am having now and will continue over the coming weeks. But when it comes to Franco specifically, he is a fantastic coach. He has done an absolutely incredible job and I really, really hope that he will be staying.

“I am actually delighted that he is getting approached and that people are talking about him as being a coach for other people because we want the best coaches in Scotland and it would be frankly pretty disappointing if no one was talking about someone as high quality as him.

“I think that we offer a consistency and a clarity of plan that he will be brilliant in and I am really hopeful that he will be with us.”

Smith is viewed by many as an obvious replacement for Townsend, but Williamson insists such succession planning has not been discussed.

“I don’t think that we necessarily should be looking at our coaching group and saying that we are creating the bench if you like to replace gaps when they arise at any level,” he said.

“I think that we just want to make sure in that moment that we recruit the person who is very best for that role.

“When we are thinking about how we create a pathway that is going to result in us being highly competitive in 2031 and 2035, or 2029 and 2033 for the ladies, we absolutely have to nail that in terms of the continuity around our coaching because that is what is going to breed confidence in our players.

“Having Franco here is an important part of that. But equally, I think Sean Everett has done a brilliant job at the back end of the season. I think he is very proud of the way that team grew and I am excited to see how he goes with a very young player group next year.”

British number two Katie Boulter says she’s had “hundreds of messages” containing “love” and “appreciation” since BBC Sport published an article where she shared the abusive messages she receives on social media.

Boulter agreed to sit down with BBC Sport to provide unprecedented insight into the volume and nature of abuse received by players, including sharing screenshots of her private inbox.

READ MORE: Tennis player Boulter reveals scale of online abuse

Crystal Palace’s Justin Devenny said he relished the challenge of playing a new position for Northern Ireland in their 2-1 friendly defeat by Denmark on Saturday.

The game in Copenhagen saw manager Michael O’Neill pick the 21-year-old to start at wing-back for the first time at international level.

Devenny, who won the FA Cup with Oliver Glasner’s side this season, performed admirably throughout, creating Northern Ireland’s early goal while also managing the threat posed by Lazio’s Gustav Isaksen.

“It was a new position for me but I enjoyed it and wherever I play for the team I’m willing to do a shift,” he said of what was his fourth cap.

“Michael had told me he was thinking of playing me there and we did a few bits and bobs in training. To be fair, I’m familiar with it from Palace as well.

“I know the roles and responsibilities of it and it’s just putting that into place.”

O’Neill has previously played the right-footed Brodie Spencer on the left side of his backline with the Huddersfield Town man performing well in recent internationals.

The manager thought that Devenny’s comfort on the ball gave his side a “nice outlet” at Parken Stadium.

“I thought he did really well,” O’Neill said.

“He’s got his hands full against a winger that obviously causes you a lot of problems. Justin’s a midfield player but he’s left-sided and I thought he dealt with it very, very well.

“He gave us a nice outlet on the left-hand side as well in terms of his use of the ball, so he was a big, big positive.”

Major League Baseball has been trying for years to increase the number of Black players participating in the sport, creating such programs as the Compton Youth Academy and the DREAM Series. There were 59 Black players on opening day MLB rosters, a slight increase from the previous year but far from the numbers in the 1980s.

St. John Bosco’s baseball team, which plays for a Southern Section Division 1 championship on Friday against Santa Margarita at Cal State Fullerton, offers hope for the future with five Black players in the starting lineup.

“Definitely something to be proud of,” center fielder Miles Clark said.

The sports of football and basketball have been taking away Black athletes, but St. John Bosco’s group of Clark, his twin brother James, Noah Everly, Jaden Jackson and Macade Maxwell have embraced baseball and put themselves in position to pursue college baseball and beyond.

Each player offers speed and athleticism. Maxwell had an RBI single in the semifinals against Seth Hernandez of Corona. James Clark and Everly lead the team in hitting at .394 and .347, respectively. St. John Bosco won its first Trinity League title since 2017 and is 24-5. …

Santa Margarita is much improved after getting players back from injuries, so ignore the fact it has 12 losses. Carter Enoch came back to add hitting to the Eagles’ lineup and Brennan Bauer has been the winning pitcher in all four playoff games. Seventeen seniors are graduating at 10 a.m. at the Honda Center.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].