Watch highlights as Warrington Wolves earn a thrilling narrow Super League semi-final win over Leeds Rhinos to reach their first Grand Final for eight years.
“I’ve not whinged or complained the whole time I’ve been here. I’m extremely proud of our team and our club and players.
“I don’t know what more we could have really done. We got a couple of bits and pieces wrong but so did they. It just would have been really nice if the game was decided by an individual or a piece of skill.
“We’re talking about a field goal or something like that rather than a soft penalty to decide such a big game. It is a soft penalty.
“Ned got escorted four or five times tonight on kicks and I wasn’t expecting penalties for them. But that’s a soft penalty to decide such a big game.”
Warrington Wolves captain George Williams told BBC Radio Merseyside:
“Nerve-wracking, mad game, just pleased we’ve came through the other side.
“Credit to Leeds, they gave it a good crack. They’ve been a great team all year but we rode the waves and the main thing is we’re through to the big dance next week.
“They were probably dominant for the first 20 [minutes], we came home strong in the back end [of the first half]. It’s no good for the nerves but sometimes it’s better when you’re out there, you can do something about it.”
[On earning the match-winning penalty] “People think it might be a bit controversial but I was chasing the ball and I got a little nudge. I was off balance and nowadays, with the escorts, they give them. Luckily, it went to us and that was the game.”
Leeds: F. McCormack; Lumb, N. McCormack, Newman, Hall; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, O’Connor, Lodge, Watkins, McDonnell, Palasia.
Great Britain’s Chantelle Reid and Damar Thomas will fight for gold at the European Boxing Championships after semi-final victories on Wednesday.
Reid defeated Serbia’s Milena Matovic 3-2 in her light-middleweight semi-final, while Thomas triumphed 5-0 over Azerbaijan’s Mahammad Abdullayev in the men’s super-heavyweight competition.
Team-mates Callum Makin and Dimeji Shittu are also guaranteed medals in the men’s middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions respectively after victories in their quarter-finals.
Reid, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist, was behind after the first round against Matovic, but she was the unanimous winner of the second and did enough in the third to seal victory at Asics Arena Sports Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria.
“It was a really good bout. She’s a really good girl and I hope we get to share the ring again one day,” said Reid.
“On to the next. Each bout’s gone better, each opponent’s gotten better and I’ll be boxing the best out of the weight category in two days’ time.”
The 28-year-old will face Busenaz Surmeneli in the final on Friday, after the Turkish boxer defeated Russia’s Nadezhda Golubeva 3-2.
Thomas, the 21-year-old Commonwealth gold medal winner, will face Russia’s David Surov in Friday’s final after the Russian also completed a 5-0 victory over Austria’s Ahmed Hagag.
Shittu, who had to settle for Commonwealth Games silver in August after a controversial defeat by India’s Ankush Panghal, made sure of a European medal with a 5-0 win against Austria’s Lucky Aimufua.
The 24-year-old will fight Russia’s Cheerav Ashalaev on Thursday for a place in the final.
“My first performance wasn’t the best, but that’s what I’m like, I go back to the drawing board and showed what I’m really capable of,” said Shittu.
“Credit to my opponent. He was game, he was strong, but ultimately skills paid the bills, booked me a place in the semi-finals and a guaranteed medal.
“Last time I brawled, now I want to show that I can box. And the end of the day it’s hit or not get hit. So I went out there, put on a show. Got the medal, let’s go change that colour.”
Makin, a bronze medallist at last year’s World Boxing Championships, won 3-2 against Armenia’s Marat Mikaelyan.
The 22-year-old will face Azerbaijan’s Saidjamshid Jafarov in Thursday’s semi-final.
The remainder of Great Britain’s fighters experienced defeat on Wednesday, with Lauren Mackie and Amy Broadhurst both losing in the quarter-finals.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mackie lost 5-0 to Lenka Bernadova of the Czech Republic in the women’s bantamweight division, while Broadhurst was beaten 4-1 by France’s Sthelyne Grosy in the women’s lightweight.
Abdul Burton also represents Britain on Thursday, facing Turkey’s Semih Gumus in the men’s super-bantamweight semi-finals.
He and Shittu compete in the session starting at 11:30 BST, while Makin’s bout with Jafarov is among the fights scheduled from 16:00.
Great Britain will play in November’s Davis Cup Finals as Henry Patten and Neal Skuspki won their doubles match to give the nation an unassailable 3-0 lead in their qualifying tie against Ecuador.
Toby Samuel and Arthur Fery both triumphed in their singles matches at a sold-out Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday to get Britain off to a winning start in the best-of-five tie.
Patten and Skupski then took to the court on Sunday and booked Britain’s ticket to the ‘Final Eight’ event in Bologna at the earliest opportunity with a 6-3 6-4 win over Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.
“We’re feeling great,” said Patten in his on-court interview.
“[Captain] Leon [Smith] was giving us the team talk and saying we needed to be ready for the singles so we’re very, very happy to get it done on the first match.”
Great Britain had not reached the knockout stage of the Davis Cup since 2023 and, even against underdogs Ecuador, there were doubts if captain Leon Smith could end that run given his inexperienced team in London.
Smith was then dealt a late blow when British number two Cameron Norrie pulled out on Friday after feeling pain in his arm during a practice session.
However, Samuel – after a breakthrough season that has seen him rise from outside the world’s top 250 to 95th in the rankings – stepped up on his Davis Cup debut.
Just weeks after winning his first Grand Slam match at the US Open, the 24-year-old overcame nerves and fought back from a set down to beat Andres Andrade 4-6 6-4 6-1.
Fery, meanwhile, was making just his second Davis Cup appearance as the British number one claimed an assured 7-5 6-0 win over Alvaro Guillen Meza.
And with world number one Patten and new US Open champion Skupski to call upon for Sunday’s doubles rubber, victory seemed to be well within Britain’s grasp.
The pair, despite not playing together on the ATP Tour, combined effortlessly and did not face a single break point against the Ecuadorians.
“I made my debut in 2019 with all the other guys like Jamie Murray, Andy Murray, Evo [Dan Evans] and now I guess I am the oldest in the team,” said 36-year-old Skupsi, who was making his 16th Davis Cup appearance.
“It’s been amazing to be back with the team, it’s been a big 18 months and it’s such an honour to play for your county, especially in front of a home crowd like you guys coming out to support – it’s been amazing.”
WASHINGTON: The IMF said the global economy had weathered the energy shock caused by the war in the Middle East better than feared and global economic output was still expected to expand by about 3 percent in 2026, but it cautioned that risks remained high.
Julie Kozack, spokesperson for the International Monetary Fund, said oil and gas prices remained elevated and the energy shock from the war was not over.
Global debt pressures were also mounting and the disinflation process over the 2022 cost-of-living crisis had stalled.
Global inflationary expectations have risen but remain well-anchored over the longer run, Kozack told a regular IMF briefing.
“So far, despite six months of war in the Middle East, the global economy has been resilient,” Kozack said, adding that the use of oil and gas reserves had allowed some countries to cope with energy shocks caused by the war, while others had shifted to new energy sources or acted to curb demand.
“We remain on track for world growth of around 3 percent but uncertainty, as we’ve been saying for quite some time, continues to remain high,” she said.
At the time, it said that forecast assumed the war would wind down in mid-July, but Iran and the US have both escalated their attacks and the war has widened with increased military activity in Yemen.
The global lender will release an updated forecast during the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Bangkok from Oct. 12 to 18.
Pulled in opposite directions
Kozack said the global economy was being pulled in opposite directions by the negative energy supply shock that was driving prices of energy, fertilizers, food and other commodities sharply higher, while the AI-led technology cycle was providing a positive demand shock.
Risks remain high, with many countries needing to restock their oil and gas reserves, and energy demands set to rise as winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, she said.
Pressures are also mounting on global public debt, which is already at nearly 100 percent of gross domestic product — the highest level since World War Two — and is set to rise further, Kozack said. Many advanced economies have particularly high public-debt-to-GDP ratios.
Liquidity problems are also building in developing countries, including in Africa, partly due to a reduction in bilateral assistance, Kozack said.
The IMF is urging central bankers to stick to their price stability mandates, while encouraging fiscal policymakers to develop medium-term consolidation plans, she said.
“We’re not in a situation where fiscal consolidation needs to take place overnight, but having a clear, laid-out plan and strategy for how deficits and debt are going to come down is very important for fiscal authorities,” Kozack said.
The IMF was also urging authorities to focus on lifting growth prospects through structural reforms and removing “self-inflicted” barriers to growth, she said.
Kozack said the IMF would look closely at the impact of new US sanctions against Iran, including secondary sanctions aimed at firms in third countries that support Tehran.
A fuller report was expected in the upcoming global outlook, she said.
EXCLUSIVE: A contestant on The Jury has revealed just how difficult it was for the group to reach a verdict in the latest episode
The Jury star shared the extraordinary difficulty of reaching a verdict(Image: Channel 4)
A man who appeared on The Jury has opened up on ‘most difficult’ deliberation yet.
The contestant took part in the Channel 4 hit show and explained the extraordinary difficulty of reaching a verdict as the gripping series heads towards its final episode.
Speaking to The Daily Mirror about the experience, he said it was “probably one of the most challenging deliberations and claimed it was the most difficult the jurors had faced across the series so far.
James added, “I know for a fact out of 2 seasons previously, it was probably the most difficult of deliberations so far, and I suppose we really, really struggled to come to a decision.”
His comments come as The Jury reached the crucial stage of its four-part run, with the final episode airing on Channel 4 tonight (September 9).
The series has placed ordinary members of the public in the extraordinary position of having to decide the fate of two brothers accused of killing their stepfather.
Unlike a conventional documentary, the programme recreates a real-life murder trial using actors, with the jurors watching the evidence and arguments before being asked to reach their own verdict.
In the real case, the brothers were accused of killing their stepfather after years of alleged abuse and violence within the family home.
The Channel 4 series changed the defendants’ names, with the teenage brothers referred to as Daniel and his older brother as Luke.
The case presented the jurors with a particularly difficult question: could the brothers’ age, background, and claims of abuse alter how responsibility for the killing should be judged?
Reaching a conclusion was far from straightforward, and for James, it was even more difficult as he was voted as the jury’s foreperson.
He recalled the moment he was left feeling “really disrespected” when he was called out by a fellow juror. He said, “There was a moment where I went around all the jury members.
“I went around individually, and I asked people for their final decision, and when it came to be, quite literally, the last person to go, I was really thinking about what I was saying. And then another member of the jury, Phil, called me out, basically said, ‘Come on mate, we’ve not got all day, get a move on’”.
James added: “I just felt really disrespected because I had been voted in as the foreperson, so I had a responsibility to moderate a conversation, a really serious one of that, but also have my say at the same time.”
You can stream the new season of The Jury on Channel 4
NEW YORK: Elena Rybakina is headed to the US Open semifinals and to the top of the women’s tennis rankings.
Rybakina edged Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday, guaranteeing she will become No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
The Australian Open champion will face No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 5 Mirra Andreeva on Thursday. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.
But no matter what happens in the remaining matches, Rybakina will end Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday.
“It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament,” Rybakina said. “It’s an amazing achievement but you know how quick everything can change in tennis, ranking-wise, during the match, so I feel like I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”
Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, left, and Qinwen Zheng, of China, meet at the net after Rybakina won their match during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP)
Rybakina and Zheng were scheduled to start about eight hours after Ben Shelton finished off his victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history.
Rybakina said she struggled with the sun and shadows in Arthur Ashe Stadium early on after starting later in the day in her previous matches.
Zheng capitalized on Rybakina’s early struggles to get her only break of the match against one of the best servers in women’s tennis and take a 5-3 lead in the first set.
But Zheng, who had been playing from behind so much in Flushing Meadows, couldn’t hold onto the lead and Rybakina rolled through the second set in 38 minutes.
Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China, had to come through the qualifying tournament just to make the main draw after elbow surgery dropped her down the rankings to her current place of No. 121. Once ranked No. 4, she is guaranteed to move back into the top 60.
Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, celebrates winning a match against Qinwen Zheng, of China, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP)
She made a dramatic run to the quarterfinals, erasing a 5-0 deficit in the third set against Madison Keys in the third round and then climbing out of another 5-0 hole in the first set in her fourth-round victory over No. 8-seed Iga Swiatek.
But a double-fault gave her opponent a 5-4 lead in the third set and Rybakina served it out to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time.
“I think the wins that I had so far are great, but obviously today in the match I got a lot of chances in the third set, but I didn’t take it,” Zheng said. “That was a bit pity for me to lose this match, but obviously I could take positive things from U.S. Open this year.”
Rybakina came into the tournament needing only to reach the semifinals to ensure she would move past Sabalenka. Had the 27-year-old from Kazakhstan lost before the final four, Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff could have been No. 1 next week by winning the tournament.
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was to face Botic van de Zandschulp in one quarterfinal match Wednesday, with No. 28 Alexander Blockx playing Karen Khachenov in the other. The winners will meet Friday, the same day Shelton and No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe will square off in an all-American semifinal match.
The reported truce follows the release of 360 villagers abducted during a Boko Haram attack in northeastern Nigeria.
Published On 9 Sep 20269 Sep 2026
The Nigerian government has been involved in a secret ceasefire with Boko Haram for the past three months, according to an investigation by The New Humanitarian, in a development that could mark a rare pause in years of fighting in northeastern Nigeria.
The reported truce began in June after negotiations that secured the release of 360 civilians abducted from Ngoshe village, in the foothills of the Mandara Mountains near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, The New Humanitarian reported.
Three people with contacts among Boko Haram members, including some senior figures, independently told the organisation that the ceasefire had been in effect since June and was likely to be extended for another 40 days.
Two of the sources said attacks had stopped in communities around Ngoshe, which have repeatedly been targeted by the armed group.
Truce followed mass abduction
The 360 villagers were abducted in March during a Boko Haram attack on a nearby army base, according to The New Humanitarian.
The negotiations that led to their release reportedly included a payment of five billion naira ($3.7m) by the Nigerian government.
The alleged payment has become controversial in Nigeria, with the government denying that it paid a ransom.
The New Humanitarian said it contacted government, defence and army spokespeople to verify the reported ceasefire but received no response before publication.
Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify the reported ceasefire or the alleged payment.
The reported agreement does not include Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a rival armed group that operates in northeastern Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad region.
Fighting between Boko Haram and ISWAP has continued, according to The New Humanitarian.
Government publicly rejects talks
The reported ceasefire comes despite the Nigerian government’s public rejection of negotiations with Boko Haram, which is designated as a “terrorist organisation” by the Nigerian authorities.
President Bola Tinubu has instead focused on expanding the military’s capacity to fight armed groups. In July, he announced plans to recruit 30,000 additional personnel and create four new army divisions.
Behind the scenes, however, there have been repeated attempts to establish dialogue with Boko Haram, according to The New Humanitarian, citing security officials, diplomats and mediators familiar with previous efforts.
Those efforts have included ceasefire arrangements that eventually collapsed.
Conflict researcher Malik Samuel told The New Humanitarian that the latest reported agreement should not necessarily be interpreted as the beginning of a lasting peace process.
“It could be just a temporary, tactical ceasefire that benefits both sides, but doesn’t really affect the trajectory of the war,” Samuel said.
The current arrangement could also allow Boko Haram to strengthen its position, with two sources warning that the group could use the pause to move equipment into the Mandara Mountains, The New Humanitarian reported.
Boko Haram has carried out attacks and kidnappings in northeastern Nigeria and neighbouring countries around the Lake Chad region since 2009. The group has since fractured into several factions, while ISWAP operates as a separate and rival armed group.
New York: Frances Tiafoe rallied from two sets down — and 3-0 down in the fifth set — to edge 22-year-old Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10/6) and reach the US Open semi-finals on Tuesday.
American 11th seed Tiafoe had all he could handle from his 22-year-old compatriot, who hadn’t dropped a set in reaching the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career.
But in a match of swinging momentum shifts, Tiafoe battled back from 5-3 down in the third set and recovered an early break in the fifth to reach his third US Open semi-final in five years.
Tiafoe clinched it in the 10-point match tiebreaker after four hours and 38 minutes, Michelsen weeping in the victor’s arms as they met at the net.
Tiafoe will face either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or eighth-seeded American Ben Shelton for a place in Sunday’s championship match.
Michelsen came out swinging on Arthur Ashe Stadium against an uncharacteristically passive Tiafoe, who usually feeds on the energy of the crowd.
But when Michelsen found himself serving for the match at 5-4 in the third, his nerves betrayed him. Two double faults helped Tiafoe break back, and Tiafoe strung together seven straight games to close out the third set and seize control of the fourth.
Michelsen, who has yet to win a title on the ATP Tour, responded with an early break in the fifth set, but Tiafoe refused to fold.
“He gave me some gifts, a couple of double faults there,” Tiafoe said of his narrow escape in the third set.
“But then I slowly started to get my rhythm there, snuck out third set and slowly started playing better and better.
“But he is a hell of a player,” Tiafoe added. “He should have easily won today.”
When he had completed the comeback Tiafoe flung his arms into the air, then consoled a weeping Michelsen at the net.
“I was like, man, I know, I’ve been there,” Tiafoe told ESPN. “I know how much that hurts.”
This river was thought to be the stuff of legends – but it is very real
The river is a tributary in the Amazon rainforest(Image: Getty)
In a remote part of the Amazonian rainforest, there is a river so mired in myth that many thought it didn’t exist. However, thanks to the research and work of a celebrated geothermal scientist, the existence of the river has now been proven – and he’s fighting to protect it.
The Shanay-timpishka, commonly known as the ‘Boiling River of the Amazon’ is a tributary of the Pachitea River which flows towards the Amazon River. The river has been known to indigenous Peruvians who live in the Amazon, and it has been used for spiritual and healing rituals for centuries. They called it ‘Shanay-timpishka’ which translates to ‘boiled by the heat of the sun’.
The local Asháninka and Shipibo peoples believe the river is birthed by Yacumama, a gigantic mythical serpent thought to live in the Amazon. “a mythical enormous serpent believed to inhabit the Amazon Rainforest.”
Local shamans teach that Yacumama is the “Mother of the Waters”
Geothermal scientist Adrés Ruzo first heard of the scalding river from his grandfather who told him a legend about the Spanish conquistadors who ventured into the jungle and came back with tales of a river which boiled.
He was the first scientist permitted by the local shamans to map, study and legally help to protect the river. He travelled through the jungle in 2011, guided by his aunt and confirmed the existence of the river.
Ruzo worked to study the river, and also helped the local indigenous people secure their rights to it. The area is in massive danger from deforestation which destroys the forest and surrounding ecosystems.
Ruzo became an advocate for the ancestral people living in the region, and helped secure the legal titles to the land. He also founded the Boiling River Project – a non-profit organisation which advocates for the permanent protection of the river.
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One of the most fascinating things about this river is that it is an anomaly.
Usually, geothermal rivers and springs are heated by volcanic currents but in the case of Shanay-timpishka, the closest volcano is 700 kilometres away. Instead, the water is heated by the core of the Earth.
Rainwater seeps into the earth’s crust through fault lines where it is heated to boiling and then pushed back up into the river. At its hottest points, the river can reach close to 100°C, and boils anything which is unfortunate enough to fall in.
The river is littered with animal bones and bodies which have been cooked inside.
Tragically, it’s not only animals which have been killed by the boiling water. A Toronto woman died in 2025 after she fell into the river whilst meditating on a rock nearby.
Although Maya Moreno managed to escape from the water alive, she tragically died later in hospital after suffering burns to 70% of her body.
According to a GoFundMe for Maya, she had travelled to the river as part of a spiritual journey, and fainted beside the river which caused her to fall in.
Alcaraz said after his third-round win that he was happy with the level of fitness he had shown in the early rounds following his lengthy absence, while he demonstrated against Paul that the quality of his shot-making is as good as ever.
One sensational cross-court forehand winner early in the second set, which landed in from an almost impossible angle, was measured at 103mph.
That came shortly after Alcaraz had broken Paul’s serve in the 10th game of a tight, high-quality opening set to take it 6-4.
Paul, who was attempting to reach the quarter-finals of his home Grand Slam for the first time, battled hard throughout but Alcaraz proved to be too strong.
Paul had two break points when Alcaraz served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but the two-time US Open champion put together a run of four straight points to seal victory.
Former British number one Tim Henman told Sky Sports: “When you haven’t played tennis for four weeks, it seems a lot and you can be a bit rusty. This is four and a half months.
“If you would have given Alcaraz a blank piece of paper at the beginning of the tournament and asked how he’d want the first four matches to go, he would have scripted it exactly like that.
“He’s had a few slightly challenging moments but, in the important moments, he’s just come up with incredible tennis. That’s got to give him so much confidence moving forward.”
Later on Sunday, home hope Frances Tiafoe delighted American fans with a entertaining victory over 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev.
Tiafoe saved a set point in the third-set tie-break before wrapping up a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win moments later to maintain his perfect record on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 11th seed has won all 10 of his matches on the US Open’s secondary show court, while it is just his second win in eight appearances against Russian Medvedev.
Tiafoe, a two-time semi-finalist in New York, will face fellow American Alex Michelsen in the last eight after the 22-year-old beat Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
The match began with five successive breaks of serve – mostly due to excellent returning by both players – but it was Sabalenka who finally took charge.
Doubles specialist Townsend, who walked out wearing a long, black-feathered outfit, continued to frustrate Sabalenka and forced her to serve out the set at the second opportunity, before making the breakthrough in the second set.
But Sabalenka, aware she must lift the trophy to have a chance of retaining her number one ranking, produced an immediate reply as she broke back to love.
That signalled the start of Sabalenka’s dash to the finish line. The top seed lost just five points across the final five games to end Townsend’s challenge in 75 minutes.
Sabalenka was full of praise for Townsend, saying: “What an incredible player she is, approaching the net, a great returner, moving well, very brave.
“You can see how focused she was. It was really challenging playing her, especially here.
“Thank you so much [to the crowd] for being so respectful to me. I knew coming into this match that you guys would be on her side, but you were sometimes cheering for me and I really appreciate that.”
At home on the US Open hard courts, Sabalenka has not failed to reach the semi-finals here since 2020.
But, following a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon, she is aiming to avoid a first season without a major title since 2022.
Noskova’s sense of relief was cleared as she crouched to the ground after taking her sixth match point about an hour after earning her first.
The 21-year-old served for the match in the second set, but missed her first two match points as Kostyuk battled back from 5-3 down to force a decider.
The players exchanged breaks of serve in a tense final set, but it was Noskova who emerged, once again, with a 5-3 advantage.
Noskova failed to take her next two match points as a couple of misses helped Kostyuk to deuce, and missed her fifth after saving a break point, before finally getting over the line after an emotionally draining two and a half hours on court.
“I am more than relieved, this match was so tough, emotionally a bit more than physically,” Noskova said.
“Today was very close, it could have ended both ways. With all the chances I had in the second set, it was tough to still kind of restart.”
Carlos Alcaraz swept Wu Yibing aside to reach the US Open fourth round – and said he is getting better with every match as he continues his return from a long-term injury lay-off.
The Spaniard underlined why he remains a serious contender to defend his title in New York with a 6-3 6-4 6-1 victory over China’s Wu.
The 23-year-old’s opening-round match in Flushing Meadows was his first on a singles court for 139 days after injuring his wrist in April.
Alcaraz came through his opener in straight sets but had to battle back from a set down against Portugal’s Jaime Faria in the second round.
However, Alcaraz continued to build momentum on Friday, needing two hours and 20 minutes on court to beat Wu.
“To be honest, I’m better than I thought,” the seven-time major champion said.
“Physically I thought I was going to be bad after the first match, but I am recovering really well. I am doing great things off the court to be in a good state.
“Right now, I think my level is really good. I think I have caught the rhythm of the competition.
“Every time that I step on the court I give it all. I’m just trying to improve, be better every match and I think I’m getting there.”
American 20th seed Tommy Paul – who Alcaraz has beaten six times in a row – awaits in the fourth round.
Alcaraz’s path to an eighth major title has opened up over the past few days.
French Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up Alexander Zverev heads the men’s draw in the absence of injured world number one Jannik Sinner.
As the second seed, Alcaraz cannot meet Zverev until the final – and the German has been taken to five sets and kept on court until 2am in his two matches so far.
Novak Djokovic suffered a shock first-round exit to Argentine Mariano Navone, while Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Karen Khachanov in the second round.
As it stands, American eighth seed Ben Shelton is the only top-10 player that Alcaraz can meet before the semi-finals. He could then face seventh seed Daniil Medvedev in the last four.
Alcaraz has won all three of his meetings with Shelton and has a 6-3 winning head-to-head against Medvedev – although the inconsistent Russian beat him at Indian Wells in March.
Meanwhile, Zverev’s potential pre-final opponents include home hope Taylor Fritz and Italy’s French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli.
Teenager Stan Moody knocked four-time champion John Higgins out of the British Open with a 4-2 victory in the last 16.
Moody, 19, progressed to the quarter-finals for the second successive year thanks to a strong finish at Cheltenham Racecourse.
Scot Higgins, 51, twice came from behind to level at 2-2, but a break of 46 nudged Moody 3-2 ahead before a 69 clearance – after four-time world champion Higgins led 61-0 – sealed victory.
Moody will face fellow Englishman Liam Highfield in the last eight on Friday.
Judd Trump breezed into the quarter-finals by beating fellow Englishman David Gilbert 4-0 thanks to breaks of 118 and 105 in the final two frames.
Trump, 37, will face China’s Zhao Xintong after the world number one overcame England’s Mark Joyce 4-2.
Englishman Jack Lisowski triumphed 4-1 over China’s Lyu Haotian to set up a meeting with England’s four-time world champion Mark Selby, who beat Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko 4-2.
Wales’ Jak Jones defeated Latvian Artemus Zizins 4-2, while Northern Ireland’s Aaron Hill beat China’s Fan Zhengyi 4-0 and Highfield saw off China’s Long Zehuang 4-1.
There was a moment, not so long ago, when Bradley Barcola’s career appeared to have stalled.
Having earned rave reviews after nailing down a regular starting place in Lyon’s starting XI under Peter Bosz, the 20-year-old winger was out of favour and in the reserves by the time the Dutch coach was replaced by Laurent Blanc in October 2022.
According to L’Equipe,, external Barcola was close to joining Swiss club St Gallen in January 2023 in order to get more game time before an act of petulance by a team-mate helped pave his return to the side.
Fans were unhappy with the team’s poor form – making first-choice forward Karl Toko Ekambi a target for their frustrations.
The relationship between the Cameroon international and Lyon’s ultras fractured further when he stormed down the tunnel and kicked a rubbish bin in frustration after being substituted during a 2-1 home defeat by Strasbourg.
The incident was caught on camera and Toko Ekambi never played for Lyon again.
That presented Barcola with an opportunity which he seized. He started the majority of the remaining matches that season, scoring five times, including a winner at champions-in-waiting Paris St-Germain in April 2023.
Five months after that goal at the Parc des Princes, Barcola was a PSG player.
His reported £38.5m move – two weeks after Brazil forward Neymar swapped Paris for Saudi Arabia – came with Lyon struggling in the table and also unable to sign replacements because of financial restrictions.
“Barcola’s first game for PSG was back at Lyon,” Pierre-Etienne Minonzio, football journalist for L’Equipe, told BBC Sport.
“He was booed by the Lyon fans because it was just after the transfer. PSG boss Luis Enrique asked Barcola, who was very young at the time, if he was ready to play.
“He said yes, came on as a substitute, and it was impressive.”
Barcola, nicknamed the ‘grasshopper’ because of his speed, agility and slight frame, has since gone on to win three Ligue 1 titles and back-to-back Champions Leagues in his three seasons in the French capital. He broke into the France side two years ago, and scored three times as this summer’s World Cup as they reached the semi-finals.
It has been quite the journey from kicking a ball about as a schoolboy on the playing fields of Vaulx-en-Velin – situated to the east of Lyon – to becoming a superstar worth nine figures. But the path has not been without challenges.
“Barcola is hugely ambitious,” added Minonzio.
“He is from a generation of young French talent who are prepared to work hard and want to be a better version of themselves.
“They will do whatever they have to do to get there. They don’t ask questions – they just do it.”
They need only flip three seats and, going back well over half a century, the average midterm gain for a party out of the White House is more than two dozen. Even with the advantage the GOP engineered through aggressive gerrymandering, the deadweight of a deeply unpopular president threatens to drag down a number of Republicans in competitive and some otherwise-not-so-competitive races.
There are 35 contests on the ballot in November. Of those, nearly two dozen are effectively over before they’ve even started, given the advantage one party holds over the other. Of the remainder, most are being held in states Trump won in 2024, which makes them, broadly speaking, much friendlier terrain for Republicans.
Democrats need to flip four Senate seats and until fairly recently that inhospitable political map made it seem like an all-but insurmountable challenge.
“Republicans still retain a structural advantage given the partisan challenges of the map, and Democrats still need almost every key race to break their way,” Jessica Taylor, who tracks Senate races for the Cook Report, wrote in a recent analysis. But, she went on, “in a wave election akin to 2006” — when Democrats gained six Senate seats — “even states that President Donald Trump won by double digits could move within Democrats’ reach.”
Not so fast. A toss-up means it’s just as likely Republicans will retain their Senate majority.
Understood. So break it down.
Let’s start with those things Democrats have going for them, with the usual caveats …
… There are no certainties but death and taxes. Got it. Go on.
At one time, Georgia looked to be a toss-up as Democrat Jon Ossoff sought reelection in one of those battleground states Trump carried. But Ossoff has raised a boatload of money and drawn a less-than-world-beating opponent in Republican Rep. Mike Collins. Lately, the buzz around Ossoff has been focused more on a potential 2028 run for president than his November reelection.
Meantime, in North Carolina, where former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is running against former national GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, a Cooper victory seems much more likely than not. A win there would give Democrats one of the four seats they need to flip.
Then there’s a handful of red-state seats that Republicans are fighting to hang on to, in Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas.
Do tell.
In Alaska, former Rep. Mary Portola managed to win nearly 50% of the vote in the Aug. 18 primary, which is noteworthy given she ran on the same ballot as the GOP incumbent, Dan Sullivan, who finished second. (Another Dan Sullivan also appeared on the ballot; under Alaska’s top-four system both Sullivans will advance to a November runoff, along with Portola. The fourth slot is pending.
In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was elected three times before losing his 2024 reelection bid amid a Trump landslide, faces Republican Jon Husted, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated when JD Vance became vice president. Husted has proved a less-than sure-footed candidate while Brown is waging a strong comeback campaign.
Supporters applaud as Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown speaks at a campaign event in Akron
(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
In Iowa, Rep. Ashley Hinson (a USC grad and former KABC-TV intern!) is running against state Rep. Josh Turek in a state that’s been hammered by Trump’s tariffs and the surging price of gas — especially the diesel fuel that sustains Iowa’s all-important agricultural economy. Turek could also benefit from the strong campaign being waged by gubernatorial front-runner Rob Sand, who tops the Democratic ticket.
Democrats haven’t won a statewide contest in Texas since 1994, despite no end of hype and hope. This time, they’re pinning their dreams on state Rep. James Talarico, a seminarian and viral sensation. But what’s made the race highly competitive is the singularly defective GOP nominee, Ken Paxton, whose splotchy resume includes indictment, impeachment and alleged adultery. On top of all that, he’s been a pretty lousy fundraiser and has yet to bind the wounds left by a savage GOP primary.
So everything is coming up Democratic roses?
Not necessarily.
Two states they’re counting on to flip the Senate, Maine and Michigan, have grown problematic.
Maine once looked to be Democrats’ best pickup opportunity. Incumbent Susan Collins is the lone Republican running in a state Kamala Harris carried in 2024. Then came Graham Platner, along with his inflammatory social media postings, Nazi tattoo and allegations of sexual assault. He stepped aside in July and was replaced by Troy Jackson, a former logger and state Senate president, who has considerable ground to make up after his late start.
Collins, who’s been reelected four times, has a history of winning tough races. The Platner debacle certainly hasn’t helped Jackson or Democrats.
Meanwhile, in Michigan, the progressive Abdul El-Sayed inched past a more centrist alternative to win the Democratic nomination. The question is whether he’s too far left (and, frankly, whether there’s too much anti-Muslim sentiment) for El-Sayed to prevail in that purple state. The Republican nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers, ran two years ago and lost by less than half a percentage point.
Good to know. A lot can happen in the next 65 days.
Exactly.
Which is why we stick to columnizing. If you want predictions, ask a mystic or consult your Magic 8 Ball.
SACRAMENTO — After weeks of intense negotiation, state lawmakers on Friday reached a compromise on legislation to regulate energy use by California’s growing data center industry, action triggered by community anger over the facilities and fears of high utility bills in some communities.
The goal, according to legislators and advocates, is to protect consumers from growing electricity costs driven upward by the sprawling facilities and to track the centers’ immense energy and water consumption.
Business groups representing tech companies argued that some of the proposed restrictions and requirements, along with California’s high energy costs and lack of available land, would make it difficult for data centers to open in the state.
Municipalities risk missing out on tax revenues and jobs from the centers if the industry goes elsewhere, they said.
Two bills to regulate the controversial industry consumed the state Legislature in the final weeks of the 2026 session, drawing in Gov. Gavin Newsom and industry organizations and lobbyists representing some of the world’s most influential companies, including Google, Meta, Amazon and artificial intelligence firms such as Anthropic and OpenAI.
Proposed legislation by Sen. Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista) and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles), finalized Friday, would establish special rules for data centers’ electrical use. The legislation requires the California Public Utilities Commission to create special rates and updated rules for data centers’ use of electricity, including the costs for new power for infrastructure upgrades.
The debate in Sacramento around the data centers centered on how much they should pay for power and infrastructure, and whether that should be mandated by the state Legislature or the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities and is controlled by a board appointed by the governor.
An aerial view of a 49.5-megawatt data center under construction in Vernon last month.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Nevertheless, advocates focused on reforming the state’s utilities sought this year to seize the moment to enact tough regulations, including forcing data centers to pay for transmission upgrades and wildfire mitigation efforts.
Utility reform advocates and environmental leaders offered mixed reaction on Saturday.
Matthew Freedman, a senior staff attorney for The Utility Reform Network (TURN), praised the final language in the two bills, saying the legislation would prevent data center costs from “being foisted on other customers” while helping California meet its clean energy goals.
Monica Embrey, the founder of Affordable Energy Campaign, called the last-minute amendments “concerning.”
In particular, she pointed to a lack of clean energy requirements for data centers who use their own energy, and a provision that allows a utility to enter into its own agreement with a data center for energy in the interim period before the state finalizes its regulations.
A representative for the Data Center Coalition, whose members include Google and Microsoft, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Data centers have existed for decades but are rapidly expanding because of the rise of artificial intelligence, or AI. The centers help power everything from streaming services to videoconferencing calls.
Data centers in California are typically smaller than the mammoth, 500+-megawatt AI facilities making headlines in other parts of the country. Electricity costs and state regulations on gas-powered generators limit the vast majority of them to under 100 megawatts.
But as proposals increase in number, opposition has been fierce and growing.
A Public Policy Institute of California poll from July showed that 73% of residents oppose the construction of data centers in their communities.
Opposition centers on water use, air and noise pollution, and the potential for data centers to raise utility bills as they add strain to the grid requiring costly upgrades and new electricity supply.
The California Energy Commission expects data center electricity use, currently 2% of the state’s demand, to double in the next 10 years.
Monterey Park became the first city in the country in June to permanently ban data centers by a popular vote, and at least four other San Gabriel Valley cities have enacted moratoriums.
Southeast of L.A., Imperial County, Desert Hot Springs, and Palm Springs also voted on moratoriums, while Coachella permanently banned the facilities. In the Central Valley, Tulare County adopted a moratorium this month as residents voiced opposition to proposals to develop tiny data centers on local fairgrounds in the region.
And in San José, the state’s hot spot of data center development, residents flooded a recent public hearing to call for a moratorium while the city updates its data center standards.
Newsom last year vetoed legislation by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) that would have required data centers to disclose and certify their water consumption. The governor said he was reluctant to impose “rigid” reporting requirements on the development of “this critically important digital infrastructure.”
Separate bills that would require the centers to disclose their energy and water use were recently approved by state lawmakers.
Like other state legislators, Papan said she wants to work with the centers, not ban them.
“I constantly say, ‘Help us help you.’ We will all get this right if we can just be transparent and methodical,” said Papan, whose district includes Silicon Valley.
Padilla’s district includes Imperial Valley, where a developer’s plans for a data center on 75 acres is sparking fierce backlash.
Advocates and lawmakers fought over two approaches on the issue of regulating data centers’ energy use.
A wider coalition of environmental groups supported the bill from Padilla, SB 886, sponsored by TURN, that would have required data centers to pay up front for broader power grid updates required to meet their demand. That approach made it into the final package.
TURN pointed to a recent transmission plan from California’s grid operator projecting that increased power demands from data centers in PG&E‘s service territory, where the majority of current and proposed data centers are concentrated, would create up to $1.8 billion in upgrade costs for the power grid, including transmission lines.
PG&E favored a less stringent approach. In an email earlier this week, a PG&E spokesperson argued SB 886 would “risk higher costs for customers and delay critical infrastructure needed to serve the state’s growing energy demand.”
The Data Center Coalition had opposed both bills for “singling out” one type of power user.
The high cost of land and power, as well as lack of available land, are just some of the reasons that California hasn’t seen a flood of data centers, said Khara Boender, a director of government affairs at the Data Center Coalition. She said dozens of states offer some type of exemption for data centers, but California does not.
Additional regulation in the Golden State, she said earlier this week, “would be another signal that the state is a more challenging place for data center development.”
Rescuers raced to clear roads leading to the mudslide-hit border port of Gyirong in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, so more personnel can reach the core disaster zone. Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu reports from Beijing.
