signs

Oklahoma City Thunder and centre Chet Holmgren agree to contract extension worth up to a quarter of a billion dollars.

Chet Holmgren and the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a five-year rookie-maximum contract extension worth up to $250m, ESPN reported on Wednesday.

The contract is fully guaranteed and comes on the heels of Oklahoma City’s landmark contract with NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who agreed to a four-year, $285.4m super maximum contract extension through 2031 to become the league’s highest-paid player at more than $71m per season.

The 7-foot-1-inch (2.16m) Holmgren, 23, has been impactful when he’s on the court. Injuries limited him to 32 regular-season games after a hip injury last season. He also missed his rookie season with a foot injury.

With career averages of 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, Holmgren proved to be a critical piece for the team’s run to a title in 2025. He had eight double-double performances in 23 postseason games in 2025.

The second overall selection in the 2022 draft, Holmgren entered the NBA alongside Jalen Williams, the number 12 pick that year. Williams is also eligible for the rookie supermax extension. He’s entering the final season of a four-year rookie deal with a $6.6m base salary in 2025-26.

He’s also just the third player in history to make 150 three-pointers and 250 blocks through the first two NBA seasons.

Fiona Phillips has sensationally revealed that she had secretly split from her husband Martin Frizell as tension grew in their marriage before Alzheimer’s diagnosis

To the outside world, Fiona Phillips’ marriage was nothing short of perfect. But now, the former breakfast TV presenter has revealed that her relationship was anything but a happy one as Alzheimer’s disease was starting to take its toll on her and her family – unknowingly.

The relationship between Fiona, 64 and her husband – former This Morning producer Martin Frizell – had broken down beyond repair as she recalled the moment he announced he was moving out of their family home.

In a first person piece for the Mail On Sunday, the TV star, who was one of the main presenters of GMTV, opened up on the fact she was not aware she had developed the disease which had taken both her parents.

In the run up to their secret separation, Fiona explained that she was in denial over the fact she was experiencing the initial symptoms of the disease and put it down to the menopause instead.

Their marriage became more and more fractured as Martin felt Fiona was becoming increasingly distant from him and their children and their arguments were becoming far too regular.

Fiona explained: “Was I worried that there might be something sinister lurking beneath the surface? That Alzheimer’s could one day be coming for me too? “

She added: “On one level I did think I would get the disease, but there was also another part of me that was in a strange sort of denial about it all. This illness has devastated so much of my life already, surely it’s not going to come for me too?’ I’d tell friends.”

Fiona went onto reveal that she’s sure that the disease was “at least partly responsible” for her marriage breaking down but that neither she nor Martin could see that. She became “more and more disconnected” from her family, with Martin accusing her of zoning out of their marriage.

She said: “But, if I’m honest, I think he was right. I just didn’t seem to have the energy for any of it any more. I didn’t realise quite how seriously Martin felt about it all until one evening he announced he was moving out.”

In that moment, Fiona did not believe that her marriage was completely over, in fact she said that she felt he was simply “trying to shock me into behaving differently”.

They had separated for three weeks before they started to exchange text messages between each other and then arranged to meet at a hotel in Hampshire, in a desperate bid to save their marriage.

They reconciled their differences but Fiona recalled that she was still suffering with the same symptoms. In 2023, at the age of 62, Fiona revealed that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

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July 4 (UPI) — President Donald Trump signed into law House Resolution 1, which he called “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” while hosting a Military Family Picnic event at the White House on Friday evening.

The bill signing included a flyover of a pair of F-35 fighters escorting a B-2 Spirit bomber, which is the same type that dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21.

Some 150 airmen and airwomen from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri were among the military members and their families who attended the picnic and bill signing.

“The American people gave us a historic mandate in November,” Trump said of his election victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris.

A triumph of democracy

Trump called the bill’s passage a “triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy,” and said it is “the most popular bill ever signed in the history of our country.”

It includes the single largest tax cut, the largest spending cut and the largest border security investment in U.S. history, the president said.

He said the measure modernizes the military, funds the creation of a” golden dome” national air defense system and drives economic growth.

“This bill will fuel massive economic growth and lift up the hardworking citizens who make this country run — the factory workers, farmers, mechanics, waiters, waitresses, police officers, firefighters, coal miners [and] truck drivers,” Trump said.

The bill makes tax cuts permanent, including no tax on tips, overtime and Social Security, the president said.

It also makes the child tax credit permanent, creates a tax deduction on the interest paid on the purchase of new U.S.-made vehicles and eliminates the estate tax on family farms and small businesses.

The ‘Golden Age’ of America

Trump said the bill cuts taxes on new businesses and existing ones that build and expand their operations.

“We have hundreds of factories, including car plants and [artificial intelligence], coming into our country at levels we have never seen,” he told the audience.

“Not only will we have the strongest economy on Earth, we also will have the strongest borders,” Trump said, adding that there were no recorded illegal border crossings into the United States in June.

“We are creating an economy that delivers wealth for the middle class, a border that is sovereign and secure, and a military that is unmatched[and] unequaled anywhere in the world,” Trump said.

“The Golden Age of America is upon us,” the president said. “It’s going to be a period of time, the likes of which … the country has never experienced before.”

Lawmakers were thanked ahead of signing

Trump thanked House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and other Republican lawmakers who were among those in attendance for delivering the bill for signing on Independence Day.

The controversial measure provides funding for the federal government for fiscal year 2026, which begins on Oct. 1, but adds an estimated $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years.

Trump said it reduces spending by $1.7 trillion while also delivering the “largest tax cut” in the nation’s history.

Trump delivered the 25-minute speech from the south portico of the White House and signed the bill into law from a small desk placed outside, while surrounded by supporters at 5:45 p.m. EDT

Johnson then presented the gavel used when the House passed the bill on Thursday.

Trump accepted the gavel and banged it several times on the small desk to conclude the signing and end the bill’s legislative journey on Capitol Hill.

Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has signed his signature tax and spending bill, capping a months-long push to codify his top policy priorities into law.

The sweeping bill has prompted controversy among both Democrats and members of Trump’s own Republican Party for its deep cuts to social safety programmes and the hefty sum its tax cuts and spending are expected to add to the national debt.

Recent polls have also shown tanking public support for the legislation – which Trump calls the “One Big Beautiful Bill” – as many of its provisions come to light.

Still, Trump on Friday took nothing short of a victory lap, hosting a White House signing ceremony aligned with the Independence Day celebrations in Washington, DC.

The address began with a flyover from a B-2 Spirit bomber, the same jet used in US strikes on Iran last month.

“The last two weeks, there has never been anything like it as far as winning, winning, winning,” Trump said from the White House balcony.

“I want to tell you that I’ve never seen people so happy in our country, because so many different groups of people are being taken care of.”

He also took a moment to revisit his victory in the 2024 election and reiterate his belief that voters gave him an ironclad mandate to carry out his policy agenda. He signed the bill flanked by Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Representative Steve Scalise.

“The American people gave us a historic mandate in November,” Trump said. “This is a triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy.”

Opponents, meanwhile, used the occasion to again condemn the bill, with the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, again saying that the sweeping legislation is “betraying” US citizens.

“This bill isn’t freedom. This bill isn’t independence. This bill is betrayal,” Schumer wrote on the social media platform X.

A months-long journey

The legislation represents the most substantial salvo yet in Trump’s policy blitz, in which he has mostly relied on more presidential orders than on congressional action.

The passage of his mega-bill underscores the president’s deep hold on the Republican Party, which has largely been remade in his likeness since his first term from 2017 to 2021. The party currently controls both chambers of Congress.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” is set to add an estimated $3.3 trillion to the national debt, an increase that might once have been considered a sacrilege for the party’s fiscal hawks.

It also tightens eligibility for the low-income healthcare programme Medicaid and the food assistance programme SNAP, in a move that could hurt Republicans facing tough re-election campaigns.

Still, in the end, only three Republicans in the Senate and two in the House were willing to break from Trump, in both cases leaving opponents just short of the votes needed to scuttle the bill.

For their part, Democrats were unified in their opposition.

In a last-ditch and largely symbolic effort on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries embarked on a record-breaking speech to delay any voting on the bill.

Over the next eight hours and 45 minutes, Jeffries condemned Republicans for rushing to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline, accusing them of fast-tracking a bill that many conservatives had publicly voiced discomfort towards.

“We don’t work for Donald Trump. We work for the American people,” he said at one point. “That’s why we’re right here now, on the floor of the House of Representatives, standing up for the American people.”

He maintained Republicans would be punished at the ballot box over the bill during the midterm elections in 2026.

A wide-ranging bill

The legislation covers a range of issues, from immigration to tax reforms. For example, it extends sweeping tax cuts passed in 2017 during Trump’s first term, amounting to a total of $4.5 trillion in tax reductions.

It also allows taxpayers to deduct income earned from tips and overtime, as well as interest paid on loans for buying cars made in the US, while raising exemptions on estate taxes. It also extends a child tax credit.

The administration has hailed the cuts as a victory for working-class Americans, although several analyses have found that wealthier taxpayers are most likely to benefit.

Gains for lower-income taxpayers are likely to be offset by healthcare and food assistance cuts, according to Yale University’s Budget Lab.

All told, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, about 11.8 million more Americans will be uninsured over the next 10 years due to the Medicaid cuts, with another 4.2 million to lose health insurance due to cuts to pandemic-era subsidies.

The legislation also peels back green energy and electric vehicle tax incentives, part of Trump’s wider push to pivot away from clean energy and towards the influential fossil fuel industry.

It allocates $170bn for immigration and border enforcement funding, in what the American Immigration Council calls the “largest investment in detention and deportation in US history”.

Nonpartisan analysts have said the increase in the national debt from the spending has the potential to slow economic growth, raise borrowing costs and crowd out other government spending in the years ahead.

But on Friday, Trump dismissed the criticism.

“They [Democrats] have developed a standard line: ‘We can’t let them get away with it. It’s dangerous. Everybody’s going to die,’” Trump said. “It’s actually just the opposite. Everybody’s going to live.”

“After this kicks in, our country is going to be a rocket ship, economically.”

Iran is also considering an entry ban on IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, after rejecting his request to visit nuclear sites.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has signed a law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), amid growing tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog over monitoring access and transparency, after United States and Israeli strikes on its most important nuclear facilities during a 12-day conflict last month.

“Masoud Pezeshkian promulgated the law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday.

The move comes a week after Iran’s parliament passed legislation to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, citing Israel’s June 13 attack on Iran and later strikes by the US on Iranian nuclear facilities.

According to the parliament resolution, IAEA inspectors will not be allowed to visit nuclear sites without approval from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Iran’s foreign minister earlier this week said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, whom Iranian officials have sharply criticised for failing to condemn Israeli and US strikes during the recent 12-day war, was no longer welcome in the country.

Officials have also criticised Grossi over a June 12 resolution passed by the IAEA board accusing Tehran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.

Iranian officials said the resolution was among the “excuses” for the Israeli attacks.

Iran has also rejected a request from IAEA chief Grossi to visit nuclear facilities bombed during the war.

“Grossi’s insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent,” said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on X on Monday. “Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defence of its interests, its people and its sovereignty.”

Earlier this week, Pezeshkian decried Grossi’s “destructive” conduct, while France, Germany and the United Kingdom have condemned unspecified “threats” made against the IAEA chief.

Iran’s ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper recently claimed that documents showed Grossi was an Israeli spy and should be executed.

Iran has insisted no threats were posed against Grossi or the agency’s inspectors.

The 12-day war began when Israel carried out a surprise bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites and assassinated several top military commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran responded with waves of missiles and drones at Israel.

On June 22, Israel’s ally, the US, launched unprecedented strikes of its own on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel took hold on June 24.

At least 935 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Iran, according to judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir, citing the latest forensic data. The deceased included 132 women and 38 children, Jahangir added.

Iran’s retaliatory attacks killed 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.

US President Donald Trump said the US attacks had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme, though the extent of the damage was not clear.

Araghchi has admitted that “serious” damage has been inflicted on nuclear sites.

But in a recent interview with US media outlet CBS Evening News, he said: “One cannot obliterate the technology and science… through bombings.”

Israel and some Western countries say Iran has sought nuclear weapons – an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.

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

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

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

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

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting US sanctions on Syria and requesting a review of terrorism designations related to the nation. Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna looks at how the decision aims to facilitate rebuilding post-war Syria.

June 30 (UPI) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday afternoon removing many U.S. sanctions levied against Syria, months after he promised the war-torn country’s new leader that he would lift the “brutal and crippling” punitive measures.

The United States has hit Syria with a slew of sanctions over the decades, especially targeting the former reign of dictator president Bashar al-Assad for his civil war and repression of his own people.

The sanctions relief announced Monday removes punitive economic measures from Syria while maintaining those that apply to al-Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, individuals linked to chemical weapons activities and members of terrorist organizations and Iranian proxy militias.

“President Trump is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified and at peace with itself and its neighbors,” the White House said in a statement.

The announcement follows Trump’s meeting with his Syrian counterpart, transitional leader President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in mid-May in Riyadh, where the American president vowed to lift the sanctions.

“The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really, an important function — nevertheless, at the time,” Trump said. “But now, it’s time to shine.”

He said he would lift the sanctions “to give them a chance at greatness.”

Following the meeting, the U.S. Treasury implemented a 180-day waiver on the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 sanctions, which imposed punitive measures on those related to the Syrian civil war — a conflict that began in 2011 when al-Assad violently cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

Al-Assad was ousted in December by jihadist-led rebels, and al-Sharaa was appointed president.

“This is in an effort to promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday during a press briefing ahead of Trump’s signing of the executive order.

The State Department further explained in a statement that the sanctions to remain in place “are a tool to promote accountability for Assad, his cronies and others who seek to destabilize Syria or the region.”

The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a U.S.-based organization supporting the Syrian opposition, applauded Trump for removing the sanctions.

“It is now the responsibility of the new Syrian government to ensure safety and security, the transition to democracy and economic prosperity for all Syrians,” SETF’s advocacy director, Veronica Zanetta-Brandoni, said in a statement.

Everton club captain Seamus Coleman has signed a one-year contract extension to take his stay at the club into a 17th season.

The 36-year-old right-back has made 428 appearances for Toffees across all competitions, and his 369 Premier League appearances is the club record.

“I love Everton so to continue playing for this special club means everything to me and my family,” said Republic of Ireland defender Coleman.

“Like every one of our passionate fans, I’ve lived and breathed what has been a difficult past few years for the club and have put my heart and soul into doing all I can to help us get through it.”

Coleman’s previous deal was due to expire last week.

Everton move to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium next season after leaving Goodison Park, their home for 133 years.

“Thanks to the hard work of many people, we’ve been able to get into our magnificent new stadium and pave the way for a brighter future under ambitious new owners, which I want to be part of,” said Coleman

“After a disappointing time with injuries last season, my focus will be on working hard, spending as much time on the pitch as possible, and helping Everton any way I can.”

Coleman made just five league appearances during the 2024-25 campaign as he struggled with various injury issues and notably took interim charge of the side alongside Under-18s coach Leighton Baines after the sacking of Sean Dyche in January.

Ronaldo and his Saudi club side Al Nassr made the new deal official via social media, putting an end to rumours he could sign elsewhere.

Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, the club announced, following weeks of speculation over which team he would sign for next season.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is staying at @AlNassrFC until 2027,” the club wrote in a post on X on Thursday.

Minutes before the official confirmation, the team posted a teaser video, with the 40-year-old Ronaldo walking along a beachfront and saying: “Al Nassr forever.”

The Portuguese superstar arrived in 2023 in the kingdom to play with the club, heralding a rush of players in the latter stages of their careers to the oil-rich country.

Last month, Ronaldo posted “This chapter is over” hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al Nassr finishing third and trophy-less once again.

“Ronaldo’s presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia,” a source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football, told AFP last month.

The oil-funded PIF, the sovereign wealth fund behind a number of big-ticket Saudi investments, controls a group of Pro League clubs including Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli.

Time for a title

Ronaldo’s announcement in May came just months after Brazilian star Neymar ended his injury-plagued 18-month stay in January, after playing just seven times for Al Hilal – on a reported salary of about $104m a year.

Although Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer with 25 goals, he has been unable to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al Nassr, who lost in the Asian Champions League semifinals last month.

Last year, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr, the Riyadh team favoured by a number of Saudi royals.

Saudi Arabia has shaken up football by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo’s move in late 2022, and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034.

For the past two years, Saudi football fans could watch the likes of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, with six Ballons d’Or between them, on any given weekend during the football season in the kingdom.

However, the oil-fuelled Saudi football project has drawn comparisons with the Chinese Super League, which imported players on exorbitant salaries until team owners went bust as the Chinese economy fizzled.

But with Saudi Arabia set to host the 2034 World Cup, and desperate to re-model itself as a tourism and business magnet before global oil demand falls for good, there is probably more to come from the Pro League.

Ronaldo appeared to trade an end-of-career payday for football obscurity when he first moved to Riyadh’s Al Nassr two years ago in a deal said to be worth $250m at the time.

The Story continues.. 🐐 💛
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— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) June 26, 2025