Wins

Demi Vollering claimed victory on a shortened queen stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia on Saturday but admitted it was the “weirdest finish line of my life”.

A summit finish in Sestriere had been scheduled for the eighth and penultimate stage, but organisers reduced the route by 28 kilometres as an unstable slab of ice was threatening to fall on to the route.

Ice had already been cleared from an avalanche shortly before the riders passed through the Italian Alps.

Instead the line was hastily moved to one kilometre below the Colle delle Finestre, where Vollering, of FDJ United–Suez, prevailed in a four-way sprint finish.

The pre-race favourite edged out Isabella Holmgren, Antonia Niedermaier and fellow Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen to claim her second stage win of this year’s race.

“It was strange because the Finestre was suddenly the final climb,” said the 29-year-old Vollering. “It was the weirdest finish line of my life, but I’m very happy to take the win.”

Team SD Worx–Protime rider Van der Breggen retains the pink jersey for the final stage, over 145km around Saluzzo at the foot of the Alps, with Vollering having cut the four-time winner’s lead slightly to 49 seconds.

“We hoped that we could get closer to the maglia rosa today,” said Vollering. “Tomorrow’s stage is not as hard as today’s, but we will make a plan and think about how to try to win the Giro.”

PARIS — Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva was already a tennis phenom at age 15.

At 19, she’s a Grand Slam champion.

The eighth-ranked Andreeva ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska by 6-3, 6-2 in the French Open final on Saturday.

Andreeva became the youngest player to win the women’s singles title since Monica Seles, who was 18 when she landed her third straight French Open in 1992.

“You’re so young and talented. It’s so annoying,” Chwalinska told Andreeva during the awards ceremony.

When Andreeva executed a backhand cross-court winner on her first match point, she threw her racket into the air and dropped on her knees to the clay to celebrate.

Mirra Andreeva returns a shot against Maja Chwalinska during the French Open women’s final on Saturday.

(Thibault Camus / Associated Press)

During the trophy presentation, Andreeva took the unusual step of thanking herself “for believing in myself, always giving my 100%, even when it’s tough, trying every day to be better as a person and as a player, believing that I can do this, fighting so many demons inside of me.

“Only I know how tough it was for me,” Andreeva added. “How nervous I was throughout these two weeks.”

Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title.

Andreeva was born in Siberia and moved to Sochi and eventually France to develop her tennis career.

She drew loud applause from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier when she spoke a few words of French during the trophy presentation.

“Thanks for your support today and over these past two marvelous weeks here in Paris,” Andreeva said. “It was very important for me.”

Alexander Zverev plays Flavio Cobolli in the men’s final on Sunday to conclude the wildest Grand Slam in recent memory.

Andreeva has been considered a Grand Slam contender since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament and made the quarterfinals.

Lately, Andreeva has had to contend with playing under neutral status and without her country’s flag due to the war with Ukraine.

When she beat Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals, Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, as has been the custom for Ukrainian players facing Russians ever since the war started in 2022.

Andreeva has gone a step further than her coach, Conchita Martinez, who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce.

Pierce presented the winner’s trophy to Andreeva.

The final was played under mostly sunny skies but wind was a factor in the first Grand Slam final for both players.

Chwalinska double-faulted on the opening point of the match but she was the first player to hold serve in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead.

But then Andreeva won nine straight games to take control as she found a way to hit through the wind and answer Chwalinska’s array of spins and drop shots.

Andreeva produced 25 winners to Chwalinska’s 10 and also had fewer unforced errors: 26 to 29.

There was a strong Polish presence in the crowd.

When Chwalinska was introduced, fans held aloft red-and-white Polish flags and chanted her name: “Ma-ja, Ma-ja.”

Andreeva had little support from the crowd, although there was a shout of “Davai Mirra!” (“Go Mirra”) in Russian late in the match.

In men’s doubles, top-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos retained their title with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.

Dampf writes for the Associated Press. Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.

June 4 (Asia Today) — The biggest upset of Wednesday’s local elections came in Seoul, where People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon overcame early expectations of defeat and won a dramatic late comeback victory in the mayoral race.

Oh’s win allowed the conservative bloc to hold South Korea’s capital despite a strong nationwide showing by the Democratic Party. The result immediately raised Oh’s standing as a potential conservative contender in the next presidential race.

Oh narrowly defeated Democratic Party candidate Jung Won-oh after an extremely close vote count that continued into early Thursday morning, becoming the first person to win a fifth term as Seoul mayor.

“Citizens have once again upheld the democratic principle of checks and balances,” Oh said at a press conference Thursday. “They have left Seoul as the last safeguard of democracy so that South Korea does not tilt completely to one side.”

Political observers said Oh’s victory significantly changes his political status. Holding the capital while the People Power Party struggled nationwide could become a major asset for a future presidential bid.

Oh’s campaign strategy also drew attention because he kept some distance from the party leadership under Jang Dong-hyeok and focused on his own record as incumbent mayor. Analysts said that approach may allow Oh to emerge as an independent center of gravity in any future conservative realignment.

A People Power Party official said Oh had now fully risen as a national political figure representing the conservative camp.

“This Seoul victory is virtually close to a ticket toward the presidency,” the official said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260605010001627

A former US Army combat surgeon who volunteered at Gaza hospital has a Democratic primary in New Jersey. Here’s what you need to know about Adam Hamawy.

Rebecca Bennett has won a high-stakes Democratic Party primary in the US state of New Jersey, setting up a contest against Republican Tom Kean Jr, backed by President Donald Trump, for one of the most competitive seats in the upcoming midterm elections.

Bennett, a former US Navy helicopter pilot, defeated three Democratic rivals in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, securing about 47.2 percent of the vote, according to projected results on Tuesday.

Her nearest competitor, Tina Shah, received 20.2 percent.

Kean and Bennett will now square off in November for a seat that has changed party hands twice within the past eight years and ranks as a key target for Democrats hoping to capture the House of Representatives.

Independent analysts rate the contest as a toss-up.

The race has attracted heightened attention because of Kean’s prolonged absence from Congress.

The Republican incumbent has missed more than 100 House votes since early March due to an undisclosed illness.

Despite his absence, Kean ran unopposed in the Republican primary with Trump’s backing.

Kean said on Tuesday that he remained focused on his recovery and expected to return to in-person work within weeks.

Hours before polls closed, Kean released a statement promising greater transparency about his health while suggesting his return to in-person work could take longer than previously anticipated.

On May 21, he said he expected to be back within “a couple of weeks”.

“Right now, I am focused on my recovery and, under the advice of healthcare professionals, I will transition from virtual to in-person work within a matter of weeks,” Kean had said.

Bennett targets cost of living, Kean’s absence

At an election night gathering in Somerville, New Jersey, Bennett sharply criticised Kean’s record and absence from Washington.

“You are failing us, and you do not deserve to represent us in Washington,” she told supporters, calling the congressman a “coward”.

Bennett built her campaign around her military service and economic issues, arguing that higher grocery and gasoline prices during the US-Israel war on Iran, combined with Trump’s tariffs, were squeezing working families.

Democrats have increasingly focused on the conflict’s economic impact, with higher energy costs contributing to inflation and broader cost-of-living pressures across the country.

The 7th Congressional District, which includes suburban communities, farm towns and Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, has emerged as one of New Jersey’s key battlegrounds.

The seat has changed hands repeatedly in recent election cycles, with Democrat Tom Malinowski defeating Republican Leonard Lance in 2018 before Kean unseated Malinowski in 2022.

Bennett’s victory over Tina Shah, Brian Varela and Michael Roth now sets up a high-stakes general election contest in a district both parties consider crucial to their House ambitions.

Kean, 57, is the scion of a storied New Jersey political family.

His father, Thomas Kean, served two terms as governor and later chaired the 9/11 Commission, a panel set up in 2002 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US. He is also a descendant of William Livingston, New Jersey’s first governor.

The Republican congressman will also enter the race with the backing of Trump, who reiterated his support on the eve of the primary, despite Kean’s prolonged absence from Washington.

“Tom Kean has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election,” Trump wrote on social media, adding: “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Voters in the district have ousted incumbents in recent midterm elections, making the race one of the most competitive House contests in New Jersey.

Elsewhere in New Jersey, Analilia Mejia won the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District, while LaMonica McIver secured the Democratic nomination in the 10th Congressional District.

Pitcher Violet Ascencio struck out 13 to lead Venice High to a 7-2 win over Eagle Rock in the City Section Division I softball championship game on Saturday.

Abilgail Ascencio had two doubles and finished with three hits.

Players held up a photo of the late Angelo Gasca, Venice’s football coach who also helped coach softball.

Division II

Arleta 11, Marshall 0: Naomi Tachin struck out four, walked none and led Arleta to the Division II title. Adriana Vasquez went four for four and Brenda Aguilar hit two doubles and finished with three RBIs.

Division IV

Franklin 17, Huntington Park 5: The Panthers, seeded No. 14, used their bats to become Division IV champions. Kamila Sanchez had three hits and five RBIs, including two doubles and a triple.

Southern Section

Division 4

Oxnard 3, Mission Viejo 1: Rachel Godoy hit a dramatic three-run home run in the fifth inning to lead Oxnard. Destinee Herrera threw a complete game.

Division 5

Irvine Northwood 11, Grace Brethren 1: Freshman Olivia Chen threw a two-hitter for Northwood, which went from missing the playoffs last season to Division 5 champions.

Division 3

Riverside Prep 4, Great Oak 3: Lila Morris threw a complete game, and Riverside Prep took advantage of two errors in the fifth inning to win the Division 3 title. Graclyn Necochea struck out 10 for Great Oak.

Division 8

Arroyo Valley 8, San Bernardino 5: Jaylin Casillas contributed three hits and two RBIs for Arroyo Valley. Aylssa Arredondo had four RBIs for San Bernardino.

Matthew Stafford is a master at reading defenses.

The Rams star quarterback manipulates opposing players with his eyes. He knows what he sees.

So the reigning NFL most valuable player can easily anticipate, recognize and digest why moves — on or off the field — are made.

Which brings us to the Rams’ decision to select former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th pick in the NFL draft.

“I understand where the team’s coming from,” Stafford, 38, told reporters last week in his first public comments about a move that stunned many. “Listen, I’m not 25 years old and I get that, so we’re doing everything we can to be as good a football team as we can for now, for the future, for all of it.”

That doesn’t mean Stafford was thrilled about general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay spending a first-round pick on his heir apparent.

This, however, is not the San Francisco 49ers trading for Steve Young with Joe Montana on the roster.

But the Rams bypassed an opportunity to give Stafford and an already loaded roster another weapon such as former USC receiver Makai Lemon, who might have provided immediate impact to help them reach and win Super Bowl LXI in February at SoFi Stadium.

Because the Rams showed five years ago that going all in and winning a Super Bowl was worth it, regardless of the perceived and real costs down the road.

Regardless, the Rams are considered among the favorites to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since Stafford led them to victory in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.

Like they did before and during that 2021 season, the Rams have done almost everything possible to ensure that owner Stan Kroenke can once again bask in the glory of winning a Super Bowl in the stadium he built.

After losing last season’s NFC championship game, the team quickly signed McVay and Snead — who were entering the final years of their contracts — to long-term extensions.

Then they improved their roster’s main weak spot by trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, and signing cornerback Jaylen Watson — both of whom played on two Super Bowl championship teams with the Kansas City Chiefs.

On May 21, they signed Stafford to a one-year, $55-million extension that could keep him with the team through 2027.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and coach Sean McVay talk during practice on Thursday.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

Whether the 17-year veteran and reigning NFL most valuable player plays beyond 2026 remains to be seen.

But McVay is happy that the future hall of famer will be leading the offense.

“It’s great to be able to have that taken care of,” McVay said in his first news conference with local reporters since April 24, the day after the Rams drafted Simpson.

McVay had spent the previous availability explaining the reason for his somber and dour countenance during an awkward news conference the night before. McVay said he was trying to be respectful of Stafford’s status as the team leader, and that a personal situation also had affected his demeanor.

On the night the Rams drafted Simpson, McVay said he had spoken with Stafford beforehand. When asked what he told Stafford, McVay said, “I’ll keep that between us.”

Last week, when asked about his discussion with McVay, Stafford said, “I’m not going to get in too much to what our conversation was. I appreciate him talking with me about those kinds of things. We have constant dialogue and a great relationship so I appreciate that.”

Stafford said his job as the starting quarterback was to help all players, including Simpson, prepare for the season.

“He’s a guy that asks questions,” Stafford said. “I’ve been trying to answer those as honestly and as thoroughly as I possibly can.

“He’s a smart kid. He’s got talent, obviously. He’s a high draft pick so happy to add good players to our team.”

It is too early to quantify what Simpson has brought to the team, McVay said. The offseason workout program is about “setting foundations” that will help once players are participating in full-speed settings during training camp.

Simpson is on track for a lot of reps when camp begins in late July at Loyola Marymount.

Last year, Stafford was sidelined all of training camp because of a back issue. But he returned before the opener and won his first MVP award.

So the Rams are expected to modify Stafford’s traditional training camp workload — and aim for similar results.

Offseason workouts are going well, Stafford said.

“Throwing it like I know how to throw it and for somebody my age,” he quipped. “I feel pretty good.”

Even with the extension, the Rams and Stafford will continue to talk contract on a year-to-year basis, a practice they have followed since 2024, when Stafford delayed his arrival to training camp because of an impasse.

“I can’t sit there and tell you what it’s going to look like 365 days from now,” he said. “But it’s just one of those deals where I’m doing the best I can to make sure that I can play as long as I can and make sure that my family and I are all on the same page before we embark on whatever season it may be.”

If this season plays out as expected, the Rams could give Stafford another weapon at the trade deadline.

Until then, they’ve guaranteed him plenty of cash.

And motivation.

CLOVIS —  Jurupa Valley senior AB Hernandez placed third in the CIF state championship long jump on Saturday, medaling in the event for the second consecutive year.

Hernandez, who is transgender, has faced harassment and ire from anti-trans protesters and conservative pundits during the past two years. She jumped 20 feet, 2 1/4 inches on Saturday, behind first-place finisher Ellie McCuskey-Hay of St. Ignatius (20-3½) and Gianna Gonzalez of Moorpark (20-3½).

Under CIF policy, transgender athletes who place at the state championships receive medals but do not displace cisgender girls in the final standings. The federation announced last year that the policy would apply specifically to the long jump, triple jump and high jump — the three events Hernandez competed in — and the rule remained in effect for her three events this weekend.

Hernandez shared her third-place podium with St. Mary’s Berkeley jumper Corrine Jones, who reached 19-9 ½.

Hernandez secured her place in Saturday’s finals on her opening long jump attempt Friday, posting a mark strong enough to hold the top qualifying position. She passed on her remaining two attempts after safely locking up advancement.

The atmosphere surrounding the state championships was notably calmer than a year ago, when demonstrations over Hernandez’s participation drew national attention. On Friday, the most visible protest activity came before the meet, when Republican California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton held a news conference outside Veterans Memorial Stadium, noting that the primary election was just four days away.

Standing before signs reading “Hey, CIF: Girls’ Sports Girls Only” on Friday, Hilton criticized the California Interscholastic Federation’s policies governing transgender athletes.

On Saturday, the Rainbow Families Action group hosted a news conference outside in support of Hernandez. Counter-protesters showed up toward the end and shouted toward the Hernandez supporters and the two sides exchanged some words before dispersing.

Inside the stadium, however, the focus largely remained on the competition. Spectators cheered as Hernandez began her long-jump approach, and some fans wore bracelets bearing the message “We Stand With AB.”

Event organizers prohibited signs inside the venue. Unlike last year, when advocacy groups on both sides staged more visible demonstrations, the off-track theatrics were largely absent.

Meanwhile, Democrat Tom Steyer released a video on X on Friday featuring a previous conversation with Hernandez, in which he expressed support for her participation in high school athletics.

The 17-year-old arrived in Clovis after sweeping all three of her events at the Southern Section championships.

Entering the state meet, Hernandez ranked among the nation’s top 10 performers in all three events. She shared California’s best high jump mark, was tied for second in the long jump and ranked second in the triple jump. She will compete in the high jump and triple jump later Saturday.

WASHINGTON — Shrey Parikh felt the pressure of arriving at the Scripps National Spelling Bee as a favorite, but his confidence showed every time he got a word he knew. And when the bee came down to a lightning-round tiebreaker against Ishaan Gupta, Shrey left no doubt.

Shrey turned a tense, high-quality final into a blowout Thursday night, racing through the 90-second “spell-off” and getting 32 words right to be crowned the best young speller in the English language. Ishaan spelled 25 words correctly in the tiebreaker.

A 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Shrey finished third in 2024 but lost his school bee last year when he was battling a fever. He has dominated the bee circuit since, winning several highly competitive online competitions against many of the same kids he outlasted this week in the nation’s capital.

Ishaan, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Jersey City, N.J., was a semifinalist this year, outperformed some veteran spellers in the finals, and has another year of eligibility left.

Sarv Dharavane, a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Dunwoody, Ga., finished third for the second consecutive year and has two more years to improve that placement.

For the first time in the bee’s history, second- and third-place finishers from the same year have gone on to win. Faizan Zaki won last year, and two years ago he was the runner-up, just ahead of Shrey.

Sporting a business-casual look with a dark, long-sleeve collared shirt, khakis and sneakers, the lanky Shrey strode to the microphone with a dour, apprehensive expression that instantly vanished when he heard his word from pronouncer Jacques Bailly and nodded vigorously — his tell that, yes, he knew it.

Upon hearing the announcement confirming his victory in the spell-off, Shrey turned and shook his competitor’s hand.

He can credit his victory to intense preparation. Shrey’s coaching team included Sam Evans, who has tutored each of the past three champions, and Sohum Sukhatankar, a co-champion himself in 2019. He competed nonstop against other top spellers, pored through advanced study guides and tried to eliminate the variables that had led to the few unexpected exits of his long spelling career.

Former spellers, coaches and other observers described this group of finalists as unusually strong, and they showed off their skills early by going 18 for 18 to start, breezing through the first spelling and vocabulary rounds. Aiden Meng of Orinda, Calif., ended that streak when he was tripped up by “catometope” to start the second spelling round.

Then the crowd gasped when the bell rung on two thought to be capable of winning it all: Oliver Halkett for “Faesulae” and Zwe Spacetime for “vaesite,” words with tricky combinations of origins and vowel sounds.

The bee’s move to Constitution Hall, a point of contention for spellers and their families because of the inconveniences it caused, helped imbue the event with a lively atmosphere, with more intimate seating and better sight lines bringing the crowd closer to the action.

New television host Mina Kimes of ESPN narrated the action smoothly alongside longtime bee analyst Paul Loeffler.

Nuckols writes for the Associated Press.

“Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.” ― Coco Chanel

Apropos of Paris. Apropos of the French Open.

That’s all the context necessary to appreciate Naomi Osaka removing a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice ahead of her opening match at the Roland-Garros Complex this week, revealing a sequined gold playing dress.

Osaka was playing all right. With sensibilities. With tradition. With her opponents, who she summarily dispatched with victories in the first and second rounds.

Naomi Osaka arrives on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to play her singles match against Laura Siegemund.

(THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)

And it was clear the four-time Grand Slam champion was playing with all of us when she said of her dress, “It’s very couture. You know the Eiffel Tower at night when it’s sparkly? I kind of think I look like that a little bit.”

Countless LinkedIn pages spout something about residing at the intersection of sport and fashion. Osaka locates that intersection at tennis tournaments worldwide, looks both ways and boldly steps into the street.

Last year at the U.S. Open she adorned her ponytail with red roses and attached a Labubu to her tennis bag that she named Billie Jean Bling.

At the Australian Open in January, she entered the court in a tie-dye turquoise and green palette with flowing tendrils. Her face was concealed by a veil, a wide-brim hat and a white parasol that she said was inspired by an image of a jellyfish that excited her 2-year-old daughter.

Naomi Osaka walking onto the court in a jellyfish-inspired ensemble ahead of her first-round match at the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne.

(Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

It’s all great fun. Yet continued fashion statements depend on her performance on the court. Osaka wins, she earns another grand entrance. She loses, nobody cares what she wears on the ride home.

At the U.S. Open, Osaka shined, reaching the women’s singles semifinals. Seeded as an also-ran at No. 23, she upset Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova before falling in a tight three-set match to Amanda Anisimova.

Seeded No. 16 in Australia, she won two matches before withdrawing because of an abdominal injury suffered during her three-set victory against Sorana Cîrstea.

Fast forward to the French Open. Osaka advanced to the third round for the first time in seven years Thursday with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win against Croatia’s Donna Vekic and will take on teenager Iva Jovic on Saturday.

What she will wear walking in is anybody’s guess. An effortless chic aesthetic courses through Paris. Advancing to the French Open round of 16 for the first time would require the opposite, Osaka toiling through another step in her return to form after giving birth to her daughter.

And creating another opportunity to have fun with fashion.

German art student Miriam Wiskemann has won a year-long right-of-use agreement for the uninhabited island of Marsten off Sweden’s west coast – but there is a major catch

Starting next Monday, 27-year-old art student Miriam Wiskemann will become the sole guardian of an uninhabited island situated off Sweden’s coastline. The diminutive island of Marsten, measuring just 180 metres by 50 metres, attracts kayakers and paddle boarders throughout the summer season, but for most of the year remains the exclusive territory of a cormorant colony.

The only stipulation is that Miriam must relinquish her title in June 2027. She is among a handful of fortunate winners of a competition organised by Visit Sweden. According to Visit Sweden’s website, the initiative aimed to demonstrate that “true luxury isn’t about excess, but rather about time, space and balance”.

Miriam and four other individuals from across the globe will be granted a year-long right-of-use agreement alongside a travel voucher worth 20,000 Swedish krona – approximately £1,590. The prize doesn’t include permanent residency, as there are no structures on the island.

Miriam, who is pursuing a degree in art, intends to spend some time on Marsten in September, collecting inspiration for her final creative project for her illustration degree. She remarks: “The main prize is actually the journey there.”

Miriam, originally from Dusseldorf in Germany, is currently studying at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design. She reveals she aspires to eventually pursue a master’s degree in Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm.

The art student, who has actually lived in Sweden for a year, explained to German news agency dpa: “Sweden just has a more relaxed pace of life that I’ve often found myself missing in Germany. This trip is all I’m going to be thinking about for the rest of this term.”

“I’ll take time to cycle around the island and draw a lot of inspiration from my surroundings,” she said. “Having this luxury of being able to travel there will definitely have a big influence on me.

“The Swedish nature and the stark differences of the seasons have always really inspired me and my art,” she added.

Marsten sits amongst a cluster of islands located roughly four miles from Sweden’s western coastline. With over 267,000 islands dotted along the Swedish shores, a key objective of the competition was to spotlight these hidden gems.

VisitSweden’s “Your Swedish Island” campaign attracted almost 2,500 applications from 100 countries. The other winners hail from Canada, the US, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Each successful applicant will serve as guardian of their own remote island for the coming year.

CONCORD, N.C. — When Daniel Suarez was struggling to make his name in auto racing, he would often get phone calls from Kyle Busch offering words of encouragement and urging him to keep working.

That made his crown jewel Cup Series victory Sunday night all the more special.

Suarez benefited from a crucial pit call, then caught a break from Mother Nature to win the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, capping an emotional day in which the racing world remembered the late Busch.

Suarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win the Coke 600. It was his third Cup Series win and first since 2024.

The victory was especially emotional for Suarez, who previously raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“Kyle, he was special,” Saurez said as he teared up. “I was doing this for Kyle, for [his wife] Samatha, for [his children] Brexton and Lennix and for all of his family.”

A non-factor for most of the race, Suarez gambled and took two tires during a late pit stop, then held off Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin on restarts before the race was called when the sky opened up and rain drenched the track shortly before midnight Eastern time.

NASCAR quickly made the decision to call the race with 27 laps remaining.

Bell finished second; Hamlin was third.

The two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates had a chance to catch Suarez on the two restarts, but couldn’t clear his No. 7 Chevrolet.

“It’s a bummer,” Bell said, who won the rain-shortened 2024 Coca-Cola 600. “It wasn’t meant to be today. That’s 2026 for us.”

Hamlin said he was “just a little unlucky.”

“The 20 car (Bell) and us were just really battling because we knew whoever could clear him (would win the race),” Hamlin said. “We were really good all day. We just didn’t get to see it through.”

The race came just three days after Busch’s death sent shockwaves throughout the motorsports world and beyond. The 41-year-old Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family.

The two-time Cup Series champion and winner of a record 234 races across NASCAR’s three national series had become unresponsive while practicing in a Chevrolet simulator Wednesday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details were released by the family.

Busch’s family attended the race and NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell told them they are part of the NASCAR community and “we got you.”

NASCAR and CMS honored Busch with his No. 8 and signature on the frontstretch grass and a highway billboard near the main entrance of the track. The U.S. Army Golden Knights carried a Busch flag prior to the race and each of the 39 cars in field carried a small, black No. 8 decal.

Kyle Larson won the first stage race. Hamlin won the second stage and Bell the third.

Crashing out

Defending champion Ross Chastain crashed out when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. clipped his car in Turn 2 with 81 laps remaining in the race.

Connor Zilisch and Austin Cindric only made it 52 laps before getting caught up in a crash. Cindric got turned around and Zilisch came crashing in to the side of his No. 2 Ford, ending both drivers’ day.

Chase Elliott, a two-time winner this year, hit the outside wall and ping-ponged into the inside wall on Lap 90. That car was beyond repair and he finished 37th.

“I was trying to make something happen and I stepped over the line,” Elliott said.

Replacing Busch

Austin Hill, a regular driver in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for Richard Childress Racing, took Busch’s spot in the race and finished 26th. He drove the No. 33 car after RCR temporarily retired the No. 8 until Busch’s 11-year-old son Brexton is ready to drive.

Austin Dillon, went behind the wall with damage to the front of his car with 56 laps to go, ending any hope of an emotional win for RCR. He finished 32nd.

Reed writes for the Associated Press.

This marks the second time that Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has won the prestigious Palme d’Or prize.

Fjord, a thought-provoking drama about a Christian family in Norway from Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, has won the best film prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Mungiu won his second Palme d’Or at a star-packed closing ceremony at the festival on Saturday.

The ⁠drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate ⁠Reinsve is centred around ⁠the clash ⁠of values that ensues when a religious family ‌relocates from Romania to a Norwegian ‌village.

It tells the story of evangelicals who move to Norway, but soon after have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them. Mungiu has called it a tale of “left-wing fundamentalism.”

The movie is based on true events and is notable for how it questions the supposedly progressive values of the Norwegians depicted in the film, as well as the child welfare system.

“This is a message about tolerance, inclusion, and empathy. These are wonderful values that we all cherish, but we need to put them into practice more often,” Mungiu told the audience.

Mungiu becomes just the 10th filmmaker to win the Palme d’Or twice. His, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a Romanian abortion drama, won the award in 2007.

Russian war drama Minotaur, by Andrey Zvyagintsev, which depicts a callous businessman caught up in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won the Grand Prix second prize.

“Put an end to the carnage, the whole world is waiting for it,” Zvyagintsev, who now lives in exile in France, told the audience in a message addressed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Belgium’s Virginie Efira and Japanese actor Tao Okamoto shared the best female performance award for their roles in nursing home drama, All of a Sudden, by Japan’s Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

Belgian duo Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne from gay World War I drama, Coward, also shared the male best actor award for their roles in the Lukas Dhont-directed movie.

Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo won the Camera d’Or for best first film for her genocide drama, Ben’Imana, which she dedicated to “the women of my country”.

In a squeaker race for Cannes’ top prize, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu prevailed on Saturday, taking the Palme d’Or for his tense community drama “Fjord.”

The movie, a widely admired conversation-starter at the festival, stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as religious parents who come into conflict with the child protection services of their tiny Norwegian town where they have relocated with their family.

Mungiu, a previous winner of the Palme for his controversial 2007 abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” now joins an exclusive group of 10 filmmakers who have won the Palme twice — an achievement shared by Francis Ford Coppola (1974’s “The Conversation” and 1979’s “Apocalypse Now”) and Ruben Östlund (2017’s “The Square” and 2022’s “Triangle of Sadness”), among others. No one has ever won a third Palme d’Or.

Another record, maybe even more impressive, was set by distributor Neon, which, with “Fjord,” extends its streak of Palme wins to an unprecedented seven in a row. Those previous six Neon winners, many of which eventually claimed Oscars, are “Parasite,” “Titane,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Anora” and last year’s “It Was Just an Accident.”

Neon will release “Fjord” in the fall, with an extensive awards campaign to follow.

This year’s nine-member main competition jury, led by Korean director Park Chan-wook and studded with notables including “The Substance” star Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgård and “Hamnet” director Chloé Zhao, seemed intent on spreading the wealth among as many winners as possible. There were three ties at Saturday’s awards ceremony.

The award for actress was shared by Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, co-stars of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” a movie pegged by many to potentially go all the way. Similarly, the prize for actor was bestowed on both Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, co-stars of Lukas Dhont’s World War I romantic drama “Coward.”

The prize for directing went to three people — and two movies — with a joint win for Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (better known as Los Javis) for their century-spanning queer historical drama “The Black Ball,” as well as to director Paweł Pawlikowski for his exquisite post-World War II psychodrama “Fatherland.” (Pawlikowski half-joked at the podium, “This was a disastrous piece of mise-en-scène” after the awkward award presentation had him waiting in the wings.)

Claiming this year’s Grand Prize (essentially second place) was “Minotaur,” the rapturously received comeback film of Andrey Zvyagintsev, a Russian director who had been sidelined with a near-fatal bout of long COVID that put him in a coma. His new movie, about a wealthy Moscow family, is both an erotic thriller and an indictment of amoral oligarchy detached from the war with Ukraine.

The festival’s third-place Jury Prize went to the borderland German drama “The Dreamed Adventure,” directed by Valeska Grisebach.

New York Knicks use an explosive third quarter to take a 2-0 lead over Cleveland in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists, and the New York Knicks moved halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93.

Mikal Bridges also scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds to help the Knicks win their ninth straight game on Thursday night.

That is the NBA’s longest postseason winning streak since the Boston Celtics won 10 straight on their way to the 2024 championship.

Hart went 5 from 11 from 3-point range, burning a defensive strategy that seemed built around leaving him open from long range, and also had seven assists.

“Just a whale of a game from Josh,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.

Two nights after rallying from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Knicks made sure they would be in control late with an 18-0 run in the third quarter that gave them a 71-53 lead. Fans chanted “Knicks in four! Knicks in four!” in the final minute, long after the starters had gone to the benches.

“In our mind it’s 0-0. We’ve got to win the next game. It’s the most important game of the year and that’s how we treat it,” Towns said.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and James Harden had 18 for the Cavaliers, who will have to climb out of a 2-0 deficit for the second straight round. They host Game 3 on Saturday.

“Nothing to hang our head about,” Mitchell said. “They protected home court, and we’ve seen this before so we’re going to go to Game 3.”

The Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year but have not played for the championship since losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

Brunson scored 38 points and led the Game 1 comeback. He had only two points in the first half Thursday before making the first basket of the run that broke open the game and finished with the highest assist total of his playoff career.

Hart was benched for the rally in Game 1, playing just three minutes combined in the fourth quarter and overtime. The forward had been shooting just 26.7 percent from 3-point range and after a third straight miss from long range early Thursday, he put his jersey in his mouth and bit it, bouncing the ball down hard in frustration three times. But he kept firing.

“I knew I had to just keep shooting and if I did that I’d be good,” Hart said.

Mitchell got off to a slow start with just seven points in the first half, triggering more of the questions that followed Game 1 about whether he was injured. His 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left gave Cleveland a 27-24 lead after one.

The Knicks led 53-49 at halftime. The Cavs got the first two baskets of the third to tie it, but Brunson answered with a 3-pointer to start the 18-0 run. He had two more buckets in the burst and Hart hit a pair of 3-pointers, the latter capping it to make it 71-53 with 5:36 remaining in the third. After the Cavs scored five straight, Hart made another 3 and Towns scored to restore the 18-point advantage.

Cleveland cut it to single digits with just under eight minutes left but ruined any chance of getting closer with poor free throw shooting, missing 10 in the game and finishing at 68.8%. The Knicks eventually pushed their lead to 19 points.

“It’s difficult when you’re not making shots,” Harden said. “It puts twice as much pressure on you defensively to get stops.”

Emery’s previous four were already a competition record and while he dismissed the suggestion he was a European king, he is a serial winner.

It now six finals and five wins – with the latest cementing a legacy at Villa Park which will last decades.

Villa officials were nervous talking about the trophy parade in advance, which needed to be organised ahead of time given the disruption in Birmingham, but the squad will flaunt it in the city Thursday afternoon.

Emery said: “I am thankful to [co-owners] Nassef [Sawiris] and Wes [Edens]… they are supporting always. I am thankful to the supporters and I am thankful for the players.

“All the times I am successful in this competition I needed good players. Now I am so thankful for the players, they are following our ambitions.

“They are protagonists on the field. This is the reason I am not feeling the king in this competition. I am feeling really thankful – we are the kings together.

“After 1982 the club won the European Cup, it was something they were missing – the supporters – a trophy. Achieving this one is making us so, so happy but we are not going to stop.”

If Tielemans’ volley – rounding off a short corner routine – gave them the platform then Buendia’s curler into the top corner put one hand on the trophy.

Former Villa midfielder Ian Taylor, a fan of the club who scored in the 1996 League Cup win – the last time Villa had won major silverware – leaped out of his press box chair and punched the air.

Rogers’ third had the substitutes celebrating on the pitch and an airborne Emery jumping on the touchline with clenched fists. Victory was assured.

“I feel amazing,” Tielemans told TNT. “My voice is a bit gone but it’s all good. We put in a shift, a top performance, we had a great season. To top it off with this is amazing.

“It’s been a season with a lot of ups and downs. We started so so bad. Our standards were very poor.

“The way we turned things around was a credit to the players and staff. We kept working, believing. We got the win in the end, Champions League next season and a trophy.”

Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw has been named WSL Football’s Player of the Season after an impressive campaign in the Women’s Super League.

The 29-year-old also won the Golden Boot for a third successive season after scoring 21 goals in 22 appearances as City claimed a first WSL title in a decade.

She won the Football Writers’ Association Women’s Footballer of the Year award earlier in May and was named City’s Player of the Season on Sunday.

Known affectionately as ‘Bunny’, she has dominated headlines after contract renewal discussions broke down with her current deal set to run out in June.

WSL rivals Chelsea are favourites to sign Shaw on a free deal in the summer amid heavy interest from clubs around the world.

During City’s homecoming celebrations at Manchester’s Albert Hall on Sunday, fans chanted “we want Bunny to stay”.

Shaw, who arrived at City in 2021, has finished as the club’s top scorer in four of her five seasons there and holds the record for the most hat-tricks in the WSL (six).

Some of Shaw’s best performances this season included a hat-trick against Tottenham and a four-goal haul at home to Aston Villa, as well as scoring an important opener in the 3-2 win over Arsenal in October.

The Jamaica international could help City snatch a domestic double if they beat Brighton in the Women’s FA Cup final on Sunday, 31 May (15:00 BST).

Shaw beat team-mate Kerstin Casparij, Arsenal forward Alessia Russo and Aston Villa winger Kirsty Hanson to the award.

England international Russo netted 13 goals in 22 matches, playing as both a striker and a midfielder, while Hanson finished third in the goalscoring charts behind Shaw and Russo with 12 goals.

Also shortlisted for the main award were Manchester United’s Jess Park, Chelsea’s Alyssa Thompson, Tottenham’s Olivia Holdt and Everton’s Ruby Mace.

Jannik Sinner has completed the coveted Golden Masters in tennis to become only the second man after Novak Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 events, the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams.

Top-ranked Sinner’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final of the Italian Open also made him the first Italian man to win the tournament since Adriano Panatta in 1976.

“There’s no better place to complete this set,” Sinner said after winning the title and accomplishing the feat on the red clay of the Foro Italico in Rome in front of jubilant home fans who finally saw the half-century-long wait come to an end.

“For an Italian, it’s one of the most special places we play tennis in. To win at least once in my career means a lot to me.”

Djokovic completed the career set in 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States at the age of 31 and then went on to win each event at least twice. Sinner is 24, and with his only real rival, Carlos Alcaraz, currently sidelined due to a right wrist injury, he is proving hard to beat.

“Welcome to the exclusive club, Jannik,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram.

Sinner extended his winning streak to 29 matches. He hasn’t lost since being beaten by Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on February 19 . And he’s now 17-0 on clay this year as he is poised to enter the French Open, which starts on Sunday.

Sinner celebrated calmly as usual, revealing a wide smile when he landed an inside-out forehand on the line on his first championship point, then held his hands over his head in apparent relief. Then he waved to the crowd, which included former Italian professional tennis player Adriano Panatta sitting in the front row.

“Adriano, after 50 years, we’ve won back a very important trophy,” Sinner told the 75-year-old Panatta, who participated in the trophy ceremony.

Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam that Sinner hasn’t won. He has two Australian Open titles and has won Wimbledon and the US Open once each.

Sinner’s triumph came – also with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in attendance – after he lost last year’s final in Rome to Alcaraz in his first tournament back after a three-month doping ban. That defeat came a day after Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to win the Rome singles title in 40 years. She also claimed the doubles trophy with Sara Errani.

With many of Sinner’s fans dressed in orange – his theme colour, which matches his curly hair – the capacity crowd of 10,500 on Campo Centrale created a football-style atmosphere with chanting and loud cheers for the player who has become far and away Italy’s most popular athlete.

After several key points, the crowd erupted into a cheer of “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner.” Then there was more chanting during the trophy presentation.

Angelo Binaghi, the president of the Italian tennis federation, suggested that even if there was a 25,000-seat centre court in Rome – bigger than the US Open’s Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s largest tennis arena – it would have been full.

No signs of fatigue

Sinner overcame exhaustion to beat Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals in a rain-delayed match that required two days to finish. But there were no signs of fatigue against the 25th-ranked Ruud, who has been one of the circuit’s top clay-court players for years.

Ruud reached two finals at Roland Garros, losing to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and Djokovic in 2023. But the Norwegian wasted an early break and a 2-0 advantage at the start of the first set against Sinner, who quickly broke back and then broke again towards the end of the set with the help of three key drop shots – two of which were so well-placed that Ruud didn’t even run for them.

A big backhand winner up the line gave Sinner another break in the opening game of the second set.

Sinner improved to 5-0 in his career against Ruud.

“What you’re doing this year, it’s hard to describe in words,” Ruud told Sinner during the trophy ceremony. “It’s really an honour to watch you play. … Congratulations for making history.”

Day to remember for Italy

It was an extra special day for the host nation after Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori became the first Italian duo to win the men’s doubles title in Rome since 1960.

Bolelli and Vavassori beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (8), 6-7 (3), 10-3.

For both the singles and doubles finals, there was a packed crowd watching on a jumbo screen on the statue-lined court of the Nicola Pietrangeli Stadium next to Campo Centrale.

Elina Svitolina beat Coco Gauff in the women’s singles title match on Saturday.

There’s no denying that Loyola’s lacrosse program is best in Southern California and could be that way for years to come with the number of elite young players participating.

On Saturday night, the Cubs (16-3) won their latest Southern Section Division 1 championship with a 14-6 win over Santa Margarita. The Cubs have won three title since the sport was adopted as a championship event in the Southern Section. Defense has been Loyola’s strength all season.

Senior defenders Chase Hellie and Everett Rolph and junior goalkeeper William Russo led one of the best defenses in program history under coach Jimmy Borell.

Senior Cash Ginsberg finished with five goals and junior North Carolina commit Tripp King finished with two goals.

Orange Lutheran won Division 2 boys over Edison and Windward won Division 3.

In girls Division 1, Mira Costa upset top-seeded Santa Margarita 12-6.

Rousey won the fight with her signature armbar lock, forcing Carano into submission just 17 seconds into the bout.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) star Ronda Rousey has re-retired after demolishing fellow combat sports trailblazer Gina Carano in their long-awaited non-title comeback bout in Los Angeles, defeating her rival by armbar after just 17 seconds.

After a hype-filled build-up, the bout on Saturday was a jarring anti-climax, with Rousey flooring Carano almost immediately before wrestling her into an armbar to end the fight.

American stars Rousey, 39, and Carano, 44, are widely regarded as two of the most important female fighters in the history of MMA, helping to take the sport into the mainstream during their fighting heydays more than a decade ago.

Carano had parlayed her success into a Hollywood career, appearing in several action movie roles, but had not fought since 2009 before her appearance in Saturday’s featherweight bout.

Rousey, a 2008 Olympics judo bronze medallist who subsequently found huge success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), retired from the sport in 2016 after suffering back-to-back defeats against Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm.

The fighters were lured back into the cage for Saturday’s card at the Intuit Dome with the promise of a bumper payday that will reportedly see each fighter earn several million dollars from the streaming giant.

Rousey (13-2-0 MMA) secured her 10th submission win, returning to the cage following an exit from MMA in December 2016.

She insisted afterwards her return to the ring was a one-off and ruled out the possibility of fighting again after paying tribute to Carano.

“Gina is the only person who could have brought me back into MMA – she’s my hero,” Rousey said. “She changed my world, and we changed the world, and I’ll never ever forget that or be able to pay that back enough.

“I’m so glad we finally got to share this moment.”

Asked about possibly extending her comeback, Rousey added: “There’s no way I could have ended it better than this. I want to have some more babies, got to get cooking.”

Carano (7-2-0 MMA) ⁠⁠had been inactive in the sport since August 2009, returning to MMA after a conversation last year at Rousey’s encouragement. She admitted the fight was too fast for her, regretting what ⁠⁠more she could have done in a short timeframe.

“I feel great,” Carano said after the loss. “I wanted to fight, ⁠⁠and I didn’t get that. But she trained. She ⁠⁠had her game plan. I have so much love and respect for her, and this was a victory in my life. She changed it. I woke up at 3am every morning thinking about ‌‌her. I fell back in love with mixed martial arts. There’s ‌‌so ‌‌many things to think about here. It’s just [that] the fight didn’t go my way.

“I wanted that to last longer – I felt like I was so ready, I felt so good,” she said. “But I haven’t been here for 17 years. I wanted to hit her.”

Carano, 44, is unsure whether she’ll return to MMA, choosing to keep the door open.

Carano said the mere fact of getting in shape for her return – she revealed before the bout she had shed more than 100 pounds (45kg) in the two years leading up to the contest – was a victory.

“Right now, just getting in the cage was a victory, getting here after 17 years is a victory. Fighting a legend was a victory. I feel great, I just wanted to fight, and I didn’t get to do that.”