Real Madrid's Antonio Rdiger and Kylian Mbapp have been cleared by UEFA to play for next week's Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Arsenal.

Outside of dirt races, Corey Day's schedule used to be wide open. That's not the case now that he's in NASCAR.

From kicked ball violations to memorizing plays, Jokic has become one of the league's best defenders.

President Donald Trump arrives at the Trump International Golf Club, Friday, April 4, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-04T15:44:23Z WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Two days after sending the global economy reeling by announcing tariffs on foreign imports, President Donald Trump insisted his trade policies will never change as he remained ensconced in a bubble of wealth and power in Florida.He woke up on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, and headed to his nearby golf course a few miles away after writing on social media that THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH. Several supporters stood across the street as Trump, wearing his signature red campaign hat and white polo shirt, glided down a street lined with palm trees. They waved to him and he waved back, part of a ritual that plays out every weekend that hes in town. The Republican president was not expected to appear publicly, although hes scheduled to attend a candlelit dinner for MAGA Inc., an allied political organization, on Friday evening. He also spent Thursday in Miami at a different one of his golf courses, where he attended a Saudi-funded tournament. He landed in Marine One and was picked up in a golf cart driven by his son, Eric. Trump has often proved impervious to the kind of scandals or gaffes that would damage another politician, but his decision to spend the weekend at his gilded properties could test Americans patience at a time when their retirement savings are evaporating along with the stock market. The tariffs are expected to increase prices by thousands of dollars per year and slow economic growth, and there are fears about a potential recession. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that the tariffs were significantly larger than expected and are highly likely to cause more inflation at least in the short term but possibly in the long term as well. However, Trump has described his policies as a painful yet necessary step to encourage companies to relocate their operations to the United States, and he spent the morning defending himself on Truth Social, his social media platform, vowing he is sticking with his policies. Although experts have harshly criticized Trumps tariffs, hes found support on TikTok. He shared a video that said Trump is crashing the stock market and hes doing it on purpose as part of secret game hes playing, and it could make you rich. The goal, the video said, is to push the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, something that Trump explicitly called for later in the morning. This would be a PERFECT time for Powell to cut interest rates, he wrote. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!With foreign leaders scrambling in response to Trumps announcement this week, the president lashed out and looked to cut deals. He said he spoke with Vietnamese leader To Lam and claimed Vietnam wants to eliminate its tariffs on U.S. goods if it can make a deal with the U.S.He also criticized China for announcing its own tariffs on U.S. imports.CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO! he wrote.Trump also celebrated a new report showing the U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, beating expectations. Although the numbers were a snapshot of the economy before the tariff announcement, Trump claimed vindication, saying they already show his moves are working. HANG TOUGH, he wrote. WE CANT LOSE!!!___ Megerian reported from Washington. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Trump International Golf Club, Friday, April 4, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-04T16:02:32Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Senate dived into contentious debate Friday on a budget plan critical to Republican efforts to pass trillions of dollars in tax cuts and boost border security and defense spending through what President Donald Trump calls one big beautiful bill.Passage of the plan would give Republicans the chance in coming months to muscle a tax cut bill through both chambers of Congress even if Democrats are unanimously opposed, just as they did in Trumps first term.Democrats are intent on making the effort as politically painful as possible, beginning with all-night votes on dozens of proposals that GOP senators will have to defend before next years mid-term elections, including on Trumps tariff policies and the administrations efforts to shrink the federal government.Republicans are framing their work as preventing a tax increase for most American families. Unless Congress acts, the individual and estate tax cuts that Republicans passed in 2017 will expire at the end of this year. Republicans believe fundamentally that Americans know best what to do with their money, said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Democrats accused Republicans of laying the groundwork for increasing deficits and cutting key safety net programs such as Medicaid and nutritional assistance to help pay for tax cuts they say disproportionately benefit the wealthy. The investments that affect Americas future are hanging by a thread, and Republicans are about to cut it, said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. The debate early Friday was generally one-sided. Senate Democrats are taking full advantage of 25 hours of their available debate time, while Republicans yielded much of theirs in order to get to an all-night voting frenzy referred to as a vote-a-rama. Once lawmakers have exhausted their list of amendments and themselves, theyll move to a final vote on the plan itself, most likely sometime Saturday morning. The Senate is expected to approve the measure. The House will also have to pass it to unlock the process that Republicans can use to pass legislation with a simple majority and avoid a Democratic filibuster.And thats just the beginning.Developing a final bill will take weeks, if not months, with the GOP leadership and Trump needing virtually every Republican vote to get a package over the finish line. The GOP leaders will confront concerns from fiscal hawks in deep red states and congressional districts who want trillions of dollars in spending cuts to help pay for the tax breaks. And they will confront dozens of lawmakers in swing districts and states worried about what those cuts will mean for their constituents, and their reelection chances.It will be a delicate task with no guarantee of success, particularly as economic gyrations from Trumps tariff policies test his ability to keep Republicans united.The Senates budget plan allows for extending the individual and estate tax cuts under a scoring method that treats them as not adding to future deficits, even though the Congressional Budget Office has projected the extension would cost more than $3.8 trillion over 10 years, not including higher interest payments. On top of that, the budget plan instructs the Senate Finance Committee to expand deficits by up to $1.5 trillion more over that same timeframe. That would give senators room to include some of Trumps campaign promises, such as no tax on tips, Social Security benefits and overtime. Republicans are also looking to increase the $10,000 deduction for state and local taxes, something that lawmakers from states such as New York, California and New Jersey say is necessary to get their support.The budget plan also allows the Senate to increase the debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion. Final approval of such an increase would allow the federal government to continue to finance its debts and push any further votes on the matter until after next years mid-term elections. Trump is wary of giving Democrats the chance to extract concessions on a debt ceiling vote. The plan also instructs four Senate committees to find at least $1 billion each in budget reductions. Thats just a small fraction of the more than $5 trillion in potential tax relief. But the leadership is emphasizing that the instructions purposefully set a low floor for spending cuts to provide maximum flexibility and that committees will be on the hunt for far more.Committees are also given authority to pursue as much as $521 billion to boost border security, defense and the Coast Guard, though Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said the final spending total will be closer to $345 billion.The House budget plan provided for $4.5 trillion in tax breaks over 10 years, though the amount for tax breaks would shrink if the spending cut totals dont get to $2 trillion in savings. The GOP leadership has encouraged members to just get a budget plan over the finish line, saying they have time to work out the tough questions of which tax breaks and spending cuts to include.Throughout the debate, Democratic have focused on framing the tax cuts as helping out the wealthiest at the expense of average Americans. Sen. Jeff Merkley, the lead Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, spoke with a sign behind him that read Republican Plan: Families Lose, Billionaires Win.Thats a terrible plan, Merkley said.Extending the the 2017 breaks would cut taxes for about three-quarters of households but raise them for about 10 percent. In 2027, about 45% of the benefit of all the tax cuts would go to those making roughly $450,000 or more, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, which analyzes tax issues.Sen. John Barrasso, the No.-2 ranking GOP senator, said voters gave Republicans a mission and a mandate in November, and the Senate budget plan delivers. It fulfills our promises to secure the border, to rebuild our economy and to restore peace through strength, Barrasso said.

Its almost that time of year! GLAAD and Ty Herndons annual Concert for Love & Acceptance is right around the corner! To kick off Pride Month, on June 2nd, The Concert for Love and Acceptance is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Today, country icon Ty Herndon has announced the first round of performers who will take [...]The post Dasha, David Archuleta, Brooke Eden, and more to Perform at GLAAD and Ty Herndons Annual Concert for Love & Acceptance first appeared on GLAAD.

Dylan Efron has the gays melting downagain!The 37-year-old The Traitors star just posted a new shirtless selfie, and its making everyone drool.Efron posted a carousal of photos to Instagram on Friday morning, and while most of the pics are tame shots of him camping, the first and last photo show off his delicious abs. The first photo is a shirtless photo of him coyly smiling while sitting in a makeup chair. And the last photo shows off his glistening chest and tight abs while staring directly into the camera.See on InstagramWhen Pop Crave reposted the pic on X (formerly Twitter) the gays in the comments started going into a tailspin and offering themselves up for hiswell, you'll see. (@) The post is full of comments like, Im just a hole, He can top me, Oh I know its huge, and He wants to kill us! We love it! Keep going. (@) But this isnt the first time Efron has inspired lust in the gay community, his back arch has been putting in the work.While starring on The Traitors, fans went feral when they found out Zac Efrons younger brother loves a good thirst trap and had posted a photo of himself lying on the beach and arching his back with his butt up in the air.It was truly something to behold!And just this week, Efron dished to PRIDE about loving the repose his back arch pic got."I hid [the arch pic] in the back of a carousel, and that thing resurfaced with a storm! That's why I'm here. I love how inclusive this community is. That's the best feeling in the world to be accepted like that," Efron said.We also love a self-aware king, and Efron admitted he plans to take more sexy photos because it's what I'm good at.Hopefully, that means today's thirst-worthy shirtless photo is just the first of many. Bring it on!

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti does not believe the decision to allow Barcelona's Dani Olmo and Pau Vctor to continue playing for the club will taint any competition, with his team potentially facing Bara for three trophies.

Mikel Arteta has claimed Arsenal "have the resources to cope" with Gabriel Magalhaes' season-ending injury, hinting both Ben White and Jurrin Timber could soon return to action.

Two-way star Travis Hunter apparently has decided to skip the Colorado Showcase event, as hundreds of NFL talent evaluators descended on the Buffaloes' campus

The NBA has fined Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant $75,000 mimicking shooting a gun with his finger twice while on the court, the league announced Friday.

From a comment on a Yankees broadcast to a rush of new bat orders, here's how MLB's hottest trend took off.

Washington Nationals right-hander went on the 15-day injured list Friday with a strained biceps in his pitching arm after hurting himself in his first start with the club.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti does not believe the decision to allow Barcelona's Dani Olmo and Pau Vctor to continue playing for the club will taint any competition, with his team potentially facing Bara for three trophies.

Ruben Amorim said he would be "crazy" to think Manchester United can win the Premier League next season.

The successes this season by Bruce Pearl at Auburn and Rick Pitino at St. John's led to the first tie in the 58-year history of The Associated Press men's college basketball Coach of the Year award.

Northwestern and men's basketball coach Chris Collins have agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2030, the school announced on Friday.

Two-way star Travis Hunter apparently has decided to skip the Colorado Showcase event, as hundreds of NFL talent evaluators descended on the Buffaloes' campus

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti does not believe the decision to allow Barcelona's Dani Olmo and Pau Vctor to continue playing for the club will taint any competition, with his team potentially facing Bara for three trophies.

Mikel Arteta has claimed Arsenal "have the resources to cope" with Gabriel Magalhaes' season-ending injury, hinting both Ben White and Jurrin Timber could soon return to action.

The TikTok app logo is shown on an iPhone on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)2025-04-04T17:48:20Z WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump on Friday said is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 75 days to give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership.Congress had mandated that the platform be divested from China by Jan. 19 or barred in the U.S. on national security grounds, but Trump moved unilaterally to extend the deadline to this weekend, as he sought to negotiate an agreement to keep it running. Trump has recently entertained an array of offers from U.S. businesses seeking to buy a share of the popular social media site, but Chinas ByteDance, which owns TikTok and its closely-held algorithm, has insisted the platform is not for sale.My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress, Trump posted on his social media platform. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days. Trump added: We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.TikTok, which has headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles, has said it prioritizes user safety, and Chinas Foreign Ministry has said Chinas government has never and will not ask companies to collect or provide data, information or intelligence held in foreign countries.

A screen displays financial news as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)2025-04-04T16:59:39Z NEW YORK (AP) The huge swings rocking Wall Street and the global economy may feel far from normal. But, for investing at least, drops of this size have happened throughout history.Stomaching them is the price investors have had to pay in order to get the bigger returns that stocks can offer over other investments in the long term. Heres a glimpse at whats behind the markets wild moves and what experts advise investors young and old to consider: HOW BAD IS THE MARKET?Wall Streets main benchmark, the S&P 500, has lost more than 16% since setting an all-time high on Feb. 19, mostly because of worries about President Donald Trumps tariffs. Any kind of uncertainty around the economy will give Wall Street pause, but the trade war is making it more difficult for companies, households and others to feel confident enough to invest, spend and make long-term plans. The tariffs announced on Liberation Day sent stocks reeling to their worst day since since the COVID crash of 2020 because they were much harsher than investors had been expecting. They also raised the fear that Trump may push through with them to win long-term gains, such as more manufacturing jobs in the United States. The hope among investors had been that Trump was using tariffs merely as a bargaining chip to win concessions from other countries. Some big names on Wall Street still think thats the case, and a moderation of tariffs would help stocks recover, but its less of a certainty now. STOCKS DO THIS OFTEN?Regularly enough. The S&P 500 has seen declines of at least 10% every year or so. Often, experts view them as a culling of optimism that can otherwise run overboard, driving stock prices too high. Before this recent downswing, many critics were saying the U.S. stock market was too expensive after prices rose faster than corporate profits. They also pointed to how only a handful of companies drove so much of the markets returns. A group of just seven Big Tech companies accounted for more than half of the S&P 500s total return last year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. SHOULD I SELL AND GET OUT? Anytime an investor sees theyre losing money, it feels bad. This recent run feels particularly unnerving because of how incredibly calm the market had previously been. The S&P 500 is coming off a second straight year where it shot up by more than 20%, the first time thats happened since baggy pants were last in style before the millennium. Selling may offer some feeling of relief. But it also locks in losses and prevents the chance of making the money back over time. Historically, the S&P 500 has come back from every one of its downturns to eventually make investors whole again. That includes after the Great Depression, the dot-com bust and the 2020 COVID crash. Some recoveries take longer than others, but experts often recommend not putting money into stocks that you cant afford to lose for several years, up to 10. Emergency funds, for things like home repairs or medical bills, should not be invested in stocks. Data has shown, historically, that no one can time the market, said Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of WalletHub. No one can consistently figure out the best time to buy and sell. SHOULD I CHANGE ANYTHING WITH MY INVESTMENTS?For years, the U.S. stock market was the best by far to invest in worldwide. Now, more investors are questioning wither U.S. exceptionalism is dead. But it could all be a reminder that investors often do best when they have a mixed set of investments rather than going all-in on just a few. And investors may no longer be as diversified as they thought after years of sheer dominance by the Magnificent Seven over the U.S. stock market and by Wall Street over global markets. It is hard to roll with the punches when some days you feel like your portfolio is being pummeled, said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. But those moments should pass. A diversified strategy that is thoughtfully adapting to changing circumstances cant prevent the punches, but it can help soften the blows.Phil Battin, CEO of Ambassador Wealth Management, advises investors to make sure they diversify their investments across regions and sectors to reduce risk. He says to lean towards resilient sectors such as consumer staples, utilities and health care, which are less reliant on international trade. I JUST STARTED INVESTING IN STOCKS. WHAT SHOULD I DO?The proliferation of online trading platforms and the ease of smartphones has helped create a new generation of investors who may not be used to such volatility. But the good news is younger investors often have the gift of time. With decades to go until retirement, they can afford to ride the waves and let their stock portfolios hopefully recover before compounding and eventually growing even bigger. Stephen Kates, financial analyst at Bankrate, says now is not the time to make emotional decisions. Young investors should re-anchor to your (long-term) goals, and consider using a financial advisor to help navigate uncertain times. Investors with ample time to stay invested should remember how lucrative patience has been over the last 15 years, Kates said. WHAT IF IM NEAR RETIREMENT?Older investors have less time than younger ones to allow their investments to bounce back. But even in retirement, some people will need their investments to last 30 years or more, said Niladri Neel Mukherjee, chief investment officer of TIAA Wealth Management.People who have already retired may want to cut back on spending and withdrawals after sharp market downturns, because bigger withdrawals will remove more potential compounding ability in the future. But even retirees, at least in the early part of retirement, should still be invested in stocks to prepare for the possibility of decades of spending ahead. You may want to slow that down and pick that back up once the market recovers, Mukherjee said, but it all comes down to having that conversation with your adviser and your portfolio manager.HOW LONG WILL THIS LAST?No one knows, and dont let anyone tell you otherwise. CORA LEWIS Lewis is an Associated Press business reporter based in New York. twitter mailto

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss learning from civilizations past and learning to drive.JASON: I mentioned this on a podcast a few weeks ago, but I have been falling asleep lately to the Ancient Americas YouTube channel. Made by a guy in the midwest named Pete, Ancient Americas makes 30-minute to hour-long videos about indigenous American civilizations: The Mayans, the Incans, the Aztecs, the Nazca, sure. But also the Calusa, the Toltecs, the Tarascans, the Marajoara, the Cahokia, and lots of other civilizations / peoples / cities / ruins that I had never heard of and never learned about in school.I didnt have any specific interest in thisAncient Americas started autoplaying one night at 3 AM when I couldnt sleep, and Petes monotone voice put me back to sleep very quickly. I started listening more often, and it has quickly become my go-to thing to fall asleep to. Pete says he is not an archaeologist or an anthropologist, but each of his videos is insanely well researched, and he includes a Google Doc bibliography with each one. His recent video about the Mayan Collapse sources 10 books and academic papers, and includes 16 pages of single-spaced image credits and licenses. I have seen Pete go on the channels of historians and archaeologists with PhDs and more than hold his own. In short, he is the real deal.

I'm not sure how you say "gay rights" in Simlish, but I'm happy that SimNation is all in for it!In a trailer released this week, Electronic Arts's The Sims 4 teased upcoming free content for the game. And it is jam-packed with Pride-related content, including a 'Pride Rocks! Collage' with variations of Pride flags to makeup, beds, tattoos, and clothing referencing colors from various flags. The trailer ends with 'Show Your Pride Everyday' and encourages fans of the life simulation to play.This isn't the first time the game has included LGBTQ+-related content. In 2016, the game overhauled gender customization and added gender-neutral bathrooms and its first Pride-related content in 2019. That same year, they redesigned The Sims 4 key art to include its first lesbian couple. In addition to adding trans and non-binary NPCs into the game over the years, in 2022, they released new options for players who wanted to explore sexual identities. Working with GLAAD and It Gets Better, the updates were an effort to reflect the diverse identities of gamers within the simulated world. The equally queer-affirming Sims Community has also added mods and custom content into the game, bringing to Sims lifeand perhaps the lives of those who play itsome much-needed queer joy. Since President Trump's return to office, many companies have scaled back on LGBTQ+ and other DEI initiatives. But some companies have doubled down on their commitments, determined to amplify the diverse voices of their employees and reflect the diversity of their customers.No word yet on when the content will be released.

Nature, Published online: 04 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01071-6Decision comes amidst mass layoffs plus, administration instructs US biomedical agency to study regret after transgender people transition.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is in a trademark dispute with NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. over the right to use a stylized version of the No. 8.

The NBA has fined Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant $75,000 mimicking shooting a gun with his finger twice while on the court, the league announced Friday.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is in a trademark dispute with NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. over the right to use a stylized version of the No. 8.

Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson is expected to miss at least a couple of games because of injury, coach Spencer Carbery said Friday.

Duke star Cooper Flagg becomes just the fourth freshman to win AP men's college basketball Player of the Year award.

Former Iowa forward Owen Freeman, the 2023-24 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and ex-Charlotte top scorer Nik Graves have signed with Creighton.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is in a trademark dispute with NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. over the right to use a stylized version of the No. 8.

The NBA has fined Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant $75,000 mimicking shooting a gun with his finger twice while on the court, the league announced Friday.

Duke forward Cooper Flagg (2) motions during the first half of an Elite Eight round NCAA college basketball tournament game against the Alabama, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2025-04-04T17:01:18Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Cooper Flagg and his Duke teammates were days away from clinching a spot in the Final Four, and the Blue Devils freshman star was planning ahead.It wasnt about anything on the court, though. It was to be ready the next time teammates Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba broke out water guns at the cold tubs.Im definitely ordering one as well, Flagg said with a grin, a nod to the fact that hes still just being a kid.Maybe so, but the the 18-year-olds game has been far more advanced than his age from the opening tip of his college debut. Scoring. Rebounding. Setting up teammates as a playmaker, then aiding them as a defender. He did it all amid high expectations as the potential No. 1 overall NBA draft prospect, the driving force with a relentless competitive edge and mature focus for a team now two wins from a national championship. It is why Flagg was named The Associated Press mens college basketball national player of the year on Friday, becoming only the fourth freshman to win the award in its 64-year history.The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Newport, Maine, won a two-man race with Auburn star Johni Broome. Both players were unanimous first-team AP All-Americans with teams at the Final Four, and they were the only two to receive player-of-the-year votes, Flagging 41 of the 61. Flagg joins Dukes Zion Williamson (2019), Kentuckys Anthony Davis (2012) and Texas star Kevin Durant (2007) as freshman winners. Each went either No. 1 or No. 2 overall in the NBA draft a few months later. Flagg is the eighth Duke player to win the award, most of any program.He plays so hard, hes competitive, a great teammate, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the Blue Devils home finale, and obviously his ability is special. High standard, high expectationsFlagg was just 17 when he arrived at Duke after reclassifying to graduate early from high school. Yet he has exceeded all hype as the nations top-ranked recruit, with Flagg leading Duke in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (7.5), assists (4.2) and steals (1.4) while ranking second in blocks (1.3) entering Saturdays national semifinal against Houston.I hold myself to a high standard, high expectations, Flagg told the AP. Just because I know how much work Ive put in and how many hours Ive spent grinding and putting that work in. ... Its those expectations of just trusting what you do and just doing it to the highest level. And he repeatedly did that.He scored an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman-record 42 points against Notre Dame. There was his highlight-reel transition dunk against Pittsburgh. The big game to help the Blue Devils beat Broomes Tigers, along with going for 30 points in an NCAA Sweet 16 win against Arizona that Scheyer called one of the best tournament performances Ive ever coached or been a part of.Cohesive play is the hallmark of this Blue Devils team, the only one ranked in KenPoms top five for both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. It has offered ways for Flagg to improve in his first and possibly lone college season as he learned the level of the details required to thrive. It was ensuring he got in for pre-practice recovery sessions. Or listening when graduate transfer Mason Gillis and junior Tyrese Proctor pushed the importance of sleep, prompting Flagg to nix a high-school habit of late-night phone scrolling. As far as outside expectations, I couldnt really care less, Flagg said. For me, its more about following the expectations of my teammates, my coaches, my family. Everybodys human so Im going to make mistakes. Im not going to be at my best all the time. But thats what having great teammates and great coaches does for you. They just always have my back and are always there for me.Support within reachHis mother, Kelly, almost envies how her son handles that.I think he sees it but he really doesnt let it bother him, she told the AP. And I wish I was more like that. Hes so comfortable with who he is, and hes always been that way. Thats why he doesnt get rattled easily, because he believes in himself and it doesnt really matter to him what other people think. Thats a special ability to be able to drown out the noise when the noise can be overwhelming at times for somebody like him. Im really proud of him for being able to do that.She and husband Ralph have kept a close eye on how hes been doing after moving to North Carolina for this year while Ace, Coopers twin brother, completes his final season of high school basketball in Greensboro, an hour away. Flagg said it helped to have family close, including when he visited for a few days around Christmas and got multiple days in the gym with his father and brothers.When you are able to step back and just take a break, it can be really good to just get your mind clear and kind of refocus, he said. It showed up on the court, notably as he elevated his scoring (20.1 points, up from 16.9), assists (4.5, up from 3.7), shooting percentage (51%, up from 43.8%) and 3-point percentage (.434, up from 27.1) after Jan. 1.Indeed, Flagg seems wired for big moments when the stakes rise, something his mother has seen going back to his childhood. There was his hatred of losing from early on, such as demanding to keep playing after losing in a driveway game of H-O-R-S-E with Kelly who played in college at Maine or a board game like Trouble.He always wanted to be first to do anything even when it seemed a bit much, such as the family working with eldest brother Hunter to ride a bike without training wheels only to have the then-3 Cooper announce I can do it, Momma and back it up.When it came to basketball, he tested his parents nerves by constantly dribbling on the hardwood floors at home. But success came quickly, too, with whispers soon spreading around Maine about the prodigy playing up several grade levels.When he was younger, if somebody stole the ball from him or he turned it over or got fouled or did something (wrong), we would say it was a 50/50 shot whether he was going to pick up a crazy foul or he was going to do something spectacular, Kelly said. And as hes gotten older, it was more the chances of something really good was about to happen.Savoring this momentFlagg noted multiple times how much he has enjoyed Duke. He has talked about making connections and fitting in with other students he called elite in their own respects.Thats offered a respite from the spotlight, even as hes featured in ads and commercials as a leading-man star for college basketball with players permitted to profit from their athletic fame. He is now used to requests for autographs and selfies, shrugging that there could be worse problems to have.Flagg has avoided saying he is making the expected jump to the NBA after the season. For now, there are more pressing things to deal with, from the Final Four to ordering that water gun.I have to, Flagg insisted. What am I going to do? Im going to be unarmed?___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AARON BEARD Beard covers sports in North Carolina for The Associated Press with an emphasis on college basketball. His coverage includes ACC sports and the NHLs Carolina Hurricanes. twitter mailto

In this image from video provided by SpaceX, a Dragon capsule carrying four space tourists prepares to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday, April 4, 2025. (SpaceX via AP)2025-04-04T16:21:26Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Four space tourists who orbited the north and south poles returned to Earth on Friday, splashing down in the Pacific to end their privately funded polar tour.Bitcoin investor Chun Wang chartered a SpaceX flight for himself and three others in a Dragon capsule that was outfitted with a domed window that provided 360-degree views of the polar caps and everything in between. Wang declined to say how much he paid for the 3 1/2-day trip. The quartet, who rocketed from NASAs Kennedy Space Center on Monday night, returned off the Southern California coast. It was the first human spaceflight to circle the globe above the poles and the first Pacific splashdown for a space crew in 50 years. The Chinese-born Wang, now a citizen of Malta, invited Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge and Australian polar guide Eric Philips, all of whom shared stunning vistas during their voyage. It is so epic because it is another kind of desert, so it just goes on and on and on all the way, Rogge said in a video posted by Wang on X while gazing down from orbit. Mikkelsen packed the capsule with camera equipment and spent much of her time behind the lens.All four suffered from space motion sickness after reaching orbit, according to Wang. But by the time they woke up on day two, they felt fine and cranked open the window cover right above the South Pole, he said via X. Besides documenting the poles from 270 miles (430 kilometers) up, Wang and his crew took the first medical X-rays in space as part of a test and conducted two dozen other science experiments. They named their trip Fram2 after the Norwegian sailing ship that carried explorers to the poles more than a century ago. A bit of the original ships wooden deck accompanied the crew to space.SpaceX said its decision to switch splashdown sites from Florida beginning with this flight was based on safety. The company said Pacific splashdowns will ensure that any surviving pieces of the trunk jettisoned near flights end falls into the ocean.The last people to return from space to the Pacific were the three NASA astronauts assigned to the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Every week, The GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBTQ-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend. 1.) A Nice Indian Boy hit theaters today! In Roshan Sethis third feature, the modest yet charming doctor Naveen (Karan Soni) introduces his white-artist boyfriend Jay (Jonathan Groff) [...]The post The GLAAD Wrap: A Nice Indian Boy in Theaters, Teasers of Star Trek: Strange New World and Doctor Who, New Music by Kali Uchis, The Beaches, and More! first appeared on GLAAD.

After more than a decade playing pro ball, queer seven-time-all-star Elena Delle Donne is retiring from the WNBA.The 35-year-old MVP and Olympic gold medal winner announced her departure from the league in a heartfelt Instagram post, in which she discussed the injuries that forced her to sit out the 2024 season.One of my favorite childrens books asked, How did it get so late so soon? Delle Donnes announcement read. I have asked myself that over and over again in the process of coming to the decision to retire from playing basketball. Being able to say that out loud was one of the hardest parts of my career. My body seemed to make this decision before my mind accepted it but I now truly know this is the right thing for me at the right time.See on InstagramIn 2019, the Washington Mystics player led the team to its first and only league championship but has only played 51 games since then due to injuries and back surgeries.Delle Donne spent her rookie year with the Chicago Sky, earning rooking of the year, and eventually taking the team to the WNBA finals in 2014, and scoring her first MVP award in 2015, before requesting a trade to the Mystics before the start of the 2017 season, the Washington Post reports.Delle Donne came out in a Vogue profile in 2016, just three years after she was drafted second overall behind fellow queer MNBA star Brittney Griner. She and wife Amanda Clifton tied the knot in 2017, telling People that she was happy to "be able to live in a world now where Amanda and I are able to be out and hopefully inspire others just to live their truth.See on InstagramAfter joining the Mystics in 2017, Delle Donne was a centerpiece of the team, increasing their win total and helping the team improve every year until they took home the teams only championship in 2019.But after years of dealing with ongoing injuries, including a pair of back surgeries limited her to playing just three games in 2021, in 2023 she made her final all-star team but ankle and hip injuries made her miss play time, and then she had to sit out the 2024 season altogether. Despite being offered a one-year super-max offer which allows teams to pay more than the normal salary cap to retain veteran player Delle Donne opted to leave the game behind.Words cannot adequately express how thankful I am to my family, all of my incredible teammates, friends, executives, sponsors, staff and most importantly the amazing fans that have accompanied me on this journey, her Instagram statement continued. This game has been my life and I am grateful for the memories and how much its given me. It feels good to close this chapter knowing I gave it my all and I cant wait for whats next!Delle Donne may be leaving the sport in the rear view mirror, but not only did she bring the Sun and the Mystics to glory on the court, but living her life out and proud, inspired other athletes to do the same.You sparked pride in my lesbian athlete identity by having the bravery to simply exist as yourself, runner Susie Poole wrote in an open letter to Delle Donne for Outsports during Pride Month 2022. Thats something Ill be celebrating every month of the year for the rest of my life. Thank you for being the person I needed when I was young.

Dylan Efron, star of The Traitors and younger brother of Hollywood heartthrob Zac Efron, is once again setting the internet ablaze with a shirtless selfie that has his followersespecially the LGBTQ+ communitylosing their minds. The 37-year-old reality TV star shared a series of photos on Instagram on Friday morning, and while most were wholesome camping shots, the first and last images had fansSource

Fans of the popular comedy Hacks have been clamoring for a romantic twist between the shows central characters, Ava Daniels and Deborah Vance. Now, it seems that one of the shows stars, Hannah Einbinder, might be just as eager to see these two iconic characters get together. Appearing recently on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Einbinder, who plays Ava, opened up about the possibility of aSource

Nature, Published online: 04 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01073-4Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

Duke star Cooper Flagg becomes just the fourth freshman to win AP men's college basketball Player of the Year award.

No. 1 seeds UCLA, South Carolina and Texas advanced to Tampa. But 2-seed UConn has momentum and experience.

Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov will miss the team's upcoming four-game road trip with an undisclosed injury, coach Rod Brind'Amour announced Friday.

Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang announced on Friday that she is handing over her female athlete innovation hub and making an additional $25 million investment to support U.S. Soccer's efforts.

Germany and Roma centre-back Mats Hummels will retire at the end of the season, the 2014 World Cup winner said on Friday.

Houston has a plan to pit its top-ranked defense against Cooper Flagg and Duke.

Duke star Cooper Flagg becomes just the fourth freshman to win AP men's college basketball Player of the Year award.

No. 1 seeds UCLA, South Carolina and Texas advanced to Tampa. But 2-seed UConn has momentum and experience.

This combo of filer photos show from left, St. John's coach Rick Pitino, left, and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, the The Associated Press coaches of the year in men's college basketball. (AP Photo/File)2025-04-04T16:02:30Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. Bruce Pearl has turned Auburn into a basketball school and may have his best team yet. Rick Pitino has done what he does best at St. Johns, ushering in a quick turnaround.Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of The Associated Press mens college basketball coach of the year award.Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting released Friday from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisvilles Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Dukes Jon Scheyer got five. Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) each received three and Drakes Ben McCollum and UC San Diegos Eric Olen each got one vote.Pitino is the first St. Johns coach to be named AP coach of the year and the sixth in Big East Conference history. Marquettes Shaka Smart won the award two years ago. When Pitino was hired in 2023, the Red Storm had been mired in mediocrity. St. Johns hadnt been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and the March Madness trips had been sporadic since the late 1990s.Pitino led the Red Storm to 20 wins his first season and back into into national prominence this year. St. Johns won the Big East regular-season title by going 18-2 and took its first Big East Conference Tournament title since 2000. The Red Storm matched a school record with 31 wins marks set in the 1980s under Lou Carnesecca and had their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in in 34 years by reaching No. 5 in the final regular-season poll. St. Johns was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and opened with a win over Omaha before losing to Arkansas in the second round. Pitinos quick success follows a pattern he set in previous stops at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He is the first coach to lead six different programs to the NCAA Tournament.I have been blessed for a long period of time fifty-plus years of coaching, Pitino said. Its going to stop, so why not have a blast? Why not get the most out of it? Laugh, have fun, get great experiences. Pearl has certainly been doing that since taking over at Auburn in 2015. The Tigers had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and Pearl got them back into the bracket by his fourth season. Auburn took a huge leap the following year, earning the programs first trip to the Final Four in 2019.The Tigers have been close to unstoppable this season.Led by All-American Johni Broome, Auburn spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 this season, earned the SEC regular-season title and has won a school-record 32 games. The Tigers were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and bulled their way through the bracket, beating Michigan State 70-64 to reach the Final Four for the second time.Pearl joins Cliff Ellis in 1999 as the only Auburn coaches to win AP coach of the year honors. He is first SEC coach to win the award since Kentuckys John Calipari 10 years ago.You want to be on a great team, youve got to make sacrifices, Pearl said. Youve got to share and youve got to hold each other accountable. I think thats a big part of what this locker room is all about. This is a team of faith.With a national coach of the year just like St. Johns.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Federal Reserve in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2025-04-04T15:31:56Z ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) The Trump administrations expansive new tariffs will likely lead to higher inflation and slower growth, and the Federal Reserve will focus on keeping price increases temporary, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday. Powell said that the tariffs, and their impacts on the economy and inflation, are significantly larger than expected. He also said that the import taxes are highly likely to lead to at least a temporary rise in inflation, but added that it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent. Our obligation is to ... make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem, Powell said in remarks being delivered in Arlington, Virginia. Powells focus on inflation suggests that the Fed will likely keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at about 4.3% in the coming months. That is likely to disappoint Wall Street investors, who now expect five interest rate cuts this year, a number that has increased since President Donald Trump announced the tariffs Wednesday. Trump, separately, urged Powell to cut rates, citing lower inflation and energy prices. This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates, Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!Economists forecast that the tariffs will weaken the economy, possibly threaten hiring, and push up prices. In that scenario, the Fed could cut rates to bolster the economy, or it could keep rates unchanged or even hike them to combat inflation. Powells comments suggest the Fed will mostly focus on inflation. Powell emphasized that the full impact of the tariffs on the economy arent yet clear, and the Fed will likely stay on the sidelines until it has more clarity about the economy. It is just too soon to say what the appropriate ... response will be, Powell said. Powells remarks come two days after Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs that have upended the global economy, prompted retaliatory moves by China, and sent stock prices in the U.S. and overseas plunging. Weaker growth and higher prices are a tricky combination for the Fed. Typically the central bank would reduce its key interest rate to lower borrowing costs and spur the economy in the event of slower growth, while it would raise rates or keep them elevated to slow spending and combat inflation. The Fed is in a tough spot with inflation set to accelerate and the economy poised to slow, said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. Powell said the economy and hiring remain solid, for now, but he noted that consumers and businesses have become more pessimistic about the outlook.He also said inflation has fallen sharply from its peak in 2022, but said that recently progress toward the central banks 2% target has slowed.Some positive news arrived Friday when the government reported that hiring accelerated in March, with 228,000 jobs added, though the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, from 4.1%. Yet those figures measure hiring in mid-March, before the scope of the duties became clear. The tariffs have also raised uncertainty about how the economy will fare in the coming months, which could limit businesses willingess to invest and hire. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto