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Frattesi to Lazio for €15m, but Inter retain 50 per cent of future saleInter are reportedly retaining a 50 per cent cut of Davide Frattesi’s future sale fee from Lazio, explaining why he is sold for €15m and not the €30m asking price.There had been some very raised eyebrows when the figures emerged of an agreement between the two clubs today.MUNICH, GERMANY – APRIL 08: Davide Frattesi of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match between FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano at Fussball Arena Muenchen on April 08, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)All summer long, Inter have set the €30m minimum price tag on the midfielder, already a drop from the €40m they had been demanding last season.Frattesi drop in value explainedVERONA, ITALY – NOVEMBER 02: Davide Frattesi of FC Internazionale during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and FC Internazionale at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on November 02, 2025 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)Suddenly, multiple sources confirmed Lazio had agreed to sign the player on loan for €1m with obligation to buy at the end of the season if certain conditions are met for a further €14m.This was a huge drop, but the discrepancy was explained this afternoon when Sky Sport Italia, Sport Mediaset and more all acknowledged the cut of the future sale fee was unusually large.Initially suspected to be 20 per cent, it is now confirmed at being 50 per cent, which would raise the value of the player to €30m.Inter hope that Frattesi can raise his profile by playing regularly in Serie A, therefore earning a bigger transfer next summer.The Nerazzurri paid €32.8m to buy him from Sassuolo in 2023, so considering amortisation, selling at €15m would still generate a profit of around €7.5m.Other clubs had shown an interest this summer, including Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and even Juventus, but did not seem prepared to pay the €30m.epa12078784 FC Inter’s Davide Frattesi (R) celebrates scoring the 4-3 goal during the UEFA Champions League semifinal 2nd leg soccer match between Inter Milan and FC Barcelona, in Milan, Italy, 06 May 2025. EPA-EFE/ROBERTO BREGANIThe Italy international turns 27 next month and his contract with Inter runs to June 2028.

The Trump administration has released a finalized version of a new rule that will bar federal insurance, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), from covering gender-affirming care for trans youth. CHIP is a joint federal-state health insurance program that provides low-cost health care for families that can’t afford private insurance. “Every young person is entitled to the health care that they, their parents, and their medical providers agree that they need, without politicians interfering with these important and highly personal decisions,” said Kelly Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in response to the policy. “The Trump administration is terrorizing trans youth and their families with these kinds of actions, and it has to stop.” Related HRC Foundation sues Trump admin for denying federal employees the right to gender-affirming care The rule will prevent federal Medicare and Medicaid plans from covering gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18, and bar federal CHIP plans from covering it for anyone under 19. This only affects federal funding, and for states where gender-affirming care for trans minors is legal, state Medicaid and CHIP plans will still be able to cover gender-affirming care. The rule was first proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is overseen by Dr. Mehmet Oz, back in October 2025. While there was a public comment period and other bureaucratic processes, the general spirit of the rules from CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) remains unchanged in the final document. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The Trevor Project’s senior vice president, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, pointed out that in that public comment period, there were around 35,000 responses, and emphasized that this was “a dangerous and unnecessary attempt to prevent transgender and nonbinary young people from accessing the best-practice health care they need to lead healthy and happy lives.” The rule is now set to go into effect on October 13, 2026. There will be a six-month grace period for those who are already receiving hormones under the federal programs during which they can still claim on those plans, but after that they will be cut off as well. Throughout the document, the new rule continues the Trump administration’s use of the phrase “Sex-Rejecting Procedures,” a derogatory term for gender-affirming care that arose in the Trump administration in early 2025 and avoids using “transgender” outside of quotes and titles. “Today, we are ending federal taxpayer funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “These interventions carry serious risks and can cause irreversible harm. The federal government will no longer use Medicaid and CHIP dollars to fund procedures that fail to meet the evidentiary standard our children deserve.” Kennedy’s comments, as well as similar ones from Oz and Trump himself, push false narratives about the harms of gender-affirming care. All major medical associations in the United States agree that gender-affirming care is safe. At the same time, studies have found that depriving trans youth of gender-affirming care is deleterious to their mental health and well-being. In a statement, the Trevor Project noted, “Research shows that access to transgender health care is associated with significantly lower rates of depression and suicide risk among transgender and nonbinary young people.” Heng-Lehtinen went on to call the rule a “dangerous restriction on doctor-prescribed health care,” and said, “Personal medical decisions should be made by individual patients, their doctors, and their families – not by a one-size-fits-all mandate from the federal government.” He also highlighted that “this type of care is nothing new; it has been provided for decades, is based on scientific research, and is supported by all of our country’s leading medical and mental health associations.” All of this comes as HRC is already challenging a rule from Trump’s Office of Personnel Management that bars health insurance programs for federal workers and their dependents from covering gender-affirming care. This is one of two attempts from the Trump administration introduced over the last year in the hopes of controlling gender-affirming care through federal funding. What has been finalized this week is a rule that would prevent Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP funding from being used to pay for gender-affirming care for minors. That is distinct from rules proposed in December 2025 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Those rules would have barred any hospital in the US that provided gender-affirming care to minors from receiving any Medicare or Medicaid funds at all. However, the Trump administration appeared to back off that tactic last month. Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1057/s41599-026-08677-9The impact of CEOs’ multidisciplinary backgrounds on corporate financing and investment maturity mismatch

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1057/s41599-026-08691-xService trade liberalization and manufacturing value chain upgrading: a quasi-natural experiment from China

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-64954-2AlzheiNN: a convolutional neural network-based model for Alzheimer’s disease classification

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-76558-5Dynamic moist conditions limit oral ulcer patch performance. Here, authors build amyloid-like protein meshes via unfolding-stabilization for wet adhesion and faster healing.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-76669-zAuthor Correction: Effective in vivo RNA base editing via engineered cytidine deaminase APOBECs fused with PUF proteins

At a speech in Lancaster County, Robert F. Kennedy mocked the threat of measles. Now local officials are racing to contain one of the largest outbreaks in the country.

Everyone wants to know who will win an election, but polls do more than predicting outcomes. The polling reporter Ruth Igielnik shares how polls are also judged on their ability to reveal electorate dynamics.

This quick trick saves me so much time and money. READ MORE...

Whether or not you are a full-on devotee to the cottagecore trend, the home decor aesthetic has plenty of timeless elements you can still draw inspiration from when it comes to home decor and storage — like embroidery, vintage floral patterns, and rustic-looking wicker baskets.In fact, as I saw in a recent TikTok, wicker picnic baskets are a great choice for under-bed storage. READ MORE...

“It was a good training session” Spalletti enjoyed the Palermo matchJuventus beat Palermo 2-0 in their latest pre-season match, and Luciano Spalletti was pleased with what he saw as he continues preparing his team for the new season. The Bianconeri had suffered a defeat against Inter Milan in their previous match, making a positive response important, and they managed to deliver one against Palermo.Juventus are among the teams expected to perform strongly in Serie A this season after an underwhelming campaign last term. They will be determined to meet those expectations, and their pre-season performances have provided encouraging signs ahead of the competitive campaign.Spalletti Praises Juventus DisplaySpalletti is an experienced manager who will be looking for the right players to fit his system as Juventus prepare for the new season. The team’s overall form during the pre-season suggests that the manager is making progress with his squad and helping the Bianconeri develop the style he wants.The victory over Palermo was not straightforward, with Juventus facing an opponent capable of creating difficulties. However, the Bianconeri showed enough quality to secure the win and bounce back from their previous defeat against Inter Milan.After the match, Spalletti praised the intensity and quality of the contest. He also identified an area where his players must improve before the season begins, particularly their tendency to lose possession.Juventus Continue PreparationsAfter the match, Spalletti said to Sport Mediaset:“I liked the game because it developed at a fairly high speed, against an opponent who knows how to play and created difficulties by staying very short and going on reversals. It was good training, we played at speed with interesting triangulations. But we lost a few too many balls and we need to improve as a team in this.”The comments show that Spalletti was encouraged by the way Juventus approached the match, particularly their ability to play at speed and create interesting combinations. At the same time, he knows there are still aspects that need to improve before the competitive season begins.Juventus have looked in fine form overall during pre-season, and those at the Allianz Stadium will hope the team can carry that momentum into Serie A. The Palermo victory provided another positive step as Spalletti continues to prepare his squad for the challenges ahead.

Regardless of how much anyone probes, researches and scouts, some players will always break free of their pre-draft scouting reports and reinvent themselves.Usually, though, it takes a few years, not a few days. Enter Caleb Wilson, the fourth pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.The 20-year-old has been thoroughly scouted. He's been thoroughly analyzed. Everyone had an idea of who and what he'd be, and everyone seemed to largely agree on the following baseline:Wilson would be an explosive power forward, with above-average athleticism, average length, an unreliable shot and solid-to-good defensive prowess.Caleb Wilson has changed his outlook in a short time. Carmen Mandato via Getty ImagesAt 6-foot-10 and 215 pounds, he was likely to become a one-position player, stuck at the 4 because his 7-1 wingspan is too short to act as the last line of defense, and his lacking perimeter game would keep him from earning minutes at the wing.Well, scrap all of that.Wilson, who hit a grand total of seven 3-pointers at North Carolina, hit that same amount in his opening game July 10 at Las Vegas Summer League, starring in his new role for the Chicago Bulls.He didn't just hit them off the catch either. He dribbled himself into the majority of them and ended his four-game run in Las Vegas hitting 13 long-range shots on 41.9% accuracy.Wilson's handles and his on-ball creation also showcased new layers to his game, which none of us had seen during his time at UNC.In many ways, Wilson is pulling a Bam Adebayo on us. The All-Star big man, as he came out of Kentucky, was viewed as a defensive player with severe offensive limitations, and now he's one of the most fluid big-man ball-handlers in the game.Wilson is no longer a clear-cut power forward stuck in one position. He's a wing. A big wing. That change is ridiculously important for both him and the Bulls. Instead of becoming a new-era Amar'e Stoudemire who relies on dominating within 10-15 feet of the basket, Wilson has completely changed his outlook.Whatever comps we all used to make are now in the garbage, and we have to start over from the ground up.Wilson sported Tracy McGrady-like skills at Summer League, creating off the dribble, taking step-back jumpers and draining pull-ups on his way to averages of 23.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.5 blocks per game.That comp is brand new, and what makes it extra intriguing is he still maintains the ability to play as the aforementioned explosive 4.Chicago can put the rookie into two spots now and expect him to adapt, depending on role.Play him at the 3? He'll create off the bounce, on his own accord, and initiate pick-and-roll action as the ball-handler.Play him at the 4? He'll play off guards and involve himself in pick-and-roll action as the screener.This doesn't mean he'll automatically have a great first season. The NBA is about far more than just a diverse skill set. Just ask Jonathan Bender. But the fact that Wilson gives the Bulls optionality and offers a new offensive layer to his game is nothing short of game-changing when it comes to his potential.Had we known the shooting would be this potent already, Wilson would have been in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick.The Bulls should feel enormously lucky that none of us did.

The Detroit Pistons will tip off their four-game 2026 NBA Cup slate on Oct. 30.Before the NBA Cup gets underway, they will start the regular season on Oct. 20 in a national TV against the Boston Celtics. The game will start at 3 p.m., making it the first game of the entire 2026-27 season.More: Detroit Pistons will tip off 2026-27 NBA season against Boston CelticsHow does 2026 NBA Cup work?The tournament, taking its lead from European-style brackets, consists of two stages – group play and the knockout rounds. In July, teams were randomly divided into six groups of five, three for each conference. The Pistons are in East Group A with the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.The Cup will tip off Oct. 30 and will be played every Friday through Nov. 27, with additional “Cup Nights” on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and Wednesday, Nov. 25. The top team in each group will make up six of the eight teams in the knockout rounds, with the remaining two "wild card" teams in the knockout rounds coming from the top second-place finisher in each conference (with a series of tiebreakers in case two or more teams have the same record). The knockout rounds feature single-elimination matchups: the quarterfinals from Dec. 4-5 and semifinals on Dec. 8 and/or 9 at the higher seed's home, and then the championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11.Pistons NBA Cup scheduleThe Pistons' NBA Cup games are: 10/30: @ Nets, 7:30 p.m.11/20: vs Raptors, 7:30 p.m. (Prime Video)11/24: @ Magic, 7 p.m.11/27: vs Bucks, 7:30 p.m.What happens to the teams that don't advance?The 22 teams that fail to qualify for the quarterfinals will each play two freshly scheduled regular season games, with the first taking place on Dec. 11-12 and the second on Dec. 14-15. At the end of the tournament, a media panel will vote for the NBA Cup MVP and an All-Tournament team. The four losing teams in the quarterfinals in each conference will play each other in a regular season game on one of those four days.How did the Pistons do last year?The Pistons finished 2-2 overall, with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers before falling to the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic in East Group B. [ MUST WATCH: Make "The Pistons Pulse" your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ] Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons 2026 NBA Cup schedule revealed. Here's who they face

The Detroit Pistons will tip off their four-game 2026 NBA Cup slate on Oct. 30.Before the NBA Cup gets underway, they will start the regular season on Oct. 20 in a national TV against the Boston Celtics. The game will start at 3 p.m., making it the first game of the entire 2026-27 season.More: Detroit Pistons will tip off 2026-27 NBA season against Boston CelticsHow does 2026 NBA Cup work?The tournament, taking its lead from European-style brackets, consists of two stages – group play and the knockout rounds. In July, teams were randomly divided into six groups of five, three for each conference. The Pistons are in East Group A with the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.The Cup will tip off Oct. 30 and will be played every Friday through Nov. 27, with additional “Cup Nights” on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and Wednesday, Nov. 25. The top team in each group will make up six of the eight teams in the knockout rounds, with the remaining two "wild card" teams in the knockout rounds coming from the top second-place finisher in each conference (with a series of tiebreakers in case two or more teams have the same record). The knockout rounds feature single-elimination matchups: the quarterfinals from Dec. 4-5 and semifinals on Dec. 8 and/or 9 at the higher seed's home, and then the championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11.Pistons NBA Cup scheduleThe Pistons' NBA Cup games are: 10/30: @ Nets, 7:30 p.m.11/20: vs Raptors, 7:30 p.m. (Prime Video)11/24: @ Magic, 7 p.m.11/27: vs Bucks, 7:30 p.m.What happens to the teams that don't advance?The 22 teams that fail to qualify for the quarterfinals will each play two freshly scheduled regular season games, with the first taking place on Dec. 11-12 and the second on Dec. 14-15. At the end of the tournament, a media panel will vote for the NBA Cup MVP and an All-Tournament team. The four losing teams in the quarterfinals in each conference will play each other in a regular season game on one of those four days.How did the Pistons do last year?The Pistons finished 2-2 overall, with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers before falling to the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic in East Group B. [ MUST WATCH: Make "The Pistons Pulse" your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ] Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons 2026 NBA Cup schedule revealed. Here's who they face

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal RaleighThe Seattle Mariners have not lived up to expectations this season, and their five-game losing streak has them four games out of a wild card spot.The Mariners have a minus-22 run differential this year. Last season they won the third most games in the American League and had a plus-72 run differential. Cal Raleigh had an MVP-caliber season last year, hitting 60 home runs and notching 125 RBIs. This year has been very different.He has a .564 OPS and just 12 home runs. A regression from Raleigh was very likely, buit no body expected one of the best hitters in baseball to fade into irrelevance. He is wearing a lot of the balme for the team's struggles."We’re not playing well, that starts with me — I’m awful,” Raleigh said on Tuesday, per The Athletic's Tyler Kepner. “So it is what it is. I’ve got to find a way to be better and to help bring the guys along, and we’ve just got to play better.Looking for the perfect gift for a baseball player in your life? Check out our brand new baseball lifestyle brand!“Ultimately, we’re just playing very, very, very bad baseball in every facet of the game. We’ve got to pick it up from the energy standpoint, to the execution, to the little things in the game that help you win baseball games. And we’re just not doing those right now.”Baseball is a team game, and he is not the only Mariner to not hold up his end of the bargain. Julio Rodriguez has also seen his numbers decline. Still, Raleigh was expected to be a focal point of the offense after the team fell one win short of the World Series last year. There is still time for the Mariners to get into the postseason, but each loss dampens their chances.More MLB: Aaron Boone Leaves Door Open For Rare Giancarlo Stanton Rehab Assignment

Supporters react to election results coming in during a primary election night watch party for Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)2026-08-12T15:32:57Z WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats remain mixed over what ideological direction the party should take. But across a series of closely watched primaries, they are sending a clearer message about the party’s path forward: They want change.In marquee Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota, progressive candidates defeated two members of Congress with significant backing from party leaders. Wisconsin voters narrowly rejected a democratic socialist but still chose a 40-year-old county executive who is seeking to become the state’s first Black governor. And in Connecticut, voters ousted one of the longest-serving Democrats in Congress for a challenger who campaigned on generational change.The results so far this month deliver no clear ideological mandate. Instead, they add to mounting evidence from this year’s primaries of an Democratic appetite for turnover that is cutting across the party’s traditional divisions.“If leaders in our party don’t recognize that we need to make changes, then the changes are going to come from the ground up,” Luke Bronin, a former mayor who defeated 14-term Connecticut Rep. John Larson in Tuesday’s primary, said in his victory speech. “That’s a message our party needs to hear.”The immediate challenge for Democrats is whether they can harness the frustration fueling revolts against their own party and turn it against Republicans in November. Beyond that looms the 2028 presidential race, when a new generation of leaders will compete to shape a changing Democratic Party. Progressives are ascendant, but Wisconsin shows their limitsDemocratic socialist Francesca Hong hoped to ride the wave of recent progressive victories, including Abdul El-Sayed’s upset in neighboring Michigan’s U.S. Senate primary a week earlier, to the Democratic nomination for governor in Wisconsin.Instead, she narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a more moderate Democrat who had dropped out of the race only to reenter in its final weeks and win the backing of outgoing Gov. Tony Evers. Hong’s defeat also came after a number of her past comments resurfaced, including support for defunding the police and a call to cancel Thanksgiving that she said was a joke. And unlike El-Sayed, Hong did not receive the backing of some of the nation’s most prominent progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.The result illustrates a tension for the party’s ascendant left flank. Candidates running on populist economic messages have found growing success with Democratic voters. But some positions associated with the progressive movement’s recent past remain vulnerabilities — particularly among voters worried about electability in November. Read More That tension was evident Tuesday for Sarah Atkins Hoggatt, 61, who said she agreed with Hong on issues including reproductive rights and Medicare for All but worried that Hong’s deeply progressive politics and the democratic socialist label would make it harder for her to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany. “I voted for someone who I think has a better chance” to beat Tiffany, said Atkins Hoggatt, who sells construction materials and drainage systems. She voted for Crowley.“I didn’t vote my heart,” she said. Progressives scored a much clearer victory in Minnesota, where Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan resoundingly defeated centrist Rep. Angie Craig. Craig had the backing of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several senators from battleground states.Flanagan had her own powerful allies, including Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and outgoing Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, who rallied with her in the campaign’s final weeks. But she also sought to turn Craig’s advantages against her, highlighting her support from wealthy donors and attacking her vote for a Trump-backed immigration bill that became a liability after immigration agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.As in Michigan, the winning progressive candidate was significantly outspent.“For months now, I have been telling you that this campaign was about the many versus the money,” Flanagan said as she celebrated her victory in Minneapolis. “Well guess what? The many just won.”The contrasting results in Minnesota and Wisconsin underscore why November will provide a more consequential test of the progressive movement’s gains. El-Sayed and Flanagan must now prove that the messages that powered their primary victories can resonate with a broader voting pool in the general election. Democrats are hungry for changeFlanagan is 46 years old. Crowley is 40. And El-Sayed is 41. But nowhere was the demand for generational change more explicit Tuesday than in Connecticut.Bronin, 47, defeated the 78-year-old Larson. A central theme of Bronin’s campaign was the need for a new generation of leadership in Washington, an argument that helped him win the state Democratic Party’s endorsement months before his decisive primary victory. “The goal is to shake things up in Washington D.C., and we are just getting started,” Bronin said after his victory. He was a sophomore at Yale when Larson was first elected to Congress in 1998.Larson became the seventh Democratic House incumbent to lose a primary this year, many of them to younger challengers. The defeated incumbents and the Democrats replacing them span ideological lines, making the wave of losses difficult to explain simply as a shift to the left.The push for generational turnover has taken on greater urgency since Democrats’ defeats in 2024, when concerns about President Joe Biden’s age ultimately ended his reelection campaign and forced the party into an uncomfortable reckoning over a generation of leaders who had remained in power for decades.Bronin himself has connected his challenge to that experience. Earlier this year, he argued that Democrats needed “new members of Congress, new Democratic leaders who have the energy and courage and clarity of mission that this moment demands.”That sentiment was evident among voters in Larson’s district as well. Dan Schnaidt, a 73-year-old Democrat, told The Associated Press months before the primary that he appreciated Larson’s service but believed it was time to move on.“It’s time for new blood, for new ideas,” Schnaidt said.The generational divide extends to the electorateWhile Hong fell just short in Wisconsin, the strength of her insurgent campaign highlighted another force reshaping Democratic politics: younger voters.Cody Chandler, a 35-year-old software engineer, voted for Hong and called her “probably the most exciting candidate I’ve seen.” Unlike in elections past, Chandler said, he voted for the candidate he most wanted to win rather than the one he considered most electable.Jesse Heer, a 32-year-old Madison business owner, also backed Hong, citing her focus on affordability as the top reason for his vote.That support showed up geographically. Hong won Madison, home to the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus, by nearly 7 percentage points, though it wasn’t a big enough of a margin to help her win the nomination. A similar pattern helped propel El-Sayed to victory a week earlier in Michigan.El-Sayed won Washtenaw County, home to the University of Michigan, by nearly 25 percentage points and Ingham County, home to Michigan State University, by 23 points. He also won Grand Rapids, with its large population of younger, college-educated voters, by nearly 26 points.Jordan Snyder, a 20-year-old Michigan voter who supported El-Sayed, said she backed him because of his progressive positions and because she viewed him as someone she could trust, rather than “someone who I feel could be bought and sold.”“People are feeling like a lot of the people that they’ve trusted that have been in government haven’t really been living up to expectations,” Snyder said. JOEY CAPPELLETTI Cappelletti covers Congress for The Associated Press. He previously reported on Michigan politics for AP. twitter mailto

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) cries at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2026-08-12T15:37:04Z MIAMI (AP) — Lionel Messi shared a tribute to his late father, Jorge, on social media on Wednesday, opening up about how difficult it was to lead Argentina to the World Cup final and expressing uncertainty about whether he will continue playing soccer.“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” the post said in Spanish, shared on Messi’s Instagram. “I don’t know how to keep going. All I ever did was play soccer, and now I have serious doubts about whether I’ll keep doing it for much longer.”Jorge Messi — who played a fundamental role in the soccer star’s career, serving as his agent and managing his business affairs — died Saturday. He was 68.Lionel Messi led Argentina to a runner-up finish in this summer’s World Cup. In the team’s first match, against Algeria, he was visibly emotional after scoring the first of his three goals. He said later that he wept for “a reason unrelated to sports.” “You asked me to play in this last World Cup so many times and just before it started was when you took a turn for the worse,” the post said. “It was the first time you weren’t going to be at the tournament. But mom kept telling me that you were going to get better and that you’d be well enough to travel. I kept telling you that we were going to make it to the final so you could travel.”The post added that Messi “wanted to win it” for his father. “I couldn’t,” the post continued. “My legs had nothing left. This time I tried to push beyond what my body could handle, but I couldn’t. I never managed to feel right.”Messages of support for the Messi family have poured in over recent days. Messi had returned to his native Argentina and missed his MLS club Inter Miami’s recent Leagues Cup match against Monterrey. Read More Inter Miami concludes the group phase of the tournament Wednesday night against León, though coach Guillermo Hoyos said Tuesday there is no timetable for Messi’s return.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique sits on a ball during a training session ahead of the UEFA Super Cup soccer match against Aston Villa in Salzburg, Austria, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)2026-08-12T09:27:34Z Paris Saint-Germain gets back on the trophy trail on Wednesday in the UEFA Super Cup against Aston Villa.There are six pieces of silverware up for grabs for PSG this season, with the No. 1 priority being a third straight Champions League title to cement its status as one of the greatest club teams in soccer history.The first trophy could be lifted inside Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria, in the annual match between the most recent winners of the Champions League and Europa League. It starts at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).PSG is bidding for a second straight Super Cup win after beating Tottenham in a penalty shootout last year.Villa won the Super Cup in 1983 after beating Barcelona over two legs. The manager, Unai Emery, has experienced three straight losses in the Super Cup — the first two with Sevilla and the third with Villarreal. Referee is Somali official barred from World CupThe game will be refereed by Omar Artan, the Somali who was barred by the United States from officiating at the World Cup days before the start of FIFA’s tournament because of vetting concerns. U.S. officials claimed Artan had connections to terror organizations, though without providing proof.UEFA responded by picking Artan — a referee judged the best in Africa last season — to take charge of the Super Cup in a powerplay by European soccer’s governing body amid its increasing disconnect with FIFA.That disharmony has increased since, with UEFA leading the campaign to oust Gianni Infantino from the FIFA presidency over his recent — aborted — plan to sell an interest in the World Cup. Team newsVilla will be without new signing Johan Manzambi, with the Swiss World Cup star out due to a knee injury, while key players Emi Martinez, Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa won’t play as they haven’t returned to full training after the World Cup.PSG coach Luis Enrique must decide whether to include France internationals Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola and Spain’s World Cup-winning midfielder Fabián Ruiz, as they only returned to training on Monday.PSG could pick left back Lucas Digne, who recently joined from Villa.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer STEVE DOUGLAS Douglas is a Europe-based sports writer who has covered some of the world’s biggest events for The AP over the last 15 years, notably the men’s soccer World Cup final in 2022. As well as soccer, he handles a range of other sports including golf, cricket and rugby. mailto

The HeyGears G1 Series is the world's 1st desktop full-color 3D & UV printer, bringing three capabilities into one modular platform. The post One Machine, Three Worlds of Creation: Inside the HeyGears G1 Series appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.

The HeyGears G1 Series is the world's 1st desktop full-color 3D & UV printer, bringing three capabilities into one modular platform. The post One Machine, Three Worlds of Creation: Inside the HeyGears G1 Series appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4Observations of an unusual cosmic-dawn source illuminate how early supermassive black holes may have grown rapidly in a gas-enshrouded state; such enshrouded black holes may lie at the heart of the 'little red dots'.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10905-wGlobal photovoltaic waste will reach 297–402 million tonnes by 2060, and regionally adapted recycling strategies and international cooperation will be needed to provide equitable and scalable PV waste circularity.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10880-2An analysis of the relationships between aboveground biomass and various climatic factors in three major regions of tropical forest shows that understanding the complex interactions between climate, topography and soils is crucial to predict how climate change will affect carbon storage capacity.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10906-9An in vivo model that is able to recover human T cells from solid tumours can identify targets to help improve CAR T cell antitumour activity.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10870-4Substantial intraspecific variation, together with species turnover, drives coordinated shifts in drought resistance such as increased embolism resistance and wider stomatal safety margins in drier forests.

Though energy prices fell last month after their spring surge, other factors pushed up costs as the Fed considers raising interest rates.

Even if a cease-fire materializes, Gulf exporters recognize that relying strictly on the Strait of Hormuz is a risk they can no longer take.

Paul Theroux traced the British coastline in 1982 for his book “The Kingdom by the Sea.” This year he walked parts of the new King Charles III England Coast Path, a continuous route along the country’s seashore.

The inward-swinging bedroom door made arranging furniture surprisingly difficult, so this Brooklyn couple took it off entirely, and it made their 415-square-foot rental apartment's layout flow much better. READ MORE...

They're sooo cute. READ MORE...

Arsenal interested in Konsa after Romeo enquiriesArsenal are reportedly once again keen on signing Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa.The Gunners have previously been linked with a move for the English centre-back this summer but a big gap in price has prevented any move from progressing.However, according to Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport, Mikel Arteta's side are back in for the 28-year-old but will have to improve on their initial valuation of £30 million with Villa said to be more interested in £60 million.In perhaps a more surprising move, Arsenal were also said to be interested in bringing in Tottenham Hotspur's Cristián Romero. Although signing the player from such a fierce rival would prove to be a big obstacle.Konsa played 48 times for Villa in all competitions last season, chipping in with two goals from defence.

No broadcast entity in boxing has access to more elite talent than DAZN. It has almost all of the major promoters and top fighters under the same umbrella. Theoretically, that should allow for fight cards every week on both sides of the pond; it should produce shows stacked with quality fights, and it should result in the best matchups happening on a regular basis. So why is it that last month, I opened social media to see the undercard for Teofimo Lopez vs. "Rolly" Romero and went, “Meh. Mid. Who?” And by the way, that's a pay-per-view card. It's gonna cost you $75 to watch Lopez — who lost nearly every round to Shakur Stevenson in January — fight Romero, who is not even a consensus top-10 welterweight but is somehow a titleholder. That is, of course, unless you fork out for DAZN's $500 annual subscription to watch the best and biggest fights in boxing … except for Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn because that's not on DAZN. Oh, and Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua? That's not gonna be on DAZN either. What exactly are we even paying for again?Yes, I know DAZN can't guarantee every big fight, but Joshua, Matchroom, Queensberry, Garcia and Golden Boy are all exclusively with DAZN. Yet we still can't get either marquee matchup on the platform? I find it crazy how boxing fans have spent years complaining about the fragmentation of the sport and how fighters being with different promoters and networks have prevented the best matchups from being made. Now, almost all of the top promoters are with the same network. And we still don't seem to be getting a great product, or a regular product, for that matter.Who wants to pay a lot of money to watch Teofimo Lopez (center right) fight Rolly Romero with a weak undercard? (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images)Melina Pizano via Getty ImagesTop Rank announced its deal with DAZN five months ago. But it has promoted only two shows on the platform since then. When is its next show? We have no idea. It was supposed to be involved in Devin Haney vs. Keyshawn Davis in October, but that fight isn't happening now. Two of its fighters are battling in a main event next month, and it's on ProBoxTV. Giovani Santillan from California is one of those two. Raymond Muratalla, also with Top Rank and from California, fought on a Golden Boy show earlier this month. Albert Gonzalez and Samuel Contreras, two more Top Rank fighters from California, boxed on a Matchroom show last month. You see where I'm going with this? It's hard to imagine they would be fighting on other promoters' shows if DAZN had enough dates to accommodate Top Rank, and it would make sense to place them on a card in the same state. If DAZN didn't have enough dates, why sign all these promoters?The show Gonzalez and Contreras fought on was headlined by Diego Pacheco in a step-back against Immanuwel Aleem. OK, Pacheco didn't look good against Kevin Lele Sadjo in December; he was changing trainers and in the first fight of a new promotional deal, so that's understandable. But maybe it shouldn't have been a headliner. The co-feature on that card? Andy Cruz in a comeback fight after a loss. Those should not be the top two fights on a DAZN card — especially when it was the only U.S. card exclusively on DAZN in the month.DAZN has all these promoters, and that's the only U.S. show we're getting for our subscription? There was only one UK card on the platform that month as well. Yes, I know the World Cup is a big deal on both sides of the pond, but I still expect more bang for my buck. I'm sure the promoters it has under its banner would like more dates too.To fund these promoters, fans are expected to pay for a subscription service that puts its best fights on additional paywalls — or not on the platform at all. DAZN Ultimate — a very expensive membership that hardly anybody seems to have — is necessary to watch every big fight on the platform. If you don't have that subscription, all big matchups become pay-per-views. Moses Itauma in his first world-level step-up? That's a pay-per-view. Joshua in a tune-up against someone I've never even heard of? That would've cost you another $60.And let's say you do have DAZN Ultimate. Ultimate is supposed to provide fight fans with 12 pay-per-view shows per year. But the meaning of "pay-per-view" has become skewed with this subscription model. Fights that should be on a normal subscription or if they were on pay-per-view would have a small buy rate are being used to justify the value of the subscription. We are certainly not getting 12 genuine PPV-quality events per year — maybe three or four at best. If you're a U.S. fight fan, only David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde, Stevenson vs. Lopez, Garcia vs. Romero, and Benavidez vs. Gilberto Ramirez have been genuine PPV-worthy since the scheme — sorry, model — started last October. The half-dozen UK PPVs in the afternoon? No, they shouldn't have been PPV to begin with — and wouldn't have been in past eras, which brings me to my next point.DAZN appears to have very little awareness of this thing called time zones. In past eras of boxing, the majority of U.S. PPVs, barring the very top ones, were available on a regular subscription model in the UK and vice-versa — that is to say U.S. fans were not expected to pay extra for pretty much any UK PPV. In the DAZN era, this is no longer the case. Fights like Boots Ennis vs. Xander Zayas and Lopez vs. Romero are PPVs for UK fans, while U.S. viewers are expected to pay extra for Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois (which, to be fair, was worth every penny), Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Benn and the like. It should be simple. If, as a Brit, I'm watching two Americans fight at 4 a.m., I shouldn't be expected to pay extra unless it's a genuine mega-fight — funnily enough, those seem to be ending up on Netflix or Paramount nowadays anyway. And I don't expect my U.S. friends to have to pay for two Brits battling it out in the afternoon.By making everything PPV, DAZN has tried to convince you that Ultimate is terrific value when it's pretty much what we were supposed to get on DAZN in the first place — except for about five times the price.Showtime PPVs stateside and Sky Sports ones in the prime Matchroom era — perhaps excluding Joshua stadium shows — may have cost you dearly for a single evening of entertainment, but you know what? They were worth every penny. We had a top-class main event and a compelling undercard to support it. You could sit down from 6 p.m. onward and know that you had a quality night of boxing in store. That is not the case with these DAZN PPVs. Because DAZN is relying on its Ultimate model, there isn't as much emphasis on getting consumers to fork out for individual cards, and thus they consistently lack depth. The Lopez-Romero and Ennis-Zayas undercards are SHOBox-worthy cards — at best. And not even good SHOBox cards. Just average ones. Emiliano Vargas and Ben Whittaker are quality prospects, but their fights against overmatched opposition should not be the top two featured undercard fights on a PPV.I'm telling you a lot about what isn't good enough. Let me show you what should be setting the standard: Showtime's final PPV, headlined by a compelling matchup between two unbeaten fighters in David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade. The undercard? Jermall Charlo vs. Jose Benavidez, Subriel Matias vs. Shoshajon Ergashev and Hector Luis Garcia vs. Lamont Roach. Any one of those three fights — two of which were for world championships — could've headlined a non-PPV offering. And the prelims? Sergey Lipinets and Michel Rivera in a battle of fringe contenders, and a WBC title eliminator featuring Pablo Vicente vs. Muhammad Yaqubov. Those two prelim fights alone were better than the Lopez vs. Romero and Ennis vs. Zayas undercards. That was a quality night of fights. That was worth $75. That is what I should be getting from DAZN 12 times a year. DAZN has deals with Matchroom, PBC, Top Rank, Golden Boy, Queensberry and BOXXER, among others. And we still can't get those kinds of cards?There's a fundamental lack of quality control at DAZN. No two ways about it. There's no reason these promoters can't combine to give us quality pay-per-view-level cards every month and compelling regular shows as well. At some point, somebody at DAZN has to see what a promoter puts to them and say, "That just isn't cutting it. Either create a card that is good enough, or we'll take that slot away from you, or better yet, we'll replace some of your fights with ones worthy of being broadcast on our $500 subscription."To its credit, DAZN has done what it always set out to do. It is the home of boxing. It just isn't very good boxing.

Jorge Messi sadly died at the age of 68 after a lengthy illness -Credit:Luciano Bisbal, Getty ImagesLionel Messi disclosed in a heartfelt Instagram post that his journey to this year's FIFA World Cup final was fueled by a personal vow made to his father, Jorge, who had been fighting a severe illness in the days leading up to the tournament's start and was ultimately unable to be present.Jorge Messi passed away last week at a hospital in Rosario, Argentina, at age 68, after an extended illness, casting his son's career into uncertainty as he suggested retirement.Newell's Old Boys, the club where Jorge himself once competed and where Lionel launched his youth career, characterized him in a statement as "the pillar and the person who, with vision, rigor and affection, supported the career of the best player of all time."Kylian Mbappe drops World Cup truth bomb after absurd third-place loss to EnglandDonald Trump sparks outrage with Harry Kane World Cup comments -Credit:Hector Vivas - FIFA, FIFA via Getty ImagesJorge had acted as his son's representative since Lionel was 14 years old, brokering his transition to Barcelona's renowned La Masia academy and subsequently his moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.In his tribute, Messi disclosed that his father's condition had deteriorated dramatically just days before the World Cup commenced, representing what would have been the first tournament of Messi's career that Jorge could not witness in person, as per The Mirror US."You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup and days before the start was when you reached your worst," Messi wrote. "It was the first time you weren't going to be at a tournament, but mom told me that you were going to be better and that you were going to be fine to be able to travel. I told you that we were going to reach the final so you could travel."That pledge brought fresh significance to Argentina's journey through the competition, which eventually concluded with a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain in the Final.Messi described driving his body beyond its physical boundaries in a bid to reach that Final for his father's sake, even as his condition declined.To listen to the latest episode of 'All Out Soccer' - CLICK HERE"I wanted to win it to take the trophy and show you a new one," Messi wrote. "I couldn't, my legs couldn't take it anymore. This time I tried to go against my physique, but I couldn't. I could never feel good."Messi also outlined the emotional burden of competing throughout the tournament while his father's condition worsened from a distance."Every time a game ended, I expected and missed your message. That's when I realized that the situation was real," he wrote. He disclosed that by the time he returned home after the final, his father's recollection of events had already started to diminish. When I arrived you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn't talk about anything that happened."Messi continued to characterize his father as "a father, a friend and a manager," concluding his message with a vow to uphold the principles Jorge instilled in him."I am going to miss you a lot, but you will always be present, and especially in the education of my children, because I teach them and educate them as you did with me," Messi wrote. "Rest in peace and take care of us from above as you did here. Thank you for everything. I love you, pa."

Chair Jodie Parker, in orange, was pictured with fellow riders, club president Hugh Porter and his wife, Anita Lonsbrough, after completing the Round the Wrekin charity ride in aid of Compton Care [Jodie Parker]People who use a cycling club had been "upset" and "outraged" that more than £14,000 worth of equipment was taken after a break-in.Wolverhampton Wheelers, which is run by volunteers, said it thought 10 bicycles had been stolen at Aldersley stadium between Saturday night and Sunday morning.The club, founded in 1891, said specialist track bikes had been among items taken from a storage unit and the theft would impact its ability to deliver sessions.Chair Jodie Parker said it "had to tell people not to come on Monday night, because there was no bike for them".The Wheelers have 14 volunteer coaches and runs sessions four times a week, with money coming from more than 130 members. Bikes are usually funded through members' payments or are donated.Ian Horton and Mark Spruce are among more than 130 members at the club, which has appealed for information [Jodie Parker]Three of the stolen items had been specialist track bikes without brakes and gears, used twice a week in sessions on the outdoor velodrome, Parker said.The organisation was working with City of Wolverhampton Council and other clubs had reached out "to see how they can" assist in the short term."We're hopeful we can resume business as usual, thanks to the help from clubs who've helped us to date."There's a strong cycling network locally, but throughout the country clubs help each other in times of need... with offers of loans of bikes."'Develop a passion'Parker said if equipment was not available, it put the ability of members to progress "in jeopardy"."The club community are upset and a little bit outraged, because they give opportunities for children and [adults] to come together, be healthy and develop a passion."West Midlands Police said it was investigating after "sports equipment was taken during a burglary at Aldersley Stadium overnight on Saturday".The force said anyone with information could get in touch.Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. More on this story Cyclists complete Tour de France route to LiverpoolCounty hoping for cycling destination boom'We've never seen such a big event here' Related internet links Wolverhampton WheelersCompton Care

The Bills are dealing with injuries at cornerback, so they signed a healthy player to bolster the group on Wednesday. They announced the signing of Anthony Kendall to their 90-man roster. Defensive lineman Kody Huisman was waived in a corresponding move. Kendall signed with the Titans after going undrafted in 2023 and played in 16 games as a rookie. He had nine tackles while seeing almost all of his playing time on special teams. Kendall has also spent time on practice squads in Baltimore and Cleveland. Maxwell Hairston and Kani Walker have been out of practice for Buffalo recently. The Bills play their first preseason game against the Panthers on Saturday.

Newly confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 50 to 49, Attorney General of the United States Todd Blanche has carte blanche to turn the Department of Justice from justice for We the People to just us, the Trump family. The Department of Justice, while falling within the Executive branch of our government, is meant to serve the people of our country, rather than serving the needs and desires of a malignant, narcissistic, sociopathic president. Related I grew up gay, pre-Stonewall. Things have changed so much. “Justice” as a concept reflects the moral and philosophical principle of fairness in treating everyone the same way without showing favor under the rule of law and giving people what is owed them, whether providing their fair share or a fair and just penalty for bad actions defined under ancient Roman law as “the constant and perpetual will to render to each his due.” The traditional symbol of a blindfolded and robed Lady Justice (Justicia) holding a balanced scale and a sword personifies a system in which people are treated fairly and impartially no matter what their station in life, while respecting their rights. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today It is yet to be seen whether Blanche will uphold his stated and written vow not to reinstate Donald Trump’s so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” created by the Department of Justice through a lawsuit settlement (President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service). It is a slush fund of $1,767 billion to be doled out to the administration’s convicted criminal allies, including the traitorous insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in their attempts to overturn the legal electoral process. Trump’s demand for immunity by the Internal Revenue Service for his sons and the Trump Organization remains firmly in place, potentially forgiving millions of dollars in back taxes that have been due for years. Possibly the only other people, besides Trump and his MAGA sycophants, who cheered Todd Blanche’s elevation of his job status were the supporters of disgraced 67th U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell, under President Richard Nixon. Mitchell was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury in 1975 for his principal role in the Watergate scandal and cover-up. He served 19 months in federal prison. Now history will view Blanche as even less qualified to serve in that vital office than Mitchell. Blanche, born August 6, 1974, worked as an attorney before taking over the job as chief law enforcement officer of the United States. He filled the role as Acting Attorney General from April 2026 following the forced resignation of Pam Bondi for her supposed mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Blanche also served as the 40th deputy U.S. attorney general since March 2025 and as the acting librarian of Congress since May 2025, though the legitimacy of the latter appointment has been debated. In April 2023, Trump added Blanche to his defense team as he was to be indicted in New York for concealing hush-money payments to adult porn star Stormy Daniels. After Trump was federally indicted for allegedly retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Trump again included Blanche on his team of lawyers. Blanche continued to represent Trump in the federal election obstruction case against him. Though a registered Democrat before representing Donald Trump, in 2024, he switched his party affiliation to Republican. Following Trump’s second presidential victory in November 2024, Trump named Blanche as his nominee for deputy attorney general. On March 5, Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in a 52–46 vote largely along party lines. On March 6, Blanche was sworn in. Hours later, he issued a memorandum shifting hiring for the Department of Justice toward the Mexico–United States border to augment Trump’s immigration policy. The order sought an exemption from the federal hiring freeze. Blanche also delivered a directive titled “Operation Take Back America,” reorganizing the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods, prioritizing harsh immigration enforcement, including the removal of undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds and the prosecution of individuals who hindered deportations in sanctuary cities. Blanche fired Liz Oyer, the pardon attorney. Oyer argued that Blanche removed her after she refused Blanche’s request to add the actor Mel Gibson to a list of individuals who should have their gun rights restored. Blanche also dismissed Erez Reuveni, the acting deputy director of the Office of Immigration Litigation of the Justice Civil Division, for admitting in court that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man, should not have been deported. He barred the Department of Justice’s lawyers from attending American Bar Association events, and he eliminated the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Was this a conflict of interest since Blanche has invested several thousand dollars in cryptocurrency? In addition, Blanche ordered the arrest of Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka over an incident involving an immigration detention center. One of the most glaring cases involved Blanche’s mishandling of the Epstein files. Both Bondi and Blanche alerted Trump in May 2025 that his name was mentioned several times in the set of documents associated with the deceased sex offender. In July 2025, Blanche wrote on X that he had supported a memorandum concluding that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted” in the investigation into Epstein alongside former FBI Director Dan Bongino and the current bureau’s director, Kash Patel. According to the Times, he personally signed the Department of Justice’s motion to unseal grand jury testimony in the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice, after the prosecutor who worked on the Epstein and Maxwell cases, Maurene Comey, was fired. In July 2025, Blanche requested a meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted accomplice. This led to concerns by many Trump opponents that Blanche might offer Maxwell a quid pro quo deal to guarantee that she would assert that Trump was not involved in the Epstein scandal or cover-up. In the official written transcripts of Blanche’s two-day meeting with Maxwell, in addition to her stated belief that Epstein’s death was a murder, not a suicide, she also stated that she had not seen Trump “in any inappropriate setting in any way.” Blanche defended Maxwell’s transfer to a minimum-security prison a week after his meeting, claiming that Maxwell had experienced “numerous threats against her life.” Following the killing of Renée Good in Minneapolis, January 2026, Blanche stated that the FBI would “ensure that evidence is collected and preserved.” Still, he also asserted that a civil rights investigation did not have to be conducted into Good’s death. He argued that an “insurrection” had occurred in the state over opposition to Operation Metro Surge. This echoes Trump’s claim that the Insurrection Act could be invoked. After the killing of Alex Pretti later that month, Blanche defended the agents who shot Pretti. Over 1,200 former Department of Justice (DOJ) employees wrote the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, imploring members to reject Blanche’s nomination. In June 2025, 101 current and former federal judges and two legal advocacy groups―Democracy Defenders Fund and Lawyers Defending American Democracy―sent a 73-page ethics complaint to the Attorney Grievance Committee in the New York Office of Court Administration. The complaint raised serious issues regarding Blanche’s impartiality. It included several specific cases where Blanche violated professional ethical standards or where he acted inappropriately. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked Blanche at the confirmation hearings if he was a friend of President Trump, and Blanche responded, “I am his attorney.” Blanche quickly backtracked, “Was his lawyer. And now I’m the deputy attorney general.” Our criminal justice system is indeed in serious need of overhaul and reform. The disproportionality of people of color being incarcerated, and the differential sentencing structure between white people and people of color convicted of similar crimes, point out in clear relief that our system of “justice” is by no means equitable. Though the concept of “social justice” has been defined in several ways, I have constructed my definition as: “The concept that local, national, and global communities function where everyone has equal access to and equitable distribution of the rights, benefits, privileges, and resources, and where everyone can live freely unencumbered by social constructions of hierarchical positions of domination and subordination based on social identities.” We must not assume that “justice” is a no-sum game, where there are only limited rights to go around. There is no scarcity of rights available. This “scarcity” theory results in marginalized groups competing for what they see as the crumbs of a small and limited pie, rather than joining together to work for a larger and more equitable pie. Social theorist Gunner Myrdal wrote in The American Dilemma that we live in a country that is built on the idea (though not always the reality) of inclusion, freedom, and justice for all people. Ironically, however, on the 250th birthday of that country, an administration, with its henchman, Todd Blanche, acting on behalf of white Christian nationalists, acts to exclude groups of people from participating in this freedom and this justice. Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

This album cover image released by Iris Records shows "Comes In Waves" by Carly Simon. (Iris Records via AP)2026-08-12T16:19:51Z On her first album with original songs in nearly 20 years, Carly Simon is still working on some old demons and still determined to outlast them.“Maybe I never loved you / But anyway, I thought I did / I married you, we had a kid,” she sings in a ballad you could imagine Simon addressing to her ex-husband, James Taylor. “And maybe you never loved me / Although God knows you said you did.”Simon announced last month that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease while recording “Comes in Waves,” and that she also had surgery to remove a cancerous skin growth. But this album feels less like an ending than a continuation of themes and events that have inspired and defined her from early in her career — yearning, discontent, desire, uncertainty, her marriage to Taylor and the loss of her father, the publisher Richard Simon, who died when Carly was in her teens. “Howl” is the album’s lead track, first single and table setter — a midtempo rocker addressed to a heartbroken friend (or to herself?) whom Simon urges to “Get it out of your system / Bang your fists and beat your brow.” The other songs unfold as if to dramatize the album’s title, as Simon’s mood shifts from defiance to regret to melancholy to resolve and a willingness to try again, a cycle cushioned (to a fault) by the literal-minded production and arrangements of David Spencer, Frank Filipetti and son Ben Taylor among others.“Comes in Waves” includes a remaster of Simon’s decades-old political song “Share the End,” and elsewhere echoes moments from her previous records. “Maybe I Never Loved You,” inspired by the late playwright Tim Mayer, feels like Simon’s version of “I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes),” the Hoagy Carmichael standard she covered on her 1981 “Torch” album. “The Father-Daughter Dance” suggests the pain of a ballad about her father from the early 1970s, “Embrace Me, You Child.” Simon also teases courtship (“Peaches”); celebrates parenthood (“Mother of Pearl,” a tribute to daughter and “child of divorce” Sally Taylor); and savors life’s “wild ride” (“Love the Way I Do”). Read More The catchiest song is by a departed friend, the late Judy Belushi, widow of comedian John Belushi: “Four in the Morning” has a close-up, tiptoeing pace fitting for lyrics about an unhappy wife who slips away from her snoring husband. Simon, who turned 83 this year, doesn’t hit all the notes of her best known records, but she has lost none of her gifts for taking hold of a melody, and putting her whole self into the words. Her musical journey has always been personal, and longtime Simon fans are the most likely to enjoy catching up with her. Others may feel like they had to be there.___“Comes in Waves,” by Carly SimonThree stars out of fiveOn repeat: “Love the Way I Do,” “Four in the Morning”Skip it: “Share the End”For fans of: Carly Simon, most of all, and of pop torch singers in general. HILLEL ITALIE Italie has covered the publishing industry since 1998. He writes about notable books, industry trends and ongoing issues such as book bans, AI, consolidation and copyright. twitter instagram mailto

Pittsburgh Steelers Eli Heidenreich participates in the NFL team's camp in Latrobe, Pa., Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)2026-08-12T16:09:05Z PITTSBURGH (AP) — The vibes for Mike McCarthy and Eli Heidenreich over the last few months have been immaculate. How could they not be?The chance for McCarthy to lead his hometown team brought the first-year Pittsburgh Steelers coach to tears when he was hired in January. The image last April of Heidenreich walking onto the draft stage in full Naval dress uniform outside Acrisure Stadium — just a few miles from the Mount Lebanon neighborhood where he grew up — felt like something out of a movie.Their respective homecomings have provided plenty of “fairy tale” narratives during an eventful offseason for the typically low-key Steelers. And while there will be a little bit of “hey, is this really happening?” on Thursday night when they walk onto the field for the first time as the Steelers host Green Bay in the preseason opener, they’re both aware of the reality check that awaits under the lights. “Naturally, there’s some people that might assume that it was like you said, like a hometown pick or whatever, whatever someone wants to say,” Heidenreich said. “But I’m here to play football, and that’s it.”Good thing, because evolving from a seventh-round flyer following a record-setting career at Navy — where he set program marks for career receiving yards and receiving touchdowns — into an NFL roster spot will take some doing. Nobody knows that more than the 6-foot, 206-pound Heidenreich, who politely dismissed comparisons between himself and San Francisco 49ers running back and 2023 NFL Offense Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey. Both are on the smaller side, sure. And yes, both are shifty. But one came to the league as a Heisman Trophy finalist and a first-round pick. And it wasn’t Heidenreich. Read More “He’s a fantastic player and one of the best to ever do it,” he said. “And he’s just someone that I look up to and really try to do my best to model him in certain ways. But yeah, I do see the (comparisons) and I know people get pretty fired up one way or the other about them.”Heidenreich wants no part of that discussion. He’s too focused on trying to carve out a niche in Pittsburgh, where his best chance to avoid getting cut for the first time in his life will be as a contributor on special teams. While the chance for reps at running back might be difficult to come by — though Heidenreich has basically attached himself to backfield coach Ramon Chinyoung since camp started — his elusiveness could make him an intriguing option as a kick returner.Whether Heidenreich gets any opportunities against the Packers in front of dozens of friends and family members who will make the short drive to Acrisure Stadium is uncertain. He tweaked his hamstring recently, which limited him for a stretch, though his No. 29 was noticeable during a walkthrough on Tuesday.Either way, it figures to be a “pinch-me” type of moment when he jogs onto the field and looks up, a point of view that will be markedly different from the one he enjoyed as a fan.“It’s an honor to just get out there and play in that stadium,” he said. “I think that’s the best way for me to put it. It’s something that I have dreamed of for a long time.”How long the dream lasts now that he’s exchanged his fandom for a uniform with his name across the back is up to him. “Preseason is really important,” he said. “So I’ve got to put my best foot forward and be locked in when I get there.”The same goes for McCarthy, though perhaps for different reasons. He’s walked onto the turf a handful of times during his career, but has never stood on the home sideline. He figures the significance will start to hit as he makes the drive in.The fact that he gets to begin what is likely the final chapter of his head coaching career against the team where it all began makes it just a little sweeter.“Obviously, having a personal and professional connection to Green Bay, that’s part of my life,” he said.Of course, all the nostalgia will wear off once the ball is kicked. Then the more pressing needs of the moment — like figuring out how much progress his group has made during his first camp and seeing what he has to work with in young quarterbacks Will Howard and Drew Allar — will take over.And in a way, it will be a relief. While he has embraced all the trappings of being the hometown boy made good, the Steelers didn’t hire him to curry favor with the fanbase but to win games. The process starts in earnest on Thursday. “I just want to see these young guys play,” he said. “I want to see how they play connected to each other. The pre-snap of the operation, having an understanding of what’s in front of them ... This is what these games are for.”___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL WILL GRAVES Graves is a national writer for The Associated Press, based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NFL, MLB, NHL, the Olympics and major college sports. twitter facebook mailto

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10922-9The maternal gut microbiome is a predictor of infant eczema.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10909-6Engineered probiotics equipped with a synthetic glucose-responsive circuit transiently colonize the gut and secrete therapeutic factors when glucose levels increase, enabling safe, oral, sense-and-respond control of diabetes in mouse and primate models.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10896-8Behaviour of human participants in a prey-pursuit task reflects dynamic blending of goal-specific control policies, with hippocampus estimating latent states, anterior cingulate cortex orchestrating policy switches and orbitofrontal cortex supplying value-based contextualization rather than driving continuous policy updating.

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10788-xReply to: Dataset artefacts can partially drive the measured decline in disruption

Nature, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10805-zA framework comprising four dimensions—autonomy, efficacy, goal complexity and generality—is proposed for characterizing AI agents, supporting the construction of agentic profiles for the effective governance of different AI agents.

Mar Carretero-Castrillo, an astrophysicist, returned to her remote village in Spain to be in the path of totality. Hundreds of partygoers came too.

Tyler Robinson, accused of fatally shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on June 12, 2026. (Francisco Kjolseth /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)2026-08-12T16:34:09Z Lawyers for the man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk say he shouldn’t be eligible for the death penalty because the shooter “hit the intended target” during the assassination last year at a Utah event attended by thousands of people. Defendant Tyler Robinson’s attorneys say prosecutors have not proven that others who attended Kirk’s event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 were endangered by the shooting — a potentially aggravating factor under state law that would make it a capital crime.The defense lawyers also disputed claims that Robinson targeted Kirk over his political views. Prosecutors alleged that Robinson told his roommate that he killed the activist because he “had enough of his hatred.” But the defense said that was not enough to prove what could have motivated Robinson, after searches of his apartment, computers and telephone failed to produce anything beyond that one statement. The arguments were contained in documents filed late Tuesday as the defense tries to block the case from proceeding to trial.Prosecutors last month presented what they call “overwhelming” evidence against Robinson, including DNA tests that tie him to the suspected murder weapon and apparent confessions by the defendant. His defense attorneys during that hearing questioned the reliability of the prosecution’s evidence, but they didn’t offer any alternative theories for Kirk’s assassination. The defense made no mention of DNA in Tuesday’s filing. Robinson has not yet entered a plea in the case. He turned himself in a day after Kirk was killed.Closing arguments in the preliminary hearing are scheduled for Sept. 1. Judge Tony Graf will then decide if the case can proceed to trial and on what charges. MATTHEW BROWN Brown is based in Billings, Montana. He covers breaking news, the environment, politics, energy, crime and more.

Tyler Robinson, accused of fatally shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on June 12, 2026. (Francisco Kjolseth /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)2026-08-12T16:31:55Z HOPKINS, Minn. (AP) — A man killed his partner and their child at the Minnesota home daycare they own before taking his life, police said Wednesday.Six other children who were at the daycare have been reunited with their parents, and none were injured, according to authorities in Hopkins, a suburb of Minneapolis.Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said another parent called police after witnessing the attack while arriving to drop a child off at the home. “There’s no worse scenario than this, where you drop off your child somewhere you think is safe, and you get that phone call,” Johnson said at a news conference.The police chief declined to say how the victims died. He said he didn’t know the relationship between the two adults who owned the daycare, but the child who died is believed to be theirs.

This image released by Netflix shows Sunny Sandler in a scene from "Don't Say Good Luck." (Netflix via AP)2026-08-12T16:48:53Z “She is gone, but she used to be mine,” go the words of Sara Bareilles’ poignant and powerful anthem from “Waitress,” the quintessential Broadway 11 o’clock number. For musical theater fans, the mere sound of those opening chords is enough to send tear ducts into overdrive.So when at he beginning of “Don’t Say Good Luck,” high schooler Sophie Birenbaum gets the lead role of Jenna in “Waitress,” we immediately know what’s eventually coming: a tear-jerking scene where “She Used to Be Mine” takes center stage. Everything that comes before? Just the appetizer.“Don’t Say Good Luck,” directed by Julia Hart, is one of those movies that knows its audience. Starring sweet-natured Sunny Sandler, 17-year old daughter of Adam (who produces here, along with wife Jackie), the film is aimed squarely at those who get goose-bumps at the idea of playing the lead in the school play, and don’t find anything corny about the “Let’s put on a show!” spirit of theater kids. Certainly, there are many corny moments in “Don’t Say Good Luck,” in which Sophie’s breakout moment plays out against a family tragedy. The script, by Hart, Laura Hankin and Jordan Horowitz, makes easy work of any imagined conflicts. Nobody is nasty for more than a nanosecond, and plot complications — for example, tensions between Sophie’s mother (Melanie Lynskey) and grandmother (Broadway vet Bebe Neuwirth) — are resolved without much ado.But Sandler, who starred in the wonderfully titled “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” has a winning enough presence to neutralize the corny stuff. She’s a pleasure to watch, even if her stage persona is at times a bit too intimate — she sings softly when she could be belting — befitting a movie actor more than a stage actor. We first meet Sophie, a sensitive and less-than-confident sophomore, practicing her audition song before school. Her mom, loving and encouraging, wishes her luck, and Sophie admonishes her with an old theater adage. “Don’t say good luck!” she says. Just say, “Break a leg.” Mom says she’d be so sad if Sophie were to break a leg. Read More Sophie’s parents run a deli, and there’s a motif about the deli struggling with the need to serve healthy options, like kale wraps, which nobody likes. Jon Lovitz, as the cook, provides occasional comic fodder, but is underused — as is Steve Buscemi, a welcome presence as the grandfather. At the audition, Sophie’s trying out for the supporting role of Dawn, because it’s obvious that the lead — Jenna, waitress and pie-baking whiz — will go to Mallory, the confident blonde. But while waiting to go on, Sophie inadvertently learns some terrible news — her mother’s cancer has returned.Sophie needs to absorb this, just as she climbs the stage to audition. She imbues her song with genuine pathos, and soon finds out she’s unexpectedly won the role of Jenna.The plot of “Waitress” is not exactly school-appropriate: It’s about pregnant Jenna’s torrid affair with her gynecologist, while she’s in an abusive marriage with a violent husband (wisely absent from this high-school version).The gynecologist is played by Jack, resident high-school heartthrob (Jack Champion), who’s only ever played a prince before. There’s some romantic tension between him and Sophie, but it’s fleeting. The deepest relationship here is between Sophie and her mother, who’s losing strength daily but still struggling to give her kids the support they need. The most enjoyable scene between the two takes place in a mall, where, to help Sophie with her character in the show, they try out Southern accents together on the shopkeepers.Every movie about a theater production ends, of course, with the performance itself. Earlier in the action, the empathetic teacher (Stephanie Beatriz) who directs the show had mentioned that Sophie’s rendition of “She Used to Be Mine” is “not quite there yet.” Wanna take bets on whether she ends up making it work? “She’s imperfect, but she tries,” go the lyrics. The movie, too, is imperfect, but the effort — and young Sandler’s easy charm — will go a long way toward satisfying the theater geek inside many of us.“Don’t Say Good Luck,” a Netflix release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association “for thematic material, some strong language, teen drinking, and sexual references.” Running time: 95 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four. JOCELYN NOVECK Noveck is an Associated Press national writer specializing in culture and gender, and a film critic. twitter mailto

Members of the New York Knicks accepts the best team award at the ESPY Awards in the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)2026-08-12T15:56:05Z NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks are going to open both of their title defenses against LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers.The Knicks will travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers on Oct. 30 on the opening night of NBA Cup games, the league announced Wednesday.The teams are already scheduled to meet in the Oct. 20 season opener at Madison Square Garden, when the Knicks will get their NBA championship rings before James plays his first game since signing with the 76ers last month.This is the fourth season of the NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament. Games in the group stage will be played Oct. 30, Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 24, Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, when the Knicks will host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat.The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in the title game last year, then became the first NBA Cup champions to refuse to hang a banner to acknowledge the achievement. They will hang the banner they really wanted — their first since 1973 — on opening night after beating the Spurs again for the NBA championship in June. The Knicks-76ers matchup in East Group B will open a Prime Video doubleheader, followed by the Lakers at Golden State in West Group C.Quarterfinal play will be Dec. 4 and 5, with the semifinals on Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9, all at team sites. The championship game will be Dec. 11 at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the first time it has been staged outside Las Vegas. The league will release the entire 2026-27 schedule on Thursday at 3 p.m. EDT. It revealed the schedule for opening night and Christmas on Tuesday.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba BRIAN MAHONEY Mahoney is an editor on the AP Sports desk. He also is a pro basketball writer, primarily covering the two NBA teams in New York. twitter mailto

People walk outside of a Federal Courthouse Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)2026-08-12T16:50:59Z OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jury selection began Wednesday in Meta’s federal trial over claims its platforms have harmed youth mental health and track children in violation of federal law. The trial is scheduled to begin next week and is expected to last six to eight weeks. Meta faces 29 states in the federal multidistrict lawsuit filed in 2023, but the Oakland trial will only include the first four — California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. Eight states, including Tennessee where a trial is ongoing, filed lawsuits in their own state courts. The 2023 lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, California, claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law. “Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the complaint says. “It has concealed the ways in which these platforms exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers: teenagers and children.” The trial is the latest in an avalanche of lawsuits against Meta Platforms and other social media companies including Google’s YouTube, TikTok and Snap, over claims their platforms harm young people, illegally collect their data and are deliberately designed to addict them. Last week, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. The penalty is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after determining the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. Read More In the second phase, prosecutors asked the judge to impose fundamental changes at Meta aimed at reining in addictive features, improving age verification and preventing child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight. The states are seeking heavy penalties and changes to the way Meta operates its platforms to make them safer for children. Meta has repeatedly said it has introduced dozens of features to do so. It is appealing the New Mexico decision. BARBARA ORTUTAY Ortutay writes about social media and the internet for The Associated Press. mailto 获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.site