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The United Arab Emirates, Iran’s most important regional trading partner, announced a total embargo on transactions with Tehran on Tuesday.

Protesters against a Missouri congressional redistricting plan gather outside the Missouri Capitol on May 12, 2026, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)2026-08-19T22:27:14Z JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has allowed new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump to be used in the November elections, rejecting a bid by to put the Republican-friendly districts to a statewide vote of the people. The ruling Wednesday by Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green is a victory for Republicans seeking to hold onto their slim majority in the U.S. House, but the court decision is likely to be appealed. Missouri’s new districts already were used in the August primaries. On that same day, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition with thousands of signatures seeking to force a November referendum on the map. Hoskins asserted that Missouri’s Constitution doesn’t allow a referendum on congressional redistricting. The judge agreed with Hoskins. Missouri’s redistricting targeted Democratic congressmanMissouri’s current U.S. House delegation is made up of six Republicans and two Democrats who were elected from districts with boundaries drawn after the 2020 census. But Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe called the Legislature into a special session on redistricting last year after Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries to their advantage ahead of the midterms. Missouri’s revised map is designed to help Republicans defeat Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It reassigns portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts represented by Republicans and stretches the remainder of Cleaver’s 5th Congressional District far eastward into Republican-heavy rural areas. About 59% of its voters are new to the 5th District, according to an Associated Press estimate. State Sen. Rick Brattin won a Republican primary in the reshaped district in early August. Cleaver was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.Republicans had argued that the new districts should be used in the November elections even if a voter referendum on the map was allowed to occur at the same time. Read More Lawsuit highlights dispute about referendum rightsThe Missouri Constitution does not specifically say that a referendum can be used to decide congressional redistricting, nor does it forbid it, which is why the issue ended up in court. Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office, which represented the secretary of state in court, argued that congressional redistricting is a legislative duty not subject to referendum without specific constitutional permission. The attorney general and the Republican Party, which joined in defense of the new map, also argued it was too late to switch district boundaries before the November election. Changing districts after the primary would cause “widespread voter confusion” and an “erosion in confidence in the integrity of the state’s elections,” said John Gore, an attorney for national, congressional and state Republican committees.It’s been more than 100 years since a Missouri redistricting plan faced a referendum. In 1922, voters rejected a new congressional map passed by the Republican-led Legislature. The legitimacy of that referendum petition was not challenged in court. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. Redistricting battle spread to numerous statesMissouri’s mid-decade redistricting effort has been among the most litigated nationally, triggering about a dozen lawsuits over the past year. The Republican-led state was the second, after Texas, to respond to Trump’s call to redraw congressional districts. Several other states followed. All told, Republicans hope to win as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states: Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah. It remains to be seen whether the redistricting works as intended for Republicans. The president’s party historically has lost congressional seats in the midterms, and Trump’s poor approval ratings could provide an extra hurdle for Republican candidates. ___Associated Press journalist Hannah Recht contributed from Washington. DAVID A. LIEB Lieb covers issues and trends in state governments across the U.S. He’s reported about government and politics for The Associated Press for 30 years. twitter mailto

Aug. 19—Lay of the landAthens will be in Class 5A, Region 7 with Austin, Decatur, East Limestone, Florence, Hartselle, Muscle Shoals and Russellville.—Head coachCody Gross is entering his 11th season at Athens. The Golden Eagles are 62-45 under Gross with eight playoff appearances.—Last seasonAthens (6-5, 3-3) finished fourth in Class 6A, Region 7.—Words to grow onAfter losing multiple starters, Athens has a lot of new faces. However, Gross is no stranger to getting a young team"The way I approach it is by making the offseason as hard as we can make it, as gritty as we can make it without actually being under the lights," Gross said. "We test them in order to try and get them to grow up fast. Of course, when you actually get to the Friday night lights, it's a little different."—QuarterbackJunior Zayden Homann will be the signal caller this year with Gross saying senior Cam Carden could be in the mix as well.—OffenseAthens must replace two dynamic running backs from last season in Xavier Edwards and Damarcus Malone.Gross said it would be a running back by committee approach this season but leading the charge will be Aidan Lovell, a do-it-all athlete with college offers who will line up at running back, receiver and tight end."He's started since he was a sophomore and he brings a lot of experience," Gross said. "He's a tough, talented kid with a lot of intelligence and we can plug him in wherever we need him."Other running backs will be Eli Henson and Jaylen Johnson.At receiver, DD People returns after starting last year, while Carden, Jaxson Moore, Michael Hubbard, Ezekial Byrd and CJ Harris. James Newby will start at tight end for the third year in a row.At offensive line Jordan Horton, a 6-foot-6, 280-pound sophomore, will start at one tackle, and the other tackle will be Desmond Malone. Shemar Yarbrough and Max Shinkunas will start at guard, while Almarion Davis will start at center. Max Jones could also play at any of the interior spots.—DefenseAthens must replace six guys who played along the defensive line last season.Lazarrius Nelson will be a set starter at defensive end, while the other spots will rotate between Max Jones, James Newby, Braylon Young, Blake Harris and Daniel Rivera.Linebacker is the most experienced position group for the Golden Eagles. Austin Campbell returns as a three-year starter at middle linebacker and Halston Barker returns at the other inside linebacker spot. Tommy Wiggins will also play inside linebacker.At outside linebacker, Aayden Baines will start after previously starting on the inside. Tylon Robinson and Luke McGuire will also play on the outside.At cornerback, the Golden Eagles will play three players in Labron Turner, Jonathan Booker and DeAndre Doss. Kaydon Bledsoe and Brady Johnston both return as starters at safety.Cam Carden will be the team's punter and Jaxon Swift will be the kicker.—Final wordWith such a young team, Gross said senior leadership will be at a premium this year."Their role is huge. We have a lot of guys that have never experienced playing on Friday nights before, so we need our guys that have to show up. And not just on the field on Fridays but in practice, in the weight room and in meetings," Gross said.

Aug. 19—Lay of the landHartselle will be in Class 5A, Region 7 with Athens, Austin, Decatur, East Limestone, Florence, Muscle Shoals and Russellville.—Head coachBert Newton is entering his third season. The Tigers are 19-5 under Newton with two playoff appearances.—Last seasonHartselle (10-2, 5-1) finished second in Class 6A, Region 7 and advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.—Words to grow onFor his first time as head coach, Newton is facing significant changes.The Tigers had to replace longtime offensive coordinator Will Lang who left to take the head coaching job at Guntersville, as well as multiple other assistants. Grant Lake was promoted to offensive coordinator on top of being wide receivers coach."I've lost some coaches, but this is the first time I've had to replace a coordinator. What made it tougher was, usually those hires happen in January, but Will didn't get hired until April," Newton said. "He's a big loss for us and I know he's going to do great there, but I feel good about the coaches we've filled those spots with."Hartselle is also having to replace nearly 30 seniors from last year's team."I knew from their freshman year they were a special group," Newton said of the Class of 2026. "It hurts (losing them) but they set such a good example of how to win football games just like the players that came before them. Now our new guys just have to go out there and do it themselves."—QuarterbackHartselle must replace the 2025 Decatur Daily player of the year in Carter Lee, who accounted for over 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns last season.His replacement has yet to be decided as senior Davis Amos, a transfer, and junior Asa Priola battle it out."Those guys are neck and neck right now. David has a great arm, moves well in the pocket and if we went off seven-on-seven he would be the guy but we have to see how he does with live bullets," Newton said. "Asa is a competitor, really good in the pocket, can run well and is great at managing the huddle. If he's not playing quarterback, then he'll be playing somewhere else."—OffenseHartselle will have to replace two starters at running back in Jaheim Pruitt and Jayden Morris who split carries each of the last two years. To replace them, the Tigers will turn to junior EJ Muhammad and sophomore Maddox Southern.At receiver, Hartselle lost star Cain Falciani but does return three guys who played significant snaps in Braden Weathers, Malachi Pawlitschek and Jai Morrow. They also added Gray Bennich, a basketball player, who brings explosive playmaking, Newton said."We have several guys that played a lot last year and now we just need one to step up and be that guy that can take the top of the defense. I think they're all capable of it," Newton said.Ty Lemay will play at the fullback position after coming on late last season due to injuries.At offensive line, Hartselle returns two starters in juniors Liam Wooten and Cash Hudson. Wooten will start at left tackle and Hudson will start at right guard. Murphy Jones is expected to play at center, but Newton said the other sports are still up for grabs with Cole Jackson and Cody Dutcher the leaders in the clubhouse.—DefenseHartselle will have to replace six players who played at defensive line last season. Seth McHan is the player with the most returning experience and will be the top lineman this season."When he was in there last season, his production was as good as anybody, he just wasn't the starter. He will be the leader up front and (we) expect him to have a breakout year," Newton saidJoining him will be Noah Berryman and Ethan Tapscott, two former linebackers who moved to defensive end. Asher Lentz will play at nose-guard.At middle linebacker, Hartselle turns to Holland Hurley who makes the move from outside linebacker."We made a similar move last year with Hayden Gray and he had a big year. We've had an All-State linebacker that had over 100 tackles the last three or four years and we hope Holland can continue that trend for us," Newton said.Joining him at inside linebacker will be Malik Mitchell, who played last year, as well as Dax Cartee and Cohen Gibson. At the outside linebacker spot, which serves as a hybrid safety position, will be Braylon Swopes, a returning starter, Barrett McKelvey and Jayden Thornton."Barrett was the game one pitcher for our state championship baseball team so we know he can handle the pressure," Newton said. "He had some unbelievable JV reps for us last year and I think he's going to surprise some people this year."At cornerback will be Owen Newton, the third cornerback last season, Tripp Reed, another new player from basketball and Haizen Fletcher, the younger brother of former Hartselle stars Izayah and Rai Fletcher.Michael Sumners returns as the team's kicker and Owen Newton will handle punting duties.—Final wordWith so many new faces, Newton said a priority going into the season is finding out who the new leaders will be."None of these guys have had to lead before. We played the spring game, and we had some guys that had played, but they had never been 'the' guy," Newton said. "That part is something we have to grow into and it'll come. We're further ahead than I thought we'd be, we've had some guys step up. We just need to keep growing."

Aug. 19—Lay of the landDecatur will be in Class 5A, Region 7 with Athens, Austin, East Limestone, Florence, Hartselle Muscle Shoals and Russellville.—Head coachJohn Ritter is entering his third season at Decatur. The Red Raiders are 4-16 under Ritter.—Last seasonDecatur (2-8, 1-5) finished sixth in Class 6A, Region 7 last year.—Words to grow onThe rebuild at Decatur has been a process so far but as the Red Raiders enter Ritter's third season, he said he feels like the program is about to turn the corner."When you go somewhere new, you can change them physically in the weight room and physically our numbers are about where they need to be," Ritter said. "The mental side is always the last to come and we're showing flashes of being mentally tougher, of being resilient. In this region, everybody is good, so the teams that are successful are the ones that hold each other accountable, the ones that don't let one play snowball an entire game."Even though we finished with the same record, I thought we were significantly better last year than in year one. There was just always a moment in the game where it got away from us and we couldn't stop it," Ritter said. "They key to year three is how do we respond to a missed tackle, a drop or a turnover? That'll be determined early on."—QuarterbackSenior Reid Roberson returns after starting every game for the Red Raiders last year."You can practice a lot of things, but you can't practice experience," Ritter said. "He's a veteran at that position and it's a position we feel very comfortable with right now."—OffenseDecatur is looking to be much improved on offense after averaging just 14 points per game last season."Year three in a system, having guys that have played, having guys that are seniors should all be a big help. We're playing more older kids this year than the last two years combined," Ritter said. "At the end of the day though, it's about getting the ball to your playmakers in space and then them doing something with it once they have it."The Red Raiders will have two starting running back positions with seniors Isaiah Allen and Devin Haley taking those spots for the third season in a row. Also expected to get carries will be senior Dustin McIIwain, sophomore Kenai Valentin and freshman Jyarrius Stennis.Receiver is the lone inexperienced position group on offense with just one returning starter in senior Grady Graham. However, Ritter said the group has plenty of potential.Jayden Pointer, a senior basketball player who is playing football this year, is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound target that Ritter said has impressed this offseason."You can coach a lot of things, but you can't coach size. His physical presence is something that will give him the leg up on the edge," Ritter said.Other targets will be junior Conley Davidson, sophomore DaNarrius Lampkin and freshman Tony Baker. Junior Edison Miejo is set to start at tight end.Along the offensive line, the Red Raiders lost a big piece in Harris Penley, who was a four-year starter, but return their other four starters.Seniors Amon Jackson and Will Perry return at guard, sophomore Jayden Daniels returns at center and senior Brayden Battles returns at tackle. Senior Jermaine Collier and junior Warren Reardon are battling for the other tackle spot.Ritter said depth is an issue at offensive line the team is working on but that the top six give the Red Raiders a strong group to lean on.—DefenseLike the offensive line, Ritter said the defense has talent but lacks depth going into the season."We feel like we have a very strong starting 11 but after that there's some question marks with a lot of guys with no game experience. Staying healthy is going to be key for us this year," Ritter said.seniors Jason Tennison and Josh Jones return as four- and three-year starters, respectively, at defensive end. Junior Aaron Cruz, who stands 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, will play at nose guard and senior George Cobb will rotate along the defensive line.At inside linebacker, senior Casey Justice returns as a three-year starter, junior Jacob Marshall returns as a two-year starter and sophomore Chandler Eliot returns after playing significant snaps last year. Sophomore Ridge Tourney, the team's backup quarterback who Ritter said is too talented to keep off the field, will start at one outside linebacker spot. The other spot will be by committee between juniors KT Lynch and Ryan Mose.In the secondary, senior Latavion Sykes and Junior Tyshon Morris both return after starting at cornerback last season. Junior Deshuan Swopes makes the move from receiver to safety.—Final word"We look different, we've had a great offseason. We've practiced different, so there's a lot of things lining up for us to be better," Ritter said. "It all comes down to the unanswered things. Who's going to step up that we need to? Who's going to make a play when our backs are against the wall?"

Aug. 19—Lay of the landWest Morgan will be in Class 4A, Region 7 with Ardmore, Brooks, Deshler, Hamilton, Lawrence County, Priceville and West Point.—Head coachDrew Phillips is entering his sixth season at West Morgan. The Rebels are 51-10 under Phillips with five playoff appearances.—Last seasonWest Morgan (11-1, 7-0) finished first in Class 4A, Region 7 and advanced to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.—Words to grow onAfter 51 wins, three region championships, a semifinals and a quarterfinals appearance in the last five seasons, the Rebels are looking to take the next step.To do that, they'll have to navigate a stronger schedule that includes a tougher region and a beefed-up non-region slate."Over the past several years our region, I feel like, has been one of the toughest in north Alabama," Phillips said. "It's been tough, competitive and people are always fighting to get in (to the playoffs). Now it's going to crank up even more."—QuarterbackAfter starting a couple of games last year as a sophomore due to injuries, junior Asher Fletcher takes over as the starting quarterback.Previously a starter at cornerback and receiver, Fletcher brings elite athleticism to the quarterback position in addition to his passing abilities, Phillips said."He played every game last year as a sophomore including some at quarterback when we needed him. He's a tremendous athlete but he's also one of the highest IQ guys on our team," Phillips said. "He has a very calm demeanor, but he's a great leader that everyone follows. As a bonus, any quarterback that can pull it down and run it just creates added responsibility for a defense."—OffenseWest Morgan will be tasked with replacing 2025 Decatur Daily player of the year MaCarri Johnson, who rushed for over 1,700 yards and 28 touchdowns last season.To replace him, Phillips said the Rebels will lean on a committee approach similar to how they replaced Jalen Fletcher, another Decatur Daily player of the year in 2024, before Johnson emerged as the go-to back. The leading candidates with be seniors Jordan Taylor and Jabarie Wiggins, but Phillips said senior Kylen Stover, junior Colby Reed and sophomore Jakobe Stevenson could all get carries."We have a handful of guys that are competing this offseason to see who can be the most consistent," Phillips said. "They're all really talented and bring a different dynamic to the backfield. Every one of those guys need to touch the ball, but it's hard to get everyone touches so I'm excited to see who separates themselves."At receiver, the Rebels return senior starters Ellis Johnson and Colby Jones, the latter of whom missed most of last season after starting as a sophomore, as well as Stover who will play as a slot back. Seniors Braydon Blankenship and Will Smith will play at tight end.The offensive line will be the strength of the team as the Rebels return all five starters from a season ago. From left to right, Marek Jankowski, Ben Alexander, Camryn Harris, Colton Lowery and Ben Brown will be the starting offensive line. In 2024 when West Morgan shook off the loss of over 20 seniors from a 12-1 team to have a better season at 13-1, they did so off the back of an experienced offensive line. Phillips sees a similar situation with the offensive line this season."When the experience and the strength of your team is in the trenches and you have good skill to mix with that; that's a recipe for success," Phillips said. "We've put so much emphasis on the weight room and I think we're bigger, faster and stronger than we were even a couple years ago."—DefenseJust like the offensive line, West Morgan expects its front seven to be a strength.At defensive line, Oscar Hernandez, Pablo Mendoza and Broderick Robinson all return after receiving significant snaps last season. Brown, Jankowski, Judson Lamon and Smith will all play there as well.At linebacker, Wiggins and Taylor both return and will play at outside linebacker. Wiggins has started the last two seasons at inside linebacker but makes the move outside this year.Benjamin Johnson returns at inside linebacker after leading the team in tackles last season. Carson Rock, a promising young sophomore, will play the other inside linebacker spot."We have a great core of guys at the linebacker spot that we think can really be the strength of our defense. They're tough, strong and do things the right way," Phillips said.In the secondary, Ellis Johnson and Brody Babks return as starters at safety. Julian Long will play one cornerback spot, while Stover and Jones will split the other.—Final wordWest Morgan brings a 34-game regular-season winning streak into this season. While a tough schedule may spell the end of the streak, the Rebels believe the payoff will be more than worth it."We don't focus on the streak, I don't even know how many games it's at. All we're worried about is what we can control each week," Phillips said. "Our schedule is a gauntlet. It's going to be a challenge every week. That's the way we want it. We want to play the best because to get to where we want to be, we have to beat the best teams."

Aug. 19—MOULTON — A sandblaster. A raw chicken. A mascot fight.These are just a few pieces of the lore surrounding one of Lawrence County's most storied football rivalries.East Lawrence will travel to Lawrence County on Friday for a "Clash of Titans," renewing a rivalry that has produced as many stories off the field as it has memorable moments on it."I don't really want to get into a lot of it, but there was a lot of vandalism and stuff. At one point, a sandblaster had to be used on the school building," East Lawrence coach and alumnus Jamie Suggs said. "Police got involved and a raw chicken got put out."Those stories have become part of the rivalry's mythology, remembered and retold long after the final whistle.Lawrence County coach Brett Voss went to Speake High School, but the rivalry was always the talk of the county."When I went to school, all the other county schools were so small," Voss said. "So there was a big difference between them and East Lawrence and Lawrence County. It was almost like the Clash of the Titans when they played."The day after the game, Voss would head to the Steak and Biscuit on Highway 157 in Moulton."Back in my day, everybody went to Steak and Biscuit to talk about it," Voss said. "That was Facebook and the social media hub. We would sit and ask about how everybody played."That's where local lore spread and the rivalry deepened."The mascot for Lawrence County, and I think the eagle (East Lawrence's mascot) went at it back in the day," Voss said. "There was a little incident. It's one of one of the most popular stories that people tell."The rivalry dates to 1980, with Lawrence County holding a 25-15 advantage in the all-time series.From 2011 to 2017 the Red Devils won seven straight, including a 62-54 seven-overtime win in 2015.The rivalry resumed in 2024, with Lawrence County winning the first meeting. Last season, East Lawrence finally got its victory.East Lawrence beat Lawrence County 14-6 last fall but later had to forfeit due to AHSAA rules violations.But despite the mark in the win column, Voss said the Red Devils haven't forgotten."At the end of the day, it's going to boil down to execution," Voss said. "But I would be lying if I said last year's defeat has not fueled a lot of our offseason."Friday can't get here quick enough; it's what everybody's been talking about already this weekend. It's what all the talk's been about this morning," Voss said on Monday. "It will continue all the way up until kickoff."Suggs remembers when the rivalry meant more than bragging rights. When he was in school, the teams were evenly matched, and playoff spots were often on the line.He wants East Lawrence back in that position.Another win over their biggest rival would be a strong sign that East Lawrence is heading in that direction."We're going through drills and stuff, and I'm telling them 'I want it violent. Not dirty, but violent,'" Suggs said. " If you don't bring the physicality, you're beat. Kids are going to chirp no matter how much you tell them not to."He wants emotion and passion on the gridiron, but he also wants his players to keep the rivalry within the lines. He's already had to address the chatter surrounding Friday's game."We try to get the kids not to. No matter what we do, it's like they find some kind of way on social media to start back and forth with each other," Suggs said. "I've had to address that this week."Voss wants both sides to embrace the opportunity, because you never know when the next seven-overtime game will happen like it did in 2015."You never know when it's going to be the game of the century," he said. "Coach (Jakob) Terry, who is on staff with me, was the running back when they had the seven-overtime game. We just have to appreciate every game we have. We don't get many of these."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Michael Allen Caruso last August to serve as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller. Caruso was arrested yesterday on charges of molestation, kidnapping, luring and enticing a child, lewd and lascivious exhibition, and child abuse early yesterday morning, according to an arrest affidavit reported upon by The Miami Herald. Investigators say that Caruso sexually molested the child, a male relative under the age of five, several times last year. Caruso allegedly exposed himself to the kid while playing soccer and then played “tickle monster” with him to touch his buttocks and genitals later that day. During a cruise, he allegedly put his penis in the child’s mouth after telling his parents that the two were going to get ice cream. He also reportedly fondled the boy’s penis during a fishing trip. Related Anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA pastor called Pride flags “disgusting.” He just pled guilty to child sex offenses. The boy subsequently acted out sexually at home, leading his parents to question him. The parents then contact the police, and also asked Caruso about the allegations; he denied them but begged them not to tell others under fear of arrest and jail time. Caruso’s job as DeSantis’ appointee paid $219,000 a year and oversaw a staff of 670 with an annual budget of around $80 million. A few hours his arrest, DeSantis issued an executive order suspending him from public office. Caruso coached Little League baseball for 30 years and volunteered for the Boy Scouts for eight.

USMNT striker Damion Downs 'attracting MLS interest' 🇺🇸 USMNT and Southampton striker Damion Downs is attracting interest from a handful of MLS teams, according to Southampton insider Alfie House. The 22-year-old spent half of the 2025/26 campaign on loan at Bundesliga side Hamburg, failing to score in 12 matches. Yet Downs is seen as one to watch in American circles, and has generated interest from MLS clubs as a result. The forward was called up by USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino in 2025 after an impressive spell with FC Köln in which he helped the side win a league title and automatic promotion to the Bundesliga. He had 11 goals and six assists in just 1,964 minutes played that year.

The Chicago Bears were among the teams interested in trading for Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.Vea signed a one-year, $30 million contract extension with the Buccaneers after the Pro Bowl defensive tackle requested a trade.More to come.Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and InstagramThis article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Report: Bears were interested in trading for Bucs DT Vita Vea

Getting to the NBA is never a solo journey. A player has to have support from family, friends, and most importantly, the community around that player.Philadelphia 76ers big man Adem Bona understands that as he grew up in Nigeria. The energetic big man worked his tail off in order to get noticed and was able to earn an opportunity at UCLA before being selected by the Sixers in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft.As Bona prepares for his third season in the league, the young big man announced the start of The Adem Bona Foundation. The mission is to focus on giving back to the community, uplift them, and create a meaningful impact throughout the world.View this post on Instagram

The uncertainty surrounding Vita Vea's future with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is finally over! ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that Vea and the Buccaneers have agreed to a one-year, $30 million extension, keeping the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle under contract in Tampa Bay for the next two seasons. According to Schefter, the agreement also gives Vea an additional $6 million this season. That totals $48 million, fully guaranteed, over the next two seasons for Vea.The deal marks a dramatic turnaround from earlier discussions after Vea requested a trade when previous attempts to reach an extension failed. Tampa Bay's front office said it wanted to keep Vea in the bay throughout the offseason, and negotiations with Vea's agent, Collin Roberts, intensified Tuesday night before the two sides reached an agreement Wednesday.Vea's importance to the Buccaneers' defense goes beyond his size in the middle of Tampa Bay's defensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 764 defensive snaps in 2025 and generated 51 pressures on 502 pass-rush snaps, including four sacks, eight quarterback hits and 39 hurries. He finished the season with a 72.9 overall defensive grade and a 77.0 pass-rush grade.Those numbers continued a long stretch of disruptive play from Vea. He has earned a PFF pass-rush grade of at least 72.3 in each of the past five seasons, including a 90.3 mark in 2020.More importantly for Tampa Bay, the extension removes one of the biggest questions hanging over the defense entering the season. Vea wanted a new contract or a trade, while the Buccaneers repeatedly made it clear they didn't want to move him.They ultimately found a third option both sides could live with going forward: pay Vea and keep one of the centerpieces of the Bucs' defense in Tampa Bay.This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs Sign Vita Vea to Massive $30 Million Extension

The Atlanta Falcons' first joint practice session with the Indianapolis Colts is officially in the books, and both teams managed to get through Day 1 without any brawls or major injuries. Atlanta will hold one more joint practice with Indy on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, then the two teams will face off on Saturday afternoon in their preseason matchup. Before we look ahead to the game, though, let's check out the top stories of the day.In today's Falcons Wire Recap, Atlanta faces off against the Colts, running back Trey Sermon goes on the injured reserve list, NFL.com lists Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa among Comeback Player of the Year contenders, and we check out the latest highlights from Wednesday's joint practice. Tua throws deep TD to Drake London, pick-6 vs. ColtsThe Falcons offense didn't perform overly well by most accounts. Tua Tagovailoa threw a nice deep touchdown to Drake London on a beautifully placed ball. However, Tagovailoa also threw a pick-six, and reportedly completed eight of 13 passes in 11-on-11 drills. Watch his throw to Drake London below, as shared by the team's social media account. Okay, Drake! 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/zfVQQBsY6z— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 19, 2026Michael Penix goes deep for Dylan Drummond in 1-on-1sPenix got in some 7-on-7 work and threw the ball to wide receivers in 1-on-1 drills on Wednesday. The third-year quarterback showed off his arm strength with a nice deep ball to wide receiver Dylan Drummond. He still may not be cleared for contract, but Penix is very much in the mix for Atlanta's QB1 job once he gets healthy. Watch the lefty air the ball out to Drummond, as shared by D. Orlando Ledbetter below. Penix to Drummond. #Falcons in video. WRs torched #Colts DBs for most part. Dotson had a drop and another ball that was broken up in front of GM Ian Cunningham. pic.twitter.com/hAc1gFa1Ml— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@BowTieSportsGuy) August 19, 2026Falcons place RB Trey Sermon on IRThe Atlanta Falcons have placed running back Trey Sermon on the reserve/injured list, ESPN's Marc Raidmondi reported on Wednesday afternoon. Sermon, a former third-round pick, signed with the Falcons last Monday and appeared in the team's preseason-opening loss to the Denver Broncos.The 27-year-old finished with just one rushing attempt for three yards and was targeted one time in the passing game. It's unclear what injury Sermon sustained or when it occurred, but he will join former first-round pick Jalon Walker on IR for the time being.Falcons place running back on injured reserve list📸 Nathan Ray Seebeck, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con https://t.co/2REYML4Vunpic.twitter.com/mNz5QgMDvs— The Falcons Wire (@TheFalconsWire) August 19, 2026Colts TE Tyler Warren injures groin, does not returnThe Colts star tight end appeared to suffer some sort of groin injury during Wednesday's practice. According to ESPN's Colts reporter Stephen Holder, Warren stayed in uniform but did not return to field. The Colts may have just wanted to be cautious with the former first-round pick, but we'll see if he's back out there tomorrow. Colts tight end Tyler Warren left practice with an apparent groin injury. He’s now back with his teammates on the sideline, still in uniform, but without a helmet. Assuming he’s done for at least today.— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) August 19, 2026Falcons QBs named Comeback Player of the Year candidatesAccording to Grant Gordon at NFL.com, both Falcons quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa among the top 10 contenders for the Comeback Player of the Year award. Penix came in at No. 7 on his list."…With their recent roster gambles not paying off like they hoped, the franchise’s trajectory might well ride on the left shoulder of Penix. He has just 14 NFL games under his belt, but he’s 26 and his play (2,757 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes, six interceptions in those 14 games) hasn’t come close to securing his spot as the future of the franchise at QB. Before he can attempt to prove anything with his play, he must first be cleared for 11-on-11 work and then, presumably, convince head coach Kevin Stefanski to give him the starting nod over Tua Tagovailoa."Speaking of Tagovailoa, he just made the cut at No. 10 on Gordon's list."...Ultimately, his days with the Dolphins ended on the bench. That leads him to a pivotal season -- and a giant opportunity with Kevin Stefanski manning the sidelines. He might be the perfect fit for Tagovailoa, having already brought the better out of Kirk Cousins, Jacoby Brissett and Joe Flacco in past seasons with the Vikings as an offensive coordinator and with the Browns as their head coach."Michael Penix, Tua Tagovailoa could both be in the mix for NFL's CPOY award📸 Todd Kirkland, Getty Images https://t.co/QgJnwDpPyjpic.twitter.com/HAdECwCrBy— The Falcons Wire (@TheFalconsWire) August 19, 2026Falcons EDGE Za'Darius Smith has message for fansThe Falcons officially signed Za'Darius Smith on Tuesday, but the veteran edge rusher did not practice on Wednesday as he gets acclimated to his new surroundings. While Smith did not practice, he did choose a new uniform number. The 33-year-old will wear the No. 91 for Atlanta this season. Smith also recorded a video message for Falcons fans. Watch below.Let‘s go, Big Z! pic.twitter.com/qTAgt7qEFH— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 18, 2026Tua Tagovailoa speaks to media after practice Falcons veteran quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took some questions after today's joint session with the Colts. Watch Tagovailoa, cornerback A.J. Terrell and others discuss Wednesday's practice, as shared by the team's YouTube channel below.Falcons to hold 2nd joint practice with Colts on ThursdayAtlanta will return for another round of practice with the Colts on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. Expect the teams to play more first-string vs. first-string since the Falcons don't plan to play their starters in Saturday's preseason game - which starts at 1 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium.This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons Recap: Latest from joint practice with Colts, injury news

Women protest for stronger laws to combat misogyny and femicide on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)2026-08-19T23:15:37Z SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday to significantly expand the scope of the country’s landmark law to protect women from violence. Legislation that was for two decades applied to domestic incidents, as in many other nations including the United States, can now be triggered outdoors. Brazil’s top court also decided that the attackers should be put on trial even if they have no family or sentimental connection to the victim. All 10 members of the court voted to extend the application of the Maria da Penha law for situations such as persecution, threats and harassment outside the home. Brazil’s government says almost 340,000 urgent protective measures for women were granted in the first semester of 2026 through the Maria da Penha law mechanisms, a spike of 170% in comparison with the same period in 2020. Justice Carmen Lúcia, the only female in the court Wednesday, said violence against women has grown in Brazil despite the 2006 law.Lúcia added the Maria da Penha law needed updating because violence against women in Brazil is also a matter of power and as many femicides take place out of women’s homes in situations that are reported to police but ignored. “In real life, judges reject (accusations against men) without justification, they say it is not urgent, they leave it for next Monday. Meanwhile, one of us dies,” the Brazilian justice said. “With this ruling, this Supreme Court shows it is not blind or deaf to all of this happening against all of us women.” MAURICIO SAVARESE Savarese is a reporter since 2004, with a vast experience covering soccer and politics. English, Español, Português, some French and a bit of Italian. twitter instagram facebook mailto

This photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff's Office shows the scene of an Army Apache helicopter crash Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, near Salado, Texas. (Cliff Coleman/Bell County Sherrif's Office via AP)2026-08-19T23:05:10Z FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Army said Wednesday it will resume Apache helicopter training missions after a brief pause prompted by a crash in Texas last week killed two soldiers.The cause of the Aug. 12 crash near Fort Hood remains under investigation by the Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama. Military officials temporarily halted Apache training flights on Aug. 14. The decision to resume the training came “after a thorough review of safety procedures and flight operations,” the Army said in a statement. “We remain deeply saddened by the loss of our service members. Our thoughts are with their families, loved ones, and fellow Soldiers as we honor their service and the lasting impact they had on the Army community,” the statement said. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey, 34, of Killeen, Texas, and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead, 25, of Belton, Texas, were killed in the Texas crash, the Army said last week. They were the only two people on board when the helicopter crashed in a grassy field near Salado, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Fort Hood. Huey entered the Army in 2014 and Olmstead entered in 2023. They were assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.The military had paused similar missions after past crashes. Three years ago, after 12 soldiers died in separate crashes in Alaska and Kentucky, the Army grounded all aviation units until they completed some additional training. Fort Hood is a massive base with 214,968 acres (86,995 hectares) that is used to train and deploy heavy forces. In November 2015, four soldiers were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise. And nine Fort Hood soldiers died in 2016 when a rain-swollen creek swept their vehicle into rushing waters. Read More The Apache attack helicopter has been a core part of Army aviation since the first one was delivered in 1984. More than 5,000 Apaches have been deployed by the U.S. military and its allies over the decades. In announcing the pause, the Army made no mention of stopping the combat missions that Apache helicopters are regularly flying in the war in Iran. The helicopters have been employed around the Strait of Hormuz as part of the measures to maintain open navigation channels. One Apache crashed after running into an Iranian drone.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus had ambitions for a total takeover of elected state government. But its candidates were rejected from the governor’s mansion to the Legislature.

LSU defensive end Dylan Carpenter drives into a tackling dummy during an NCAA college football practice Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (Michael Johnson/The Advocate via AP)2026-08-19T17:26:35Z The introduction of name, image likeness payments that rule the college landscape is hardly the first time atheltes have been compensated for playing. Almost since the beginning, they’ve received train tickets, some walking-around money and scholarships. For decades, a lot of the money came to players and their families under the table. Now, that money comes with the OK of the NCAA , though it doesn’t mean college sports is truly clean. A brief look at the history of athlete compensation in college sports: The early yearsThe NCAA was founded in 1906, in a push from President Teddy Roosevelt to do something about the sometimes-fatal violence in college football and to set some eligibility standards. Long before its rulebook became a spiraling document covering hundreds of pages, athletes would accept cash or train tickets as inducements to come to particular schools. Sometimes tuition and room and board got covered, too. Very few got in trouble. The age of the amateurIn 1948, the NCAA produced the Sanity Code in an attempt to rein in what was becoming an out-of-control flood of recruiting inducemments to lure what were supposed to be amateur athletes. The organization initially opposed athletic scholarships, arguing they were a violation of amateurism. But the NCAA standardized the granting of scholarships in 1956, opening the door for eventual change. Part of this was meant to eliminate the cash and perks that also played a role in recruiting, but that never really went away. Athletes win but chaos ensuesWhen former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon won a class-action lawsuit in 2014 over the use of his likeness in a video game, it marked the first of a series of losses in court for the NCAA that tranformed college sports and illustrated the NCAA’s lack of preparedness to go along with the idea that players should make money off the enterprise they built. The O’Bannon win helped clear the way for athletes to receive a stipend to cover cost-of-living expenses that fell outside their scholarships. Eleven years later, the ratifying of the House settlement, which stemmed from another lawsuit, allowed schools to share athletic revenue with players every year to the tune of up to $21.3 million this season. It also legitimized the concept of third-party name, image and likeness deals that allows schools to blow well past that cap and has led to football rosters with $50 million payrolls. Read More Coming next A bill waiting for a vote in the Senate hopes to put into law many of the rules spelled out in the House settlement. But perhaps the most important part of that law would be a doubling of the salary cap to nearly $49 million per school, with the hope that shifting the money from third-party NIL to under the cap will set a more realistic limit on what schools can spend. This is our AP Top 25 Poll newsletter. You can subscribe below and we will email it you weekly. Sign up for Top 25 Poll Alerts: Get email alerts for every college football Top 25 Poll release. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. If that bill doesn’t pass, the biggest conferences — the SEC and the Big Ten — could try to establish a framework to keep the college system together. At peril would be Olympic and women’s sports programs, which operate on funds generated by football and basketball. Without cost controls, the entire industry could end up looking to private equity and a potential superleague to inject funds. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here. 获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Tennessee left tackle David Sanders Jr. smiles while filming videos with Isaac Fowler, a Learfield Studios supervising producer, for Sanders' NIL deal during Learfield's NIL media content production day with the university in Knoxville, Tenn., July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa M. Walker)2026-08-19T17:27:49Z KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The cost of getting a spot on a Vol Network radio broadcast back in 2000 was pretty simple for a business: Tee up two 30-second commercials, pay for an ad in the souvenir program and a set of season tickets was yours.“Our world does not resemble that at all,” said Brandon Parks, the Learfield rep at the University of Tennessee who helped arrange some of those deals after graduating from the school.Five years into the name, image and likeness era, the business of college athletics indeed looks nothing like that. Athletes now can be paid like almost any other celebrity, from modest deals with a local burger joint to multimillion-dollar contracts for star quarterbacks, and many of those agreements are now aided, if not actively brokered, by people on campus.Learfield, a multimedia and sponsorships giant that works with hundreds of schools, offered The Associated Press a behind-the-scenes look at a NIL media “carwash” day designed to make producing commercials and ads easier for both companies and athletes. The first of many this fall at Tennessee in late July featured 29 different brands and some 50 football players. Cameras, microphones and scripts everywhereThink of the event as something like back to school night, with visits to different rooms to meet different people, many of them with some kind of multimedia role. Players in their official uniforms roamed from photo shoots on the indoor practice field — with props like a bag of potato chips set to the side for quick access — to curtained pop-up rooms to record content that will be used on game days. Upstairs, someone from the Vol Network was interviewing players, stocking up for football broadcasts, and across the hall in the Peyton Manning room players took turns recording promotions for the likes of Uber Eats, Pilot, Food City grocery store, a bank and roofing company. Props here included chicken tenders and, naturally, an orange. Over in the Virtual Reality Lab, a green curtain hung in the room with a teleprompter, lights and a camera. Players took turns reading a series of ads for companies. One thing was clear: It is easier than it’s ever been for athletes in official uniforms to do commercials and ads with their school’s blessing. Read More All of this is the result of months of planning between Tennessee and Learfield, which has employees embedded with universities around the country. Parks said Learfield had an 11-person team working those two July days at Tennessee. This is our AP Top 25 Poll newsletter. You can subscribe below and we will email it you weekly. Sign up for Top 25 Poll Alerts: Get email alerts for every college football Top 25 Poll release. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “It’s quite a production,” Parks said. “They are very organized. They’ve got radio scripts, TV scripts, photo sessions that we’re going to do with props from our partners. They’ve been very thoughtful about that, and I can’t wait to see it all come to life.”Fans start seeing the results of these media days quickly. The turnaround for the content produced at Tennessee starts showing up in August. Five years in and NIL ‘carwash’ days are growingThis is what business looks like for college athletes everywhere when it comes to NIL: School, practice, knocking out required NIL assignments, building a brand.“We actually do a lot of appearances,” said Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, who reportedly has a six-figure deal with adidas. “”I have to go to a construction company and do a little video. The week before the Fourth of July, I did one at the Louisville Thoroughbred Society. ... Card signing next week as well.”Opendorse, a NIL monetization platform for athletes that also works with many schools, predicts that NIL spending in 2026-27 will reach $4.5 billion. By far the most popular deals are “media creation” arrangements — think of an athlete video talking about a product — on season-long contracts. The July event at Tennessee was the first of 58 such NIL media days planned this fall for Learfield partner schools involving approximately 1,500 athletes. Over the academic year and all other sports, Learfield anticipates up to 200 of these brand-athlete meet-up days.Grant Jones, director of content at Learfield, said the company did its first media day two years ago at Ohio State. The company works with smaller leagues like the Big Sky Conference and sees even smaller schools leaning into these one-stop setups to produce NIL content. “I think we’re going to see in the next two to three years, this is going to be something that’s done upwards of 300, in aggregate, 300, 400 days a year,” Jones said. Jones used to work at the NFL Players Association, which held its own media days with players. He said players get really good with the repetition of signing gear and being on camera.“We wanted to do what frankly a lot of professional leagues have been doing for years and professionalize it with the NIL and everything that was happening on campus,” Jones said. ___Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here. TERESA M. WALKER Walker covers sports in Tennessee for The Associated Press, including college sports and the NFL’s Titans, the NBA’s Grizzlies and the NHL’s Predators. twitter instagram mailto

Tennessee left tackle David Sanders Jr. smiles while filming videos with Isaac Fowler, a Learfield Studios supervising producer, for Sanders' NIL deal during Learfield's NIL media content production day with the university in Knoxville, Tenn., July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa M. Walker)2026-08-19T23:41:33Z HAMPTON, Tenn. (AP) — Two members of a university cycling team were killed and seven others were injured Wednesday when a car collided with a group of riders in northeastern Tennessee, state officials said. Milligan University, a private Christian school with just over 1,200 students, said 11 of its cyclists were out together on a morning training ride when they were struck by a driver in Hampton, about 11 miles (18 kilometers) from the campus in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The county’s district attorney, Steve Finney, said a 69-year-old man from North Carolina had been arrested and faced two counts of reckless vehicular homicide and five counts of aggravated assault by vehicle with recklessness. Milligan sophomores Haylan Engdahl, of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, and Brayden Rogers, of Huntsville, Alabama, were killed in the crash, university President Stephen Waers said. The other student-athletes were transported to the nearby Johnson City Medical Center, he said. “We need to help our brothers and sisters bear burdens that are too great for any one person to carry alone,” Waers said in an emotional video message shared with the school community. He urged students to come together in prayer for their injured peers.As of Wednesday evening, four students were in critical condition, two others were stable but remained in the hospital, and one student had been discharged, said the hospital’s trauma medical director, Dr. Bracken Burns. Earlier this year, the Milligan University men’s cycling team won a team time trial national championship at the USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals in Wisconsin. Read More The Tennessee Highway Patrol was still investigating the circumstances of the crash, said Maj. Roy Brown. The speed limit on the section of Highway 19 where the the crash occurred is 50 miles per hour (about 80 kilometers per hour), officials said.

Subscribe to Yahoo Fantasy Football with Josh & HaydenApple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeFantasy Football Top 100 PPR Rankings! - Josh and Hayden cover Hayden's Top 100 Players for PPR, highlighting their favorite critical areas of draft boards and player tiebreakers.📲 FOLLOW OUR NEW SOCIALS!IG: https://www.instagram.com/yahoofantasyjhTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@jhfootballshowTWITTER: https://x.com/YahooFantasyJH 0:00 Top 100 PPR Ranks - Hayden's Version0:50 PPR Draft Strategy2:22 Puka Nacua vs. Ja'Marr Chase4:19 Amon-Ra St. Brown6:10 Justin Jefferson8:59 Christian McCaffrey10:24 De'Von Achane13:01 Saquon Barkley14:14 Brock Bowers15:00 Malik Nabers17:09 Derrick Henry18:24 Drake London20:33 Nico Collins23:44 Chris Olave & Jordyn Tyson25:37 Omarion Hampton27:08 Jaylen Waddle28:36 DeVonta Smith29:33 Colston Loveland30:41 Tee Higgins32:38 Travis Etienne Jr.34:25 Josh Allen36:47 Emeka Egbuka vs. Ladd McConkey39:02 D'Andre Swift40:46 Rome Odunze42:24 Cam Skattebo45:09 Jameson Williams46:56 DK Metcalf48:11 Sam LaPorta & Tucker Kraft48:46 Rhamondre Stevenson52:44 De'Zhaun StriblingHOUSTON, TX - NOVEMBER 02: Nico Collins #12 of the Houston Texans runs across the field during an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos at NRG Stadium on November 2, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)Hayden's Top 50 PPR VOD - Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Palmeiras win away at Cerro Porteño and go through in the Libertadores 🎥Palmeiras are in the Libertadores quarterfinals.The spot was secured this Wednesday (19) with a 1-0 win at La Nueva Olla stadium in Paraguay.Gustavo Gómez scored the only goal of the match late in the first half.He rose above the Cerro defense from an Arias corner to head the ball into the net.In the first leg, at Nubank Parque, the teams had drawn 1-1.The matchPalmeiras did not start well and saw Cerro Porteño create more chances throughout the first half.But what matters is that the Brazilian side were more efficient and opened the scoring in the 40th minute.Arias took the corner and Gustavo Gómez climbed well to head the ball into the net.After the break, Palmeiras were far superior and created chances to extend their lead.Carlos Miguel was only called into action in second-half stoppage time, and he managed to preserve the lead that sent the Brazilian team through to the quarterfinals.Next roundPalmeiras’ opponent in the quarterfinals will come from the tie between LDU and Mirassol.In the first leg, in the countryside of São Paulo state, the teams drew 1-1.The second leg will be played at the altitude of Quito this Thursday (20).This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

WESTFIELD — The Colts did not sign veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen because of concerns about Alec Pierce’s recovery.Indianapolis has been in contact with Allen since the summer, according to Colts head coach Shane Steichen.And the two receivers bring different things to the offense. Allen will play inside and outside; Pierce is the team’s No. 1 outside receiver, one of the NFL’s best deep threats. Making the move for Allen was a move made to shore up the offense around Pierce.“No, that’s completely independent,” Steichen said.Pierce has spent all of training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list as he recovers from offseason surgery to clean up a troublesome left ankle. Indianapolis initially said Pierce would be back on the field in one to two weeks, but the Colts are now in the fourth week of training camp, and Pierce will not be activated for this week’s joint practices against Atlanta.Colts general manager Chris Ballard said last week that the team is still planning for Pierce to be back for the start of the regular season, and Steichen indicated that the wide receiver is starting to show signs he’ll be back.“Alec’s in a great spot right now,” Steichen said. “He’s doing really good. I watched him work out yesterday in the indoor. He’s moving around really good. Hopefully, we have him back soon.”This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts coach Shane Steichen updates Alec Pierce's status after signing Keenan Allen

CENTENNIAL , CO - AUGUST 6: Cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) of the Denver Broncos stretches during practice on Thursday, August. 6, 2026, at Broncos Park in Centennial, Colo.(Photo by Timothy Hurst/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) | Denver Post via Getty Images There’s something to be said for going against the best day in and day out. Such is the case for new Denver Broncos receiver Jaylen Waddle. The new offensive weapon has the opportunity each day in practice to go against Pat Surtain II. This isn’t new for the former teammates at Alabama. But the fact that Waddle gets to work against the best cornerback in the NFL will make him better. There’s also the benefit of Surtain going against one of the better receivers in the league as well. Bo Nix to Jaylen Waddle for a 60-yard TOUCHDOWN.Waddle beat Pat Surtain II— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 19, 2026At least on Wednesday, Waddle got the better of Surtain with a 60-yard touchdown from Bo Nix. After practice, Surtain was asked how difficult Waddle is to defend, especially with his ability to start-and-stop so quickly: “It’s very difficult as a (defensive back). It makes you think for sure. It makes you think (about) what route he could be running, and it doesn’t make him one-dimensional when he’s able to stop and start like that. It’s definitely tough, but it’s fun to compete against that.”Broncos head coach Sean Payton echoed the sentiment that these battles in practice make Surtain and Waddle better. “Anytime you’ve got better players competing, you’re sharpening the skills, and you’re testing them,” Payton said to the media on Wednesday. “The group has tremendous respect for each other, and it makes both parties better.”What’s becoming evident over the course of training camp is the rapport that Nix and Waddle are developing. When you add a playmaker and weapon like Waddle to Denver’s offense, that was the expectation. And there’s still room to grow since they haven’t played in a game yet. We’ll see if that changes this week against the Green Bay Packers. “I think we have a lot of time still,” Payton said to the media about the chemistry between Nix and Waddle. “We have good work this week, this weekend, and there’s been a lot of time on task already. We’re being smart with it, and he’s coming along really well. So we’ll see how this week unfolds.”At least in practice, we’re seeing glimmers of what Waddle brings to Nix and the Broncos offense. Add in the fact that Waddle is going to Surtain, and that will only make him and the offense better. “It’s been great,” Nix said to the media on Tuesday when asked about what Waddles adds to the offense. “He’s an elite player, and he makes our room better. With him out there on the field, just again, (he) adds a different level of explosiveness and just allows other guys to be better. ‘Court’ (Courtland Sutton) can be better. Jaylen’s obviously going to make plays. Pat (Bryant) and Troy (Franklin), those guys are going to be there, and then the rest of the guys are going to fall in line.”

Aug. 19—South Dakota high school football season is here.With every new year comes a fresh set of storylines, but with a realignment cycle taking place this past offseason, there's even more to break down in terms of programs moving to new settings.In 2026, there are changes across all four classes of football — Class 11B and the three 9-man divisions — that are set to kick off the season on Friday night. A total of 28 programs have a new classification compared to a year ago, from those that were revving up for 11-man games at this time last year and are now playing 9-man to multiple reigning state 9-man champions vying for a different class title.In this 2026 debut video edition of the South Dakota Gridiron Report, we take a closer look at this movement by picking out a few programs in new classes that are in positions to make the biggest impact on the season ahead.

An attorney for Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has accepted service of a subpoena for Sanders to testify at his son Shilo’s bankruptcy trial in Denver the same week Colorado opens the season at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3, according to new court filing on Aug. 19.The court filing said Deion Sanders’ attorney, Harvey Steinberg, agreed to accept service of the subpoena recently on behalf of his client via email. The subpoena commands Deion Sanders to appear at the trial, which begins Aug. 31 and is scheduled to last approximately five days through Sept. 4. The Colorado football team is scheduled to leave for Georgia on Sept. 1.Sanders’ attorney now could try to stop the subpoena by filing a motion to quash it. But it would be up to the judge in the case, Michael Romero, who previously acknowledged the conflict with Colorado’s season-opening week.“The subpoena commands attendance within 100 miles of where Mr. Sanders resides, is employed, and regularly transacts business in person,” said the proof of service filed in court Aug. 19.Shilo Sanders, 26, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 with more than $11 million in debt. He owes almost all of it to a former security guard at his school in Dallas, John Darjean, who sued him and accused him of causing him permanent injuries in 2015 when he tried to confiscate his phone at school at his father’s request. Darjean won a $11.89 million default judgment in the case in 2022 after Shilo Sanders didn’t show up at trial.Can Deion Sanders get out of this subpoena?A scheduling conflict with a job or a football game won’t be enough to quash the subpoena, according to one legal expert contacted by USA TODAY Sports. Sometimes a judge will quash a subpoena for other reasons such as undue burden or expense for the witness. Romero previously noted Deion Sanders might have relevant testimony to provide in the trial, where Shilo Sanders is trying to free himself of the debt.“I’m not sure why a judge would agree that a person needing to go to work is a good reason to quash (a subpoena),” said Mechele Dickerson, a law professor at the University of Texas. “Lots of witnesses have jobs so if `I’d have to miss work’ is a defense, almost all involuntary witnesses could avoid testifying.”A message seeking comment from Steinberg wasn't immediately returned. Darjean's attorney, Ori Raphael, offered to schedule Sanders' testimony at a scheduled time, according to an email attached to the proof of service."Happy to discuss arrangements to set a defined scheduled window for his testimony," said the email from Raphael to Sanders' attorney.Boulder sheriff's office previously tried to serve Deion SandersThe subpoena comes at the request of Darjean’s attorney, who filed the proof of service for the subpoena Aug. 19. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office previously attempted to serve Sanders with the subpoena on the Boulder campus Aug. 11, but was told Sanders was not available to receive it during a preseason practice."Unable to gain access into secure area of CU," the sheriff's deputy noted afterward, according to the new court filing.The sheriff’s office noted it is common for civil service to require multiple attempts.“While coordinating with university staff to identify a time for service, our office was contacted by Mr. Sanders’ legal counsel, who indicated they were able to accept the documents on his behalf,” the Boulder sheriff’s office told USA TODAY Sports on Aug. 18. “Because his counsel was located outside Boulder County, we transferred the paperwork to the appropriate jurisdiction for service.”The issue at trial is whether the debt stems from a willful and malicious injury. Darjean is fighting to collect on the judgment and argues that because it stems from a willful and malicious injury, he is not allowed to discharge it under bankruptcy law. Shilo Sanders has said he acted in self-defense and therefore should be entitled to discharge the debt because it was not willful and malicious.Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.comThis article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders served subpoena for son's bankruptcy trial. Can he avoid testifying?

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (WROC) - The Pittsford football team's 2025 season ended in heartbreak with a loss in the Class AA final. Now, the Panthers see this year as revenge. "It stung. It was kind of a stab in the back, " junior Jesse Jablonsky said. "You go all that way just to lose in the fourth quarter." For seniors like Dayshawn Preston, last year's loss is now a motivator to get the job done in their final season. "It was definitely terrible seeing all the seniors cry and have to move on," Preston said. "That kind of set a fire under us to keep going, and knowing that it's our last chance to kind of do it and be in their shoes."For head coach Steve Marriot, this season is simply a new chapter."We're really trying to start fresh when the season ends," he said. "So, starting in the offseason, try not to hang your head because, really, at the end of the year, there's only going to be one double-A team that won their last game." Marriott said a strength in this year's team is the experience of his skill players. Something that also gives it an edge is team chemistry. "We have kind of a team bonding experience," Marriott said. "Guys come together and they get up, they talk about things. It could be some 'rah-rah' stuff, but it also could be life experiences and why they love football." So, what else does this team love? The thought of raising a brick at the end of the season."It would be a euphoric feeling for sure, being able to do that, because we've worked up to this and it's our last chance to do it," Preston said. "That's all we've thought about since we were younger kids." Jablonsky shared his goal for the season."To not leave any regrets," he said. "Not saying, 'Hey I wish I would have done that or I wish I would have done that.' Just trying to leave it all out there." Pittsford opens its season on Friday, September 4 against Brockport. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.

Trevon Diggs' arrival to the Green Bay Packers late last season was a low risk move but it still was met some fanfare.After all, he was a former All-Pro cornerback and viewed not too long ago as one of the game's best defensive backs. When the Packers signed him ahead of the team's Week 18 game, which ultimately was done as insurance following injuries to its defense, it formed a reunion between Diggs and Micah Parsons from their days together with the Dallas Cowboys."We're back," Parsons tweeted at the time.But the two weren't back together on the field since Parsons was out for the year with a torn ACL injury that he suffered a couple weeks earlier. And the reunion between the two friends within the organization was brief. The Packers chose not to re-sign the free agent Diggs in the offseason as they looked elsewhere to restock the position with the free agent signing of Benjamin St-Juste and the selection of second-round pick Brandon Cisse in the 2026 NFL Draft. Diggs had remained a free agent as well until Wednesday, Aug. 19. With two weeks remaining in training camp and three weeks before the new season kicks off, the 27-year-old has signed with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The team announced the signing on Wednesday, Aug. 19. Diggs' new contract is for one year, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.Source: Former Cowboys two-time Pro-Bowl CB Trevon Diggs is signing a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks. pic.twitter.com/ddPVeh6WER— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2026Diggs will join a unit that propelled the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory. The Seahawks had the sixth-ranked defense in 2025, including the top-ranked scoring defense, third-ranked run defense and 10th-ranked passing defense. Trevon Diggs with the Packers Diggs' stint with the Packers in 2025 was brief. He played in only two games and his impact and time on the field was minimal. He had two tackles in the Packers’ 16-3 Week 18 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 4. A majority of the Packers' starters sat in the regular season finale with their playoff position secured ahead of the game. Diggs then had one tackle in the Packers’ 31-27 wild-card playoff loss to the Chicago Bears on Jan. 10.The Packers signed Diggs on Dec. 31 a day after his release from the Cowboys with cornerback Nate Hobbs lost for the year due to injury. Shop Packers ticketsTrevon Diggs stats The Seahawks will hope they can get the player Diggs used to be earlier in his career. In his second NFL season, Diggs led the league and set a Cowboys record with 11 interceptions in 2021. He earned first-team All-Pro recognition. He had a second Pro Bowl season in 2022.In his first three seasons in the NFL, he played in 45 games. But he has played in only 22 games over the last three seasons. An assortment of injuries have hampered Diggs. A torn ACL limited Diggs to only two games in 2023. After playing in 11 in 2024, Diggs saw the field only eight times for the Cowboys in 2025. They released him following Week 17.In 67 games in his career, Diggs has 242 tackles, 63 passes defended and 20 interceptions with more than half coming in one season.This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A former Packers cornerback signs with Super Bowl champion Seahawks

Trevon Diggs' arrival to the Green Bay Packers late last season was a low risk move but it still was met some fanfare.After all, he was a former All-Pro cornerback and viewed not too long ago as one of the game's best defensive backs. When the Packers signed him ahead of the team's Week 18 game, which ultimately was done as insurance following injuries to its defense, it formed a reunion between Diggs and Micah Parsons from their days together with the Dallas Cowboys."We're back," Parsons tweeted at the time.But the two weren't back together on the field since Parsons was out for the year with a torn ACL injury that he suffered a couple weeks earlier. And the reunion between the two friends within the organization was brief. The Packers chose not to re-sign the free agent Diggs in the offseason as they looked elsewhere to restock the position with the free agent signing of Benjamin St-Juste and the selection of second-round pick Brandon Cisse in the 2026 NFL Draft. Diggs had remained a free agent as well until Wednesday, Aug. 19. With two weeks remaining in training camp and three weeks before the new season kicks off, the 27-year-old has signed with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The team announced the signing on Wednesday, Aug. 19. Diggs' new contract is for one year, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.Source: Former Cowboys two-time Pro-Bowl CB Trevon Diggs is signing a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks. pic.twitter.com/ddPVeh6WER— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2026Diggs will join a unit that propelled the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory. The Seahawks had the sixth-ranked defense in 2025, including the top-ranked scoring defense, third-ranked run defense and 10th-ranked passing defense. Trevon Diggs with the Packers Diggs' stint with the Packers in 2025 was brief. He played in only two games and his impact and time on the field was minimal. He had two tackles in the Packers’ 16-3 Week 18 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 4. A majority of the Packers' starters sat in the regular season finale with their playoff position secured ahead of the game. Diggs then had one tackle in the Packers’ 31-27 wild-card playoff loss to the Chicago Bears on Jan. 10.The Packers signed Diggs on Dec. 31 a day after his release from the Cowboys with cornerback Nate Hobbs lost for the year due to injury. Shop Packers ticketsTrevon Diggs stats The Seahawks will hope they can get the player Diggs used to be earlier in his career. In his second NFL season, Diggs led the league and set a Cowboys record with 11 interceptions in 2021. He earned first-team All-Pro recognition. He had a second Pro Bowl season in 2022.In his first three seasons in the NFL, he played in 45 games. But he has played in only 22 games over the last three seasons. An assortment of injuries have hampered Diggs. A torn ACL limited Diggs to only two games in 2023. After playing in 11 in 2024, Diggs saw the field only eight times for the Cowboys in 2025. They released him following Week 17.In 67 games in his career, Diggs has 242 tackles, 63 passes defended and 20 interceptions with more than half coming in one season.This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A former Packers cornerback signs with Super Bowl champion Seahawks

The New England Patriots opened up their pair of scheduled joint training camp practices with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday. Fans of the team can probably remember how bad things were the last time the Patriots and Eagles met up for joint practices. New England's offense was getting dominated so badly that they could barely even get a play off. It's amazing how much can change in two years. The Patriots' offense rolled with quarterback Drake Maye under center, and the defense forced multiple turnovers during the competitive team period. An entire summer of iron sharpening iron, with the Patriots' elite defense going head-to-head with the significantly improved offense, paid off in a major way. Here are the five standouts from Day 19 of training camp practice: QB Drake MayePatriots quarterback Drake Maye was on a heater at Wednesday's training camp practice. At one point, Maye had 13 straight completions against the Eagles' defense. He ultimately finished the practice going 16-of-19, throwing into the teeth of one of the best defenses in the NFL. This did not look like the same Patriots offense that imploded in the Super Bowl last season. WR A.J. BrownA.J. Brown looked like the best wide receiver on the football field. The three-time All-Pro wide receiver caught all nine of his targets during the competitive team period. He bedeviled his former teammates throughout the entire practice and showed why he's still one of the best in the league. S Craig WoodsonPatriots second-year safety Craig Woodson got his hands on two interceptions at Wednesday's practice. The Patriots' secondary, including Woodson, made life difficult for Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who turned the ball over three times during the practice. Kevin Byard, who led the league in interceptions last season, had to be happy watching his young teammate generate multiple takeaways. Offensive lineThis practice was a solid test for the Patriots' offensive line, which has parts from the same unit that got rolled on in the Super Bowl. It was a solid day overall for the blocking up front. The running game got going early during the 11-on-11 team period, and Maye had more time to throw from the pocket. Will Campbell has clearly improved on the left side, and Jared Wilson has been better since moving back to center. The team also signed former first-round pick guard Alijah Vera-Tucker in the offseason. New England's offensive line is no longer a pushover. K Andy BorregalesPatriots kicker Andy Borregales has looked better with Julian Ashby back at long snapper. The second-year specialist missed three field goals in last week's preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts with Ashby out of the game. However, he went 4-for-5 kicking at Wednesday's practice, along with capping off a pair of two-minute drills with makes from around 53 yards and 57 yards. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 5 standouts from Patriots training camp practice with Eagles

A United Launch Alliance AtlasV rocket lifts off carrying the Landsat9 earth imaging satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Sept. 27, 2021. (Matt Hartman via AP, File)2026-08-20T00:20:52Z VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — Five news reporters and two members of the military who were invited to an event at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California were briefly detained at gunpoint by security officers who thought they were gate crashers, according to local news reports. The incident happened Monday ahead of an invitation-only groundbreaking for a new training facility for missile operators at the federal airfield near Santa Barbara, California. Reporters from Noozhawk and KEYT were among those detained, and both outlets published articles detailing the detainment.In a statement to Noozhawk, a Space Launch Delta 30 Public Affairs spokesperson called the incident a breakdown in communication. “Vandenberg Space Force Base is experiencing an increased number of unauthorized entry attempts,” the statement said. “Every potential unauthorized presence must be treated as a legitimate threat until proven otherwise. While we recognize this may have been unsettling, the security of the base and its personnel is our priority.” The reporters and military members were part of a convoy being escorted onto the base by uniformed public affairs staff in a government minivan when they were suddenly ordered out of their vehicles with their hands up, according to news reports.Officers pointed guns, sirens were sounded, and barricades went up at the gate entrance, KEYT reported. The two military members assigned to the base — one enlisted and one a junior officer — were handcuffed and placed in base vehicles, while the civilians were ordered to sit on a curb, Noozhawk reported. Read More The reporters for outlets also including KSBY-TV and the Santa Maria Times/Lompoc Record were held for more than 30 minutes, causing them to miss the event. All were let go without further incident. “We respect the military’s need to provide security for the base,” Tom Bolton, Noozhawk’s editor in chief, said in a statement Wednesday. “But clearly what occurred was unfortunate and unnecessary, and potentially dangerous, as firearms were drawn.”Bolton said he hopes to have a conversation with base leadership later this week to review what happened in the hopes of preventing a similar occurrence in the future.

The reversal of the plan, which had not been publicly disclosed, comes amid mounting confusion about how the administration is protecting the rights of unaccompanied minors.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Luis Arraez homered, Garrett Stubbs had two hits and an RBI and Aaron Nola tossed seven strong innings as the Philadelphia Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins, 4-1 on Wednesday night.Arraez had a pair of hits, including a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, off Miami starter Sandy Alcantara. Stubbs, who had his first multi-hit game since April, drove in the first run of the game when he legged out an infield single with two outs and the bases loaded, scoring Arraez. Trea Turner drove in the other Phillies run with an RBI double.Philadelphia won a season-best sixth straight game and closed within 4 1/2 games of the first place Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The Phillies trailed Atlanta by 9 1/2 games on August 13.Nola (5-9) completed seven innings for just the second time this season, allowing one run on five hits while striking out eight. It was the first time Nola had gone seven innings and allowed fewer than three runs since his final start of the 2025 season and the third time since 2024.Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 28th save. Javier Sanoja had three of the Marlins' seven hits and was responsible for their only run, hitting a solo homer off of Nola to lead off the sixth inning. Alcantara (13-8) took the loss for the Marlins, who have dropped five of seven. Alcantara allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. Up nextMarlins RHP Ryan Gusto (0-3, 4.70) is scheduled to start in the opener of a home series against Washington on Friday. The Nationals have not announced a starter. The Phillies host St. Louis on Friday. LHP Jesus Luzardo (11-5, 3.23) will start for Philadelphia. The Cardinals have not announced a starter.___See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Azzi Fudd's season-ending injury continues a concerning trend originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Azzi Fudd's rookie season in the WNBA is over -- but the lingering right knee issues that have plagued her for years aren't through with her just yet.The Dallas Wings on Wednesday made the surprise announcement that Fudd -- the top overall pick in April's rookie draft -- will have season-ending arthroscopic surgery next week on her right knee. Fudd has battled soreness in that knee in recent weeks; she last played on Aug. 5 against the Washington Mystics, and she had missed the Wings' previous five games entering Thursday's matchup with the Indiana Fever.The injury comes at a delicate, if not bad, time for Dallas. The Wings have been mired in a nasty slump of late; they have lost seven of their past 10 games and have slipped to the eighth seed in the WNBA's playoff picture.MORE: What season-ending injury to No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd means for Wings' WNBA playoff chancesThe revelation that Fudd needs surgery marks the latest issue in that particular knee.Fudd has twice torn her ACL, in 2019 and in 2023, while she missed a combined 14 weeks with a sprain and unspecified soreness between 2022 and 2024, in between the ligament tears.azzi fudd's right knee injury history:2019: torn acl & mcl -- multiple surgeries2022: unspecified -- missed 5 weeks2023: unspecified -- missed 7 weeks2023: torn acl & meniscus -- season ending surgery2024: sprain -- missed 2 weeks2026: soreness -- season ending surgery— jack maloney (@jackmaloneycbs) August 19, 2026Fortunately for the Wings, Fudd has proven that she is a resilient, mentally-tough player who can overcome the blow from her season-ending surgery announcement.Fudd shot the UConn Huskies to an NCAA title in 2025 and led the program back to the Final Four in 2026. Upon reuniting with Paige Bueckers in Dallas, Fudd rebounded from a slow start to her professional career and nailed down a starting spot before claiming victory in the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend last month.The Wings have to hope that this newest setback doesn't derail what looks like a promising pro career for Fudd. Otherwise, Dallas will have hard questions to answer in the years to come.More WNBA news:Why Nneka Ogwumike's retirement announcement is so shocking for Sparks, WNBAPaige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd confirm relationship for first time publiclyAngel Reese's brutal miss against the Fever was a nightmare for the Dream starSophie Cunningham delivers perfect response after Toronto crowd boos Fever guard

Peyton Watson trade gives Cavaliers new weapon to finally get past the Knicks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Cleveland Cavaliers made a major win-now move on Wednesday evening, as they reportedly traded for Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets in a three-team sign-and-trade involving the Los Angeles Clippers.According to NBA insider Shams Charania, Max Strus goes to LA while Denver received an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder. The move will see Watson being signed to a four-year, $88 million deal, as the Cavs make a big bet on the winger.BREAKING: Cleveland, Denver and the Clippers have agreed on a trade sending Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers, Max Strus to LA, and an unprotected 2031 Cavs first-round pick and a 2032 Kings second-rounder to the Nuggets, sources tell ESPN.Watson will sign a new four-year, $88… pic.twitter.com/hXqL3JvsU4— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2026The trade for Watson might actually be an answer for the New York Knicks.MORE: Nuggets in talks with six-time All-Star to be Peyton Watson replacementPeyton Watson could be Cavs answer to Knicks questionThe Knicks swept the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Despite having a scoring machine in Donovan Mitchell and two-way star Evan Mobley, the Cavs lacked a big athletic wing who could defend multiple positions without becoming a liability on offense.Enter Peyton Watson.The 23-year-old is coming off a breakout season with the Nuggets, averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Watson shot 49.1% from the field and 41.1% from the 3-point range. He also averaged 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals per game.The departure of Strus also tells a lot about how the Cavs are looking at their offense. Instead of focusing solely on offense, the team wants to relieve Donovan Mitchell from defensive assignments.If Watson can continue shooting at a high clip like in the 2025-26 season, the Cavaliers might finally have their way out of the Eastern Conference.More NBA news:Thunder send message to teams interested in trading for Chet HolmgrenWhy Spurs' Victor Wembanyama made $51 million sacrifice on contract extensionLakers commitment to Walker Kessler could be costly for this key reasonLeBron James will move up the all-time rankings in these 4 stats during 2026-27 NBA seasonRussell Westbrook turned down offer from Eastern Conference team to play in 2026-27 season

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei OhtaniShohei Ohtani has won three straight MVP Awards and is trying to win a fourth consecutive and fifth overall this season.Had it not been for Aaron Judge's 62-homer season, Ohtani might have five straight MVP Awards to his name. However, he has won the National League MVP fairly easily two years in a row, but this year he has some competition. Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs is having a phenomenal season, and Ohtani's break from pitching has allowed him to close the gap in the MVP race.Ohtani had a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts, going at least six innings in all but one start. Offensively, he does not have the same stolen base numbers as Crow-Armstrong, but is right there when it comes to home runs.Ohtani leads the National League in slugging and OPS, but Crow-Armstrong is a Platinum Glove-caliber defender and already has a 30-30 season. Either one of them could win the award, but if Ohtani gets about five more good starts under his belt while maintaining his offense, he could be a shoo-in.Looking for the perfect gift for a baseball player in your life? Check out our brand new baseball lifestyle brand!“I think it’s great for baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the California Post's Jack Harris, “that Pete’s made it a race.”“I honestly do think that it’s going to make Shohei even better, too,” he added, “to have someone pushing him.”Roberts gave Crow-Armstrong his flowers, but at the same time noted that he thinks having a true challenger in the MVP race will unlock another gear in Ohtani. Last year, Kyle Schwarber had a solid season, but Ohtani received all of the first-place votes.It's been a while since there was a true MVP race with Ohtani involved. However, the way he and Crow-Armstrong are playing right now, this year's Award could come down to the wire.More MLB: Yankees Provide Positive Max Fried Injury Update

It's been six days since the Seahawks reached an agreement to sign cornerback Terrion Arnold. They've yet to sign him.Now that the Seahawks have signed cornerback Trevon Diggs, it's more than fair to wonder whether the Seahawks will ever be consummating the Arnold deal.As one league source explains it — and as comments from G.M. John Schneider in the second episode of Hard Knocks made clear — the Seahawks believed when they reached an agreement with Arnold that he'd be available to participate in practices and games in the preseason. The Seahawks have since learned that he won't be available to do anything if/when he's signed, since he'll immediately be placed on paid leave.So where's the benefit in signing him? Yes, they'd secure dibs on his rights if/when he's cleared to play. But they could always sign him later, once the eight felony charges are resolved and Arnold can return to the league.At this point, they're kicking the can. It's possible that they're simply waiting until the preseason ends, when they'd cut a player and put Arnold on the 90-man roster until he's sent to the Commissioner Exempt list. Even then, Arnold wouldn't be available to play until he's removed from paid leave, and until he serves any suspension that could be added to the time he misses with pay.It's unknown when the criminal case will end. His next court appearance is set for October 5, and there's no trial date. It's hard to imagine the case ending before the conclusion of the 2026 season, if it goes to a full-blown trial.A plea deal is always possible. But the league would then figure out Arnold's punishment, if any, after the plea is finalized. Is it possible he'd be available late in the season? Sure. Again, they could sign him then, without paying him until that day arrives.Of course, Arnold could choose if/when he's cleared to return to sign with another team. That's the biggest risk the Seahawks would take if they don't sign him. With the date on which the Seahawks would realize a reward for having Arnold on the team currently murky at best, they may decide to save the money they'd spend on paying Arnold to not play and wait to sign him once he's able to practice and play.Again, Schneider called the allegations as outlined by The Athletic "very shocking." No amount of references from Nick Saban or former teammates will change the possibility that prosecutors will prove Arnold's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.If that happens, Arnold may not be available to play for the Seahawks or anyone else. Ever.

Prince Harry, and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive for an event, during a visit to Bondi Beach, Australia, April 17, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP, File)2026-08-19T22:11:14Z LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have decided to return to the United Kingdom, but they won’t resume their roles as working members of the royal family, British news media reported late Wednesday.The couple’s children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled at British schools and will start classes in September, according to the Daily Telegraph, which broke the story. The family plans to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London, the newspaper said. Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago to earn their living through lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Although relations with the rest of the royal family have soured since then, Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer. Charles was informed of the couple’s plans on Sunday and wasn’t told about them during Harry and Meghan’s visit to the U.K. last month.Buckingham Palace has a policy of not commenting on speculation about non-working members of the royal family. A representative for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.Harry and Meghan have had a stormy relationship with the royal family ever since they decamped to a mansion in the exclusive Southern California enclave of Montecito. In a series of interviews and Harry’s memoir “Spare,” the couple said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan’s mental health while alleging that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial. Read More Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry’s long-running legal battle with Britain’s tabloid newspapers, which he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. The prince has lost a series of lawsuits against the media, including one against the publisher of the Daily Mail, which concluded last month. The latest trial has left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled he and other plaintiffs in the case were liable for the publisher’s legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million). Harry has also been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince says he and his family need armed police protection because they are at risk simply because they are members of the royal family, regardless of whether or not they are working royals. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. After losing a court battle over the security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family.“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”A tentative step toward that reconciliation came last month when Harry returned to the U.K. for a series of charity engagements. Meghan and the children joined Harry for part of the visit and they spent time with the king at his Highgrove estate in western England. It was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022. While Harry has recently met with his father, there are no signs of a warming of relations with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne.Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the surprise announcement would make William “apoplectic.”“In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father,” Hunt told Britain’s Press Association. “And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation.”

LAS VEGAS – Kaik Brito let his actions in the cage Tuesday do all the talking. It turns out they were much louder than all the words and insults hurled his way in the bout's lead-up."You have no idea how many messages I got," Brito told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter after Dana White's Contender Series 88 at Meta APEX. "I got messages every day, all the time. I had to restrict people and block people so I could check on my Instagram normally and have it function normally. Because people were just sending them all the time. But at the end of the day, like I said, I see this as a job that you need to get done. They take it another way. I feel like I'm light on Earth and nothing is going to bother me. I'll tell you, it didn't bother me, and there were a lot. They were all coming in all the time, messages. There were even calls they were making."Brito (20-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) found himself in the midst of an impromptu rivalry with Namo Fazil (10-2), a brash welterweight opponent who aimed to become the first Kurd in UFC history. After two hard-fought rounds, Brito landed a nuclear right hand, reminiscent of a prime Dan Henderson to knock Fazil out in the third.Despite the potential to have a "told you so" moment, Brito remained humble in victory."I don't have words to describe how happy I am," Brito said. "For real, I'm very, very grateful to God for all that I've gotten. ... I don't put any value into that. Whatever it is, it's me and God in this one. Maybe it's us against everyone. The thing I wanted to do was do my job and get it done. I think I did my job and I got it done tonight."Brito, a seasoned veteran from Brazil who held the OKTAGON title prior to his DWCS signing, said his self-belief never faltered before or during the fight. He remembers his confidence increasing between the first and second rounds. He was confident he'd get the job done – and he was right."I realized it was a war after the first round, during the first round," Brito said. "As soon as I sat after the break after the first round, I thought, 'I'm going to have to rain down on this guy and beat him up for three rounds. There's no other way. I'm going to have to finish this. That way, I'm going to break him little by little. The guy wasn't breakable. If you think about it, he was pressuring forward. He was very motivated. He got that crowd behind him. You could see what he didn't understand is that I could punch him for three rounds. I will beat him up for three rounds. From the second to the third round when the coaches said, 'Dude, you need to finish this thing. You need to go for it all. That's where you're going to end it.' That's why I came out guns blazing, immediately put out a knee, and I was going for it all. I knew I needed to finish this fight and it was a war."This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kaik Brito was inundated with Namo Fazil fan messages before DWCS knockout

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Diaz Edwin Díaz has not had the year many fans expected when the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him, and he went on the injured list for the second time this season on Tuesday.Díaz spent time on the injured list earlier this year after surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. He last pitched on Monday and was placed on the injured list with neck inflammation afterward. He went for an MRI, and Dave Roberts said it came back "clean," per The Los Angeles Times Maddie Lee."It was the best case scenario," Roberts told Lee.It does not sound like Díaz's injury will keep him out through the end of the season. However, even when he is back, he has some things to figure out.Looking for the perfect gift for a baseball player in your life? Check out our brand new baseball lifestyle brand!He was the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award winner last year, but has been far from that type of player this year. He had a 10.50 ERA through seven games to start the year, before going on the injured list for the first time.After returning, he had a 12.91 ERA. Overall, he has not been a reliable closer for Dave Roberts, but Roberts noted that he does not see a better option in his bullpen. With Díaz on the injured list now, Tanner Scott will take over as the closer.Scott could take the job with a strong performance and serve as the closer through the postseason.More MLB: Yankees Provide Positive Max Fried Injury Update

Jac Caglianone leaves Royals game with apparent rib injury originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Kansas City Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone left Wednesday's game against the Athletics. Before that, the Royals star extended his on-base streak to 17 games with an infield single in the bottom of the first inning.Caglianone was struck by a pitch near his rib area in the third inning. He stayed in the game for two more innings before pinch hitter John Rave replaced him in the fifth inning.Status alert: Jac Caglianone leaves game Wednesday.— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 20, 2026The team announced later that he left with ankle soreness:Jac Caglianone exited tonight's game with right ankle soreness.— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 20, 2026

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty ImagesBasketball fans got a taste of the upcoming UConn documentary, and it’s safe to say that it doesn’t look good for Geno Auriemma. The three-part docuseries, The Dynasty: UConn Huskies, debuts globally on Apple TV on August 21.Directed by Matthew Hamachek and Erica Sashin, the show gives fans an inside look at how the University of Connecticut built the most dominant women’s basketball program in history over the past 40 years. FFeaturing interviews with former icons and recent stars, the series dives into how head coach Geno Auriemma turned a struggling team into a 12-time national champion. It pulls back the curtain on his intense coaching style, including his treatment of WNBA star Paige Bueckers.Geno Auriemma faces backlash over UConn documentarySenior reporter at USA Today, Mitch Northam, shared some insight into the upcoming documentary, which included some details on what goes on in one of the scenes.And it’s safe to say that a segment in the third episode of the UConn documentary is probably going to get a lot of attention for the wrong reasons, as Geno Auriemma goes in on Paige Bueckers.In the final episode, “Breaking Point,” filmmakers captured pivotal moments in that season, like how Auriemma challenged Bueckers after UConn’s loss to Tennessee in front of the team during a film session.“I took a risk and I said, ‘She’s either going to quit or she’s going to change,‘” Auriemma explains. “So I tried to hurt her like losing hurts.”In the following film session, he singled out Bueckers and tore her down, going beyond her performance on the court to question her character and her ability to lead the team.“It was awkward to be in there,” Sarah Strong says. “I wasn’t expecting him to attack Paige like that. He was just yelling at her and, I don’t know, saying really hurtful things to her. It was really shocking to me.”Fans furious with Geno Auriemma’s treatment of Paige BueckersAfter these snippets were shared online, supporters went crazy on social media.One supporter said: “Nasty, nasty man.”“This is unbelievable! Paige went through so much.” This fan really felt for Paige.Another added: “Geno is lucky it was Paige who could handle it better than a lot of other players these days could.”“This is so nasty.” It’s clear what this fan made of his treatment.It doesn’t look good for Geno, as this fan said: “Geno generational hate watch loading.”While uncomfortable to watch, the harsh exchange highlights Paige Bueckers’ mental toughness, proving how she transformed that criticism into becoming the WNBA superstar she is today.Read more:Sophie Cunningham issues bold statement on WNBA commissioner Cathy EngelbertMatt Gaetz formally cites WNBA rules in trans draft filing for Royce WhiteSophie Cunningham hits back at critics after controversial WNBA trans remarks

Ricardo Marín, a Forward Who Makes Every Minute Count for GuadalajaraGuadalajara is preparing for Matchday 5 of the Apertura 2026 with the goal of extending its positive momentum after consecutive victories over Seattle Sounders and Santos Laguna. As the team looks for a third straight positive result, Ricardo Marín has emerged as one of the attacking options who has consistently made the most of every opportunity.The Rojiblanco forward started last Sunday against Santos and rewarded Gabriel Milito's confidence by getting on the scoresheet. Beyond the goal, Marín once again showcased one of his greatest strengths: his ability to read different situations during a match and become a constant option for his teammates.Since returning to Chivas following a one-year loan spell with Puebla, the forward has become known for exactly that: making the most of the minutes he receives, whether as a starter or coming off the bench. His Liga MX numbers this season back up that efficiency, as he has played 116 minutes, recording one goal and one assist, meaning he has been directly involved in a goal every 58 minutes.His contribution goes beyond the numbers. Against Seattle and Santos, Marín displayed strong link-up play, making intelligent movements to provide support, combine in short spaces and give his teammates an option to maintain possession. He has also looked to compete with opposing defenders to hold up the ball and play teammates into the box when they are better positioned, as he did with his assist against Juárez.That ability to contribute in different ways was already evident during the previous playoffs. Against Tigres in the Quarterfinals, he scored in the first leg and assisted Santiago Sandoval in the second, playing a role in both goals Guadalajara scored throughout the series.Now, with the matchup against Xolos de Tijuana on the horizon, Marín once again emerges as an important option for the Rojiblanco attack. Gabriel Milito has found in him a player capable of responding in different situations and contributing both inside and outside the box, while also providing solutions in the team's build-up play.This Saturday at Estadio AKRON,Ricardo Marín will have another opportunity to prove that when he gets minutes, he knows how to make them count. After his strong performance against Santos, the forward will look to repeat the formula and continue contributing to a Guadalajara side determined to extend its positive run in the Apertura 2026.

Tens of thousands of people attend a candlelight vigil to mark the 25th anniversary of Beijing's June 4th Chinese military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)2026-08-20T01:15:31Z HONG KONG (AP) — A verdict is expected Friday in the case of two organizers of an annual Hong Kong vigil to remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown who are being tried under a China-imposed national security law that has stifled Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged in September 2021 with inciting subversion and face a maximum jail term of 10 years if convicted. The activists pleaded not guilty when their trial opened in January and are expected to appear in court Friday. If convicted by three government-approved judges, they likely will be sentenced at a later date.For three decades, the now-disbanded alliance organized the only large-scale, public commemoration in China that attracted tens of thousands annually until the event was banned in 2020 following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.Observers say the activists’ prosecution and the disappearance of the vigil symbolized the loss of freedoms that Beijing promised to maintain for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The government said its law enforcement actions were evidence-based and strictly in accordance with the law.Here’s what to know about the case: Pair organized China’s only large-scale memorial for massacreThe 1989 pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were one of the biggest challenges to the Communist Party’s rule in China. The government sent tanks into the heart of the capital city and troops opened fire on the student-led demonstrations in a bloody crackdown that killed hundreds, possibly thousands. The event immediately became an official taboo in mainland China. But the alliance held annual vigils in Hong Kong to keep memories alive across the border until authorities banned the public remembrances during the pandemic, citing risks to public health. Read More Weeks after the ban, Beijing imposed the national security law that was later used to prosecute Lee, the alliance’s former chairperson, and Chow, a former vice chair. Authorities deemed the legislation crucial for Hong Kong’s stability following anti-government protests in 2019. The alliance voted to disband in the same month as the pair was charged. Beijing-imposed security law used to charge activistsMany other leading activists are now also jailed under the 2020 law, including the pro-democracy former media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Dozens of other civil society groups also disbanded following its introduction.In the Lee and Chow trial, prosecutors argued they incited others to use unlawful means to topple China’s fundamental system and central political bodies, including inciting the overthrow of the Communist Party’s leadership through calls for “ending one-party rule,” which was one of the alliance’s core demands. The defense denied they meant to end the party’s leadership, arguing the slogan was about moving toward democracy and urging the party not to enforce “dictatorship.” It insisted the alliance had not asked people to adopt any illegal means. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. Chow, a barrister who defended herself, cautioned that if the court fails to gatekeep over the reasonable effects of their statements, it could easily become an accomplice by tolerating the crimes committed by those in power.Albert Ho, their co-defendant and former vigil organizer, earlier entered a guilty plea in a move that typically results in a reduced sentence. His sentencing is pending. Observers say trial is a bellwether for city’s civil rightsThe government earlier said all accused have the right to a fair trial and the courts exercise their power independently. But critics consider this case and its result a litmus test of Hong Kong’s civil rights and judicial independence. The existence of the alliance and the city’s annual vigil have been considered key characteristics of Hong Kong under China’s “one country, two systems” governing framework in the past, said Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law. They were symbols of the city’s autonomy, Lai said. He noted the charge of inciting subversion was commonly used in mainland China to criminalize the acts of human rights lawyers, activists and intellectuals, including late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. “We can see to what extent the court in Hong Kong falls into the level of the party-led judiciary in the mainland through the criminal verdict,” Lai said. KANIS LEUNG Leung covers Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China for The Associated Press. She is based in Hong Kong. twitter

Tens of thousands of people attend a candlelight vigil to mark the 25th anniversary of Beijing's June 4th Chinese military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)2026-08-20T01:13:55Z CARLISLE, Penn. (AP) — A Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane collided in midair and crashed Wednesday evening, officials reported.It was not immediately clear whether anyone was hurt.The crash involving the Bell 407 helicopter, which had two people on board, and the Cessna 150 happened about 110 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It was not immediately clear how many people were on the plane.Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he had been briefed on the crash and was heading there.Photos on social media showed a helicopter on its side near aircraft debris and a line of emergency vehicles near Carlisle.The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were to investigate.

A woman gets her nail dyed with garden balsam, a natural pigment traditionally associated with beauty and blessings, during a festival to celebrate Qixi at the Beijing Folk Custom Museum in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)2026-08-20T01:04:21Z BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Valentine’s Day is not all about flowers and chocolates. Beyond the romance embraced by some contemporary couples, Qixi is an ancient tradition rooted in legend, prayer and cultural activities that survive to this day.The festival is observed on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, which fell on Aug. 19 in 2026. Celebrations are also held in Singapore, Vietnam and other Asian countries.Beijing’s Folk Custom Museum hosted activities on Wednesday under a program called “Asking for Skills,” reflecting a tradition at the heart of Qixi in which women historically prayed for skillfulness and displayed their abilities through crafts.“We especially hope that young audiences can understand the meaning of our traditional festivals through interactive and engaging experiences,” said Jia Juan, who works in the museum’s Public Education Department.The museum, housed in Beijing’s Dongyue Taoist Temple, has been hosting Qixi-related activities for the last 14 years, drawing about 500 people each time. Old practices become hands-onWednesday’s program began with a performance of Chinese classical music, followed by hands-on activities for families inspired by traditional Qixi customs.One involved dyeing fingernails with garden balsam, a natural pigment traditionally associated with beauty and blessings. Another featured Song brocade bead painting, combining a precious Chinese silk fabric with pearls that symbolize completeness and good fortune. Participants were encouraged to create their own sachet-shaped Song brocade pearl painting. Their work was meant to embody “qiqiao,” a concept centered on the pursuit of skill and dexterity.Wang Xuejie attended with her 7-year-old daughter and they created “qiaoguo,” a pastry made by pressing dough into decorative molds.“We were able to get a general understanding of how, during the Qixi Festival in ancient times, girls and women expressed their aspirations and hopes for their own growth,” Wang said. Read More A love story in the starsJia said that Chinese girls started practicing qiqiao during the Tang and Song dynasties, which spanned the seventh through the 13th centuries.“The history of the Qixi Festival can be traced back to ancient people’s worship and study of the stars,” she added.Qixi has historically centered on two main elements. One is related to a legend — its romantic component — and the other to qiqiao. In Chinese mythology, Zhinü, a weaver girl represented by the Vega star, falls in love with Niulang, a cowherd embodied by the Altair star. Their forbidden love leads the Jade Emperor to decree their separation on opposite sides of the Milky Way. They reunite once a year — on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month — on a bridge formed by magpies.Jia said records of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl date back to the pre-Qin period, before 221 B.C. Then, during the Han Dynasty, customs related to qiqiao began to develop. Women carried Qixi abroadResearcher Lynn Wong is eager to revive the festival in Singapore through an initiative called Qixi Fest, a multiday event launched in 2023. This year’s edition will run through Aug. 23.“We’re trying to create the childhood memories of this new generation of Singaporeans so that they grow up with the stories that our forefathers grew up with,” Wong said.She recalls that one day, while talking to a friend about Chinese festivals, she realized she had never heard of Qixi. She then started interviewing elders who shared their memories of the festival. That research is documented in a book.Qixi came to Singapore around the 1930s with Chinese women migrants. Large numbers of men had previously settled there in search of work, but migration patterns shifted. With the women — particularly those from China’s Guangdong region — came customs and beliefs, some of which faded over time.“I feel that in my generation, we lost quite a lot of our roots,” Wong said. “I grew up with things like the Tooth Fairy, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘Three Little Pigs,’ but what about the stories that our foremothers grew up listening to?” For one family, Qixi enduresHor Xin Hao, of Cantonese descent, is among a handful of people who preserve a traditional observance of Qixi in Singapore.Late at night on the sixth day of the seventh lunar month, his family sets up a prayer table facing the night sky in front of his house. They pray past midnight and make offerings to the Seven Maidens, celestial sisters including the Weaver Girl.Ritual gifts include incense, flowers, perfume, cosmetics and soap, which Hor said are believed to bring beauty and charm after being blessed by the cowherd and seven maidens.“I personally feel that the idea of a Valentine’s Day actually reduces the original idea behind the festival into something narrower,” said Hor, who sees Qixi as a celebration of traditional values and ancestral legacy.“It contains the way we look at life from the interaction between us and the universe,” he said.___ Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang contributed.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Hernández is a multimedia reporter for AP’s Global Religion team. She is based in Beijing and covers the intersection of faith, culture and spirituality across Asia. Before moving to China, she was based in Mexico. twitter mailto

BALTIMORE (AP) — Pete Alonso's drive down the left-field line in the seventh inning was ruled foul, and the New York Yankees took advantage of that reprieve, scoring twice in the top of the eighth to beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 on Wednesday night.Alonso, who had already homered in the third, nearly went deep again with the score tied at 3. His fly to left was initially called foul. One replay seemed to show the ball on the fair side of the pole, but it wasn't clear what angle it was shot from.After a review, the call stood and Alonso ended up striking out.The following inning, Cam Sanders (1-1) loaded the bases with a walk and two hit batters. Yennier Cano came on with two outs, and George Lombard Jr. hit a slow roller for an infield single to put New York ahead. Then a wild pitch made it 5-3.Brent Headrick (7-2) won in relief. David Bednar worked the ninth for his 29th save in 32 chances.Ben Rice homered for New York, and Alonso and Dylan Beavers went deep for the Orioles. Baltimore has lost three straight since pulling briefly ahead in the race for the American League's final wild card.The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the first on a double steal. Gunnar Henderson swiped second base while Jackson Holliday dashed from third to home.Ryan McMahon's RBI single in the second tied it, and Lombard followed with a sacrifice fly.Rice's 34th home run went 431 feet in the third to make it 3-1. The ball landed just under the big scoreboard in right-center field at Camden Yards.But Alonso extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a drive to the same part of the ballpark, just a little shorter than Rice's. He has 29 homers in his first year in Baltimore.Beavers tied it in the sixth off Fernando Cruz with an opposite-field drive to left — just to the right of where the wall out there deepens.Up nextThe Yankees try for a sweep Thursday night with Gerrit Cole (6-6) on the mound against Baltimore's Kyle Bradish (7-11).___See AP’s full MLB coverage here

CINCINNATI (AP) — Evander da Silva Ferreira scored a goal in stoppage time, Kenji Mboma Dem added a goal, and FC Cincinnati beat New York City FC 2-1 on Wednesday. Roman Celentano made back-to-back stops a little more than a minute into the second half to preserve a 1-1 tie and finished with seven saves for Cincinnati (8-6-6). Evander, with his back to the goal, turned a scored on low shot from near the right corner of the penalty arc to cap the scoring. The 28-year-old midfielder went into the game leading MLS this season in goal contributions (22), assists (11) and goals scored outside the box (six). Evander played a ball-ahead from near midfield to Kevin Denkey near the penalty spot. Defender Kevin O’Toole poked the ball away, but Mboma Dem put away a sliding first-touch shot that opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Luighi Hanri Sousa Santos — known simply as “Luighi” — scored in the 21st minute for NYCFC (7-8-5). Agustin Ojeda tapped a pass to Nicolas Fernandez near the right sideline and darted toward the end line on the give-and-go. Fernandez sent a ball-ahead into the attacking third and Ojeda played a first-touch cross to Luighi for the volley that made it 1-1. The 20-year-old Luighi was acquired on loan July 28 and has scored in each of his two MLS appearances. NYCFC is 9-4-3 against Cincinnati, 6-2-2 at home. Matt Freese had five saves. Andrei Chirila and Denkey scored stoppage-time goals in Cincinnati's a 4-4 tie with New York City on April 22 at Yankee Stadium to snap a three-game skid in the series. ___See AP’s full soccer coverage here

CADDO MILLS — “Yes yes, no no.” That was the roaring chant of the hometown crowd in Caddo Mills every time the Lady Foxes touched the ball in the team’s home opener and every time Blue Ridge touched the ball.“We always bring a good crowd, we always have a great student and have fans that show up and support,” coach Skyler Camacho said. “There’s energy on the floor, there’s energy on the bench and then it only helps when you have energy in the stands. We love that about this place.”Key moments where the crowd came into play were in the later half of Sets 2 and 3. After taking Set 1, 25-20, the Lady Foxes got on a roll in the second set but Blue Ridge kept fighting back.That was when Harlynn Johnson and Bailey Kobe teamed up for three kills in a row to take the lead in Set 2, 15-8. The crowd erupted more and more each time the ball touched the ground in the Lady Tigers zone. The offense remained locked in and pulled away for a Set 2 win, 25-16, one set away from a sweep.Set 3 didn’t start off ideal for the Lady Foxes, trailing 5-1, but the team eventually narrowed the gap and started trading shots with the Lady Tigers before eventually taking the lead.The Lady Foxes looked poised for victory late in the set, leading 22-14, but Blue ridge started making a comeback.Camacho called timeout when the score was 22-19 to steady the team and the Lady Foxes made the most of it. Kobe struck a ball on the left side of the net for a kill and the student section came un-glued.The Lady Foxes went on to win Set 3, 25-20, completing a sweep and extending their record to 9-2.

Following the Giannis Antetokoumpo trade, the Milwaukee Bucks were able to jumpstart their rebuild with two lottery picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, No. 10 and No. 12. With those picks, the Bucks selected Brayden Burries (Arizona) and Nate Ament (Tennessee).Ahead of the 2026-27 season, one of those picks has already begun to turn heads following an impressive summer league campaign. In four games, Burries averaged 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, two steals and one block per contest. During his freshman season at Arizona, Burries proved to be a great two-way talent, averaging 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.2 blocks.For these reasons, ESPN ranked the former Wildcat as the biggest draft-day steal in a recent poll. Burries dominated this conversation, earning six of 13 votes in the category. Yaxel Lendeborg, who went one pick after Burries, was the only other player to receive more than two votes.While the Bucks may not be prepared to make a playoff run next season, young players like Burries, Ament and Kel'el Ware, a recent trade acquisition, will be given valuable minutes to develop at the NBA level.For more NBA content, check out the BasketBaltes podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@BasketBalteshttps://www.instagram.com/basketbaltes/This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Milwaukee Bucks lottery pick named biggest steal in 2026 NBA Draft

QUINLAN — The Boles Hornets geared up for another season of football with a scrimmage last week against the Maud Cardinals. Coach Jawny Canon gave some key takeaways from the contest.One of the positives Cannon pointed to was the high energy the team came out with.“The boys were excited and ready to get out there and compete against someone other than themselves,” Cannon said. “They were eager to see what they could do when the lights came on and they had an opportunity to compete against another team.”Canon emphasized that this is a young team that will be going through a lot of growth this season. While play wasn’t perfect, the coach was pleased with the team’s ability to adjust on the fly and not let mistakes compound.“The ability to be coachable and respond is going to be important for us as we continue to grow,” Canon said.One player who especially stood out to Canon was freshman quarterback Trystan Thomason. The coach said Thomason trusted his coaching and made several great reads that led to three touchdowns on the night.One was a 19-yard rushing touchdown along with two passing touchdowns.The Hornets play another scrimmage Thursday evening against Wolfe City.