Kepler, who signed a free agent deal with the Diamondbacks on June 7, hit .333 with two home runs in 10 minor league games. He was fifth in the batting order and played left field for the Diamondbacks against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.

Kepler was suspended in January for a positive test for Epitrenbolone, a metabolite of Trenbolone that’s contained in some products used in body-building stores and has been used in products to promote cattle growth. Kepler was the first player suspended by MLB for the substance since public announcements of the penalty details began in 2005.

“It’s a great opportunity for him,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said before Thursday’s game. “I’m glad that he’s here. … He’s been working his tail off to get back here as soon as possible, and the fact that he’s in this lineup tonight is not surprising to any of us. He’s going to go out there and help us win a baseball game by impacting it the right way.”

Kepler, 33, hit .216 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs with Philadelphia last year after agreeing to a $10 million, one-year contract. He was slowed in 2024 by left patellar tendinitis and had core surgery after the season to repair a sports hernia.

He has a .235 average with 179 home runs and 560 RBIs over an 11-year career.

“I don’t know what happened, but he paid his penalty,” Lovullo said. “He served it, and he’s here, and he wants to show the world that he can still play this game at a very high level.”

To make room for Kepler on the 40 man, the Diamondbacks moved RHP Ryne Nelson (strained right elbow) to the 60-day disabled list. Arizona also optioned OF Tim Tawa and LHP Mitch Bratt to Triple-A Reno and recalled RHP Juan Burgos.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Source

First Half_1, Germany, Sane, (Wirtz), 2nd minute; 2, Ecuador, Angulo, (Vite), 9th.

Second Half_3, Ecuador, Plata, (Rodriguez), 77th.

Goalies_Germany, Manuel Neuer, Oliver Baumann, Alexander Nuebel; Ecuador, Hernan Galindez, Moises Ramirez, Gonzalo Valle.

Yellow Cards_Hincapie, Ecuador, 43rd; Pavlovic, Germany, 44th; Franco, Ecuador, 50th; Plata, Ecuador, 89th.

Referee_Tori Penso. Assistant Referees_Brooke Mayo, Kathryn Nesbitt, Joseph Dickerson. 4th Official_Campbell-Kirk Waugh.

A_80,663.

___

Source

El hogar mítico de Robin Hood ocupó titulares la semana pasada tras la muerte del Major Oak, un árbol de 1.000 años de antigüedad ubicado en el bosque y considerado el lugar donde, según la leyenda, el célebre héroe se escondía junto a sus alegres compañeros.

Aunque este vínculo físico con la leyenda ha desaparecido, la fascinación mundial por el hombre que robaba a los ricos para dar a los pobres sigue tan viva como siempre. Desde las baladas medievales hasta las películas, el mundo continúa cautivado por esta escurridiza figura. Una nueva interpretación cinematográfica, esta vez protagonizada por Hugh Jackman en “The Death of Robin Hood”, se estrenó en Estados Unidos el 19 de junio. Hoy, Robin Hood es mucho más que folclore: es un destino de peregrinación que atrae a viajeros, aficionados a la historia y fans del cine al bosque inglés.

Pero, ¿quién fue el verdadero Robin Hood? ¿Era el forajido honorable y romántico popularizado por los medios modernos o un brutal delincuente medieval que actuaba sin provocación?

La muerte del Major Oak marca un punto de inflexión simbólico para una leyenda que evolucionó de un bandido desacreditado del siglo XIII a un fenómeno global de la cultura popular valorado en miles de millones de dólares y en un importante motor turístico para Inglaterra.

Desde su copa de 28 metros de altura, el árbol fue testigo de gran parte de la historia inglesa moderna: desde la conquista normanda hasta la Guerra Civil inglesa, la Revolución Industrial e incluso el Brexit.

Y lo hizo en un entorno que parece haber cambiado muy poco desde su apogeo medieval: 400 enormes robles centenarios siguen en pie, rodeados de sicómoros, abedules plateados, fresnos y brezales. El bosque de Sherwood actual puede ser solo una fracción de su tamaño original —se redujo de 100.000 acres a los 800 actuales—, pero conserva su núcleo histórico original, explica Andrews. Entrar en él es como ingresar en otro mundo.

“Es un paisaje mágico”, dice Andrews. “Se siente como un lugar completamente diferente. En la ciudad estás en el siglo XXI, en una jungla de concreto. En Sherwood Forest, en cuanto dejas el centro de visitantes y tomas el sendero entre los robles, retrocedes en el tiempo”.

“No necesitas imaginarlo. Tu mente está receptiva a la experiencia de estar en el pasado”.

Andrews ha recorrido Sherwood Forest durante más de tres décadas. Trabajó seis años como guardabosques patrimonial antes de convertirse en Robin Hood. Historiador y actor, se viste como el forajido más famoso del mundo para guiar a los visitantes por el centro de Nottingham y llevarlos a lo que él describe como el “mundo mágico y medieval” de Sherwood Forest, situado a unos 40 kilómetros, o una hora en automóvil, al norte de la ciudad.

Aunque la ciudad moderna de Nottingham guarda pocas similitudes con la localidad medieval mencionada en las leyendas —aunque todavía conserva un sheriff ceremonial—, el bosque es el lugar donde el pasado cobra vida.

Al partir desde el moderno centro de visitantes, los viajeros retroceden diez siglos durante los 20 minutos que toma llegar al Major Oak.

“Se percibía que su fuerza vital estaba disminuyendo, que se acercaba su final”, afirma Andrews, quien desarrolló una estrecha relación con el árbol durante décadas. “Pero eso también forma parte de la vida, ¿no es así? Incluso después de morir, sigue dando vida al bosque, y su historia continúa desarrollándose”.

La historia del árbol está inseparablemente ligada a la de Robin Hood. El forajido que robaba a los ricos para ayudar a los pobres ha dado origen, a lo largo de los siglos, a innumerables leyendas.

El nombre de Robin Hood apareció por primera vez en la conciencia pública de la Inglaterra medieval tardía, explica Allen W. Wright, quien creó el sitio web Bold Outlaw dedicado a Robin Hood en 1997.

En “Piers Plowman”, un poema de la década de 1370, un personaje menciona que no conoce el Padrenuestro, pero sí conoce algunos poemas sobre Robin Hood.

Se trata de un recurso literario útil para presentar a este personaje como alguien de mala reputación: no solo es irreligioso, sino también admirador de bandidos. El Robin Hood al que se alude aquí ciertamente no es la fuerza para el bien que Andrews —quien hoy encarna al personaje en Nottingham— cree que fue.

“Desde la primera referencia literaria tiene una reputación poco respetable”, dice Wright sobre Robin Hood. Pero, ¿significa eso que realmente existió?

Existen algunos rastros de un posible Robin Hood en la vida real, y aparecen antes de esa primera mención literaria, lo que sugiere que la referencia en “Piers Plowman” quizá no era pura ficción. En 1262, un hombre llamado “William Robehod” fue juzgado por hurto en Reading, una ciudad situada al oeste de Londres y a unos 190 kilómetros al sur de Nottingham.

Más personas con “Robynhod” como apellido aparecen mencionadas durante el siglo XIII. De acuerdo con el historiador David Crook, se trataba de un apellido poco común, lo que podría sugerir una conexión histórica. “Esto apunta a que la leyenda ya era conocida 100 años antes de que tengamos una referencia clara en relatos o rimas”, afirma Wright sobre estas primeras menciones.

Robin Hood aparece tanto en textos históricos como en baladas de ficción. En un texto de 1420 que sitúa los hechos en la década de 1280, Robin es mencionado como un forajido que vivía junto a Little John en Barnsdale, en Yorkshire, en el norte de Inglaterra y a unos 100 kilómetros al norte de Nottingham. Cuarenta años después, otro libro histórico, el “Scotichronicon”, lo describe como un “famoso degollador” que vivió en 1266.

Hasta aquí, nada particularmente atractivo.

Sin embargo, llámese el atractivo del chico malo, durante la segunda mitad del siglo XV comenzaron a aparecer por toda Inglaterra baladas que romantizaban a Robin Hood. Seguía siendo un forajido, pero ya no era presentado como un asesino despiadado. De hecho, era un yeoman, una figura social situada entre un campesino y un noble.

En “A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode”, una balada escrita en inglés medio alrededor de 1450 —también conocida como “A Gest of Robyn Hode”— se establecieron muchos de los elementos centrales de la historia: los orígenes de su vida fuera de la ley (tras disparar contra algunos sirvientes del rey durante una competencia de tiro con arco), la presentación de sus alegres compañeros y su muerte a manos de una monja intrigante. La balada pide que descanse en paz, “porque fue un buen forajido”.

“Era entretenimiento popular”, afirma Wright.

A partir de entonces, la leyenda despegó. Desde finales del siglo XV, Robin Hood se convirtió en un personaje popular para disfrazarse durante ferias y festivales de pueblos. Las baladas de Robin Hood pasaron a formar parte habitual de las celebraciones de primavera y del 1 de mayo, explica Tom Hahn, profesor emérito de literatura inglesa de la Universidad de Rochester y fundador de la Asociación Internacional de Estudios sobre Robin Hood. La universidad también alberga el Proyecto Robin Hood, una base de datos de antiguos textos relacionados con la leyenda.

Durante el siglo XVI, un obispo escandalizado escribió que encontró cerrada la puerta de una iglesia en una festividad religiosa en una de sus parroquias porque todos los habitantes habían salido a celebrar el “día de Robin Hood”. En 1510, incluso el rey Enrique VIII se disfrazó de Robin Hood para sorprender a su esposa.

Era una señal de que la leyenda estaba llegando a las clases altas. Robin Hood se convirtió repentinamente en protagonista de obras de teatro. Pero, aunque pasó a ser entretenimiento para personas alfabetizadas, su atractivo siguió siendo amplio.

“Para finales del siglo XVII comenzaron a publicarse recopilaciones muy baratas que se vendían a bajo precio: una amplia colección de baladas que a menudo empezaban con él convirtiéndose en forajido y terminaban con su muerte”, explica Hahn. “Eso continuó durante los siglos XVIII y XIX”.

Con tantas referencias a lo largo de un período tan extenso, ¿no apunta eso a alguien que realmente existió?

“Nadie está completamente seguro de que Robin Hood haya sido real… salvo quienes tienen un libro que vender”, dice Wright, quien considera que la figura “quizás” tenga sus raíces en una persona real.

Si Robin Hood existió realmente, es posible que haya vivido lejos de Sherwood Forest. La mejor hipótesis de Wright sobre la identidad del verdadero Robin —“la mejor apuesta entre las sombras”, como él mismo la describe— apunta a un forajido de Yorkshire llamado Roberd Hood que vivió en la década de 1220. De acuerdo con Wright, este personaje aparece en registros históricos durante varios años identificado como “forajido”. Y como esos documentos son anteriores a las baladas, no puede tratarse de alguien que hubiera adoptado el nombre inspirado en la leyenda. “Las pruebas siguen siendo muy circunstanciales”, reconoce Wright sobre la posible fama histórica de Roberd Hood. “Pero es una teoría mejor que las demás candidaturas”.

Respecto a cómo la historia terminó trasladándose unos 110 kilómetros al sur, hasta Nottingham, Wright señala que un sheriff de York del siglo XIII había sido anteriormente sheriff adjunto de Nottingham, lo que podría explicar parte de la confusión.

Más importante aún, las primeras versiones de la leyenda sugieren que Robin comenzó su historia más al norte, concretamente en Barnsdale, una zona del actual South Yorkshire que también contaba con bosques, antes de que el relato se desplazara hacia Nottingham.

Si Roberd Hood fue realmente la inspiración de la leyenda, no parece haber sido una persona particularmente amable. Hahn señala que los relatos más antiguos contenían “un énfasis en la violencia, a veces sin provocación alguna”.

No obstante, como sabe cualquiera que haya visto una película de Hollywood, no todos los villanos son percibidos de la misma manera.

“Es un poco como los westerns que surgieron en Estados Unidos durante el siglo XIX. Existe una clara sensación de ser un forajido en una sociedad sin ley”, explica Hahn.

Con el paso del tiempo, la leyenda se fue suavizando, quizá debido al creciente escepticismo popular hacia las autoridades. Cuando Enrique VIII ya se disfrazaba de Robin Hood, había surgido la idea de Robin como héroe, “de la misma manera que las estrellas de los westerns o incluso algunos gánsteres pueden convertirse en héroes”, afirma Wright.

“Ayuda que las personas contra las que lucha sean más corruptas que él. El sheriff no cumple su palabra, pero el forajido sí. La leyenda prospera gracias a esa ironía: Robin sigue siendo más honorable que quienes supuestamente representan el bien”.

Del mismo modo, el romance no formaba parte de la historia original de Robin Hood. “Desde sus primeras versiones fue una historia de hombres entre hombres”, señala Hahn. Pero a medida que Robin y sus alegres compañeros dejaron de ser asesinos despiadados para convertirse en pícaros entrañables, surgió espacio para un interés amoroso: Lady Marian, quien apareció en la leyenda hacia el siglo XVIII.

Aunque Robin Hood siempre fue un héroe popular inglés, Hahn sostiene que fue un estadounidense quien lo convirtió en la figura global que conocemos hoy. En 1883, el escritor e ilustrador estadounidense Howard Pyle publicó “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire”.

No se trataba de una balada popular de bajo costo, sino de un libro de lujo publicado por Scribner’s, en el que Pyle reinterpretó el contenido de los poemas para convertirlo en una novela apta para toda la familia. La obra tuvo un “éxito inmediato”, afirma Hahn, quien añade que también “americanizó” la leyenda. Además, la suavizó. “Convirtió a Robin Hood en un buen tipo”.

Al libro de Pyle le siguió en 1922 una película muda protagonizada por Douglas Fairbanks en el papel de Robin Hood. El actor tituló modestamente la producción “Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood”. Fue la primera película de la historia en tener un estreno oficial en Hollywood.

A partir de entonces, la industria cinematográfica adoptó la leyenda con entusiasmo. En 1938, Errol Flynn se enfundó sus famosas mallas. En 1976, Sean Connery interpretó a un Robin Hood envejecido junto a Audrey Hepburn como Lady Marian en “Robin and Marian”. En 1991 llegó Kevin Costner como Robin Hood, mientras la canción principal de Bryan Adams, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”, conquistó al mundo. Permaneció durante 16 semanas consecutivas en el primer puesto de la lista de sencillos del Reino Unido, una marca que aún no ha sido igualada.

En 2010 fue el turno de Russell Crowe, bajo la dirección de Ridley Scott. Mientras tanto, algunas de las actrices más destacadas de Hollywood, entre ellas Naomie Harris, Cate Blanchett, Uma Thurman y, en la película de 2026, Jodie Comer, han acompañado a distintas versiones de Robin Hood en la pantalla. Y es imposible olvidar la adaptación animada de Disney de 1973, con el fallecido Peter Ustinov dando voz tanto al rey Juan como al rey Ricardo, y con un Robin Hood convertido en zorro e interpretado por Brian Bedford.

Hoy, Robin Hood ha impregnado la cultura popular contemporánea. Si se busca “Robin Hood” en IMDb, aparecen literalmente decenas de películas sobre el entrañable forajido que robaba a los ricos para ayudar a los pobres.

Incluso algunos simpatizantes de Luigi Mangione, acusado del homicidio de Brian Thompson, CEO de UnitedHealthcare, lo presentaron como una especie de Robin Hood moderno.

No resulta sorprendente. “La industria cinematográfica ha convertido a Robin Hood en un tema de la cultura popular internacional”, afirma Hahn.

Las diferentes versiones de Robin Hood también revelan aspectos de nuestras propias sociedades, agrega. Hasta el siglo XX, Robin Hood era un personaje principalmente abordado por hombres. No obstante, posteriormente comenzaron a aparecer novelas sobre Robin Hood escritas por mujeres. No se trata únicamente del romance con Lady Marian o de la imagen de una Marian disfrazada que puede competir en igualdad de condiciones con los hombres, explica Hahn. Incluso la idea que tenemos hoy de la hermandad entre los alegres compañeros de Robin Hood puede estar influenciada por esas autoras. De acuerdo con Hahn, ellas ofrecieron “nuevas formas de representar los vínculos y la solidaridad”.

Aunque la existencia real de Robin Hood sigue siendo motivo de debate, no faltan lugares relacionados con el personaje para visitar en Nottingham.

A unos 32 kilómetros al norte de la ciudad, Sherwood Forest alberga una de las mayores concentraciones de “robles ancestrales” de Europa occidental, una denominación que reciben los árboles cuando alcanzan los 400 años de antigüedad. Más allá de la imagen de forajidos refugiándose en sus troncos, cada uno de estos árboles puede albergar miles de especies de insectos, hongos, aves y mamíferos, y funcionar como “ciudades en miniatura”, según la Real Sociedad para la Protección de las Aves, organización benéfica que administra el lugar como reserva natural.

El Major Oak permanecerá en el lugar para descomponerse gradualmente en un proceso que tomará años. “Le llevará varias décadas degradarse, y será algo extraordinario observar cómo el ‘rey de los reyes’ se va apagando”, afirma Andrews. “Las ramas más pequeñas se desprenderán a medida que el cambio climático traiga lluvias más intensas. Las ramas más grandes permanecerán durante más tiempo. A medida que se degrade, será una obra de arte viva dentro del paisaje, con una enorme historia que contar”.

Aunque el Major Oak sucumbió al paso del tiempo, sus más de 400 compañeros continúan fuertes y siguen transmitiendo la misma atmósfera especial, dice Andrews. Uno de ellos, el Parliament Oak, también se cree que tiene unos 1.000 años de antigüedad. Su nombre proviene de que fue utilizado como lugar improvisado para reuniones parlamentarias durante el siglo XIII.

Es posible que también se cruce con Andrews durante alguna de sus visitas guiadas. Es difícil no verlo. Vestido con gastados pantalones de cuero, un jubón y un sombrero medieval tipo bycocket, empuñando una espada y un arco largo y haciendo sonar ocasionalmente un cuerno, se considera un trovador moderno encargado de mantener vivas las baladas medievales de Robin Hood. Se describe a sí mismo como una “manifestación de Robin Hood”, alguien que transmite un mensaje de caridad y buena voluntad en tiempos turbulentos.

Las visitas guiadas de Andrews por Nottingham cuentan la historia de la ciudad a través de las leyendas de Robin Hood. Y es una historia que requiere contexto. Aunque Nottingham posee una larga historia, Andrews la define como una “ciudad moderna”, marcada por algunos desarrollos urbanísticos cuestionables de la década de 1960. Encontrar a Robin Hood aquí implica mirar más allá del trazado urbano contemporáneo.

Sus recorridos incluyen la iglesia de Santa María, hoy rodeada de almacenes victorianos, pero identificada como un lugar visitado por Robin Hood en la balada medieval “Robin Hood and the Monk”.

También lleva a los visitantes al Museo Nacional de Justicia, ubicado en un edificio de finales del siglo XVIII construido sobre un emplazamiento fundado por los normandos cuando colonizaron Inglaterra por primera vez, y al castillo de Nottingham, que en realidad es un palacio del siglo XVII, aunque se levanta sobre el terreno que ocupó “uno de los castillos más poderosos de la Inglaterra medieval”.

Y como imaginar la Nottingham medieval puede resultar agotador, Andrews concluye sus recorridos en lo que se considera el pub más antiguo de Inglaterra, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, que sirve cerveza desde 1189.

Al combinar la historia de Nottingham con la leyenda de Robin Hood, asegura que “la gente se sorprende por la belleza de la ciudad”.

Andrews, quien define a Robin Hood como una “figura del bien”, interpreta al personaje desde una perspectiva espiritual. Cree que Robin Hood fue “creado por la voluntad colectiva de las personas en la Inglaterra medieval temprana” y considera que su historia sigue teniendo un impacto positivo en la actualidad. Sus recorridos, afirma, ayudan a los visitantes a “encontrar el espíritu de Robin Hood dentro de nosotros mismos. La verdadera magia de Robin reside en la psique interior”.

Personas de todo el mundo viajan hasta Nottingham para seguir los pasos de Robin Hood, aunque existen otros destinos para los peregrinos de la leyenda. Para empezar, se puede visitar Barnsdale, donde se encuentra el llamado “pozo de Robin Hood”, además de otros lugares de Yorkshire mencionados en las baladas, como Sayles Plantation, Wentbridge y Doncaster.

Pero ni siquiera es necesario viajar a Inglaterra.

Dondequiera que uno se encuentre, Robin Hood parece estar presente.

“Es prácticamente imposible atravesar la vida sin encontrarse con Robin Hood en algún lugar”, afirma Hahn, quien compara la leyenda con “The Simpsons” como un auténtico “referente cultural” del mundo angloparlante.

Para Andrews, ese referente cultural sigue siendo una fuerza positiva.

“Robin Hood fue el primer superhéroe”, afirma. “Y el mundo necesita héroes”.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Source

En las primeras horas, consideradas las más decisivas tras un sismo, muchos vecinos se han sumado como voluntarios a los equipos de emergencia que trabajan contrarreloj para encontrar con vida a quienes permanecen atrapados bajo los escombros, mientras las réplicas y la falta de maquinaria pesada dificultan las operaciones.

Jorge Rodríguez, presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, actualizó más temprano este jueves el número de fallecidos a 188 y detalló que hay más de 200 personas atrapadas bajo los escombros y al menos 157 personas permanecen desaparecidas.

Ante la magnitud del desastre, equipos especializados de búsqueda y rescate de Estados Unidos, México, Colombia, España y otros países comenzaron a movilizarse hacia el país sudamericano, en coordinación con las autoridades venezolanas y la Organización de las Naciones Unidas.

En Caracas, en una zona donde colapsaron cuatro edificios, voluntarios distribuyen agua y alimentos mientras continúan las tareas de búsqueda. En el estacionamiento de uno de los edificios derrumbados, rescatistas intentaban liberar a tres jóvenes atrapados bajo los escombros.

En Caraballeda, en el estado de La Guaira —la zona más afectada, donde decenas de edificios colapsaron—, muchos vecinos removían escombros por su cuenta en busca de sobrevivientes y pedían más ayuda para las labores de rescate, según pudo saber CNN.

Las siguientes imágenes muestran cómo avanzan las operaciones de rescate en dos de los lugares más golpeados por los terremotos.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Source

First Half_1, Ivory Coast, Pepe, (Diomande), 7th minute.

Second Half_2, Ivory Coast, Pepe, (Sangare), 64th.

Goalies_Ivory Coast, Yahia Fofana, Mohamed Kone, Alban Lafont; Curacao, Eloy Room, Tyrick Bodak, Trevor Doornbusch.

Yellow Cards_Pepe, Ivory Coast, 35th; Bacuna, Curacao, 75th; Kastaneer, Curacao, 83rd.

Referee_Glenn Nyberg. Assistant Referees_Mahbod Beigi, Andreas Soderkvist, Carlos Del Cerro Grande. 4th Official_Sandro Scharer.

A_68,324.

___

Source

GROUP A

Thursday, June 11

Mexico 2, South Africa 0

Friday, June 12

South Korea 2, Czechia 1

Thursday, June 18

Czechia 1, South Africa 1

Friday, June 19

Mexico 1, South Korea 0

Thursday, June 25

Czechia 0, Mexico 3

South Africa 1, South Korea 0

GROUP B

GROUP B

Friday, June 12

Canada 1, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1

Saturday, June 13

Qatar 1, Switzerland 1

Thursday, June 18

Switzerland 4, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1

Canada 6, Qatar 0

Wednesday, June 24

Switzerland 2, Canada 1

Bosnia-Herzegovina 3, Qatar 1

GROUP C

GROUP C

Saturday, June 13

Brazil 1, Morocco 1

Sunday, June 14

Haiti 0, Scotland 1

Friday, June 19

Scotland 0, Morocco 1

Saturday, June 20

Brazil 3, Haiti 0

Wednesday, June 24

Scotland 0, Brazil 3

Morocco 4, Haiti 2

GROUP D

GROUP D

Saturday, June 13

United States 4, Paraguay 1

Sunday, June 14

Australia 2, Turkey 0

Friday, June 19

United States 2, Australia 0

Saturday, June 20

Turkey 0, Paraguay 1

Friday, June 26

Turkey vs. United States, 0200 GMT

Paraguay vs. Australia, 0200 GMT

GROUP E

GROUP E

Sunday, June 14

Germany 7, Curacao 1

Ivory Coast 1, Ecuador 0

Saturday, June 20

Germany 2, Ivory Coast 1

Sunday, June 21

Ecuador 0, Curacao 0

Thursday, June 25

Ecuador 2, Germany 1

Curacao 0, Ivory Coast 2

GROUP F

GROUP F

Sunday, June 14

Netherlands 2, Japan 2

Monday, June 15

Sweden 5, Tunisia 1

Saturday, June 20

Netherlands 5, Sweden 1

Sunday, June 21

Tunisia 0, Japan 4

Thursday, June 25

Tunisia vs. Netherlands, 2300 GMT

Japan vs. Sweden, 2300 GMT

GROUP G

GROUP G

Monday, June 15

Belgium 1, Egypt 1

Tuesday, June 16

Iran 2, New Zealand 2

Sunday, June 21

Belgium 0, Iran 0

Monday, June 22

New Zealand 1, Egypt 3

Saturday, June 27

New Zealand vs. Belgium, 0300 GMT

Egypt vs. Iran, 0300 GMT

GROUP H

GROUP H

Monday, June 15

Spain 0, Cape Verde 0

Saudi Arabia 1, Uruguay 1

Sunday, June 21

Spain 4, Saudi Arabia 0

Uruguay 2, Cape Verde 2

Saturday, June 27

Uruguay vs. Spain, 0000 GMT

Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, 0000 GMT

GROUP I

GROUP I

Tuesday, June 16

France 3, Senegal 1

Iraq 1, Norway 4

Monday, June 22

France 3, Iraq 0

Tuesday, June 23

Norway 3, Senegal 2

Friday, June 26

Norway vs. France, 1900 GMT

Senegal vs. Iraq, 1900 GMT

GROUP J

GROUP J

Wednesday, June 17

Argentina 3, Algeria 0

Austria 3, Jordan 1

Monday, June 22

Argentina 2, Austria 0

Tuesday, June 23

Jordan 1, Algeria 2

Sunday, June 28

Jordan vs. Argentina, 0200 GMT

Algeria vs. Austria, 0200 GMT

GROUP K

GROUP K

Wednesday, June 17

Portugal 1, Congo 1

Thursday, June 18

Uzbekistan 1, Colombia 3

Tuesday, June 23

Portugal 5, Uzbekistan 0

Wednesday, June 24

Colombia 1, Congo 0

Saturday, June 27

Colombia vs. Portugal, 2330 GMT

Congo vs. Uzbekistan, 2330 GMT

GROUP L

GROUP L

Wednesday, June 17

England 4, Croatia 2

Ghana 1, Panama 0

Tuesday, June 23

England 0, Ghana 0

Panama 0, Croatia 1

Saturday, June 27

Panama vs. England, 2100 GMT

Croatia vs. Ghana, 2100 GMT

ROUND OF 32

Sunday, June 28

South Africa vs. Canada, 1900 GMT

Monday, June 29

Brazil vs. 2F, 1700 GMT

Germany vs. 3A/3B/3C/3D/3F, 2030 GMT

Tuesday, June 30

1F vs. Morocco, 0100 GMT

Ivory Coast vs. 2I, 1700 GMT

1I vs. 3C/3D/3F/3G/3H, 2100 GMT

Wednesday, July 1

Mexico vs. 3C/3E/3F/3H/3I, 0100 GMT

1L vs. 3E/3H/3I/3J/3K, 1600 GMT

1G vs. 3A/3E/3H/3I/3J, 2000 GMT

Thursday, July 2

United States vs. 3B/3E/3F/3I/3J, 0000 GMT

1H vs. 2J, 1900 GMT

2K vs. 2L, 2300 GMT

Friday, July 3

Switzerland vs. 3E/3F/3G/3I/3J, 0300 GMT

2D vs. 2G, 1800 GMT

Argentina vs. 2H, 2200 GMT

Saturday, July 4

1K vs. 3D/3E/3I/3J/3L, 0130 GMT

ROUND OF 16

Saturday, July 4

W73 vs. W75, 1700 GMT

W74 vs. W77, 2100 GMT

Sunday, July 5

W76 vs. W78, 2000 GMT

Monday, July 6

W79 vs. W80, 0000 GMT

W83 vs. W84, 1900 GMT

Tuesday, July 7

W81 vs. W82, 0000 GMT

W86 vs. W88, 1600 GMT

W85 vs. W87, 2000 GMT

QUARTERFINAL

Thursday, July 9

W89 vs. W90, 2000 GMT

Friday, July 10

W93 vs. W94, 1900 GMT

Saturday, July 11

W91 vs. W92, 2100 GMT

Sunday, July 12

W95 vs. W96, 0100 GMT

SEMIFINAL

Tuesday, July 14

W97 vs. W98, 1900 GMT

Wednesday, July 15

W99 vs. W100, 1900 GMT

3RD PLACE PLAYOFF

Saturday, July 18

RU101 vs. RU102, 2100 GMT

FINAL

Sunday, July 19

W101 vs. W102, 1900 GMT

Source

GROUP A

Thursday, June 11

Mexico 2, South Africa 0

South Korea 2, Czechia 1

Thursday, June 18

Czechia 1, South Africa 1

Mexico 1, South Korea 0

Wednesday, June 24

Czechia 0, Mexico 3

South Africa 1, South Korea 0

GROUP B

GROUP B

Friday, June 12

Canada 1, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1

Saturday, June 13

Qatar 1, Switzerland 1

Thursday, June 18

Switzerland 4, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1

Canada 6, Qatar 0

Wednesday, June 24

Switzerland 2, Canada 1

Bosnia-Herzegovina 3, Qatar 1

GROUP C

GROUP C

Saturday, June 13

Brazil 1, Morocco 1

Haiti 0, Scotland 1

Friday, June 19

Scotland 0, Morocco 1

Brazil 3, Haiti 0

Wednesday, June 24

Scotland 0, Brazil 3

Morocco 4, Haiti 2

GROUP D

GROUP D

Friday, June 12

United States 4, Paraguay 1

Sunday, June 14

Australia 2, Turkey 0

Friday, June 19

United States 2, Australia 0

Turkey 0, Paraguay 1

Thursday, June 25

Turkey vs. United States, 10 p.m.

Paraguay vs. Australia, 10 p.m.

GROUP E

GROUP E

Sunday, June 14

Germany 7, Curacao 1

Ivory Coast 1, Ecuador 0

Saturday, June 20

Germany 2, Ivory Coast 1

Ecuador 0, Curacao 0

Thursday, June 25

Ecuador 2, Germany 1

Curacao 0, Ivory Coast 2

GROUP F

GROUP F

Sunday, June 14

Netherlands 2, Japan 2

Sweden 5, Tunisia 1

Saturday, June 20

Netherlands 5, Sweden 1

Sunday, June 21

Tunisia 0, Japan 4

Thursday, June 25

Tunisia vs. Netherlands, 7 p.m.

Japan vs. Sweden, 7 p.m.

GROUP G

GROUP G

Monday, June 15

Belgium 1, Egypt 1

Iran 2, New Zealand 2

Sunday, June 21

Belgium 0, Iran 0

New Zealand 1, Egypt 3

Friday, June 26

New Zealand vs. Belgium, 11 p.m.

Egypt vs. Iran, 11 p.m.

GROUP H

GROUP H

Monday, June 15

Spain 0, Cape Verde 0

Saudi Arabia 1, Uruguay 1

Sunday, June 21

Spain 4, Saudi Arabia 0

Uruguay 2, Cape Verde 2

Friday, June 26

Uruguay vs. Spain, 8 p.m.

Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 p.m.

GROUP I

GROUP I

Tuesday, June 16

France 3, Senegal 1

Iraq 1, Norway 4

Monday, June 22

France 3, Iraq 0

Norway 3, Senegal 2

Friday, June 26

Norway vs. France, 3 p.m.

Senegal vs. Iraq, 3 p.m.

GROUP J

GROUP J

Tuesday, June 16

Argentina 3, Algeria 0

Wednesday, June 17

Austria 3, Jordan 1

Monday, June 22

Argentina 2, Austria 0

Jordan 1, Algeria 2

Saturday, June 27

Jordan vs. Argentina, 10 p.m.

Algeria vs. Austria, 10 p.m.

GROUP K

GROUP K

Wednesday, June 17

Portugal 1, Congo 1

Uzbekistan 1, Colombia 3

Tuesday, June 23

Portugal 5, Uzbekistan 0

Colombia 1, Congo 0

Saturday, June 27

Colombia vs. Portugal, 7:30 p.m.

Congo vs. Uzbekistan, 7:30 p.m.

GROUP L

GROUP L

Wednesday, June 17

England 4, Croatia 2

Ghana 1, Panama 0

Tuesday, June 23

England 0, Ghana 0

Panama 0, Croatia 1

Saturday, June 27

Panama vs. England, 5 p.m.

Croatia vs. Ghana, 5 p.m.

ROUND OF 32

Sunday, June 28

South Africa vs. Canada, 3 p.m.

Monday, June 29

Brazil vs. 2F, 1 p.m.

Germany vs. 3A/3B/3C/3D/3F, 4:30 p.m.

1F vs. Morocco, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, June 30

Ivory Coast vs. 2I, 1 p.m.

1I vs. 3C/3D/3F/3G/3H, 5 p.m.

Mexico vs. 3C/3E/3F/3H/3I, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, July 1

1L vs. 3E/3H/3I/3J/3K, 12 p.m.

1G vs. 3A/3E/3H/3I/3J, 4 p.m.

United States vs. 3B/3E/3F/3I/3J, 8 p.m.

Thursday, July 2

1H vs. 2J, 3 p.m.

2K vs. 2L, 7 p.m.

Switzerland vs. 3E/3F/3G/3I/3J, 11 p.m.

Friday, July 3

2D vs. 2G, 2 p.m.

Argentina vs. 2H, 6 p.m.

1K vs. 3D/3E/3I/3J/3L, 9:30 p.m.

ROUND OF 16

Saturday, July 4

W73 vs. W75, 1 p.m.

W74 vs. W77, 5 p.m.

Sunday, July 5

W76 vs. W78, 4 p.m.

W79 vs. W80, 8 p.m.

Monday, July 6

W83 vs. W84, 3 p.m.

W81 vs. W82, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, July 7

W86 vs. W88, 12 p.m.

W85 vs. W87, 4 p.m.

QUARTERFINAL

Thursday, July 9

W89 vs. W90, 4 p.m.

Friday, July 10

W93 vs. W94, 3 p.m.

Saturday, July 11

W91 vs. W92, 5 p.m.

W95 vs. W96, 9 p.m.

SEMIFINAL

Tuesday, July 14

W97 vs. W98, 3 p.m.

Wednesday, July 15

W99 vs. W100, 3 p.m.

3RD PLACE PLAYOFF

Saturday, July 18

RU101 vs. RU102, 5 p.m.

FINAL

Sunday, July 19

W101 vs. W102, 3 p.m.

Source

The Department of Homeland Security can now end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

The Supreme Court also voted 6-3 to clear the way for the Trump administration to potentially revive an immigration policy once used to turn back migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The court overturned a lower court order blocking the practice that limited the number of people who could apply for asylum each day.

Meanwhile, a liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor this month, causing damage to the foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million rehabilitation project, a top official at the National Park Service said.

Heres’ the latest:

Housing bill being sent to White House, starting clock on Trump’s signature

Speaker Mike Johnson returned from what he called a “very productive” hourslong meeting with the president in the Oval Office following a highly dysfunctional week in Congress.

“We’re on exactly the same page,” Johnson said back at the Capitol.

Trump earlier this week abruptly abandoned plans to sign the bipartisan Housing package, which had overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate but got tangled when the president insisted Congress must first pass an unrelated voting bill called the SAVE America Act. That bill has failed to draw broad support in the Senate.

A group of House GOP lawmakers joined Trump’s rally call and refused to vote on other measures, essentially shutting down business in the House.

Trump, after meeting with Johnson, told Republicans in a social media post: “no more grandstanding.”

Johnson said they had to get back to work, and he said they were transmitting the Housing bill, which starts a 10-day clock for Trump to either sign it or veto the bill.

Merchant vessel hit by Iranian drone today

The merchant vessel that was attacked earlier today was hit by an Iranian drone, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation, said that the merchant vessel Ever Lovely was attacked by a drone being flown by the Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the attack earlier on Thursday but only said that the ship was struck by a “projectile off Oman near UN-approved route for Strait of Hormuz.”

The center noted that there were no causalities nor any environmental impact.

U.S. says no Iranian funds have been released

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that no frozen funds have been released to Iran and will not be done until Iran meets the requirements of Trump’s interim Iran agreement.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC’s Squawk Box this week that Treasury would oversee how unfrozen funds would be spent.

“A very large percentage of it will go to buy U.S. foodstuffs and medicines,” he said.

U.N. agency pauses evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz

A U.N. maritime agency has paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz after the British military said a vessel was hit Thursday by a projectile off the coast of Oman.

The head of the International Maritime Organization said the plan to move stranded ships through the strait will be on hold until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and in the region.

It was unclear who launched the projectile or the type of vessel that was targeted. The report of a strike came hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using a U.N.-approved route through the strait without Tehran’s permission.

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Reflecting Pool liner was cut with a sharp knife or razor, National Park Service says

A liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor this month, causing damage to the foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million rehabilitation project, a top official at the National Park Service says.

The agency reported the June 9 incident to U.S. Park Police, said Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service. Lands made the statement in a court document filed late Wednesday as part of a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization to halt the Trump administration’s work on the project.

The police report indicates damage to the pool, “including a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material,″ Lands said. About 70 fence post tops also were thrown into the pool, he said.

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‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention center in Florida is officially closed, governor says

The immigration center built in the Florida swamps known as “Alligator Alcatraz” is closing after nearly a year of holding thousands of immigrant detainees, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

DeSantis said the center was always supposed to be temporary and now federal officials have enough ability to handle detention and deportation in more permanent facilities.

Officials announced a temporary closure of the facility earlier in June, saying hurricane season made it unsafe to keep the detainees in the Florida Everglades. All the of people kept at the isolated airstrip had been sent to other facilities.

Immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane to hold people. Detainees at the facility have talked about their difficulty accessing lawyers, and have described poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere.

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Homeland Security touts TPS win at Supreme Court

The top legal official at Homeland Security praised the Supreme Court’s decision on temporary protected status.

“The Court vindicates DHS yet again,” said James Percival, the department’s general counsel in a statement on X.

“The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense,” Percival said.

DHS secretary says the department is reevaluating warehouses purchased for ICE detention

Markwayne Mullin says his department is reevaluating the eleven warehouses his predecessor purchased to use as immigration detention facilities.

Mullin says some just “probably won’t work” and suggested a lack of “due diligence” when it came to purchasing the warehouses. They were purchased under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement received huge pushback around the country after the purchases became known.

When Mullin came into office, he paused any new purchases and federal officials have been looking at ways to offload some of them.

Federal judge halts Trump’s election executive order seeking to create a federal voter list

The executive order also sought to limit who can receive a mail ballot.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president’s order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year’s midterm election cycle.

Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. The judge agreed, noting in her ruling that the provisions of Trump’s order “unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers.”

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Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end legal protections for Haitians and Syrians

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation.

The decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

The Trump administration argued judges can’t second-guess immigration officials’ decisions about the protections, which were intended to be temporary.

Immigration attorneys said the countries remain unsafe to return, and the administration ended them in an unlawfully hasty process tinged by racial animus. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants were abducting and eating dogs and cats.

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Supreme Court clears way for the Trump administration to revive a restrictive immigration policy

The policy was once used to turn back migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The justices overturned a lower court order blocking the practice that limited the number of people who could apply for asylum each day under the Obama administration and during Trump’s first term.

Advocates said the tactic created a humanitarian crisis as thousands of people settled in unsafe makeshift shelters to await their turn. The Trump administration said it was necessary to deal with an increase of asylum seekers at the border.

The policy isn’t in place now, though authorities have imposed other restrictions on asylum seekers.

The administration argues that metering is a critical tool that’s been used by presidents of both parties and should stay available.

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Trump’s showdown with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy

President Trump was attending a private lunch Wednesday with the Senate GOP when he wondered aloud how anyone could have voted for a war powers resolution a day earlier that sought to block further U.S. military action against Iran.

Cassidy, one of the four Republicans who backed the measure, was ready with an answer.

“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, recounted to reporters afterward. “This is supposed to last four weeks. It’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

Things deteriorated from there.

When Cassidy told Trump he would continue voting for war powers resolutions until there’s a congressional briefing on developments in Iran, the senator recalled that Trump “did not particularly care for my comments” and “raised his voice.”

Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private meeting. At one point, the president called the senator a “lunatic,” the person said.

Cassidy acknowledged losing his temper, which he said was “not appropriate.”

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— Steven Sloan and Lisa Mascaro

Oil tankers use new route through Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian threats

Several tankers made their way out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday using a new route promoted by a U.N. maritime agency. Iran has threatened vessels using the path, which runs along the coast of Oman.

The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing talks about the interim deal signed last week with the United States.

Traffic through the strait has increased but is still well below prewar levels. Oil on Thursday briefly dipped below its last prewar price of just under $73 a barrel, a sign that the market believes the situation is improving.

The two sides are still debating terms of the deal — from getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf to the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

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Key inflation gauge jumps to 3-year high in latest sign of affordability challenges

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked, a sign rising costs could pose political problems for President Trump as midterm elections near.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, the largest annual increase since April 2023. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.4% last month, matching April’s increase and down from 0.7% in March.

The increase was largely driven by more expensive gas, as well as pricier semiconductors and other computer equipment that are in high demand for the AI build out. Rising prices have caused the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to keep their key rate unchanged this year, a reversal from January when they had penciled in two cuts. Some economists forecast the central bank could lift rates this year instead.

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Lawmakers demand answers as turmoil over Reflecting Pool repair continues

Congressional Democrats called for investigations Wednesday into renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the ongoing drama over the president’s problem-plagued, $16 million rehabilitation project continued to roil the capital.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate demanded answers about the saga that’s been highlighted in the news cycle for weeks, even as the White House has repeatedly blamed — without evidence — unidentified vandals for peeling paint and other problems. Six people have been arrested, President Donald Trump said, without providing details, and a local wildlife nonprofit conducted necropsies on dead ducks found near the Reflecting Pool. The president has said the pool may need to be drained once again for additional repairs.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, challenged the Trump administration over no-bid contracts for work on the Reflecting Pool, saying they were awarded to vendors with previous relationships to Trump.

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Senate Republicans reject war powers resolution after Trump berates them at Capitol meeting

Senate Republicans who were berated by President Donald Trump over opposition to his war in Iran held a late-night vote Wednesday to try to appease him, rejecting a war powers resolution a day after a similar measure passed.

Trump harangued GOP senators face-to-face earlier in the day for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a halt. He exchanged particularly harsh words with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four Republicans who had voted with Democrats on the measure.

Hours later, though, Cassidy was invited to receive a personal briefing on the war at the White House from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff. Cassidy then returned to the Capitol to vote against a separate but nearly identical war powers resolution.

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Les Éléphants have crashed the party and made it out of their group for the first time in four World Cup appearances.

Ivory Coast beat Ecuador 1-0 in its tournament opener — at the same Philadelphia stadium as Thursday’s game — and lost to Germany in its Group E second game.

Ivory Coast will play June 30 against either France or Norway — whichever is the runner-up in Group I.

Curaçao needed to win and instead failed to become the smallest nation to qualify for the knockout stages.

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Germany, which clinched first place in Group E with victories in its first two games, went ahead on Leroy Sané’s second-minute goal. Nilson Angulo scored Ecuador’s first goal of the tournament in the ninth minute.

Plata scored after a corner kick was nodded on by Kevin Rodríguez. Neuer, the 40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who came out of international retirement for the World Cup, was about the grasp the ball when Plata raised his left foot and with a toe put the ball into the net.

Ecuador finished third in the group with four points and advanced past the group stage for the second time, the first since a round of 16 game in 2002.

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Friday

American League

National League

Interleague

Consensus odds provided by Sportradar

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Canada’s 2-1 loss to Switzerland on Wednesday will send the Canucks south to Los Angeles to face South Africa in the Round of 32. A win or draw against Switzerland would have kept Canada in Vancouver for knockouts.

“Of course, we would have loved to stay in Vancouver, we’re not kidding anyone on there,” defender Alistair Johnston told reporters on Thursday.

The two other co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup, the United States and Mexico, both won their groups and stay within their borders for the next round. The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, but neither squad played in the other country.

Canada’s coach Jesse Marsch was looking for the positives.

“There’s also a certain benefit to eliminating a little bit of the distractions and the circus around the whole thing, as much as we’ve really enjoyed the home crowd,” Marsch said.

Both Marsch and Johnston emphasized the importance of rest in preparation for Canada’s first elimination game.

“Training is not going to be so intensive,” Marsch said. “It’s going to be about recovery, rehabilitation, and then re-energizing to really go again in the biggest game that we’ve had as a program.”

Wherever Canada plays, Johnston is optimistic the fans will be there too.

“We’re playing in LA, we’re not playing on Mars or something, you know what I mean,” he said. “I’m expecting a decent chunk of Canadian fans to get there.” ___

Connor Joyce is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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Turns out family might really be the biggest factor behind Williams’ decision to return to the pro game after nearly four years away.

Her two daughters, eight-year-old Olympia and Adira, who is almost three, have been with her every step of the way as she played two doubles warmup matches before accepting wild card invitations to both the singles and doubles (with older sister Venus) competitions at Wimbledon, which starts Monday.

“Just finished a mean game of duck duck goose,” Williams said on X shortly after her singles wild card was announced last weekend.

A big hint about Williams’ return came when she posted a video of a training session last month with Adira on court helping with a resistance band.

“Rumor has it…I got a new trainer,” Williams said in her Instagram caption.

Christopher Eubanks, a recently retired pro turned Tennis Channel commentator, saw up close how Williams interacted with her family at her first tournament back at Queen’s Club, where he performed an on-court interview with the American great and doubles partner Victoria Mboko.

“There’s no changes to her legacy that will come as a result of this return. I don’t see anyone changing their mind about where Serena Williams stands all-time,” Eubanks told The Associated Press on Thursday of the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion.

“This is about more than just records. At this point, it’s more about family,” said Eubanks, who will be working for ESPN at Wimbledon. “Not just playing in front of her daughters, but having her daughters sit there and watch her train every day and have to wake up and put in the long, hard yards and doing fitness and doing treatment. For her daughters to have to watch her be super disciplined, that has to be just as much of a factor.”

When Williams last played in singles at the 2022 U.S. Open, Olympia had just turned five and Adira wasn’t even born yet.

“They will forever know (Williams) as, ‘Oh, you know, mommy is the GOAT of tennis,’” Eubanks said, using the acronym for “greatest of all time.”

“But then if they have memories of being able to actually watch her go through that training, to me, that feels like what this is about more than anything else,” Eubanks added.

He seems to be on to something, because the daughters did not seem overly enthusiastic about her match at Queen’s.

“Adira wanted to go to the toy store, and Olympia wanted to know what was for dinner,” Williams said.

Court-side seat

Eubanks had a court-side seat for Williams’ match with Mboko and felt like her ball striking was “as good as it’s ever looked.”

He was also “really impressed with her serve.”

“A lot of times that can be a very difficult thing to get back after having an extended time off and her serve looked great,” Eubanks said. “She had one serve up near 120 mph. And the purity with which the ball comes off of her strings off the ground on both the forehand and the backhand side looks as dialed in as I’ve seen.”

Decelerating difficulties

The biggest challenge for Williams in singles will likely be her fitness and movement, which on grass is more nuanced than on other surfaces.

“The hardest part for me I always felt was the decelerating and the stopping because you have to take extra steps in order to come to a stop,” said Eubanks, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2023 and a career-high ranking of No. 29 that year.

Williams won the last of her seven Wimbledon singles titles a decade ago

“Whereas on a hard court you can kind of plant your foot, you can slide, you can decelerate a lot easier,” Eubanks said. “But on the grass it takes a lot more steps and a lot more pounding on the body before you can change direction. So that’s going to be the biggest thing to watch: Her ability to decelerate and stop out of the corners in order to change direction.”

Williams might come forward to the net more and attempt to end points more quickly than she used to — kind of how Novak Djokovic has used his volleying skills more in recent years.

“That would be,” Eubanks said, “what I would expect to see.”

Richard Williams

Eubanks is only 30 and the Williams sisters were role models for him as a kid.

“They were always kind of the guiding light,” he said. “They’ve been a huge influence on me personally.”

Before last month’s French Open, Eubanks was invited to a dinner for Black players hosted by Naomi Osaka and Taylor Townsend.

Coco Gauff, retiring Frenchman Gael Monfils and doubles specialist Asia Muhammad also attended.

The Williams sisters and their father, Richard Williams, were a big conversation topic.

“Everybody in that room, at some point their parents were heavily involved in their tennis,” Eubanks said. “Our parents all mentioned Richard Williams and the Williams sisters and how they did it and everyone kind of bonding over, ‘Man, Richard Williams, his name went all over the world.’”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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Schweinsteiger made the comments on German broadcaster ARD before Germany played the Ivory Coast last weekend, when he spoke about what the German players could expect from their opponents.

“A bit African football, a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics. We have to be prepared for it to be unpredictable,” Schweinsteiger said.

Some commentators criticized his comments as playing into racist stereotypes. Sports commentator Patrick Schnitzler wrote on Instagram of “racist prejudices that we are all passing on unnoticed,” and journalist Philipp Awounou, who’s Black, wrote in Der Spiegel magazine that the characterizations played on old racist tropes rooted in colonialism. Awounou said he did not think Schweinsteiger is racist.

Klopp, who’s working for broadcaster Magenta, seemed taken aback when asked about Schweinsteiger’s comments by Deutsche Welle in a huddle with journalists in New York on Wednesday.

“Now you want to carry on the subject,” Klopp responded. “No, no, I have no chance. I have no chance to answer this question. Everybody likes it so you bring me in this situation. It’s not my job that everybody likes it, but this is a serious subject, and I don’t even know what is appropriate to say. For African people it’s one thing, for other people it’s another thing, and I’m not here.”

Klopp said he had felt fortunate to avoid the subject.

“Thank God, I thought, nobody asked me about that. You found a moment. And surprisingly, you are German. That surprised me so much,” he said with irony before leaving.

___

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Oscar Torres and thousands of others spent the last 24 hours keeping up with a flurry of messages posted to a WhatsApp group that connects people in Venezuela with their families. He lives in Doral, Florida, a city outside Miami that’s home to the largest Venezuelan population in the U.S.

“Already this morning, I was looking at the group in Doral and everybody’s pitching in — money, medicine, water. First, necessity items,” said Torres, a sales manager who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in 1995. “They’re talking about making the first shipment ASA

In Washington, the Trump administration said it’s sending $150 million to support relief efforts by aid groups and the United Nations, according to a U.S. State Department news release.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government was mobilizing a disaster response team to Venezuela that includes two urban search and rescue teams from fire departments in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles. The U.S. military, which seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro in a surprise January drug arrest, will provide aircraft to help assess damage, assist searches and deliver aid.

Other countries including Mexico and Colombia also promised assistance.

People in the US scramble to reach their families in Venezuela

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes Wednesday night caused severe damage to the country’s main airport in the capital of Caracas, which could hamper efforts to get aid into the country quickly. The quakes were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century.

In photos of the aftermath, injured children, animals and civilians covered in dust and blood were pulled out of concrete rubble.

In addition to those killed and injured, thousands more were missing — leaving many families members in the U.S. scrambling for updates. More than 770,000 Venezuelans live in the U.S., with large communities settling in Texas and Utah, in addition to Florida.

In the Houston area, home to a large Venezuelan community, residents used community Facebook groups and other social media to spread the word about local donation sites. First aid and medical supplies such as gauze, bandages, antiseptics, disposable gloves, face masks, syringes, thermometers and blood pressure monitors all were in demand.

Local resident Daniel Arenas translated a Spanish-language post into English and shared it Thursday on his LinkedIn page hoping people across Houston would step up and donate.

“I came to this country 10 years ago, built a life here, but my heart is still in Venezuela,” Arenas said. “It’s devastating what’s happening over there. They don’t have the resources to handle this.”

Arenas, a maritime industry consultant, said that his wife is concerned about her aunt, who lives in a high-rise apartment in Caracas and sent a distraught message on WhatsApp after the quakes hit.

“She was crying and screaming and saying she was in pain but not sure from where,” Arenas said. “She said she lost everything. She was desperate.”

Arenas said his wife was later able to reach her aunt.

In Venezuela, people are trapped in their homes or forced to sleep outside

Many of the sites mobilizing donations are in Katy, a suburb about 30 miles (48 km) west of downtown Houston that’s earned the nickname “Katyzuela” because of its high concentration of Venezuelans.

Luis Angarita, who lives in Katy, said his younger sister and family were forced to sleep outside in a park after their home was damaged in the mountain community of Caribia, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Caracas.

Angarita’s sister told him in a WhatsApp message that she’s trying to get everyone to their father’s home on the other side of the capital. But no taxis or buses are running and roads leading out of their mountain community are closed.

“Thank God they’re safe,” Angarita said in Spanish. “There are many displaced people and others are stuck in their homes, unable to leave. They need help.”

In Florida, workers for the Doral-based aid group Global Empowerment Mission on Thursday packed medical supplies, toiletries, cases of bottled water and nonperishable foods to be sent to Venezuela.

Despite damage to airports and roads, the aid group doesn’t foresee delays getting supplies into Venezuela, said Billy Richardson, the group’s U.S. logistics director.

“Sometimes it means using other airports, other means of transport, or even coming into other countries,” Richardson said by email.

Torres planned to contribute money for relief efforts. He still has uncles and cousins who live in Caracas and Valencia, another hard-hit Venezuelan city. He said some of them were injured as they fled buildings during the quakes.

“Their homes are destroyed and a few buildings have collapsed,” Torres said. “Thankfully, I don’t know anyone who passed away.”

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Marcelo reported from New York.

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