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  • Chicago Bulls hire former NBA center Tiago Splitter as coach


    CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls have hired Tiago Splitter as coach after the former NBA center served as the interim coach for the Portland Trail Blazers this season.

    The Bulls, who announced the move on Tuesday, scheduled an introductory news conference for Splitter on Wednesday.

    “Throughout our process, Tiago stood apart for his basketball intellect, his ability to connect with and develop players, and the way his teams compete every single night,” Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham said in a news release. “He has won at every level of the game as both a player and a coach, on multiple continents, and we believe his vision is the right fit for our young roster.”

    Splitter, 41, joined Chauncey Billups’ staff in Portland last June. He was elevated from assistant to interim coach when Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

    Splitter coached Portland to a 42-40 record and a five-game loss to San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first playoff appearance and first time the Trail Blazers finished with a winning record since the 2020-21 season.

    Splitter played for San Antonio, Atlanta and Philadelphia during his seven seasons as an NBA player. The 6-foot-11 center from Brazil was selected by the Spurs in the first round of the 2007 draft, and he helped the team win an NBA title in 2014.

    He worked for Brooklyn for five seasons from 2018-23, first as a pro scout and then as an assistant coach. He was an assistant for Houston for one year before coaching Paris Basketball Club to a French Cup championship during the 2024-25 season.

    Splitter is replacing Billy Donovan, who resigned after six seasons. The Bulls had conversations with Donovan about returning, but he decided to step aside rather than work with a new front office.

    “The Bulls represent everything I love about this game, carrying a proud tradition, a passionate city and a young, hungry group of players ready to grow,” Splitter said in the news release. “I’m grateful for the trust this organization has placed in me.”

    Chicago allowed 121.5 points per game this season, ranking 28th overall in the NBA. The Bulls finished with a 31-51 record while missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

    Graham was hired on May 4. Stephen Mervis and Acie Law IV joined the team’s revamped front office on May 19.

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    AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba


  • The US infant mortality rate fell to an all-time low, though it still trails other similar nations


    NEW YORK (AP) — Infant mortality in the U.S. dropped to a new all-time low in 2025, according to preliminary government data.

    There were slightly fewer than 5.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    While that appears to be a small decline from about 5.5 in 2024 and 5.6 in the two years preceding, researchers say it is statistically meaningful and translates to hundreds of fewer infant deaths per year.

    It’s difficult to pinpoint what’s driving the recent developments, but “this is an encouraging data point, and we hope that this trend will continue,” said Dr. Michael Warren, chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes.

    Infant mortality is the measure of how many babies die before reaching their first birthday. Because the number of babies born in the U.S. varies year to year, researchers calculate rates to compare infant mortality over time.

    The overall numbers, too, have been going down. U.S. infant deaths fell to about 19,350 last year, according to provisional CDC data that may rise a little as additional analysis is completed. The final tally is still expected to be down from about 20,050 in 2024 and about 20,160 in 2023, according to the agency.

    The U.S. rate has inched down over the decades — it was at 7.5 per 1,000 three decades ago — thanks to medical advances and public health efforts.

    But it has remained worse than other high-income countries, which experts have attributed to poverty, inadequate prenatal care and other problems. A study published last year found the U.S. infant mortality rate in 2022 — when the rate rose — was nearly twice as high as what was seen in several other high-income democratic nations, including Italy, Japan, Spain and Sweden.

    That was the year of the first statistically significant jump in the U.S. rate in about two decades. Experts attributed that rise to a rebound in RSV and flu infections.

    In 2023, U.S. health officials began recommending two new measures to prevent the toll on infants: one was a lab-made antibody shot for infants that helps the immune system fight off the virus, and the other was giving an RSV vaccine to women between 32 weeks and 36 weeks of pregnancy. A March of Dimes expert last year said the effort likely contributed to the improvement in 2024.

    Meanwhile, a decline in sudden infant death syndrome could be connected to an increase in education around safe sleeping for infants, Warren said in a statement.

    The CDC posted the 2025 provisional data in late May. On Tuesday, the agency released a more in-depth analysis of 2024 infant mortality data, offering details not yet available for 2025. Among that report’s highlights:

    — Death rates declined both for the youngest infants, less than 28 days old, and for older infants. Those declines continued last year, the 2025 provisional data indicate.

    — In 2024, infant mortality continued to differ by race, sometimes dramatically. Death rates for infants born to Black women were more than twice as high as those for the infants of Hispanic, white and Asian American women.

    — Researchers noted a decline in the mortality rate for infants born at full term, at 39 to 40 weeks. But rates did not change significantly for other gestational age groups.

    — Mississippi had the highest infant mortality rate, at 9.65 deaths per 1,000 births, and New Hampshire had the lowest, at just under 3 per 1,000.

    “These differences are reflective of a variety of reasons related to access to care, community factors, and policies that improve health and outcomes,” Warren said.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.


  • ‘Obsession’ is a sensation. Everyone, including Curry Barker, is trying to figure out what it means


    NEW YORK (AP) — Days before “Obsession” opened in theaters, its 26-year-old director, Curry Barker, made a bet with his manager and agent. They said if the movie opened above $20 million, they would all get tattoos.

    “Obsession” fell just short. It debuted with $17 million. They were still thrilled. Barker made the horror film with just $750,000. It was enormously successful. But then something unexpected happened. The following weekend, “Obsession” easily cleared $20 million. And then it did again and again and almost a fourth time — an almost unheard-of staying power.

    “It was just like: Holy cow. I didn’t think that was an option,” Barker says. “Now we’ve said if it hits $300 million, we’ll all get the tattoo. We had to make a new milestone. And I think we’ll reach it.”

    Over the last month, “Obsession” has sent shock waves through Hollywood. Barker’s microbudget thriller has grossed $286 million worldwide, and it’s still going. On its fifth weekend in theaters, it was second only to Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” with $19 million. In North America, it has outgrossed “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.” It’s the biggest hit in the 24-year existence of Focus Features, which has had to postpone the video-on-demand release. It ranks among the most profitable movies ever made.

    Barker, who built a following making sketches and short films on YouTube, is living out the dream of every aspiring filmmaker. Life, he granted in a recent interview, is different now.

    “My day to day is pretty much the same. It’s just that when I go out in public, it’s a lot different,” he says, laughing. “I actually feel a little unsafe sometimes.”

    That’s an ironic development for someone whose twist on an old Monkey Paw story has frightened moviegoers. In “Obsession,” Bear Bailey (Michael Johnston) wishes on an antique toy called a One Wish Willow that his crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), loved him. The spell — loosely inspired by an old “Simpsons” Halloween episode — works disturbingly well.

    The astonishing success of “Obsession” has been hotly debated throughout the industry. Coupled with the A24 hit “Backrooms,” by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, it’s been a coming-out party for YouTube as a breeding ground for the next generation of filmmakers.

    It’s also brought waves of Gen Z moviegoers — who already make up a promisingly robust percentage of frequent ticket buyers — into theaters. Summer has historically been dominated by legacy franchises, but “Obsession” may represent a sea change.

    “If there’s a lesson from ‘Obsession,’ I think it’s about audiences,” says Peter Kujawski, chairman of Focus Features. “We have a generation that grew up online, approaches culture with enormous curiosity and playfulness, and is far less concerned with where a filmmaker comes from than whether the story connects. They’re engaged, incredibly film-literate and eager to champion new voices and original stories.”

    From YouTube to the multiplex

    Barker, who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, before moving to Los Angeles at 18, says he feels as though he’s writing for his generation. The response to “Obsession,” he says, taps into a collective need.

    “I get it because I think we’re a little tired of being at home. Our generation is the COVID generation,” says Barker. “I was fortunate enough to have all four years of high school experience. My brother, Riley, lost two years of that. We’re sick of the phones.”

    Barker wanted to be an actor before he wanted to be a filmmaker. And while his early exposure to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” at age 11, helped set him on a horror path, he didn’t begin that way.

    “I was a huge Harry Potter fan growing up. Huge. I was obsessed,” Barker says, smiling. “I had all the wands. I would dress up.”

    Barker attended film school in Los Angeles for a year, where he met Cooper Tomlinson, a co-star and producer on “Obsession.” The two soon forged their own path, though, on YouTube and TikTok. Their comedy sketch series, “That’s a Bad Idea,” found a footing online.

    Barker wrote and directed the 2023 short “The Chair,” which attracted the interest of Tea Shop Productions. Producer James Harris approached Barker about a feature of “The Chair,” but he instead wanted to make a film — “Obsession” — that drew on many of the same ideas. Meanwhile, Barker also made an $800 found-footage horror film, “Milk & Serial.” After failing to secure distribution, he simply uploaded to YouTube. It went viral and landed him an agent.

    “Obsession” was selected to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, giving it an enviable platform. After a bidding war, Kujawski and Focus acquired it for $15 million.

    “What stands out about Curry is that he isn’t working from an inherited playbook,” says Kujawski. “Whether you look at his earlier work or ‘Obsession,’ there’s a consistency of vision and a confidence in his storytelling that immediately sets him apart. He knows exactly what he wants to say while being absolutely committed to making every minute of his work as entertaining as possible, and he’s willing to take real risks in service of that vision.”

    More ‘Obsession,’ but other projects first

    Barker’s swift but hard-earned rise has made him the poster boy for a new brand of filmmaker, one who has honed his craft as a digital creator and arrives with an established fan base. Jason Blum, the chief executive of Blumhouse Productions, has compared Barker and company to the 1970s wave of American auteurs, “making edgy movies that are connecting in theaters in a crazy way.”

    “When you really step back, my journey is not really that different than Christopher Nolan or David Fincher or Steven Spielberg,” Barker says. “You can watch their early short films and see their work before they were given a chance. I think YouTube is just a path, a platform we can use now to show the industry what we’ve got.”

    Now, Barker is one of the most in-demand filmmakers in Hollywood. He has already shot his next feature, “Anything But Ghosts,” starring Aaron Paul and Bryce Dallas Howard, for Blumhouse. Two months ago, A24 announced that he will write and direct a reboot of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

    All the attention has taken some getting used to. Filmmakers like Ari Aster and Zach Cregger and even Spielberg have reached out to compliment Barker on his film.

    “That’s when you start to feel this impostor syndrome of like: What? It’s not that good,” Barker says, laughing. “All I see when I watch ‘Obsession’ is the problems.”

    An “Obsession” sequel is, naturally, a certainty. “A sequel isn’t hard for this movie,” grants Barker. He sketches out how new wishes by other characters on One Wish Willows could lead to entirely different stories, all revolving around some new vice: greed, fame, whatever.

    But as much as it’s tempting to see “Obsession” as the product of Barker’s own wish, it’s more like the opposite. In the film, Bear’s profound mistake is putting off confessing his feelings to Nikki, thinking there’s plenty of time to do it. (The movie immediately cuts to a dead cat.) Barker, on the other hand, had no timidity about realizing his dreams. He wanted to make movies, so he did.

    “Anyone that asks what advice you have for young filmmakers, I always say the same thing,” says Barker. “I went to a film school for a year out in L.A. and I watched people paralyze themselves with the pressure of: I’ve told people I’m a director so now I have to direct something that has to be good. If it’s not good, everyone’s going to judge me. The result of that thinking is two years on one short film.”

    “You can’t put too much pressure on an idea,” adds Barker. “You just got to make it.”


  • The Grammys add 5 new categories and announce changes to best new artist


    NEW YORK (AP) — The Recording Academy has tweaked some of its rules for the 2026 Grammy Awards, including the addition of five new categories.

    The academy on Tuesday announced the addition of a best Asian pop music performance category — celebrating releases across K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and beyond — awarded to the performer.

    A new best traditional pop vocal performance category will be awarded to performers whose music “cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music,” according to a press release.

    Also, a new best Latin song category will recognize songwriters for their work on Latin songs recorded predominantly in Spanish.

    The other changes affect the R&B and folk categories. A new best R&B collaboration or duo/group performance award joins the reimagined best R&B solo performance category.

    Folk has experienced a similar change that country experienced last year: Best folk album has become best contemporary folk album. A best traditional folk album category has been added.

    New Grammys, new rules

    In addition to the five new categories, changes have been made regarding the criteria of a few releases. Most noteworthy: alterations to the best new artist category.

    The Grammys will now allow artists to submit in the category four times, up from three. That is in an attempt to better reflect the current music market, where it can take time for an artist to break through.

    There is no specified maximum number of previous releases and a screening committee is tasked with determining “whether the artist had attained this high degree of impact in the music industry prior to the eligibility year,” according to the rule book. An artist who has received a Grammy nomination in the past is not eligible.

    The Grammys will also allow certain qualified members to vote in more categories.

    “2027 is going to be an amazing year for the Grammy Awards, and one that reflects the extraordinary growth we’re seeing across music,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy said in a statement. “The changes advanced by our Recording Academy members speak to the breadth of today’s music industry and the many genres, crafts and creators shaping it. We’re excited to see these updates come to life in the year ahead as we celebrate the music people who are driving music forward.”


  • Iran war is a wake-up call for Southeast Asia’s energy sector, IEA report says


    BANGKOK (AP) — The Iran war has exposed major risks for Southeast Asia that could cost the region billions of dollars, if it doesn’t diversify sources of energy more quickly, according to an International Energy Agency report released Tuesday.

    An overreliance on oil and gas transported through the Strait of Hormuz left the region particularly vulnerable to shocks from the Iran war, a “stark wake-up call” for its energy security, the report says.

    It notes that rising sales of electric vehicles, a renewed interest in nuclear power and a boom in rooftop solar and other renewable energy installations show that the war is spurring change.

    But more sweeping reforms are needed. Otherwise, Southeast Asia’s energy import bill could rise to $245 billion by 2035, tripling from $80 billion in 2024, the report warns.

    “Diversification of energy sources and supply routes is now a central priority,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA executive director.

    Iran war exposes Southeast Asia’s energy risks

    The energy shock sent Southeast Asia into a state of energy triage, leading to higher energy bills and rising inflation.

    In a likely setback for efforts to phase out dependence on fossil fuels, the conflict has reinforced the need to rely on coal during times of energy crisis, the IEA said.

    The war is also furthering plans for nuclear power in Southeast Asia, but yearslong construction and regulatory processes remain. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines may be the furthest along with nuclear power plans, but their timelines are uncertain.

    “This energy shock is prompting not just the short-term responses. But a deeper reassessment of policy priorities and investment strategies by governments,” said Sue-Ern Tan, head of the IEA Regional Cooperation Centre in Singapore.

    Do-it-yourself approaches an option

    In the Philippines, which declared a national energy emergency, consumers have turned to rooftop solar at record rates, as a quick, do-it-yourself solution to rising utility bills.

    “This is the first time I’ve seen a demand shock of this magnitude,” said Ivan Cano of the Manila-based solar company EcoSolutions.

    The Philippines became the second-largest destination for Chinese solar exports in the first quarter of 2026, the IEA found. Imports were around three times higher than the same period last year.

    Consumers have also driven a shift in Southeast Asia’s transportation industry.

    Electric vehicle sales more than doubled in 2025 to around half a million units, according to the IEA, which found that one in five cars sold regionally is electric.

    Last month, Laos banned the import of fuel-powered vehicles for the rest of 2026 to cut oil imports and encourage the shift to EVs.

    “The IEA report clearly highlights that Southeast Asia is at a crossroads,” said Sam Reynolds of the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA.

    Despite the tentative deal to end the Iran war, fossil fuel prices will likely remain high which means “we will see a push towards more ambitious clean energy deployment,” Reynolds said.

    IEA says reducing fossil fuel demand is key

    To overcome its weaknesses, Southeast Asia needs to reduce its overall demand for imported fossil fuels, the IEA said.

    It suggests making national grids more efficient and boosting investment in all forms of renewable energy, such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power.

    The IEA also recommended prioritizing regional energy sharing initiatives like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Power Grid. The wake-up call from this energy crisis will hopefully help neighboring nations overcome the political barriers that have hindered the project, Birol said.

    “The Middle East conflict is both a stress test of Southeast Asia’s current energy system and a catalyst to accelerate structural change,” the report said.

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    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.


  • From YouTube to Hollywood: Digital creators are remaking the movie business


    NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the most promising young filmmakers in the movie business are arriving in Hollywood already experts at entertaining audiences and going viral.

    The twin sensations of “Obsession” and “Backrooms” — both by 20-something YouTubers-turned-filmmakers — has put a new spotlight on an increasingly well-trod path to the director’s chair.

    Hollywood executives are scouring platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram to find the next Steven Spielberg. There, young aspiring filmmakers are not only working on their craft but building a relationship with audiences that can transfer to the box office.

    “These filmmakers are in a dialogue with their audience from the word ‘Go’. Their subscribers have direct input in each iteration of these things,” Mike De Luca, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chair, said at a conference last month. “By the time you get to the movie, they’ve had a billion test screenings.”

    “Obsession” and “Backrooms” aren’t the first of their kind. Issa Rae and Bo Burnham are among those who began on YouTube. But more and more of today’s indie filmmakers began online. Here are some of the digital creators who have already broken through, and some who may soon.

    Kane Parsons

    Known online as “Kane Pixels,” the 20-year-old Parsons is the director of the A24 horror hit “Backrooms.” The Petaluma, California, native began publishing videos online at the age of 9. His video series based on the creepypasta Backrooms meme led to his feature film debut, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. It’s made $250 million worldwide at the box office. A sequel is already in development.

    Curry Barker

    The 26-year-old Barker, who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, attended film school in Los Angeles for a year before he began making videos for a YouTube sketch series and eventually the horror short “The Chair” and a found-footage horror film made for $800, “Milk & Serial.” After Tea Shop Productions saw “The Chair,” the company financed Barker’s $750,000 production of “Obsession.” After a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Focus Features acquired it for $15 million. It’s expected to soon pass $300 million worldwide in ticket sales. Barker has already made his next film, “Anything But Ghosts,” for Blumhouse Productions, and A24 has enlisted him for a reboot of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

    Markiplier

    The 36-year-old Markiplier, or Mark Fischbach, became popular on YouTube for his playthrough videos of indie video games. With more than 38 million subscribers, he created series and podcasts before making his directorial debut earlier this year with “Iron Lung.” He also wrote and edited the sci-fi horror film based on a 2022 video game. Made for less than $5 million and self-distributed, “Iron Lung” grossed more than $50 million.

    Jordan Firstman

    The 34-year-old Firstman, who grew up in New Jersey, first broke through with a series of short skits on Instagram Live posted during the pandemic. A comedian, writer and actor, Firstman carved out a more traditional path to filmmaking. He notably co-starred in the 2025 HBO series “I Love LA” and was a consulting producer on the animated series “Big Mouth.” But in May this year, Firstman made his directorial debut with “Club Kid” at the Cannes Film Festival. The film, starring Firstman as a gay nightclub promoter who discovers he has a son, was a breakout hit at the festival. After a bidding war, A24 acquired it for $17 million.

    Dylan Clark

    Clark, a north Virginia native, has been posting horror shorts on YouTube for the last eight years. Now, he’s turning the most popular of those, “Portrait of God,” into a feature, with Jordan Peele and Sam Raimi producing. Clark has also been tapped by Lionsgate and Blumhouse to direct a new “The Blair Witch Project.”

    Sam Evenson

    In April, Neon announced that Evenson will direct a feature adaptation of his viral 2014 12-minute short “Mora.” The short, which has been watched by nearly 5 million on Evenson’s YouTube channel, Grimoire Horror, is about a struggling artist’s search for a bloody, malformed woman who appears in AI-generated images. Roy Lee, producer of “Weapons,” is producing. It will mark Evenson’s directorial debut, though he has many visual effects credits, including “Dune: Part Two” and “The Last of Us.”


  • Sorsby won’t play for Texas Tech after unprecedented legal fight over his eligibility for gambling


    Transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby will not play for Texas Tech this fall and instead plans to enter the NFL supplemental draft, ending an unprecedented legal fight over the college eligibility of a player who had acknowledged betting on college and pro sports, including some wagers on his own team while at Indiana four years ago.

    Cody Campbell, the billionaire booster who is chairman of the Texas Tech regents, wrote in an open letter Monday night that Sorsby will not be part of the team.

    “This decision was made with Brendan and his family and is purely an output of practical analysis of the situation,” Campbell wrote. “Brendan and Texas Tech stand on very solid and legitimate legal ground, but he faces a June 22nd deadline to be eligible to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, and there is no practical way to resolve all the various pending legal disputes and ensure his eligibility prior to this date. This is the only viable and fair path for Brendan and his future, as well as for his teammates, and our university.”

    That came exactly one week before the deadline for Sorsby to apply for the supplemental draft.

    It was also one week after Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA, an order that sent shockwaves through college sports because one of the NCAA’s foundational rules, and one found in many professional sports as well, is the ability to ban players for gambling — especially those wagering on games involving their own team.

    All the legal wrangling had raised the stakes in the fight over whether Sorsby could play and who would decide that.

    Sorsby’s decision came on the same day the NCAA and Big 12 Conference had filings in separate courts challenging a temporary injunction that had cleared the way for the 22-year-old quarterback to play despite being declared ineligible after he admitted making thousands of bets worth at least $90,000 while in college. Those included at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on the game in which he played for the Hoosiers that season.

    Sorsby didn’t play a down for the defending Big 12 champion Red Raiders. He transferred to Texas Tech in January for a reported multimillion-dollar deal after playing the past two seasons at Cincinnati, another Big 12 school. The Texas native was at Indiana in 2022 and 2023.

    Campbell, while not revealing any figures, said Texas Tech will not seek the return of any payments already made to Sorsby through his NIL agreements with the university.

    Sorsby, not Texas Tech, filed the suit against the NCAA that resulted in the injunction. But school officials repeatedly said that for his mental health and well-being he would be better off on the team.

    “I am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue,” Sorsby wrote in a social media post Monday night. “As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field.”

    Court testimony revealed Sorsby has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. He recently completed a monthlong stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered after Texas Tech was notified in April about an NCAA investigation into his gambling activity.

    “I pray that he can stay on his path to recovery,” Campbell wrote. “Texas Tech will continue to provide the support and recovery resources Brendan requires on this journey.”

    Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec and athletic director Kirby Hocutt echoed that in a joint statement.

    “When Brendan’s lawsuit resulted in the granting of a temporary injunction, we found ourselves in a difficult situation. With his health and wellness as our top priority, we supported him in spite of very different perspectives and opinions. Our position was challenged by many but our support for him never changed,” they wrote.

    The ruling last week by Judge Ken Curry prevented the NCAA from being able to block the QB’s eligibility for what would have been his final college season. Tech is among the favorites to win the Big 12 and return to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.

    “It’s been a challenging week for both our Conference and the college athletics landscape,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement Tuesday. “The Big 12 looks forward to moving ahead as 16 (schools) strong. We wish Brendan Sorsby success in his future endeavors.”

    The NCAA’s appeal

    In documents filed Monday with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo, the NCAA had asked for an emergency motion to stay the June 8 injunction. The NCAA also asked for a resolution of the case before the start of Texas Tech’s season. The trial was scheduled for February, well after the season ends.

    Attorneys for the NCAA wrote that the trial court’s temporary injunction “undermines the integrity of college sports, rewrites member-adopted rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, immunizes Brendan Sorsby from discipline for admitted and serial violations of NCAA anti-gambling rules, incentivizes a run on courthouses across the country to challenge even the most obvious and straightforward student-athlete eligibility decisions and demolishes the status quo.”

    Big 12 goes to federal court

    The Big 12, meanwhile, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Dallas seeking a court order backing its ability to use its bylaws for possible sanctions against Texas Tech if Sorsby had played this season. Last week, the Texas attorney general’s office warned the league of potential legal action from Texas Tech for any such sanctions.

    The Big 12 filing names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in the U.S. Senate race this fall, as well as Texas Tech leadership, including its president, chancellor and athletic director. It accused them of trying to prevent the Big 12 from exercising its own rules the school itself agreed to long ago. Sorsby wasn’t named as a defendant.

    “An athlete with an extensive, documented history of wagering on intercollegiate athletic contests — especially his own team’s games — presents a reputational and integrity risk to the conference and its championship competition that the conference has both the right and the responsibility to address,” attorneys for the Big 12 wrote. “The conference is not required to accept that risk on behalf of its 15 other member Institutions, their student-athletes, their fans and its commercial partners. And no government official has the power to compel it to do so.”

    That came before a meeting Monday of the Big 12 board of directors, which is made up of presidents and chancellors from the league’s 16 schools.

    In a statement by the board after that meeting, the Big 12 said it was committed to protecting the competitive integrity of conference competition and that, “Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.”

    Big 12 athletic directors in a conference call with Yormark last week expressed opposition to Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders this season, and some even suggested maybe not playing Texas Tech if he had.

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    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football


  • Will “Bo” Rouse

    [vc_single_image image=”1514″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”1515″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][headerText widget_name=”Birthday and Anniversary Cakes Provided By Dairy Queen” level=”h3″ url=”” el_class=””]

    Happy Birthday to Will “Bo” Rouse!

    Birthday Cake winner 06/16/26

  • Georgia Republicans are under Trump’s shadow as they choose Senate and governor nominees


    ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republicans are waging their latest fight over party identity in runoffs Tuesday that decide the nominees to face U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and defend the governor’s office against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

    President Donald Trump is at the center of each contest.

    In the Senate race, the president made a late endorsement of Rep. Mike Collins, a second-term congressman who calls himself a “MAGA warrior,” over Derek Dooley, a first-time candidate and former football coach who has the backing of outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp.

    Trump picked his candidate for governor 10 months ago, endorsing Burt Jones, the Georgia lieutenant governor who was part of Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden. In that race, it was Kemp who made a late-hour endorsement, announcing his support for Jones on Sunday.

    The power of Trump’s endorsement — and Kemp’s — is being tested by billionaire Rick Jackson, whose campaign has spent more than $100 million, mostly out of his own pocket, to win the nomination.

    Senate contest previews a titanic fall fight

    Georgia is key to the national fight for control of Capitol Hill. Ossoff, first elected in the 2020 cycle, is the only Democratic senator running in a state Trump won in 2024; Democrats desperately need to keep his seat if they hope to notch a net gain of four seats they’d need for a majority.

    Republicans’ choice hinges on a familiar debate over electability, with Dooley, 58, insisting his newcomer status is a benefit.

    “We have got to get the best candidate to beat Jon Ossoff,” Dooley said Monday in one of his final campaign stops before Tuesday’s polls open. “The Republican Party has not won a Senate race in 10 years. … We have to learn some lessons from that.”

    He fleshes out the argument using football metaphors from his lifetime association with the sport.

    “You’ve got to have somebody who can stay on offense” against Ossoff, Dooley often tells voters.

    Before becoming a college and NFL coach himself, Dooley hailed from a storied family in Georgia sports lore. His father was legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.

    The younger Dooley also has criticized Collins for a House ethics complaint accusing the congressman of abusing taxpayer money by paying the girlfriend of a former top aide for a congressional job she allegedly did not perform. An initial inquiry yielded a referral of the matter to the House ethics committee.

    Collins, the son of a congressman, celebrated his endorsement from Trump. But he argues that his record actually makes for the best contrast with Ossoff, especially on immigration, and can attract a broader coalition.

    “We’ve got a great organization with the right voting record and the right message,” he said during his closing runoff swing.

    Collins, 58, sponsored the 2025 Laken Riley Act, which requires immigrants accused of certain crimes to be held without bond. The law is named for a Georgia nursing student killed in 2021 by a man who had entered the U.S. illegally. Ossoff voted against the measure before flipping to back it after Trump returned to the White House.

    Collins also emphasizes his ownership of a trucking company, saying it’s exposed him to the struggles workers and business owners endure. “We must protect Americans first, protect our people, put them first, get the federal government off the backs of hardworking men and women out there,” he said.

    Whoever wins the nomination will face an immediate campaign finance gap and depend heavily on national GOP resources. By the end of May, neither GOP hopeful had reached $5 million in fundraising and both had less than $2 million on hand. Through late April, the last time Ossoff had to file before his uncontested primary, the senator had raised $60.4 million and had $32.5 million on hand.

    Gubernatorial primary is a unique challenge for Trump

    The president’s preferred primary candidates have a strong record so far in 2026. But none have faced a self-funded rival with Jackson’s spending power.

    Jackson, a 71-year-old businessman, amassed a fortune from his company that provides contract healthcare personnel, and he’s used it to blanket television and online platforms with ads. Appealing to hard core Trump supporters, he’s pledged that immigrants in Georgia illegally will be “deported or departed.” He promises a slew of tax cuts. And previewing a potential general election argument, he’s played up his biography as a product of the state foster care system and featured his grandchildren advising him on how to make friendlier ads.

    Jones, 47, comes from a wealthy family but is running a more modest campaign. Framing himself as a “proven leader,” Jones proposes eliminating Georgia’s state income tax — without detailing how he’d make up the revenue. And he trumpets his presidential seal of approval and time as a University of Georgia football player in the 1990s. As lieutenant governor, Jones pushed legislation that ultimately did not pass but would have disqualified Jackson’s company from receiving taxpayer-funded contracts.

    Trump did not travel to Georgia to campaign with Jones but he’s given the lieutenant governor a fresh round of social media accolades and called in to a tele-rally during the early voting period.

    “Burt was strongly committed to my Campaign in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and worked tirelessly to help us WIN. He has been with us from the very beginning,” Trump posted on Truth Social last week.

    Runoffs for elections chief carry 2028 undertones

    Georgia’s secretary of state election is open for the first time since Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election, famously pressuring outgoing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,800 votes” to overtake Biden. Raffensberger refused.

    For his potential successor, Republicans are left to choose between an outright election denier, Vernon Jones, and a state lawmaker, Tim Fleming, who avoids explicitly disputing the president’s 2020 election lies.

    Jones, a perennial candidate who was once a Democrat, embraced Trump’s “stop the steal” movement and says he stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.” Fleming, who once served as deputy secretary of state, says there were “irregularities” in 2020, a word choice that has become code for Republicans who want neither to ratify nor call out Trump’s errant claims.

    Democrats will choose between Dana Barrett, a Fulton County commissioner, and Penny Brown Reynolds, a former state judge in Fulton County who also served in the Biden administration as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights for the Department of Agriculture.


  • Steve Harvey: God’s blessings come with a duty to give back


    Steve Harvey believes his decades of success as an entertainer, motivational speaker and author are blessings from God and connections to his philanthropy.

    “The more God trusts you, the more he will bless you, but he has to trust you with what he’s going to give,” Harvey told The Associated Press after a recent appearance at the Social Innovation Summit in Atlanta. “And a part of what he is going to give to you is going to require that you take a portion of it and return the favor.”

    Zeev Klein, CEO of Landmark Ventures and founder and curator of the Social Innovation Summit, said Harvey’s message is an important one at a time when we face so many urgent challenges.

    “Steve has an extraordinary ability to meet the moment with honesty, empathy, and clarity,” Klein said. “He doesn’t just speak to an audience, he connects people in a way that moves conversations forward.”

    The longtime host of “Family Feud” and star of numerous movies and TV shows, Harvey takes giving back very seriously, especially through The Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation, which he started with his wife. And he has made sure that his children also take philanthropy very seriously.

    This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

    Can you talk about why philanthropy is so important to you?

    I think I got that from my mother. She always raised me to believe that God blesses you to become a blessing. You have to give to people without expecting anything in return. It’s your job. When you give to somebody you don’t have the right to make the determination what they need it for. (People say,) “He ain’t gonna do nothing but buy some beer. He ain’t gonna do nothing but get drunk. He gonna get high.” That ain’t your business, right? If you do it with the intent to help, the reward is given back to you.

    In today’s society, though, there is a lot of discussion about whether the people receiving help are worthy of being helped.

    People who don’t know what it is like to be without, they come from a different perspective. They don’t know what it is to grovel. So, we have to start developing some type of understanding with one another. OK, you may not have grown up poor, but suppose you learn what a lot of poor people go through? That would eventually have an effect on you if you were human. But when you don’t listen to them, you don’t want to hear their story, then you keep acting as though you’ve been rich the whole time. That’s the problem we have today.

    How were you able to avoid that problem with your children?

    Most decent parents want their children to live better than them. My father wanted me to have a better life than him. They didn’t want me to struggle like they did. I did that for my kids. None of my kids really had to grow up poor. Each one of my children had a room with a bathroom in it. Each one had their own desk and computer. I gave them a lot. And sometimes I overdid it, especially the girls. Lord, I just don’t know how to tell my daughters, “No.” That’s my problem. But I taught them: You don’t have the right to think you are better than anybody else. You just hit the jackpot, I’m your daddy. That’s your black card. You really don’t deserve nothing you have. I taught them all this: “Justice is when you get what you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. But grace is when you get what don’t you deserve.” My children were born into grace. They didn’t have to work to have. I did all of that. That’s how I raised them and that’s why they have good heads on their shoulders.

    Is that what you teach in your foundation’s annual mentorship camp, which starts in Atlanta on June 17?

    It’s funny you asked me that because I’ve had to change the messaging over the years. It’s a different boy that comes to this camp now. And I guess the only way I can tell it to you is just that it’s a softer boy that’s being raised now. We used to go right into the tough stuff. Now we gotta ease them off the bus. I gotta get up on the bus and give them a little speech. Over the years, we’ve had to taper this so much. It’s a softer camp now. But for the five days I got them, we still show them how life really works. You don’t get participation trophies in life. If you miss the promotion in corporate America, they don’t just give you the check anyway.

    _____

    Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits 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. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.