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  • ArtsNatchez Gallery celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary

    ArtsNatchez Gallery celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary

    NATCHEZ, Miss. – Like communities across the United States, ArtsNatchez Gallery will celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary with a special patriotic- themed art exhibit on Saturday, July 11, at 425 Main Street. The reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. and is free to the public. Refreshments will be served.

    “We’re inviting all of our artists to participate,” said Gallery Director Leon Hollins. “We’re asking them to showcase their work using the colors red, white, and blue. We’re expecting to have photographs, banners, and paintings, and other pieces of art. It will be a great show for the public.”

    Among the many works that will be displayed is Carolyn Terry’s photo of a red, white, and blue hot-air balloon. It was photographed over the Mississippi River three or four years ago, said Terry, who is based in Picayune. This and other images she photographed are “very Americana,” she said.

    Terry said she appreciates the patriotic theme. “It’s a wonderful thing to celebrate our 250th anniversary,” she said. “I hope we as a nation continue to grow and that in another 50 years, our 300th’ anniversary will be even better.”

    Terry said she remains optimistic about the nation’s future because of the people who want it to succeed. “That’s why we’ve made it to 250 years,” she said.

    Terry is a master craftsman photographer, digital artist, and member of Professional Photographers of America Inc. She is the author of “Onward Mississippi,” a coffee table book with 65 images of her digital paintings and explanatory text based on locations throughout Mississippi. Her second book is “The Endurance of the Spirit: Mississippi Episcopal Churches.”

    The works of Carolyn Weir, who is experimenting with patriotic colors in her banners, will also be featured in the exhibit. Weir said she is excited about Saturday’s event, which will highlight artwork that reflects what it means to be American.

    “Our artists have come together and presented creations that tell a little bit of the story of our great country,” she said. “We invite the public to help us continue to celebrate the wonderful gift we have by living in America.”

    In addition to being a painter, Weir is a kinetic mobile sculpture artist who specializes in “things that move,” she said, adding she also does abstract paintings.

    Weir was recently awarded a $500 mini-grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission for the creative work she is exploring with banners.

    ArtsNatchez Gallery is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes the arts in the greater Natchez area and is managed by a board of directors. It features local artists whose work spans a wide range of media, including photography, painting, ceramics, woodwork, fabric arts, and jewelry. Artwork is presented in oils, acrylics, pastels, charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink.

    The gallery is open daily at 10 a.m. For more information, call 601-442-0043.

  • Andreessen, Chetty among leaders of Fed’s new task forces evaluating operations


    WASHINGTON (AP) — Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, economist Raj Chetty and former Bank of England governor Mervyn King are among a slate of names released by the Federal Reserve Thursday that will help develop recommended changes to the central bank’s operations.

    They are among the co-leaders of five different task forces announced by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh last month. The other leaders are a mix of public officials and business leaders.

    Warsh called for “regime change” at the Fed last year while he was under consideration by the Trump administration to replace former chair Jerome Powell. Warsh has sought to communicate less about the Fed’s thinking on interest rates and has said he wants to reduce the central bank’s roughly $6.7 trillion in holdings of government bonds.

    Yet it’s not yet clear how transformative the task forces will be. Most of the directors announced Thursday are leading figures in economics and business, rather than longtime Fed critics. Warsh’s use of task forces, Fed-watchers say, suggest he wants to persuade his fellow Fed officials of any changes rather than impose them.

    “The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now,” Warsh said in a written statement. “Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon.”

    The five task forces will each have three co-leaders and will be supported by Fed staff, the central bank said.

    One of the task forces will focus on how artificial intelligence and other new technologies will affect productivity and jobs. Warsh has repeatedly said he expects AI to bring about fundamental changes to the U.S. economy.

    To oversee that task force, Warsh has turned to executives from firms developing AI, including Marc Andreessen, a major investor in crypto firms and AI technology. Asha Sharma, an executive vice president at Microsoft and CEO of its Xbox unit will also co-lead that task force. Charles Jones, an economist at Stanford currently on leave with Anthropic, will act as the third co-chair.

    Chetty, a Harvard economist, will co-lead a task force on evaluating the data sources used by the Fed. Chetty has broken ground by using huge data sets to track families’ economic fortunes over decades and evaluate which areas of the country have seen the most economic mobility.

    Doug McMillon, the former president and CEO of Walmart, and Kevin Murphy, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, will co-lead the data task force.

    A third task force will examine the Fed’s balance sheet, which has ballooned in size since the Great Recession in 2008-2009. Raghuram Rajan, a former leader of the Reserve Bank of India, and Harvard economist and former Treasury official Karen Dynan will co-lead the task force, along with Jeremy Stein, a former Fed governor.

    Greg Mankiw, a top economist in the George W. Bush administration and Thomas Sargent, a Nobel laureate at New York University, will co-lead a task force on inflation frameworks. King, the former Bank of England governor, will be one of the leaders of the task force on communications.


  • Ohio judge grants preliminary injunction for men’s, women’s hoops players suing NCAA for eligibility


    CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio judge has granted a preliminary injunction for 24 men’s and women’s college basketball players suing the NCAA for eligibility, claiming the new age-based model unfairly shuts them out of further competition.

    Judge Christopher Wagner said Thursday the NCAA eligibility rules have been applied to 2022 high school graduates in an arbitrary and capricious manner, adding the plaintiffs would suffer “irreparable injury” without an injunction.

    “We hope the NCAA reconsiders its position and allows all other similarly situated athletes from the high school class of 2022 to compete for remaining roster spots in all sports,” attorney Ryan Downton said.

    Wagner’s ruling allows the athletes in the lawsuit an opportunity to enter the transfer portal. He scheduled a conference for Aug. 4 to prepare for a trial.

    “While we will seek to overturn this ruling, it is now apparent that Congress must act swiftly to restore stability, uniformity, and fair competition in college athletics,” the NCAA said in a statement.

    The Protect College Sports Act has moved forward with Senate committee approval in June. However, the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences oppose the bill designed to stabilize college sports and are seeking revisions.

    Downton has filed similar lawsuits against the NCAA on behalf of nearly 30 men’s and women’s basketball players.

    The lawsuit in Cincinnati was filed shortly after the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a monumental change in eligibility rules last month.

    “When each plaintiff completed their fourth season of competition during the 2025-26 academic year, they had every reason to know it was the end of the line and time to make way for the next generation of college athletes,” the NCAA wrote in a filing.

    The plaintiffs are seeking to be eligible to play a fifth year during the upcoming season, representing athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and began their college sports careers that autumn and never redshirted.

    “Each plaintiff was harmed each time he or she competed in a basketball game against a fifth or sixth-year player without being offered the same opportunity to compete in a fifth season themselves,” Downtown wrote in a filing.

    The NCAA now allows athletes five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

    The move will all but eliminate waivers or redshirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, pregnancy or active-duty military service. Extensions will no longer be considered for athletes who are injured.

    Athletes whose eligibility expired by spring 2026 under the traditional model — four years of competition over five years — will not be allowed a fifth year of competition under the new rules that go into effect this fall.

    The Division I Cabinet has said in a statement posted on X that it was aware of legal action challenging its decision and that “we do not intend to change course.”

    Three basketball players, including Xavier forward Filip Borovicanin of Serbia, and three coaches, including Xavier coach Richard Pitino, along with an agent testified at a hearing in Cincinnati earlier this month, while the NCAA did not call any witnesses.

    Wagner appeared to be critical of the NCAA in his written ruling, saying the governing body resembles “a highly profitable professional sports league,” more than its argument of being a voluntary association.

    “The court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury if the preliminary injunction is not granted,” Wagner said.

    The NCAA said the decision was wrong.

    “We will immediately seek all avenues for reversal, including a stay of the court’s order pending appeal,” the NCAA said. “The court disregarded over a century of precedent and substituted its own judgment, on a limited factual record, for the collective expertise of the nation’s leading higher education institutions.”

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    AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports


  • Kylian Mbappé has a goal and an assist as France beats Morocco 2-0 in the World Cup quarterfinals


    FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Kylian Mbappé spread his arms out wide and spun around after scoring his eighth goal of this year’s World Cup. He later gave the jubilant France fans dotted around the stadium a wave when he left the game because of an injury scare.

    Les Bleus, with a star striker who said he’s fine despite a right ankle issue, are headed back to the semifinals for the third straight World Cup tournament.

    Mbappé had a goal and an assist after missing a first-half penalty kick, Ousmane Dembélé also scored and two-time champion France beat Morocco 2-0 Thursday in the quarterfinals.

    “There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning. Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up,” Mbappé said. “We’re in the semifinals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go.”

    Mbappé’s goal in the 60th minute was the 20th of his World Cup career and came in his 20th match at the tournament, moving him one behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Dembélé scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 66th.

    Mbappé went down to the ground in the 76th minute, about 13 minutes after being hit hard by a Moroccan defender, and was taken off for a substitute a minute later. He was then shown sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.

    After the match and with both shoes on, Mbappé ran and jumped in celebration with his teammates.

    “I took a knock to the ankle, but I’m fine,” Mbappé said. “At that point, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.”

    France will face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinals in Dallas on Tuesday.

    France beat Morocco by the same score in the semifinals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar when the Atlas Lions became the first African team to make it that far. France now remains on track to become only the third nation to play in the final of three consecutive World Cups.

    “It is a confirmation of how we’ve played so far,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, who added there is a reason for his team’s success in recent World Cups.

    “Having great players. Excellent players. My credit goes to the players. But maybe I do my job well,” he said. “The only truth is the one on the pitch.”

    Mbappé got his goal with a perfectly placed shot just inside the far post after Morocco failed to clear the ball. He received the ball just outside the area, took a couple steps forward and then sent his shot sailing into the net. He extended both arms and ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates.

    France’s second goal came after Mbappé took a pass and tapped it back for Dembélé. Mbappé kept running forward and took defenders with him, opening space for Dembélé’s shot.

    Dembélé said he wasn’t surprised with how Mbappé stepped up after his penalty miss in the first half.

    “He’s our captain and he has an incredible mentality,” Dembélé said. “We’re expecting even more goals from him.”

    France held a 21-4 advantage in shots on goal and 8-1 edge in shots on target for the game.

    “We are very disappointed. We wanted to go on,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “When we had ball possession, our transitions were not great and we had to run a little more. Their players were in their comfort zone.”

    Mbappé also had the first shot on goal of the game, just missing wide right in the fourth minute. Then, in the 25th, he was running up the left side when he was chopped down in the box by Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui. Referee Facundo Tello quickly pointed to the penalty spot.

    Mbappé lined up waiting for his attempt but was held up by a lengthy video review. He was finally cleared to shoot in the 28th minute, but after a hesitation, Mbappé’s shot toward the right corner was corralled by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who guessed the direction of the shot correctly.

    Deschamps said the long review also included a review for another foul.

    Mbappé made his only other penalty attempt at this year’s World Cup in France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16.

    Still, France was by far the more active team offensively in the first half, holding a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.

    Morocco’s best opportunity came just before the halftime whistle when Achraf Hakimi sent a free kick from just outside the box past the right post.

    France now has a chance to emulate Brazil and West Germany in reaching three straight World Cup finals.

    “We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through,” Mbappé said, “but we’re ready to face anything.”

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    See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here


  • LA uses World Cup to show off upgraded public transit and test plans to hold car-free Olympics


    LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Matthew Smith took his five-year-old son to a World Cup game in the Los Angeles area earlier this month, they opted to take public transit instead of driving from their nearby coastal city.

    It was Smith’s first time on the LA Metro in a decade, and the experience exceeded his expectations.

    “Seems like a very functioning transit system, which is somewhat surprising given its reputation,” he said.

    That is the reaction Metro officials were hoping for as they used the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s eight LA games to introduce — or reintroduce — people to the region’s public transit system, often an afterthought in car-centric Los Angeles. It is an early test run of sorts for the 2028 Olympics, which organizers have billed as a “no car” Games where there will be no parking for attendees at any of the venues. Spectators will have to rely on transit and shuttles to get to events.

    Nearly 50,000 rides were taken on rail lines for the July 2 Spain-Austria game that Smith and his son attended. There is no train that runs directly to SoFi Stadium in the LA suburb of Inglewood, but Metro has added 15 shuttle lines to transport people there from major rail stations and transit centers — the farthest route taking one hour and 15 minutes. More than 30,000 rides were taken on those shuttles for that game alone, the agency said.

    The Metro will take a similar approach for the Olympics because many venues don’t connect directly to the system. For the World Cup, the agency borrowed about 200 buses to meet the increased demand. Officials have said they will need to borrow 3,000 buses for the Olympics.

    Officials work to overcome safety fears

    For many residents, public transit isn’t baked into everyday life in Los Angeles, the nation’s second most-populous city, quite the same way it is in other major urban centers like New York and Chicago. LA Metro estimates the system provides about 1 million rides each day — roughly the same as Chicago, a smaller city. In New York, meanwhile, it is well over 3 million on the average weekday.

    Many view LA’s rail and bus system as unreliable at best and unsafe at worse. Certain high-profile violent incidents, such as a 67-year-old woman who died from being stabbed on a Metro train in 2024, have driven those perceptions. Some riders are also concerned about drug use, cleanliness and the presence of homeless people.

    In June, Metro opened applications for its police force, which it hopes to have fully deployed by 2029 to replace the LAPD. The agency hopes having its own sworn officers working along with homeless outreach and crisis response teams will help riders feel safer on its trains and buses.

    Metro has also touted data that showed a decline in violent crime over the past two years, with a 13.6% decrease in overall crime in March 2026 compared to a year before.

    Martha Banuelos used the transit system sporadically before but generally preferred to “avoid it like the plague.” She started riding the trains again recently to get into the city from North Hollywood for World Cup watch parties.

    “It’s a lot cleaner and smells way better,” she said.

    Officials see World Cup as an opportunity

    Metro has partnered with FIFA to host fan zones and watch parties at key transit hubs — where thousands of fans from around the region gathered to drink, dance to DJ sets, and cheer for their favorite teams. Metro has advertised limited edition tap cards for different countries and leaned into social media to promote public transit during the games.

    The system also upgraded its payment options before the World Cup to allow riders to pay directly with a credit card like other cities that have done away with tap cards.

    Those efforts worked to draw in new riders like Yasmin Cortez, a 32-year-old who took the train for the first time ever to attend the official FIFA Fan Festival at the LA Memorial Coliseum to watch matches, volunteer for FIFA, and soak in the World Cup spirit. A week later, she took the rail again to root for Uruguay at the Union Station Fan Zone, from Cerritos about 16 miles (26 kilometers) southwest of LA.

    “Especially with gas prices now, yeah I should be taking the Metro,” she said. “There’s a lot to explore, and I bought some new walking shoes.”

    Looking ahead to 2028 Olympics

    During the last Summer Games, Paris was lauded for how accessible the Games were, with nearly every venue reachable by Metro, commuter train, tram or bus.

    LA, long known for congested roadways, is hard at work to expand its own transit options as the Games quickly approach.

    Transit enthusiasts rejoiced at the long-awaited extension of the D line in May, which runs east-west connecting downtown LA to Koreatown, and now further west, where popular tourist attractions like the Grove shopping mall, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits are.

    It marked the first opening of a heavy rail expansion project in the U.S. since 2020. Four more stations are under construction to extend the line to the University of California, Los Angeles campus, which will serve as the official Athlete Village for the 2028 games.

    “LA is a transit city,” said Jennifer Vides, Metro’s chief customer experience officer. “People want to try to say that it’s not. Obviously we have a lot more expansion to do and we’re working on it. But people really want transit.”


  • Raptors and Clippers put trade for Kawhi Leonard on hold, pending end of NBA investigation


    Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is on hold pending the outcome of the NBA’s investigation into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented salary cap rules, the teams announced Thursday.

    It does not necessarily mean that the trade is off. The Raptors said they still want Leonard, and the Clippers, in a statement sent to multiple outlets including The Associated Press, again insisted that they are not guilty of any wrongdoing related to an endorsement contract between Leonard and a now-bankrupt California-based digital bank that touted itself as environmentally friendly.

    But the probe, as detailed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, could lead to penalties that include a substantial fine, the loss of draft capital — and, potentially, even the voiding of a player contract — if the league finds there was a deliberate circumvention of cap rules.

    “The NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,” the Raptors said. “In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”

    There is no timetable for the conclusion of the NBA’s probe, which is being performed by outside counsel — Wachtell Lipton, a New York-based firm. Commissioner Adam Silver said in recent weeks that he’d like to see a conclusion.

    “My instruction to them is we can’t be investigating forever. At some point you have to wrap it up,” Silver said last month at the NBA Finals. “But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right.”

    Through a spokesman, the NBA said Thursday that it doesn’t “have a specific timeline for the conclusion of the investigation but expect the firm to finalize its work in the coming weeks”

    The NBA opened an investigation back in September into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy in 2025 — broke league rules, following a report by journalist Pablo Torre. Last month, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.

    “At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration,” the Clippers said Thursday in a statement. “We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

    “We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues. We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”

    For its part, Toronto reaffirmed that it still wants to acquire Leonard.

    “The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans,” the Raptors said.

    The Raptors and Clippers struck a deal on June 30 on a trade that would send Leonard back to the city that helped win the 2019 NBA championship.

    The Raptors agreed to send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and pick swaps to the Clippers for Leonard — who spent one season in Toronto, and that was the year the Raptors won their lone title.

    He turned 35 earlier this month but is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Clippers in 65 games.

    Leonard is a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, a two-time NBA champion (also winning in 2014 with San Antonio) and is generally considered one of the game’s top defensive players. He has said there was no wrongdoing.

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


  • Technology is driving an increase in attacks and threats to the UK, senior officials say


    LONDON (AP) — Technology and online platforms are increasingly being used to threaten the United Kingdom, including by hostile countries, extremists and far-right groups, senior British police officials said Thursday.

    There is a “continual battle” against threats online, said Vicki Evans, a senior national coordinator for counterterrorism at the Metropolitan Police, and police need help from technology companies because “it’s not something we can do alone.”

    Islamic extremism remains the biggest threat but over the past five years, threats from far-right groups and hostile states have significantly grown, said Laurence Taylor, head of counterterrorism police.

    According to Evans, the threat from hostile states is the “most rapidly escalating mission” for counterterrorism police.

    Threats from hostile countries are increasing

    In July, two Romanian men were jailed over the stabbing of a journalist from a Persian-language television station, which the judge said was carried out on behalf of Iran’s government.

    In June, a Ukrainian man and Romanian man were jailed for their role in setting fire to property linked to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer — a plot which fits the description of Russian state-backed sabotage. And in May, a U.K. border official and former Hong Kong police officer were convicted of spying for China.

    Evans said that in 2025, there were more than 20 Iranian-backed plots, including assassinations, kidnappings and other serious crimes against the U.K. Additionally, police are still investigating whether arson attacks against Jewish sites earlier in the year have a link to Iran.

    Russia has been organizing a “constant stream of surveillance plots” against people and institutions in Britain, aiming to target people Russian officials believe are enemies, “infiltrate” ordinary life and identify people who will “peddle” Russian narratives or carry out proxy work on behalf of the Russian state, she added.

    Across Europe, Russia has recruited dozens of people on apps like Telegram to carry out vandalism or set fires — including at a warehouse in London that stored communications equipment meant for Ukraine.

    Dylan Earl, the ringleader of that plot, was recruited on Telegram by the Wagner Group, a mercenary organization acting on behalf of Moscow that has been designated a terrorist group by the U.K. government.

    Evans also said that teenagers as young as 15 have been arrested by police in relation to proxy plots. The challenge for law enforcement, she added, is that “anyone could be targeted,” especially online.

    “This isn’t something that’s happening elsewhere,” Evans said, speaking to journalists at New Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police headquarters. “It’s happening here. This risk is in our neighborhoods, in our online spaces and in our workplaces.”

    The threat of far-right extremism is rising

    Taylor said that the threat level in the U.K. was raised in April from “substantial” to “severe,” partly because cases linked to extreme far right ideologies are “growing substantially.”

    Police have noted an increase in “vile” content, particularly online, which creates a “cocktail of racism, misogyny and extreme homophobia,” he said.

    Extreme views, he said, appear to be being challenged less and less and so conditions have been created where previously unacceptable views are now more prevalent.

    As an example, he gave the case of an 18-year-old woman, Alina Burns, who was imprisoned for almost 20 years in May after attacking a stranger with an ax — an attack that Taylor said was motivated by her extreme right-wing mindset.

    Children are increasingly radicalized online

    Alfie Coleman — a 22-year-old sentenced on Wednesday for 13.5 years for trying to buy a gun from an undercover MI5 officer — was radicalized online from the age of 14, Taylor said.

    Evans said that those behind the exploitation are specifically designing online content to attract young people by blending it with propaganda and gaming footage, historical images and music. The young are then prompted to carry out violent acts — such as being asked to “recreate” in real life horrific attacks from video games, she said.

    In some cases, Evans said, “sadistic online groups,” ask people to compete against each other to cause harm online and offline — by using cyberattacks, extremism, serious violence or even child sexual abuse or terrorism.

    The extent of “lawful but awful” content online, including extreme violence and gore, she said means that some people now have a skewed sense of what is normal or acceptable. Those people are particularly vulnerable to manipulation, including by state actors, she said.

    Although the government has said that Britain will ban social media for those under 16, that is not enough, said Evans, adding that pressure needs to be put on technology companies to help curb harmful content online.

    Laws and policies regulating harmful content online quickly go out of date while social platforms have powerful mechanisms to push content to young people, she said.

    “The tipping point is very swift and steep,” for some people who are drawn into harmful content online, she said.


  • Yankees 3-time AL MVP Aaron Judge will have his injured rib reimaged during All-Star break


    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Judge will have his injured rib tested during the All-Star break and the New York Yankees are hopeful the results show the three-time AL MVP is healing.

    Judge has not played since May 31 and went on the injured list June 5 with a stress fracture of his right rib after a CT scan, an MRI and a meeting with a specialist.

    “I don’t think we want to put him at risk of coming back while still injured,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters on Thursday. “He should be asymptomatic before we turn him loose. If he’s asymptomatic and not feeling anything and (medical images) are showing healing, then it’s probably appropriate to get him going again. But we don’t want to, because the schedule is what it is, put him in a position where we’re putting him in jeopardy where it somehow gets worse.”

    The Yankees were 14-19 without Judge entering their series finale against the AL-East leading Tampa Bay Rays.

    Cashman said the injury has restricted Judge’s ability to work out his upper body because he can’t put stress on his rib cage. The new images will give a better understanding of where he stands in his rehab process.

    Cashman said slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who hasn’t played since April 24 because of a right calf injury, injured the calf again, setting back his return. Cashman said the injury was a new strain to the calf. Stanton has resumed running.

    Infielder George Lombard Jr., the Yankees’ top prospect, is hitting and throwing again after spraining two fingers on his left hand last month. He’s expected to resume playing in the minors around the All-Star break.

    Right-hander Carlos Lagrange, another top prospect, will not throw for six weeks after suffering a right capsule strain. The team was getting Lagrange ready for a relief role before the injury.

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


  • Man United reveals latest plans for new stadium to replace Old Trafford


    Manchester United revealed more details about its proposed new stadium on Thursday, including the precise location of the 100,000-seat arena.

    United said the new stadium would be situated around 350 meters northwest of its existing Old Trafford stadium.

    As part of a wider stadium district, the Premier League club said the entire project would create 48,000 local jobs, 15,000 new homes and potentially generate 7.3 billion pounds ($9.8 billion) a year for the UK economy.

    “Together with our partners, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a destination that creates lasting benefits for supporters, local communities and the wider region for decades to come,” Collette Roche, CEO of United’s new stadium development, said. “We are committed to building a world-class stadium with our supporters, not simply for them.”

    United’s part owner Jim Ratcliffe has made it a mission to deliver the “world’s greatest” soccer stadium.

    When plans were first unveiled last year it was estimated it would cost around 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) to build a stadium to surpass Wembley as the biggest in the United Kingdom, with completion in time for the 2030-31 season.

    Initial stadium drawings included a structure with three spires. The final design has not been determined.

    Wembley is currently the biggest stadium in the U.K., with a capacity of 90,000, and is home to England’s national soccer teams.

    Old Trafford is the country’s biggest dedicated soccer stadium with a capacity of just over 74,000, but is dated in comparison to the likes of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, which regularly hosts NFL games.

    Old Trafford, which was bombed during World War II, has been home to United since 1910.

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    James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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


  • South Florida’s Palm Beach airport renamed President Donald J. Trump International


    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida airport officially changed its name on Thursday to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.

    Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signage goes up.

    “Because an entire airport transformation doesn’t happen overnight, you’ll notice a combination of both our classic look and our new brand elements coexisting while traveling through the terminal over the next several weeks,” airport officials said in a Facebook post.

    “Trump Force One,” a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president’s son, Eric Trump, was one of the passengers. The Trump family regularly uses the West Palm Beach airport when they visit President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in nearby Palm Beach. A stretch of road from the airport to Trump’s estate was renamed Donald J. Trump Boulevard earlier this year.

    “There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor,” Eric Trump posted on X. “As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials ‘DJT’ on my boarding pass.”

    While the name change took effect Thursday, the three-letter airport code will change from PBI to DJT on Aug. 18.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation earlier this year that made the name change possible. Changing the airport’s name is expected to cost as much as $5.5 million for new signs, branding and other updates.

    Keegan Collett, who was departing the airport Thursday morning on his way to Cincinnati, said he was surprised to see the new name. He said he doesn’t think Trump deserves to have an airport named after him but isn’t necessarily bothered by it.

    “At the end of the day, it’s just the name of an airport,” Collett said. “There’s bigger things. I feel like it’s just more of a distraction. Why even worry about it?”

    In Dandridge, Tennessee, on Thursday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and Representative Tim Burchett attended a ceremony to rename the I-40 Bridge in East Tennessee to the Donald J. Trump Bridge.

    Bessent said ahead of the ceremony that “no one is more deserving” of the honor of a bridge renaming than Trump.

    Trump received 82% of the vote in Jefferson County, where Dandridge is located, in the 2024 general election.