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  • Gabriel Martinelli scores late in injury time to help Brazil beat Japan 2-1 at World Cup


    HOUSTON (AP) — With Brazil trailing for much of the game and with extra time looming, Gabriel Martinelli came through in a big, big way at the World Cup.

    Martinelli entered the game as a second-half substitute and put an end to Japan’s near-upset on Monday, scoring the winning goal late in injury time to give five-time champion Brazil a 2-1 victory and a spot in the round of 16.

    The result was a showcase of Brazil’s Italian connections. Martinelli holds dual citizenship in Italy and Brazil, and the man who made the decision to change the team’s makeup was Carlo Ancelotti, an Italian who is the first European to coach the South American country’s national team.

    “Above all else we wanted to freshen up the field because Martinelli has a lot of intensity as a player,” Ancelotti said through a translator. “When he goes in the match he’s always on his top game.”

    Brazil will next face either the Ivory Coast or Norway on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the round of 16.

    “We can never be content with what we’re doing,” Ancelotti said. “We’re doing a good job. We are performing. But you can never be content because we want to play better. We want to play at the highest level.”

    Casemiro had earlier equalized for Brazil on a header in the 56th minute off an assist from Gabriel Magalhães after just missing another chance two minutes earlier. The shot sailed just out of the reach of the outstretched hand of Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and into the net.

    Kaishu Sano stole a misplaced pass at midfield and took it down the field before a right-footed shot from above the half circle put Japan ahead in the 29th minute.

    “There is not not making mistakes because nobody is perfect,” Ancelotti said. “But you have to overcome it and you have to push it forward. The team did a good job of that in the second half.”

    Vinícius Júnior, who has scored four goals so far in this year’s tournament, had a chance to put Brazil on top in the 58th minute but his shot from the left box was deflected by Suzuki and went off the far post.

    Casemiro left in the first minute of second-half stoppage time with what appeared to be a leg injury.

    Brazil had two chances to even the score early in the second half before breaking through. On the first one, Suzuki blocked a header from Bruno Guimarães in the 52nd minute. Soon after, Casemiro’s header bounced off a defender’s head and Suzuki’s face. Suzuki finished with four saves.

    Brazil great Neymar didn’t play Monday after making his first appearance for the team since 2023 in the last game against Scotland. He played only 14 minutes in that 3-0 win after missing the first two group matches at the World Cup with a right calf injury.

    “I was seriously considering putting him on the pitch,” Ancelotti said. “In the end, we did not need him.”

    Japan has never won a knockout match at the World Cup, going 0-4 in the round of 16 — including also taking the lead the last two times in 2018 and 2022 before losing.

    The win was Brazil’s 12th in 15 games against Japan. The teams have also played to two draws while Japan got its first win in the series in a friendly in Tokyo in October.

    “The gap between us is closing now,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said through a translator. “Brazil is a top-tier team and we’re definitely approaching that level.”

    Then he mentioned the loss in Qatar four years ago before adding: “We have to up our game.”

    This was a matchup between two countries with deep ties, with Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.

    Those ties extend to soccer where Brazil superstar Zico moved to Japan in 1991 to play for Kashima Antlers and help build Japan’s professional soccer network. He coached the Japan national team from 2002-06, leading the team to the World Cup in 2006.

    That team lost to Brazil 4-1 in the only previous meeting between the teams at the World Cup.

    Brazil won Group C after a draw with Morocco and victories over Haiti and Scotland. Monday’s victory came on the anniversary of their first World Cup championship in Sweden in 1958, when a 17-year-old Pele scored two goals in the final against the host country.

    Japan reached the round of 32 as runner-up in Group F after a draws with the Netherlands and Sweden and a win over Tunisia. The loss snaps a 10-game unbeaten streak dating back to a 2-0 loss to the United States in September.

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    See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here


  • US stocks rise and recover some of their losses from a rare losing week


    NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Monday and recovered some of their losses from a rare losing week.

    The S&P 500 climbed 1.2% and broke a five-day losing streak. It was coming off just its second losing week in the last 13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 306 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 2.1%.

    Several stocks boosted by the artificial-intelligence boom rose after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix said they will invest roughly $518 billion in a new chipmaking hub in South Korea, as its president hopes to capitalize on surging AI demand.

    Applied Materials, whose equipment helps make semiconductors, rallied 10.8% to vault its gain for the year so far above 170%.

    AI stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride recently after soaring to tremendous heights. They’re under pressure because of worries that their profits can’t possibly keep pace with the huge gains for their stock prices. And the moves have an outsized effect on investors because AI stocks have become some of Wall Street’s largest and most influential, giving them more weight on indexes than others.

    Nvidia was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500, for example, after its stock rose 1.3%. That’s because it’s Wall Street’s biggest stock with a total value of more than $4.7 trillion.

    SpaceX, which owns the xAI business along with rockets, has already become worth more than $2 trillion after its stock’s ballyhooed debut on the Nasdaq earlier this month, with sharp rises and falls along the way. It’s become big enough that Nasdaq said Elon Musk’s company will join the Nasdaq 100 index before trading begins on July 7, which will force funds tracking the index to buy the stock.

    SpaceX climbed 7.2%.

    Outside of AI, Comcast rose 4.5% after saying it will split off its NBCUniversal media business and Sky from its broadband and wireless business. Its stock came into the day with a loss of 17.3% for the year so far.

    That helped offset a 5.2% drop for Verizon Communications, which said it’s paying $625 million as part of a deal to combine its international wireline connectivity and managed network services business with some of London-based BT Group’s subsidiaries in a joint venture.

    All told, the S&P 500 rose 86.41 points to 7,440.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 306.63 to 52,182.74, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 522.53 to 25,820.14.

    The gains for the stock market came even though oil prices rose. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 1.8% to $73.91, pulling back above where it was before the war with Iran began. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery rose 2.2% to settle at $70.75 per barrel.

    Following attacks across the Persian Gulf over the weekend, the United States and Iran on Monday separately announced they will send delegations to Qatar this week, though Tehran insisted it has not agreed to meet with the United States “at any level.”

    The hope is that an end to the war with Iran will give oil tankers full access again to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing them to exit the Persian Gulf and deliver crude to customers worldwide. That would help lower the price of oil, whose jumps because of the war have sent a punishing wave of inflation around the world.

    If oil prices do recede and stay low enough, it could keep enough pressure off inflation to allow the Federal Reserve and other central banks to keep interest rates steady or even cut them instead of hiking them.

    Higher interest rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments. High yields worldwide have been rattling investors after oil prices burst above $100 per barrel because of the war.

    The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.37% from 4.38% late Friday and from 4.56% early this month.

    In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped modestly in Europe following mixed performances in Asia.

    Stocks jumped 1.6% in Hong Kong and 1.2% in Shanghai for two of the world’s biggest gains, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2%.

    ___

    AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.


  • Deion Sanders says he feels like his old self a year after surgery: ‘I consider myself cancer-free’


    BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders says he feels like his old — and younger — self again a year after undergoing surgery to remove his cancerous bladder.

    “I consider myself cancer-free,” thanks to robotic surgery that also reconstructed his bladder using part of his intestine, Sanders told The Associated Press after getting a tutorial in the surgical system that was used in his operation.

    This being Men’s Health Awareness Month, the University of Colorado football coach wanted to get a first-hand look at the Intuitive Da Vinci System, which is less invasive than open surgeries and cuts down on hospital stays and speeds recoveries.

    “I was fighting” last year at this time, Sanders recalled. “I was walking out on the property with a bag of blood and also urine and trying to get back. But this expedited the process. Last year at this time I was in a whole different place, and I’m just thankful.”

    Sanders missed football camps last summer in Boulder as he went through cancer treatments. The Buffaloes finished with a 3-9 mark a year after making a bowl game behind Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.

    This summer he appears much fitter and energetic as he oversees offseason training.

    “If I pull my shirt up, I’m not scarred, it’s not flawed. I’m not embarrassed by anything that transpired. I’m elated by everything that transpired,” Sanders said.

    At a routine checkup last spring, a CT scan showed a mass on Sanders’ bladder. He was referred to the University of Colorado Anschutz, where he met Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urologic oncology at the CU Cancer Center and UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital.

    Sanders, who turns 59 later this summer, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his bladder. Although the tumor hadn’t reached the muscle layer in his bladder, it was considered “very high risk,” with a 50-50 chance of recurring or progressing after treatments.

    Kukreja is among the small group of surgeons in the U.S. who perform robotic removal of the entire cancerous bladder — called a radical cystectomy — and robotic reconstruction of the organ, which involves having a section of intestine function as a bladder.

    “It got me back in the game, got me back on my feet and got me out of the darn hospital and back into the normalcy of my life,” Sanders said. “I’m here to let people know there’s another option if you need surgery.”

    He called the robotic system his time machine.

    ”I’d be a fool to be blessed the way I was blessed and not sound alarms,” Sanders said. “When I opened up a club years ago I went to the mountaintop and told all the stations come on to the nightclub. So, why wouldn’t I do this? Saved me time so I could get back on the field, get back on my game instead of sitting up there in the hospital having a pity party. It saves you time. That’s what we’re all fighting for is time. We never know how much we get.”

    Football past and present

    Sanders has spent time recently with his son Shedeur, who’s entering his second year with the Cleveland Browns and who will compete for the starting job with Deshaun Watson in training camp.

    “He’s on vacation, but he’s going to the hills in St. Croix right now doing gassers,” Sanders said.

    Asked what he thought about Hunter, entering his second season in Jacksonville, possibly focusing on playing defensive back after pulling double duty as a DB and wide receiver in college, Sanders said: “I just want him to be happy. I can’t tell those coaches how to coach and Travis what he’s gifted to do. I just want him happy; that’s all I want.”

    As for Julian “JuJu” Lewis, the Buffs’ starting quarterback and former five-star recruit out of Carrollton, Georgia, who took over the starting role as a freshman late last season, Sanders said those cameos will pay dividends in 2026.

    “I think the entire team is benefiting” from lessons learned last year and new faces arriving this spring, Sanders said. “I have the best coaching staff I’ve ever featured. Everybody’s unified. I just walked out of the weight room. They’re lifting their butts off and they can’t wait to go to camp. It’s going to be phenomenal.”

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


  • Alex Murdaugh’s true crime saga continues as he’s back in court for hearing on his murder retrial


    LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh was back in court Monday on charges he killed his wife and son, appearing silently at a pretrial hearing that was mostly short on substance but long on spectacle as the true crime sensation continues to captivate.

    Murdaugh’s murder convictions and sentence of life in prison were overturned last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court. On Monday, a new judge laid out a timeline for hearings set the retrial to begin April 5. She also nailed down deadlines for making sure the defense and prosecution have exchanged evidence, a process called discovery.

    Dozens of media outlets, from international agencies and local TV stations to podcasters, were inside the 200-person Lexington County courthouse to again chronicle every forehead rub and quizzical look from the once-rich and imposing Southern lawyer.

    “I see we have a full house,” Judge Debra McCaslin said as the hearing began.

    For many, it was a rare glimpse of how life in state prison has changed the 58-year-old Murdaugh. After pleading guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients and his family’s law firm, he is serving a 40-year federal sentence at the same time as a 27-year state sentence.

    Unlike just about everyone else in the courtroom, the judge said she was new to the story, which combines a grisly double murder with the fall of a powerful legal dynasty.

    “I don’t know anything about the first trial, so when you tell me something please be complete,” McCaslin told the lawyers.

    Prosecutors say Murdaugh shot his wife Maggie and younger son Paul, 22, because he believed sympathy over their deaths would buy him time to fix his financial crimes. At that point in 2021, he was close to being exposed by both his law firm and the family of a teen who filed a wrongful death lawsuit after Paul crashed a boat while drinking.

    A jury convicted Murdaugh of two counts of murder in 2023. While admitting he is a thief, insurance cheat, bad lawyer and longtime opioid addict, he has adamantly denied the killings.

    Murdaugh wore an orange prison jumpsuit Monday, listening with his mouth set in a tight line.

    At one point, as defense attorney Dick Harpootlian asked the judge to let Murdaugh wear civilian clothing in court, he told his client to stand.

    “Chains around the hands, chain around the waist, chains on his feet,” Harpootlian noted, saying a jury would see Murdaugh shackled like a dangerous criminal when he’s only been convicted of financial crimes.

    Prosecutor Creighton Waters said it’s important for incarcerated defendants to wear restraints and jumpsuits. “Every time someone is transferred out of court, it is a security risk.”

    Defense lawyers want Murdaugh, who was disbarred during his legal troubles, to have access in prison to a laptop without internet, so his team won’t have to print and deliver evidence to him. Harpootlian said Monday there are more than 20,000 pages of documents.

    “Well surely, Mr. Harpootlian, he reviewed those before his first trial, did he not?” the judge asked.

    “Five years ago,” the lawyer replied.

    Another pretrial motion asks prosecutors to turn over DNA found under Murdaugh’s wife’s fingernails for testing at a private lab. Investigators said it was from an unknown and unrelated man. The defense said they’d cover the cost of testing.

    “I’m gonna let you pay for it,” the judge quipped, drawing a chuckle from the courtroom.

    Murdaugh was grimacing and biting his lower lip during the exchange.

    The defense also wants to hold the next trial outside Colleton County, where the killings happened and the first trial took place. That matter wasn’t decided Monday.

    Investigators and armchair detectives alike have spent hours poring over alibis, timelines and digital breadcrumbs, including a cellphone video that prosecutors say cracked the case. They allege Murdaugh’s voice can be heard on the video, which was taken by his son shortly before the shootings at dog kennels on the family’s sprawling property. Murdaugh had initially claimed he was asleep at the time.

    During the first trial, a few jurors said the Colleton County clerk of court, who is assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh’s body language when he testified in his own defense and to not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he might say.

    The state Supreme Court ruled this was a suggestion Murdaugh was guilty, and overturned his convictions.

    The justices were also concerned there had been too much testimony around how Murdaugh stole from clients, many of them in dire straits.


  • 3 firefighters killed in Western wildfire were trying to shield themselves from flames


    GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Three firefighters killed over the weekend in a wildfire along the Colorado-Utah border were trying to shield themselves from flames by deploying tent-like shelters when they were overcome, authorities said.

    The firefighters were part of a specialized crew that goes into remote areas by helicopter to quickly put out new and rapidly escalating wildfires, federal officials said Monday.

    Their deaths Saturday came almost 13 years to the day since an elite crew of 19 wildland firefighters died when they were trapped in a steep canyon in Yarnell, Arizona.

    Like this weekend’s victims, the men in Arizona tried to deploy emergency shelters that are a “last resort” for firefighters when there’s no other way out. Investigators didn’t blame anyone for the deaths in 2013, but cited radio communication problems that contributed to the Granite Mountain Hotshots becoming trapped. Arizona’s workplace safety commission also fined the state’s forestry division for not pulling them out.

    Wildfires have erupted over the past week all across the West, fueled by months of dry weather and a record lack of snow in some places this past winter. Wildfire experts have warned for months that extreme fire dangers are likely this summer.

    U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said he would not speculate about whether the crew overrun by the weekend fire in Colorado should have been where they were.

    “I will say the fact that they were there was, I’m 100% sure, based on good decision-making,” Fennessy said during a news conference Monday. “The fires in this region over the decades, you know, killed many firefighters. They weren’t being foolish. They weren’t being careless. They were there because they thought they could do what needed to be done to suppress that fire. And many times the weather changes.”

    With more than two dozen large fires burning, almost 8,000 wildland firefighters and dozens of firefighting helicopters have been deployed. About half the largest blazes are in Alaska while the rest are mostly in Western states.

    Even as firefighting resources were increasingly strained, evacuations were ordered near seven fires, including in Arizona, Washington state, New Mexico and Utah. About 800 people living in and around the small town of Beulah in eastern Colorado were told to evacuate as a wildfire threatened the area on Monday afternoon, Gov. Jared Polis said.

    “We’re really at the mercy of the winds,” Polis said.

    Firefighters were part of a specialized crew

    The U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department identified the firefighters killed as Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan; Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale, Arizona; and Sydney Watson, 26, of Warrior, Alabama.

    Two others who were with them sustained burn injuries. They were in stable condition but remained hospitalized in the Denver area, officials said at Monday’s news conference.

    “The loss we experience here is not felt by just one agency. It is felt by an entire wildland fire community,” Fennessy said. “We grieve together, we support one another and we continue the mission together.”

    A long line of fire trucks and vehicles from a wide array of emergency response agencies made their way slowly through Grand Junction, Colorado, Monday with their lights flashing. A scattering of people, some with their hands on their hearts, watched silently from the sidewalk as they passed.

    The procession ended at a cemetery, and the bodies of two of the firefighters draped in American flags were taken into a funeral home as officials from fire agencies saluted.

    The three killed were assigned to a Helitack crew that can be dropped into remote areas by helicopters and whose mission is to prevent new fires from growing into out-of-control blazes. But it can be extremely dangerous, often taking place in areas where fires are rapidly expanding.

    Watson worked for the Wildland Fire Service and the other two firefighters who died were assigned to the Forest Service. All were part of an interagency response to fires just west of Grand Junction.

    The Snyder Fire in the area has burned about 44 square miles (114 square kilometers), authorities said.

    Watson’s death was the first within the the new Wildland Fire Service, which was created within the Department of Interior earlier this year to coordinate firefighting on public lands.

    The deaths are being investigated by the Forest and Wildland Fire services, a process that typically results in recommendations for how to prevent or reduce the risk of a similar accident. Agencies can also convene an accident review board to suggest any further actions.

    High wildfire threat for much of this week

    More hot, dry and windy weather across the Southwest will elevate the fire threat at least until the weekend, according to the national Storm Prediction Center.

    Among the concerns were high winds in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, in the Black Hills of South Dakota and across portions of the High Plains.

    Utah already has restricted firework usage going into the July Fourth holiday.

    The national “preparedness level” for wildfires was increased to a 4, on a scale of 1 to 5, the National Interagency Fire Center said Monday. That’s a sign resources are beginning to be strained, and officials warned of a high potential for new, large fires in multiple parts of the country in coming days.

    There are enough firefighting resources for now across the Rocky Mountains to deal with the blazes, said Mike Morgan, director of Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control. But that could change quickly if conditions worsen in other parts of the country, Morgan said, adding that crews that battle fires on the ground already are in short supply.

    “We know hand crews are always a hot commodity. We’re getting a little short on those, so that would be one I would say we’re a little concerned with,” Morgan said. “At the moment, I would say I feel pretty good about where we’re at, but I’m very concerned about where we go.”

    So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 4,800 square miles (12,400 square kilometers) — the most by this point in the year since 2022 and significantly above the 10-year average.

    ___

    Brown reported from Billings, Montana, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio.


  • Naomi Osaka wows Wimbledon crowd with kimono inspired by Lucy Liu’s character in ‘Kill Bill’


    LONDON (AP) — Wimbledon’s strict rules about all-white clothing didn’t prevent Naomi Osaka from making another fashion statement as she walked onto the grass at the All England Club on Monday.

    Osaka, who has made a habit of creating a buzz with her creative outfits at recent Grand Slam tournaments, wore a flowing kimono with swinging sleeves and elaborate embroidery as she walked onto No. 3 Court for her first-round match against Elsa Jacquemot.

    After winning 6-1, 7-5, Osaka said she got the inspiration for the outfit from a Quentin Tarantino movie.

    “For me, my Japanese heritage means a lot. They say all white at Wimbledon and I thought it would be really cool to come out in a kimono,” Osaka said in an on-court interview. “I just get inspired by a lot of different things, and for me, one of my favorite movies is ‘Kill Bill.’ So I really love Lucy Liu’s character, O-Ren Ishii, and she comes out in this really iconic white kimono. I always tell people I like to be like a video game character sometimes, I don’t want to be myself when I’m playing on the court. And I kind of try to embody her a little.”

    The Japanese player’s latest creation drew a rave reaction from the crowd, many of whom were eagerly waiting with their phones aloft to record her entrance. One female fan shouted “C’mon queen!” as Osaka walked out.

    “It’s something that we’ve been waiting for all day, right, what Naomi Osaka is going to appear in at Wimbledon,” said Alicia Molik, the former top-10 ranked player who is doing commentary for the BBC.

    Osaka kept her robe on as she bounced on her toes at the net while listening to instructions from the chair umpire. She then removed it and placed it on her chair to begin warmups before the match started.

    Osaka is far from the first player to make a fashion statement at Wimbledon, and wasn’t the only one to do so on Monday. Seven-time men’s champion Novak Djokovic, for instance, walked out for his match on Centre Court in a white blazer with green details.

    But the four-time Grand Slam champion’s fashion creations and walk-ons are becoming an eagerly anticipated ritual at both Grand Slam tournaments and other events.

    At the Australian Open this year, Osaka walked onto court wearing a wide-brim hat, a veil and holding a white parasol. At the French Open, she came out for her opening match in a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice, which she removed to reveal a sequined gold playing dress.

    And at the Met Gala in New York, Osaka stunned in a edgy Robert Wun white sculptural fitted dress featuring exaggerated shoulders and adorned with red feathers and a matching headpiece. To complete her look, she wore two-toned red gloves.

    The latest ensemble turned plenty of heads even before she stepped onto the grass.

    Playing on No. 3 Court meant Osaka had to walk through part of the Wimbledon grounds to get to the stadium, giving some fans a sneak peak of her outfit.

    “I could feel, when I walked by someone, they would physically turn their whole body,” Osaka said. “I thought that was really fun.”

    Fellow players, meanwhile, have been full of questions about the kimono.

    “I got asked if I only have one, because it’s all white, and what happens if I stain it,” Osaka said.

    At her post-match news conference, Osaka sported a lot more color to show off the Haitian side of her heritage. She wore a red-and-blue Haiti soccer jersey after the country played at a World Cup for the first time since 1974.

    “I felt really proud of them,” she said.

    ___

    AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed to this report.

    ___

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


  • Royalties. Teaching gigs. A concert in Puerto Rico. Financial forms offer view inside Supreme Court


    Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was gifted concert tickets in Puerto Rico last year as members of the high court continued to accept international teaching gigs and receive royalties for books they have written, according to financial disclosure forms released Monday that provide insight into how the justices spend time off the bench.

    Sotomayor’s disclosure form says she and unidentified guests attended the concert last August while she was on a personal trip to Puerto Rico. The paperwork does not identify the performer, but Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny is known to have performed a series of shows on the island that month and the $4,333 gift she disclosed was provided by Rimas Entertainment, Bad Bunny’s record label.

    The justices’ ethical practices away from the court have received additional scrutiny in recent years because of media coverage, including by The Associated Press, that has highlighted their lucrative book deals, gifts they have received and travel they have taken. Among the revelations was a series of stories by ProPublica that revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas had failed to report luxury travel paid for by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.

    The forms underscore the extent to which book-writing remains a lucrative source of income for members of the court.

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who in 2024 released a memoir titled “Lovely One,” disclosed nearly $1.2 million in book advances, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett reported more than $849,000 in royalties. They both reported more than a dozen book events or discussions at which a combination of food, travel or lodging was provided. Justice Neil Gorsuch also received $300,000 in royalty payments.

    Several justices also disclosed paid teaching assignments. Chief Justice John Roberts, for instance, reported $25,000 in teaching income for a brief course at New England Law School, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh received $33,285 for teaching at Notre Dame.

    Kavanaugh also delivered a speech last September — his meals, transportation and lodging were provided — at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, which the AP earlier reported had invited Thomas to headline a 2017 event.

    The court released disclosure forms for eight of the nine current justices. Justice Samuel Alito, as he has previously done, requested a 90-day extension, the court said.


  • Luigi Mangione gets stuck in an elevator as judge delays his federal trial until January


    NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione’s federal trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will now begin in January instead of the fall, a judge said Monday at a hearing that started late because Mangione got stuck in a courthouse elevator.

    U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said she was postponing the federal trial so Mangione’s lawyers can focus on his state murder trial, which is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8.

    Jury selection in the federal case will begin on Jan. 5, instead of Oct. 13, followed by opening statements and testimony on Jan. 25, instead of Nov. 4, Garnett said at a hearing in Manhattan.

    Garnett said she will not release the questionnaire that prospective jurors will be required to fill out until after the panel is chosen. Having it circulating online for months before jury selection “would only make what promises to be a difficult task more difficult,” she said.

    Wearing a beige jail suit, Mangione looked bemused as a pair of deputy U.S. Marshals led him into the courtroom about 20 minutes after the hearing was supposed to start. He briefly gazed at the courtroom gallery, where about two dozen of his supporters were sitting.

    “Mangione was late due to elevator problems,” the court said in a statement.

    It was the second mishap involving Mangione’s arrival to a court hearing in recent weeks.

    A June 16 hearing in the state case was delayed a day after prosecutors failed to inform his jail that he was needed in court.

    Garnett said she had hoped “with perhaps undue optimism” to hold the federal trial in the fall but that “we can no longer wait to see what happens” in the state case.

    “In my view it’s simply impossible to be moving through the jury selection process in this case while the defendant and his counsel are fully occupied by conducting the state trial,” Garnett said.

    Mangione’s lawyers declined to comment to reporters afterward.

    Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges in the Dec. 4, 2024, killing. He could spend his life in prison if convicted in either case.

    The 28-year-old Ivy League graduate appeared energetic and engaged during Monday’s brief hearing. He watched intently at times, knitting his fingers and resting his chin on them.

    He spoke animatedly with his lawyers, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, before the proceeding began, gesturing with his hands as he sat between them at the defense table.

    Mangione’s federal charges allege that he traveled across state lines by bus to stalk and kill Thompson. He’s accused of using a cellphone, the internet and interstate highways, among other means, while planning and carrying out the attack, as well as staying at a hostel that serves out-of-state customers.

    At a hearing in the state case in February, Mangione spoke out against the prospect of two trials, telling the judge: “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition.”

    Mangione’s lawyers had argued that back-to-back trials on a compressed timeline would violate his constitutional rights.

    Thompson, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference.

    Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

    Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.

    In January, Garnett took the death penalty off the table but ruled that prosecutors could use items collected from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest as evidence against him.

    They included a 3D-printed pistol that investigators said matched the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which authorities say Mangione described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive.

    Earlier this month, Mangione’s lawyers said they would pursue a psychiatric defense in the state case, but reversed course a day later. The defense, involving claims that he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the killing, isn’t allowed in federal court.

    Mangione has become a cause célèbre for people upset with the health insurance industry.

    An online fundraiser for his legal defense fund has raised more than $1.5 million and his court appearances have attracted a cadre of supporters, some of whom have worn “FREE LUIGI” T-shirts and green clothing — the color worn by the Mario Bros. video game character Luigi.


  • Former NBA players Malik Beasley, Ed Davis are latest to be charged in gambling scandal


    Former NBA player Malik Beasley has been indicted in the government’s sprawling investigation of illicit gambling on basketball games, accused of tailoring his 2024 performance with the Milwaukee Bucks to reward bettors and chip away at his own financial problems, authorities said Monday.

    Beasley has been out of the NBA since playing with the Detroit Pistons in 2024-25. Another former NBA player, Ed Davis, was also charged in the indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court against six people.

    U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said they “turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation.”

    The schemes, he added, “erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public.”

    Nocella said hundreds of thousands of dollars were wagered through popular gambling sites. The indictment says Beasley had financial woes, including millions of dollars in gambling losses, and had relied on Davis, a former teammate, for help.

    “Malik maintains his presumption of innocence throughout this two-year investigation,” Beasley’s attorney, Steve Haney, said. “We ask that people reserve judgment until all the facts are known.”

    Feds say Beasley tipped others about his play

    In return for fixing his performance, Beasley got paid by his money-winning co-conspirators and his debts to Davis were reduced or eliminated, the indictment alleges.

    In one example, according to the court filing, Beasley informed Davis that he would try to outperform the 3.5 prop line bet for rebounds in Milwaukee’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 10, 2024.

    With a second left, and the Bucks ahead by seven points, any shot by the Clippers would not have affected the outcome. But Beasley challenged the shot and then dashed past four players to grab the rebound as the horn sounded.

    Beasley finished with four rebounds that night — an overperformance and a winning prop bet, the indictment states.

    “What’s funny is after he got it he had a big sigh of relief,” a co-conspirator said in a text message, according to the indictment.

    In other games, Beasley told Davis that he would underperform certain statistics, the government alleges.

    The NBA said it would continue to cooperate with authorities.

    “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” spokesperson Mike Bass said.

    Investigation has kept Beasley on sidelines

    Beasley last played in the NBA for the Pistons in 2025, averaging 16 points per game. He is one of five players in NBA history with more than 300 3-pointers in a season, but he did not play in the league last season because of the investigation.

    Beasley’s financial problems have been widely reported, including disputes with a Detroit landlord, a Milwaukee barber and a Minnesota dentist. In 2025, when the Pistons were in New York for a playoff game, he was served with a lawsuit from a local sports marketing agency, which subsequently got a $1 million default judgment against Beasley.

    Davis’ attorney did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. He was an NBA journeyman who was primarily a backup in a 12-year career that got him roughly $48 million in gross salary. Davis and Beasley were teammates in Minnesota in 2020-21.

    Paolo Zamorano, a sports agent who formerly represented Davis, was also charged with placing bets based on Beasley’s information. Defense attorney Ken Breen said Zamorano denies wrongdoing and “looks forward to his day in court.”

    Other NBA figures arrested in 2025

    Authorities last fall announced a gambling sweep that led to the arrests of more than 30 people, including reputed mobsters and well-known basketball figures such as Chauncey Billups, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and coach of the Portland Trail Blazers at the time.

    Billups is accused of conspiring to fix high-stakes card games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting gamblers out of at least $7 million. He has pleaded not guilty.

    In April, former NBA player Damon Jones, 49, became the first person to plead guilty. He was accused of defrauding major sportsbooks, including DraftKings and FanDuel, and filching millions of dollars from unwitting poker players.

    Jones was charged with selling or attempting to sell insider information to bettors based on his relationships in the NBA.

    Terry Rozier is accused of conspiring with friends to help them win bets on his performance during a 2023 game when he played for the Charlotte Hornets. He, too, has pleaded not guilty. He was on the Miami Heat when he was charged in 2025.

    In 2024, former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter pleaded guilty in a separate gambling case. Porter, who had gambling debts, said he took himself out of games early so co-conspirators could win bets on his performance.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Tim Reynolds in Miami and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.


  • DC will pay $50,000 to man detained while protesting guard patrol with ‘Star Wars’ song, record says


    WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a resident who accused police officers of illegally detaining him for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader’s theme song from “Star Wars” on his cellphone, according to a document released Monday.

    The plaintiff, Sam O’Hara, sued the district, four Metropolitan Police Department officers and a guard member from Ohio over what he says was his act of protest against President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C.

    A court filing on Thursday disclosed the settlement but didn’t specify any monetary terms. The amount is included in a copy of the settlement agreement that D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb’s office provided to The Associated Press.

    The $50,000 settlement includes attorney’s fees and costs. O’Hara is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia. In an email on Friday, an ACLU spokesperson referred to the settlement’s financial terms as “a significant amount” that O’Hara “is pleased with” but said they weren’t disclosing the dollar figure to protect his privacy.

    O’Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, agreed to drop his claims against the district and the MPD officers within three business days of receiving the settlement payment. The settlement isn’t an admission of wrongdoing by the district, the agreement says.

    O’Hara’s settlement with the district doesn’t resolve his related claims against an Ohio National Guard member, Sgt. Devon Beck, who has asked a judge to dismiss O’Hara’s claims against him.

    O’Hara said in a statement that he is satisfied with the settlement but conflicted that taxpayers are footing the bill.

    “Those who actually violated my constitutional rights should be the ones paying the price, like taking the money from their pensions. That’s what real accountability looks like,” he said. “This settlement is a reminder that our freedoms are worth fighting for, especially when the powerful would rather we suffer in silence.”

    O’Hara sued the district in October, claiming police officers violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force.

    O’Hara played “The Imperial March” theme from “Star Wars” on his phone as he followed several National Guard troops down a public street on Sept. 11, 2025. One of the troops summoned police officers, who stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.

    Trump’s ongoing deployment of guard members in Washington began last August after the Republican president issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital. The surge inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. Hundreds of guard members remain deployed in the district nearly a year later, with no clear end in sight.