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  • Polygamous sect leader convicted of abuse charges after girls found in trailer on Arizona highway


    PHOENIX (AP) — A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was convicted Friday on state child abuse charges after girls were found in an unventilated trailer he was hauling through Arizona.

    Someone alerted authorities about the trailer in August 2022 after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Police stopped Samuel Bateman’s vehicle as he was driving through Flagstaff and found three girls inside, who were ages 11 to 14 at the time. The trailer was enclosed with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs.

    In the federal case, Bateman was convicted of coercing girls as young as 9 to submit to sex acts with him and other young adults, and for scheming to kidnap girls from protective custody, the story of which is the focus of a Netflix series, “Trust Me: The False Prophet.”

    Bateman previously claimed to have more than 20 “spiritual wives,” including 10 girls under the age of 18. He testified in his own defense in the state case, telling jurors he would never harm the people he loves. He acknowledged during cross-examination that he knew the girls were in a hot trailer for hours and the ventilation wasn’t good, but downplayed the conditions.

    “I just trusted myself as a driver,” he said. “I asked God to bless me every time we hopped in that vehicle.”

    He claimed he thought the girls had gotten out when they stopped. He said he was as “shocked as could possibly be” when he learned that they were still inside when he was pulled over.

    During closing arguments, prosecutor Eric Ruchensky told jurors, “It’s common sense that you don’t carry people in a trailer designed for cargo on a hot day with no ventilation.”

    Jurors in the state case weren’t supposed to hear about Bateman’s conviction in federal court. The judge barred the evidence from being introduced. But Bateman brought it up several times as he represented himself, leading the judge to strike the comments from the record.

    The jury delivered the verdict Friday in about 40 minutes, convicting him on all three counts of child abuse. . Each count carries a mandatory sentence, between four and eight years. The judge has discretion to run the counts consecutively or concurrently. A sentencing hearing is scheduled Aug. 25.

    The Associated Press left a voice mail and email messages Friday for Bateman’s appointed advisory counsel.

    Federal authorities said Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet, traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska as he built an offshoot network of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which historically has been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.

    He and his followers practiced polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it.

    Bateman was one of the trusted followers of Warren Jeffs, who previously led the sect and is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of children.

    The influence of the polygamous sect has waned significantly over time in the towns where the sect has historically been based. In 2017, a court order placed the towns under supervision, excising the church from their governments and shared police department.

    But the area has since transformed so quickly that they were released from court-ordered supervision last summer, almost two years earlier than expected. Practicing sect members are now believed to account for only a small percentage of the towns’ populations.


  • Newly released video shows Connecticut prison officers striking inmate before he died


    HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut prison inmate J’Allen Jones was suffering a mental health crisis in 2018 when correctional officers struck him multiple times, stripped him naked, put a spit bag over his head and sprayed pepper spray at his face shortly before he died.

    Video of the series of events was released Friday by a state judge in Hartford overseeing Jones’ family’s lawsuit against eight officers and a prison nurse, following a yearslong legal battle and after both sides agreed to certain redactions.

    The Department of Correction had sought to keep it sealed since 2019, saying in part that its release could present security problems because it shows the physical layout of the prison and staffing patterns. But Jones’ family, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and local NAACP officials called for publicly releasing the video, saying transparency was needed in Jones’ death.

    “The events in the video are as disturbing as the events in the video of George Floyd’s death,” Ron Murphy, a lawyer for Jones’ family, wrote in a court document, referring to the man killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. “But in some ways, the video of J’Allen’s death is worse.”

    Jones, 31, from Atlanta, was serving a 10-year sentence for robbery at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of New Haven when he died on March 25, 2018. Correction officers had been trying to take him to a medical unit in the prison at the time to get treatment for his mental illness.

    Handcuffed inmate appeared in crisis as officers struck him

    Portions of the 52-minute video show Jones handcuffed behind his back — and later with his legs shackled — as officers hit his legs and torso with their knees and fists, after he refused a strip search. At one point, an officer pins him down on a bed with a knee on his back while others hold him down.

    Jones — who was having a schizophrenic episode, according to court documents — is heard yelling at this point, much of it unintelligible. He repeatedly shouts, “In the blood of Jesus Christ!” At one point, he tells officers, “I command you … to uncuff me now!”

    Officers, meanwhile, tell Jones numerous times to stop resisting and to calm down. One officer tells Jones they’re just trying to help him.

    About 17 minutes into the video, Jones appears to start having trouble breathing after the spit bag was placed over his head and he was pepper sprayed. Nearly five minutes later, Jones appears to be unconscious as officers struggle to hold him up and put him in a wheelchair. At around the 24-minute mark, an officer requests a nurse to evaluate Jones.

    “Right now he’s just being dead weight, and I just want to make sure he’s OK,” the officer says, talking to the video camera held by another officer.

    Minutes go by before life-saving measures are started

    About 28 minutes into the video, a nurse starts performing CPR and an officer orders someone over the radio to call 911. An ambulance crew doesn’t arrive until more than 43 minutes into the video. Jones was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

    Hours after Jones’ death, the Department of Correction put out a brief statement saying that Jones had become “non-compliant and combative with staff and then became non-responsive.” It did not say anything about officers striking Jones but noted that there were no immediate indications that excessive force was used. It said life-saving measures were performed and he was brought to a hospital.

    The medical examiner’s office determined that the cause of Jones’ death was “sudden death during struggle and restraint with chest compression and pepper spray exposure in person with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.” It ruled his death a homicide, although that designation does not necessarily mean a crime was committed.

    In January 2019, a state prosecutor investigating Jones’ death determined that no crimes were committed.

    An internal Correction Department investigation found that excessive force was not used. But the eight officers and nurse violated policy by not recognizing for more than seven minutes that Jones was in medical distress — although not intentionally, the investigation report said.

    Punishment of one-day suspensions without pay were handed down to the nine staff members, Correction Department records show.

    The correctional officers’ union did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

    Family lawyer hopes video release spurs calls for reforms

    Allen was Black, and his lawyer says eight of the nine defendants are white. One is Black. In court papers seeking release of the video, Murphy said it’s important that the public sees the footage and can consider “whether his race or schizophrenia played any role in how his cries for help and gasps for air were perceived and handled.”

    “I hope everyone who chooses to watch the video does so with an open heart, remembering that J’Allen Jones was a father and a son and that his family grieves every day,” Murphy said in a statement Friday afternoon, adding that he hoped the video leads to prison system improvements.

    He added, “I found the video very difficult to watch as it depicts the painful death of another human being. So please take care of yourself while watching and if you experience overwhelming feelings, consider taking a break or reaching out to someone for support. Thank you.”

    Responding to a series of questions from The Associated Press about the video and how officers dealt with Jones, the Correction Department’s interim commissioner Sharonda Carlos, said in a statement that the agency is continually focused on improving the services it offers to inmates experiencing mental health problems.

    “Any loss of life in our facilities is a tragedy that we feel deeply, and our sympathy remains with Mr. Jones’ family and loved ones,” she said.

    Carlos said she appointed a psychiatrist to lead the department’s inmate medical services in May, and the agency is rolling out major improvements to its mental health training for staff.

    “Behind every individual in our care is a family hoping for their well-being, and we do not take that responsibility lightly,” she said.


  • Colombia fans return to Hard Rock Stadium nearly 2 years after chaotic scene at Copa America final


    MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Juan Nicolas wants this time to be different.

    The Bogotá, Colombia, native saw the scary scene two years ago during the Copa America final as thousands of ticketless fans breached the security gates at Hard Rock Stadium to watch Colombia face Argentina.

    Colombia’s soccer team will play Portugal on Saturday in a World Cup group stage match, returning to the stadium for the first time since that incident — this time with heightened security and multiple checkpoints.

    “Now that we’re here, I feel a little pressure just to show myself better and like to show a better country to the world,” said Nicolas, who said he was not at the match in 2024. “Colombia is new now. Colombia has new stuff to give to the world. We’re a different country, so now we have to show that.”

    The crowd trouble began hours before the July 2024 match. Supporters — many of them wearing Colombia’s yellow and red colors — rushed the gates at the home stadium of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, leaving fans terrified and bloodied as security struggled to contain the rush.

    Screams could be heard in the background of many videos circling social media, and posts showed some fans trying to climb through air vents to gain entry.

    Questions were sparked on how to handle two more years of major soccer tournaments in the United States — the Club World Cup last year and this year’s World Cup.

    There was increased security last summer at the Club World Cup matches held in Miami, which served as a preview of the ticket-screening measures to expect on Saturday.

    Fans must pass through three separate checkpoints that enclose the entire campus before getting close to the stadium, and parking passes are checked well before entry. Steel fencing is also set up around the perimeter.

    “It’s been a layered approach that people have to go through,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of President Donald Trump’s World Cup task force, which is overseeing the tournament’s multiagency security effort.

    “We’re going to make sure that everybody is on their guard ready to go that day in particular,” Giuliani added, “just making sure that there are no issues. … We’re leaning in on the 27th to make sure we can talk about the action that happened (on the pitch).”

    Giuliani said there will be a “strong federal presence” both around the stadium and city on Saturday, declining to answer if that includes more than a typical match day. There have been three World Cup group matches in Miami so far. Each has seen a heavy police presence.

    “I think we like showing up for our team, and some people take it a little bit too far,” said Lucas Gaviria, a native of Manizales, Colombia, who attends Florida Atlantic University. “That has to do with our culture. We care about it too much, we have a ‘any means necessary’ type of thinking. ‘I need to see this game, even though I know I don’t have the money for it.’”

    Saturday’s match has been in high demand, both because of South Florida’s large Colombian community and the draw of Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo. Tickets on the resale site StubHub were listed from around $3,000 to more than $5,000.

    “If you don’t have tickets, you shouldn’t be on site here,” Giuliani said in January, when he and other members of the task force visited the stadium during the College Football Playoff national championship. “It’s not like an American football game where there’s tailgating. This is very different. We want to make sure the security resources are here for those ticketed fans. If you’re not ticketed, you have fan festivals. You have other events in the Miami area where you can go and enjoy and be safe.”

    Hard Rock Stadium — Miami Stadium is its name during the World Cup because of FIFA’s policies about sponsorship — has not commented because of its ongoing involvement in multiple lawsuits related to the Copa America final.

    Those lawsuits, which list multiple defendants, claim — among other things — that the stadium and soccer officials didn’t have enough security present to handle such a crowd, lacked proper numbers of Spanish-speaking personnel working at the event and didn’t protect legitimate ticket holders “from foreseeable criminal activity.”

    Ahead of Saturday’s match, Colombia supporters said they hope that moment doesn’t define them.

    “There are a lot of great things that Colombia stands for,” said Nadia Rodriguez, a Bogota, Colombia, native living in Miami. “Great coffee, beautiful landscapes, amazing songs, the soccer team. The darkness is in the past.”

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    AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

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    Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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    See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here


  • Harvey Weinstein’s California rape conviction upheld, but court says he must be resentenced


    LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appeals court on Friday upheld Harvey Weinstein’s 2022 rape and sexual assault conviction in California, but ordered the trial judge who gave him 16 years in prison to resentence him.

    A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal unanimously issued the decision, saying his trial judge did not violate the former movie magnate’s constitutional rights.

    “We reject his attempts to disturb the jury’s guilty verdicts,” the judges wrote in their opinion.

    Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said in an email that “We are disappointed by today’s decision and respectfully disagree with the Court of Appeal’s conclusions regarding the fairness of Mr. Weinstein’s trial. At the same time, the court correctly recognized that his sentence cannot stand.”

    The decision came a day after prosecutors in New York decided Weinstein would not face a fourth trial there, dropping the #MeToo-era case after the accuser said she could not bear to testify again.

    The California panel said that resentencing was necessary because the judge that sentenced him considered New York convictions that were later thrown out as an aggravating factor. California’s attorney general agreed.

    Weinstein, 74, still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York, and he remains behind bars awaiting a September sentencing there. Prosecutors there are seeking a 20-year prison term.

    In California, Weinstein was convicted in December 2022 of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against an Italian model and actor known during the trial as Jane Doe 1. He would serve his new sentence there only after his New York term is complete.

    After the trial, Jane Doe 1 came forward under her name, Evgeniya Chernyshova, when she sued Weinstein in civil court.

    The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Chernyshova did. Her attorney also said she consented to being named.

    Chernyshova testified that Weinstein arrived uninvited to her hotel room during the 2013 LA Italia Film Festival and assaulted her.

    Weinstein’s defense argued that Weinstein deserved a new trial because Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench wrongly prevented his trial lawyers from asking about Facebook messages between Chernyshova and festival head Pascal Vicedomini that would have shown they had a sexual relationship.

    The questioning would have demonstrated that she perjured herself when she said she and Vicedomini were just friends and colleagues, the defense said. And the lawyers argued it would have bolstered their assertion that she was not even in her room on the night of the alleged assault.

    “The lower court all but gutted Mr. Weinstein’s defense,” attorney Jennifer Bonjean told the appeals judges at April 23 oral arguments.

    But the appeals court said in its ruling that Weinstein did make the arguments he wanted during the trial based on other evidence, including another set of Facebook messages that Lench allowed.

    “Thus, there was no denial of Weinstein’s constitutional right to present a defense,” the panel wrote in its opinion.

    The three judges also found that Weinstein’s lawyers failed to adhere to California’s rape shield law prohibiting evidence of an accuser’s sexual history when they tried to introduce the messages. Weinstein’s lawyers had argued that the shield law was not pertinent because they wanted to use the messages only to impeach the witness’s credibility.

    And the appeals judges said testimony from accusers describing sexual assaults Weinstein was not charged with was appropriate, and allowed under state law.

    Before his sentencing, Weinstein told the judge that this was a “made-up story” from a woman he had never met.

    The Los Angeles jury acquitted Weinstein of the sexual battery of a massage therapist and failed to reach verdicts on counts involving two other women.

    “This is not the end of the appellate process,” Engelmayer said in his email Friday. “We intend to seek review in the California Supreme Court because we continue to believe significant legal errors affected the proceedings and warrant further review.”

    The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said it would not have comment on the decision until the office reviewed it.

    Chernyshova’s lawyer David Ring said in an email Friday that she “has persevered for years to reach this point against the man who raped her” and thanks the prosecutors and appellate lawyers “for putting Harvey Weinstein away for good.”


  • World Cup what to know: Round of 32 to be finalized after final 6 matches of group play


    The World Cup knockout rounds are almost here.

    The field for the Round of 32 will be finalized on Saturday following more than two weeks of competition across three countries.

    While majority of the field is set, there are still some spots up for grabs with six group-stage matches remaining, leaving some teams jockeying for position and others fighting to advance.

    Still others find themselves on the bubble, relying on other teams to determine their World Cup fate.

    The knockout rounds begin Sunday.

    The expansion to 48 teams in the World Cup has added intrigue — and in some cases, the confusion — over which 32 teams advance, with tiebreakers coming into play. The top two finishing teams from each of the 12 groups and eight third-place finishers move on.

    The most intriguing match on Saturday might be Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal against Colombia.

    Colombia has already secured a spot in the Round of 32 and can win Group K with a win or draw. Portugal needs a win to take the group, but can also advance with a draw or possibly even a loss.

    Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said winning the group would be nice, but it doesn’t matter as long as the team advances.

    “It doesn’t. It doesn’t,” Martinez said. “My experience, probably in my first World Cup, I would have said yes. You sit down and you are so inexperienced, you want to plan everything … and then you realize that doesn’t happen in competitions.”

    Martinez said in the end, “you have to be able to beat everybody and anybody.”

    The match in Miami Gardens, Florida, will be played in typical June conditions, with temperatures expected to hover around 87 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) with high humidity when the match kicks off.

    What to watch on June 27

    — Panama vs. England, 5 p.m. EDT in East Rutherford, New Jersey (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

    — Croatia vs. Ghana, 5 p.m. EDT in Philadelphia (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

    — Colombia vs. Portugal, 7:30 p.m. EDT in Miami Gardens, Florida (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

    — Congo vs. Uzbekistan, 7:30 p.m. EDT in Atlanta (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

    — Algeria vs. Austria, 10 p.m. EDT in Kansas City, Missouri (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

    — Jordan vs. Argentina, 10 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

    Messi not starting with Argentina having clinched Group F

    Lionel Messi, the top scorer in World Cup history, will not start when defending tournament champion and Group F winner Argentina plays Jordan.

    Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said Friday that Messi will begin on the bench, but also indicated that he “will come in a little bit later.”

    Messi scored all five goals for Argentina in its first two games of this tournament. He had his first World Cup hat trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria to tie the career scoring record at 16 goals, and broke that mark by scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Austria on Monday.

    England’s Reece James to sit vs. Panama

    Right back Reece James will miss England’s group-stage finale against Panama because of a hamstring injury, midfielders Declan Rice and Elliott Anderson may play and winger Bukayo Saka could make his first start of the tournament.

    James was hurt during Tuesday’s 0-0 draw against Ghana, and coach Thomas Tuchel described the injury as minor. James did not travel to New Jersey, the site of Saturday’s match, from England’s training camp in Kansas City, Missouri.

    England beat Croatia 4-2 and tied Ghana, putting itself in position to reach the knockout rounds for the sixth time in seven World Cups.

    Tuchel said his James’ status for the Round of 32 was unclear. Panama has already been eliminated.

    Congo looks to join African teams in the Round of 32

    Congo pulled off one of the surprising results of the World Cup by holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw in its opener, earning a point in the tournament for the first time. Now it hopes to earn its first win and join the wave of African teams advancing to the knockout rounds.

    “We are very, very happy to have got this first point and first goal for Congo, but we have a final to play tomorrow,” coach Sébastien Desabre said ahead of Saturday’s Group K game against Uzbekistan. “I hope that I’ll get the Congolese people to dream tomorrow a little bit.”

    Congo’s one previous appearance at the World Cup was under its former name, Zaire, in 1974, when it lost all three games, including a 9-0 rout at the hands of Yugoslavia.

    A win gives Congo a chance to advance.

    Uzbekistan has never earned a World Cup point.

    Croatia and Ghana play for right to advance to knockout round

    Separated by one point, Ghana and Croatia both have something meaningful to play for in their Group L match.

    Ghana needs only a draw to reach the knockout round. Croatia, however, needs a win to be assured of a spot in the Round of 32.

    England and Ghana are tied at four points, and Croatia has three points.

    “Everyone’s ready, everyone was real happy with the result against England,” Ghana midfielder Antoine Semenyo said. “It’s going to be a tough game tomorrow, but everyone is excited and ready.”

    Ghana hasn’t made it to the knockout round since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010 in South Africa.

    Is Austria better off losing?

    By the time Austria and Algeria begin their Group J finale, both will know how the knockout bracket looks, and what the consequences will be for finishing second or third behind group winner Argentina.

    This is where things get awkward: It might actually behoove Austria to lose.

    The way the bracket is set up, the Group J runner-up faces the Group H winner, which could be reigning European champion Spain. But the third-place finisher would face the Group B winner, which means a potentially easier matchup against Switzerland.

    Asked if he wanted his team to avoid winning, Austria coach Ralf Rangnick replied: “No, definitely not.”

    “Once we start we will know,” Rangnick said Friday, “but it will not influence our match. … If we have a draw tomorrow, we can go on, but we cannot go into a match and just say, ‘We’ll play for a draw.’”

    In 1982, in what became known as the “Disgrace of Gijon,” West Germany beat Austria 1-0, a result that advanced both teams over Algeria. Both teams seemed to quit trying after the first goal was scored, leading FIFA to implement simultaneous kickoffs on the final day of group play.

    “We go out, we want to win the game,” Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer said. “It doesn’t matter who we face.”

    More World Cup news

    — ‘Pride Match’ organizers highlight Seattle’s inclusivity amid opposition from Iran and Egypt

    — A maple leaf-shaped ‘Canadian clapper’ sparks a World Cup buzz across Toronto

    — Mexico teenager Gilberto Mora impresses in first World Cup start and could see role expand

    — Panama striker Cecilio Waterman, midfielder José Luis Rodríguez have training ground confrontation

    — Bastian Schweinsteiger says his remarks on Ivory Coast’s style at World Cup were not about people

    — Day 16 of the World Cup, in photos

    Stats of the day

    Scoring first in the World Cup is obviously a huge advantage, but doesn’t necessarily lead to a win or draw. In fact, seven teams have overcome deficits in group play to win. South Korea rallied to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 with two late goals, Algeria battled back from a halftime deficit to top Jordan 2-1 and, most recently, Turkiye stunned the United States with a last-second goal to win 3-2. Egypt, Germany, Morocco and Ecuador have also overcome deficits to win.

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    AP Sports Writers Dave Skretta, Alanis Thames, James Robson, Ronald Blum, Stephen Hawkins and Dan Gelston contributed to this report.

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    See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here


  • Mike Trout will likely turn down invitation to participate in All-Star Home Run Derby


    ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout said Friday he is unlikely to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby in Philadelphia because of his strained right hamstring.

    Trout expects to return from the injury in plenty of time to play in the July 14 All-Star Game, but it will likely prevent the Los Angeles Angels center fielder from the home run competition the night before in Citizen’s Bank Park.

    “They asked me when we were in Sacramento (last weekend), but I probably won’t do it,” Trout, 34, said before the Angels’ game against the Athletics. “It would have been cool to do it, but the injury kind of threw things off.”

    Trout, a three-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star, has turned down numerous invitations to participate in the derby because he felt the high volume of maximum-effort swings the event requires would throw him off at the plate.

    He always maintained that he would take part in the derby at least once before he retires, and this seemed to be the year to do it, with All-Star Game festivities in Citizens Bank Park about 45 miles north of his hometown of Millville, New Jersey.

    Trout fueled more speculation that he would participate in the derby last weekend when he told USA Today that he was “considering” participating in the event.

    But Trout, who was hitting .234 with 17 homers and 36 RBIs in 74 games when he was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 18, had a change of heart over the past week.

    “When it came out that the All-Star Game was in Philly, I thought it definitely would have been cool to do,” said Trout, who ranks second behind Aaron Judge in All-Star voting for AL outfielders. “Then I hurt my leg, so I’m leaning toward not doing it.”

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


  • Saks officially emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with less debt and a new name


    NEW YORK (AP) — Saks Global, the parent company of Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday with fewer stores, less debt, a more focused strategy to pamper the affluent — and a new name.

    The company said Friday that the new entity will be called Exemplar Luxury Group, and with an improved balance sheet, including a nearly 75% debt reduction and $500 million in extra financing. Its CEO, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, said the New York-based company is ready for its next chapter after navigating several tumultuous years.

    “Today is really a brand new day for the organization and a new day where these three iconic banners have the right funding, the right equity and a bright future ahead of them,” van Raemdonck told The Associated Press on Friday during a phone interview.

    Van Raemdonck said that the new name signifies the company’s focus on having an exemplary shopping experience — the best merchandise, and better personalized service with customers, with help from its sales associates and the treasure trove of data it has on its customers. The company employs more than 1,500 sales associates who have sold more than $1 million of goods each, he said.

    Saks Global had filed for bankruptcy protection in January of this year, buffeted by rising competition and the massive debt it took on to buy its rival in the luxury sector, Neiman Marcus, in July 2024.

    Before the bankruptcy, there were 33 Saks stores and 36 Neiman Marcus locations, according to the company, as well as its Bergdorf Goodman store on Fifth Avenue and roughly 70 Saks Off 5th discount stores.

    Now, there are a total of 49 stores — 15 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 33 Neiman Marcus stores and its Bergdorf Goodman store. The company shuttered most of its Saks Off Fifth discount stores, and it now has 12 outlets, the company said.

    Exemplar Luxury Group said it has been teaming up with Pentwater Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital throughout its restructuring process. Both firms will have two representatives on the seven-person board. In addition, van Raemdonck as well as former Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell and Philippe Schaus, who most recently served as Global CEO of Moët Hennessy, will serve on the board, the company said.

    .


  • CFL won’t allow Brendan Sorsby to sign with any team or be added to negotiation lists


    TORONTO (AP) — Quarterback Brendan Sorsby, permanently ruled ineligible by the NCAA for sports betting, won’t be kick-starting his pro football career in Canada.

    The CFL said Friday it won’t allow the 22-year-old to sign with any of its teams or be placed on their negotiation lists.

    Sorsby admitted to placing thousands of bets totaling nearly $90,000 over his collegiate career, including at least 40 on Indiana football while he was a freshman there in 2022, although none was on games in which he played for the Hoosiers that year.

    After being ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA, Sorsby attempted to join the NFL’s supplemental draft, but the league told him on Tuesday it wouldn’t hold one this year.

    Instead, the NFL told Sorsby to focus on preparing for possible entry into the league via its regular draft in 2027, according to a letter from the league telling Sorsby of its decision that was obtained by The Associated Press.

    The NFL hasn’t held a supplemental draft since 2023.

    “Upholding the integrity of the league and ensuring fair competition are paramount to the CFL,” the CFL said in a statement. “The allegations involving Brendan Sorsby are serious and concerning.

    “At this time, the CFL will not register a contract for him, and no team will be permitted to add him to its negotiation list.”

    Sorsby had planned to work out for NFL teams on July 10. He was banished from competition by the NCAA for the gambling activity after transferring earlier this year from Cincinnati to Texas Tech.

    After spending a month in a residential treatment program for a diagnosed addiction that led to thousands of bets, Sorsby sued the NCAA and gained a court-ordered reinstatement that prompted nationwide backlash toward Texas Tech. The controversy led Sorsby to try to play professional football instead.

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    AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports


  • Trinidad Chambliss disagrees with LSU coach Lane Kiffin about how Black recruits view Ole Miss


    THIBODAUX, La. (AP) — Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss on Friday took issue with first-year LSU coach Lane Kiffin’s recent comments that Ole Miss’ past embrace of Confederate symbols made recruiting Black players more difficult.

    “Me, personally, I don’t agree,” said Chambliss, who was coached by Kiffin last season. “I don’t think that what he said was truthful. … The Oxford community is nothing but love and they care about their people no matter what they look like: brown, black, purple, yellow — you know what I mean?”

    Kiffin, who is white, coached at Ole Miss from 2020 to 2025. He oversaw the Rebels’ 11-1 regular season in 2025 but left for LSU before the College Football Playoff in a move that has since brought much scrutiny to college football’s recruiting calendar.

    In May, Kiffin was featured in a Vanity Fair magazine article in which he described prospective Ole Miss recruits telling him: “Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.”

    “That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Kiffin added in his comments to Vanity Fair.

    Kiffin wanted to coach the Rebels in the CFP, but Ole Miss wouldn’t allow it because Kiffin also would have been simultaneously recruiting for LSU. Without Kiffin at the helm, Chambliss nonetheless led the Rebels into the national finals with a scintillating CFP quarterfinal performance against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

    Chambliss, who is participating this weekend in the Manning Passing Academy as a counselor, said he still thinks highly of Kiffin, will always appreciate the opportunity Kiffin gave him at Ole Miss and does not harbor hard feelings about the way Kiffin left the program.

    However, Chambliss sounded eager to point out that his experience in Oxford did not match Kiffin’s comments to the magazine.

    “The people in Mississippi and Oxford showed me nothing but love,” Chambless said of a visit he made before deciding to transfer to Ole Miss from Ferris State.

    “One thing that I can really take away from my visit and the reason why I did commit to Ole Miss is I asked my family what they genuinely thought about the visit, what they thought about the people, if they trusted what they were actually saying, if they’re gonna be true to their word,” Chambliss added.

    “They said, ‘I feel like this is the right place.’ And my mom’s super religious, too, and she just had a good feeling,” Chambliss said. “We prayed on it, and that was the main thing. … So, I felt like Oxford is home and it’s a great place.”

    Kiffin will be back in Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — but on the visitor’s sideline — on Sept. 19 when LSU visits the Rebels. Pete Golding, who had been a defensive coordinator on Kiffin’s staff, took over at Ole Miss.

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


  • Jose Alvarado will return to the Knicks on a multiyear deal, AP source says


    NEW YORK (AP) — Jose Alvarado will return to the New York Knicks on a multiyear contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.

    Alvarado declined his player option and is working with the NBA champions on a three-year deal, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet finalized. ESPN first reported the plan, saying Alvarado would make more than $14 million with the new deal.

    The guard was acquired from New Orleans during the season and had a player option for $4.5 million for next season.

    “I’m home,” Alvarado wrote on X, ending his post with a series of orange and blue hearts.

    Alvarado indeed came home on Feb. 5 when the Knicks acquired the Brooklyn native who attended Christ the King High School. He was primarily a backup behind Jalen Brunson but was on the floor with the All-Star for most of the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 107-106 victory over San Antonio in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, when they made a record comeback from a 29-point deficit. Alvarado had eight points and three assists in the period.

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