Vernon Kay said he’s “loved working” on BBC Radio 2 as he jokingly started thinking about his exit from the broadcaster, after an on-air blunder led to him uttering a rude word by mistake

Vernon Kay said he’s “loved working” on BBC Radio 2 after an awkward mishap led to a warning from his colleague. His gaffe could be heard on yesterday’s broadcast of his mid-morning BBC Radio 2 show (July 14), as he revealed the contents of a message regarding a particular brand of footwear.

As he read it out, “Crocs” came out sounding uncomfortably close to a very different word, which would be inappropriate to utter on the airwaves, and the result was an immediate on-air .

Reading the message aloud, Vernon said: “Hey, Vern. I wear Crocs with socks. And they’re proper, not proper c***s…Crocs”, in a gaffe that sent the studio into fits of laughter.

He continued: “Oh, clip that. Clip that. I want that on my…not my highlights, my lowlights”. Barely able to contain his laughter, Vernon pressed on: “I hope you have got proper…Crocs, cos if you’ve not got proper Crocs, then you’re gonna be in trouble.”

His co-star, BBC Radio 2’s travel news presenter Ellie Brennan, mischievously cautioned: “You are gonna be in trouble.” Vernon then quipped: “I hope my Crocs work cos at our age, you never know.” As the hilarity ensued, his colleague chimed in with “especially with socks on”.

Vernon cheekily fired back: “No, keep your socks on; it’s safer.” As the pair struggled to get the show back on track, he jested: “I’ve loved working here. Thanks very much. Had a great time.”

The radio mishap also follows fresh attention on Vernon’s personal life after Tess Daly was photographed at the Wimbledon final wearing her wedding rings, despite the pair recently confirming their separation.

Their split was made public in May, with the TV stars clarifying that there’s no bad blood between them.

Back in September 2003, Vernon and Tess married at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Horwich. They’ve since had two daughters — Phoebe and Amber — and confirmed via Instagram that they’ve decided to split, saying the separation is amicable.

The statement read: “After much consideration, and with a deep sense of care and respect for one another, we have made the decision to separate amicably.”

It continued: “This has not been an easy choice, but it comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire for what is best for both of us.

“We remain great friends and most importantly, fully committed to our roles as loving and supportive parents, which will always be our priority.

“There are no other parties involved in this decision. We kindly ask for privacy during this time as we navigate this transition together.” The pair signed off by saying they wouldn’t be saying anything else publicly.

But on Sunday (July 12), Tess was spotted arriving at the All England Lawn Tennis Club for Wimbledon, where she was her still wearing her rings despite the sad news.

WASHINGTON — The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency should continue vehicle stops after recent fatal shootings, President Trump said on Wednesday, seeming to oppose a new suspension of the practice used as part of his immigration crackdown.

ICE is “doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done,” Trump wrote on his social media site.

The Republican president said that to remove criminals he claims were let into the country under the previous Democratic administration “we must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump said, “Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.”

Trump administration officials have told Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to suspend most vehicle stops after two deadly shootings within a week, people familiar with the decision said Tuesday.

The suspension was ordered after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver Monday in Maine and a week after another officer shot and killed a motorist in Houston, renewing criticism of the agency’s enforcement tactics that were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

In Florida on Tuesday, a third man in roughly a week died during an encounter with immigration officers. This time, a 28-year-old man was killed after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

It’s a narrative that has been repeated again and again since the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown began, with federal officers confronting drivers and then saying they opened fire when the drivers’ vehicles became a danger. That’s despite decades of warnings from policing experts that shooting into moving cars presents a danger of its own and should almost always be avoided.

At least 10 people have been killed during immigration operations since the start of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. At least four of those deaths involved people in vehicles, including the one last week in Houston, a trend so troubling that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Tuesday that she had urged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin “to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.”

John Sandweg, who was acting director at ICE, which is part of DHS, during President Obama’s Democratic administration, estimated recently that there have been roughly 18 traffic stop shootings during the Trump immigration crackdown.

The office of Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, was told by DHS that ICE was suspending traffic stops, office spokesperson Matthew Felling said.

ICE, which has been under pressure to beef up arrest and deportation numbers, often says people it’s trying to arrest are increasingly resistant to leaving their homes. ICE officers blame immigration advocates who advise immigrants to stay in their homes unless ICE produces a warrant signed by an independent judge instead of the administrative warrants the agency generally uses that are signed by another ICE officer. So, ICE officers say, they’re forced to find other areas in which to make arrests.

Shooting angers Maine

Hundreds of people in Maine protested Tuesday over the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national. Advocacy groups said Guerrero, who had a wife and a young daughter, was authorized to work in the United States.

DHS said Monday that an officer, “fearing for public safety,” shot and killed Durán Guerrero while officers were watching the home of someone they believed was in the U.S. illegally and facing a final order of removal from the country. It said in a post on X that when ICE tried to stop a car driven by someone who came from the home, the person attempted to flee in the vehicle and the officer fired.

That was a shift from how King earlier described the encounter, when he said Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon. King said Mullin told him the officers were trying to serve an arrest warrant but not for the man who was shot.

In a scathing post on X, outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the shooting a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”

Petro, who has openly quarreled with Trump, urged Trump to provide an explanation and accused ICE officers of treating Durán Guerrero as “an inferior being without rights.”

In Wednesday’s social media post, Trump told ICE to be “judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.”

Maine’s congressional delegation on Tuesday demanded a “comprehensive, transparent, and expedited investigation.”

Questions surround the shooting

Photos showed bullet holes in Durán Guerrero’s car windshield, but the officers involved in the shooting didn’t have body cameras, leaving many questions. Among them are how close the officer was to the vehicle when shooting, whether officers told Durán Guerrero to stop and why ICE believes he had put the public in danger.

Border czar Tom Homan told reporters Tuesday that the investigation needs to play out and that officers will be held accountable if they are found to have acted inappropriately or illegally.

Maine’s attorney general’s office, which said it is working with federal agencies to investigate, said initial statements suggest the driver was trying to flee in the direction of the officer, whose name hasn’t been released and who was placed on leave.

Collins said Mullin told her the DHS inspector general is investigating in cooperation with the FBI.

Democrats seeking to unseat Collins in November have sought to connect her with ICE’s methods, which have drawn public scrutiny and derision. Collins later said in a statement that although ICE needs to improve, eliminating the agency would make the nation less safe.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who is vying for Collins’ seat, called the ICE officers at the shooting “thugs” during a vigil Tuesday in Lewiston.

Superville, Whittle, Brook, Santana and Sisak write for the Associated Press.

Prosecutors in Milan have requested that a sports fraud case against Gianluca Rocchi, the man in charge of assigning referees in Italy’s top flight, be dismissed.

The former international referee suspended himself in April after being placed under investigation for “complicity in sporting fraud” during the 2024-25 season.

Rocchi, the National Referees Commission’s referee designator for Serie A and Serie B, has always protested his innocence.

According to Italian news agency Ansa,, external prosecutors concluded after a two-year inquiry that there was no evidence of match-fixing, saying they did not “identify a structured system aimed at interfering with appointments”.

It was claimed that Rocchi was behind the selection of a referee for an Inter Milan game as he was “liked by Inter”.

A video assistant referee decision not to intervene when an Inter player elbowed an opponent in another game was also under scrutiny.

The simultaneous case against Inter has been dropped as well.

Rocchi was also accused of pressuring a VAR official to encourage a referee to check on the pitchside monitor for a handball offence during Udinese’s 1-0 win over Parma in March last year.

The referee and VAR official had already decided not to award a penalty but changed their minds, it is claimed, leading to Florian Thauvin scoring the only goal of the game.

Prosecutors have now forwarded the case documents to the sports justice authorities and the Italian Olympic Committee’s General Prosecutor’s Office to assess whether any disciplinary breaches within a sporting context may have occurred.

Sporting fraud is a criminal offence in Italy and carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

Ali al-Zaidi met US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday as Iraq’s prime minister. He carried the title. The power was another matter.

Eleven weeks earlier, after months of paralysis, the Shia alliance which is known as the Coordination Framework had taken just 25 minutes to choose him. That sudden consensus was forged under intense pressure from Washington DC.

The United States Treasury had frozen Iraq’s dollar lifeline, the cash shipments that fly from New Jersey to the Central Bank of Iraq. Nouri al-Maliki, a former prime minister, and the top contender to return to the premiership had to abandon his plans because of Washington’s veto.

Al-Zaidi, a 40-year-old banker with no political base, was the man left standing.His lack of an established political base is part of his usefulness. He owes his position less to Baghdad’s ballot box than to the pressure exerted by Trump’s Treasury.The banker’s own ledger is not clear.

In 2024, Iraq’s Central Bank barred al-Zaidi’s own institution, Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, from US-dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown intended to curb illicit dollar flows to Iran. He was never charged. Neither the bank nor the man is currently sanctioned. But the file exists. Its existence could give Washington another source of leverage should al-Zaidi drag his feet.

The real power in Baghdad now sits in one man’s portfolio. Tom Barrack holds three titles at once: ambassador to Turkiye, envoy to Syria, and now envoy to Iraq. His influence rests less on diplomacy than on Washington’s financial leverage over Baghdad. Iraq’s oil revenue sits in an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In April, Washington blocked a cash shipment of nearly $500m drawn from those revenues and suspended parts of its security cooperation. Oil funds roughly 90 percent of Iraq’s budget. Barrack does not need to threaten military force when the administration he represents can reach directly into the financial system on which the Iraqi state depends.

Washington’s demand that Iraq bring all armed factions under state control remains far from resolved. Shia Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr dissolved his Saraya al-Salam militia in late May. Other militias such as Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali have announced steps towards handing over their weapons or placing them under fuller state control. That is real movement. But Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, the two factions most tightly bound to Tehran, have rejected full disarmament. In their own words, their weapons are not for bargaining. Washington has answered in kind. US strikes killed dozens of Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters this spring; the Treasury has sanctioned seven militia commanders by name. Baghdad has set September 30 as its disarmament deadline, the same date on which the remaining US forces are expected to leave Iraq. Whether the hardest factions bend by then remains the open question that Washington has yet to answer honestly.

Even Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s authority has limits here, as it always has. Al-Sistani’s 2014 fatwa built the PMF’s founding myth. But his call was for men to defend Iraq under the state’s command, not to form independent militias. The hardline factions never answered to Najaf. They answer to Tehran. al-Sistani’s own representative in Karbala has also pressed publicly for exclusive state control of weapons. His influence remains significant, but it has never extended to full control over these factions, and the current standoff is making that reality harder to ignore.

The prize Washington actually wants, however, lies underground. Chevron is negotiating an expanded role in Iraq’s oil sector, while other US companies are pursuing contracts in gas, electricity and export infrastructure. Baghdad wants production up from 4.5 million barrels a day to 7 million within three years, though doing so would require a substantially larger OPEC quota. Western Iraq’s gas reserves, largely untapped, could one day elevate the country into a dominant regional energy player and exporter. This is the potential bonanza al-Zaidi is being asked to unlock in exchange for the loyalty Washington is seeking.

Kurdistan’s place in this emerging arrangement is still unclear. Barrack has called the old Baghdad-Erbil federal model outright “Balkanization”, a structure he blames for letting Iran fill the vacuum. Yet the same envoy spent much of June pressing the prime minister of the Kurdish region, Masrour Barzani, to reactivate the Kurdistan parliament and form a new cabinet, not dissolve it. Read together, these positions suggest a clear message: Washington wants a functioning, cooperative Kurdistan region, firmly inside Washington’s orbit, not an autonomous wildcard and not a vassal of Baghdad’s sectarian blocs either.

Stripped of diplomatic varnish, Washington’s vision for Iraq is this: no militias operating outside the state; no Iranian veto over Iraqi policy; no single sect running the table from Baghdad; a Western economic orientation locked in by contracts, not sentiment; American energy firms as the primary beneficiaries; and a prime minister who answers, in practice, to Tom Barrack before he answers to his own parliament. Whether Iraq is pressured towards the Abraham Accords, whether the old nationalist and Ba’athist-adjacent currents find any oxygen again, whether sectarian parties actually lose their seats at the ballot box, these remain predictions, not settled facts.

What is clear is simpler and starker. Iraq spent two decades as the ground on which Iran and America fought indirectly, through proxies and sanctions. It is now becoming something else: a state whose oil, banking system and militias are all being renegotiated at once under intense US pressure. At the centre of this transformation is a banker-premier chosen in twenty-five minutes and now expected to deliver by September 30.

The Gulf model, from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to Manama, Kuwait, Doha and Muscat, took decades to lock in. Trump’s Washington wants to compress Iraq’s version into a single presidential term. Whether Baghdad survives that compression intact, or merely changes which capital it answers to, is the question al-Zaidi’s visit left unresolved.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Artist Vija Celmins and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will be honored at Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s upcoming Art + Film Gala, the first to be hosted after the spring opening of LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries.

Now in its 15th year, the glitzy annual event co-hosted by Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio is set to take place Nov. 7. If the museum follows the blueprint it implemented with its Geffen Galleries opening party, the evening’s festivities will unfold in a posh tent beside the new building with a cocktail hour at the base of Peter Zumthor’s concrete creation.

With LACMA still in the international limelight, this year’s Art + Film gala is poised to be its most high-profile yet, enabling it to further its mission of creating connections between the city’s thriving arts and cinema ecosystems. Celmins and Villeneuve certainly live up to the hype. The former, 87, is a pioneer in photo-realistic paintings of natural settings and objects; the latter is an Oscar-nominated director and filmmaker whose projects include the “Dune” movies as well as the upcoming James Bond film for Amazon MGM Studios.

“This year, we are honoring two icons of visual creativity. Whether in painting, drawing, printmaking or other media, Vija Celmins’ exacting renderings of the natural world blend realism and imagination, resulting in sublimely beautiful works,” Michael Govan, LACMA’s director and chief executive, said in a news release. “Likewise, Denis Villeneuve’s meticulously crafted worlds give his films an unforgettable visual impact, from contemplative and cerebral stories to global blockbusters. It will be a privilege for LACMA to honor both of these artists and their extraordinary careers in November.”

Over the years LACMA’s Art + Film Gala has featured a high-profile list of respected artists and filmmakers, including Simone Leigh, Baz Luhrmann, Judy Baca, David Fincher, Helen Pashgian, Park Chan-wook, Amy Sherald, Kehinde Wiley, Steven Spielberg, Betye Saar, Alfonso Cuarón, Catherine Opie and Guillermo del Toro.

Last year’s event, held in honor of Mary Corse and Ryan Coogler, netted a record $6.5 million in support of the museum and its programs.

People have been told that the more intense checks have ‘an upside’ after arriving

Brits visiting Gibraltar now face new rules, including security screening and passport scrutiny, when landing in the British Overseas Territory. Travel journalist Simon Calder reported for The Telegraph that new rules came into force from today, July 15, as part of a post-Brexit deal.⁠

The UK-EU agreement to create an open land border between Gibraltar and Spain has been signed in Brussels – and was brought into effect from Wednesday. It will make Gibraltar effectively part of Europe’s passport-free Schengen Zone, with the removal of checkpoints and border fences.⁠

But the changes introduce tighter border controls at Gibraltar’s airport. On arrival at Joshua Hassan Gibraltar International Airport, Brits should expect two new sets of checks, which will satisfy entry into Gibraltar and the Schengen Area:

• Gibraltar entry immigration controls – performed by the Gibraltar authorities
• Schengen entry immigration controls – performed by the Spanish authorities

This includes registration under the Entry/Exit System (EES) where it applies. All of the updated entry requirements for tourists can be found on the GOV.UK website here.

The main page reads: “To enter Gibraltar, your [full UK] passport must have been issued within the previous 10 years and its validity must extend for at least three months after the day you intend to leave Gibraltar or the Schengen Area.”

If you are a British–Irish dual national and travel on your Irish passport, you will be treated as an EU citizen on entry to Gibraltar and the Schengen Area. You will not be subject to the 90-day limits, EES or ETIAS. If you travel on your British passport, the conditions above apply.

What were the rules before July 15?

Before July 15, 2026, UK citizens visiting Gibraltar did not have their stay count toward the Schengen Area’s 90-day limit, and they only faced a single immigration check handled solely by Gibraltarian authorities upon arrival. Because the provisional UK-EU Gibraltar Agreement had not yet taken effect, Gibraltar operated entirely outside of the Schengen rules

UK nationals could visit Gibraltar for up to 90 days without a visa. Passports simply needed to be valid for the duration of the intended stay. But from today, tourists visiting the territory bordering Spain will face new rules.

What are the new ‘rules’?

As explained by Simon, he said: “From this summer, it gets a bit trickier to reach [Gibraltar] for British passport holders. The British Overseas Territory is not joining the Schengen area, but the effect for UK passport holders is the same.

On arrival in the Rock, you will be checked by Spanish passport officials to make sure that your passport meets those tricky rules on expiry and issue dates. They’ll also want to know if you’ve spent more than 90 days in the last 180 days in the Schengen area, and any time you spend in Gibraltar will count towards that total.”

With these new checks, Simon adds that there will be “an upside”. He claims that, with these stronger checks carried out in the airport upon arrival, visitors are considered inside the ‘frontier free zone’ and could travel straight into Spain without stopping again.

Less than 48 hours after the earthquakes of June 24, X (formerly Twitter) users mentioned that a Japanese team did a study on seismic risk in Caracas in the early 21st century. That’s true. In March 2005, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the primary government agency responsible for managing Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), released the report Basic Plan for Disaster Prevention in the Metropolitan District of Caracas in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The technical report presented a Disaster Prevention Plan as requested by the Venezuelan government. The plan’s goal was to save lives during an earthquake by minimizing asset damage and improving the State’s response capacity.

The study covered only three of the five municipalities that form Metropolitan Caracas: Libertador, Chacao, and Sucre, because the government committed to apply its conclusions to Baruta and El Hatillo. It did not consider what is currently called La Guaira state (Vargas back then).

The Japanese team was headed by Mitsuo Miura (Pacific Consultants International, PCI) and composed of staff members of PCI and OYO International Corporation. They visited Venezuela seven times, from December 2002 to March 2005, when they discussed the results with the Venezuelan officials and conducted field surveys. Upon returning to Japan, the team finished additional studies and prepared this final report.

The diagnosis

The study defined several scenarios to estimate risks, soil displacement, and potential damage. It projected that, in the worst case, a considerable number of buildings in Caracas, depending on their age and type, would collapse, with a high human cost. Only the ones built after 2002 showed high seismic capacity. Twenty years ago, those buildings made up no more than 0.1% of the studied area. 

On the other side, 98,237 buildings were vulnerable. Those built before 1967 (the year of the previous great earthquake in Venezuela) had low seismic capacity, while those built from 1968 to 2001 had a moderate capacity. Of the 1968-1982 buildings, 82% were made of brick and mortar. 

“The project will reduce the number of heavily damaged buildings from around 10,000 to around 1,300, and the number of casualties from around 4,900 to around 400 in the case of a 1967 earthquake.”

The Japanese team evaluated, using Japanese standards, office buildings, homes, bridges and viaducts, and established a range of risks in several seismic scenarios. After surveying the Metro tunnels and stations, they suggested reinforcing columns and structures, as well as adding resistant materials in the gas and water networks, and improving the structure of gas stations to avoid dangerous combustible spills. 

By 2005, shantytowns covered approximately 20% of Caracas’ urban area, and hosted 51.2% of the capital’s population. This study conducted, for the first time, seismic reinforcement tests on four full-scale models of the typical rancho. It demonstrated that the unengineered constructions have low seismic resistance and require reinforcement, as they could not withstand minor loads and showed failures in columns and connections. The bricks did not contribute significant resistance. If those homes were reinforced with beams, their resistance increased by 40% at an additional cost of 5% to 7%. 

The solution

Their plan recommended seven big tasks. To improve safety, reinforce buildings and bridges, control the flux of sediments, and relocate the population living in high-risk areas. To improve response, implement early alert systems and emergency command centers. And to improve coordination, educate the population and stimulate citizen participation. By that time, local technologies made all these projects possible.

“The project”, they assured in the report, “will reduce the number of heavily damaged buildings from around 10,000 to around 1,300, and the number of casualties from around 4,900 to around 400 in the case of a 1967 earthquake.”

There was no plan, no authorities, no clear responsibilities to allow Venezuela’s capital and most populated city to coordinate the response in case of a disaster, the Japanese warned.

When they did the calculations back in 2005, they estimated the plan would cost around 2,800 million dollars (most of them to reinforce all the buildings that could be damaged in an earthquake) and would take 16 years to fully implement. So, if the Chávez and Maduro governments had done their part of the deal, Venezuela would have finished five years ago a seismic prevention and safety strategy in Caracas designed by the experts from a country that knows earthquakes as much as Japan, paying a quarter of the costs estimated for the 2026 earthquakes.

The Japanese team also recommended an early alert system for landslides, to be developed from 2005 to 2007, with a cost of one million dollars. This was meant to protect 19,000 Venezuelans.

The responsibilities

The Venezuelan entities involved in the plan would be the ministries of Public Works and Housing, Transportation, and Planning and Development; the Caracas Metropolitan Mayor’s office; the capital’s five municipalities; and the National Civil Protection and Disaster Management Organization (Protección Civil). 

But by 2005, only a civil protection law from 2001 defined some of the corresponding responsibilities. The capital’s Disaster Prevention Administration was being developed. As the Japanese experts warned in their report, there was no plan, no authorities, no clear responsibilities to allow Venezuela’s capital and most populated city to coordinate the response in case of a disaster.

When Japan’s JICA delivered the report to Hugo Chávez, the area under assessment had 17 firefighter stations, 15 municipal police stations, 17 civil protection stations and two emergency control centers. Since then, the only visible change for the inhabitants is the increase of National Police (PMB) command centers.

On June 24, 2026, three buildings went down in Chacao municipality, and inspections are being made to assess the structural damage of several more. In Libertador municipality, at least two residential towers collapsed in San Bernardino, and there’s important damage across the city. In parts of Petare, in Sucre municipality, where many buildings are ranchos, an undetermined number of lodgings collapsed totally or partially, and basic services are not available in some places.

Many foreign crews came to help, especially in La Guaira. One of them is a new research team with seven JICA specialists that arrived in Caracas four days after the earthquakes to design the support measures Japan would contribute to. On June 30, after a request from the interim government, Japan sent tents, water tanks and purification equipment, and erected two campaign hospitales, one in Caraballeda, in the middle of the disaster zone in La Guaira, and another by the Dr. Domingo Luciani Hospital in Caracas.

Besides this, Miyamoto International, a Japanese organization of disaster prevention engineering, came to assess earthquakes’ impact. The team is headed by the famous engineer Hideki “Kit” Miyamoto, the organization’s founder and director. He said they are talking with the Japanese government and reviewing the previous reports. Maybe they will issue a new body of knowledge like the 2005 investigation by JICA. Let’s hope that, this time, the Japanese expertise will be used.

While every World Cup introduces viewers to new young stars, this tournament featured eight players who were older than 40 — one more than the number of over-40 players in the previous 22 World Cups combined.

Among them were Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, and Mexico’s Memo Ochoa, 40, who were playing in their sixth World Cups alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi, a relative youngster at 39. No one has played in more men’s World Cups.

But while Ronaldo and Ochoa have gone home, Messi will be playing in his third semifinal in four tournaments Wednesday when Argentina, the reigning champion, faces England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The newfound longevity of elite soccer players has been made possible by advances in sports medicine, diet and analytics that measure everything from biomechanics and heart rate to muscular output and sleep cycles, all in real time. And injuries that once ended careers can now be repaired through outpatient procedures.

Argentina star Lionel Messi holds his jersey up and celebrates with teammates after a World Cup quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.

(David Ramos / Getty Images)

“Over the past 10, 20 years, the sports science within the game has changed a lot,” said Liam Anderson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Birmingham in England, who has worked as an applied practitioner in top-flight professional soccer for more than a decade.

“Players are now definitely more aware of their bodies and I think the professionalism has changed quite a lot as well. But they’re also in tune with the things which are helping them recover, manage their training load and ultimately stay fitter and healthier for longer.”

Gone are the days when chain-smoking Dutch legend Johan Cruyff would light up a cigarette on the bench, French world champion Zinedine Zidane would smoke in the locker room and George Best would party and drink so hard he would disappear for days at a time.

“There’s a couple of reasons,” Dr. Michael Joyner, a specialist in the physiology of elite athletes at the Mayo Clinic, said of the growing lifespan of soccer players. “The first is that people just make a lot more money and as a result, there’s tremendous incentive to keep playing. The second is people are taking much better care of themselves.”

“You just don’t hear about people like George Best anymore,” said Joyner, speaking for himself and not the clinic where he works.

“Diet is huge,” Anderson added. “High-protein diets and fueling with carbohydrates for matches. Nutritional strategies have changed considerably in the last 10-15 years.”

And those diets are tailored by position since a midfielder, who may run more than seven miles in a match, burns more calories than a goalkeeper.

As the eldest player in Major League Soccer, Diego Chara has had to make some concessions to age.

“It’s a little detailed,” said Chara, a midfielder with the Portland Timbers. “Talking about recovery time, it maybe takes a little bit longer than before. Nutrition. Working in the gym, it’ll be longer than other players.”

But if Chara, 40, is an old man in a league where the average age is younger than 26, he would have been something of whippersnapper in this summer’s World Cup.

The Portland Timbers’ Diego Chará passes the ball under pressure from the Columbus Crew’s Wessam Abou Ali on Feb. 21in Portland, Ore.

(Amanda Loman / Associated Press)

Soccer isn’t the only sport in which 40 is the new 30.

Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon this summer at age 44 and at least half a dozen athletes 40 and older showed up at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last February hoping to medal. Four of them succeeded, including American Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, who became the oldest athlete to win an individual gold in Winter Olympics history in the women’s monobob.

It isn’t unheard of for athletes to be golden in their golden years. Ted Williams hit .316 at 41 and Gordie Howe played 80 games and had 41 points in his final NHL season at 52. Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter and pitched 173 innings at 44 while Tom Brady quarterbacked the Tampa Bay Bucs to a Super Bowl title at 43.

But if those age-defying performances were outliers, playing into your mid-40s and even early 50s may soon become, if not common, at least less unusual.

“People are just staying in better shape, taking care of themselves,” Joyner said. “Career-changing or career-ending injuries are no longer career-ending injuries. It just goes on and on, all of this stuff combined.”

American Serena Williams, 44, serves against Australian Maya Joint during a match at Wimbledon on June 30.

(Cameron Spencer / Getty Images)

State-of-the-art training centers and access to top-line sports medicine have also become more accessible, even in poor countries.

“The elite level has spread and really become global, as opposed to where there used to be pockets,” Joyner said. “The opportunities to compete are so great.”

Few team sports are as physically demanding as soccer, though, which makes both the growing number of seasoned citizens and their performances noteworthy. Messi has averaged nearly a game a week for club and country during the past 23 years, yet he entered the semifinals of this tournament tied for the scoring lead with France’s Kylian Mbappé, who is 12 years younger.

Ronaldo has played even more games yet he became the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout game when his penalty kick helped eliminate Croatia and midfielder Luka Modric, who will be 41 in less than two months.

“They’ve probably lost a little bit off the top, but their experience and their mind make up for that,” said Scott Trappe, a professor of human bioenergetics at Ball State. “So the overall package of them as a sports person is really they’re contributing at a high level. I think we’re going to continue to see this movement.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring a World Cup group stage goal against Uzbekistan on June 23 in Houston.

(Charlotte Wilson / Getty Images)

“They like playing the sport and as long as they can and contribute and they make these teams, they’re going to do it. I don’t see the trend going away.”

And that will not only change the way we think of sports and athletes, it will completely rewrite the record book. Messi, for instance, entered the semifinals of this World Cup as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals. But that was just one ahead of Mbappé, who could appear in another three or four World Cups.

“No question,” Trappe said. “You look what’s going on in pro cycling. We’ve got some guys in their upper 30s competing in the Tour de France, but we also have a teenager competing. So this lifespan, what used to be a five- to eight-year period for cycling at the at the highest levels is turning out to be, you know, double or triple that.”

Both Messi and Ronaldo have benefited from how they play as well, walking rather running for long stretches of the game to conserve energy for the burst they need to lose a defender. It’s a strategy Mbappé, Norway’s Erling Haaland and other young players have adopted and if they do that over enough games, the wear and tear it saves could add years to the end of their careers.

“We are expanding. The age will start moving up a little bit further up and players’ careers will definitely be longer,” Anderson said. “The sort of normal distribution of playing age will begin to move forward and that experience within the squad will be key.’

Argentina’s Lionel Messi dribbles the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal match against Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.

(Charlie Riedel / Ap Photo/charlie Riedel)

Consider Wednesday’s semifinalists. In its quarterfinal win, Argentina used six players older than 32 and two — Messi and defender Nicolas Otamendi — who are over 38. The spine of England’s team runs from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford through defender John Stones to striker Harry Kane, who are all 32.

“We’re coming up with new ways on how to improve and maximizing potential,” Anderson said. “God gave us what we are and it’s maximizing that, not necessarily changing that.”

That knowledge won’t stay in the stadiums and locker rooms for long, expanding to others who choose to adopt the same wellness discipline as professional athletes.

“It cycles down,” Trappe said. “We’re studying that in the lab at a pretty high level. This sort of healthy lifestyle in terms of functionality and extending into our later years and having a higher quality life, there’s data starting to emerge there.

“These types of things are going to trickle into that for sure.”

United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to address a defence summit at the US Army War College on Wednesday, where he is expected to laud US investments in its armed forces that he has argued have helped add a new edge to history’s most powerful military.

But his speech comes at a time when the US’s war on Iran has significantly depleted the US military’s weapons stockpile.

The summit, which will be held in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, comes as the US has re-ignited attacks on Iran in the past week, and as Trump has threatened to continue a war that, according to recent US polls, is highly unpopular among Americans facing high costs of living.

The US has expended half of at least four of its most critical munitions since its war on Iran began on February 28, and has racked up billions of dollars in weapons expenses, analysis shows.

Replenishing low stockpiles could take anywhere between several months and several years. Analysts warn that a shrinking arsenal could put the US in a less formidable position in a potential future conflict – particularly against China.

Here’s what we know about the US weapons inventory:

What’s happening with the US-Iran war?

Following an April ceasefire between the US and Iran, and the subsequent signing of a memorandum of understanding in June, the conflict kicked off again after the US Central Command launched heavy waves of attacks on Iran’s military sites last Wednesday, saying it was aiming to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities. Huge, hourlong attacks have continued for four nights since Sunday, including on railway tracks and bridges.

Both sides traded low-intensity attacks throughout the ceasefire period. However, the US escalated air attacks last week after Iran fired on three commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz – because those vessels had used a shipping route not approved by Tehran.

Each blames the other for violating the ceasefire, and at last week’s NATO leaders’ summit, Trump declared the pact with Iran over, although he said American negotiators could continue talks. Washington has also reinstated a naval blockade on Iran-linked ships trying to transit the waterway and has re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has responded with retaliatory attacks on US military assets in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

More than a dozen people have been killed in Iran since the new wave of US attacks, including civilians.

“We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate,” Trump threatened in a Fox News interview that aired on Tuesday.

Attacking civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law.

Does the US have enough weapons to keep attacking Iran?

Washington’s supplies are running low but have not reached a critical level, according to analysis of the US weapons inventory by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank.

In the 39 days of conflict between the start of the US-Iran war in February and the ceasefire in April, the US hit more than 13,000 targets, focusing mainly on using seven of its most powerful missiles and air defence systems: Tomahawk missiles, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), Standard Missile-6 (SM-6), Terminal High Altitude Area Defenses (THAAD) and Patriots.

For at least four of the munitions, Washington likely expended more than half of its available stockpiles, although many lower-grade alternatives are still in stock, according to CSIS. Government data on weapons inventory is classified.

Here’s how the munitions were used:

• Tomahawks – The US had about 3,000 of the long-range missiles that are fired from sea at ground targets. It likely used up more than 1,000 in the war on Iran.
• JASSM – About 4,000 of these stealthy, air-launched long-range missiles were in the US inventory before the war. About 1,100 were used in the war on Iran.
• PrSM – Supplies of the newly delivered, ground-launched long-range missiles were already low to start with, with deliveries since 2023 amounting to a total of 90. An estimated 40-70 were used in the war. One US military official claimed that the “entire” inventory had been expended.
• SM- 3 – The most expensive weapon per unit at $28m, these ship-launched ballistic missile interceptors numbered about 410 before the war. The US has used between 130 and 250 of these in the war on Iran.
• SM-6 – Also ship-launched, this missile is mainly used to intercept aircraft and cruise missiles. The US had about 1,160 stockpiled. An estimated 190- 370 have been expended in the Iran war.
• THAAD – The US had about 360 of the costly anti-ballistic missile systems by April, and between 190 and 290 were used in the war. The US has a total of 8 THAAD units or “batteries” consisting of launchers, interceptors, and radar systems.
• Patriot – An estimated 2,330 Patriots were in stock before the war, but between 1,060 and 1,430 have been expended. Some older versions may also likely be available – about 400 of them.

What does this mean?

Analysts from CSIS say that while the US may have enough to continue hitting Iran in the near-term war, it has reduced its stockpiles so significantly that it may not have enough for potential future wars, especially against a formidable rival like China.

Replenishing high-capability and costly weapons like the ones the US has used in Iran will likely take several years.

Trump and senior administration officials have publicly maintained that the US has an “unlimited” supply of weapons as the US-Iran war has raged on.

However, in March, Trump said administration officials met with the heads of US manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, BAE Systems, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Missile Solutions, and Northrop Grumman. He said all promised to “quadruple” production and that increased manufacturing was already under way.

Subsequently, in June, Trump signed the Defense Production Act, an executive order compelling US weapons manufacturers to speed up production, citing existing conditions “which may pose a direct threat to the national defense or its preparedness programs”.

An order compelling private actors to ramp up production likely reflects timeline concerns within the Pentagon, analysts note.

In the short term, Washington is also unlikely to meet demands from its allies, and may not have the capacity to supply the THAADs and Patriots that Ukraine says are crucial in its war against Russia.

Already, supply orders have hit road bumps. Japan’s order of 400 Tomahawks from Raytheon was meant to be delivered between 2025 and 2027, but US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in May that two more years could be added to the schedule.

Meanwhile, Switzerland began negotiations with France, Israel and South Korea in June to buy another missile defence system after its 2022 order from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon continued to face delays.

How long will replenishing weapons take?

Hegseth said in May that it could take “months and years” to replenish the supplies, based on the weapons system.

Analysts reckon it could take the US between one and four years to get its most exquisite munitions stockpiles back to pre-Iran war levels, even as Trump has boasted that new weapons plants are being built around the US and production is being ramped up.

Trump’s administration is set to buy large amounts of advanced munitions in its proposed $1.5 trillion 2027 defence budget – a 44 percent increase from 2026’s defence budget.

According to CSIS, estimated timelines to replenish the seven critical munitions, based on existing production facilities, are:

• Tomahawk: Between 4- 5 years (207 will be delivered in 2026, while 785 have been requested for 2027).
• JASSM: 1 year (821 to be delivered in 2026 and 821 requested for 2027).
• PrSM:  8 months (70 to be delivered in 2026 and 1,134 requested for 2027).
• SM- 3:  3 years ( 52 to be delivered in 2026 and 214 requested for 2027).
• SM-6:  3 years (125 to be delivered in 2026, and 540 requested for 2027).
• THAAD: 3 to 3.5 years (92 to be delivered in 2026, and 857 requested for 2027).
• Patriot: 3 years (172 to be delivered in 2026, and 3202 requested for 2027).

At least 28 people have been killed since protests began in June, as the region braces for a major protest march.

Islamabad, Pakistan – At least nine people were killed in clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, as a planned protest march to the region’s capital, Muzaffarabad, temporarily stalled amid rising tensions.

Security personnel raided a house on the outskirts of Rawalakot town in the region’s Poonch district after receiving a tip-off about a weapons cache, but came under fire, officials said. An officer was killed.

In a separate clash in Sudhnoti district, protesters blocked a security convoy, which officials said came under a barrage of stones and gunfire. Seven protesters and a police officer were killed, according to authorities. Police officials have said that security personnel acted in self-defence.

Deadly protests have periodically rocked the region since the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a group that is leading a major protest movement, was proscribed under anti-terrorism laws on June 5.

Protesters wait in Rawalkot before march on Muzaffarabad

Meanwhile, protesters gathered under the JAAC’s umbrella were still in Rawalkot on Wednesday evening, despite announcing they would set off at 2pm on Wednesday, officials told Al Jazeera. The government has severely restricted internet and phone access in the region, making it harder to reach the protesters directly.

Munir Qureshi, deputy commissioner of Muzaffarabad, said the situation in the capital and surrounding areas was calm.

“Muzaffarabad and its adjoining areas are all clear, and there is no disturbance to public life,” he told Al Jazeera. “Internet access is limited due to the security situation, but otherwise the situation is normal and there is no protest or violence.”

Liaqat Ali Malik, inspector general of police for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), told Al Jazeera the crowd in Rawalakot was estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000 people.

“There has been no violence today,” he said.

But tensions continue to simmer. The current unrest stems from a long-running dispute over political representation.

Political dispute

At the centre of the dispute are 12 seats in the region’s legislature reserved for Kashmiri refugees who migrated to Pakistan after 1947 and now live outside the region.

The JAAC argues the arrangement allows Pakistan-based political parties to influence the government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir while diverting development funds intended for the region.

Last month, the Supreme Court of the region ruled that the seats are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment, a decision that hardened the group’s protest campaign.

Elections in the region are scheduled for July 27.

At least 28 people have been killed since protests began on June 4, according to officials, while 79 have been injured.

Authorities said about 4,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed across the region before the planned march to Muzaffarabad.

Khan, the Poonch commissioner, said marchers would not be allowed to pass through Rawalakot and would instead have to use mountain trails to reach Muzaffarabad.

Loose Women star Judi Love was visibly emotional as she paid tribute to chef Dom Taylor.

Loose Women star Judi Love paid tribute to a colleague minutes into the ITV programme.

The comedian struggled to hold back tears as she was consoled by her co-stars.

Judi had returned to Loose Women following a brief absence, with fellow presenters Christine Lampard, Kelly Brook and Janet Street-Porter giving her a warm welcome back.

But she had some heartbreaking news to share with viewers. Judi began: “Life, highs and lows.”

She spoke about her recent tour, having sold out Hammersmith Apollo, saying: “That was amazing, it was such a beautiful night. As a comedian, that’s something that you dream of doing so actually doing it and selling out as a solo artist was phenomenal.”

She continued: “But life has its highs and it has its lows, and one of the lows that’s just only happened over the weekend is I lost a dear friend and a colleague, Dominic Taylor.”

Judi paid tribute to the “phenomenal” chef, who worked on her show, Our Table.

She said: “I remember first meeting him and tasting his food and it was amazing, it was a dream to work with him so when he said yes, that he would do my show, I was beyond happy,” reports the Express.

She added: “I just want to send my love to all of his close friends and his family, we’re here for you. We’ll never forget you, Dominic.”

Judi went on: “It reminds you to spend time with the ones you love and appreciate the small things so, it’s a beauty in the midst of all of that I’m back here with you.”

Tributes have been paid to TV chef Dom Taylor, who won Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef in 2023, after he passed away “suddenly”, according to a statement released by his team.

Their statement added: “Dom was a visionary whose bold, joyful approach to celebrating the Caribbean cuisine of his childhood brought a fresh and exciting voice to London’s restaurant scene.

“His passion, talent and generosity touched so many people, and his legacy will continue to inspire those who had the privilege of knowing him and experiencing his food.

“His passion, talent and generosity touched so many people, and his legacy will continue to inspire those who had the privilege of knowing him and experiencing his food.”

Among those paying tribute in the comments, Fred Sirieix shared: “So sad.”

One fan wrote: “I didn’t know Chef Dom Taylor personally, but the meal I had at The Good Front Room at the Langham’s Palm Court for my birthday was unforgettable. Hearing this news has truly shocked me. My condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and all the patrons who loved his work. May he rest in eternal peace.”

Another added: “Dom gave me my first ever job/job in the cheffing world and taught me so much. So sad to hear this news and sending lots of love to family, friends, and staff during this heartbreaking time.”

Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Spain advances to World Cup final

From Kevin Baxter: In a World Cup boasting a galaxy of stars, a lunch-bucket team of blue-collar everymen may wind up outshining them all.

Spain clinched a berth to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.

And it wasn’t even close. France came into the game with 16 goals, second only to Argentina in the tournament, then failed to put a shot on goal in the first 81 minutes.

It had Kylian Mbappé, who is tied with Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this summer and was the Golden Boot winner four years ago in Qatar. He was all but invisible until, frustrated, he felled Spanish keeper Unai Simón with a cheap shot in the final minutes, drawing a well-deserved yellow card.

France couldn’t even score into an open net, with Desire Doue lining a low shot right at a rapidly retreating Simón, who had come well off his line and left the goal unattended. For Simón, Tuesday’s clean sheet was his sixth in seven games in this tournament.

Continue reading here

How World Cup senior citizens like Lionel Messi have bio-hacked longer careers

Folarin Balogun says his red card controversy ‘didn’t help’ U.S. at World Cup

Norway star Erling Haaland left the U.S. with seven World Cup goals and a taxidermy raccoon, sparking a run on the item

World Cup semifinals schedule, results

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
Spain 2, France 0

Wednesday
England vs. Argentina, noon

Third-place match

France vs. England or Argentina, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Spain vs. England or Argentina, Sunday, noon

Cody Bellinger is MVP of AL’s All-Star game victory

Dylan Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter in a show of pitching dominance that led the American League to a 4-0 win over the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

All-Star most valuable player Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game’s only extra-base hit. Wrobleski struck out five in two innings.

Continue reading here

Shaikin: ‘You never know when it’s your last.’ Mike Trout savors every moment of this All-Star Game

All-Star game box score

MLB standings

USC extends deal with Nike

From Ryan Kartje: The Swoosh is staying at USC for the foreseeable future.

USC and Nike agreed this week to a 10-year extension of their all-sports apparel deal through 2036, the school announced on Tuesday.

Their partnership was already among the longest-running apparel deals in college athletics. Now it’s ensured to carry into its fifth decade.

Continue reading here

What do the Sparks do next?

From Marisa Ingemi: A day after general manager Raegan Pebley was fired, the Sparks were in Atlanta and seemingly still focused on trying to reach the playoffs this year.

The suggestion that Pebley’s removal was a sign that the team is performing poorly didn’t sit well with coach Lynne Roberts.

“I don’t think we underachieved last year and this year is still going,” Roberts said in Atlanta on Monday before the team’s loss to the Dream. “For where we want to get, that’s not where we want to be, but we tripled our win total in my first year — that’s not underachieving. We haven’t hit our stride, we’ve been injured all year. Hopefully we get [Kelsey Plum] and Cam [Brink] back. Our system is designed around KP. I’m not close to thinking we are underachieving.”

Continue reading here

Clippers probe should wrap up this summer

From Broderick Turner: NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated Tuesday night after the Board of Governors meeting that the investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by funneling money to Kawhi Leonard for an endorsement deal he allegedly never fulfilled still is not completed.

Silver said his “timeline remains this summer” to make his findings known after high-powered New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz wraps up its investigation and presents the findings to the NBA.

The investigation centers on a $28-million endorsement deal to Leonard from a company called Aspiration that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $60 million into.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1912 — Jim Thorpe wins the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics and, in the closing ceremony, Sweden’s King Gustav proclaims Thorpe the world’s greatest athlete.

1922 — Gene Sarazen shoots a final-round 68 to beat out Bobby Jones and John Black for the U.S. Open golf championship.

1923 — Amateur Bobby Jones beats Bobby Cruikshank by two strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open golf title.

1927 — Bobby Jones wins the British Open shooting a championship record 7-under 285 at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. It’s the second straight Open title for the amateur, who goes wire-to-wire for a six-stroke victory over Aubrey Boomer and Fred Dobson.

1945 — Byron Nelson defeats Sam Byrd in the final round of the PGA golf tournament.

1961 — Arnold Palmer shoots a 284 at Royal Birkdale to win his first British Open title.

1967 — Argentina’s Roberto DeVicenzo wins the British Open by two strokes over defending champion Jack Nicklaus.

1972 — Lee Trevino wins his second consecutive British Open title by beating Jack Nicklaus by one stroke.

1978 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a 281 at St. Andrews to win his third and final British Open.

1984 — Hollis Stacy wins her third U.S. Women’s Open golf title, beating Rosie Jones by one stroke.

1990 — Betsy King overcomes an 11-shot deficit over the final 33 holes to win her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open as Patty Sheehan blows an eight-shot lead over the final 23 holes.

1991 — Sandhi Ortiz-DelValle becomes the first woman to officiate a men’s pro basketball game, working a United States Basketball League game between the New Haven Skyhawks and the Philadelphia Spirit.

2000 — Lennox Lewis stops Francois Botha at 2:39 of the second round to retain his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles in London.

2007 — BYU star Daniel Summerhays becomes the first amateur winner in Nationwide Tour history. Summerhays scores a two-stroke victory over Chad Collins and Chris Nallen in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.

2007 — Copa América Final, Maracaibo, Venezuela: Defending champions Brazil win their 8th title with a 3-0 win over Argentina.

2010 — Rory McIlroy, a 21-year-old from Northern Ireland, ties the major championship record by shooting a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

2010 — Caster Semenya wins her first race since being cleared to return to competition after undergoing gender tests, winning the 800 meters in a modest time against a weak field at a low-key meet in Finland.

2018 — Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 6-2 7-6 (3) victory over Kevin Anderson. It’s Djokovic’s 13th major trophy, the fourth-highest total in the history of men’s tennis, trailing only Roger Federer’s 20, Rafael Nadal’s 17 and Pete Sampras’ 14. At No. 21, Djokovic is the lowest-ranked Wimbledon titlist since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.

2018 — France wins its second World Cup title with a 4-2 win over Croatia in a dramatic final in Moscow.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1901 — Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants pitched his first of two career no-hitters, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0.

1921 — NY Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record of 138 career home runs (held by Roger Connor since 1895).

1960 — Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson goes 5-for-5, hitting for the cycle and driving in three runs to lead the Orioles past the Chicago White Sox 5-2.

1969 — Cincinnati’s Lee May hit four home runs in a doubleheader split with the Atlanta Braves. May had two home runs and drove in five runs in both games. The Reds lost the opener 9-8 but won the second game 10-4.

1969 — Rod Carew stole home off Chicago’s Gerry Nyman in the Minnesota Twins’ 6-2 victory. It was Carew’s seventh steal of home for the year and tied Pete Reiser’s 1946 major league mark.

1973 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels struck out 17 batters and threw his second no-hitter of the year, beating Detroit 6-0.

1980 — Johnny Bench broke Yogi Berra’s record for home runs by a catcher, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Montreal Expos 12-7. Bench hit his 314th homer as a catcher off David Palmer. Bench had 33 home runs while playing other positions.

1997 — The San Francisco Giants scored 13 runs to set a modern NL record for runs in a seventh inning en route to a 16-2 rout of the San Diego Padres. The Giants set the NL record for the most runs in a seventh inning since 1900.

1999 — After 22½ years in the dreary Kingdome, Seattle finally played a home game outdoors, moving into a $517.6 million ballpark with a retractable roof. Jose Mesa wasted a ninth-inning lead by walking four batters and the Mariners lost 3-2 to the San Diego Padres in Safeco Field’s opener.

2003 — Garret Anderson of the Angels went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double, powering the American League past the National League 7-6 in the All-Star Game.

2005 — Baltimore’s Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th player to reach 3,000 hits with an RBI double into the left-field corner off Joel Pineiro in the fifth inning of a 6-3 win over Seattle. Palmeiro joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 homers.

2007 — The Philadelphia Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10-2 to St. Louis. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and later unofficially called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.

2008 — Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. The AL extended its unbeaten streak to 12.

2014 — With Derek Jeter going out a winner in his last All-Star appearance, Mike Trout drove in two runs with a triple and a double to lead the American League past the National League 5-3. Jeter started his 14th and final midsummer classic and went 2 for 2 before being removed in the top of the fourth inning.

2017 — Cody Bellinger became the first Dodgers rookie to hit for the cycle and Alex Wood became the first Dodgers pitcher in more than a century to win his first 11 decisions in a season, helping Los Angeles beat the Miami Marlins 7-1.

2021 — Tampa Bay catcher Travis d’Arnaud becomes first player in MLB history to hit three homers while catching and batting leadoff in the Rays’ 5-4 win over the NY Yankees.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

July 15 (UPI) — Britain announced plans Wednesday for a midnight social media curfew for older teens aimed at preventing them from staying up late into the night on apps such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, with the new measures expected to take effect in Spring 2027.

Targeted at 16- and 17-year-olds and following on from a full social media ban for children younger than 16 announced in June, the package of measures calls for a 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. curfew to be set by default within the apps and that other “addictive features” such as autoplay and customized feeds be automatically disabled, the government said in a news release.

However, unlike the total ban for under-16s, restrictions on the older teens will be discretionary, meaning they will be able to override them, or turn features back on again, at will.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Department said the move was designed to ease young people’s transition into the online world and ensure there was “no cliff edge” when the full social media restrictions they will have been under, in some cases for their entire life, were suddenly lifted when they turn 16.

It said the protections, which came out of a nationwide pilot that found they improved sleep and focus, struck a balance between protecting older teenagers while giving them age-appropriate independence to change the settings, trusting that they will make good choices.

“Our consultation provided a clear message from parents and teenagers alike — even as young people gain greater independence at 16, they should still be protected from the most addictive online features that can have a harmful impact on their wellbeing,” said Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.

“These measures will be crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends, all of which are fundamental to building a happy, healthy and fulfilling adult life,” she added.

The first set of regulations will be introduced to parliament by the end of this year, with measures expected to come into force in spring 2027, timed to coincide with when the social media ban for children younger than 16 comes into force.

The opposition Conservative Party’s shadow education secretary Laura Trott described the move as “absurd.”

“Either Labour think 16 & 17 year olds should be on social media or they don’t, but curfews they can switch off won’t achieve anything. They should stop tinkering and get on with getting u16s off social media,” she wrote in a post on X.

Ellen Roome, who alleges her 14-year-old son lost his life in an online dare that went awry in 2022, was also highly critical.

“I just think it’s not good enough really just to have a product you can switch off; it’s a bit like offering a 17-year-old a bottle of alcohol and then moving it slightly out of arm’s reach, they can just drag it back in, I really wish they could go stronger and harder on these things,” she told the BBC.

Kendall said measures were also in the pipeline to help children younger than 18 use AI chatbots safely, including regular breaks, and tackling bots or apps pushing “dangerous, misleading or unverified” mental health tips with ministers open to all solutions, including banning chatbots that put children at serious risk.

Wednesday’s development follows announcements in June giving Apple, Google and other tech firms three months to stop explicit images from being shot, shared or viewed on children’s mobile phones and in April on planned legislation to ban children from using smartphones in schools in England.

Three days after the sudden death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was sworn in on Tuesday to fill his vacant Senate seat at the suggestion of United States President Donald Trump.

Announcing his selection of the deceased senator’s sister on Monday, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster introduced the new senator as Graham’s “darling little sister” who would “finish his work for him now”.

Graham had been among the most influential of senators in the US Congress, using his seat in South Carolina to pursue a consistently hawkish line on foreign policy as well as offering unflagging support to his formerly bitter political rival, President Trump.

Among the Senate’s strongest advocates of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Graham repeatedly argued against imposing limits on US military support and rejected calls for a ceasefire. He also pressed for a tougher stance on Iran, championing harsher sanctions, backing military action against Tehran’s nuclear programme and warning that the US should be prepared to use force to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

After dying unmarried and without children, his position has now been inherited by his sister, Darline, formerly active in South Carolina’s local government, but with no experience in elected political office.

So, who is Darline Graham Nordone, how significant is this, and are US political powers often inherited? Here’s what we know.

Who is Darline Graham Nordone?

She is Lindsey Graham’s younger sister.

Graham and his sister lost both their parents within 15 months of each other.

At the time, Graham was 22 and his sister was 13. She went to live with relatives, but the pair remained close as Graham studied law and later served in the Air Force.

Years later, Graham legally adopted his sister, saying the move would ensure she was eligible for his military benefits if he died and would be eligible to serve as first lady if he were ever elected president.

Darline Graham Nordone has never held elected office. Neither she nor Governor Henry McMaster has said whether she intends to seek a full six-year Senate term or serve only as a caretaker until January 2027.

“I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” she said in brief remarks during the announcement of her appointment on Monday. “I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honour him in this way.”

What powers has Darline Graham Nordone inherited?

Although Darline Graham Nordone inherits her brother’s Senate seat, she does not automatically inherit his influence.

As a senator, she will be able to vote on legislation, approve presidential appointments, influence foreign policy and help shape US spending priorities.

However, her brother’s committee positions, seniority and political networks were built over decades of negotiating and dealing in the Senate’s corridors of power, and will not transfer to her.

Republican leaders will decide her committee assignments, leaving her to establish her own standing in Washington.

Are US political powers often inherited?

It happens more than you might think.

The practice of relatives stepping into the seats of deceased lawmakers has a long history in US politics, with family members often appointed to complete the remainder of a term.

Figures from the US House of Representatives show that, as of 2025, 45 widows have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress – including 38 who entered the House and eight who served in the Senate.

Supporters of such appointments point to a long tradition in US politics. Known historically as “widow’s succession”, the practice involved governors appointing the spouses of lawmakers who had died in office, allowing them to serve as temporary custodians until a special election was held. The system also provided an early pathway for women to enter Congress, helping expand female representation in the 20th century.

In modern Washington, inherited seats have, more often than not, served as bridges between one era of family influence and the next, such as the way that the powerful Kennedy family has preserved its influence over past decades.

Has there been any backlash?

Some.

Senior elected officials have yet to comment on Graham Nordone’s appointment, while details of her willingness to run in the midterms remain unknown. However, social media users in the US have reacted angrily to what they see as the unelected transfer of power.

Journalists such as Ben Binday of The Washington Post have also questioned Graham Nordone’s lack of political experience, commenting that nothing is known of her position on key issues such as abortion, foreign policy and healthcare.

THERE’s a universal rule of thumb that ‘you get what you pay for’ – so when I booked a £23 hotel in one of the UK’s most popular seaside destinations, I was definitely apprehensive.

It’s estimated that Blackpool has around 500 to 600 hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses. And with that many, the choice can be overwhelming.

Scouting for the cheapest option, I came across The Vernon costing from just £23 – or £11.50 per person, per night.

While alarm bells ring when I find something this cheap – will it be clean, is it even real – after a couple minutes of hesitation I pressed the looming booking button.

Within 24 hours, my Booking.com reservation was confirmed, with a check-in time of 4pm and no further instructions.

The hotel itself lies on a street just off the main promenade and is only a couple of minutes’ walk from both the beach and the closest tram stop.

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So when it comes to location, I really couldn’t have asked for better – far enough away from the hustle and bustle to not hear it, but close enough that I can enjoy it and pop back to the hotel in two ticks.

Standing outside the hotel, I could have easily mistaken it for a pub, with textured cream bricks, two large bay windows and a sign that has seen better days.

Though, it was still in a better shape than I had anticipated.

Stepping inside was rather like stepping back in time, with elaborate carpets, mahogany beams and textured plaster walls.

To check in, there was one man standing at an old counter with a notepad and pen at the ready.

With no computer in sight, I simply stated my name, which he then checked against his notepad and highlighted to signify that I had checked in.

Sometimes, the old school way is the simplest.

The old school theme continued when he handed me my keys (physical door keys rather than an electronic card) with one for the front door of the hotel and the other for my room.

The hotel has 15 rooms ranging from family options to singles, but I was staying in a ‘superior double’.

After a rather arduous 20 minute battle with the door lock, when it just would not open, I was in.

The room before me was flooded with light coming from a large window.

Mind you, you don’t get much of a glamorous view (not that I would’ve expected one for the price).

Instead, I peered out to see a flat grey roof, scattered with empty pill packets.

On the surface the room looked neat and tidy enough, and a decent size, with a double bed in the middle with two towels placed neatly at the end.

Deploying tactics learned from years of binge-watching Channel 4‘s Four in a Bed, I got straight to work.

The bed was comfortable and clean, with sufficient pillows on each side and there were no bed bugs in sight.

But just when I felt pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the room, out of the corner of my eye I spotted a crescent in the carpet.

By the skirting board, there sat a rogue toenail clipping.

It felt like a budget hotel ‘rite of passage’, but it was definitely a souvenir I didn’t want from my time in Blackpool.

Two bedside tables also featured reading lamps, though the remains of two defunct wall lamps still hovered above them.

One wall boasted a TV and another had a full-length mirror.

By the window was also a chest of drawers where I found the kettle, tea, coffee and milk pots – of which there were plenty.

Expecting to find layers of crusty limescale, I popped the kettle lid and… nothing. It was spotless.

I was simultaneously disappointed and relieved – so far, so good, I thought to myself.

Then onto the en suite. While ultimately outdated with a cream-coloured bathroom suite, it was notably clean.

As if they knew I would inspect the cleanliness of the toilet (I was taking this very seriously), the seat was already lifted up to reveal a perfectly polished bowl.

The shower had the same clean sheen.

In fact, the only things to note in the bathroom were a broken tile, a slightly scruffy window seal and a watermark on the ceiling.

Just don’t expect any complimentary shower gel, shampoo or conditioner…

Obviously for this price you don’t get breakfast, but downstairs you can make the most of a social room with a large pool table and even an in-house pub.

Now, I’ve stayed in some pretty grotty places and I’ve also experienced my fair share of hostels.

While I am young, I might still opt for the hostel especially as these tend to be part of big chains that set a standard.

But if I wanted privacy, then The Vernon wouldn’t put me off.

While my experience wasn’t awful, it is worth noting other guests who have recently stayed have left reviews commenting that the milk in the room was out of date, some of the beds are uncomfortable and despite advertising there is a hairdryer in each room, there isn’t in some.

But for the price, and its location, can you really argue at any of the hotel’s imperfections? Personally, I think not.

It can be hard to get comfy on a flight, particularly if you’re stuck in the middle seat, but now an airline has introduced an innovative hack where passengers can bag more space

An airline is embracing a nifty way to provide economy passengers with extra elbow room on flights, without having to pay for a Business Class or First Class ticket.

We’ve all been there, self-consciously taking it in turns with the traveller next to us on the plane on who rests their elbow on the armrest, while the other awkwardly tries to get comfy. Not to mention the nuisance of being sat in the middle seat, which can feel somewhat cramped, particularly on those long-haul flights.

In a bid to make plane journeys more comfortable for customers, United Airlines is launching new economy plus seats with extra elbow room. Not only will passengers benefit from extra armroom, but they can also enjoy a shared table that is fixed across an open middle seat in this innovative design.

The airline confirmed that all 50 of its new Airbus A321XLR aircraft will include the ‘special row in Economy Plus’ where open middle seats are “repurposed as shared spaces with large custom tables”. The new seats will be available to book later this year, with flights departing shortly after.

United outlined that on each of its XLRs, one row will have a large, permanently fixed table that spans both armrests in the middle seats. It will have a “soft leather-like covering” and two cup holders, allowing passengers to fully enjoy the extra space from either a window or aisle seat, in addition to the extra three-inch legroom provided in Economy Plus on the XLR.

United is thought to be the only US airline that will offer these alternative seating arrangements, allowing passengers to benefit from the space without forking out for Business or First Class tickets. As a first for the airline, there’s hope that they could introduce these types of seats on more of its aircraft in the future.

The new seats come shortly after United announced plans to launch a dedicated row of three economy seats that transform into a “lie-flat mattress-like space”. They confirmed in March this year that the ‘United Relax Row’ would be individually adjustable, with leg rests that fold up to a 90-degree angle, so travellers can either stretch out or use them as a bed to catch a restful night’s sleep.

Passengers will be treated to a “custom-fitted mattress pad, specially sized blankets, extra pillows” as the seats adjust into a flat bed after takeoff. Meanwhile, children in the dedicated row will also receive a plush toy and a family travel kit as additional amenities.

Following the airline updates, United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Nocella, commented: “We’re investing nose-to-tail across our fleet and giving customers choice and value in every cabin.

“The XLR is our newest aircraft and not only offers all-aisle access lie-flat seats in United Polaris but now also includes seats in Economy Plus with extra leg and elbow room. Our customers are going to love all these new options.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

A GB News programme has been slammed with 9,315 Ofcom complaints after sparking outrage.

A GB News programme has been hit with more than 9,000 Ofcom complaints.

Comments made on Alex Armstrong Tonight on July 5 sparked 9,058 complaints just this week, the watchdog has confirmed, bringing the total to 9,315.

An Ofcom spokesperson told The Mirror: “Complaints related to comments from contributor Caroline Farrow during a discussion about Pride.”

Farrow’s comments sparked outrage during the live programme, which led to an apology from Armstrong, while the likes of Drag Race UK star Bimini and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have led calls for an Ofcom investigation after the broadcaster’s comments.

Farrow had joined Liberal Democrat councillor Mathew Hulbert and host Armstrong on the GB News programme, where they debated whether Pride events are suitable for children.

Farrow had claimed that London for Pride, an LGBTQIA+ celebration that had taken place just a day earlier, was a “very sexualised display”, and said: “I think the problem that Pride has is [that it’s] not about gay rights. It has become about celebrating every single sexuality that isn’t heterosexuality.”

She said: “Including some very bizarre and unhealthy kinks and quirks, you know, like furries and bestiality, and even minor-attracted, they call themselves minor-attracted. You know, paedophiles.”

The comment sparked outrage, with Armstrong saying at the time: “I went to Pride last year and filmed it for GB News. Actually, I would say the overwhelming amount of people at Pride were there for good reasons. I don’t think it was full of paedophiles and everything, I’m sure there are nefarious people.”

GB News also shared in a statement with PinkNews: “These comments were expressed within a live debate by a contributor. They were her own views, and do not reflect the views or editorial position of GB News. Anyone watching the debate would have noted the comments were robustly and repeatedly challenged by two other contributors. GB News takes its responsibilities as a regulated broadcaster seriously and complies with all of its obligations under the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.”

The Mirror has approached GB News for comment.

The following week, Armstrong addressed the backlash to Farrow’s comments, saying her statement was one he “fundamentally rejects”.

He said: “Tonight I want to address outrage from the LGBT community and press over comments made by one of our guests last weekend. We welcome robust and difficult debates on this channel, and particularly on this show. It is not, and never will be, an echo chamber for anybody. That’s why we always have a dissenting voice on all of my shows, want you to hear all aspects of every debate.

“That’s made it even more important, when guests come on my show and make statements that are considered homophobic or deeply offensive, that they are challenged and balanced by me and my guests if they do that. But sometimes I feel it’s necessary to go a bit further, and I’m going to do that tonight.

“Comments made by guests last weekend conflated gay pride with the celebration of paedophilia. This is an age-old gay trope that’s been used over a number of years to demonise and slander gay people. And as I said to the guest during that segment, it is a statement I fundamentally reject and have not witnessed when attending Pride myself.

“The debate we were meant to be having was around whether or not Pride was suitable for children. Those comments by guests had no place in that discussion, and in my opinion, were lazy and offensive arguments that don’t reflect my views or the views of this channel, where many LGBT people also work.”

He went on to say that he does take issue with critics trying “to misrepresent my views in other ways to try and paint me as homophobic” but doubled down on his stance during the debate.

Armstrong continued: “I will not be smeared by people and media who are politically motivated to try and cancel me for simply opposing their political ideology.

“As many of you already know, I am openly gay. I very, very rarely talk about it or discuss my sexuality because I believe it is such a small part of my character. And frankly, I don’t think you, the British public, care about it or have any interest in who I’m attracted to. Nor does being gay have any bearing on my politics, and nor should it ever.

“I maintain that Pride is not suitable for children. It contains adult material and products, even on so-called family day. I have witnessed it myself. There’s a lot of alcohol, scantily dressed individuals, and political propaganda-all things I don’t believe are suitable for children.”

Viewers had shared their outrage over Farrow’s comments when the debate originally aired.

Writing on X, one said: “Ironically she is the reason pride is still necessary.”

Another person called the comment “horrific”, while someone else said: “Absolutely disgusting that they are allowed to get away with this.”

England and Argentina met in another quarter-final in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium at the 1986 World Cup, with the Falklands War four years earlier providing the backdrop.

It was the day of Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand Of God” – as well as his brilliant second goal – as Argentina won 2-1, and then went on to lift the World Cup.

France ’98 delivered a classic last-16 game best remembered for a wound-up David Beckham being sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone, and the solo goal that brought an 18-year-old Michael Owen to global superstar status.

Argentina prevailed on penalties to provide yet more World Cup heartache for the Three Lions.

There was still lingering ill-feeling between the two teams when they met again four years later in a World Cup group game under Sapporo’s dome in Japan.

This time it was redemption for Beckham, who scored the winner with a first-half penalty, but Argentina complained long and loud – insisting Owen had dived amid a challenge from future Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Tuchel said: “It is a very big rivalry between two big footballing nations.

“I could say the history is irrelevant but I’m not sure. The players are aware of it. When a fixture provides so many iconic moments, you can’t say it is just another football match.”

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni – who represented his nation at the 2006 World Cup – added: “We all have stories from that past time and history and it all makes it very emotional.”

It is this backdrop, this history of acrimony, that elevates this encounter above those other semi-finals.

England have had many memorable games in the past six decades – but winning this match would outstrip them all and offer the chance for a historic triumph in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain.

With his father – former big leaguer Clay Bellinger – in attendance, the New York Yankees player earned MVP honours.

Cody Bellinger had a night for the ages.

His young daughters sat next to him and his father watched from the back of the room as he spoke about winning Major League Baseball’s (MLB) All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

“Just being able to hang out and watching him win an award, it’s pretty cool,” former Yankee Clay Bellinger said after his son’s two-run single in the first inning off Cristopher Sanchez started the American League to a 4-0 win on Tuesday night.

Cody re-signed with the Yankees last winter for a $162.5m, five-year deal and he has been a key part of the offence. He was hitting .280 through mid-June before a slump dropped his average to .254 heading into the All-Star break. Bellinger hasn’t homered in a month.

“Baseball is the craziest game in the world. It really is. Sometimes it’s unexplainable,” he said. “Going into the break, I actually was feeling pretty good. I felt like I was on the right track.”

Clay Bellinger was an outfielder and infielder for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, winning a pair of World Series titles, and then finished his big league career with the Anaheim Angels in 2002.

Cody was five years old when his father won his second World Series title. Clay never imagined the player Cody would turn into.

“I knew he was good, but not this good,” Clay said.

‘Took a long time to get back’

Cody became the fourth Yankees player to win the All-Star Game MVP after Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022).

“Wearing this jersey – I feel proud wearing it,” he said. “It comes with a lot.”

Bellinger, who turned 31 on Monday, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 and made the All-Star team in 2017, when he was voted NL Rookie of the Year. He hit 47 homers in 2019 and was voted the NL MVP after making his second All-Star team.

“I was, like, ‘Oh, I’ll be here every year,’” he said. “It took a long time to get back. It’s such a competitive league.”

He followed with three straight subpar seasons, missing time in 2021 because of calf, hamstring and rib injuries. He was cut after the 2022 season and signed a $17.5m, one-year deal with the Cubs.

Bellinger hit a career-high .307 with 29 homers and 97 RBIs, became a free agent again and signed an $80m, three-year contract with the Cubs. After a subpar, injury-slowed season, he was dealt to the Yankees.

He tested the free-agent market, then decided to stay in pinstripes.

“He loves it there,” Clay said. “He loves the teammates, loves the city, loves playing in Yankee Stadium. So, it was kind of a no-brainer.”

Daughters Caiden and Cy accompanied Cody onto the field along with his wife, Chase, for photos after he received his award from Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.

“You always hope for your kids to do well, whether or not it’s playing baseball or doing whatever they like to do,” Clay said. “He’s been pretty good at it for quite a long time.”

Thousands of people who travel every day between the southern tip of Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar will no longer have to cross a physical border from Wednesday.

This came after the European Union and United Kingdom on Tuesday signed a treaty that delivers “economic and trade certainty for the people and businesses of Gibraltar, safeguards British sovereignty and protects the autonomous operation of UK military facilities”.

The treaty was signed in Brussels by the European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, British Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.

“Gibraltar was left out of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement following Brexit, creating the prospect of a devastating ‘hard border’ for the 15,000 people – more than half of Gibraltar’s workforce – who cross the land border between Spain and Gibraltar every day,” the treaty said.

Here’s what we know about the treaty:

What does the treaty include?

Britain secured Gibraltar, a strategically important enclave at the southern tip of Spain, in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of Spanish Succession.

The contested British overseas territory of 38,000 people is perched at a strategic location, only 8 nautical miles (15km) from Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.

The new agreement allows residents of Gibraltar to cross into Spain using residence cards without needing to have their passports stamped. In return, Spanish citizens will be allowed to enter Gibraltar using a government ID card.

The treaty in effect brings Gibraltar into the EU’s Schengen free-travel area, which allows people from 29 countries to move among them freely without needing visas.

At Gibraltar’s airport and port, entry and exit checks will be conducted by both British and Spanish border officials. The arrangement is similar to what’s in place at Eurostar train stations in London and Paris, where both British and French officials check passports.

Travellers to Gibraltar from countries outside the Schengen area, including the UK, will have to contend with the EU Entry/Exit System, which was rolled out in Europe in April and replaced passport stamps with biometric data collected through photographs and digital fingerprints.

Under the older system, every person had to face two border checks, one by Gibraltarian border agents and the other by Spanish officials when entering or exiting the Schengen area. The checks caused long queues, heavily impacting the workers who made the crossing daily.

The British government said the agreement brings “fluidity for people and goods crossing the Gibraltar-Spain border to support economic growth and jobs in the region”.

What was the motivation behind the treaty, and how does Brexit feature in it?

In a 2016 referendum in which UK voters approved leaving the EU, 96 percent of voters on “the Rock”, as Gibraltar is popularly known in English, supported remaining in the bloc.

When Britain eventually left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc was left unresolved. Previous talks on a deal to ensure people and goods could keep flowing across the border had made halting progress.

While the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 2021, broadly covered relations between the bloc and Britain, it was decided that Gibraltar would be addressed in separate negotiations because of its unique situation because it’s not in the EU customs union or the Schengen area.

In 2025, the EU and UK announced an agreement on those issues after more than three and a half years of negotiations.

Does the treaty place Gibraltar in a special position, and do any other British overseas territories have the same privileges?

Yes, Gibraltar is in a unique position because it has now gained EU privileges without being an actual EU member.

Still, it is under British sovereignty, and the treaty solely seeks to resolve post-Brexit cooperation with the EU and border management due to its open land border with the EU.

None of Britain’s other overseas territories, which include 14 territories scattered across the Caribbean and the Antarctic, has a deal similar to Gibraltar’s due to the shared land border.

Some of the territories have international arrangements, including Bermuda, which has its own immigration and tax systems, and the Falkland Islands, which govern themselves.