The basketball coaches at Santa Monica College had this kid.
A wisp of a player at 5 feet 3, he wasn’t a particularly strong shooter and didn’t score much. What he lacked in skill he more than compensated for by diving on the court, taking charges, stripping the ball from the guy he was defending.
The basketball coaches at Santa Monica College had this other kid.
A sturdy 6-5, he could score and was the sort of splendid physical specimen often selected first in pickup games. But he’d often lose those games because he lacked other qualities such as grit, hustle and determination.
In a “Scholastic Coach” magazine article, Andy Hill outlined what he called the Team Contribution Index, what became the popular plus-minus statistic.
(Andy Hill via Scholastic magazine)
As he pondered the differences between the players in 1976, Andy Hill, then the team’s assistant coach, searched for a way to reward the overachiever while trying to extract more out of his less selfless counterpart.
“I sat there thinking about all the things as a coach you try to get guys to do — dive on the floor, talk on defense, take a charge — and I’m going, that stuff makes you win,” said Hill, a veteran of valuing the team over the individual after three national championship seasons as a reserve guard at UCLA under coach John Wooden. “And literally in that moment, a lightbulb moment, it’s like, it’s the scoreboard, right?”
In other words, how did a player’s team do while he was on the court? Did the team increase its lead? Lose its lead? Keep the score the same? For instance, if his team outscored its opponent by nine points while he was on the court, the player was given a plus-nine. If his team lost six points off its lead, it earned him a minus-six.
Under this metric, the tally for each player reflected his influence on the team. Trumpeting the concept in an article in the January 1977 issue of Scholastic Coach magazine, Hill called it the Team Contribution Index.
Over the years, the basketball community went on to call it something else. Look at any box score or listen to almost any broadcast, and even the most casual observer will notice references to what was essentially Hill’s invention — the plus-minus.
“I just wish,” cracked Hill, who turns 75 in July, “I got a nickel every time an announcer or analyst mentions plus-minus.”
Mick Cronin stood in a hallway inside Purdue’s Mackey Arena studying the box score after a tough late February loss. UCLA’s inability to generate enough stops left its coach searching for answers.
“Will’s plus-five, everybody else is minus,” Cronin said, referring to center William Kyle III as he scanned the page. “We’ve got guys minus-10, minus-19, so we didn’t get the job done defensively.”
UCLA’ coach Mick Cronin talks to his players huddled around him during a timeout on Jan. 30 at Pauley Pavilion.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Cronin is among an army of coaches who routinely mention plus-minus figures as a gauge of how their players influence winning. Lakers coach JJ Redick agreed that the metric was “in general a useful tool” but cautioned that lineups and other factors needed to be taken into consideration.
“You can feel like a guy has a huge impact on the game and a huge impact on winning in a 10-point win and he’s a minus-nine,” Redick said. “And you can say, ‘Oh, this guy really cost us tonight’ and he’s a plus-seven. I think game to game, it doesn’t always tell the full story.
“But I think in the aggregate, it’s something as you can normalize things with lineups and with minutes you can see. For example, our team, Dorian Finney-Smith impacts winning when he is on the court.”
At plus-268 in his 43 regular-season games since arriving in a trade from Brooklyn, it’s Finney-Smith, a part-time starter — and not superstars Luka Doncic or LeBron James — who led the Lakers in season-long plus-minus. Austin Reaves ranked second on the team at plus-195, followed by Doncic (plus-176) and Rui Hachimura (plus-158).
A nine-year NBA veteran, Finney-Smith said he didn’t think about plus-minus until his coaches kept telling him that good things happened when he was on the court and encouraged him to keep playing his winning brand of basketball. What sorts of things were those coaches talking about?
“Just talking, being communicative, knowing my guys around me, being in the right spots for spacing — anything,” Finney-Smith said. “You know, me being a shooter with this team, being a stretch five, puts defenses at a disadvantage because now the center is out on the three-point line where now LeBron and Luka can get in the paint and get easy points, so I’d say it’s a whole bunch of things — playing hard, doing all the little things.”
Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith sprints up court against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 2 at Crypto.com Arena.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“Perhaps more important than cold numbers are the ‘intangibles’ that make up the ‘winner’ — guts, leadership, pride, toughness, concentration, attitude, etc.”
— Andy Hill, in his article introducing the “Team Contribution Index”
Some metrics savants aren’t as sold on plus-minus. Ken Pomeroy, one of basketball’s most widely respected statistical analysts, pointed to a December 2022 game involving the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks. Doncic, then with the Mavericks, tallied 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists on the way to finishing plus-seven. Teammate Dwight Powell, who logged two points, no rebounds and one assist in 30 minutes, finished plus-10.
But even going back to his original article, Hill has long acknowledged the limitations of his concept and its increased significance given a larger sample size. Just check the NBA’s leaders in season-long plus-minus — Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (plus-918) and Denver’s Nikola Jokic (plus-594), two of the top candidates for the league’s most valuable player award.
Many of the traits that make Finney-Smith a plus-minus phenom also applied to one of those Santa Monica College kids. Katsumi “Kats” Chinen would pour every ounce of his 5-3 frame into defending taller counterparts who would invariably post him up, often to their great regret.
“He spent a lot more time getting posted up than any of the guys who were posting him up had spent on their low-post game,” Hill said, “and he’d strip ‘em clean, he’d be dribbling so fast the other way, your head would spin.”
Meanwhile, 6-5 forward Falstaff Hawkins might have caused eyes to roll by his singular focus on scoring.
“Here was a guy,” Hill said, “who, you know, a dunk and a date is a lot more important than whether we win.”
Andy Hill, who played for UCLA legendary coach John Wooden, displays photos and memorabilia in his home.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
That dichotomy made Hill wonder how he could convince his boss, coach Jim Wagner, to motivate Falstaff to do more while rewarding Chinen with more playing time.
Studying for his master’s degree in education, Hill devised what became his de facto thesis: the Team Contribution Index. Using a typewriter at UCLA’s Moore Hall to write an article about the concept, he sent a copy to Scholastic Coach, wondering if he was onto something new or just regurgitating a system that coaches had been using for years.
Hockey had employed a plus-minus system since the 1950s, though it had little relevance to basketball given the low-scoring nature of its game. Hill’s Team Contribution Index involved seemingly countless ways that players could help their team.
“Perhaps more important than cold numbers are the ‘intangibles’ that make up the ‘winner’ — guts, leadership, pride, toughness, concentration, attitude, etc.,” Hill wrote in his article. “It’s those little things that win for you — playing good defense, taking the charge, setting a solid pick, diving after a loose ball and encouraging teammates. It’s easy to find a shooter; it’s much harder to find a winner. Yet most of the statistical reinforcement is for the shooter; the player who does the little things has to be satisfied with a pat on the rear.”
If anyone could render a verdict on Team Contribution Index, it was Wooden, recently retired after a record run of 10 national titles in 12 years. Nervously, Hill went to see his old coach at his modest office inside the Morgan Center.
“I walk it down to coach and my heart’s going boom-boom-boom,” Hill said, tapping his chest with his hand. “Why am I doing this? But he reads this article, very thoughtfully, quite attentively, and he looked up and said, ‘That’s a great idea.’ ”
It was their first positive interaction in years.
“If I hadn’t known Andy Hill was going to be the point guard with me, I wouldn’t have probably gone to UCLA. I thought Andy was that good.”
— Henry Bibby, former UCLA basketball great
Hill arrived at UCLA in 1968 with hopes of becoming the team’s next great point guard.
An All-Los Angeles City Section player who had averaged 27.2 points per game at University High, he lived up to his billing on the Bruins’ freshman team while earning co-MVP honors alongside Henry Bibby.
Their careers diverged from there. Bibby went on to become a starter on three national championship teams while Hill played sparingly off the bench as his backup, averaging 2.1 points in 69 varsity games.
“I thought Andy was better than I was,” Bibby said, “but sometimes people can be better than you but the coach sees something different in you and they go in your direction and I think they went in my direction. I saw Andy as a superior player than me — he just knew basketball and I didn’t know basketball, I just had probably more talent than he did, athleticism.
“But as I look back now, if I hadn’t known Andy Hill was going to be the point guard with me, I wouldn’t have probably gone to UCLA. I thought Andy was that good.”
Andy Hill, who played for UCLA legendary coach John Wooden, displays a photo of him with Wooden, left, and a basketball signed by UCLA star Bill Walton in his home.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Hill played so little that a golfing buddy later joked that he was “the man who starts 5,000 cars” because when he entered the game everyone left. In truth, even one eventual star thought he should be playing more only to learn he couldn’t until he fit into the larger group.
Sidney Wicks, who would go on to become one of college basketball’s all-time greats at power forward in his final two seasons, lagged behind others in the rotation as a sophomore even though he could have made a case for being one of the best players on the team.
“He was awesomely talented,” Hill said, explaining Wicks’ delayed emergence, “but awesomely talented fitting in within a system was unbeatable.”
One of Hill’s most enduring memories of playing for Wooden was the coach yelling his name in half the time it took others to say it, reflecting his level of agitation. Feedback was limited about why he wasn’t playing more.
“Coach just shut himself off,” Hill said, “and as a young person, my thought understandably was, he just doesn’t see it, he doesn’t care, whatever. And I felt really bad.”
Many years later, sitting in the den of his Encino condominium, Wooden relayed a story that explained the way he had handled the situation. When he was a sophomore in high school, Wooden was forced to come off the bench as the sixth man even though he knew he was the best player on the team. The humiliation of not starting prompted Wooden to strip to his jockstrap and storm out of the gym.
It was another lightbulb moment for Hill.
“I said, ‘Wow,’” Hill said, recalling his reaction. “It wasn’t that you didn’t know [what it felt like]. It’s just that you couldn’t deal with it.’ And he apologized, he [said he] should have done better, but it’s so human — I understand; I mean, you’re crushing this kid’s dream and you know it, and it was like, ‘Oh, OK, you just couldn’t deal with it.‘”
The men reconciled their differences long before Wooden died in 2010. After Hill left coaching following his brief stint at Santa Monica College, he enjoyed immediate success in the entertainment industry. Rising from a movie and television executive to head of his own production company to president of CBS Productions, Hill presided over some of the most successful shows of the 1990s, including “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Touched by an Angel” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”
Realizing that Wooden’s teachings about collaboration and teamwork had fueled his achievements, Hill called his old coach — with a considerable sense of dread — to share this revelation. Would Wooden take the call? Would he even remember him?
Hill’s apprehension dissolved when Wooden not only picked up as Hill spoke his name on the answering machine but also asked him to visit, leading to an instant reconnection. They went on to co-author the bestselling book “Be Quick — But Don’t Hurry!”
It took awhile before Andy Hill’s plus-minus stat began to catch on widely in college basketball.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
After the publication of his article, Hill charted the Team Contribution Index with his Santa Monica College players in what turned out to be his final year of coaching.
The concept made a limited impact with the team because his boss didn’t believe in its usefulness.
“The guy I was working with,” Hill said, “was far less impressed than John Wooden.”
Hill didn’t think much about it again until several years ago, when he started hearing broadcasters routinely mention plus-minus and seeing it listed in box scores. While the NBA adopted the metric in its box scores in 2007, college basketball started using it in 2018.
“At that point,” Hill said, “I kind of went, whoa, this has really turned from something off to the side and become totally mainstream.”
Ultimately, Hill considered plus-minus an ode to a beloved friend.
“This is all really a Coach Wooden story, in my mind, you know you dial it back to sort of who he was and what he was about,” Hill said. “If the assignment was, summarize coach, it’s a pretty good summary because the underlying principle was, it is about doing all these little things right.”
Pope Leo XIV appealed for no more war in a message to world powers during his first Sunday blessing at the Vatican.
He called for a “lasting peace” in the Ukraine war, a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as welcoming Saturday’s agreement between India and Pakistan.
He also recited the Regina Caeli prayer, in honour of the Virgin Mary, in his address to the crowd in St Peter’s Square.
On Saturday, he visited a shrine outside Rome and then prayed before the tomb of his late predecessor Francis inside the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Pope Leo will be formally inaugurated at a mass in St Peter’s Square next week on 18 May.
The Pope was chosen as the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, following a two-day conclave in Vatican City.
It has been a busy week for the pontiff, who held his first Mass as Pope in the Sistine chapel on Friday before speaking to cardinals on Saturday.
During this meeting, he described himself as an unworthy choice for Pope, and vowed to continue the “precious legacy” of his predecessor.
He highlighted the importance of missionary work and discussion – as well as care for those he called the “least and the rejected”.
He explained he had chosen the name Leo after a 19th-century Pope known for his teaching on social justice.
The new Pope also suggested the development of artificial intelligence and other advances meant the church was necessary today for the defence of human dignity and justice.
As part of that mass he will deliver a homily in the presence of numerous heads of state and dignitaries.
The 69-year-old is the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter, and the first American to become a pontiff. He will lead members of the Catholic Church’s global community of 1.4bn people.
Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, he worked for many years as a missionary in Peru before being made an archbishop there. He also has Peruvian nationality.
Although Leo was born in the US, the Vatican described him as the second pope from the Americas. Pope Francis, from Argentina, was the first.
Pope Leo is widely seen as a moderate who can offer “continuity” and “unity” following the death of his predecessor last month.
The new pontiff is believed to have shared Francis’ views on migrants, the poor and the environment.
In his first speech he told the crowds he wanted “to walk together with you as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice”.
Friends fans have been left doubting themselves after learning Jennifer Grey, who played “Baby” in Dirty Dancing, appeared in its first series as Rachel Green’s best friend Mindy
11:00, 11 May 2025Updated 11:16, 11 May 2025
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing (Image: Getty Images)
People have been left gobsmacked after realising “Baby” from Dirty Dancing guest starred in a Friends episode. Jennifer Grey, 65, became a household name thanks to her role in Dirty Dancing acting alongside Patrick Swayze, but many Grey fans had no idea she guest starred as Mindy, Rachel Green’s best friend, on Friends, appearing in episode 20 of the first season.
On Reddit, one shocked fan said: “How did I only just today realise that Mindy’s actress is Jennifer Grey? Baby from Dirty Dancing? My mind is blown! OMG.”
Commenting on the post, one user said: “Oh my god – I’m embarrassed to say I lit just learnt this now.”
Another user added: “Another fact in case anyone doesn’t know – Jennifer Grey of course played Ferris Bueller’s sister Jeannie in the film with Matthew Broderick. But they made a Ferris Bueller TV series spin off and Jennifer Aniston played Jeannie!”
A third user said: “I never knew this, and I’m 43, and watched both Dirty Dancing and Friends in real time.”
One more user added: “To be fair, there were two different actors playing Mindy. The Mindy that actually marries Barry is played by Jana Marie Hupp.”
Another user said: “My god. I’m old enough to remember watching Friends when it first aired, so I’ve been a fan for years. Clearly not a good one though because I never knew this! My mind is blown.”
A final user said: “Oh wow I never noticed this before either, thanks for pointing it out!”
In the show, Grey’s character, Mindy, ends up marrying Barry, who was Rachel’s ex fiancé who left her jilted at the alter.
However, she only played the role once before being recast with Jana Marie Hupp due to her “bad anxiety”.
Speaking to MediaVillage, she said: “When I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star, because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out.
“They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.”
She admitted it wasn’t until after she took the role that she realised she “needed help in the anxiety department”, meaning she opted to turn down a return to the role.
Not only this, but she also said she was “sad” at being unable to host Saturday Night Live at the time for the same reason.
She explained that she wished people would have been able to “help me navigate that kind of fear”, but confessed she didn’t realise the issue until it happened.
PRINCETON, N.J. — A group of Quakers is marching more than 300 miles from New York City to Washington to demonstrate against the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants.
The march extends a long tradition of Quaker activism. Historically, Quakers have been involved in peaceful protests to end wars and slavery and support women’s voting rights, in line with their commitment to justice and peace. More recently, Quakers sued the federal government this year over federal immigration agents’ ability to make arrests at houses of worship.
Organizers of the march, which set out May 4 and is due to reach its destination May 22, say their protest seeks to show solidarity with migrants and other groups that are being targeted by President Trump’s administration.
“It feels really daunting to be up against such critical and large and in some ways existential threats,” said Jess Hobbs Pifer, a 25-year-old Quaker and march organizer, who said she felt “a connection” to the faith’s long history of activism.
“I just have to put one foot in front of the other to move towards something better, something more true to what Quakers before us saw for this country and what people saw for the American experiment, the American dream,” she said.
Their goal is to walk south from the Flushing Quaker Meeting House in Queens — across New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania — to the U.S. Capitol to deliver a copy of the Flushing Remonstrance — a 17th century document that called for religious freedom and opposed a ban on Quaker worship.
Quakers say it remains relevant in 2025 as a reminder to “uphold the guiding principle that all are welcome.”
“We really saw a common thread between the ways that the administration is sort of flying against the norms and ideals of constitutional law and equality before the law,” said Max Goodman, 28, a Quaker who joined the march.
“Even when they aren’t breaking rules explicitly, they’re really engaging in bad faith with the spirit of pluralism, tolerance and respect for human dignity that undergirds our founding documents as Americans and also shows up in this document that’s really important in New York Quaker history.”
A history of resistance
The Religious Society of Friends — best known as the Quakers — originated in 17th century England.
The Christian group was founded by George Fox, an Englishman who objected to Anglican emphasis on ceremony. In the 1640s, he said he heard a voice that led him to develop a personal relationship with Christ, described as the Inner Light.
Fox taught that the Inner Light emancipates a person from adherence to any creed, ecclesiastical authority or ritual forms.
Brought to court for opposing the established church, Fox tangled with a judge who derided him as a “quaker,” in reference to his agitation over religious matters.
Following the faith’s core beliefs in nonviolence and justice, Quakers have demonstrated for the abolition of slavery, in favor of the suffrage movement, against both World Wars, and the U.S. roles in the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan, said Ross Brubeck, 38, one of the Quaker march organizers.
They also joined anti-World Trade Organization protests in Seattle and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police.
“Within the DNA of Quakerism is actions speaking out against authority,” said Brubeck, who was marching along a trail in New Jersey with companions waving an upside-down American flag, signifying the nation in distress.
“Quakers have had a central role in opposition to repression within the United States since its founding,” Brubeck said.
The basic unit of Quaker organization is the weekly meeting, which corresponds to the congregation in other churches. Quakers gather for silent worship in meeting houses, where they wait for a message from God to move through them until they speak.
When Brubeck and his group reached downtown Princeton, they were met by members of the local Quaker group, who praised them for their effort and guided them to their meeting house. After taking their shoes off their blistery feet, some rested on wooden pews and later prayed in silence, holding hands in a circle in preparation for another long walk.
“I felt humbled by their presence knowing what a long way they’ve been walking,” said Casey Oware, a member of the Princeton Friends Meeting. “And also a sense of connection knowing that we’re fighting for the same thing.”
Her friend, Marae McGhee, a retired teacher and fellow member of the group, agreed: “It’s such a disturbing time, and I think a lot of people feel that there’s little they can do. But these folks are doing it — they’re giving their feet and their energy.”
Legal challenge to Trump
Quaker practices and beliefs vary from a more Bible-centered Christianity, with pastors as worship leaders, to a more liberal approach with less structured worship and a wide range of teachings.
One the most well-known Quakers was William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania, following the faith’s emphasis on religious tolerance. The group became influential in Philadelphia — where Penn’s statue today presides atop City Hall overlooking downtown — and other cities.
But members of the group have also faced scorn for refusing to join wars due to their belief in pacifism and nonviolence. Some were persecuted and even killed for trying to spread their religious beliefs.
Earlier this year, five Quaker congregations filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests at houses of worship.
The Quaker groups were later joined by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a Sikh temple. After that, more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans — including the Episcopal Church, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Mennonites — filed a similar lawsuit, but a federal judge ruled against them last month.
During the presidential campaign, Trump repeated that immigrants were an existential threat to America. Immigration into the U.S., both legal and illegal, surged during President Biden’s administration, and Trump assailed that influx in ways that proved persuasive among voters.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has launched a campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges who have ruled against him.
“Immigrants are the ones experiencing the most acute persecution in the United States,” Brubeck said. “The message to Trump is that the power is not his to make.”
Manager Leif Smerud has left relegated Crystal Palace 10 weeks taking over the Women’s Super League team.
Smerud was appointed on 1 March and leaves Palace after they finished bottom of the WSL with two wins from their season in the top flight.
“While we didn’t get the outcome we hoped for, I’m proud of the work we’ve done together,” Smerud said.
“I’m grateful to Steve Parish and the board for their trust and for the opportunity.”
Chairman Parish added: “Leif joined us during a challenging period, and we are grateful for his contribution and the professionalism he has shown during his time at the club.
Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk has been released six weeks after plainclothes ICE agents bundled her into a van and held her in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana. The Trump administration had revoked her student visa over an article she co-authored criticising Tufts University’s ties to Israel.
A Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University in the United States has returned to Boston after spending more than six weeks in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana in what her lawyers call a politically motivated crackdown on free speech.
Upon arrival at Boston Logan International Airport, Rumeysa Ozturk told reporters on Saturday that she was excited to get back to her studies during what has been a “very difficult” period.
“In the last 45 days, I lost both my freedom and also my education during a crucial time for my doctoral studies,” she said. “But I am so grateful for all the support, kindness and care.”
A federal judge on Friday ordered her release pending a final decision on her claim that she was illegally detained.
Ozturk, 30, was detained on March 25 when immigration officials arrested her in Massachusetts, revoked her student visa and transferred her to the detention facility in Louisiana.
Supporters believe Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar from Turkiye, was targeted for having co-written an opinion article in her student newspaper, calling on Tufts University to acknowledge Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide.
A genocide case against Israel is under way at the International Court of Justice. Last week, the former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused Israel of committing genocide.
Ozturk was joined by her lawyers and two of Massachusetts’s Democratic members of Congress, Senator Edward Markey and Representative Ayanna Pressley.
“Today is a tremendous day as we welcome you back, Rumeysa,” Markey said. “You have made millions and millions of people across our country so proud of the way you have fought.”
Ozturk’s lawyers say her visa was revoked without notice and she was not allowed to contact legal counsel for more than a day after her arrest.
Appearing in court via video on Friday, Ozturk spoke of her deteriorating health, including severe asthma attacks in detention, and her hopes of continuing her doctoral research on children and social media.
US District Judge William Sessions granted Ozturk bail, saying she presented no flight risk or danger to the public. He found that her claim of unlawful detention raised serious constitutional questions, including potential violations of her rights to free speech and due process.
Ozturk’s case highlights a practice that has become common under President Donald Trump’s administration. Foreign students have been arrested and hundreds of their student visas revoked for their pro-Palestine views.
Mahmoud Khalil, who led the protests against Israel’s war on Gaza at Columbia University in New York, was among the first students detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 8. He remains in custody.
The Trump administration has been accused of conflating criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson previously accused Ozturk, without evidence, of supporting Hamas, which has been designated as a “terrorist” group by the US.
Ozturk denied any wrongdoing and said she will continue to pursue her case. “I have faith in the American system of justice,” she said.
Her legal battle continues in Vermont while immigration hearings proceed separately in Louisiana, where she may participate remotely.
Videos of her arrest, which show masked plainclothes officers taking her from a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville, Massachusetts, went viral and sent a chill across US university campuses.
Her lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union argued that her arrest and detention were unlawfully designed to punish her for speech protected by the US Constitution’s First Amendment and to chill the speech of others.
Pressley, who with two other Democratic members of Congress from Massachusetts visited Ozturk while she was in custody, said she was held in “squalid, inhumane conditions” and denied proper medical care for worsening asthma attacks.
“Rumeysa’s experience was not just an act of cruelty. It was a deliberate, coordinated attempt to intimidate, to instil fear, to send a chilling message to anyone who dares to speak out against injustice,” Pressley said.
THE Queen’s son is reportedly in line to appear on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Camilla Parker Bowles’ son, Tom, is said to be in talks to compete on the BBC dancing competition, according to the Mirror.
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Strictly bosses reportedly also want Tom Parker Bowles to appearCredit: PA
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Tom is the son of Queen CamillaCredit: Getty
Tom, 50, is a food writer and restaurant critic and has made regular appearances on MasterChef as a judge.
A source said: “Top of their wishlist is MasterChef star Tom. His name was also sounded-out last year but never materialised. Bosses hope they’ll have better luck this year.
“It would be a coup to sign someone with such a strong royal link. Maybe we could see Camilla and Charles in the audience?”
Made In Chelsea star and I’m A Celebrity winner Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo is also on the dance show’s radar.
A source told The Sun: “Georgia is in talks to join – she would bring glamour, poise and fun to the show.
“She’s been a huge hit on all the telly shows she’s done and would be a popular contestant on Strictly.”
The small town has been named one of the best places to live in the UK and it’s easy to see why, with a thriving local community and stunning views
Presteigne offers a picturesque blend of historic charm and vibrant community life(Image: John Myers)
On the cusp of the English border, surrounded by the lush Welsh hills lies Presteigne—a historic town recently crowned by The Sunday Times as one of the UK’s finest places to reside. With its vibrant community spirit and breathtaking vistas, it’s not hard to see what makes this town so special.
Despite its modest population of under 3,000, Presteigne is anything but dormant. The town is alive with cultural festivities, boasting an award-winning museum, a plethora of community initiatives, and a bustling high street that offers an abundance of choices.
The Sunday Times praised the town, stating: “You’re guaranteed a spectacular starscape in the only official Dark Sky town in England and Wales – and much more besides in this supremely community-minded town. Volunteer drivers are on hand to take people for long-distance hospital visits, the wildflowers that brighten up every verge and roundabout are planted by guerrilla gardeners, and a new community orchard and veg garden is taking shape.”
The publication continued to highlight the town’s unique charm: “There’s a repair café, toy hospital and regular litter picks, as well as sports clubs, concerts and film screenings. From the pharmacist who moonlights as a fire-eater to the wheelbarrow race down the high street, expect the unexpected in Presteigne. There’s an incendiary Bonfire Night celebration, and lots of music, from the highbrow to the homespun.”
Voted one of the best places to live in the UK, Presteigne appeals with its strong sense of place, thriving arts scene, and access to unspoilt countryside(Image: John Myers)
Nestled amid the stunning, untouched landscapes, this bustling border town is a gem with many singular attractions, making it a hit amongst both visitors and residents. It’s particularly beloved by the creative crowd, including Sara Bamford, 73, who in her twenties was captivated by the area, ultimately establishing the esteemed local haunt, The Workshop Gallery and Café, reports Wales Online.
The Workshop Gallery and Café is an emporium of ethical and quirky finds ranging from gifts and greeting cards to toys and trinkets, not to mention a cafe that dishes up locally-sourced fresh fare, like light lunches, soups, salads, handmade cakes, alongside a brew of teas and coffees.
Sara, along with her husband David, also helms the renowned David Bamford Handmade Carpets, where they craft exquisite, custom, hand-knotted carpets and textiles, as well as an array of flat weaves, runners, blankets, embroideries, cushions, and scarves. Additionally, their establishment encompasses a dedicated service for carpet conservation, restoration, and cleaning.
With its Georgian-fronted high street, independent shops, and surrounding green hills, the town reflects both tranquillity and character(Image: John Myers)
Sharing her love for the region, Sara remarked: “We love it, we’ve lived here for 30 years… it has attracted a whole load of artists, musicians, writers and we all like each other.”
She reflected on the vibrant spirit of the place, adding: “There is loads of stuff going on… it’s a really lively area with all these things happening, I love Presteigne. Everyone knows everyone else and looks after everyone else, there is lots of community things that go on.”
Sara observed a heartening trend: “What has been nice is to begin with a lot of my sort of age, older people, were coming here but more young people are coming back.
“My daughter was brought up here, she runs the café now, her friends are coming back to live here. Her friends have little kids and they all come to the gallery and the café and its really nice.”
Presteigne is well worth a visit(Image: John Myers)
Every August, the Presteigne Festival takes centre stage, working closely with composers and artists to craft and curate inspiring programmes and events that attract an ever-growing audience.
The six-day festival has been a staple for over three decades, boasting a rich tradition of supporting young talent. It presents a unique blend of contemporary works, carefully balanced with 20th century classics and a wide range of music from the standard repertoire.
But it’s not just the local events and community spirit that make Presteigne such a desirable place to live—it’s also the breathtaking scenery. Rolling hills stretch as far as the eye can see, while Clatter Brook and the River Lugg meander through the town, adding to its charm.
Deputy mayor Andre Vanhuls shared his thoughts on the area, stating: “We have got some amazing walks around the area, great footpaths that go in through the town and out in different directions. It is a big tourist area for walking, cycling and is very popular.”
Anthony Edwards poured in a game-high 36 points, Julius Randle had 24 as part of a triple-double, and the Minnesota Timberwolves wrested back home-court advantage in their second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors with a 102-97 triumph in San Francisco, California.
Game 4 in the Western Conference best-of-seven series is scheduled for Monday night in San Francisco, with the sixth-seeded Timberwolves leading 2-1.
Jimmy Butler III had a team-high 33 points on Saturday for seventh-seeded Golden State, which played without star guard Stephen Curry, out with a strained left hamstring.
The tightly contested game saw the Warriors clinging within 84-82 before two game-disqualifying fouls on defensive ace Draymond Green within 18 seconds inside the final five minutes.
The Timberwolves took control from there, getting a triple from Jaden McDaniels and a three-point play from Rudy Gobert, the latter creating a six-point cushion for the visitors with 2:05 to play.
“We’re making some shots, for sure,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We’re getting stops. We were getting stops throughout the regular season. We’re just winning the possession battle in clutch time now. We’re just not — we’re not giving the ball back on cheap turnovers. We’re not giving up as many or any second-chance opportunities.”
A 3-pointer by Edwards, his fifth of the game, all but clinched Minnesota’s second consecutive win with 1:19 to go.
Edwards’s 36 points were his second-most this postseason, topped only by a 43-point explosion in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. He hit 13 of his 28 shots on Saturday.
“The team defence was really good,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Held them to 102. That’s a pretty good number. But Randle and Edwards really both got going in the second half, and that was the key. We couldn’t quite contain them, especially in the fourth, and that was the difference.”
Randle complemented his 24 points with 10 rebounds, a game-high 12 assists and three steals for the Timberwolves, who outshot the hosts 43.9 percent to 43.2 percent in a defensive struggle.
“He’s playing with so much force and determination,” Finch said of Randle. “He’s going out there early and aggressive, and he’s exerting a tonne of energy on the defensive end with his body and his rebounding. He’s playing a complete game for us, no doubt.”
McDaniels added 15 points and Gobert had a game-high 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which went 2-1 on the road in its 4-1 first-round series win against the Lakers.
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (#10) led Golden State with 33 points in a losing effort in Game 3 [Godofredo A Vasquez/AP Photo]
Butler’s 33 points on 12-for-26 shooting were his most since he had 35 for the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at Boston in 2023. He also found time for seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
“Man, Jimmy was incredible,” Kerr said. “He really controlled the game for us and put us in a position to win, and we just couldn’t close it out. But he was brilliant all night.”
Jonathan Kuminga, pressed into increased playing time as the Warriors looked to fill the void of Curry’s regular scoring, backed Butler with a postseason career-high 30 points. He had totalled just 43 in Golden State’s first nine playoff games.
“JK [Jonathan Kuminga] played one of the best games of his life,” Kerr said. “It was fantastic to see. You can see how necessary he is in this matchup, especially without Steph [Curry].”
Buddy Hield shot 4-for-8 on 3-pointers to account for a majority of his 14 points for the Warriors, while Brandin Podziemski collected a team-high eight rebounds on a night when he shot 1-for-10.
Celtics bury Knicks in Game 3
In an earlier playoff game on Saturday, Jayson Tatum finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and the Boston Celtics pulled away for a 115-93 win over the host New York Knicks in Game 3 of their second-round Eastern Conference series.
Payton Pritchard scored a team-high 23 points off the bench for Boston, which cut the Knicks’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Jaylen Brown added 19 points, and Derrick White had 17.
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points on 9-for-21 shooting to lead the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
After struggling to score in the first two games of the series, the Celtics found their rhythm on offence. Boston shot 48.2 percent (40 of 83) overall and 50 percent (20 of 40) from 3-point range, and New York shot 40 percent (32 of 80) from the field and 20 percent (5 of 25) from beyond the arc.
“They got some clean looks early, and they see it go in; that gives them confidence. Then it’s hard to shut them off,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “We have to have greater awareness. We can’t allow missed shots to take away from [our] defensive tenacity. We’ve got to bounce back.”
Tatum made a basket to put Boston on top 112-89 with 2:40 remaining. He assisted on a 3-pointer by Al Horford on the next possession, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla rested his starters for the remainder of the game with the score out of reach.
“This is the fun part. You don’t get into the journey for it to be easy,” said Mazzulla. “It’s been dark, but in a good way. You’ve just got to tap into your darkness, and that’s it.”
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series will be played in New York on Monday.
Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, right, shoots over New York Knicks’ Mikal Bridges, left, during Game 3 of their second-round NBA playoff series on May 10, 2025, in New York, US [Pamela Smith/AP Photo]
According to a Spanish report, Moise Kean is now Manchester United’s main priority.
And, fans think he will be “unstoppable” with Amad Diallo.
Amad spent a long spell this season out injured, but has returned to action recently, and scored against Brentford in his first proper appearance since returning.
He also registered an assist against Athletic Club in the second leg of the Champions League, and fans think Amad and Kean will fix their issues.
United braced as “untouchable” midfielder is of interest
Manchester United’s season has been a poor one, but the side are on the cusp of Champions League qualification via the Europa League.
One constant in the United side has been Bruno Fernandes, and his fine form has guided United though a rough spell.
According to reports, United consider him “untouchable” as another side prepare a HUGE contract offer for the Portuguese midfielder.
Fernandes, turning 31 this season, has been the subject of interest from Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.
According to Fabrizio Romano, United know they are unable to match Al-Hilal financially, but with Fernandes still under contract, are unlikely to sanction a move for the midfielder.
Al-Hilal have made contact for Fernandes already over the past few seasons, and are back into the market for him in 2025.
Viktor ‘chooses his Prem club’
Viktor Gyokeres is expected to choose Arsenal over Manchester United in one of this summer’s biggest transfers.
Sporting Lisbon could be willing to sell the long-time Prem target for around £58.5million – £25m below his release clause.
Now talkSPORT suggest top-flight rivals believe the Gunners are winning the race to recruit the 26-year-old.
Fellow Swede Alexander Isak, 25, could cost £100m-plus.
And in fact Newcastle want nearer £150m for their main man.
RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko is the other striker that Prem giants most craves.
Matheus race hots up
Manchester United are tipped to beat Arsenal to Matheus Cunha – as the Red Devils hold “advanced” talks over the Wolves attacker.
The 13-cap Brazilian, 25, could cost his whole £62.5million release clause.
And amid reported interest from a string of top clubs, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano believes Old Trafford chief Ruben Amorim is in pole position.
Romano wrote in GIVEMESPORT: “I’m still told that Manchester United are leading the race and the negotiation is advanced.
“Talks are ongoing between Cunha and Manchester United.”
Carrara’s connection to anarchism began nearly 150 years ago, when anarchist ideals found fertile ground among the downtrodden workers in the marble quarries. Led by Alberto Meschi, Carrara’s quarrymen became the first in Italy to win a six-and-a-half-hour workday in the early 20th century. Anarchist circles and collectives emerged in nearly every town and neighbourhood across the Carrara region. In Gragnana, a village in the Apuan Alps, Italy’s oldest anarchist circle, “Errico Malatesta”, founded in 1885, still operates to this day.
“I’m one of those who love this town and want it to thrive,” says Rosmunda, who believes the town has been hard-hit by years of austerity policies, introduced by the government following the global financial crisis of 2008, and underinvestment.
Pierre-Alix Nicolet, artist and sculptor, carves a figure from marble in his studio [Alberto Mazzieri/Al Jazeera]
Only a small part of marble-extraction profits now flow back to the municipality, and Carrara and surrounding villages have been left with inadequate social housing, stripped-down health and childcare services and failing public transport.
“It’s hard – there’s no social welfare, public services are falling apart,” Rosmunda says. “The wealth [from marble] stays in very few hands.”
Sculptor Chantal Stropeni adds: “Carrara is a paradox. There’s immense wealth – marble – and yet deep poverty, even among artists. To resist, we’ve formed a collective sculpture studio called Ponte di Ferro. There are 14 of us. We want to approach art differently – collectively. Carrara is a workshop: It’s easy to create here, but incredibly hard to see. The town is falling apart, and maybe that works in its favour: No one pays attention, no one asks questions.”
In the meantime, the mountains are disappearing – at a rate of 4 million to 5 million tonnes per year. The town is growing poorer. Automation has replaced many quarry jobs such as block cutting, drilling, splitting, chiselling and materials removal. Local jobs have dropped from 800 to about 600 in recent years.
Artist Rosmunda works in her studio in Carrara [Alberto Mazzieri/Al Jazeera]
But resistance in this region has a long legacy. “We’ve been fighting to reduce the impact of the extractive system – organising events, protests, talks and legal actions – for more than 30 years,” says Paola Antonioli, president of Legambiente Carrara, an Italian environmental nonprofit organisation. “Sure, the road is long. But something is shifting. Collective consciousness is beginning to awaken.”
This took on new strength in 2019 with the formation of Fridays for Future Carrara, which followed the example set by environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg and holds protests on Fridays in the town.
The worst thing “Saturday Night Live” could have done on an episode featuring rising character actor Walton Goggins, who was hosting for the first time, was play it safe.
Though many new fans may know him from his recent turn on Season 3 of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” Goggins has spent a career playing misfits, weirdos and southern charmers including on shows like “Justified” and “The Righteous Gemstones,” which recently wrapped its fourth and final season.
Smartly, this week’s “SNL” was calibrated to both sides of Goggins; he’s an excellent dramatic actor even when he’s doing comedy, and he’s good at playing ridiculous characters such as Uncle Baby Billy on “Gemstones.”
Goggins was consistently funny and solid throughout, even if he stumbled on a few lines early in the show. His commitment to the bits was strong and it was a good appearance overall; he’ll likely be back. And maybe he’ll bring his “White Lotus” co-star Sam Rockwell with him again — he appeared briefly in the tiny feet video.
Speaking of oddball energy, musical guests Arcade Fire performed “Pink Elephant” and “Year of the Snake.” On the latter, lead singer Win Butler tried unsuccessfully to smash his guitar, then held it up for the audience to see the words “The Machine is Broken” on it. He broke a guitar on “SNL” back in 2007.
In this week’s cold open, it looked like the show would continue its tradition of Mother’s Day openings featuring cast members’ real moms. But that conceit was punctured quickly with yet another monologue by James Austin Johnson as Trump. This week’s riff touched on Pope Leo from Chicago (“Like Da Bears, but Da Prayers”) and Christianity in general. Trump praised the Popemobile as his favorite mobile next to Weiner and Bat, but revealed his disdain for holy water. “Why’s that stuff burn so bad when it hits your skin?” he asked. The cold open took off when Cecily Strong showed up as Pirro, armed with a wine holder she called a “Cozy for my Merlotzy.” Pirro was pleased to join an administration full of “Russian assets, booze hounds and people famous for the little baby animals they’ve killed.” Colin Jost appeared as embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who kept getting red wine spit on him by Pirro. Before the third time, he handed her a pint of his preferred liquor and opened his mouth to get some of the alcohol he says he doesn’t drink.
Some “SNL” hosts use the monologue to show off their singing skills. Goggins used it to address what it’s like to be a sex symbol at 53 (“It feels fantastic!”) but pointed to unflattering headlines that have accompanied all the attention, including Cosmopolitan’s, “Are We All Horny for Walton Goggins’s Receding Hairline?” Goggins shifted gears to talk about being raised by a single mom, aunts and a grandmother in Atlanta. He invited his mom, who was in the audience, up on stage to dance with him. When a slow Al Green tune turned into a more fast-paced and impressive dance number , it became a moment of pure joy.
Best sketch of the night: Be careful asking about the ‘bottomless’ mimosas
The Goggins gift for playing characters who are both sleazy and incredibly alluring was on full display in this Mother’s Day sketch about a brunch that gets very, very dirty. Sherman and Heidi Gardner are moms dining out with their sons (Mikey Day and Andrew Dismukes). Goggins, with many shirt buttons undone, is a libidinous waiter who takes his flirting with the mothers to extremes. “Just cuz your momma baked you don’t mean other men don’t wanna see the oven,” he says as he admonishes the sons when they protest his behavior. Goggins has a lot of fun in this one and delivers some very funny lines.
Also good: This trip to the zoo even has a Sam Rockwell cameo
For those who are suckers for clever and original songs, it’s been fun this season to watch new cast member Jane Wickline make her mark, mostly in “Weekend Update” appearances. This time, she takes the spotlight in a music video about a tiny baby shoe found in the Central Park Zoo. It turns out the shoe belongs not to a cute baby, but to a full-grown man with little feet (Goggins). The song takes a turn when the man insists they date. Wickline’s not having it. That’s when Rockwell appears as himself to mansplain the Cinderella conceit and to make balloon animals. Oh, and he’s got tiny feet as well. It’s a strange sketch, but the song is good and Wickline continues demonstrating that she brings something unique to the show.
‘Weekend Update’ winner: Hate spiders? You will relate
This week’s “Update” featured three guests: Marcello Hernández, who brought back his Movie Guy character to discuss “Sinners” and other movies he hasn’t seen; Gardner played a woman visiting New York who only knows what’s she’s read on Facebook about the city; and Mikey Day was a guy who just walked into a spiderweb but is there to talk about tariffs. Of the three, Day’s was perhaps the most impressive since these kinds of “Update” appearance are usually wordy monologues. Instead, Day got on his feet, began freaking out as he took off his shirt and fell over multiple times. It was a committed and funny piece of physical comedy, especially for the arachnophobic.
A weary electorate votes in parliamentary elections after campaign dominated by EU hopes and political corruption.
Albanians are casting ballots in the general election, with Prime Minister Edi Rama seeking an unprecedented fourth term after a campaign dominated by promises of European Union membership and corruption allegations.
Polling stations opened at 7am local time (05:00 GMT) on Sunday and would close at 7pm (17:00 GMT), with results expected on Monday.
Nearly 3.7 million Albanians, including hundreds of thousands living abroad, are eligible to vote. For the first time, members of the diaspora can cast their ballots by mail.
Rama, leader of the governing Socialist Party since 2013, has positioned himself as the architect of Albania’s EU future. He has pledged that the country will join the bloc by 2030, repeating the promise at his final rally: “We will get our fourth mandate, and we will not lose a single day for Albania 2030 in the EU.”
Rama’s main rival, 80-year-old Sali Berisha, a former president and prime minister, leads the conservative Democratic Party.
Despite being banned from entering the United States and the United Kingdom over alleged corruption, which he denies, Berisha has retained a loyal following and adopted slogans including “Make Albania Great Again”.
Rama has faced allegations of state capture, with opposition voices warning that the political playing field is far from even.
Critics say Rama’s dominance over public institutions has undermined democratic checks.
Rama’s administration has not escaped scrutiny, with his close ally – Tirana’s mayor Erion Veliaj – arrested this year over alleged corruption and money laundering. Both men deny the allegations.
‘I want to leave the country’
The political contest is, in many ways, a rematch of old rivals. Rama and Berisha have dominated public life since the fall of communism in 1990. Many younger voters have grown disillusioned with both.
“I will vote for new politicians because those like Rama and Berisha have been here for three decades and they only replace themselves,” said 21-year-old Arber Qazimi, speaking to the Reuters news agency.
Others, like Erisa, an economics student, plan to abstain entirely. “I am only thinking how to go out of the country to study and then stay there and never come back,” she said, echoing the sentiment of many among the estimated one million Albanians who have emigrated in the past decade.
With the Socialists potentially needing allies to retain their narrow majority, smaller parties could prove decisive in shaping the next government.
The campaign trail shifted largely to social media platforms, though a yearlong TikTok ban – imposed over online bullying and incitement – has led to accusations of censorship.
The Democratic Party brought in American political strategist Chris LaCivita, known for his role in US President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, in a bid to sharpen their message.
Jack Della Maddalena dethroned Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision to become the UFC welterweight champion in Montreal.
Two judges gave the victory at UFC 315 to Della Maddalena by slim 48-47 margins while the third saw it 49-46 in his favour.
The 28-year-old, who came into the fight in Canada off the back of a year-long lay-off, said: “It’s exactly how I thought it would feel, it feels good.”
Muhammad hadn’t lost a fight since January 2019 going into the contest but in his first title defence was left bloodied and wobbling after the Australian landed 200 strikes.
“He brings the pressure, so I had to be smart on my feet,” Della Maddalena added.
“Coming in there against someone like him, I had to be smart. I couldn’t spend too much time on my back. When I did, I waited until I could get my energy back and made a move.
“I wanted to take him out of there. I was gunning for a late finish. But he’s tough to put away.”
Della Maddalena becomes the third Australian in history to hold a UFC title, alongside current featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski and former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker.
Jack Della Maddalena took away Belal Muhammad’s potent wrestling ability, allowing only one takedown en route to becoming the new welterweight champion in the main event of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 315 in Montreal, Canada.
He won the five-rounder by scores of 48-47, 48-47, 49-45 on Saturday night.
Della Maddalena used volume striking to frustrate the now-former welterweight champion, nearly finishing the fight on several occasions. Della Maddalena (18-2, Mixed Martial Arts) has now won 18 in a row. Muhammad (24-4, 1 No Contest) was making his first title defence and had won 11 consecutive fights.
Della Maddalena credited Muhammad’s toughness but said post-fight that he knew he was not going to let it slip away.
“It felt [expletive] good,” the Australian said with a smile.
He said he was intrigued by UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev’s possible move to welterweight, and was open to exacting revenge on the Russian. His fellow Australian, Alexander Volkanovski, lost both bouts to Makhachev.
It is the first loss for Muhammad, a Chicago native, since January 2019.
Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena, right, punches American Belal Muhammad during the welterweight bout at UFC 315 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 10, 2025 [Alexis Aubin/AFP]
Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her UFC women’s flyweight title in the co-main event over Manon Fiorot, winning by a unanimous 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 decision to hand Fiorot (12-2, MMA) her first UFC loss.
Despite a closely contested fight, Shevchenko (25-4, 1 NC MMA) pushed the pace in the fourth and fifth rounds to tire out Fiorot and give the Frenchwoman little room to work after signs of early success through three gruelling rounds.
“I expected a hard fight,” Shevchenko, a 125-pounder from Kyrgyzstan, said in the Octagon following the win.
The victory marked Shevchenko’s 14th in the UFC, including 10 title fights.
Initially scheduled as a bantamweight fight, Canadian featherweight Aiemann Zahabi earned a win by unanimous decision against former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, taking the three scorecards by matching 29-28 scores.
Aldo nearly finished Zahabi in the third round with a head kick, followed by a flurry of strikes. However, Zahabi was able to survive Aldo’s attacks, gain the top position, and open a cut on Aldo.
The win for Zahabi (13-2, MMA) marked Brazilian Aldo’s (32-10) final MMA fight, announcing his retirement in the Octagon.
“I just don’t have it in my heart any more,” said Aldo, 38. “I think this is the last time you’re going to see me.”
Jose Aldo of Brazil, left, fights Aiemann Zahabi of Canada in a bantamweight bout during UFC 315 at Bell Centre on May 10, 2025, in Montreal, Quebec [Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images via AFP]
Women’s flyweight Natalia Silva of Brazil knocked off former champion Alexa Grasso from her top-contender status with a unanimous decision win, all by 30-27 scores.
Silva (19-5-1, MMA) has won her first six UFC fights, while Mexico’s Grasso (16-5-1, MMA) has to return to the drawing board to remain in contention. Silva opened a noticeable cut above Grasso’s eyelid, swinging the momentum in the second round before a one-sided Round 3 followed suit with dominant kickboxing ability.
Lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis of France had no trouble beating Canadian Kyle Prepolec, a late replacement, with an arm triangle choke at 2:35 of the second round.
It was Saint-Denis’s (14-3) first win since November 2023, snapping a two-fight losing skid. Prepolec (18-9) stepped in for Joel Alvarez (22-3) and made his first Octagon appearance since 2019.
A new exhibition at Gainsborough’s House gallery – The Masterpieces of Kenwood – is the latest of many good reasons to visit the pretty town of Sudbury in Suffolk
