Looking for something to do this week? From learning about gut health to a bike forum, here are some solid options to help you get social around town. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Ayurveda for Healthy Digestion From the event description: The majority of diseases originate from our gut. Hence, if we keep our gut healthy, many diseases can be avoided. This class, led by Vanashree Belgamwar on Tuesday at the Mississippi Market, will focus on the Ayurvedic concept of Agni - "the digestive fire," how to keep your gut balanced, understanding the Ayurvedic diet, and Ayurvedic home remedies for digestive issues. When: Tuesday, May 21, 6-8 p.m. Where: Mississippi Market - East 7th, 740 E. Seventh St. Admission: $10 (member-owner); $15 (non-member) Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Spring Corporate Bike Forum From the event description: The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota is holding the Spring Corporate Bike Forum on Wednesday at Lake Monster Brewing. Frank Douma, from the Humphry School of Public Affairs, will discuss "The Future of the Commute"   and more, while Will Wlizlo of BikeMN who will be sharing hot-off-the-press results of BikeMN's Great Minnesota Walking and Biking Survey. When: Wednesday, May 22, 3-5 p.m. Where: Lake Monster Brewing, 550 Vandalia St., #160 Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets The Moth Arrives in KC From the event description: Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. It is hosting a show on Wednesday at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall. The Wall Street Journal wrote The Moth is "New York's hottest and hippest literary ticket." When: Wednesday, May 22, 6:30-10 p.m. Where: Amsterdam Bar & Hall, 6 W. Sixth St. Admission: $15 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Eric B & Rakim w. Maria Isa, T La Shawn, DJ Huh? What? From the event description: Also appearing at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall, on Thursday, are hip-hop legends Eric B. and Rakim. When: Thursday, May 23, 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Where: Amsterdam Bar & Hall, 6 W. Sixth St. Admission: $40 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and shot-stopper Karl Darlow were involved in an altercation in the early hours of last Saturday morning. Abuse was reported hurled towards Shelvey, which erupted into violence from both sides. The incident took place mere hours before the two boarded a plane with the rest of the squad to head out to the Premier League Asia Trophy. The Magpies were mauled 4-0 by Wolves in the pre-season tournament, as Steve Bruce's reign began in the worst possible way. It's been a tumultuous summer for the club, with owner Mike Ashley still seeking a new buyer. Talismanic boss Rafa Benitez has departed, as have Newcastle 's two top scorers from last season   Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez   for China and Leicester respectively. In place of Benitez, Newcastle have appointed the familiar Bruce, leading many to tip the Magpies as one of the favourites to go down this season. Aside from the performance issues of that opening game, it seems Bruce will have to run some discipline through the side too. This isn't the first time Shelvey has courted controversy and he has even been sent for therapy in the past to help manage his anger issues. According to The Sun , however, eyewitnesses exonerate the 27-year-old from the actual altercation. Their sources claim the other group approached the Premier League star on the night in question, after spotting him out drinking. Shelvey reacted by hurling abuse back before a friend of Darlow's threw the first punch. The keeper then became embroiled in the scuffle himself whilst Shelvey held back. "It would appear Darlow has also got involved in the fight. Shelvey got some grief from the lads, although he was not involved in the altercation," a source told The Sun. Bruce has a lot of work to do before the season kicks off on the 11th August and he won't want any more distractions like these as preparations get underway for a tough campaign ahead.


Miami will see a return of last week's light rainfall over the next few days, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Tomorrow's forecast shows the greatest chance of rain at 88 percent, with rain generally expected through Monday. The next few days will also see warm temperatures, persisting through Monday as well. Temperatures will reach a high of 88 degrees on Friday. Winds will remain light throughout the week, with the highest speeds on Saturday at only 12 mph. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


The Border Patrol agent, a veteran with 13 years on the job, had been assigned to the agency's detention center in McAllen, Texas, for close to a month when the team of court-appointed lawyers and doctors showed up one day at the end of June. Taking in the squalor, the stench of unwashed bodies, and the poor health and vacant eyes of the hundreds of children held there, the group members appeared stunned. Then, their outrage rolled through the facility like a thunderstorm. One lawyer emerged from a conference room clutching her cellphone to her ear, her voice trembling with urgency and frustration. "There's a crisis down here," the agent recalled her shouting. At that moment, the agent, a father of a 2-year-old, realized that something in him had shifted during his weeks in the McAllen center. "I don't know why she's shouting," he remembered thinking. "No one on the other end of the line cares. If they did, this wouldn't be happening." ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York. Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive articles and investigations like this one as soon as they're published. As he turned away to return to his duties, the agent recalled feeling sorry for the lawyer. "I wanted to tell her the rest of us have given up." It's rare to hear from Border Patrol agents, especially since the Trump administration has put them at the front lines of its sweeping immigration crackdown. Public access to them is typically controlled and choreographed. When approached off duty, agents say they risk their jobs if they speak about their work without permission. As a result, much about the country's largest federal law enforcement agency   with some 20,000 agents policing the borders and ports   remains shrouded in secrecy, even from congressional oversight, making it nearly impossible to hold it accountable. Disturbing glimpses of some agents have recently begun to fill the void, including some that were published recently after ProPublica obtained screenshots from a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents that showed several agents and at least one supervisor had posted crude, racist and misogynistic comments about immigrants and Democratic members of Congress. The posts raised questions about whether the deplorable detention conditions on the border were out of the control of Customs and Border Protection, as the agency had asserted, or a reflection of its culture. Other reports followed, including one from CNN that described agents attempting to humiliate a Honduran immigrant by trying to force him to be photographed holding a sign that read in Spanish, "I like men." The Intercept published more degrading posts from the secret Facebook group, and it reported that it appeared that Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost had once been a member . Provost has not commented. But there was some nuance. An account of life inside a Border Patrol detention facility outside El Paso, Texas, by The New York Times and The El Paso Times, revealed that two agents there had expressed concerns about the conditions to their supervisors. The agent who spent June in McAllen doesn't see his reality in any of those depictions. He's in his late 30s and is a husband and father who served overseas in the military before joining the Border Patrol. He asked not to be identified because he worried that his candor could cost him his job and thrust him and his family into the middle of the angry public debate over the Trump administration's border policies. His comments come at a particularly fraught moment, as politicians on the left compare the Border Patrol's detention facilities to "concentration camps" and senior Trump administration officials, including most recently Vice President Mike Pence, dismiss descriptions of the inhumane conditions as "unsubstantiated." When asked about Pence's comments, the agent said the damning descriptions of the facilities are "more substantiated than not." And, while he didn't embrace the term concentration camp, he didn't dispute it either. He searched out loud for a term that might be more accurate. Gulag felt too strong. Jail didn't feel strong enough. He came around to this: "It's kind of like torture in the army. It starts out with just sleep deprivation, then the next guys come in and sleep deprivation is normal, so they ramp it up. Then the next guys ramp it up some more, and then the next guys, until you have full blown torture going on. That becomes the new normal." Referring back to the grim conditions inside the Border Patrol holding centers, he said: "Somewhere down the line people just accepted what's going on as normal. That includes the people responsible for fixing the problems." He spoke at length in several interviews, making clear that the views and motivations he articulated were his alone. He said he's not on Facebook, much less a member of any secret Border Patrol social media groups. He also said he did not witness any egregious behavior by his colleagues during his time in McAllen. But he said the agents who were permanently posted there had the shortest fuses, and he'd heard them launch into condescending harangues at the young migrants, blaming them for crossing the border illegally and denying their requests for extra food, water or information about when they'd be released. Most of his colleagues, he said, fall into one of two camps. There are the "law-and-order types" who see the immigrants in their custody, as, first and foremost, criminals. Then, he said, there are those who are "just tired of all the chaos" of a broken immigration system and "see no end in sight." "The only possible end to this that I see is if there's some change after the next election," he said, referring to what might finally end the stalemate in Washington over how to reform the system. "Either this president will win again, and Congress will be forced to work with him. Or a new president will get elected and do things a different way." In addition to the interviews, the agent shared a journal entry about his time in McAllen, which he wrote in a tentative attempt to sort through what he described as the "roughest" experience of his career; a month that he said revealed a disturbing capacity for detachment. "What happened to me in Texas is that I realized I had walled off my emotions so I could do my job without getting hurt," he said. "I'd see kids crying because they want to see their dads, and I couldn't console them because I had 500 to 600 other kids to watch over and make sure they're not getting in trouble. All I could do was make sure they're physically OK. I couldn't let them see their fathers because that was against the rules. "I might not like the rules," he added. "I might think that what we're doing wasn't the correct way to hold children. But what was I going to do? Walk away? What difference would that make to anyone's life but mine?" When asked whether he simply stopped caring, he said: "Exactly, to a point that's kind of dangerous. But once you do, you feel better." Part of that feeling, the agent said, comes from experience. He's served Republican and Democratic administrations, each one with its own border crisis and wildly unpopular responses. Other people might find it hard to view his agency outside the context of their political leanings, but he said that he didn't join because he feels strongly one way or the other. He has a criminal justice degree and was looking for a federal law enforcement job that would provide him financial security, without requiring him to go overseas. What keeps him in now, even as his job has morphed into one he and his wife are uncomfortable talking about in public, is that he earns about $100,000 a year, including overtime and holiday pay. He has a top-of-the-line health insurance plan that, among other things, covered nearly the entire cost of his child's birth. In a little more than a decade, when he turns 51, he'll be eligible to retire with a full pension that probably won't cover the cost of a house on the beach, he said, but will give him the freedom to "do just about anything else I want, and not have to worry." The agent, tall and fit with dirty blond hair, said he thinks of his time left in the Border Patrol like the home stretch of a marathon. He does his work with blinders on to everything but his family and the finish line. "I'm already starting to attend retirement seminars," he said. "All I'm trying to do is get through the next decade." That was his mindset, he said, when he landed in McAllen. It was his first time on the border since he was a rookie. He'd spent most of his career posted in the eastern part of the United States, investigating smuggling organizations rather than intercepting undocumented immigrants. But as huge numbers of Central American migrants came to the Rio Grande Valley, he and hundreds of agents across the country were summoned to help. In his journal entry, the agent described what he saw when he arrived at the Border Patrol detention center as a "scene from a zombie apocalypse movie." His colleagues, he said, wore surgical masks and rubber gloves because there was "sickness and filth everywhere." And he said the facility "looked like a walled-off compound where the government had the last safe zone and was taking in refugees fleeing the deadly zombie virus." The scene that struck the agent the hardest that first day was the sight of dozens of children being held in cages   an image publicized this year to widespread condemnation. The children seemed about the same age as his 2-year-old son, but that's where the similarities ended. "My kid would have been running laps around that entire building, nonstop," the agent said. "But the boys my kid's age, they were just there. They weren't running or playing, even though they had been pent up all day." The agent said he suspected that the kids were lethargic because they hadn't been given enough to eat. He said he wondered, "Why are things like this?" He said he didn't look for answers because he didn't expect he'd find any. "I decided not to dwell on it, and just do my job." He went on that way for weeks, seeing things without dwelling on them. His interactions with individual immigrants, he said, are a blur. He vaguely recalled a government staffer combing lice out of a little girl's hair; 7- and 8-year-olds pacing in circles and sobbing inconsolably because they'd been separated from their parents; a teenage mother who'd swaddled her baby in a filthy sweatshirt that she'd borrowed from another detainee because she'd been forced to throw away the clothes she brought. Only a few of those encounters are mentioned in the agent's written account of his experiences in McAllen. Most of it reads like a chronicle of a mundane work trip. He got Memorial Day off. He bought groceries and stopped drinking soda. A colleague who was staying at the Residence Inn shared enough free gym passes to last the entire trip, and his waist size went from 33 inches to 32. He started listening to music again: "Not a specific style, language or rhythm rather music that expressed passion." And he tried meditation. The visit by the team of lawyers to the facility near the end of June seemed to shake up the agent. The team, led by a California attorney named Hope Frye, had arrived to interview children being detained in McAllen. The agent's duties placed him close enough to them to observe their work. Frye said that typically during such visits, the agents tend to blend into the background; silent and straight-faced, in their badges and drab green uniforms. They didn't engage much with her because they were instructed not to. She said years of hearing immigrant children tell her how badly they'd been treated in detention had long made her worry about the agents' humanity. "I'll look at them and wonder sometimes, 'What kind of a parent are you when you spend your entire day filled with hate and victimizing other people?'" But to get her work done, Frye said, she tries to keep such thoughts to herself. At some point in McAllen, however, she let a comment slip to the agent about a young child who had been separated from his family. The agent, she said, blurted out that he knew of another woman who was separated from her family and raising a 2-year-old on her own. Frye, 68, said she asked the agent if he was referring to his own family. Her question started a series of exchanges that didn't diminish her suspicions about the Border Patrol, Frye said, but did change her thinking a bit about the agent. "If what happened was a film, you'd see an older woman with many years of experience, her eyes lined from seeing these poor children, and a young man, with a young family, seeing this nightmare for the first time," Frye said, recalling her encounter with the agent. "What I thought to myself was, 'How sad is it that this young man who probably wants to be of service to his country is stuck doing this.'" Referring to the agent's initial outburst, she said, "I think he was trying to tell me, 'Hey, I'm human too.'" Katherine Hagan, a Spanish interpreter who worked alongside Frye, also interacted briefly with the agent, and, although he didn't say it in so many words, she felt he was struggling to reckon with his role at the facility, as if, she said, "he had become so accustomed to seeing children behind wire cages that he had assimilated it as normal and necessary." At one moment, she said, she recalled him scrambling to find clothes for the baby girl wrapped in the sweatshirt. The baby was so dirty that Frye wiped away rings of black dirt from around her neck. But at another point the agent lectured Hagan about indulging the immigrant children, warning her not to let "the aliens" use the officers' bathrooms. "I'm trying to find the right words to describe his demeanor," Hagan, a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, said of the agent. "I could tell he felt embarrassed and potentially kind of exposed. I don't know whether he was having some kind of epiphany. But it was clear he knew that I saw him   really saw him   in the middle of this horrible situation." When asked about the interactions, the agent said he was trying to communicate to the lawyers that the detainees were not the only ones at the facility who felt trapped. Walking away, at least in his mind, was not an option. Trying to change things on "a macro level," the agent said, was for fools. "The most I felt I could do was make sure toilet paper was stocked. Or if someone wanted an extra juice, I'd give them an extra juice. Or maybe do something to make someone's day a little nicer; maybe smile and treat them with respect. That's all I felt I had the power to do," the agent said. "The ones that try to save the world, they're the ones who either get burned out or put on a leash." The agent compared himself to the cynical donkey in George Orwell's "Animal Farm" who survives by never sticking his neck out. "I've decided that I'm not interested in advancement," he said. "I'd rather be a full-time father than a full-time Border Patrol agent." But now that he's home, he feels the experience has somehow followed him. "I go to the playground with my kid, and I say to myself, 'Why am I not enjoying this?'"


David Griffin saw the future of the New Orleans Pelicans in a brief moment at a recent NBA Summer League practice, and he said things look "crazy" good. The Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations met with reporters Tuesday in a press conference to introduce new acquisitions Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart   who came over in the Anthony Davis trade with the Lakers   and Derrick Favors, recently acquired in a trade with the Jazz. Coupled with No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson and No. 8 overall pick pick Jaxson Hayes, along with returning guard Jrue Holiday, and the Pelicans are expected to be one of the most-improved teams in the league. It's up to Griffin, along with head coach Alvin Gentry and general manager Trajan Langdon, to put all the new pieces together. But Griffin is thrilled with what he's seen so far, like that special moment in a recent Summer League practice. "There was a moment where Jaxson Hayes was out running the floor in a practice with Zion on the other side, and they were sort of just messing around … and the speed those guys have just at a trot is mind-numbing," Griffin said. "Alvin and I looked at it and we thought, 'Man with those guys on the wing, and with Lonzo at the point, what we'll be able to do speed-wise is crazy.'" That's crazy in a good way for the Pelicans, unlike last season's 33-49 craziness, lowlighted by the persistent trade rumors surrounding Davis. Griffin said he is excited all the recent acquisitions come from winning backgrounds. "We want to surround ourselves with people that have won championships on any level, because it's a frequency you learn to tune to," Griffin said. "We're deep with selfless winners." Ball welcomes the move to New Orleans. "It's a fresh start. It's a restart. … I know the media is not like it was in LA, but I know the fans are great and come out and support (us)." Ball said he's looking forward to playing a more uptempo style. "I'm getting back to playing the style I've been playing my whole life, I'm very comfortable in a high uptempo offense like coach Gentry has," Ball said. "Lonzo is a truly special defensive guard and he's also a special rebounding guard, and that's going to allow us to start our break and play to a lot of his strengths," Griffin said. Griffin sounded a bit like a quantum physicist at times Tuesday, dropping quotes like "The energy you put out in the universe is going to attract like energy," and "The universe doesn't make mistakes. We feel like it brought everyone together here for a reason." But he's clearly excited to have such a retooled roster. And he really likes the way the collection of players all complement each other in terms of their skill sets. "Everyone was very aware this was a special opportunity for all of us in terms of fit," Griffin said. The Pelicans will enter this season with high expectations, and playing under a microscope with No. 1 pick Williamson on display. But Griffin wants the players to believe anything is possible. MORE : Lakers' Anthony Davis has no regrets on trade request: 'I'm a grown man' | Lonzo Ball on being traded from Lakers to Pelicans: 'I was excited' "Look at what the NBA has become, and the way teams are built," Griffin said. "You can't dream big enough in this league. I think I want everyone's approach to this to be, 'Why not us?' "


(Bloomberg) -- Carlos Ghosn improperly charged Renault SA for a 3,000-euro ($3,400) scooter, according to people familiar with the matter, in the latest allegation by the carmaker against its jailed former chairman. The two-wheeler was retrieved by Renault from its headquarters near Paris after company auditors questioned whether Ghosn was entitled to the benefit as part of his compensation, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren't public. The scooter was purchased in 2018, the person said. A spokesman for Renault declined to comment as did his lawyer in Paris, Jean-Yves Le Borgne. A spokeswoman for the Ghosn family couldn't be reached for immediate comment. Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November on allegations of financial misconduct at the carmaker's Japanese partner, Nissan Motor Co. He has denied the charges. Ghosn's legal woes have shone a spotlight on his lavish lifestyle that included use of luxury homes in four countries, a corporate jet and a Marie Antoinette-themed wedding party at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris. The scooter is a relatively small expense for Renault compared with Ghosn's 7.4 million-euro pay package in 2017 and other details revealed by the carmaker from its investigation. Earlier this month, Renault said Ghosn made questionable payments to a distributor in the Middle East and an outside lawyer, and it raised concerns about expenses of several million euros by RNBV, a holding company also headed by Ghosn. Ghosn was arrested again in Tokyo earlier this month, cutting short a brief release on bail that lasted 29 days. The former chairman of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has denied any wrongdoing, blaming Nissan's top ranks for orchestrating a " very dirty game " against him. His current detention was extended by a Tokyo court until April 22. (Updates with Ghosn's current detention in last paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Ania Nussbaum in Paris at anussbaum5@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Tara Patel For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.


Pigeons once so ruled the roost in Philadelphia that the city resorted to broadcasting tapes of pigeons in distress and having police fire blanks into the air in an effort to scare them off City Hall. But Robert Tunick says that these days he has noticed a significant decline of the pigeon population in the city and wondered if he could believe what he hasn't been seeing. "What happened to all the pigeons in Center City?" asked Tunick, an Inquirer reader who contacted Curious Philly, our Q&A forum that allows readers to send us queries about topics piquing their interest. Has their population actually decreased? For decades the city has waged a sometimes costly battle against these rainbow-necked urban nemeses. No truce has been declared, but could the fight be ending peacefully? Pigeon-counting isn't quite as detailed or politically charged as the nation's decennial human census, but the available data suggests that Tunick might well be on to something. The number of pigeons counted in the Mid-Winter Philadelphia Bird Census has dropped dramatically, according to Keith Russell, the ornithologist in charge of the bird count, which occurs every year in January. In 1993, 57 participants observed 2,437 rock pigeons, the species of pigeon that's most commonly found in cities. That was 43 per observer. In 2017, 92 participants observed sighted just 288 rock pigeons, or 3 per observer. Plunging Pigeon PopulationThe number of pigeons recorded each January in the Mid-Winter Philadelphia Bird Census has dropped sharply since the mid-1990s. The annual surveys are conducted with varying numbers of observers. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)5/85/8 document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")3/43/4)3/4(); !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)5/85/8 document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")3/43/4)3/4(); SOURCE: Mid-Winter Philadelphia Bird CensusStaff Graphic As scientists are wont to do, Russell, who lives in Germantown and is the Urban Conservation Project manager at Audubon Pennsylvania, cautions against reading too much into the data. He points out that the citywide surveys were conducted with fluctuating numbers of observers and under diverse weather conditions. For example, during the Jan. 7, 2017 survey, 3 inches of snow fell on the city between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. But the 92 participants that day was the most in the history of the surveys, which began in 1987. So why would the number of pigeons in Philly be dwindling? Russell speculated that the decrease might be related to an increase in raptors; raptors feast on pigeons. Separate data indicate greater numbers of peregrine falcons, Cooper's hawks, and especially red-tailed hawks -- which in annual censuses jumped from 20 in 2017, to 68 in 2019. While the decline of the pigeon population is hardly a cause for mourning for most city residents, pigeons have real value to urbanites, Russell mentioned. Pigeons are scavengers, which means that they eat leftovers that might otherwise be consumed by animals like rats, he said. And they are smarter than they look. According to Charles Walcott, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, pigeons originally inhabited environments full of cliffs but have adapted nicely to city life, using skyscrapers as "a pretty good substitute" for cliff life. During World War II, the United States and Britain used homing pigeons a specially bred and domesticated kind of rock pigeon to carry secret messages to other Allied troops, since homing pigeons are able to fly back to their home lofts from hundreds of miles away. Scientists have hypothesized that the birds accomplish such a feat by sensing Earth's magnetic field and using it for guidance. But Philadelphians should feel no pressure to swell the ranks of rock pigeons. They are non-native, originally coming from Europe and Asia, and according to Walcott, were originally brought here for food. In fact, a city ordinance prohibits the feeding of pigeons "in any public street, square, park, or place of public resort". What's more, pigeon manure can transmit diseases to humans. And their droppings can be costly. In the 1970s, the City used to pay the equivalent of nearly $200,000 annually in today's dollars annually to keep pigeons away from City Hall. At one time several years ago, the city paid to remove 100,000 pounds of pigeon droppings from City Hall. Philadelphia and the rock pigeon have a long and acrimonious history. In the late 1950s, the City tried the equivalent of knockout drops. It placed bird seed coated with a chemical on City Hall grounds in attempt to tranquilize the birds, after which they would be relocated. But the program was halted after only a month, after it was discovered that pigeons were actually passing out in mid-flight and crashing on to the street, where they were run over. Another attempt literally shot blanks. Police officers fired blanks to scare away pigeons, but that was axed after officials realized that the blanks were scaring pigeons into flying up, where they "blessed the crowd with their droppings," according to a June Inquirer article. City officials also abandoned plans to play tapes of pigeons in distress and apply sticky goo to the ledges of City Hall after realizing they didn't work. Philadelphia isn't the only city to wage war on pigeons. In 2013, the government of the Spanish city of Cádiz relocated 5,000 pigeons hundreds of miles away after the birds were seen as a menace to tourists. In 2017, the City Council of San Clemente, Calif., proposed spending $375,000 to keep the city's pier pigeon-free. But despite pigeons' ability to irritate almost everyone, Russell hopes that Philadelphians can come to respect their avian cohabitants. "They're here to stay, so we need to understand them and appreciate them."     ©2019 The Philadelphia Inquirer Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Anaheim's weather report has mostly cloudy skies in store today, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Skies will be partly cloudy on Wednesday. The immediate forecast also has cool temperatures in store for today. Temperatures will turn milder from Friday to Saturday, with a high of 69 degrees on Friday. Winds will stay somewhat calm over the course of the week, with the highest speeds today at only 12 mph. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe won the lone individual time trial of the Tour de France to keep the yellow jersey after 13 stages before the three-week event hits the Pyrenees this weekend. Alaphilippe, who was not a pre-race title contender, relegated 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas to second place by about 14 seconds in Friday's 17-mile race of truth, increasing his overall lead that was 1 minute, 12 seconds, coming into the day. Thomas, though, gained about 82 seconds on perhaps his biggest rival for the title, Ineos teammate Egan Bernal . The Tour heads into the Pyrenees on Saturday with a summit finish on the famed Col du Tourmalet sure to shake up the top 10 in the overall standings. Early in Friday's time trial, Stage 10 winner Wout van Aert of Belgium abandoned after crashing and being taken away by ambulance with a leg injury. TOUR DE FRANCE: TV Schedule | Full Standings Watch world-class cycling events throughout the year with the NBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass , including all 21 stages of the Tour de France live & commercial-free, plus access to renowned races like La Vuelta, Paris-Roubaix, the UCI World Championships and many more. OlympicTalk is on Apple News . Favorite us! Follow @nbcolympictalk


Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft. Get ready to put on your shocked face. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, head cheerleader for the ridiculous Green New Deal , is trying to mislead people into thinking climate change is at the top of America's political agenda. Before we won, climate issues were ranked very low in nat'l voter priorities. Thanks to risk-taking activism, it's now consistently ranked as a #1 or at least a top 3 issue for many voters. Leadership is often about choice: take the temperature, or change the thermostat.   Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 8, 201 If Ocasio-Cortez is not being "false, but accurate" here, her claim might still be classified as "true, but inaccurate." When Ocasio-Cortez refers to "many" voters, she appears to be referring to polls of Democrats . As reported in Politico : "A Monmouth University poll last month showed the issue as the second most important to Iowa caucus-goers after health care, and a CNN national poll found that 82 percent of Democratic respondents said it's 'very important' that their party's nominee for president supports taking 'aggressive action' to slow the effects of climate change, the highest support among several items on the progressive wish list." Post-election polls not restricted to Democrats show entirely different results. The newest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Americans ranking climate change in sixth place and that is after combining first- and second-place responses. This result was unchanged from April 2015. Last month's Gallup poll found climate change was the ninth most important issue, coming in at a mere 3 percent. That result also combines climate change with the environment and pollution. The figure for Democrats is only eight percent. A recent Pew poll found 44 percent of Americans rating climate change as a top priority but that response came in seventeenth of eighteen answers. It is hard to argue the seventeenth choice is truly a "top" issue. Climate change also has the largest partisan gap in the Pew poll. Of that 44 percent top line, 67 percent of Democrats (and leaners) think climate change should be a "top" priority, while only 21 percent of Republicans (and leaners) do. Contrary to left-wing talking points, this gap is not due to Republicans or conservatives being "climate change deniers" this is another exaggerated claim . Admittedly, these are polls of adults, not voters. But given how low climate change ranks, it is wildly unlikely the results would have differed significantly (and might have produced worse results for climate change). In short, while Ocasio-Cortez can get away with claiming "many voters" think climate change is a top issue, it is almost certain that "many more" do not, and the many who do are already solidly Democratic voters. Why would Ocasio-Cortez be so obviously misleading? Perhaps she knows her pet cause is stalling out in Congress and hoped to rouse her followers to push House Democratic leadership on an issue that is at least popular among Democrats. On the other hand, Ocasio-Cortez has misinformed people on a range of issues during her short tenure in Congress. Even the biased "fact-checkers" at PolitiFact , FactCheck.org , and the Washington Post have been unable to avoid this entirely (even if they give her too much slack ). She may be acting out of confirmation bias or simple ignorance. After all, Ocasio-Cortez can probably be counted among the 8 percent of Americans who are progressive activists and count climate change as a top concern. According to the "Hidden Tribes" mega-poll conducted by More In Common, progressive activists rank climate change as a top issue (47 percent) considerably more than the average (18 percent). While the progressive activists are disproportionately white, this demographic was key to Ocasio-Cortez's upset primary victory over incumbent Joe Crowley. As reported (again) by Politico : "Ocasio-Cortez's best precincts were places like the neighborhood where [actor Daniel] Bonthius and his friends live: highly educated, whiter and richer than the district as a whole. In those neighborhoods, Ocasio-Cortez clobbered Crowley by 70 percent or more. Crowley's best precincts, meanwhile, were the working-class African-American enclave of LeFrak City, where he got more than 60 percent of the vote, and portions of heavily Hispanic Corona. He pulled some of his best numbers in Ocasio-Cortez's heavily Latino and African-American neighborhood of Parkchester, in the Bronx beating her by more than 25 points on her home turf." Ocasio-Cortez may be representing her wealthier white constituents on this, just as she did in opposing the location of Amazon's second headquarters in Long Island City. But it is a boutique issue that will not move votes Democrats don't already have. The presidential candidate making it his signature cause, Jay Inslee, is currently polling at an asterisk. As the frog once sang, it's not easy being green.


Tennessee signee Elijah Simmons has hops. Simmons, a Pearl-Cohn (Nashville, Tenn.) senior and defensive tackle, on Wednesday posted on Twitter a video of him dunking at school and then throwing the ball the length of the court into the net. Oh, and Simmons is 6-foot-1 and hovering close to 325 pounds , which is where Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt wants him to be when he arrives on campus in June. RELATED : J.J. Watt tweets about Simmons during NFL Draft Simmons' dunk was much better than the one tweeted of him from the Pearl-Cohn football account on Dec. 18 when Simmons went up to dunk one-handed on an alley oop. That dunk was more of a lay-in. Everybody been waiting to see @BIGE91234 dunk that @CoachJPruitt raved about #VFL #VolTwitter @UTFB_Recruiting @3DHarris @Coach_AD615 @bigcorch pic.twitter.com/ZYGIKPrIPi - Pearl Cohn Football (@PCHS_Firebirds) December 20, 2018 This time, though, he went up with the ball in his left hand and slammed it down before tossing it into the other basket. "I wasn't (trying to make it)," Simmons told the USA Today Network on Wednesday. "I just threw it up." At the NFL Draft last month, Houston Texan JJ Watt was so impressed with Simmons' size when the high school senior was on stage before the Titans' first-round draft pick that he tweeted, "Can we draft #72 (Simmons) from the Tennessee metro high school team? Kid looks like a beast." MORE: NCSA: Five common recruiting myths This photo of Kyler Murray led to more speculation about his height Patriots will prove Super Bowl LIII shutdown defense was no fluke Phil Simms: Daniel Jones 'fits what Pat Shurmur wants' NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players


A 300-year-old capital of Latinx culture on the cusp of change. It's the nation's seventh most-populous city and the fastest-growing one. It's welcoming 66 new residents each day and is on pace to receive 1 million new arrivals in the next 25 years. Downtown, a $57 million, state-of-the art school of data science will soon open, one of a score of pivotal developments reshaping the city's core. Few would likely guess that the above refers to San Antonio, Texas, the state's second-largest city and one of the U.S.'s least understood. As this capital of Mexican-American culture celebrates its 300th birthday, it also confronts a sizable shift in its character, economy, and ambitions. "Historically, [San Antonio is] a city that was isolated, small, and didn't see a lot of growth," says Ian Caine, an associate professor of architecture and director of the Center for Urban and Regional Planning Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). "You have a city that's experiencing growth, but it's not built for that." Caine describes San Antonio as a city of contrasting realities especially now. Traditionally seen as a sleepy city built on a Spanish colonial grid bisected downtown by the San Antonio River, it's proudly bicultural, but also significantly segregated, with high rates of poverty . Nationally, it's best known for the River Walk and the Alamo, tourist draws that have, perhaps, frozen how the city is perceived elsewhere. "If there's a city of opportunity in Texas, it's San Antonio. There aren't many times in a generation when you can actually build a city." But that may be changing as the city's downtown and surrounding neighborhoods see increasing levels of investment . The redevelopment of The Pearl , a former brewery turned private urban mega-project that billionaire Christopher "Kit" Goldsbury began building out in 2002, gets credit for kickstarting the boom. But San Antonio's urban revival has picked up significant pace in the last year. "If there's a city of opportunity in Texas, it's San Antonio," said Graham Weston, another billionaire local real estate investor, in an interview with Texas Monthly . "There aren't many times in a generation when you can actually build a city." Last month, UTSA's sizable downtown expansion , including a $33 million National Security Collaboration Center and a $57 million School of Data Science that will form a new tech corridor, got a green light from city government and the city's mayor, Ron Nirenberg. "Backpacks are an indispensable ingredient for a vibrant core," says Randy Smith, co-founder and president of Weston Urban, the firm co-founded by Graham Weston. "UTSA's expansion will bring 15,000 new students downtown." Elsewhere, a $9.2 million rehabilitation will turn the historic Alameda Theater into the new home for Texas Public Radio; a new $450 million redevelopment and expansion of Alamo Plaza was approved last week; and part of the Hemisfair , site of the 1968 World's Fair, will soon reopen as a multi-use development with a park, hotel and eight-story apartment complex called The '68. The first phase of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park , a new $125 million public space dubbed the "Latino High Line," opened this spring and adds yet another catalyst for development on the city's near Westside . The 22-story Frost Tower , a Weston Urban project that opens next summer, is nearby. All this growth only underscores the city's binary nature, says Caine. As new buildings go up and residents move in, can the city maintain its essential character, and its affordability and diversity, as neighborhoods are permanently changed? The San Pedro Creek Culture Park dubbed the 'Latino High Line," isn't just a park, but "a place of cultural identity," says Henry R. Muñoz III, the project's lead designer. A recent report from the Mayor's Housing Policy Task Force, released last month, highlights the challenges of recent growth. Median home prices have doubled since 2005, while incomes have risen just 40 percent. Half of the city's renters spend more than a third of their income on rent. "Housing affordability is more than a personal challenge," the report notes. "It's one that leads to negative impacts on a community's economic health and quality of life." "When you talk about growth in San Antonio, the opportunities are tremendous," says Caine. "But the challenges are also tremendous." Downtown's growth is only part of the story For much of San Antonio's 300-year history, it was "a forgotten town," says Caine. The city's first railroad connection wasn't open until 1877, making it the last major U.S. city to link up . It was also the last major city in Texas to get a public university, with UTSA opening in 1969 . San Antonio didn't have the same experience with urban renewal as other cities because it never really industrialized. It's comparative lack of growth meant downtown didn't become a "corporatized grid of mirrored-glass skyscrapers," according to Caine, and instead was able to keep its architectural heritage and charm intact. "Aside from hotels along the River Walk, our skyline hasn't changed in years," says Smith. San Antonio has instead relied on steady, unspectacular growth, with fewer booms or busts. It's a military town, with two major bases nearby and a growing cybersecurity industry , and the city remains a perennial tourism destination, thanks to the River Walk and Alamo. There's a sizable oil industry because of the Eagle Ford shale, a nearby geologic formation rich in petroleum. And Interstate 35, dubbed the NAFTA Superhighway due to the amount of shipping it facilitates to and from Mexico, cuts right through the center of town. "Aside from hotels along the River Walk, our skyline hasn't changed in years." Like all other Texas cities, San Antonio has benefited from a statewide economic boom , which economist Ed Glaeser attributes to the state's favorable combination of low regulation, good weather, and cheap housing. In the style of Houston and the Dallas Metroplex, San Antonio has also sprawled outward. While its downtown's rebirth has been a key story, it hasn't dampened suburban growth. The city plan released in 2016 recognized 13 separate nodes of development in the greater metro area, and, according to research Caine conducted with Rebecca Walter from the University of Washington, "multifamily housing in San Antonio remains a largely suburban phenomenon, albeit one with a concentrated presence in the rapidly gentrifying downtown area." "It's the portrait of a city that's decentralizing," says Caine. "It's [misleading to say] that it's all about the rebirth of downtown. That's just half the story." Boomtown billionaires reshaping San Antonio The downtown boom benefits, though, from being the portion of the city's story that's bankrolled by a pair of billionaires. Weston, the cofounder of cloud computing firm Rackspace, has provided a $15 million donation to UTSA's expansion plan, and Weston Urban has completed or is working on a number of residential and commercial projects, with a focus on bringing companies, especially in the tech industry, back downtown. Among them is Geekdom , a coworking space, along with a slate of new buildings along the San Pedro Creek, where the company has accumulated several acres . Part of Weston's vision is to create a San Antonio tech district. "For years, I watched people leave Rackspace and have to move to another city to get a job," he told Texas Monthly . "We need to have opportunities for them." Weston's vision owes a lot to the possibilities first created by the investments of Kit Goldbury, a fellow billionaire who made his money with Pace Picante Sauce and who now spearheads The Pearl. Goldbury's pioneering decision to buy a brewery site abandoned for decades and create a privatized, mixed-use neighborhood from the ground up has been a key driver for commercial and residential projects. (Goldbury's firm Silver Ventures owns the entire site, streets and infrastructure included, which Caine compares to "the same legal structure as a shopping mall.") Farmer's Market at The Pearl, the Silver Ventures/Kit Goldbury project that's been a catalyst for downtown development Since 2002, more than 300,000 square feet of historic building stock has been repurposed within the site, which now boasts a branch of the Culinary Institute of America; Hotel Emma , an award-winning boutique; extensive multifamily housing; and a food hall , the city's first. Goldbury compares the project to recreating the city's historic plazas . "Authenticity is a big driver in the Pearl," says David Lake , a founding partner of architecture firm Lake Flato , which oversees the entire district's design. "If we relied on traditional marketing studies and absorption rates, we wouldn't have done anything." The Pearl's sizable impact will only grow. The city council recently voted to rezone 7.9 acres around the Pearl for more high-density development, making way for additional offices, apartment, and bars. The city has encouraged this downtown development with tax incentives. In 2012, the city council created Center City Housing Incentive Policy, or CCHIP , which has given out more than $100 million in loans, fee waivers, and property-tax breaks to developers working within a 36-square-mile area encompassing downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. The program has helped support 64 developments that added 6,810 housing units, 28,000 square feet of office space, and 230,000 square feet of retail space, according to the San Antonio Express News . In 2016, the city shrank the program's boundaries to 5.2 square miles , concentrated on the near east and west sides, Southtown, and the Pearl, after complaints the program was fueling gentrification. The forthcoming Arts Residences development, near the River Walk, received $10 million from the program and will sell units that start at $400,000 and may cost as much as $4.5 million. Can an ambitious San Antonio help everyone? The vision of San Antonio being peddled by developers that of an emerging tech center anchoring a blossoming downtown runs into hard truths when considered with the the entire city in mind. Building a truly equitable tech district for the whole community means providing pathways for local talent. "So many people want to create a high-tech corridor in San Antonio, but it's a balancing act," says Caine. "The city has low levels of education, making it difficult to have tech relocate here." San Antonio's historically Mexican-American Westside exemplifies how the city has, historically, fallen short when it comes to equity, education, development, and investment. And the widening impact of projects such as as the San Pedro Culture Park and The Pearl only put more housing price pressures on these areas. The Westside, stretches of which have some of the highest poverty rates in the entire metro region, also contains one the country's greatest collections of Mexican-American architecture. The city was recently named a UNESCO Heritage Site in recognition of its historic missions. That designation has both spurred efforts to develop areas near the new tourist sites and encouraged local preservationists to rally around the city's still-unprotected historic buildings , some of which pre-date the signing of the U.S. Constitution. "Part of the value of the UNESCO World Heritage designation includes the 'intangible heritage' of people. It's not the restaurant; it's the chef," said William Dupont, director of the Center for Cultural Sustainability at UTSA, to NextCity . "So as the city is looking at that, they're concurrently taking a look at all of their policies citywide, [recognizing] displacement of the people can now cause loss of economic potential." San Antonio stands at a pivotal point, challenged to expand its economy without sacrificing its character or the potential for greater equity. The city has a tradition of producing respected urban policymakers, with two of the last four presidents tapping former San Antonio mayors, Julian Castro and Henry Cisneros, to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The current Mayor's Housing Policy Task Force, created last August to address these problems, issued a comprehensive plan to invest more in housing, with the goal of dramatically increasing how much money the city spends on housing currently $64 million a year and leverage public-private spending to build nearly 18,700 units over the next 10 years. The report argues that housing and affordable workforce housing should be considered part of the city's infrastructure and, "like water and energy," is a cornerstone of the economy, essential to its current functioning and future success. "City revenues have grown by $210 million in the last five years, and housing has remained a very low priority," the Mayor's Housing Policy Task Force report lays out. "As the magnitude of the housing affordability problem in the city has become clearer, it is evident that we do not have a resource problem; we have a priority problem."


This "hangry" dog, Rusty, knows what he wants. According to his owner, when he wants a snack, he hits the treat jar and scowls.


Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld has claimed he wants a Champions League triumph 'more than anyone else', having suffered heartbreak in the final with Atletico Madrid back in 2014. Spurs take on fellow English side Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday at Wanda Metropolitano, the new home of Alderweireld's former club Atletico. Alderweireld was part of the  Atlético side that lost the 2014 Champions League final to Real Madrid . He came on as substitute shortly before Sergio Ramos scored a 90th minute equaliser for Real, who would go on to win 4-1 in extra-time. The Belgian says that he struggled to cope with the defeat but also said that it has provided him with extra motivation to help Tottenham win this year's final. "We were so close to winning it. The feeling of losing is very hard," he told BBC Sport . "That night I flew to Belgium because we had the World Cup coming up, so there was no time to grieve. "After the World Cup, when I had time to think about it, I thought it was a big chance, a big opportunity, and maybe it will never come again. "I will take this feeling to the final and show I want it more than anyone else." Alderweireld left Atlético to join Southampton on loan in 2014 before signing permanently for Tottenham for approximately £11.5m in 2015. Another great session done. The boys are looking sharp and feeling strong 💪🏻 #COYS #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/7yGjv4yCHG   Alderweireld Toby (@AlderweireldTob) May 30, 2019 He quickly established himself as one on the best defenders in the Premier League and forged an impressive partnership with compatriot Jan Vertonghen at the heart of Tottenham's back-line. The Belgium international was heavily linked with a move away from the club but ended up staying and has once again become a key player this season, making 49 appearances in all competitions, including 11 in the Champions League.


On a farm in Myrniong, Victoria, one bull got itself into a little bit of trouble. The animal, dubbed Graeme by farm operator Louise Abey, can be seen with its head stuck in a cat carrier in the video originally uploaded to Facebook. Abey told Storyful that she managed to extricate Graeme from the container unharmed. "I got them into the cattle yards and took it off quite easily," she said. Credit: Louise Abey via Storyful


A popular Revere restaurant was destroyed overnight in a fire. The fire started just after midnight at the Bagel Bin Deli on Shirley Avenue and grew to four alarms. Flames shot through the roof of the restaurant. Deputy Fire Chief Tom Todisco said smoke was pouring from the building when crews arrived, and there was zero visibility in the street. Firefighters had to cut locks to get through the security fencing in the front and back of the building. Todisco said another challenge was keeping crews cool in the heat. "They did take a lot of breaks -- a lot of water. We have a lot of rehab vehicles here," he said. George Vlladesi and his family have owned the beloved restaurant for years. "Twenty years ago they were immigrants, and this was their American dream," said the owner's daughter Katherine Prifti said. "This is our, our home for the morning. You know, this is where we started our day. This is where all the, and I say big, decisions in the city were made," City Councilor Ira Novoselsky said. "My grandchildren grew up at the Bagel Bin. My daughter grew up in the Bagel Bin," customer Diane McLaughlin said. A look inside the building shows the extensive damage throughout and the challenge that lies ahead. "We're going to rebuild. We're going to open it up for the city of Revere and for all of us. But completely, utterly shocked and devastated," Prifti said. No one was injured in the fire. The cause remains under investigation. READ MORE: Overnight fire destroys popular Revere restaurant CHECK OUT WCVB: Get the latest Boston news, weather and sports online, anytime. Stay in the know with Boston's news leader   WCVB.


BROOKLYN, Mich.   Kyle Busch admits it was "surprising" that the two drivers he had issues with last week at Watkins Glen International were those who raced for his Truck Series team early in their careers. Busch had confrontations on the track with Bubba Wallace and William Byron at the Glen. Wallace drove for Busch's Truck team in 2013-14, Byron drove for Busch's Truck team in 2016. "I would say it's kind of surprising, I guess, that you get into with two former drivers because, I guess, you would kind of expect a little bit more or different from them than you would say some other competitors out there," Busch said Friday at Michigan International Speedway. "I guess I just didn't quite get that. Overall, as far as conversations went … was better understanding between the both of them. Move forward." MORE: Ryan Blaney upset by Jimmie Johnson's comments in TV interview MORE: Anger building in NASCAR's season of rage Said Wallace of his meeting with Busch: "We both agreed to disagree on what led up to those events and what happened and obviously frustrations were high." "We had a good conversation. We were kind of pissed off with each other. I'd say something and piss him off and vice versa but at the end of the day we shook hands and it was over with. He finished 11th (at Watkins Glen), I'm not a threat to him. But at the same time I've still got to get my respect." Busch said that issues with Wallace began before Watkins Glen. "There were two other races prior to that one that had kind of built up to the backstretch," Busch said. "I set up my pass on him for the inner loop back in Turn 2, got a run on him through 2, got a run on him through 3. He messed up Turn 3 pretty bad and I was on him and actually to his outside through Turn 4 and he didn't know I was there and he ran me off in the dirt off Turn 4. I had to get off the gas. "And so I figured the next time I get to him, If I get him and I'm alongside him or not and he comes over and chops my nose, it is what it is. That's what happened in the carousel. Did I mean to crash him? No. I didn't mean to crash him. Did I mean to move him? Sure. It escalated from there." Busch was upset with Byron after spinning on Lap 2 as he tried to pass Byron. "He came down and chopped and hit me in my left front, which just spun me out," Busch said. "Yes, I think it was avoidable." "If you look at lap 3, ( Martin Truex Jr. ) was passing ( Kyle Larson ) getting into Turn 1 and (Larson) gave a car width and half of room and everything was fine. And if you fast forward again to Lap 13 and (Truex) was passing (Byron) the exact same way I was getting into Turn 1 and (Byron) broke hard enough to where he got behind (Truex) before they got to the corner and made the corner single file. There's different things at different times. Now, if it was the last lap, I would have expected him to do exactly what he did. Lap 2, you expect different I guess." Said Byron about the incident: "We got a chance to talk, and obviously I have a lot of respect for Kyle, having driven for him and winning the races that we did. That year in 2016 was a big deal for my career. But as far as racing goes, I felt like I gave enough room. He feels like I didn't give enough room. Obviously, it's just racing. Stuff like that happens and you learn from it. I learned a little bit about Turn 1 and what maybe I could have done differently. Hopefully he learns a little bit too." Byron retaliated by running into the back of Busch's car under caution after crew chief Chad Knaus told him to do so on the radio. Busch saw Byron coming and hit the brakes, causing Byron to ram into the back of Busch's car harder and damaging Byron's car. "I mean ultimately I'm driving the race car and have got to make good decisions," Byron said of what Knaus told him to do. "If he tells me something to do, I ultimately make the decision. It's up to me, obviously it's my space and everything. I felt like I was done a little wrong and that's kind of how I handled it. Unfortunately, it cost me a lot more so I learned from that for sure." For Byron, this is his second high-profile incident this summer with a veteran driver. Brad Keselowski wrecked Byron in practice at Daytona when Byron came down to block. So does Byron feel as if he's being picked on veteran drivers? "I feel like there is a way it could be handled and not, I guess, be taken out quite so much on me with the brake check and the (Daytona) practice crash," Byron said. "I don't know. They're racing me how they feel I need to be raced. I race them as well." #NASCAR …  @KyleBusch  on incidents last weekend with  @WilliamByron  and  @BubbaWallace  and moving on. pic.twitter.com/9RiEzUTJDT   Dustin Long (@dustinlong) August 9, 2019 #NASCAR …  @BubbaWallace  on his conversation with  @KyleBusch  about what happened between them at  @WGI  pic.twitter.com/sGKKThrtML   Dustin Long (@dustinlong) August 9, 2019 #NASCAR …  @WilliamByron  on crew chief Chad Knaus prodding him to hit  @KyleBusch 's car last week at  @WGI  in retaliation. … pic.twitter.com/UO8UuxPhrw   Dustin Long (@dustinlong) August 9, 2019


Fiat Chrysler said in a statement that it is proposing a 50/50 merger with French auto giant Renault. The tieup would create the world's number-three automaker in size, behind only Toyota and Volkswagen, comprising 13 brands. Perhaps most intriguing, Renault would gain access to the U.S. market, opening the door to eventually selling products such as the Mégane R.S. shown above to American buyers. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is proposing a merger with French automaker Renault, in which the two companies would each own 50 percent of the other. This merger would create the world's third-largest global automaker, putting it behind Toyota and Volkswagen and vaulting ahead of Hyundai-Kia. The arrangement would not affect the existing alliance that Renault has with Nissan and Mitsubishi, except for the fact that Nissan would have the opportunity to nominate a person to the board of the new combined Renault-FCA merged company. Renault said in a statement that it will study the proposal closely, which makes it sound as though the deal is likely. It will take some time for the two companies to sort out all the particulars, so the merger may not be officially formed for several more months. FCA Sought a Merger It's no secret that FCA has been searching for such a deal for years. The late CEO Sergio Marchionne was open about the fact that a merger would be beneficial for his company, and he had unsuccessfully courted several automakers, including Volkswagen and General Motors. Renault had been one of the companies discussed as a potential partner for FCA in the past, and it seems no coincidence that the talks have finally progressed now that the fallout from the arrest on financial-misconduct charges of Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, has begun to settle. According to many news reports, Ghosn had been looking to merge Renault and Nissan beyond the existing alliance, an arrangement in which the companies own minority stakes in each other. Implications for Future Cars What will a merger between Renault and FCA look like in terms of product? That is something that will be sorted out over the coming years if the merger does go through. One of the implications is giving Renault direct access to the U.S. market. The proposal also suggests that the two automakers will share all sorts of technologies, powertrains, and manufacturing facilities, meaning that the cars they sell would share component sets at some point. The combined company would include 13 brands in total: FCA's Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Lancia; plus Renault and its brands, which include low-cost brand Dacia; Lada, which is aimed at the Russian market; Renault Samsung Motors, for certain Asian markets; and sports-car brand Alpine.


Curious just how far your dollar goes in Worcester? We've rounded up the latest rental offerings via rental sites Zumper and Apartment Guide to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down a place in Worcester if you don't want to spend more than $1,300/month on rent. Take a look at the listings, below. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.) Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. 21 Harley Drive Listed for $1,250/month for its 452 square feet, there's this studio apartment over at 21 Harley Drive. The building offers on-site laundry. In the residence, the listing promises air conditioning, hardwood flooring and a dishwasher. Neither cats nor dogs are permitted. The listing specifies a $500.00 security deposit. Per Walk Score ratings, this location is car-dependent, has minimal bike infrastructure and has some transit options. (Take a gander at the complete listing here .) 26 Portland St. Here's a 500-square-foot studio apartment at 26 Portland St. that's also going for $1,250/month. The unit comes with granite countertops, hardwood flooring and stainless steel appliances. The building boasts a fitness center. For those with furry friends in tow, know that cats and dogs are welcome on this property. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. According to Walk Score's assessment, the area around this address is quite walkable, is fairly bikeable and offers many nearby public transportation options. (See the full listing here .) 64 Houghton St. Next, check out this 1,014-square-foot three-bedroom, one-bathroom residence that's located at 64 Houghton St. It's listed for $1,250/month. You can expect hardwood flooring in the unit. Animals are not welcome. There's no leasing fee required for this rental. According to Walk Score, this location is friendly for those on foot, is fairly bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options. (See the complete listing here .) 507 Main St. Located at 507 Main St., here's a 400-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom spot that's listed for $1,275/month. Look for in-unit laundry, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a walk-in closet in the unit. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are welcome. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee. Walk Score indicates that this location has excellent walkability, is fairly bikeable and offers many nearby public transportation options. (Check out the complete listing here .) 13 Groton Place Here's a three-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 13 Groton Place that's going for $1,300/month. The building has on-site laundry. The listing also promises central heating, high ceilings and hardwood flooring in the unit. Animals are not welcome. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. Walk Score indicates that the area around this address is quite walkable, is somewhat bikeable and has good transit options. (Take a look at the full listing here .) Working with a tight budget? Here are the cheapest rentals recently listed in Worcester . This story was created automatically using local real estate data from Zumper and Apartment Guide , then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


There's a new strain of canine flu in the U.S., and it has some pet owners worried about their furry family members. More than 1,000 dogs caught the illness during a recent outbreak in Chicago, and infections are reportedly emerging in other states, including California. But the H3N2 canine flu not to be confused with the seasonal H3N2 human flu that sickened so many people last winter is no cause for panic, experts say. Most dogs won't get seriously ill if they catch dog flu. What's more, a contagious virus in dogs is unlikely to spread rapidly (as flu can in people) because dogs simply aren't as mobile, or as social, as we are. "In humans, this would be a pandemic virus," said Colin Parrish, a virologist at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine and member of an informal task force tracking the canine flu's spread and effects. "But dogs don't fly around the world in large numbers and shake each other's hands. Because they don't have the same social structure as humans, the viruses spread more slowly." There are two types of dog flu. The first, H3N8, is nearly identical to a virus that has been known for more than 40 years to infect horses. The virus adapted to dogs, first infecting them in the U.S. in 2004, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The second dog flu, H3N2, is a mutated version of a virus that occurs in birds, and was first found in dogs in Asia in 2007. It appeared in the U.S. last month. Although it's not fully known how it made its way here, Parrish said some believe that it may have been carried over during the rescue of dogs being raised for meat in South Korea. The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that dogs that are sickened by canine flu fall into two categories: those with a mild form (causing coughing, lethargy and sometimes a nasal discharge) and those with a more severe version accompanied by high fevers and pneumonia. Some dogs can catch the flu and not have symptoms at all. "It's the entire range, just like in people," said Dr. Polina Vishkautsan, a University of California, Davis veterinarian. Dogs that get sick from canine flu can be treated with supportive care such as antibiotics for secondary infections or fever-reducing medications, and most get better in two to three weeks. Fewer than 10 percent of dogs confirmed to have canine flu die as a result of the infection, the CDC says. Although a vaccine is available for the H3N8 strain, scientists don't know whether it would prevent H3N2 infections, Vishkautsan said. She said that she doubted it would, because of differences between proteins in the two flu types. Dogs at the highest risk of contracting canine flu are those that have the most contact with other dogs, often in such locations as boarding kennels, doggy day care and animal shelters. Both Vishkautsan and Parrish said they had heard reports of at least one confirmed H3N2 dog flu infection in Southern California, but they didn't have details. Crucially, canine influenza is not known to have ever infected people though it was reported to have sickened some cats in South Korea in 2010. The CDC calls the viruses "a low threat to humans" but will continue to monitor them both, in case either mutates and gains the ability to infect humans (as the pandemic H1N1 swine flu and the deadly H5N1 bird flu did in the past.) To prevent infection in pets, owners should exercise caution before taking dogs to locations where other infected animals are likely to be. Hand washing can also help halt the spread of disease. And if dogs do develop symptoms, owners should keep them away from other dogs. "It's mostly just common sense," Vishkautsan said.


Marcus Mariota faces a pivotal season in 2019 - one that could prove to be the most important of his career. In his time with the Titans we have seen some major ups, and some major downs. Mariota has faced a ton of criticism, some fair, some not. He's has dealt with a lot of adversity since being drafted by the Titans partially due to injuries, and partially due to a drastic number of coaching changes. But, in 2019, Mariota has a few luxuries he hasn't gotten to enjoy over the past years. He has continuity with the coaching staff, chemistry built up with multiple players around him and he's spent the offseason gaining weight to avoid injury. But there's another factor that plays into this many are overlooking. Most experts believe it takes five years for a quarterback coming out of college to adjust and mature to the NFL. While this can't be proven or disproven, there are some numbers back it up. Here's a look at some other quarterbacks who took a leap in their fifth year. Cam Newton Frederick Breedon/Getty Images Newton's fifth year came in 2015. That year, the Panthers finished the season 15-1 and went to the Super Bowl. In the previous season, the Panthers only managed a 5-8-1 overall record. In 2015, he threw for 35 touchdowns - the most he completed before that came in 2013, when he threw 24. Newton also only committed 10 interceptions. Before that, his fewest interceptions in a season came in 2012 and 2014, when he threw 12. It would be foolish to think a player can drastically change all of his stats from his first four years. Newton's yards and completion percentage stayed fairly similar to years past in 2015. But, improving his touchdown-to-interception ratio and leading his team to a near perfect season cemented Newton's place as a franchise quarterback. Matt Ryan Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports Ryan's fifth season came in 2012. Unlike Newton, Ryan seemed to have improved everything but his interception numbers that year. He also led the Falcons to a 13-3 record. Ryan completed 68.6% of his passes, which was an improvement over his previous best when 62.5% in 2010. The 4,719 yards threw for were more than his previous best total that came in 2011 when he passed for 4,177 yards. His 32 touchdowns were also the most he ever had in a season to that point. Andrew Luck AP Photo/Ben Margot Luck's numbers are a little more tricky to pinpoint, and they were all over the place in his first four seasons. Judging by stats alone, Luck's fifth year is the year he found consistency. Luck's 63.5% completions was the most of his career to that point, and his 32 touchdowns ranks only second to his third year in which he threw for 40 touchdowns. While the 13 interceptions he threw doesn't rank as his fewest, that year saw the best touchdown-to-interception ratio of his career. Drew Brees Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports Titans fans love to compare Mariota to Brees, and there are a lot of similarities in the early phases of their careers. Both threw more interceptions than touchdowns in their third seasons (Mariota 13-14, Brees 11-15). Both threw for around 3,000 yards each of their first three seasons, and both had to deal with being on inconsistent teams. Now, Brees has gone on to win a Super Bowl, appear in 12 Pro Bowls, and is a First-Team All-Pro selection. Brees also holds many NFL records, including the highest completion percentage in a season at 74.4%, which he broke his own record of 72% from the previous. He also owns the record of most consecutive seasons with at least 4,500 passing yards, and is the all-time leader for passing yards. Others Gregory Shamus/Getty Images Andy Dalton, Eli Manning, and Philip Rivers also had their careers take off in year five. However, as mentioned before, this is not a proven fact: Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Joe Flacco, and Ben Roethisberger's numbers stayed mostly the same, or even took a slight dip in their fifth seasons. Conclusion AP Photo / Mark Humphrey It would be irresponsible for Titans not to franchise tag or sign Mariota to a short-term deal if he has a decent year in 2019. Given all the factors, Mariota should have a big season in 2019, or at the very least find the magic he had before all the injuries and coaching staff changes set him back. MORE: Browns mob touchdown scorer who slept outside a gym during tryouts 4 Takeaways from the Steelers 30-28 win over the Bucs Packers LT David Bakhtiari pokes fun at Texans CB Lonnie Johnson D'Angelo Russell Q&A: Warriors' new backcourt is 'like a video game' Earl Watson explains the 'perfect marriage' of Westbrook, Harden


The Bills were assigned a player through the NFL's International Player Pathway Program this offseason and Christian Wade made a memorable preseason debut against the Colts on Thursday night. Wade was a rugby star in his native England, but gave up the sport last year to pursue a career in football and has been working as a running back this summer. He got his first carry in a game in the fourth quarter, found a hole and went 65 yards for an unexpected touchdown. "I'm still kind of like lost for word s," Wade said, via Syracuse.com. "That's what dreams are made of, man. You come over here and I'm trying to work my ass off. It gives me the motivation to keep going. I get the positive energy that I'm making strides in the right direction. I know I still have loads of work to do." As you can see in the picture above, Wade was able to pull off the touchdown run despite an awkward exchange on the handoff. That illustrates how much work there is to do. Even if Wase doesn't make the team, the work can continue into the regular season as the Bills are permitted to carry Wade as an 11th player on the practice squad and the early returns showed there's something for them to work with. Related Slideshow: Best MVP candidate for all 32 teams in 2019 NFL season (provided by imagn)


President Trump's surprise Thursday announcement that Sarah Sanders is stepping down as his press secretary followed a pair of stern rebukes by members of the White House press corps. In pitches to the group's voting membership, two candidates competing to become the next president of the White House Correspondents' Association accused the Trump administration of consistently spreading lies and the president of unfairly attacking the media. "We as an organization need to be more concerned about getting lied to as a matter of course - and the American public getting lied to, through us - than about access," HuffPost correspondent S.V. Dáte wrote in an email, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. "I've been in this business more than three decades, and what's happening now is unprecedented. We are attacked on a near daily basis using Stalinist language," he added. "We are called corrupt and dishonest. We are given false information from staff who often know full well that it is false." CBS News Radio's Steven Portnoy cast the White House press shop as one that ignored several controversial issues by refusing to hold a formal press conference for more than 90 days. "As the president continues to call news organizations 'corrupt,' these are just some of the issues he has ducked by not having his aides appear regularly before the press corps," Portnoy said. Dáte also noted how special counsel Robert Mueller found Sanders lied to the media when she said former FBI Director James Comey was fired in part because "countless" members of the FBI had lost confidence in him. "I'm certainly not the only one who thinks [lying] is an issue," he said. "It seems over the last several months, over the past year, we haven't really talked about it." "I think we have a right not to have a paid employee of the executive branch lie to us," Dáte said, adding that he would have sought a WHCA statement of disapproval in response to the Mueller report. "I don't know if it would have done any good at all," he said. "But we shouldn't just shrug and move on." Olivier Knox of SiriusXM Radio, the current president of the WHCA, declined to comment for the story, and Sanders did not respond to a request for comment. The day after the report was published, President Trump announced Sanders' departure at the end of the month. "After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas....," the president tweeted, adding, "....She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job! I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas - she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!"


Quality Trans AM SE models are getting harder and harder to find. Restore A Muscle Car is pleased to announce the sale of this special 1977 Pontiac Trans Am SE . Quality Trans Am Special Edition models are few and far in between these days, so take advantage of this opportunity before it's too late. The example you see here is a true Y82 Smoky and the Bandit Special Edition TA, with detail and pride in ownership clearly visible throughout. It is one of only 2,699 four-speed SE cars built in 1977, which is less than five percent of total production numbers. It's a rare and highly sought-after car with just 5,306 miles on it and numbers matching throughout. This is a PHS documented four-speed Trans AM in well-stored condition. It rides on original 15x7 Sold-accented snowflake wheels. The undercarriage is in excellent condition with no rust whatsoever. The heart and soul of this 1977 Trans Am SE is a Pontiac W72 400 6.6-liter engine mated to a Borg-Warner four-speed transmission and the factory dual exhaust. The perfect deluxe interior includes a tilt steering column and a vintage Pioneer Super-Tuner AM/FM radio. The 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition is hard to miss, especially with that striking Starlight Black paint with gold striping and grille inserts. Most people know the car as being the start of the show in the Smoky and the Bandit movie. Standard equipment includes a front air dam, dual-chrome splitter exhaust extensions, and a rear decklid spoiler. The interior features a gold instrument bezel with gold-accented steering wheel and red Firebird emblems. This example was ordered as a Y82 with the Hurst T-top. This car is very well-known, yet not very often seen on the roads. It's truly a timeless masterpiece that takes everyone back 40 years to where they were when the movie first came out. Now is your chance to stun the crowds at your local car show or merely attract smiles and glances everywhere you go. Call today!


Though the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers have been linked to impending free agent Al Horford, the Celtics have a division rival hoping to poach the dynamic big man away from Boston this offseason. Per the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey, the Philadelphia 76ers - who could free up to $58.9 million dollars this offseason to build around cornerstones Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid - have interest in signing Horford . Don't be surprised if the Sixers attempt to pursue Boston's Al Horford, Milwaukee's Malcolm Brogdon, and Toronto's Danny Green among others if they don't bring all of their top free agents back. The team has some level of interest in all three players. This is particularly notable given the oft-heated battles between the Sixers and Celtics, as we as Horford and Embiid (including a number of matchups in which Horford has had Embiid's number). It's also interesting because for a man with a wife and three children, a move to Philadelphia - just five hours away from Boston - would be more practical than one to Dallas or Los Angeles. Brooklyn is just four hours away from Boston, so there's no edge for Philadelphia there. However, with All-NBA guard Kyrie Irving expected to sign with the Nets and looking to bring Kevin Durant along with him, there are serious questions about off-court chemistry and how much the Nets could offer the five-time All-Star. Signing Horford would also give Philadelphia a great chance to be the best team in the Atlantic Division next season, especially with Durant likely out for the entire 2019-20 regular season and the reality that Kawhi Leonard could leave the Toronto Raptors just months after leading the franchise to their first ever NBA championship. In between the lines, it's apparent how the spacing Horford can provide makes driving to the rim in the halfcourt easier for Simmons and gives Embiid extra opportunity to dominate on the low block. There are also likely to be a number of games Embiid misses as Philadelphia tries to lessen his physical load ("load management") and make sure he's available for the playoffs. Such games are ones where Horford would be tasked with dominating and that could be enticing for Big Al, particularly after a season in which there were too many players wanting to dominate as scorers. Quite honestly, pursuing Horford - who is also an invaluable locker room presence with his quiet leadership and work ethic - would be a wise move for the Sixers. Unfortunately for Boston, Philadelphia will have no issue outbidding them for Horford if they don't re-sign swingman Jimmy Butler or forward Tobias Harris. Of Butler and Harris, there's no certainty on where either will sign but both have been linked to multiple teams this offseason and are willing to leave the Sixers as free agents. MORE: Mystery of fish caught with wedding ring attached solved NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players Los Angeles Lakers 'think they have a strong shot' at signing Kawhi Leonard according to report 2019 NBA Awards: How to Watch, Stream, and Channels Robert Quinn explains why he picked Cowboys over Saints


PITTSBURGH (AP) Christian Yelich keeps pushing to new heights. Yelich hit two home runs and took over the major league lead with 39, powering the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. ''Just trying to help the team win,'' said Yelich, who surpassed his previous career-best homer total with his 37th of the season Sunday. ''You're trying to do well every game, it just happened to work out that way tonight. If I could hit two homers whenever I wanted, that would be pretty sweet.'' The reigning NL MVP capped his performance with a towering shot on a slider from Geoff Hartlieb, crushed 425 feet onto the river walk beyond right field to make the score 9-6 in the ninth. It was Yelich's sixth career multi-homer game, and his fourth this season. The night began when Yelich homered in the first inning for a second straight game, driving the first of his four hits 408 feet into the bleachers in left off Dario Agrazal (2-3). He also hit a solo homer in the first inning against the Cubs on Sunday. ''He has the ability to put us on his back offensively,'' Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. ''He's done it before. He did it for a pretty long stretch last year, and tonight was a night he did it again.'' Brewers starter Jordan Lyles (7-7) limited his former team to three runs (one earned) on two hits in five innings in his first start against the Pirates since being traded on July 29. Lyles walked two and didn't allow a hit through the first three innings. Bryan Reynolds led off the fourth with the 10th homer of his rookie season, cutting Milwaukee's lead to 5-1. Pablo Reyes hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer to left off Lyles in the fifth to make it 5-3. In his last outing for the Pirates, Lyles allowed eight runs (five earned) on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings of a 14-8 loss to St. Louis on July 24. He was 5-7 with a 5.36 ERA for Pittsburgh this season. ''Just coming up here at the deadline, I wanted to re-group and kind of think of it as the next season, like a different season for me,'' Lyles said. ''I think it's a breath of fresh air. ... If I do my part personally, I will get things turned around from where I was in the clubhouse over there.'' The Brewers snapped a four-game losing streak after entering as losers of six of the last seven games. The Pirates are last in the NL Central after falling to 4-19 since the All-Star break. ''Things aren't going our way right now,'' Reynolds said. ''It's tough. It's baseball. We're going to keep fighting. We'll get through it.'' Brewers closer Josh Hader got the final four outs for his 25th save. He struck out two before giving up a two-out double to Reynolds, who had three hits and robbed Mike Moustakas of a home run by leaping above the left-field wall to snag a ball heading for the stands in the second, and a triple to Starling Marte as the Pirates closed to 9-7 in the ninth. Agrazal lost a third straight start for Pittsburgh, lasting five innings while allowing five runs on eight hits. Four runs came in the fourth, including one on a homer from Moustakas, his 27th, that put the Brewers ahead 2-0. ''I go out there with a plan. I go out there with a mentality to compete, to execute, to attack,'' Agrazal said. ''Sometimes I look at it like it could be 90, 95 pitches and out of those 90, 95 pitches, two or three just hang. They take advantage of that.'' TRAINER'S ROOM Brewers: RHP Zach Davies was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Aug. 3 with back spasms. Manager Craig Counsell said he does not think Davies' recovery will be long-term. ... RHP Jake Faria and RHP Devin Williams were recalled from Triple-A San Antonio, and RHP Aaron Wilkerson was optioned to San Antonio. Pirates: RHP Richard Rodriguez is expected to return Tuesday after being placed on the paternity list Saturday. UP NEXT Brewers: RHP Chase Anderson (5-2, 3.73) will look to allow fewer than three runs in a ninth straight game when he faces Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Pirates: LHP Steven Brault (3-1, 4.15) will pitch for the first time in more than a month when he takes the mound Tuesday. After allowing one run on three hits in four innings against Milwaukee on July 5, Brault was placed on the injured list with a shoulder strain. --- More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and www.twitter.com/AP-Sports


There are sure to be more than a handful of teams that try to sign Kawhi Leonard when the NBA Finals MVP becomes a free agent this summer, but the sweepstakes may already be down to just two. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said on "Get Up" Tuesday morning that the Los Angeles Lakers have very little chance of signing Leonard, both because of their financial situation and because Leonard does not want to be the third guy behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Rather, Wojnarowski notes that Leonard is "focused" on the Clippers, and he will likely choose between them and the Toronto Raptors. "Kawhi Leonard's focus [is] on Los Angeles, but it's the Clippers not the Lakers."   @wojespn pic.twitter.com/AbOpm0aJ0E   Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 18, 2019 "The Clippers are poised to be able to lure him away from Toronto," Wojnarowski said. "This will be a Raptors-Clippers fight down the end. He may take meetings with more teams, but it's not certain he'd even take a meeting with the Lakers right now." The Raptors held their championship parade on Monday, and even one of Leonard's teammates did everything he could to have the fans pressure Kawhi into staying . It was initially believed that Toronto would only be getting Leonard as a one-year rental after they acquired him in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, but winning a championship may have changed that. Leonard's reported lack of interest in playing for the Lakers may explain why they are said to be targeting a different top free agent after trading for Davis. Related slideshow: The 2019 NBA Finals (Provided by imagn)


PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland   The R&A held its annual meet-and-greet with the media on Wednesday at Royal Portrush and it didn't take long for the usual question about The Open's possible return to Trump Turnberry to come up. The Open hasn't been played at Turnberry, on Scotland's west coast, since 2009. For some in the United Kingdom, the question has become politically charged since the course is owned by U.S. President Donald Trump and the R&A doesn't seem to be in a hurry to return to the layout. Full-field tee times from the 148th Open Championship Full coverage of the 148th Open Championship "We've talked about this many times in terms of it being part of the pool of courses; nothing's changed from the previous points and comments that I've made on that in respect to taking The Open there," said Martin Slumbers, the R&A's chief executive. "But it's absolutely one of the pool of 10 courses." Unlike the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, which are scheduled years in advance, The Open is currently slated to go to Royal St. George's next year, St. Andrews in 2021 and Royal Liverpool in '22. The Open has been played at Turnberry four times but with the addition of Royal Portrush, the site of this week's championship, to the rotation and St. Andrews slated to host the event every five years, it's going to become increasingly difficult for Ailsa Course to move back into the lineup.


Jul. 13--Suddenly facing an uncertain future, Melvin Gordon made it clear Saturday that he wants to remain a Charger. Speaking at an event in Dallas, the running back called the team "my home." "I'm not going to sit here and be like, 'Man, I don't want to go back to the Chargers, dah, dah, dah,' " Gordon said. "Like, that's the team who blessed me with an opportunity. They started my life. They changed my life. Out of all 32 teams, that was the team that called. I can't forget them for that. "But it's an opportunity right now where I know I need to take advantage of it. You know, I want to get paid. That's just kind of what it is. Hopefully I end up a Charger. That's the goal. I want to end up with the Chargers." Gordon, who is scheduled to make $5.6 million this season, is entering the final year of the deal he signed with the Chargers after they drafted him 15th overall in 2015. On Thursday, his agent, Fletcher Smith, said Gordon will not report to training camp later this month and will instead demand a trade unless he receives a new deal first. The sides have been discussing an extension, but the lack of progress led to Gordon toughening his stance this past week. In 2018, he rushed 175 times for 885 yards and caught 50 passes for another 490 yards and scored 14 total touchdowns. But he also missed four games because of injuries. Gordon is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and regarded as one of the Chargers' primary offensive weapons. ___ (c)2019 the Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Atletico Madrid are planning to take legal action against Barcelona after it emerged the Catalan giants had negotiated with the France international in November before trying to sign him in March. Griezmann has already confirmed his decision to leave Atletico, where he was won a Europa League, a UEFA Super Cup and a Supercopa de Espana, with Barça thought to be best placed to capture his signature. However, in information revealed by AS , Griezmann apparently negotiated with the 2018/19 La Liga winners when Atletico still had plenty to play for. By the end of November, Atletico were two points behind then league leaders Sevilla, with Barcelona a point ahead, while in March they already had a two goal lead to take to Juventus in the Champions League round of 16. Los Rojiblancos ultimately finished second in La Liga and were dumped out of the CL by Juve thanks to a hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo. However, they are yet to make a firm decision over whether or not to take legal action against the Catalan giants and want to study the available information closely before deciding whether it warrants further exploration. Griezmann has a contract with Atleti until 2023 but his release will decrease from €200m to €120m in July. Reports regarding his future have been opaque, with Mundo Deportivo claiming Barca remain desperate to sign him, while Marca state Barca chief Josep Maria Bartomeu still has concerns over the deal. Griezmann managed 15 goals and nine assists in La Liga this season, his worst combined haul since joining Diego Simeone's side, and played a major role in France winning the World Cup last summer.


NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman's son officially has a home. DJ, a 6-foot-6 forward out of San Juan Capistrano, California, has committed to play for Washington State, the university announced this week . He officially signed his official financial aid agreement and will join the team for next season. "DJ is a shotmaker who has a really good feel for the game," Cougars coach Kyle Smith said in a release . "He was a very productive player displaying the ability to score and rebound at a high clip in one of the best high school leagues in California, the Trinity League." DJ   whose full name is Dennis Rodman, Jr.   averaged 24.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game last season at JSerra Catholic High School in Southern California. He reportedly had received offers from both Washington State and Cal State Fullerton. Smith was hired at Washington State in March, replacing Ernie Kent. He spent the previous three seasons coaching at San Francisco, where he compiled a 63-40 record and led the school to three consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in nearly 40 years. Kent led the Cougars to just 22 total wins in the Pac-12 during his five-year tenure. The 49-year-old has signed six players to his first recruiting class so far, including Australian guard Ryan Rapp and 7-foot-2 Ukrainian center Volodymyr Markovetskyy. He also picked up Colorado State graduate transfer Deion James. Rodman spent 14 seasons in the NBA, most notably with the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons. The five-time NBA Champion was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2011. Rodman has stayed in the news in recent years most notably due to his public support of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his relationship with United States President Donald Trump. Most recently, he was accused of helping steal thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from a Southern California yoga studio and for slapping a guest at his birthday party earlier this week. More from Yahoo Sports: Raptors' great gamble has them one win from NBA Finals Drake trades troll shots with daughter of Bucks owner Earning Brady's trust won't be easy for Patriots' No. 1 pick FIFA imbalance in treatment of women's game stark as ever