MIAMI   Democrats hoping that Wednesday night's first presidential debate of the 2020 campaign would be clarifying probably came away disappointed. There were no major stumbles but few standout moments as 10 candidates vied for the nation's attention. Takeaways from the prime-time event: WARREN, CASTRO LEAD THE WAY Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren dominated the debate's opening moments, calling for systemic change to the nation's economy and the end to the private insurance system. Warren was the highest-polling candidate on stage and NBC moderators repeatedly tried to draw her rivals into challenging her liberal policies. But they largely passed on those opportunities, even when Warren was virtually alone in her stance on overhauling the health care industry. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, who has struggled for months to break through in the crowded field, asserted himself as a leader on immigration, an issue sure to be at the forefront of the general election campaign against President Donald Trump. He challenged his rivals to join him in rewriting immigration laws so the mere illegal entry into the United States would no longer be a federal crime. The question is whether Warren and Castro's performances still stand out after night two of the Democratic debate on Thursday, when former Vice President Joe Biden and nine other candidates take the stage. ___ WHOSE ECONOMY IS IT ANYWAY? The debate kicked off with moderator Savannah Guthrie asking Warren if her many ambitious plans   free college, universal child care and health care   would hurt a booming economy. "Who is this economy really working for?" Warren replied. "It's doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top." It was soft toss of a question to Warren, and her response was echoed by other Democrats. "Donald Trump just sits in the White House and gloats about what's going on, when you have so many people that are having trouble affording college and having trouble affording their premiums," said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a moderate who declined to swipe at Warren's ambitious plans. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas slammed Trump's tax cut as part of "an economy that is rigged to corporations and to the very wealthiest." And Rep. Tim Ryan, who represents several declining industrial areas in Ohio, said, "This issue we're talking about has been going on for 40 years." Only former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland clearly disagreed and said many of Warren's promises were not realistic. ___ HOW FAR ON IMMIGRATION? No issue in the first Democratic debate showcased the contrast with Trump more than immigration. But the issue also exposed significant rifts among his challengers   namely the two Texans on the stage. Castro took sharp aim at O'Rourke, who has campaigned heavily on border issues, for not proposing decriminalizing illegal migration in his immigration blueprint. Such a step would make a significant change to U.S. immigration law. "If you truly want to change the system, we have to change that section" of federal law, Castro said. O'Rourke said he wanted to keep the provision so authorities could pursue drug and human traffickers. But Castro cut him off, noting there are separate laws that could be used against those crimes, and the entire stage broke down into crosstalk and shouting. Several other contenders   including Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee   have already signed on to Castro's approach. ___ APPEALS TO DIVERSE BASE The diversity of the modern Democratic Party was on display Wednesday night   three women, one black man and a man of Mexican heritage vying for the presidential nomination. And the candidates made sure they were speaking to the party's base, which is becoming younger and less white. O'Rourke showed off his fluent Spanish in his opening statement. Booker countered with his Spanish during a discussion of immigration, and also noted that he's probably the only candidate who lives in a poor, predominantly minority community. (Booker lives in Newark.) Castro spoke in Spanish during his closing statement and talked about saying "adios" to Trump. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio noted he has an African American son as he urged the party to "stop acting like the party of elites." ___ Slideshow by Reuters A NEW DEMOCRATIC BOOGEYMAN? Perhaps the hardest question for Democrats to answer was how the candidates would deal with a Republican. Not Trump, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Republicans have a good chance of still controlling the Senate even if Democrats win the White House in 2020, and it's unlikely McConnell would allow any of the candidates' ambitious proposals on government-run health care or green energy to become law. Warren promised she had a plan to deal with McConnell, though it seemed to center on rallying public opinion against him. "We have to push from the outside and lead from the inside," she said. Booker proposed that the party's presidential nominee campaign in longshot states like South Carolina in hopes of snaring enough seats to take over the Senate. Inslee suggested eliminating the filibuster   which the president cannot do and which would strengthen McConnell's hand if the GOP remained in the majority.


Mecklenburg County is switching to paper-based voting machines but the Director of Elections wonders if the county can meet the deadline of January 1 2020. "It puts it on a very tight time frame," said Director Michael Dickerson. Mecklenburg County is one of several counties in the state that are mandated to change to paper ballots. The idea is to prevent any attempt to hack into electronic data-based equipment. Last week NBC Charlotte reported on a federal investigation aimed at determining if Russia hacked into software used in the 2016 Presidential election in Durham. Thursday, the State Board of Elections in Raleigh began to wrestle with what new paper-based equipment would be used, giving Dickerson and other elections officials very little time to get the new equipment and train how to use it. "I've got a September primary and a general election for Congressional District Nine. I've got a possible second primary in October and a November city of Charlotte and all the other municipal elections," Dickerson said. South Carolina rolled out that state's new paper-based equipment on Monday of this week. Election officials there say the equipment will be in place and ready to go for the South Carolina Presidential primary in February.


According to rental site Zumper , median rents for a one-bedroom in Long Beach are hovering around $1,595. But how does the low-end pricing on a Long Beach rental look these days and what might you get for the price? We took a look at local listings for studios and one-bedroom apartments to find out what budget-minded apartment seekers can expect to find. Read on for the cheapest listings available right now. (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. 1049 Pine Ave. First up, there's this 294-square-foot apartment at 1049 Pine Ave., listed at $1,100/month. The building features assigned parking, while the upper-level unit offers granite countertops, custom paint and more. Unfortunately, pets are not welcome at this time. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee. Walk Score indicates that this location has excellent walkability and is quite bikeable. (See the listing here .) 1218 E. Second St. Next up is this studio apartment, located at 1218 E. Second St. and listed for $1,125/month. In the unit, you're promised hardwood flooring, while the building offers on-site laundry and on-site management. Sadly, pets are not permitted. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. According to Walk Score, this location is quite walkable and is quite bikeable. (Here's the listing .) 2141 Chestnut Ave. Over at 2141 Chestnut Ave., there's this 500-square-foot studio apartment, going for $1,150/month. In the unit, expect ample storage space, fresh paint and hardwood floors. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed. The building features garage parking and on-site laundry. Walk Score indicates that the surrounding area is quite walkable and is convenient for biking. (View the listing here .) 2330 Locust Ave. Listed at $1,165/month, this 450-square-foot studio apartment is located at 2330 Locust Ave. in Long Beach. Building amenities include on-site laundry, while the unit features wood plank flooring, ceiling fans and granite countertops. Pet owners, take heed: cats and dogs are not welcome. According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is very walkable and is relatively bikeable. (Check out the complete listing here .) 1377 N. Warren Ave. And finally, there's this studio residence at 1377 N. Warren Ave. It's being listed for $1,195/month. In the unit, you'll find a private balcony, Caesar-stone countertops and designer paint. Unfortunately, neither cats nor dogs are permitted. The building offers assigned parking, as well as 24-hour maintenance service. Walk Score indicates that the area around this address is friendly for those on foot and has some bike infrastructure. (Here's the full listing .) This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Those who can't get enough of Pebble Beach won't have to wait long to see another major contested there. The iconic course will host the U.S. Women's Open for the first time in 2023. The USGA made the announcement in October 2017. The tournament will be played June 1-4, 2023. Mina Harigae, a Monterey, Calif., native, spoke for many players when she let out a yell at the news. It was a breakthrough moment in the women's game, much like when the 2007 Women's British Open was contested over the Old Course in St. Andrews. Paula Creamer first met Arnold Palmer on her way to the 17th tee at Pebble Beach Golf Links. She was playing in a practice round for the 2004 First Tee Open, where Ben Crenshaw, Jerry Pate, and Bruce Lietzke gave her advice on how to play the American gem. She couldn't imagine then that nearly 20 years would pass before she'd get the opportunity to compete there again in a major championship. The 9th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Photo: Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports Creamer grew up in the Bay Area and said back then that she has every intention of teeing it up in 2023, calling it long overdue. Jessica Korda called Pebble Beach one of her bucket-list courses. "It elevates the event even further for to be able to play these courses that the guys have plays for so many U.S. Opens," said Austin Ernst at the time of the announcement. Lorena Ochoa won the first Women's British held over the Old Course and Stacy Lewis won the second in 2013. Who will be the first female major winner at Pebble, joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods? It could be someone we don't yet know. The 2023 U.S. Women's Open and the 2027 U.S. Open, also at Pebble Beach, will mark the course's 14th and 15th times hosting a USGA championship. The 100-year-old course has now hosted six U.S. Opens, four U.S. Amateurs, two U.S. Women's Amateurs and one PGA Championship. The 2023 and 2027 USGA championships makes Pebble Beach fourth all-time among host sites. Future sites for the U.S. Women's Open 2020: Champions Golf Club, Houston 2021: The Olympic Club, San Francisco 2022: Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines, N.C. 2023: Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links MORE: Fred VanVleet had the best answer for Kawhi Leonard's free agency decision What does Anthony Davis joining Lakers mean for Thunder? NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players An ode to the Golden State Warriors, the team that ruined the game Meet Gary Woodland's Wife, Gabby Woodland


CHICAGO (AP) -- Following a slow start, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is showing why he's one of the top prospects in the majors. Guerrero hit another home run, Danny Jansen and Billy McKinney also connected and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Sunday. BOX SCORE: BLUE JAYS 5, WHITE SOX 2 Guerrero has hit all four of his homers in the past six games and is 7 for 21 with nine RBIs during that span. The 20-year-old didn't homer in his first 13 games after making his debut in late April. "Like I always say, I don't try to hit homers," Guerrero said through a translator. "I just try to put good contact on the ball, and we'll see what happens." Guerrero's two-run drive broke a 1-all tie in the eighth inning. Jansen added a two-run homer in the ninth. "You're hoping the guy in front of him gets on, because he has a chance to do something every time he goes to the plate," Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said of Guerrero. "It's fun to have a guy like that in the lineup." Jose Abreu drove in both runs for the White Sox. Daniel Hudson (3-1) worked a scoreless seventh. Ken Giles gave up an RBI double to the first batter he faced, then got four outs for his 10th save. Kelvin Herrera (1-3) took the loss. Toronto starter Trent Thornton allowed one run and three hits in six innings. White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez gave up one run and four hits in six innings. "I did not have my best command today," Lopez said through a translator. "I fought through it. When you recognize that you don't have your best stuff, you just try to pitch through contact just to get a quick out." McKinney's homer leading off the third gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. Chicago tied it in the fourth when Yoan Moncada tripled and scored on a groundout by Abreu. Jonathan Davis led off the Toronto eighth with a single and Guerrero homered over the bullpen and halfway up the bleachers in left field. White Sox catcher Welington Castillo was surprised the rookie was able to turn on the 94-mph fastball off the plate inside. "Herrera made a good pitch," Castillo said. "It wasn't like in (the middle) of the plate, and he got to it. We weren't expecting that from him." Abreu had an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to trim the deficit before Jansen's two-run shot off lefty Jace Fry in the ninth. "It was big," Montoyo said of Jansen's homer. "Even more so against this club. Because they don't quit. They've got a good offense." FINDING A GROOVE Guerrero isn't the only Blue Jays rookie to rebound from a slow start. Thornton earned his first win in the majors in his previous start and has allowed three runs and six hits in 11 2/3 innings in his past two starts. "I've just been doing a better job executing pitches," the 25-year-old right-hander said. "I've been doing a better job working ahead in counts and locating pitches. As long as I can continue that, I feel pretty confident in my stuff and being able to get guys out." TRAINER'S ROOM Blue Jays: LHP Clayton Richard (stress reaction, right knee) allowed no runs and no hits in 3 1/3 innings on Saturday in a rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo. He threw 48 pitches (31 strikes), struck out four and walked two. White Sox: OF Eloy Jimenez (high right ankle sprain) was 7 for 22 (.318) with a homer and RBI in five rehab games with Triple-A Charlotte entering Sunday. No decision has been on when Chicago's top prospect will rejoin the team. "We're just making sure he's healthy," manager Rick Renteria said. "I'm sure you'll see him with us shortly." UP NEXT Blue Jays: RHP Edwin Jackson (0-0, 3.60 ERA) makes his second start for Toronto on Monday afternoon in the opener of a four-game series against Boston. LHP David Price (1-2, 3.75) goes for the Red Sox. White Sox: They have not named a starter Monday night for the opener of a four-game series at Houston and likely will go with a bullpen day. Chicago was winless in seven games last season against the Astros, who will start RHP Brad Peacock (4-2, 4.01 ERA). ------ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP--Sports Related slideshow: 2019 MLB season (provided by imagn)


(Bloomberg) -- About a fifth of U.S. companies in China are considering moving some or all of their production out of the country to deal with the trade tensions, and a third are delaying or cancelling investment decisions, according to a survey of 239 American firms in the market. Almost 40% of companies said the hike of U.S. tariffs announced on May 10 would have a strong negative impact on their business, and a third said the increase in Chinese levies would do the same. The report provides evidence of a decoupling of the two nations' economies, with 35% of firms saying their main strategy for dealing with the tension was to restructure so their operations were more heavily 'in China for China.' So far, the effect of the trade dispute has mostly been financial, with companies seeing decreased demand, rising costs and falling profits and revenues, according to the survey done May 16-20 by the American Chamber of Commerce in China and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. There had been concerns that U.S. firms would face non-tariff retaliatory measures in China, but 53% of the companies said they had not experienced any such measures in the 10 months since July 1, 2018. U.S. firms reported greater damage from the trade war than their counterparts in the European Union. Only a few of the European firms are considering moving their supply chains, they said in a recent survey. Another issue touched upon by the American Chambers' survey was that whether China forces foreign companies to transfer technology and intellectual property to Chinese firms to gain market access. China denies that this happens, but it has been one of the main sticking points in the negotiations. At least for the firms surveyed for the report, it doesn't seem to be such an issue, with only one saying that this was the most important outcome in any trade deal. About 42% said a return to the status quo before the tariffs was most important for them. The report on European firms doing business in China showed that forced technology transfer was a growing concern, with 20% of respondents saying they'd had to hand over know-how in order to maintain market access. That compares to only 10% in 2017. Of the firms who have moved or are considering relocating manufacturing facilities outside China, the most popular destination wasn't the U.S. but rather emerging markets such as southeast Asia and Mexico. To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yinan Zhao in Beijing at yzhao300@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, James Mayger, Karthikeyan Sundaram For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.


Curious just how far your dollar goes in Miami? We've rounded up the latest rental offerings via rental site Zumper to get a sense of what to expect when it comes to hunting down a place in Miami if you're on a budget of $2,100/month. Take a peek at what rentals the city has to offer, 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. 333 N.E. 24th St., #1507 Listed at $2,100/month, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo is located at 333 N.E. 24th St., #1507. When it comes to building amenities, expect garage parking, a swimming pool and a fitness center. In the unit, you will find tile flooring, in-unit laundry and a balcony. Animals are not welcome. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee. Per Walk Score ratings, this location is extremely walkable, is very bikeable and offers many nearby public transportation options. (Take a look at the complete listing here .) 2275 Biscayne Blvd., #PH205 Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom residence over at 2275 Biscayne Blvd., #PH205. It's also listed for $2,100/month for its 985 square feet of space. The building has assigned parking, a swimming pool and a fitness center. In the apartment, there's in-unit laundry and a balcony. Pet owners, inquire elsewhere: this spot doesn't allow cats or dogs. According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is extremely walkable, is convenient for biking and is a haven for transit riders. (Take a gander at the complete listing here .) 2000 N. Bayshore Drive, #423 Here's a one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom condo at 2000 N. Bayshore Drive, #423 that's going for $2,100/month. The building boasts a swimming pool, a fitness center and on-site management. In the unit, you'll get a walk-in closet and in-unit laundry. Pets are not allowed. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. Walk Score indicates that the surrounding area is extremely walkable, is very bikeable and is a haven for transit riders. (See the full listing here .) Northeast 32nd Street Listed at $2,022/month, this 754-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at Northeast 32nd Street. The building offers garage parking, outdoor space, a swimming pool, a fitness center, a roof deck, an elevator, secured entry and on-site management.In the condo, you can expect in-unit laundry and garden access. Good news for animal lovers: both dogs and cats are welcome here. According to Walk Score, the surrounding area is friendly for those on foot, is bikeable and has good transit options. (Take a look at the complete listing here .) This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Experts have warned of the catastrophic damages an earthquake can have on Australia with places like Sydney and Melbourne flagged as a potential risk. Earth science expert Claire MacGregor said the two cities sit near fault lines that could lead to devastating effects. 'It's not a question of when, but where?' she said in her blog . 'A moderately sized earthquake hitting a densely populated region presents the risk of significant damage and loss of life, which could be catastrophic. She claimed older buildings were not designed to withstand earthquakes and were more likely to collapse. UTS geotechnical and earthquake engineering professor Behzad Fatahi said it was always a concern when buildings were constructed on top of fault lines. 'I think we should be worried about the construction of buildings above fault lines,' Dr Fatahi told Daily Mail Australia. 'The ground can move under the building and cause cracks.' He said builders had a responsibility to comply with the National Construction Code and Australian Standard to protect properties and, more importantly, residents. 'Very rigorous and technical geological investigations may not be conducted on sites as much as we expect,' he said. 'Finding the fault line can be quite challenging.' The warning comes after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled Western Australia on Sunday. Shoppers in Broome had to flee the stores as the powerful earthquake threw products off the shelves at places like Woolworths and Target. The earthquake has been placed as one of the most widely felt phenomenons, with reports of tremors stretching as far as Perth and Hobart. Despite the large scale of the earthquake, Dr Fatahi pointed out the epicentre was offshore. Therefore, the damage was not as devastating as the 1989 incident at Newcastle in New South Wales where the city was directly hit. Top 10 earthquakes in Australia based on magnitude 1. Tennant Creek (NT), 1988: 6.6 2. Broome (WA), 2019: 6.5 3. Meckering (WA), 1968: 6.5 4. Simpson Desert (NT), 1941: 6.4 5. Tennant Creek (NT), 1988: 6.3 6. Meeberrie (WA), 1941: 6.3 7. Collier Bay (WA), 1997: 6.2 8. Tennant Creek (NT), 1988: 6.2 9. Cadoux (WA), 1979: 6.1 10. Petermann Ranges (NT), 2016: 6.1 While the 5.6 magnitude earthquake was considered moderate, it caused extensive damage to buildings and racked up a staggering $4 billion in damages. The 11km deep earthquake killed 13 people and injured more than 160. Dr Fatahi pointed out buildings had to comply with the code to avoid a repeat of the damage left in Newcastle . 'In Australia, there is also an earthquake hazard map that determines the level of the earthquake you have to consider where you're building,' he said. He said the country didn't experience earthquakes on the scale as Australia's neighbours like Indonesia and that there was no immediate danger to Sydney and Melbourne residents. Geoscience Australia seismologist Trevor Allen said the rate of earthquakes happening in Sydney and Melbourne was 100 to 1,000 times less than Western Australia. He also said the magnitude would be one or two orders lower. 'The earthquake in Western Australia was felt for at least 1,500 kilometres,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'We've had almost 2,000 reports from people in Darwin and Perth saying that they felt the tremor. 'To put that into perspective, it released about 100 times more energy than the earthquake in Newcastle.' Dr Allen also said building compliance codes had also been put in place to protect residents in the case of a potential earthquake. 'The buildings are designed to withstand ground shaking levels, which are changed across the country,' he said. 'We create a national seismic hazardous map that looks at the likelihood of a ground level being exceeded in the next 50 years.' The codes were brought in following the 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Meckering, south-east Western Australia, in 1968. The saga lasted less than a minute but injured close to 30 people and left a $2.2 million trail of destruction in its wake. Though it wasn't until after the Newcastle earthquake that they were more closely followed. 'I suppose the building codes have evolved a lot over the last 50 years,' he said. 'Anything that has been built since 1989 should be following the modern building codes.' 'If there was an earthquake we would likely observe some damage, but it shouldn't be damaged to the extent the buildings collapse.' Read more


Look who's trying to make Juli Inkster's job tougher as U.S. Solheim Cup captain? Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel showed what has made them so successful in the international team event during Wednesday's first round of the inaugural Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland, Mich. They teamed to shoot 4-under-par 66 in alternate shot, getting in early contention, one shot behind the Canadian duo of Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp. "They're good, and really good at alternate shot," Inkster said at week's start. "It's like they know how to dance together." Creamer and Pressel are on the outer fringe of the points race to make the U.S. Solheim Cup team that will head to Scotland in two months, but this week offers a chance to make a big impression on Inkster, who will fill out her roster with two captain's picks. Creamer has played in every Solheim Cup since she joined the LPGA in 2005. She's 17-9-5 in Solheim play, with her 19.5 points trailing only Cristie Kerr (21) for most in the American team history. Pressel is 10-7-2 in six Solheim Cups. They're 2-2-1 as Solheim partners. "Obviously, every week out here we are trying to prove ourselves, to be able to get somewhere with a captain's pick," Creamer said. "When that time comes, it's Juli's decision. We are just out here trying to play good golf and get a win for each other. It doesn't matter what happens in a month or so." Pressel is 27th on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list with just four qualifying events left. There are no Solheim points available this week. Creamer is 33rd on the points list. The top eight make it when qualifying ends at the conclusion of the CP Women's Open (Aug. 25). Full-field scores from the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational Experience in team play is paying off early for the American tandem. "It's obviously a huge advantage, I would think," Creamer said. "We're best of friends. We've played a lot of team events together. It's nothing new for us to be able to come out here . . . I definitely think we have kind of the upper hand with the experience." Pressel and Creamer made three birdies, an eagle and a bogey in a format that can be difficult to post a low score. "There are a lot of players out here that have never played team events, never played alternate shot, possibly, or played very little," Pressel said. "We've both had a tremendous amount of experience with it, but experience only gets you so far . . . At the end of the day, got to post a score, doesn't matter how you got it done." Though the Olympics offers an individual stroke-play competition, Henderson and Sharp were Canadian teammates in Rio de Janeiro three years ago. They'll be back playing their own balls in Thursday's better-ball competition. "I'm actually a lot more excited for best ball, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow," Henderson said. The Korda sisters, Jessica and Nelly, were also factors early, posting a 68. They played alongside the Jutanugarn sisters, Ariya and Moriya, who shot 70. "You can definitely see that we're all really comfortable with each other," Nelly said. "I think it was fun. I think they had fun, and it was a cool group." Suzann Pettersen, playing an LPGA event for the first time in 20 months after taking time away to become a mom for the first time, teamed with European Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew to shoot 73. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller also got off to a sluggish start with a 72. Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson, the dynamic duo of American team golf, opened with a 71.


EL PASO  The road to "no" meanders through deserts, skids into rivers and cleaves mountain passes. It tumbles out of Honduras and Guatemala, snakes up through Mexico and slips into far western Texas. The road to "no" stinks of sweat from days without showers in cramped Texas holding cells and of rancid breath from the mouths of migrant detainees who say they were denied toothbrushes and toothpaste. It reeks of confusion about the way forward. Subscribe to the Post Most newsletter: Today's most popular stories on The Washington Post But, for migrants seeking asylum to enter the United States through West Texas and eastern New Mexico, it frequently ends in the same place   inside a warren of spare federal courtrooms in downtown El Paso, where some of America's most immovable immigration judges say "no" to migrant asylum seekers in droves. Winning asylum from an El Paso judge is close to impossible, local immigration advocates and lawyers say. One judge in the court rejected 98.8 percent of asylum requests over a recent five-year period, according to an analysis by Syracuse University. But still they come. Coffee growers abandoning fields. Indigenous people escaping threats of violence. Shopkeepers fleeing gangsters' extortion. Hondurans such as Gloria Acosta, a 30-year-old woman who says she fled her small town when gangs started killing members of her family and taking their land. Or Guatemalans such as Milvia Azucena Esteban Palomo, who says thugs threatened to beat her if her son did not join their criminal cabal. They stream northward with seemingly little understanding of the U.S. laws governing asylum. Only a legitimate fear of persecution related to political opinions, race, religion, nationality or membership in particular social group opens the door to potential refuge, not economic deprivation or dangerous living conditions in their home countries. Asylum claims along the border have nearly quadrupled from 43,000 in 2013 to 162,000 in 2018 . Only a fraction of the migrants apprehended at the border make asylum claims, but they can still clog the courts with lengthy and complex legal showdowns. Trump administration officials have said less than 20 percent of asylum requests by migrants from the Northern Triangle nations of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are granted by the courts, and have suggested that the low rate is evidence that most of the claims are meritless. Even as the flow of migrants entering the country without permission has shown some signs of tapering, the city of El Paso across the border from Ciudad Juarez, has become an inflection point in both nations' chaotic immigration wars. Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress have flocked to the area, and reports of young migrant children being held in deplorable conditions have sparked national outrage and presidential tweetstorms denying mistreatment. All the while, the trail of migrants into the downtown El Paso courthouse has gone on with metronomic regularity. They are flung into a bureaucratic and legal maze, a cross-border puzzle of holding cells and courtrooms that can last for months with little chance of success and may soon become exponentially more complicated because of a planned policy change. The Trump administration announced last week that it intends to strictly limit access to the U.S. asylum system to Central Americans who did not seek protection from countries they passed through before arriving in the United States. Hope eventually rests on accomplishing the difficult, time-consuming task of proving they've been targeted for persecution in their home countries. "It's a deportation machine," says Carlos Spector, a prominent El Paso immigration attorney. "Everything in its path is a clog to be cleared." Fleeing danger The big highway that folds out of Ciudad Juarez runs past a southern edge of the United States. At 60 miles an hour, the United States flickers through the spaces between the rusty metal bars, offering blurred glimpses of forbidding desert no different from the forbidding desert on the Mexican side. On the fence's flat top portion, graffiti artists on the Mexican side have spray-painted giant letters that read in Spanish: "Neither delinquents or illegals   we are international workers." Next to that someone has written a profane message in Spanish condemning President Trump and "his wall." An unmarked dirt road spurs off the highway, running past cinder-block shacks, some with rebar sprouting from unfinished roofs. Around a bend lies a cluster of sun-blanched yellow buildings that have been converted into a migrant shelter run by members of a local church called Pan de Vida. For now, this is home to Adilson la Inez, his wife and two daughters. La Inez   a soft-spoken 44-year-old with neatly trimmed black hair, a wisp of a mustache and a round, gently curved face   says he once had a comfortable life. He and his wife, Claudia, ran a convenience store in Tegucigalpa, the sprawling capital of Honduras. He owned a house and a car. But this spring, he says, gang members began demanding a weekly payment from him. They also wanted 30 percent of his profits. To demonstrate what would happen if he didn't quickly start making the payments, he says, they leveled pistols at his wife and his daughters  14-year-old Alison and 9-year-old Maria Jose. There was no way he could afford to pay, and he had no faith in the local authorities to do anything about it, he says. "There's so much impunity," he says in a weary voice. With time running out, he sold his car and handed his house keys to a friendly neighbor for safekeeping. He gathered every bit of money he'd ever earned to pay $6,000 to a "coyote," the Spanish term for a human trafficker who ferries migrants to the U.S. border and shows them where to cross. Sometime around June 10, he says, he boarded a bus with his family headed north, rumbling through Guatemala, then up through the Mexican state of Chiapas before arriving 10 hard-driving, marathon days later at a house in Ciudad Juarez, a city he'd never seen before. A man he met there led them into the desert to the west, and told them exactly what to do and what to say after they slipped into the United States at a low point in the fence near the sandy spot where Texas meets New Mexico. When, as his coyote had told him, a Border Patrol agent spotted them, he and his family made no attempt to flee. They asked for asylum. That single statement ushered his family into the American immigration labyrinth. They were driven to a Border Patrol station, which he thinks was in the New Mexico community of Santa Teresa. He was placed in a crowded cell with dozens of men, he says. His wife and daughters were taken somewhere else. For the next four days, he says, no one would tell him where his loved ones had gone. Days of excruciating worry that he described as a "form of torture" passed before he found out they were in a cell in the same complex. Migrants call these cells the "hieleras," the Spanish word for icebox or freezer, because the temperatures are kept so frigidly low. A sign on his cell said the capacity was 13 people, he says. He counted close to 50. They slept in shifts, he says, alternating which men would stand because there was not enough room for all of them to lie down at once. The lights stayed on night and day. Once, he says, he asked a guard for the time. "What?" the guard said, mockingly, la Inez recalls. "Do you have an appointment?" He never found out what time it was. He also says he was not allowed to shower or brush his teeth. La Inez's account of the maximum-capacity signs and the overcrowding, the 24-hour-a-day lighting, as well as the lack of hygiene, is similar to descriptions in interviews with five other migrants at his shelter, and to accounts El Paso immigration attorneys say they typically get from their clients. (Asked for comment, Roger Maier, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in El Paso, cited congressional testimony and media interviews in which agency officials have said that there is a "humanitarian crisis" at the border and that their temporary holding facilities "were not set up to process" the high flow of migrants across the border.) On the fourth day la Inez was held, he says, someone handed him a slip of paper with a court date: Aug. 1. There was a time when he and his family might have awaited their hearing in the United States. But under a new program called Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, he and his family were driven to an international bridge, where after an hour of waiting, they were handed over to Mexican immigration officials. (MPP, which was enacted in January and requires asylum seekers to wait for hearings outside the United States, was recently expanded as part of a deal between the Trump administration and the Mexican government to avert a threatened U.S. tariff on Mexican products.) La Inez's immigration maze had just gotten more complicated   and binational. They were handed more papers, this time from Mexican officials, giving them permission to stay in Mexico while awaiting their hearing date in the United States. They were hungry. Their cellphone battery was dead. They had nowhere to go. But they lucked out when another Honduran man who had been released that day called a cousin to pick them up. Eight hours after leaving U.S. custody, he was being driven down a dusty, unmarked road to the shelter with the faded yellow buildings. A day in court A narrow hallway leads to a cramped waiting room on the seventh floor of the chunky brick federal building in downtown El Paso. This is where la Inez and his family will come on Aug. 1 for their immigration court hearing. Outside the waiting room door, El Paso immigration attorney Taylor Levy stands holding an overstuffed briefcase filled with crayons and coloring books. They have titles such as "Playful Puppies" and "Disney Fairies   Sparkling With Talent." Levy's gotten into the habit of bringing them for the children of migrants waiting to appear in court, but on this day, for some inexplicable reason, she's been told she can't. Later, she recalls how a little girl spotted the stash and reached for them, but Levy had to tell her she wasn't allowed to give them to her. Each day seems to bring a new complication to the world of the El Paso immigration attorney. Recently, attorneys who once were allowed to meet with potential clients in the courthouse waiting room before hearings to explain their rights have been barred from doing so. And on this day Levy is steamed about a recently unveiled policy that prevents her and other attorneys from appearing, even by phone, to participate in interviews with asylum officers to determine whether migrants who have expressed fear about returning to Mexico will be allowed to stay in the United States while their cases are pending. "It's really absurd," Levy says. Behind Levy and to her left is a small courtroom where Judge Sunita B. Mahtabfar presides. According to a Syracuse University analysis, Mahtabfar   a former asylum officer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and an Obama appointee   had the third-highest asylum denial rate of any immigration judge in the country: 98.8 percent from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2018 . (Mahtabfar, though, has nothing on Agnelis L. Reese, a Louisiana immigration judge who topped the list: She rejected 100 percent of asylum requests in the same period, according to the Syracuse analysis.) On this day, more than 20 migrants are gathering in the courtroom of another judge, Nathan L. Herbert, who was appointed last year by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions as part of a wave of new Executive Office for Immigration Review judicial hirings touted as a step to reduce the backlog of immigration cases. As Herbert is addressing the migrants gathered on wooden benches before him, his voice melds with the sound of a toddler crying in the front row. Behind the distressed child, a dark-haired boy sleeps with his head on his mother's lap. Belts were taken away when they were detained. A stockily built man's pants sag below his waist when he stands to take a document from a court official. Some of the families inside the courtroom have arrived from the same shelter in Ciudad Juarez where la Inez is staying. One of their primary goals today is to make sure they don't have to go back. Most have arrived without an attorney. But a slight Guatemalan woman in a black T-shirt emblazoned with "Bebe" in glittery letters is one of the lucky ones. She is ushered to the defense table by Linda Rivas, the 34-year-old executive director of Las Americas, an El Paso nonprofit that provides free or low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees. The Trump administration policy of sending migrants to Mexico to await immigration hearings has exponentially complicated Rivas's life and work. Developing a winning asylum case can take long hours of meeting with clients, gently probing about intimate or traumatic events: rapes, domestic violence, extortion. In the days when asylum seekers typically remained in the United States in advance of hearings, Rivas   a single mother of two   could squeeze in meetings after getting her kids to bed or between after-school activities. Now, that same work involves lengthy trips across the border into Mexico, where the line of cars waiting to pass back into the United States can stretch for miles and take three hours or more. In court with her Guatemalan client, Rivas is trying to explain another difficulty: She can't understand the woman, who speaks neither English nor Spanish, but a dialect of an indigenous language Q'anjob'al. While Rivas and the judge work out an arrangement to find an interpreter, the woman's daughter   a toddler in ponytails and a pink top   bounces up and down, with one hand on the armrest of her mother's chair and the other on the armrest of Rivas's. When the mother rises, she wipes tears from her eyes. In her hand is a plastic pouch stuffed with belongings and closed with a red seal reminiscent of the evidence bags in police procedurals. For most of the men, women and children in the room, due process is meted out en masse. Each of them is given a date in mid-August to return for a hearing to continue their cases. The way it's trending, they're all about to be sent back to Mexico to wait. Then a young man shoots his arm into the air. "I'm afraid to go back to Mexico," he says. Another arm pops into the air. "Afraid." Now Herbert, who had been genial at the start of the hearing, even occasionally winking at attorneys, starts to show signs of annoyance. His voice hardening, he asks if anyone isn't afraid to return to Mexico. The room is unanimous. No one wants to go back. They came to court for clarity. Now they're back into the maze. There will be another round of questions. Another hearing maybe. Another decision by some person with power over their lives. They may stay or they may return   back to the shelter where Adilson la Inez waits with his family and prays for a miracle. Back to uncertainty. Back to the road to "No." manuel.roig-franzia@washpost.com


Last season wasn't exactly one to remember for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver James Washington. The then-rookie came in as the team's second-round pick with plenty of fanfare but failed to deliver. Washington appeared in 14 games, starting six of them, but only hauled in 16 receptions on the season. Now ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is reporting Washington has trimmed down this offseason in hopes of making a more significant impact in 2019. Fowler noted the Steelers would like to see him play at around 210 pounds. The Steelers expect their draft picks to make significant conditioning leaps in year two, and James Washington should be latest example. I'm told he has slimmed down this offseason. The Steelers like him around 210 pounds, and he should be on the mark in 2019. - Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 9, 2019 Here's recent shot of Washington in a photo shoot during OTAs. #Steelers WR James Washington ( @JamesWashington ) donning the team's Throwback uniform for a photoshoot with Team Photographer Karl Roser ( @karlroser ) at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex pic.twitter.com/HkEzHopvvF - Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) May 9, 2019 Washington came into the league at 213 pounds. It's what he weighed at the NFL scouting combine and what the team listed him at all year. Now, we understand a player's weight will fluctuate over the course of 17 weeks; some guys lose weight over the course of the season while others gain it. If Washington was having weight issues that were perhaps impacting his conditioning and speed, I could see where his opportunities would be limited. Hopefully Washington is going to remain committed to his fitness as he learns how important it is to succeed at this level. MORE: Most bizarre and incredible catches by fishermen in past decade 3 Raiders players who could have breakout seasons in 2019 NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players Rumor: LeBron made a visit to Kawhi Leonard during Raptors-Sixers series Roundup: Major Floods Hit Houston; New Ed Sheeran-Justin Bieber Jam; Howard Stern's Cancer Scare


Legos Being Used To Help Blind Children Read


The 2019 supplemental draft will take place later on in July. Unlike the NFL draft, the supplemental draft will only feature a handful of prospects. In order to secure a prospect, teams must bid away picks from the following year (2020). The draft order will follow the same order as the NFL Draft did in April. The Arizona Cardinals will have the first crack at a prospect in each round, and it will likely remain that way as it is extremely rare a team will part ways with a first-round pick in the event. But it's not a possibility to totally rule out. Last season, the New York Giants parted ways with a 2019 third round pick for cornerback Sam Beal out of Western Michigan. Don't expect the Titans to do away with a pick in top three rounds of 2020, with so many players on expiring contracts, coupled with a somewhat foggy quarterback situation. The Titans also lack a fourth-round pick from the trade that brought quarterback Ryan Tannehill aboard. If Tennessee could land a prospect for a fifth-round pick or later, there could be some interest. Currently, there are only two players who have entered that the Titans maybe willing to part with a draft pick for. Here's a look at that pair of names. Jalen Thompson Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports Thompson is a promising safety out of Washington State who could potentially find a home in Nashville. Senior Bowl executive Jim Nagy expects the 6-foot, 190-pounder to be selected in the supplemental draft. Thompson has recorded 190 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 6 interceptions, and 17 pass breakups. According to Pro Football Focus, Thompson put up the lowest quarterback rating while defending from the slot in the Pac-12, and had the most defensive stops from the safety position in the conference. If the Titans selected Thompson, he would fit in with Amani Hooker and Dane Cruikshank behind Kevin Byard and Kenny Vaccaro to provide some extra depth. Marcus Simms Bethany Hocker-USA TODAY Sports This West Virginia wideout brings versatility and has value on special teams - something the Titans love. Simms has posted 87 receptions for 1457 yards and eight touchdowns over three collegiate seasons. He has also returned 41 kickoffs for 992 yards, and 23 punts for 157 yards. If the Titans were to pull the trigger on bringing Simms aboard, it would likely be a long road ahead for him to make the final 53-mam roster. Simms could have a future with the Titans as a developmental practice squad player. MORE: 'You don't know me like that': Kevin Durant, the Warriors and a toxic locker room Stephen A. Smith: 'Andre Iguodala is planning on joining the Lakers' Klay Thompson celebrates new deal with Warriors with hilarious 'Wolf of Wall Street' video NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players Do Cowboys have horses to absorb another Ezekiel Elliott suspension?


After trading Frank Clark, losing Dion Jordan to free agency, and then losing Jarran Reed for the first six games of the 2019 season, the Seattle Seahawks are clearly in need of some help in the pass rushing game. While free agent Ezekiel Ansah will be a huge factor , the Seahawks need someone - or multiple someones - to step up if they want to generate an effective pass rush this season. Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. is confident the team has the right players to step in and replace the production lost over the offseason. "Our young guys, we have the right guys to step in," Norton commented after training camp on Monday. "They're ready to go. I think you saw a lot of the young guys step up last year. A lot of new faces you saw made a lot of plays, so we're excited. The guys are fast, they're eager, they're hungry, and can't wait to get after quarterbacks." The Seahawks had two rookie pass rushers last season in Rasheem Green and Jacob Martin. Martin impressed in limited opportunities as a pass rusher , while Green struggled to get his footing in his first NFL season. Those two will be joined by another member of the 2018 draft class, Shaquem Griffin, who is expected to rush the quarterback more in 2019. Norton is confident the trio of young players will step up and help the Seahawks wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks next season, although rookie defensive end L.J. Collier will be a big factor as well. "The kid is big, strong, fast, just like we expected," Norton continued. "He loves ball. I think that he's really getting comfortable with his environment now, and he's certainly going to help us." The Seahawks may not have what looks like an effective pass rush on paper, but if a few of the younger players can step up, they could make some noise in that area during the 2019 season. MORE: Damian Lillard starts a movement to get Carmelo Anthony a farewell season Za'Darius Smith, Preston Smith have 'been as advertised' for Packers Roundup: Kelly McGillis and Top Gun; Fortnite Season 10; Michelle Obama's Advice; DNA Repaired by Lung Cell Day 3 Cowboys Camp: Prescott's deep ball, passing zones impressive Tom Brady disobeys Bill Belichick at practice, and suffers the consequences


Video by TIME Something like this was bound to happen. The U.S. Navy shot down an Iranian drone over the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump said it came within a "threatening" range and ignored "multiple calls to stand down." Trump said the action taken by the USS Boxer, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, was "defensive." "This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions against vessels operating in international waters," he added. The confrontation came amid escalating provocations by the Iranian government, lashing out against the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign. Still, Trump has been reluctant to use force on a recent occasion pulling back on a strike after Iran shot down an American drone, saying the U.S. response wouldn't have been proportionate. Today's action allows the Trump administration to appear tough, but, given the tensions, it also risks escalation in an already volatile region. The Trump administration has coupled its tough talk against Iran with escalating sanctions designed to cripple Iran's economy. As part of this effort, the Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned a network of front companies and agents that it said were "involved in the procurement of sensitive materials for sanctioned elements of Iran's nuclear program." Other aspects of the Iranian economy have also been sanctioned, and the Revolutionary Guard Corps has been labeled a terrorist organization. These steps will have far more of an impact on Iran's actions than Thursday's downing of a drone. Washington has also accused the Islamic Republic of attacking tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Meanwhile, Iran has increased its uranium-enrichment activity to a level that imperils its commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal, which the Trump administration withdrew from last year. The deal's European signatories have been unable to provide Iran with sufficient economic relief, because most such attempts would violate American sanctions. Slideshow by photo services Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said in a statement that the tensions were unlikely to lead to "World War III," adding that Iran's goal was to get "America to cease its maximum pressure campaign" and "return to" the nuclear deal. "While the regime in Tehran will need to recalibrate in the short term, it's likely that Iran will continue to escalate in other theaters, be it across the Gulf region or in cyberspace," he said. Last month Trump considered air strikes on Iran after it shot down a U.S. surveillance drone, but pulled back at the last minute because of the possibility of civilian casualties. At the time, Trump said killing Iranians wouldn't be "proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone." The U.S. action today satisfies Trump's cautious approach to military action. The president, despite some of his more hawkish advisers' instincts to the contrary, has adamantly opposed any action that could metastasize into a wider conflict. (His major intervention in Syria came only after the Assad regime used chemical weapons on civilians, including children.) In the ongoing tensions with Iran, he has preferred to let sanctions do the talking while signaling that he is open to dialogue. Yet Iran's continued provocations have become hard to ignore. This week it seized a Panamanian-flagged, UAE-based tanker and accused its crew of smuggling fuel. Last week, the U.K. defense ministry said Iran tried to block passage of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz; that's after British forces seized an Iranian tanker they said was headed to Syria in violation of European sanctions against the Assad regime. Even though both sides the U.S. and Iran insist they don't want war, the preexisting tensions in the region, combined with Iran's anger at being denied the benefits of the nuclear agreement, mean that one miscalculated provocation could lead to a larger conflagration. "We live in a very dangerous environment," the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said Thursday at the United Nations before news of the drone was made public. "The United States has pushed itself and the rest of the world into probably the brink of an abyss."


The Bills' 2019 training camp is well underway now as the team entered the fourth day of practice on Sunday at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford. After the pads went on Saturday, one position's injuries are starting to mount. Tyler Kroft (foot) and Jason Croom (hamstring) have been sidelined the past few practices. On Sunday, rookie Dawson Knox missed his first professional practice during injury (hamstring). With that, here are three other takeaways from Day 4 of training camp: Big play Tre By most accounts, second-year quarterback Josh Allen had his best practice on Saturday. At first, that momentum was not carried over to Sunday's fourth practice. A day prior, Allen and Brown connected for a few deep balls. On the first practice during team sessions, on Sunday, cornerback Tre'Davious White set the tone for the defense. Per multiple reports , Allen's pass was off-target and behind Brown. White made the interception that would have gone down as the pick-six variety. Allen also fumbled at one point, too. While progression from Allen in the main storyline of Bills camp, the defense gets paid too and White is the cornerstone of it. Still good news. Cole Beasley looks important Earlier this offseason when the Bills signed veteran slot cornerback Cole Beasley, some viewed it as a knock against his former team, the Cowboys, when he said Buffalo has bigger plans for him. As of now, it might not be a knock and just the simple truth. Despite his interception, Allen did recover a bit in practice. WROC-TV estimated that Allen was 12-for-16 passing in team drills. One of his first big plays on the day was to Beasley down the sideline between a few defenders, per NYUP . However, it's in the short-range targets over the middle that Beasley has stood out. Allen's using him as his second-or-third look receiver out of the slot. In one case, Beasley beat cornerback EJ Gaines badly, per 13WHAM-TV . That could lead to Beasley seeing plenty of targets this season, but the year is still very young. Josh Allen gets praised by the coaching staff for taking the short pass. Something they've really been drilling him about this offseason. #Bills pic.twitter.com/v5JbCPbVfv - Ryan Talbot (@RyanTalbotBills) July 28, 2019 Cam Phillips lays out Let's stay with the offense and wide receivers here. Zay Jones unfortunately was spotted with trainers during practice, too. That opened opportunities for others, notably Cam Phillips, with the first-team offense. During this opportunity, Phillips made it count with a diving catch on a pass from Allen, according to NYUP.com . The Bills' top-four targets seem to be Jones, Beasley, Brown and Robert Foster. None are big-body targets, but that doesn't seem to matter to the Bills. Phillips isn't a big guy, either. Along with Phillips, Isaiah McKenzie also saw some first-team reps, per reports. MORE: Packers impressed with Rashan Gary's effort early at training camp LeBron James jumps into Bronny's layup line for a ridiculous dunk Lions training camp: Day 4 participation report, 12 injured on defensive front Gregg Williams blowing away Adam Gase with Jets training camp defense Tom Brady disobeys Bill Belichick at practice, and suffers the consequences


A 19-year-old girl from Swansboro, N.C. was fat-shamed at church on Sunday, when a congregation leader followed her to the bathroom and told her, "Fat girls don't wear shorts." The teen, who goes by Jenna on Twitter, took to her social media to share a video that she captured when a woman named Bonnie Sue confronted her in the bathroom of Swansboro United Methodist Church. When the clip starts, Sue is seemingly referring to another churchgoer when she says, "She's a chubby girl. She's got a dress on that's appropriate." When Jenna responds, "So you're sitting here calling me fat?" Sue counters, "Oh, you don't think you are?" This women followed me into the bathroom and attacked me calling me fat and that I couldn't wear jean shorts because I was too fat pic.twitter.com/xse8lKfQdo   Jenna 🦊 (@roo_jenna) June 30, 2019 Jenna is heard breaking down into tears, while Sue continues to taunt and threaten her. "Don't come back on that stage with those shorts," Sue said. "I'm warning you." According to an explanation included in Jenna's Twitter thread, the teen is a member of the contemporary band at her church, but writes "I will never get back up on the stage to sing again." Just wanted to add this pic.twitter.com/SWwiMSWL2T   Jenna 🦊 (@roo_jenna) June 30, 2019 "I'm honestly shocked and upset that this happened at church," she wrote. "I should feel accepted and loved and now I don't want to go back to that church." The pastor of Swansboro United Methodist Church, G. Kevin Baker, provided Yahoo Lifestyle with a statement that was sent to the community on Tuesday. Jenna also added the letter as an update to her thread. The lead pastor sent this out to people ❤(since some of you found the church, also please don't be a bully back nothing will be solved from that... an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind) pic.twitter.com/r875AP33ak   Jenna 🦊 (@roo_jenna) July 2, 2019 "It has come to our attention that great harm has been done in an incident that occurred this past Sunday where a faithful and very gifted young lady and worship leader was body shaming for her appearance," the statement reads. "We are shocked and saddened by this act. The Church is supposed to be a place of safety, love and acceptance." According to Jenna's thread, the pastor told her that Sue won't be working in any sort of committee or in any leadership role at the church ever again. In an email to Yahoo Lifestyle, Baker also noted that Sue and is a church member and not an employee. Beyond the pastor's support, however, Jenna has received an outpouring of love from thousands of Twitter users   including actress and body positive activist Jameela Jamil. So horrified to watch what you were put through. You don't deserve that. You look fucking brilliant in those shorts. That woman is an arsehole. Well done for fighting back. I didn't have the courage to do that when I was younger. You're so inspiring. Sending you love. ❤   Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) July 2, 2019 This breaks my heart. Her behavior is so cruel and ugly. Keep singing and keep shining. She is clearly not an authority on any kind of loving God.   Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) July 2, 2019 This is terrible. I hope you know you can wear whatever you want ESPECIALLY THOSE FUCKING SHORTS   Jazzmyne Robbins (@jazzmynejay) July 2, 2019 I'm so angry you had to experience this. I have nothing to take the pain away but please kno you are loved and amazing just as you are, and that I will take time to hex her tonight.   Dani Fernandez (@msdanifernandez) July 2, 2019 So sorry this happened to you. You are amazing.   Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) July 2, 2019 I wear shorts like yours all the time. You and I shall rock the world with our beautiful bodies and badass shorts💕 pic.twitter.com/ZfE3afaVQM   we are giants🏳🌈💕 (@fujiokathemocha) July 2, 2019 Jamil also retweeted the video onto her own page where she made a statement about the "daily harassment people receive over their size." This is the daily harassment people receive over their size. Even at the hands of people old enough to know better. Even in sacred places. Even in their own doctor's practices. Our hypernormalization of policing and ridiculing fat bodies is what leads to this brazen bullying. 💔 https://t.co/SXfYMu80q5   Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) July 2, 2019 "Even at the hands of people old enough to know better. Even in sacred places. Even in their own doctor's practices," she wrote. "Our hypernormalization of policing and ridiculing fat bodies is what leads to this brazen bullying." Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Woman with 'disgusting' hairy armpits in Nike Instagram sparks debate: 'STOP DEGRADING HER' People are grossed out by razor company telling women they don't have to shave: 'It's just tacky' Woman 'horrified' by gym's body-shaming email: 'Call it what it is ...FAT' Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.


SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- After the San Jose Sharks relied on a usual suspect to tie the game, the St. Louis Blues took back momentum with a tiebreaking goal from a most unlikely source. Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo scored his first career postseason goal late in the second period that helped the Blues overcome another big game from San Jose's Logan Couture with a 4-2 victory over the Sharks on Monday night that tied the Western Conference final at one game apiece. BOX SCORE: BLUES 4, SHARKS 2 "It's not really my game but it's something that goes in the back of your mind," said Bortuzzo, who had scored only 14 goals in 365 regular season and playoff games before breaking through against the Sharks. "Jaden (Schwartz) will remember, I told him if I do score a playoff goal you'll like the celebration. You never can plan what you're going to do. It's just a rush of emotion. It's an intense game out there. That's all it is, emotion coming to the surface." After the surprising goal, Bortuzzo pumped his fist, let out a yell, and held his arms out wide for the embrace from his appreciative teammates, who needed the momentum back in their favor after Couture scored twice in a span of less than two minutes to erase a 2-0 deficit for San Jose. Schwartz, Vince Dunn and Oskar Sundqvist also scored and Jordan Binnington made 23 saves to send the Blues home for Game 3 on Wednesday night tied in the series. "Pretty solid game tonight," Binnington said. "We had a good start, we were disciplined. When they tied it up, we stayed composed. That's really important, this time of year especially. We enjoyed the moment and competed hard until the end." Couture scored his goals in a span of 1:59, giving him an NHL-leading 13 this postseason but the Sharks couldn't get anything else and lost their third straight Game 2 after winning the series opener. Martin Jones made 21 saves. "The story of the game was we didn't have enough participants across the board," coach Peter DeBoer said. "I thought Logan Couture was pretty good, a couple of other guys ... It's tough to win this time of year if you don't have everybody going, and I thought they got contributions from everybody, like we did in the first night." Couture tried to take over the game for the sluggish Sharks after they fell behind 2-0 in the second period on Dunn's point shot that beat Jones through a screen. The Blues were in position to add onto that lead after a questionable interference call against Marcus Sorensen when Couture single-handedly turned things around. He took the puck from Alex Pietrangelo at the blue line and skated in on Binnington for the short-handed goal just 16 seconds into St. Louis' man advantage, waking up the crowd. Couture struck again shortly after the penalty was killed, taking a stretch pass from Timo Meier and firing a shot between the pads for the equalizer, giving him 100 career postseason points. The Blues then answered late in the period with thanks to Bortuzzo. He passed the puck from the point to Tyler Bozak and skated in behind Joe Thornton. He then took a pass from Joel Edmundson and beat Jones with a backhander into the top corner for his first goal in 31 playoff games. "That was unbelievable, that whole play, the way it developed," teammate Ryan O'Reilly said. "Guys were moving, in motion, he gets it on his stick. So calm and makes that shot, one of the hardest backhands I've ever seen. We were all very impressed. That was a huge goal." Bortuzzo added a big blocked shot in the third when Kevin Labanc got a pass in the slot with time to shoot, negating one of the few good chances San Jose had in the third. The Blues then killed off a power play later in the period before getting the insurance goal with 3:08 remaining when Alexander Steen fed Sundqvist on a rush for the goal that made it 4-2. "We just kind of let off the gas pedal I think," Labanc said. "Gave them a little too much room to make plays. . The focus for next game is play a full 60 minutes and not give them anything for all three periods." The Sharks were looking to avoid their pattern from the first two rounds when they followed up convincing Game 1 wins with losses at home in the next contest. But the Blues were the more desperate team from the start and got the early lead when Schwartz finished off a give-and-go with Vladimir Tarasenko with a shot into the corner of the net from the faceoff circle just 2:34 into the game. NOTES: Couture is the fourth player this decade with 100 playoff points, trailing only Sidney Crosby (123), Patrick Kane (109) and Evgeni Malkin (106). ... Schwartz has nine goals in the playoffs after scoring just 11 in the regular season. ------ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP--Sports Related slideshow: Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019 (Provided by imagn)


The quirky 25-year-old show vehicle is being resurrected to its former glory. The Ford Ranger seemed to be all over the place in America through the 1990s. By that, we're not necessarily talking about sales, though the small pickup was certainly popular. The rounded styling of the second-generation truck arrived in 1993, and to generate more excitement for the then-new Ranger, Ford commissioned numerous themed concepts that basically amounted to snazzy appearance packages. One of them   the Sea Splash Concept   avoided the FoMoCo crusher and is now in the hands of Fred Ashmore who recently shared his acquisition on Facebook . With his permission, some of those photos are presented below. The backstory of how it survived is unknown, though it's not uncommon in the automaker realm for such machines to fall under the protective custody of corporate managers with some pull to keep them alive. In his Facebook post, Ashmore says the truck was hidden for over 20 years, and judging by the amount of grime on the exterior, we totally believe it. Details of how he picked it up are unknown, but more importantly, he is giving it a proper restoration despite the truck showing just 139 miles on the odometer. What does a restoration entail? Aside from the crazy 1990's paint job, the Sea Splash Concept came with a unique grille, front bumper, and large supports in the bed and hood to haul a similarly painted canoe. During its long slumber, the grille and front bumper were nicked, which is why the recent photos show dual Blue Oval badges up front. The truck also came with special wheels and prototype BF Goodrich tires, though fortunately, they are still installed on the concept. Ashmore says he's either sourcing or fabricating the missing parts to return it to its former glory, and yes, that includes a replacement canoe wearing the appropriate paint. Along with the Sea Splash Concept, Ford also built a Sky Splash Concept with a similar theme. Ultimately, these machines led to a production model simply called the Ranger Splash, decked out with wavy graphics that are as 1990s as Hootie and the Blowfish . And since these concepts were basically standard Ranger trucks underneath, they had proper VINs and yes, Ashmore's Sea Splash is registered and road legal. It's not often you see quirky concepts survive, never mind entering the hands of a private collector. It sounds like this cool piece of Ranger history is in good hands, and we look forward to seeing the completed project. Follow MSN Autos on Facebook and Twitter


Good news regarding the health of Bengals players has been a bit hard to come by of late, but they got some on Friday. The Bengals announced that they have activated center Billy Price from the non-football injury list. Price was placed on the list when the team opened camp last Friday. Price was a 2018 first-round pick and he missed six games last season with a foot injury. He also suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle while doing the bench press at the Scouting Combine, so everyone in Cincinnati will be looking for better health for Price this time around. The Bengals are likely without 2019 first-round left tackle Jonah Williams for the entire year while guard Clint Boling announced his retirement recently due to health concerns. They also expect to open the season without wide receiver A.J. Green as a result of an ankle injury.


The Tampa Bay Rays have called up right-hander Ian Gibaut to make his major-league debut, the team announced ( via Twitter ). Much-lauded two-way player Brendan McKay has been optioned to Triple A to make room. McKay's first taste of the majors did little to quell the excitement about his eventual arrival as a regular two-way player. He took two turns through the rotation, accumulating 0.3 rWAR and earning his first major-league victory. After going six scoreless against the Rangers in his sterling debut, he got a no-decision in giving up three earned runs across five innings against the Yankees. He returns to Triple A after working 11 innings, giving up three earned runs and seven hits, with six strikeouts and a walk. As a batter, McKay went 0 for 4 in his only start as a designated hitter. McKay is generally regarded as less advanced as a hitter than a pitcher. The Rays do not likely view him as a contributor as a hitter until next season. On the hill, however, there's a good chance McKay will see another opportunity at some point in 2019. As for Gibaut, the 25-year-old Texan was an 11th-round pick by the Rays in 2015. He missed two months of this season with an injury, but since returning to Triple-A Durham, Gibaut has been on his game: Nine appearances, 1.93 ERA, 3.9 H/9, 15.4 K/9, 6.8 BB/9. Outside of some location issues, Gibaut has all the makings of a late-game reliever. He has recorded 35 saves in the minors, though the Rays will no doubt look to leverage his opportunities early on given the depth of their relief corps.


LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)   Voters in Lakewood will decide whether to limit new home development. The city's election is next month. Some residents believe growth is out of control and want to take a drastic step with limiting future growth. Others say it's too drastic and could create other issues in the future. In Lakewood, a changing landscape has set in motion a ballot measure that's pitted neighbor against neighbor. "We need healthy, responsible, strategic growth that's sustainable for years to come," said Cathy Kentner. Kentner is behind a group called Lakewood's Strategic Growth Initiative. The group is pushing the measure which Lakewood voters will decide on July 2. It would limit new home development to 1% a year. (credit: CBS) For example in 2018, Lakewood developers built 1,199 new housing units. Under the ballot measure, it would have limited the number of units to 672 which is a difference of 527 fewer that actually built in 2018. "Anytime you artificially limit the supply you're going to drive up the price," said Tom Quinn who opposes the measure. Quinn says the ballot measure will only hurt those who can't afford housing the most and will contribute to more people commuting and driving on city roads. Quinn says Lakewood's comprehensive plan is already working. He says it is directing growth to urban corridors like Colfax Avenue and helps protects 25% of the city's land from development.


The Miami Heat have officially acquired KZ Okpala's draft rights, sending the Pacers their 2022, 2025 and 2026 second-round picks, Miami announced in a press release . The deal technically became a three-team trade, having merged with the Pacers' acquisition of T.J. Warren from the Suns. The Pacers agreed to send the No. 32 pick, Okpala, to the Heat, who selected the Stanford small forward, Adrian Wojnarowski tweets . The Pacers gained the rights to that pick earlier in a trade with the Suns. Indiana will receive three future second-round picks from Miami. The Heat had traded away their second-round pick. Indiana also acquired Warren from Phoenix, which used cap room to make that deal in a salary dump. The Suns received cash considerations. The 6-foot-9 Okpala averaged 16.8 points and 5.7 rebounds last season.


Pittsburgh will see a return of last week's light rainfall as early as tomorrow, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Tomorrow's forecast shows the greatest possibility of rain at 92 percent, with rain likely through Friday. The next few days will also see mild temperatures, due to last through Friday. Temperatures will reach a high of 66 degrees on Thursday, then turn cooler on Sund. Skies will be cloudy today and mostly cloudy on Saturday. Winds are forecast to reach a modest high of 14 miles per hour on Sunday, while today will be quieter with a top speed of just 9 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.


While the Lightning don't have an obvious vacancy to fill between the pipes, they appear to be the front-runner to sign goaltender Curtis McElhinney , reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic ( Twitter link ). A deal is not believed to be finalized just yet. The 36-year-old is coming off of a strong season with Carolina, who claimed him off waivers from Toronto at the end of training camp. While he was originally intended to serve as a stopgap option with Scott Darling not being fully healthy to start the season, he quickly became a key part of their tandem alongside Petr Mrazek with Darling eventually being sent to the minors. Overall, McElhinney set a new career high in wins (20) while posting a 2.58 GAA and a .912 SV% in 33 starts with Carolina last season. He also got into five postseason games when Mrazek was injured, compiling a 2.01 GAA with a .930 SV%. That performance has vaulted him from being a run-of-the-mill backup to someone who entered the market as one of the more intriguing options available. If Tampa Bay does indeed sign him, it calls into question the future of current backup Louis Domingue, who had a decent performance in 2018-19. An injury to Andrei Vasilevskiy forced him to play more than expected as he wound up playing in 26 games, compiling a 2.88 GAA with a .908 SV%. The 27-year-old is signed for one more season at $1.15M, almost all of which would come off their books if he was sent to the minors. Alternatively, he could become a trade option depending on how the rest of the goaltending market shakes out.


Hans Petter Eidsvåg decided to play around with a sleigh in Folldal, Norway. But the fun times didn't go according to plan when he attempted a jump that ended with him faceplanting into the snow. Fortunately there's slow motion footage of the moment!


Scamp the Tramp, a California mutt, was crowned Friday as the World's Ugliest Dog at the annual contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in California. Scamp and his owner, Yvonne Morones, join TODAY to chat about their win.


It started as a pipe dream, a lovely idea and all that, but one that would never actually happen. However, the notion of Frank Lampard returning to Stamford Bridge - his spiritual home - doesn't seem quite so ridiculous anymore. It is very much on the cards after Maurizio Sarri left Chelsea to become Juventus' new boss and there have even been whispers that a deal to bring Lampard back to west London has already been struck behind closed doors. He's Coming Home  #Lampard pic.twitter.com/RD35E30XEF   فيصل عدنان السماعيل (@Faisal_Esma3il) June 16, 2019 You may hear people say it's too early and that Super Frank is too inexperienced as a coach. You may also hear others say that this is the best news from the Blues since it was announced in 2003 that some Russian oligarch would be pumping ungodly amounts of money into the club (of which the benefits are equally debatable). To be perfectly honest, either group could be right. There's a long history of players taking charge of their old club, with varying degrees of success and it is impossible to say whether Chelsea will live to regret appointing Lampard. Here's a look at some of those individuals who went on to coach the teams they used to play for. Thierry Henry Thierry Henry is a really, really nice man. Unfortunately, he is also a really, really bad football coach. Ok, that's a bit over the top, but my goodness he had a nightmare start to his managerial career. He lasted 104 days in the Monaco hotseat having come through the Ligue 1 side's academy in the 1990s. Now, that might seem harsh, but had they given him much more time it would have been because of blind loyalty rather than Henry actually earning it. The ex-striker won just 20% of the matches he oversaw, collecting just a single point in the Champions League group stages and leaving the club in the relegation zone by the time of his dismissal in January. Success Rating: 0/10 Gennaro Gattuso Renowned for his bullish attitude and fierce on-field demeanour, Gattuso is decidedly less intimidating following a testing period as Milan boss. They finished fifth in the league last term, agonisingly close to securing a return to the Champions League. That's hardly an abysmal showing. Still, the feisty Italian squandered £170m on a host of new recruits who, for the most part, looked disinterested and sub-par. Worse still, he lost 5-1 to Arsenal (ARSENAL!?) in the Europa League in 2018 - that's just unforgivable. Success Rating: 3/10 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Never get in a car if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is at the wheel. The 'Baby-Faced Assassin' flattered to deceive at Manchester United , initially looking like the messiah before his Red Devils side started to splutter and choke. Things were rosy when March rolled around and Ole had been in the job for a few months, with the Norwegian having the second best win ratio in United history by that point. By May he had the worst. Nevertheless, this may be less of a Solskjaer problem and more of a Manchester United one - no coach has truly impressed at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement and the squad seems to be lawless. However, it's still early days for Solskjaer and he's already proven he can get this team back on its feet. Success Rating: 4/10 Pep Guardiola No one can deny that Pep Guardiola's tenure at Barcelona brought unparalleled success to Camp Nou. What people do debate, however, is how much of it was down to Pep and how much was due to the insanely talented squad at his disposal. Firstly, he is not a fraud. Yes, he has spent gargantuan sums of money on recruitment, but that is because his breathtaking style-of-play requires a certain calibre of players. Of course, the need for significant financial backing and a team with such immense levels of skill does slightly detract from the impressiveness of the Catalan's record. Nevertheless, two European titles and the most trophies collected by any Barça manager is rather good. There's also the intangibles to account for; the impact he had on the growth of Lionel Messi and his teammates, the delicious brand of football he created and the influence 'Tiki-Taka' had on the future of the sport. Pep's done alright. Success Rating: 8/10 Zinedine Zidane Nine pieces of silverware were collected during Zinedine Zidane's first stint with Real Madrid , the Frenchman winning three more trophies at the Bernabeu than he did as a midfielder in roughly half the time. A hat-trick of Champions League triumphs is a superb achievement, but Zidane has been unable to work his magic since rejoining Los Blancos in the spring. Between 2016 and 2018 he had a win-percentage of 70%, but in 2019 he has struggled to motivate a lethargic Real outfit. He must stop the rot or risk his magnificent reputation in the Spanish capital turn to dust (Madrid fans have notoriously-short memories). Success Rating: 8/10 Eddie Howe 31 December 2008: Eddie Howe becomes caretaker manager at League Two relegation-fodder Bournemouth , who are under a transfer embargo. 27 April 2015: Bournemouth are promoted to the Premier League for the first time ever after winning the Championship with 90 points. 21 May 2017: Bournemouth finish in ninth place in the top-flight, above last season's champions Leicester City. The facts do all the talking when it comes to Howe's performance with the Cherries. He is a delightful man and a splendid coach, ensuring that his team plays football that is both attractive and effective. No, he hasn't won a trophy, but the story of Bournemouth FC is beautiful and unbelievable. Success Rating: 9/10 Kenny Dalglish King Kenny's greatest contribution to Liverpool is not related to matters on the field. They were vastly superior to every other club in the land under Dalglish, tasting glory on numerous occasions.  However, it was the Scotsman's courage and grace in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster that make him so respected and adored. He held the Reds together in their darkest hour, showed what it really means to be brave and carried the weight of a weeping city on his back. Success Rating: 10/10


Manchester City host Leicester on Monday in another potentially crucial game in the race for the Premier League title. Liverpool's last-gasp win over Newcastle on Saturday took Jurgen Klopp's side back above the reigning champions by two points, and meant that the title race will go down to the wire on the final day of the season. AS IT STANDS 1 Liverpool P37 Pts 94 GD +65 2 Man City P36 Pts 92 GD +68 pic.twitter.com/kFk7RcnUe9   Premier League (@premierleague) May 4, 2019 Pep Guardiola's side can regain control over the battle for top spot before then with victory on Monday, but will face a tough challenge against a resurgent Leicester side. The Foxes have won six of their nine games under Brendan Rogers so far. Here is 90min's preview of another huge clash in the Premier League title race. Where to Watch   When Is Kick Off? Monday 6 May  What Time Is Kick Off? 20:00 (BST)  Where Is it Played? Etihad Stadium  TV Channel/Live Stream? Sky Sports PL  Referee? Mike Dean Team News Manchester City will be without star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne for the crucial clash at the Etihad, as the Belgian continues to recover from a hamstring injury which looks set to keep him out for the remainder of the season. Fellow key midfielder Fernandinho is also a doubt for Monday's game, with the Brazilian having trained with strappings on his knee on Friday and appearing to be short of match fitness, meaning that a late decision could be made on his availability to face Leicester. Full back Benjamin Mendy is also set to miss out once more with a persistent knee problem which could see the Frenchman miss the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers has an almost fully fit squad at his disposal, with Daniel Amartey remaining the Foxes' only senior absentee. The midfielder is continuing to recover from an ankle injury. Predicted Lineups   Manchester City Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko; B. Silva, Gundogan, D. Silva; Sterling, Aguero, Sane  Leicester Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell; Ndidi; Gray, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy Head to Head Record Any nerves that City may have ahead of their clash with Leicester due to the magnitude of the occasion may be eased by their superior head to head record against the Foxes. Of the 117 times that the two sides have met previously, the Citizens have won 58 times, whilst Leicester have won on only 30 occasions between the two sides. The remaining 29 meetings have resulted in draws, though the most recent encounter resulted in a shock 2-1 victory for Leicester on Boxing Day. The Foxes responded to Bernardo Silva 's opener with strikes from Marc Albrighton and Ricardo Pereira to seal victory at the King Power. Recent Form City have shown form worthy of champions in the Premier League of late, but Leicester's recent run under Rodgers has been largely impressive too. Guardiola's side crashed out of the Champions League in unfortunate fashion at the hands of Tottenham , but recent victories over Mauricio Pochettino's side, neighbours Manchester United and a hard-fought win at Burnley in the league have had the feel of huge wins. If Leicester fail to beat Manchester City on Monday, Wolves will be confirmed in 7th. And if City then beat Watford in the FA Cup final, Wolves will play in the Europa League next season. "Blue moon......."   Tim Spiers (@tim_spiers_Star) May 4, 2019 Whilst City have efficiently gone about their title defence, Leicester have staged a late-season resurgence under Rodgers. Defeat at home to Newcastle was a recent blemish, but the Foxes' improved performances have yielded some fine results. A 2-2 draw away to West Ham showed renewed character and fight among the Leicester ranks, whilst victories over Bournemouth and Huddersfield have built momentum, but a 3-0 victory over Arsenal last time out was the pick of the recent bunch for Rodgers' side. Here is a look at how both sides have fared in their previous five outings:  Manchester City Leicester  Burnley 0-1 Manchester City (28/04)  Leicester 3-0 Arsenal (28/04) Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City (24/04) West Ham 2-2 Leicester (20/04)  Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham (20/04)  Leicester 0-1 Newcastle (12/04)  Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham (17/04) Huddersfield 1-4 Leicester (06/04) Crystal Palace 1-3 Manchester City (14/04)  Leicester 2-0 Bournemouth (30/03) Prediction City have shown few nerves so far as their title defence has intensified towards the end of the season, amid a tense battle with Liverpool for top spot, but Guardiola's side face another big test against Leicester. The Foxes may have little to play for in the remainder of their campaign, but they are playing with real energy and freedom of late under Rodgers, and their renewed form and fearlessness could pose a considerable threat to the reigning champions. Monday's clash will be far from a routine victory for City en route to retaining their domestic crown, particularly given the fine recent form of Jamie Vardy . Leicester have a big part to play in this game, and Liverpool's win on Saturday has piled the pressure on City to match their rivals pound for pound. However, City's relentless push in the title race is unlikely to let up at this late stage, and Guardiola's side should have enough to battle to victory once more at the Etihad. Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Leicester


'Tis the season for learning about suspensions across the National Football League, and on Tuesday the hammer fell on the Minnesota Vikings . #Vikings RB Roc Thomas has been suspended without pay for the first three games of the 2019 regular season for violating the NFL's policy and program on substances of abuse. This stems from his felony marijuana arrest for which he received probation.   Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 16, 2019 Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Vikings running back Roc Thomas has been suspended for the first three games of the 2019 season. Thomas was arrested back in January and cited for possession of marijuana, and pled guilty to fifth-degree possession back in early May. Neighbors had complained of the smell of marijuana coming from Thomas' apartment, and a subsequent search turned up the drug and paraphernalia. The suspension means that, while Thomas counts against the Vikings' 90-man roster for the time being, he would not count against the 53-man roster for the first three weeks of the season should the Vikings keep him around. Thomas joins cornerback Holton Hill in serving a suspension to start the 2019 season. Hill will be serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's rule against performance enhancing substances.


SEATTLE (AP) The pitching staff of the Texas Rangers isn't sold on the idea of using an opener instead of a traditional starting pitcher - yet. The evidence continued to mount in favor or using an opener for the Rangers in an 11-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. The Rangers used reliever Jesse Chavez as the opener and brought in former starter Adrian Sampson in the second inning. The result: Texas snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 3-1 this season using the approach and 6-3 since September. ''I don't think it ever puts the debate to rest,'' Texas manager Chris Woodward said. ''I love to debate. I love arguments when it comes to this game. There are so many things that are changing in this game on a daily basis. It's just something I feel like it gives us . an advantage in the game I feel like. Nothing is black and white, but I think it has worked well.'' So well, Woodward is emboldened to try it again Wednesday, sending Jose Leclerc to the mound with Drew Smyly scheduled to follow. And with success like this, why not? Chavez struck out three of the four batters he faced, then turned the ball over to Sampson. The former Mariner worked five innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out six. The two are thriving under the opener approach. Chavez has pitched 12 2/3 scoreless innings with six hits as an opener, with 16 strikeouts and three walks. And Sampson, a former Mariners pitcher, is 3-0 while following an opener. He also beat the Mariners 2-1 last week. ''My understanding is we're just trying to win a game and it's working,'' Sampson said. ''I ask questions and they give me answers. Woody's always been up front with me . we have a lot of good communication and nobody's really caught off guard by anything.'' Texas hitters backed up their pitchers with a seven-run fifth inning that included two-run hits by Hunter Pence and Asdrubel Cabrera and a three-run home run by Ronald Guzman that landed in the second deck in right field. The burst ended the night for Seattle starter Marco Gonzales (5-5), who gave up eight hits and eight runs (six earned) in four innings. The left-hander has lost five games in six appearances after starting the season 5-0. He also gave up a two-run home run to Nomar Mazara. It was the third time the Rangers have seen Gonzales this year, but he doesn't think familiarity explained their success against him Tuesday. He was 1-1 with an ERA of 0.64 in his previous starts, but Texas seemed dialed in this outing with several balls off the wall. ''Pitching . is a constant chess match,'' Gonzales said. ''I had a couple good games against them early, the dice rolled their way today. I think it's as simple as that.'' INJURY REPORT Rangers: Woodward pulled center fielder Joey Gallo from the game with a sore wrist injured while swinging the bat. Gallo was originally scheduled for an off-day Wednesday. Mariners: Shortstop J.P. Crawford was helped from the field after rolling his ankle late in the game. Manager Scott Servais said the injury was a ''gut-punch to everybody.'' Crawford was undergoing X-rays postgame and the Mariners will know more Wednesday. RARE REST Seattle manager Scott Servais gave Mitch Haniger a day off, operating under the theory that even All-Stars need one occasionally. Haniger is top 10 in the American League in doubles (second), extra-base hits (fourth) and home runs (eighth), but the 2019 All-Star right-fielder has been in a prolonged slump and is batting .229. ''Hopefully it helps,'' Servais said. ''My guess is he's watching video or in the cage or doing something right now. But sometimes you sit and watch the game for a little bit. It does recharge the batteries.'' UP NEXT Rangers: LHP Drew Smyly (1-3, 6.15 ERA) will likely get the start in the series finale against Seattle, though Woodward said he was still looking at using a reliever as an opener. Mariners: LHP Wade LeBlanc (2-2, 7.35 ERA) tries to stop an 0-2 skid with a 13.50 ERA in his third start since returning from the injured list. --- More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports