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  • Carolina Hurricanes reach a 2-year deal with talented offensive forward Martin Necas

    Carolina Hurricanes reach a 2-year deal with talented offensive forward Martin Necas

    The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with forward Martin Necas, keeping one of its most skilled offensive players through the 2025-26 season.

    The team announced the deal Monday, providing some roster certainty for the 25-year-old Czech who had been discussed as a trade candidate since the close of Carolina’s sixth straight playoff season.

    “Martin is an immensely skilled player who provides a scoring threat whenever the puck is on his stick,” new general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He will play a key role in the continued success of our franchise, and we’re excited to have a multi-year contract done.”

    That wasn’t a sure thing for Necas, a first-round pick by Carolina in 2017 who has played with the franchise for his entire career. He was a restricted free agent heading to arbitration and there had been a report out of Europe in which Necas’ father said his son would prefer to be traded.

    Yet a trade never materialized for Necas to head elsewhere.

    Necas had 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games last year, which had followed a breakout 2022-23 season with 28 goals and 43 assists for a team-best 71 points in in 82 regular-season games. He scored four goals in 11 postseason games last season, with the Hurricanes losing to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the second round.

    Necas’ nine overtime goals since the 2020-21 season rank tied for the NHL lead in that span.

    His future had been one of the key questions hanging over the Hurricanes in what has been an offseason of major change. Tulsky took over as GM when Don Waddell left for Columbus; while big names like trade-deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel at forward, and defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce departed in free agency.

    Carolina has been in talks for a deal with another one of its young forwards in Seth Jarvis. The 22-year-old is a restricted free agent who has become a proven contributor, including scoring 33 goals this season and 13 playoff goals in his first three seasons.

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    AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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  • Two female boxers meet Paris Olympics rules after gender test issue at world championships, IOC says

    Two female boxers meet Paris Olympics rules after gender test issue at world championships, IOC says

    PARIS (AP) — Two female boxers at the Paris Olympics who were disqualified at the 2023 world championships after being judged to have failed gender eligibility tests have complied with all rules to fight at the games, the IOC said Monday.

    Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria are competing at their second Summer Games. Both finished outside the medals at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.

    “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement.

    The 28-year-old Lin is a two-time worlds gold medalist and the 25-year-old Khelif won a silver at the 2022 tournament.

    Both were removed from their competitions in New Delhi last year at the world championships, run by the International Boxing Association which has been banished from Olympic boxing since before the Tokyo Games.

    The different status of Lin and Khelif at the Olympics and worlds is fallout from the years-long dispute between the IOC and the Russian-led IBA over alleged failures of governance and integrity, plus reliance on funding from state energy firm Gazprom.

    The IOC has appointed officials to run boxing at two straight Summer Games and acknowledged Monday the tournament rules for Paris are “descended from” those in place eight years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

    Boxing officials picked to run Paris qualifying and finals tournaments tried “to restrict amendments to minimize the impact on athletes’ preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games,” the IOC said.

    The IOC-run database of about 10,700 athletes competing in Paris detailed both boxers’ experiences at the 2023 worlds.

    Khelif was disqualified “just hours before her gold medal showdown” against a Chinese opponent “after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria.”

    Lin “was stripped of her bronze medal (by the IBA) after failing to meet eligibility requirements based on the results of a biochemical test,” the IOC database stated.

    On Thursday, Khelif will fight Italy’s Angela Carini in the 66-kilogram category at the North Paris Arena. Lin, who got a first-round bye as the top seed in the 57-kilogram category, will have her opening bout Friday in the round of 16.

    Medal bouts in boxing at Paris will be staged at the Roland Garros tennis venue.

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    AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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  • New York’s King of Falafel Is Planning a Chicago Expansion

    New York’s King of Falafel Is Planning a Chicago Expansion

    Earlier in July, a vague Instagram post from Fares “Freddy” Zeideia brought joy to Chicagoans familiar with Zeideia’s famous New York restaurant, King of Falafel & Shawarma. Zeideia announced he was opening his first restaurant outside of the Empire State. He’s picked the suburban locale of Chicago Ridge and hopes to open in mid-September.

    Zeideia’s legend has grown since he opened his first food cart in 2002 in Astoria, New York. While Chicagoans may be familiar with halal street food carts — Halal Guys arrived in Chicago in 2018) — Zeideia says he declined expansion overtures. He objected to greedy investors taking control of what he built. “The Falafel King of Astoria,” as the New York Times called him in 2016, has built a kingdom of two food trucks and one restaurant.

    The Palestinian immigrant has family in the Chicago area, and Zeideia’s business partner lives there, too. Zeideia spoke about how Chicago is the Palestinian capital of America with the largest community in the country — it’s mostly focused in the Southwest Suburbs along Harlem Avenue through Bridgeview. That’s why he’s opening the first King of Falafel outside of New York in the suburbs, about 35 minutes from Downtown Chicago near that Palestinian enclave. The location will be for takeout and drive-thru only. Any upcoming locations would have dining rooms. Zeideia says he wants to open three or four in the Chicago area, including in the city proper.

    “Everyone over the years has been telling me to come to Chicago, come to Chicago,” Zeideia says during a mid-July interview. He apologizes for not immediately returning a message. He underwent open-heart surgery the week before.

    Blissfully unaware of Chicago’s restrictive food truck and mobile food cart laws, Zeideia says he also wants to open a food truck in town. After that, he’ll turn his attention to opening restaurants in Dallas. The New York operation has nothing to do with a similarly named San Francisco restaurant that closed in 2015. Zeideia also wants folks who have visited the New York restaurant to experience the same feel.

    “I’m not going to change anything,” he says. “It’s going to be the same, old Freddy; the same attitude, same personality.”

    That includes the restaurant’s branding, which now includes the phrase “Free Palestine.” Zeideia has celebrated his Palestinian pride more overtly in recent months as the war in Gaza continues. He’s plastered a cast of politicians — from President Joe Biden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — on the floor for customers to step on; Zeideia calls them war criminals and blames them for the death toll overseas. He’s encountered backlash. Those disagreeing with his views have led a campaign to have Google erroneously list his restaurants as closed.

    However, Zeideia has found more supporters thanks to how social media spreads his exploits. He says random folks will approach him and ask, “Aren’t you the guy with the things on the floor?”

    Chicagoans know the type of restaurant owner Zeideia represents. He’s someone who connects with customers and shows up daily to build strong rapport with his customers. He was back at the restaurant a day after heart surgery. Zeideia says he didn’t want to be bored away from the restaurant. While he is excited to be in Chicago to see his six grandchildren more, he’s still a New Yorker to the core. Zeideia says he craves the city’s manic pace which other cities can’t match: “In Chicago, you can sit on a light and nobody honks their horn,” he says.

    King of Falafel and Shawarma, 6085 W. 111th Street in suburban Chicago Ridge, planned for a mid-September opening.

    Ashok Selvam

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  • Russian media throw shade at Paris Olympics, which TV won’t show

    Russian media throw shade at Paris Olympics, which TV won’t show

    TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Watching the Paris Olympics will be difficult for most people in Russia — and in the view of its media, it’s not really worth the effort.

    Only 15 Russian citizens will be competing in the Games and, in principle, they won’t be representing Russia. Because Russia and neighboring Belarus were banned from fielding national teams because of the war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes approved to compete will be doing so as neutrals.

    Russians have been intense Olympics fans since the days when the Soviet Union’s sports prowess was nicknamed “The Big Red Machine.” But with so few of their countrymen competing, Russia’s state TV channels aren’t broadcasting any of the events. Russians may find feeds online, but could need a virtual private network to circumvent the country’s block of some channels.

    The last time the Olympics weren’t on TV in Russia — which has won the second-largest number of medals, counting the Soviet era — was in 1984, when the Soviet Union boycotted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

    State news channel Rossiya 24 did broadcast a report from Paris on the opening ceremony Friday night, showing dancing and plumes of colored smoke rising over the Seine River. News agencies Tass and RIA-Novosti gave it glancing attention, with terse stories saying the opening ceremony had begun, but little detail other than noting the rain drove many spectators away.

    Newspapers aren’t ignoring the Olympics entirely, but their main approach has been to accentuate the negative, writing at length about crime in Paris, the inconvenience of barricades placed throughout the city and reported food shortages for athletes.

    “The Paris Olympics is an amazing event, if not to say a phenomenon: Competitions in individual disciplines have just just started, the opening ceremony has not even taken place, and so many scandals have already accumulated that they will be enough for several Games,” Sovietsky Sport newspaper reporter Alexander Shulgin wrote Thursday.

    “I think that this Olympics will go down in history with a completely negative result,” the newspaper Sport-Ekspress quoted Irina Rodnina, a three-time figure skating gold winner and now a member of the Russian parliament, as saying.

    A whiff of schadenfreude floats through many of the stories. Writing about the fences and barriers erected in Paris, Sovietsky Sport’s Andrei Tupikov said: “Once upon a time, everyone pointed their finger at the structure of sports competitions in Russia. Many did not like the fact that before any mass events there were too many different fences and barriers around the arenas and stadiums. … In our reality the practice is slowly fading away, but in Europe it is being actively adopted.”

    Shulgin, seemingly smarting from criticism about the facilities at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, suggested Paris may face an opening ceremony embarrassment similar to Sochi’s, when a display of the Olympic rings malfunctioned.

    “If the ring did not open in Sochi, it’s scary to imagine what could happen in Paris,” he wrote, but did not follow up after the ceremony.

    No such disaster occurred, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Saturday compared Paris unfavorably to Sochi.

    “The Western media did not like (stray) dogs at the Sochi Games. In Paris, they were smiled at by the rats that flooded the city streets,” she said in a statement. She also called the opening ceremony “ridiculous.”

    Commentary on the Paris Games also verged into ethical and philosophical questions, such as whether one should root for the few Russians participating despite the national team’s exclusion. To receive approval from the International Olympic Committee, the athletes cannot have demonstrated support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among other stipulations.

    Sport-Ekspress commentator Oleg Shamonaev analyzed the connotations of each word in the Individual Neutral Athlete designation and concluded: “The 15 ‘neutrals’ with a Russian passport who did not change their flag, despite 2 1/2 years of sanctions … are worthy not of condemnation but of respect.”

    “It’s stupid to pretend we don’t care about what happens to them at the 2024 Games,” he said.

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    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • Drag queens shine at Olympics opening, but ‘Last Supper’ tableau draws criticism

    Drag queens shine at Olympics opening, but ‘Last Supper’ tableau draws criticism

    PARIS (AP) — In an unprecedented display of inclusivity, drag queens took center stage at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, showcasing the vibrant and influential role of the French LGBTQ+ community — while also attracting criticism over a tableau reminiscent of “The Last Supper.”

    Held along the Seine River, the spectacular four-hour event featured global stars such as Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, both considered queer icons. The ceremony blended historic and modern French culture with a touch of kitsch, culminating in a flotilla of barges carrying thousands of Olympians.

    Nicky Doll, known for competing on the 12th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and hosting “Drag Race France,” participated in a high-octane fashion runway segment along with “Drag Race France” Season 1 winner Paloma, Season 3’s Piche, and Giselle Palmer. Initially, they stood alongside the runway, gazing fiercely at the strutting models. Later, they joined in, showcasing their own style.

    Le Filip, the recent winner of “Drag Race France,” expressed their positive “surprise” and “pride” at the ceremony’s scale and representation.

    “I thought it would be a five-minute drag event with queer representation. I was amazed. It started with Lady Gaga, then we had drag queens, a huge rave, and a fire in the sky,” they said. “It felt like a crowning all over again. I am proud to see my friends and queer people on the world stage.”

    Among their bold performances was a scene that seemed to evoke Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” featuring the drag queens and other performers in a configuration reminiscent of Jesus Christ and his apostles. This segment drew significant attention — and mixed reactions.

    “The (French) government knows what it’s doing. They want to show themselves in the best way possible. They showed no restraints in expression,” Le Filip told The Associated Press.

    On the other hand, prominent far-right politician Marion Maréchal denounced the performance on social media.

    “To all the Christians of the world who are watching the Paris 2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” she posted on the social platform X, a sentiment that was echoed by religious conservatives internationally.

    “… because decapitating Habsburgs and ridiculising central Christian events are really the FIRST two things that spring to mind when you think of #OlympicGames,” Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, posted on X, also referencing a scene depicting the beheading of Marie Antoinette.

    Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, afterward drew attention away from “The Last Supper” references, saying that hadn’t been his intention.

    Le Filip responded to the criticism of the scene with a touch of humor and sorrow.

    “It feels like the words of somebody who didn’t get on the guest list. We could all be laughing together. It’s sad to me, honestly,” they said.

    Inter-LGBT President James Leperlier was more circumspect, arguing that France still has significant strides to make in inclusivity.

    “We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There’s much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It’s terrible that to legally change their identity they are forced to be on trial,” Leperlier said.

    He also highlighted the disparity in acceptance, saying that the community is not visible in other official ceremonies and “has difficulty being heard.”

    “If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not. France tried to show what it should be and not what it is,” he said.

    The opening ceremony came as drag and the voguing nightclub scene in France has experienced a revival. The cabaret club Madame Arthur, founded in 1946 in the ashes of World War II, is one of the world’s oldest continually running LGBTQ+ theaters. It opened as Europe was only just beginning to understand the extent of the widespread murder of members of the queer community in WWII and is currently experiencing a massive renaissance.

    Drag is not just a pastime; for many minority French communities who feel alienated over tensions arising from divisive politics and scars from the anti-gay marriage protests a decade ago, it’s a statement of defiance. Many gay Black and Arab youths — especially those from Paris’ less affluent and religiously conservative suburbs — and others who feel a sense of disconnect with French society find voguing and drag events safe places where their identities can be expressed without fear of reprisal.

    Despite the backlash, Le Filip believes the opening ceremony will ultimately transcend controversy.

    “The message of the show is freedom, and it’s a good postcard for France,” they concluded.

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    Associated Press journalist John Leicester contributed reporting.

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    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • Paris barricades start to come down after opening ceremony on the Seine, but many still struggling

    Paris barricades start to come down after opening ceremony on the Seine, but many still struggling

    PARIS (AP) — Gomes Antonio has spent the past few weeks waking up at 4 a.m. to begin his laps around Paris delivering sheets of glass in his white van.

    It was the only way the 60-year-old glass vendor was able to navigate shuttered streets throughout the heart of the city and walls blocking off bridges across the Seine River, set up as part of heightened security restrictions for the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony Friday along the waterway.

    The metal barricades blocking streets, closed metro stations and then sabotage of French train lines Friday that halted high-speed rail travel heading to and from the city has left Parisians and visitors alike grumbling. But now that the opening ceremony is over, many hope parts of the city center will open back up.

    The Pont Des Invalides, a bridge spanning the Seine near the Eiffel Tower, was already opening up Saturday, and some police barricades were being taken down. But people like Antonio said they were still struggling to get to work.

    “I’m hoping things will be a bit more flexible” in the coming days, said Antonio, who’s Portuguese and has lived in Paris for 42 years. “We have to do a ton of laps.”

    He planned to drive 4 kilometers to deliver his glass Saturday but had driven more than 10. “I’ve had to change our route, the streets, everything.”

    Shops and restaurants also have griped about slower-than-expected business that they largely attributed to the chilling effect from the opening ceremony’s security measures. They also pointed to tourists avoiding Paris altogether during the Olympics and many Parisians escaping the city.

    At the opening ceremony, rays of light from the Eiffel Tower illuminated a rainy sky, the Olympic cauldron floated up in a hot air balloon and some of the world’s most famous singers gave jaw-dropping performances, including Celine Dion and Lady Gaga.

    The show left Parisians and visitors alike in awe, but some were still frustrated and unconvinced a day later as crews cleaned up from the ceremony and armed police and military roamed the streets.

    “All of this is a red zone,” Antonio said. “Right now, it’s a bit easier … but I think they should open things up more for people who work. … Without this car, we can’t work.”

    Up to 45,000 police and gendarmes as well as 10,000 soldiers have been deployed for Olympic security. People needed QR codes to get through snaking metal barriers marking the security zone for the opening ceremony, but many in Paris had struggled to get passes or didn’t know they were necessary.

    Despite the barricades coming down Saturday, Antonio, who was dropping off glass he had to install at a house Monday, worried that the respite from the transport chaos would only be brief.

    Still, he acknowledged that some of the security restrictions were necessary and saw the heavy presence of police blocking off streets important during a “complicated moment” of larger global tensions.

    Some Parisians who travel by bike said they were frustrated because they weren’t able to cycle home. Others strolling along the Seine as it drizzled said they were thrilled by slashed levels of traffic because they had “never seen Paris so calm on a Saturday.” Some welcomed authorities cleaning up metro stations and working to make lines within the city run smoothly.

    For 58-year-old Paris resident Katherine Quéroel, walking across the Invalides bridge was exciting after struggling with transport in the past few weeks.

    With a sick mother who lives near the Eiffel Tower and a father who just died, she said closed metro stations and bridges added significant hurdles as she tried to take her mother to the hospital and arrange her father’s funeral.

    Quéroel said she and her mother got a taxi Thursday and had to pay far higher rates than usual trying to find a way across the Seine. It took an hour to travel 2 kilometers, she said.

    “Today is much better, because you can walk and go by bicycle. But on Thursday, it was really complicated,” she said Saturday.

    Despite some of the blockades lifting, she said she was planning to adjust her travel routes in the long term as Olympic and Paralympic activities are set to run through September.

    “We’re going to have to organize ourselves,” she said. “But until September, it’s going to be difficult.”

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    AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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  • Paris’ Olympics opening was wacky and wonderful — and upset bishops. Here’s why

    Paris’ Olympics opening was wacky and wonderful — and upset bishops. Here’s why

    PARIS (AP) — Paris: the Olympic gold medalist of naughtiness.

    Revolution ran like a high-voltage wire through the wacky, wonderful and rule-breaking Olympic opening ceremony that the French capital used to astound, bemuse and, at times, poke a finger in the eye of global audiences on Friday night.

    That Paris put on the most flamboyant, diversity-celebrating, LGBTQ+-visible of opening ceremonies wasn’t a surprise. Anything less would have seemed a betrayal of the pride the French capital takes in being a home to humanity in all its richness.

    But still. Wow. Paris didn’t just push the envelope. It did away with it entirely as it hammered home a message that freedom must know no bounds.

    A practically naked singer painted blue made thinly veiled references to his body parts. Blonde-bearded drag queen Piche crawled on all fours to the thumping beat of “Freed From Desire” by singer-songwriter Gala, who has long been a potent voice against homophobia. There were the beginnings of a menage à trois — the door was slammed on the camera before things got really steamy — and the tail end of an intimate embrace between two men who danced away, hugging and holding hands.

    “In France, we have the right to love each other, as we want and with who we want. In France, we have the right to believe or to not believe. In France, we have a lot of rights. Voila,” said the audacious show’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly.

    Jolly, who is gay, says being bullied as a child for supposedly being effeminate drove home early on how unjust discrimination is.

    The amorous vibe and impudence were too much for some.

    “Know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” posted far-right French politician Marion Maréchal, adding a hashtagged “notinmyname.”

    Here’s a closer look at how Paris both awed and shocked.

    A 21st-century update of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’

    DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon who calls herself a “love activist,” wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going on a footbridge across the Seine, above parading athletes — including those from countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.

    The tableau brought to mind Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” which depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him.

    Jolly says that wasn’t his intention. He saw the moment as a celebration of diversity, and the table on which Butch spun her tunes as a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.

    “My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly said. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

    Still, critics couldn’t unsee what they saw.

    “One of the main performances of the Olympics was an LGBT mockery of a sacred Christian story – the Last Supper – the last supper of Christ. The apostles were portrayed by transvestites,” the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, posted on Telegram.

    “Apparently, in Paris they decided that since the Olympic rings are multi-colored, they can turn everything into one big gay parade,” she added.

    The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deplored what it described as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” and said “our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”

    LGBTQ+ athletes, though, seemed to have a whale of a time. British diver Tom Daley posted a photo of himself recreating the standout Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio scene from “Titanic,” only with the roles reversed: He was at the boat’s prow with arms outstretched, as rower Helen Glover held him from behind.

    Is that a revolver in your pocket?

    When a giant silver dome lifted to reveal singer Philippe Katerine reclining on a crown of fruit and flowers, practically naked and painted blue, audiences who didn’t think he was Papa Smurf may have guessed that he represented Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy.

    But unless they speak French, they may not have caught the cheekiness of his lyrics.

    “Where to hide a revolver when you’re completely naked?” he sang, pointing down to his groin. “I know where you’re thinking. But that’s not a good idea.”

    “No more rich and poor when you go back to being naked. Yes,” Katerine continued.

    Decades after Brigitte Bardot sang “Naked in the Sun,” this was Paris’ reminder that everyone starts life in their birthday suit, so where’s the shame?

    Paris museums are full of paintings that celebrate the human form. Gustave Courbet’s “Origin of the World” hangs in the Musée d’Orsay. The 16th-century “Gabrielle d’Estrées and one of her sisters,” showing one bare-breasted woman pinching the nipple of another, hangs in the Louvre.

    France sends a message

    Clad in a golden costume, French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura strode confidently out of the hallowed doors of the Institut de France, a prestigious stronghold of French language, culture and commitment to freedom of thought. Even without a note being sung, the message of diversity, inclusion and Black pride was loud.

    The most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world was a target of fierce attacks from extreme-right activists when her name emerged earlier this year as a possible performer at the show. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation of alleged racism targeting the singer.

    Nakamura performed with musicians of the French military’s Republican Guard, who danced around her.

    Au revoir, closed minds and stuffy traditions.

    Off with their head!

    When London hosted the Summer Games in 2012, it paid homage to the British monarchy by giving Queen Elizabeth II a starring role in the opening ceremony. Actor Daniel Craig, in character as James Bond, was shown visiting the head of state at Buckingham Palace before the pair appeared to parachute out of a helicopter over the stadium.

    The French love to joyfully tease their neighbors across the English Channel and, perhaps not incidentally, took a totally different, utterly irreverent tack.

    A freshly guillotined Marie Antoinette, France’s last queen before the French Revolution of 1789, was shown clutching her severed head, singing: “The aristocrats, we’ll hang them.” Then, heavy metal band Gojira tore the Paris evening with screeching electric guitar.

    Freedom: Does anyone do it better than the French?

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    AP journalists Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.

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    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • Nita Ambani inaugurates India House, a first for the country at the Olympics

    Nita Ambani inaugurates India House, a first for the country at the Olympics

    PARIS (AP) — Fresh off the year’s most extravagant wedding, Nita Ambani inaugurated the India House for the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

    The first of its kind at an Olympic Games for India, the temporary house is meant to promote Indian culture as the country aspires to host the 2036 Games. The endeavor was born from the partnership between the Indian Olympic Association and the Reliance Foundation, which Ambani founded and chairs.

    “Today we gather here at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 to open the doors to a dream. A dream that belongs to 1.4 billion Indians. A dream to bring India to the Olympics and our shared dream to bring the Olympics to India,” Ambani, an International Olympic Committee member, said in her address.

    India House is one of several hospitality houses that spring up around the Games, affiliated with participating countries or brands. This is a smattering of what’s on offer from Saturday through Aug. 11, the day of the closing ceremony:

    — Tributes to Indian architecture and artistic motifs (think tigers and peacocks)

    — Virtual reality tourism

    — Cricket matches

    — Workshops on block printing

    — Henna tattooing and Bollywood dance

    — A lounge for athletes

    — Food, of course, which ranges from biryani and mutton curry to curd rice and several desserts.

    “It’s beautiful, it’s colorful. It’s smiles, it’s joy, it’s happiness. It’s India,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the event. “It’s what we all love, the entire world. The world is here today. And India House unites the world.”

    Infantino was there to encourage the development of soccer in India, whose men’s team ranks 124th and women’s team 67th in their respective FIFA standings.

    “In India, football is fantastic,” he said. “Together, we make it grow even more. And, I’m here for that. So to all Indians: Watch us, football is coming seriously now in India.”

    India has sent 112 athletes in 16 sports to the Olympics.

    In addition to daily activities, India House will have performances, including an opening night concert from famed Bollywood playback singer Shaan. Sunday is “Bollywood Day” but will feature an hourlong session with ex-cricketer and coach Rahul Dravid on the future of cricket at the Olympics.

    Men’s and women’s cricket, played in the Twenty20 format, will be added at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

    Ambani was accompanied by her husband, Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire industrialist who is Asia’s richest man. It’s been a busy month for the couple: Their youngest son, Anant Ambani, was married just two weeks ago in an elaborate, global celebrity-filled affair that many have dubbed the wedding of the year.

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  • FACT FOCUS: Associated Press video manipulated to make it appear Slovak flags banned at soccer match

    FACT FOCUS: Associated Press video manipulated to make it appear Slovak flags banned at soccer match

    Manipulated video from an Associated Press report circulated on the eve of the match between Slovakia and Ukraine at this year’s European Championship, with the false claim that Slovak flags had been banned from all games because of their similarity to the Russian flag.

    “UEFA has banned the Russian flag from being carried to all matches of the Ukrainian national team at Euro 2024 after some of them were hung in the stands in other matches,” says the voiceover made to sound like an AP reporter. “Security staff will seize Russian flags from all fans, regardless of the country of the rival. It also became known that the ban will also apply to the flags of Slovakia at the upcoming match with Ukraine. The organizers claim that the Slovak flag is very similar to the Russian one, which can cause provocations against Ukrainians.”

    No such video exists and the AP has not reported that there is a ban of Slovak flags at the soccer tournament.

    Here are the facts.

    CLAIM: A video shows an AP report that says Slovak flags will be banned at Euro 2024 games because of how similar they are to the Russian flag.

    THE FACTS: The 33-second video was created using fabricated audio combined with an actual AP video about a Tesla shareholder vote.

    In the video, footage from Euro 2024 is shown over what is a voiceover purportedly by AP reporter Tom Krisher. After about 28 seconds, Krisher appears on screen. The voiceover claims that given the flags’ similarities, Slovak flags will not be permitted at the tournament.

    Both flags have white, blue and red horizontal stripes positioned in the same order. Slovakia’s flag also includes the country’s coat of arms on its left side.

    But the video was fabricated. The AP has not reported that there is any such ban.

    “The video circulating on social media is not an AP video and features a false and manipulated clip of an AP staffer,” AP spokesperson Nicole Meir wrote in an email. “The AP did not report on a UEFA ban of Slovak flags.”

    The footage of Krisher was taken from an AP video published on June 13 about a Tesla shareholder vote to restore CEO Elon Musk’s $44.9 billion pay package that was thrown out by a Delaware judge earlier this year. Krisher covers the auto industry for the AP, Meir confirmed.

    After Russian flags were displayed in the stands at other matches, the UEFA said that security staff would try to intercept and remove Russian flags from being displayed at the Munich stadium where Ukraine played Romania on Monday afternoon in its first Euro 2024 match, the AP has reported.

    Russian teams were banned by UEFA from international competitions within days of the full military invasion of Ukraine starting in February 2022.

    German authorities previously said they only wanted to allow flags of the participating teams to be brought to stadiums and official fan zones broadcasting games on big screens in the 10 host cities.

    ___

    This is part of the AP’s effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.

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  • Pharrell advocates for reviving arts competitions for 2028 Olympics at Louis Vuitton event

    Pharrell advocates for reviving arts competitions for 2028 Olympics at Louis Vuitton event

    PARIS (AP) — If given the chance, Pharrell Williams would reintroduce arts competition into the Olympics, reviving a tradition that’s been missing for nearly 80 years.

    Williams is aiming to reinstate arts competitions back on the world’s biggest sports stage, starting with raising awareness through his star-studded Louis Vuitton event Thursday in Paris. He passionately shared his goal to see the tradition revived by the Olympics in 2028 the night before the Games’ opening ceremony.

    “We get to remind people that at one point, the Olympics actually had the arts as a section that ran all these competitions,” Williams before the event. “Sculpture, architecture, visual arts. The idea we get to put the arts back in. … Why not take this moment to bring awareness?”

    Art competitions first came into fruition at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm with medals awarded in five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. However, the International Olympic Committee ended the competitions in the 1948 games. An attempt to bring it back was denied four years later.

    Williams, the musician-turned-designer, hosted the ritzy A-list event at the Louis Vuitton Foundation building. Attendees included popular figures such as LeBron James, Steven Spielberg, Mick Jagger, Zendaya, Anna Wintour, Charlize Theron, Serena Williams, Rosalía, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifah and Zac Efron.

    Williams called the inside of the event like an “indoor carnival.” He curated a select group of world-renowned artists including KAWS, Daniel Arsham and Derek Fordjour to design interactive art installations.

    Some of the sports represented at the event included archery, tennis, basketball and equestrianism along with carnival games. “The game will begin on the inside tonight,” he said.

    Through donations, Williams said he wanted the event to support Olympic hopefuls as well as 36 athletes across 11 different countries who are competing on the Refugee Olympic Team this year.

    “We get to raise money for the other athletes who don’t have the means to get the gear or proper training equipment,” said Williams, who added that he spoke about creating music for the games with Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC.

    The famed producer said he recorded a track called “Triumph is Cosmos.”

    “This is like the victory lap around the solar system,” he said.

    ___

    AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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  • Lady Gaga dazzles at Olympics opening ceremony with prerecorded French performance

    Lady Gaga dazzles at Olympics opening ceremony with prerecorded French performance

    Catch up on AP’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, with performances from Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and more. Follow AP’s live coverage.

    PARIS (AP) — Lady Gaga delivered a dazzling performance as the first musical act during the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony — except it was all prerecorded.

    The Grammy- and Oscar-winning performer kicked off her performance on steps along the Seine River, singing “Mon Truc en Plumes” in a tribute to French ballet dancer, actor and singer Zizi Jeanmaire. She was accompanied by a troupe of eight dancers carrying pink feather fans, all in custom Dior costumes, before she moved on to the piano.

    “Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music—I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth—Paris,” the singer wrote on X after her performance.

    The singer’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why her performance was prerecorded.

    See AP’s best photos from the 2024 Paris Olympics

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    The cauldron rises by the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)


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    The cauldron is lit by torch bearers Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)


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    The Olympic Flame rises on a balloon after being lit in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)


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    Singer Celine Dion performs from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)


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    A light show is projected from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)


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    A light show is projected from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)


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    IOC President Thomas Bach speaks as Tony Estanguet, president of 2024 Paris Olympics looks on in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)


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    United States’ Coco Gauff and Lebron James take photos as they travel along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis,Pool)


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    A performer rides a mechanical horse along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)


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    The Olympic flag is carried onto the stage in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)


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    Egypt athletes leap while participating in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)


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    Logan Edra, of the United States breakdancing team, dances as she travels along with teammates on the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, Pool)


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    Athletes from the United States travel by boat down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)


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    A torchbearer carries the Olympic flame over a building along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, Pool)


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    Ceremonial smoke in the colors of the France flag appear over the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)


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    Athletes travel by boat along the Seine River during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)


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    Lady Gaga performs in Paris, France, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)


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    A performer sits on a bridge in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)


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    Athletes from Spain travel by boat down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)


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    The Eiffel Tower gives backdrop to athletes riding on boats along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, Pool)


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    Team Greece’s boat parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)


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    Visitors are seen on a bridge ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Zhang Yuwei/Pool Photo via AP)


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    Stephen Curry of the United States takes a photo prior to the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024.(Quinn Rooney/Photo Photo via AP)


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    Spectators wave French national flags while waiting at the Seine river front in Paris, France, for the start of opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)


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    Serena Williams arrives in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)


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    Athletes of Israel take a selfie aboard a boat in the floating parade on the Seine River in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Nir Elias/Pool Photo via AP)


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    The boat carrying the Olympic Refugee team makes its way down the Seine in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)


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    Spectators wait for the start of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)


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    Security patrol by boat in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)


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    Entertainers Ariana Grande, right, and Cynthia Erivo arrive in Paris, France, before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)



    An Associated Press reporter saw Gaga begin to warm up around three hours before the opening ceremony started, performing for about an hour before waving to fans as she walked off.

    Gaga’s appearance was a surprise — she was not listed on a program provided to the media in advance — but was heavily rumored after the singer and actor was spotted in Paris.

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  • Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA for not accepting its matching offer

    Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA for not accepting its matching offer

    Warner Bros. Discovery has sued the NBA after the league did not accept the company’s matching offer for one of the packages in its upcoming 11-year media rights deal.

    The lawsuit was filed on Friday in New York state court in Manhattan.

    WBD, the parent company of TNT Sports, is seeking a judgement that it matched Amazon Prime Video’s offer and an order seeking to delay the new media rights deal from taking effect beginning with the 2025-26 season.

    The NBA signed its deals with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday after saying it was not accepting Warner Bros. Discovery’s $1.8 billion per year offer. The deals will bring the league around $76 billion over 11 years.

    “Given the NBA’s unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,” TNT Sports said in a statement. “We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms – including TNT and Max.”

    NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement that “Warner Bros. Discovery’s claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them.”

    WBD says in the lawsuit that “TBS properly matched the Amazon Offer by agreeing to telecast the games on both TNT and Max. The Amazon Offer provides for Cable Rights, including TNT Rights, because the offer is for games that TBS currently has the right to distribute on TNT via Non-Broadcast Television, which includes both cable and Internet distribution.”

    WBD also claims under its contract it “has the right to ‘Match a Third Party Offer that provides for the exercise of (NBA games) via any form of combined audio and video distribution.’”

    The lawsuit is another chapter in a deteriorating relationship between the league and Turner Sports that has gone on nearly 40 years. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984 and games have been on TNT since the network launched in 1988.

    TNT’s iconic “Inside the NBA” show has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards and has been a model for studio shows.

    However, the relationship started to become strained when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during an RBC Investor Conference in November 2022 that Turner and WBD “don’t have to have the NBA.”

    Warner Bros. Discovery and the league were unable to reach a deal during the exclusive negotiating period, which expired in April. Zaslav and TNT Sports Chairman/CEO Luis Silberwasser said throughout the process, though, that it intended to match one of the deals.

    WBD had five days to match a part of those deals after the NBA’s Board of Governors approved the rights deals on July 17.

    WBD received all of the contracts the next day and informed the league on Monday that it was matching Amazon Prime Videos offer.

    The NBA announced on Wednesday that it was not considered a true match.

    “Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans,” the league said when it did not accept the WBD deal. “Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”

    ___

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

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  • Celine Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade

    Celine Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade

    PARIS (AP) — Celine Dion made a triumphant return Friday with a very public performance: closing out the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony from the Eiffel Tower.

    Nearly two years after revealing her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, Dion belted Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” (“Hymn to Love”) as the finale of the roughly four-hour spectacle. Her appearance had been teased for weeks, but organizers and Dion’s representatives had refused to confirm whether she was performing.

    On a page dedicated to Dior’s contributions to the opening ceremony, the media guide referred to “a world star, for a purely grandiose, superbly scintillating finale.”

    This photo released by the Olympic Broadcasting Services shows Canadian Singer Celine Dion performing at the Eiffel Tower during the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Olympic Broadcasting Services via AP)

    Dion had been absent from the stage since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of her tour to 2022. That tour was eventually suspended in the wake of her diagnosis.

    The rare neurological disorder causes rigid muscles and painful muscle spasms, which were affecting Dion’s ability to walk and sing. In June, at the premiere of the documentary “I Am: Celine Dion,” she told The Associated Press that returning required therapy, “physically, mentally, emotionally, vocally.”

    “So that’s why it takes a while. But absolutely why we’re doing this because I’m already a little bit back,” she said then.

    Even before the documentary’s release, Dion had taken steps toward a comeback. In February, she made another surprise appearance, at the Grammy Awards, where she presented the final award of the night to a standing ovation.

    For Friday’s performance, Dion’s pearl outfit was indeed designed by Dior. Speaking on French television, the Paris organizing committee’s director of design and costume for ceremonies, Daphné Bürki, recalled Dion’s enthusiasm for the opportunity.

    “When we called Celine Dion one year ago she said yes straight away,” Bürki said.

    Dion is not actually French — the French Canadian is from Quebec — but she has a strong connection to the country and the Olympics. Dion’s first language is French, and she has dominated the charts in France and other French-speaking countries. (She also won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with a French-language song … representing Switzerland.) And early in her English-language career — even before “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic” — she was tapped to perform “The Power of The Dream,” the theme song for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

    Dion’s song choice also evoked a sports connection: Piaf wrote it about her lover, boxer Marcel Cerdan. Cerdan died soon after she wrote the song, in a plane crash.

    ___

    Associated Press reporters Sylvie Corbet, Jerome Pugmire and Samuel Petrequin contributed.

    ___

    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • Singing, ceremonies and straw hats: Olympics opening ceremony in Tahiti centers Polynesian culture

    Singing, ceremonies and straw hats: Olympics opening ceremony in Tahiti centers Polynesian culture

    PAPARA, Tahiti (AP) — Tahitian dancers in palm-leaf skirts mingled with Olympic surfers, locals and tourists as the opening ceremony for the Summer Games commenced in French Polynesia on Friday morning, some 10,000 miles away from the main ceremony in Paris.

    “The people of Tahiti, we are all enchanted to have these Olympics games here and to welcome all our friends from all over the world,” President of French Polynesia Moetai Brotherson told The Associated Press. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. All the world is looking at us for this mighty wave.”

    Just steps from the ocean and set against the lush green mountains of Tahiti, the event was heavily centered on Polynesian culture: Visitors were welcomed with traditional Tahitian singing, dancing and ceremonies. Local government, Olympics and surfing officials had hand-woven palms placed around their necks upon arrival. White tents provided a shady spot for vendors to sell local vegetables, Polynesian crafts and food.

    Dancers perform during an opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition Friday, July 26, 2024, in Papara, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

    During one part of the ceremony athletes sealed banana leaves into a vessel, following an ancestral tradition in Polynesian culture — called Rahiri — used as a prelude to important events to secure the peace and union of those competing. During another part of the ceremony, athletes from different countries poured sand into a single communal container, symbolizing unity and respect for the ocean.

    Before the event, surfer Caroline Marks from the United States said she was excited to be returning to the Olympics after she placed fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, where Olympic surfing first debuted.

    “This is way different from Tokyo, when we were in pandemic and there were no spectators — it felt secluded,” she told AP. “This Olympics definitely have a different vibe and it’s great to be back.”

    The event was open to the public, with locals and tourists alike attending.

    “I think it’s a really great opportunity for us to show our culture to the world and really demonstrate that we exist,” said local guesthouse owner Hiro Boosie, 25. “We want to show what kind of people we are to the world.”

    Despite extra security such as police checkpoints and some road closures closer to the Olympic venues, tourists said that they felt their visit to Tahiti during the Olympics was so far a smooth and welcoming experience.

    “The locals are amazing, and I feel that it’s actually very well organized for tourists to be here,” said Dhikra Bahri, 23, who was visiting from Tunisia.

    Image

    Dancers perform during an opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition Friday, July 26, 2024, in Papara, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

    International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre announced that the surfing competition would start the following day. Surf forecasts predict the conditions will be favorable. Only four days of a 10-day window will be allotted for the competition, dependent upon wave conditions.

    Throughout the week, competitors were seen paddling out to the world-famous waves of Teahupo’o starting before sunrise to take advantage of exclusive access to the location for training ahead of the competition.

    In Teahupo’o, residents have spent the final days before the competition preparing their town for the influx of extra people: Families have cleaned trash and debris from beachside walking paths, extended their business hours and building homemade dirt road bumps.

    The 2024 surfing event sets the Olympic record for the competition held furthest away from a host city. ___

    AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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  • Give Shannon’s Trainer an Orange! Plus, ‘New Jersey’ and ‘Dubai.’

    Give Shannon’s Trainer an Orange! Plus, ‘New Jersey’ and ‘Dubai.’

    Bravo

    Rachel Lindsay, Callie Curry, and Chelsea Stark-Jones break down the week in Bravo news

    Rachel Lindsay and Callie Curry begin today’s Morally Corrupt with a breakdown of the lackluster Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 14, Episode 11 (10:20). They then dive headfirst into a discussion about the disappearance and reappearance of Caroline Brooks in The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 2, Episode 8 (19:02). Later, Chelsea Stark-Jones joins the pod to recap Alexis’s best Single White Female impression from The Real Housewives of OC Season 18, Episode 3 (33:44).

    Host: Rachel Lindsay
    Guests: Callie Curry and Chelsea Stark-Jones
    Producer: Devon Baroldi
    Theme: Devon Renaldo

    Subscribe: Spotify

    Rachel Lindsay

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  • Here’s Everything Keith Lee’s Eaten in Chicago So Far

    Here’s Everything Keith Lee’s Eaten in Chicago So Far

    Buckle up, Chicago: Massively popular TikTok restaurant influencer Keith Lee, a former MMA fighter who has rocketed to social media stardom, is back in the Windy City.

    On Monday, July 22, the former MMA fighter and Detroit native announced his return to Chicago for a more robust visit than his brief stint in fall 2023 when locals first saw the “Keith Lee effect” play out in real-time at spots like Soul Prime in Lincoln Park. “This time, we’re doing the whole thing,” says Lee.

    Lee’s straightforward approach, arguably a key facet of his popularity, relies largely on suggestions from his millions of followers, who direct him toward mom-and-pop restaurants that often don’t have the deep pockets required to hire a PR team. His video reviews generally follow the same structure. First, Lee’s family enters the chosen restaurant, assesses the service, and orders take-out. Lee remains incognito, devouring the food from the comfort of his car, and rating the items on a one to 10 scale.

    As Lee chomps his way around town, Eater Chicago will update this running list.

    Tacotlán

    4312 W. Fullerton Avenue, Hermosa

    For his second Chicago stop, Lee and his family headed to Tacotlán, a well-known haven for birria lovers in the Hermosa neighborhood. In a review posted Wednesday, July 24, Lee acknowledges that the restaurant isn’t exactly a hidden gem, but says he was drawn by claims that it serves the best quesabirria in town. He spent $22.25 on three quesabirria tacos with extra rice, no beans, and a styrofoam coffee cup of consomme. As Lee chows down, a booming sound effect rapidly clues viewers in on his reaction: “Good night,” he deadpans. Both Lee and wife Ronni bestow the juicy tacos with a 9 out of 10 rating.

    Amici Chicago

    3933 N. Broadway, Lakeview

    For his first stop in Chicago, Lee visited a tiny spot that specializes in arancini (fried Italian rice balls) stuffed with savory ingredients from various countries. It’s become a favorite of neighborhood Facebook groups. Lee, who posted his review on Wednesday, July 24, and his family spent $54 on six arancini, each with its own dipping sauce: Ethiopian doro wat, Mexican birria, Indian butter chicken, Indian tikka masala, Caribbean jerk chicken, and Italian meat sauce with cheese and peas. The birria arancini was an immediate hit for Lee, who praised the spices and “high-quality” meat and rated it 8.7 out of 10.

    A classic Italian submission, which Lee describes as a “hand-held meat pie homemade lasagna,” rated even higher (9 out of 10). Things get a little confusing when Lee proceeds to a “curry chicken” arancino, which appears to contain butter chicken, which was (unsurprisingly) low in spice but high in flavor, earning it a rating of 7.9 out of 10. The doro wat arancino, stuffed with berbere-spiced chicken, caught Lee slightly off-guard as he’d never tried it before, and he found it a little too salty, resulting in a 4 out of 10 rating. Finally, Lee circles back to the Indian tikka masala, which — like the other “subcontinent” option — also lacked flavor, though Lee ultimately assigned it 6.5 out of 10.

    Naomi Waxman

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  • Nadal comes from 4-1 down in 2nd set to beat Norrie and reach quarterfinals of Nordea Open in Sweden

    Nadal comes from 4-1 down in 2nd set to beat Norrie and reach quarterfinals of Nordea Open in Sweden

    BASTAD, Sweden (AP) — Rafael Nadal recovered from a tumble and a 4-1 deficit in the second set to beat fifth-seeded Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Nordea Open on Thursday.

    Nadal fell over in the first game of the second set after attempting to slide on the clay, and needed treatment on a couple of bleeding scrapes. He then went a break down before winning the last five games of the match to reach his first quarterfinal since January.

    “Great feelings, it’s been a while without playing on the tour since Roland Garros and I had a chance to compete against a great player like Cameron,” Nadal said. “It’s part of the journey today. I haven’t been competing very often so matches like today help and holding the pressure on the opponent for the whole game is something I need to improve on because I haven’t played enough.”

    Nadal is playing at the tournament in Sweden for the first time since he won the title as a 19-year-old in 2005 as he prepares for the Olympic tournament on clay at Roland Garros in Paris.

    He beat Leo Borg, the son of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, in the first round on Tuesday. That was his first singles match since he lost in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Zverev. He teamed up with Casper Ruud on Monday to win a first-round doubles match.

    The 38-year-old Nadal skipped Wimbledon as he didn’t want to switch surface to grass and then back to clay and risk injury. He has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries over the past 1 1/2 years.

    ___

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

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  • Clemson gives men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell new contract after run to Elite Eight

    Clemson gives men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell new contract after run to Elite Eight

    CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell received a new, five-year contract worth $20 million after leading the Tigers to the Elite Eight this past season.

    A panel of the Clemson board of trustees approved Brownell’s enhanced contract, along with new deals for men’s soccer coach Mike Noonan and baseball coach Erik Bakich among several coaches and assistants on Thursday.

    Athletic director Graham Neff said Clemson’s coaches have been key in helping the department compete in a wide range of sports.

    “In addition to countless accolades on the field, each of these leaders run programs built upon integrity and academic excellence,” Neff said in a statement. “In an evolving environment, stability is critical and provides Clemson the opportunity to compete nationally.”

    Brownell, who’ll enter his 15th season this fall, is the program leader with 265 victories. His latest deal would tie him to the school through the 2028-29 season.

    He’ll make $3.5 million next season, a $500,000 increase what he was scheduled to make under his old agreement.

    Brownell will receive a raise of $250,000 for the final four years of the contract, giving him $4.5 million in the last year of the deal for the 2028-29 season.

    Brownell thanked Clemson administrators for their continued support and was proud of his team’s recent success, especially in winning 47 games the past two seasons — a program record for that span.

    “There is not a better time than now to be part of the Clemson family,” he said.

    The school would owe Brownell 50% of his total compensation if he’s dismissed in the first two years of the deal. After that, Brownell would receive 37.5% of what remains on the agreement.

    Brownell has made four NCAA tournaments during his tenure, with this past spring being his most successful run. The sixth-seeded Tigers defeated 11th-seeded New Mexico in the NCAA opener before ousting third-seeded Baylor and second-seeded Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight.

    It ended a step shy of the Final Four with an 89-82 loss to Alabama.

    Brownell made $2.75 million last season, which ranked him fifth among ACC coaches’ salaries. This year’s leader, Virginia coach Tony Bennett, received a contract extension, but did not include a raise in his salary of just over $4 million a year.

    Pitt coach Jeff Capel, who earned $3.5 million this year, got a contract extension Wednesday. Financial details were not released.

    Noonan, who won two of the last three NCAA College Cup championships, had two years added to his contract through the 2029 season, along with a raise for next season from $440,000 to $600,000. Noonan would receive a increase of $17,500 to his salary each year going forward.

    Bakich had the baseball team hosting a home NCAA super regional for the first time since 2010. He had two years added to his deal through the 2030 season. He’ll receive a raise of $325,000 next season for a salary of $1.275 million.

    Bakich would receive raises of $50,000 each season going forward. He will also get retention bonuses of $200,000 should he remain with the Tigers this Sept. 1 and in September 2027 and September 2029.

    Women’s soccer coach Eddie Radwanski and women’s golf coach Kelley Hester each received contract extensions. Radwanski got three more years through the 2028 season while Hester was given two more years through 2029 season.

    —-

    Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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  • French club Lyon signs Georgia forward Georges Mikautadze on a four-year deal

    French club Lyon signs Georgia forward Georges Mikautadze on a four-year deal

    LYON, France (AP) — Ambitious French side Lyon took its pre-season spending to over 100 million euros ($109 million) by signing Georgia forward Georges Mikautadze on a four-year contract on Thursday.

    The 23-year-old Mikautadze joins from second-tier French club Metz for 18.5 million euros ($20.2 million). Lyon said the deal includes a possible additional payment of 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million) and 15 percent of any sell-on profit.

    The seven-time French champion already signed central defender Moussa Niakhaté for 31.9 million euros ($34.8 million) and midfielder Orel Mangala for 23.4 million euros ($25.5 million) — both from Premier League side Nottingham Forest — along with Ghana forward Ernest Nuama for 28.5 million euros ($31.1 million) from Belgian club RWD Molenbeek.

    Mikautadze stood out for Georgia at the recent European Championship, and was one of several players to finish as joint top scorer at the tournament with three goals. He impressed with his dazzling dribbling ability and close control, as well as his clinical penalty taking.

    Monaco was also keen to sign Mikautadze. He scored 13 league goals in 20 games for Metz last season, almost helping the club avoid relegation from the first division.

    Lyon overcame a terrible start to last season to finish sixth in the league under coach Pierre Sage and reach the French Cup final, where it lost to Paris Saint-Germain. Sage was awarded a two-year deal until 2026 for reviving the club’s fortunes and qualifying it for the Europa League.

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

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  • Tour de France Results

    Tour de France Results

    Thursday, July 18

    In France

    18th Stage

    A 111.5-mile race from Gap to Barcelonnette.

    1. Victor Campenaerts, Belgium, Lotto Dstny, 4:10:20s.

    2. Matteo Vercher, France, TotalEnergies, same time.

    3. Michal Kwiatkowski, Poland, Ineos Grenadiers, same time.

    4. Toms Skujins. Latvia, Lidl-Trek, 22s behind.

    5. Oier Lazkano, Spain, Movistar, same time.

    6. Bart Lemmen, Netherlands, Visma-Lease a Bike, same time.

    7. Krists Neilands, Latvia, Israel-Premier Tech, same time.

    8. Jai Hindley, Australia, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, same time.

    9. Wout van Aert, Belgium, Visma-Lease a Bike, 37s behind.

    10. Michael Matthews Australia, Jayco-AlUla, same time.

    Also

    25. Sean Quinn, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, 37s behind.

    38. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma, 13:40s behind.

    66. Neilson Powless, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, same time.

    Overall Standings (Yellow Jersey)

    1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates, 74:45:27s.

    2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma/Lease a Bike, 3:11s behind.

    3. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Soudal Quick-Step/Bel, 5:09s.

    4. Joao Almeida, Portugal, UAE Team Emirates, 12:57s.

    5. Mikel Landa, Spain, Soudal Quick-Step, 13:24s.

    6. Carlos Rodriguez, Spain, Ineos Grenadiers, 13:30s.

    7. Adam Yates, Great Britain, UAE Team Emirates/UAE, 15:41s.

    8. Giulio Ciccone, Italy, LIDL-Trek/USA, 17:51s.

    9. Derek Gee, Canada, Israel-Premier Tech/ISR, 18:15s.

    10. Santiago Buitrago, Colombia, Bahrain Victorious/BRN, 18:35s.

    Also

    14. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma, 22:18s behind.

    60. Neilson Powless, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, 2:40:10s.

    72. Sean Quinn, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, 3:00:57s.

    Team Standings

    1. UAE Team Emirates, 224:41:24s.

    2. Team Visma/Lease a Bike, 27:57s behind.

    3. Ineo Grenadiers, 52:14s.

    4. Soudal Quick-Step, 59:21s.

    5. LIDL-Trek, 1:29:03s.

    6. Movistar Team, 1:39:10s.

    7. EF Education-EasyPost, 2:08:08s.

    8. Bahrain Victorious, 2:11:47s.

    9. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, 2:17:45s.

    10. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, 2:34:20s.

    Climber (Red Polka Dot Jersey)

    1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates, 77 pts.

    2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma/Lease a Bike, 58.

    3. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Soudal Quick-Step/Bel, 42.

    4. Oier Lazkano, Spain, Movistar Team/ESP, 41.

    5. Richard Carapaz, Ecuador, EF Education-Easypost, 37.

    6. Jonas Abrahamsen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 36.

    7. David Gaudu, France, Groupama-FDJ/FRA, 30.

    8. Carlos Rodriguez, Spain, Ineos Grenadiers, 24.

    9. Ben Healy, Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost/USA, 21.

    10. Tobias Johannessen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 19.

    Youth-U26 (White Jersey)

    1. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Soudal Quick-Step/Bel, 74:50:36s.

    2. Carlos Rodriguez, Spain, Ineos Grenadiers, 8:21s behind.

    3. Santiago Buitrago, Bahrain Victorious, 13:26s.

    4. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma, 17:09s.

    5. Ben Healy, Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost/USA, 37:13s.

    6. Javier Romo, Spain, Movistar Team/ESP, 51:14s.

    7. Ilan Van Wilder, Belgium, Soudal Quick-Step/BEL, 1:11:35s.

    8. Jordan Jeget, France, TotalEnergies/FRA, 1:25:27s.

    9. Tobias Johannessen, Norway, UNO-X Mobility/NOR, 1:26:02s.

    10. Oscar Onley, Great Britain, Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL/NED, 1:47:53s.

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