FIFA’s stunning decision to lift the suspension of a star U.S. player has riled the host country's next World Cup opponent, Belgium, and sent soccer fans -- and political leaders -- into a frenzy over the influence President Donald Trump may have had over the extremely rare ruling. Hours before k...
Recent reporting and curated coverage across every beat we cover.
FIFA’s stunning decision to lift the suspension of a star U.S. player has riled the host country's next World Cup opponent, Belgium, and sent soccer fans -- and political leaders -- into a frenzy over the influence President Donald Trump may have had over the extremely rare ruling. Hours before k...
GENEVA (AP) — With the integrity of FIFA and the World Cup under attack from European soccer leaders, FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledged taking a call from President Donald Trump before U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was cleared to play against Belgium later Monday. Balogun was issued a r...
MIAMI (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo plans to say hello to Miami in a few days. First, he had to bid farewell to Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo's time with the Bucks officially ended Monday, when the trade sending him and Bobby Portis to the Heat for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware, Kasparas J...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A 911 call regarding minors consuming alcohol resulted in the arrest of a man and woman on July 4, according to the McAllen Police Department. Jeanett Garza, 43, and Jose Garza, 44, were each charged with two counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor, a class A mi...
LONDON (AP) — Jasmine Paolini ended the historic Wimbledon run of Filipino star Alexandra Eala 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals Monday — all with her idol watching at Centre Court. Roger Federer sat in the Royal Box as Paolini, the 2024 singles runner-up at the All England Club, attacked ...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) - Our summertime heat will be continuing today with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. High temperatures will reach the triple digits from McAllen to the west. Much of the Valley will bake in the upper 90's. When you factor in the humidity, the heat stress level...
The Belgian soccer federation wants explanation from FIFA about a decision to let U.S forward Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game. Belgium takes on the United States later Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals. The Belgian federation (RBFA) said ...
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane carried England to the World Cup quarterfinals, overcoming a raucous crowd, the elevation of Estadio Azteca and a man disadvantage in the second half to beat Mexico in a 3-2 thriller on Sunday night. In the same stadium where England fell victim t...
MONTREAL (AP) — Summer McIntosh broke the longest-standing individual women’s swimming world record Sunday night, finishing the 200-meter butterfly in 2 minutes 1.65 seconds at the Canadian trials. The 19-year-old McIntosh broke the mark of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 during what’s kn...
SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of star U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allows him to play in a World Cup match against Belgium on Monday. Balogun, the American leader with three goals in the tournament, receive...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When the major leagues seemed far away to Eliézer Alfonzo during his near-decade in the minors, the catcher says he always found the strength to continue by thinking about how proud he would make his family. He finally stepped onto the Dodger Stadium field for that moment Sunda...
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Chase Briscoe was on an offseason bonding trip to the United Kingdom with crew chief James Small when the NASCAR driver discovered chocolate buttons, a popular British treat. He bought some online after he returned to the U.S., but he said it wasn't the same. Small purchased s...
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Erling Haaland scored, and Andreas Schjelderup jumped on his teammate's back. Haaland scored again, and Schjelderup leapt up again. Heading in the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute and scoring again before the end of regulation time, Haaland put Norway on his back and ...
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough was well aware that Eury Pérez was only six outs from pitching the first perfect game in franchise history Sunday. And still, McCullough pulled the plug. Pérez was removed after retiring all 21 batters he faced, a move that a...
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Vinícius Júnior had the ball at the penalty spot, a perfect chance to give Brazil the lead. And he handed it to Bruno Guimarães. And by the time Neymar — in what he said was his final World Cup appearance — took and made Brazil's second penalty kick, it was [...]
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Another case of New World Screwworm has been confirmed in Crockett County by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The detection was confirmed on Friday in a domestic sheep, bringing the total number of cases of World Screwworm to 31, according to the USDA confirm...
LONDON (AP) — There’s not usually a clock ticking down in tennis. Yet for Coco Gauff at Wimbledon on Sunday, the All England Club's 11 p.m. curfew made it seem like there was. And Gauff hit the winning shot at the buzzer. Two minutes before 11, Gauff converted her first match point with a service...
SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Chris Gotterup made up a five-shot deficit Sunday by closing with a 9-under 62 to win the John Deere Classic for his fourth PGA Tour title in the last 12 months. Gotterup avoided a playoff when Ben Kohles, trying to win for the first time in his 120th start, hit his [...]
LONDON (AP) — When power meets power, getting in the first blow can sometimes be the key. In a matchup of two of the hardest hitters on tour, that was Naomi Osaka's strategy against top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the most highly awaited matchup of Wimbledon so far this year. Sabalenka had beaten O...
LONDON (AP) — After all the records Novak Djokovic has broken, the latest one left him rather unimpressed — even though he surpassed his great rival Roger Federer. Djokovic set a men's record for most match wins at Wimbledon after overcoming a surprisingly tough challenge from 132nd-ranked qualif...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — If you missed this week's top headlines, Rudy Mireles has curated a list of ValleyCentral's trending stories and a closer look at some of the moments shaping the Rio Grande Valley. Starting with continuing coverage as we learn more about a nun who was detained ...
NEW YORK (AP) — Mitchell Robinson says the hand injury that left his status uncertain for the New York Knicks' NBA Finals opener came after he punched a truck amid concern over his younger brother's health. Robinson, who last week agreed to leave the Knicks and sign with the Boston Celtics, wrote...
SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Charles Leclerc took his first Formula 1 win in nearly two years as a chaotic British Grand Prix ended behind the safety car on Sunday and standings leader Kimi Antonelli missed the points again with a damaged car. Leclerc surged past Antonelli at the start as the Merc...
McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Border Patrol caught an 80-year-old man with more than 345 pounds of cocaine on Wednesday, according to the criminal complaint against him. Luke David Brader, 80, of Bay City — a small town southwest of Houston — stopped at the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfur...
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Despite police blockades, dozens of Mexican fans gathered outside the England national team’s hotel until the early hours of Sunday morning, hoping to disrupt players’ sleep ahead of their World Cup round-of-16 match against co-host Mexico. Armed with loudspeakers, horns and fi...
CHICAGO (AP) — Add the St. Louis Cardinals' 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night to the list of classically weird happenings at Wrigley Field. The game at the iconic North Side ballpark was delayed by fog for 15 minutes after the sixth inning. The Cardinals led 2-0 when play was st...
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — An All-Star snub provided some extra motivation for Sonny Gray on Saturday night, the Boston Red Sox right-hander using the slight for fuel in an 8-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The 36-year-old Gray allowed a run and four hits in six innings, striking out seven and...
MEXICO CITY (AP) — England’s last memory of a competitive match at Estadio Azteca is not a pleasant one. On June 22, 1986, during the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Argentina defeated England 2-1 en route to lifting the trophy. That match remains etched in the memory of soccer fans worldwide, de...
Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski and the Dodgers' two-way star Shohei Ohtani all could miss All-Star mound appearances because of starts next weekend, while four players from the World Series champion Dodgers were voted to the National League’s starting lineup. Los Angeles ...
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has spent 40 years chasing a return to the World Cup quarterfinals. On Sunday, its best chance in a generation arrives. Playing on home soil in a venue that has become an almost impregnable fortress, El Tri will face England in the Round of 16 — in what is arguably [...]
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kylian Mbappé of France scored his 19th career World Cup goal, finding the net on a penalty kick in the Round of 16 against Paraguay on Saturday and moving within one of record holder Lionel Messi of Argentina. Mbappé stutter-stepped on his way to his 19th goal in 19 World Cup...
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kylian Mbappé laughed and smiled — and scored, of course — when Paraguay tried to bait him and his French teammates into fouls and provoke fights, as hot heads became a recurring theme during one of the steamiest World Cup games on record. After the final whistle, Mbappé kept ...
HOUSTON (AP) — Morocco is heading back to the World Cup quarterfinals and coach Mohamed Ouahbi believes his team has established itself among soccer's elite. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to lead Morocco to a 3-0 win over Canada in the Round of 16 Saturday to make the country the first African nat...
LONDON (AP) — Alexandra Eala didn't have the option of playing on grass courts growing up in the Philippines. Instead, she used one that also doubled as a basketball court. “There would be the basketball hoops, so I couldn’t really step back a lot because then I would hit the basketball hoop,” Ea...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The South Texas Health System congratulated two families in McAllen and Edinburg as they welcomed two babies born this Independence Day! Born at South Texas Health System McAllen and STHS Edinburg, Baby Olivia and Baby Carlos came into the world on America's 250...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Reed Hoffmann has been a freelance photographer for The Associated Press for more than a quarter of a century. Before moving to the Kansas City area, he was a newspaper photographer for more than 20 years. He covers breaking news in addition to various sporting events for ...
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — That was quite a big brew outside the home ballpark of the Texas Rangers for America's 250th birthday. The Rangers partnered with Budweiser on Saturday to set a Guinness World Record for the largest-ever glass of beer. A 12-foot tall, 600-gallon glass beer stein was filled...
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Cape Verde's World Cup team walked into its Miami hotel after getting eliminated from the tournament, almost in disbelief at the scene in the lobby. Dozens of people were there, cheering for them. After a loss, no less. Let that be the first sign of how things are going...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Willacy County Sheriff's Office is advising its residents to be cautious when visiting the Laguna Point Park in Port Mansfield, as there are reports of a bee colony. According to the Willacy County Sheriff's Office, they have received confirmation of a honey...
LONDON (AP) — Looking back, it seems perfectly understandable that it took Serena Williams some time to settle her nerves in her first singles match in nearly four years. Rennae Stubbs, one of Williams' coaches, pin-pointed a moment about an hour into the 44-year-old's defeat to an opponent less ...
Free weekly digest. Local news that actually matters — no spam, no clickbait, easy unsubscribe.
By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. We never sell your data.