The Hornets fend off the Jazz to claim victory on Friday in Las Vegas.
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• Hornets 111, Jazz 105: Box Score | Game Detail
LAS VEGAS – The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Utah Jazz, 111-105, in the NBA 2K26 Summer League at Thomas & Mack Center on Friday.
While there were five ties and six lead changes in this closely fought battle, Charlotte held the lead for all but a few minutes. A 60-48 first half set the foundation for that lead, with the Hornets maintaining the lead for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The Hornets shot 50.6% from the field while holding the Jazz to 48.1% shooting. Charlotte also out-rebounded Utah, 40-34, while outscoring them in fastbreak points, 17-11. The Hornets’ bench came up big, outscoring the Jazz’s bench, 47-10.
The Hornets (1-0) were led by Liam McNeeley, providing 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists off the bench. KJ Simpson led the starters with 21 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals. Tidjane Salaun totaled 20 points and seven boards, while Ryan Kalkbrenner had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Jazz (0-1) were led by Kyle Filipowski, finishing with 32 points, six rebounds and five assists on 12-of-17 shooting. Cody Williams collected 21 points and three boards. Walter Clayton Jr compiled 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Isaiah Collier tallied 16 points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals.
On deck for Charlotte is a matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday (6:30 ET, ESPN2). As for Utah, they return to action on Sunday in a matchup with the Golden State Warriors (10 ET, ESPN2).
With less than five hours left for Prime Day 2025, it’s time to take one last look at the deals, see what’s in the cart, and check out if you want to score those sweet, sweet sales. And that countdown is especially important if you have your eyes on exceptionally good deals like Apple’s AirPods Pro 2.
These true wireless earbuds are some of the best around and carry an MSRP of $249.99, but for Prime Day, Amazon’s knocked these well below past discounts and chopped a full $100 off the price. That’s right, AirPods Pro 2 hit $149 and are still available at that record-low price as Prime Day nears it close.
I use my AirPods Pro 2 every day for listening to music, making phone calls, watching videos, and even enjoying podcasts. I’ve also gone through more pairs than I’d like to admit since AirPods first hit the scene.
This is an exceptional deal on a pair of earbuds that have routinely received new features through software updates, a trend that will continue later in 2025. At $149, there’s never been a better time to get AirPods Pro 2.
Prime Day deal: Apple AirPods Pro 2
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are simply great earbuds and make a ton of sense if you’re in the broader ecosystem. From the moment you unbox them and flip open the case, these will fast pair with your iPhone, sync with your iCloud, and enable easy usage with any of your Apple devices. That includes the Mac, Apple TV 4K, the Apple Watch, iPads, and even the Apple Vision Pro.
These boast a wide soundstage with excellent audio reproduction and solid bass for a robust listening experience that works for nearly any genre. I especially like classic rock and pop on these as I spin the latest from Bruce Springsteen or Olivia Rodrigo.
AirPods Pro 2 even feature a hearing-aid mode and can, in conjunction with your iPhone or Apple Watch, let you know if you need to turn down the volume to protect your hearing. The onboard microphones do an excellent job of picking up your voice and not the noise around you for clear calls. Battery life is another strong area, and in the case that doubles as a charger for each bud, is loaded with other tech, including FindMy support so you don’t end up losing it.
Whether you need a new pair, want a second pair, or have been waiting for the right time to get AirPods Pro 2, there’s never been a better time thanks to this sharp 40% discount. Just don’t wait too long and get it before Prime Day wraps.
You can read TechRadar’s full review of Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 here.
Novak Djokovic walks off the court after losing his men’s singles semi-final at Wimbledon against Jannik Sinner. (Getty Images)
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, 38, was defeated by world number one Jannik Sinner in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday, acknowledging that age and physical limitations are impacting his performance more than ever before.The Serbian tennis star was aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title and an eighth Wimbledon crown that would have matched Roger Federer’s record of eight men’s titles at the All England Club.Instead, Sinner, 23, will now face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final.Djokovic appeared physically limited during the match, following a leg injury sustained during his quarter-final victory over Flavio Cobolli. “It wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court. I don’t want to talk, in details, about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best. I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That’s it. He’s in the finals. He was too strong.”This setback follows Djokovic’s withdrawal from the Australian Open earlier this year, where he suffered a muscle tear during his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.“It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest. It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year.”“But I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reached the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz. These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that.”Novak Djokovic on retirementDespite the defeat, Djokovic plans to return to Wimbledon next year. “I think, regardless of the fact that I haven’t won a Grand Slam this year, or last year, I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams. Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most.”The Serbian champion emphasised his dedication to maintaining his physical condition.“The amount of hours that I spend on a daily basis to take care of myself, I’d like to challenge everyone who is out there on the tour to see if anybody takes care of themselves more than me. And I, unfortunately, don’t get rewarded for that right now, with injuries at the later stages of Slams. But I was rewarded for many, many years.”“I’m just trying to make, I guess, the maximum out of what I have left. Again, I just got off the court, so of course, I’m upset and disappointed, mostly not for the loss, because obviously even if I was fit, I wasn’t a favourite to win against Sinner, I know that, but I think I had good chances if I was fit.”Regarding Sunday’s final, Djokovic offered his prediction.“I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos as a favourite because of the two titles he’s won here and the way he’s playing and the confidence he has right now. But it’s just a slight advantage because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well. I think it’s going to be, again, a very close match-up like they had in Paris.”This will be the first Wimbledon final without Djokovic since 2017.
A recent study published in The BMJ compared intermittent fasting to traditional diets for weight loss. The research, analyzing 99 trials with over 6,500 adults, found that all intermittent fasting approaches and continuous energy restriction led to modest weight reductions compared to unrestricted eating.
One of the biggest challenges for people on a weight loss diet is picking the right diet. With a plethora of trending diets available online, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Intermittent fasting is one of the most talked-about diet patterns when it comes to weight loss. But is it any better than our traditional diet plans? A recent comprehensive study has looked at this. A new study has compared the benefits of intermittent fasting vs traditional diets apropos weight loss. The findings are published in The BMJ.Global obesity epidemic awaits
Obesity rates are rising across the globe. In 2022, approximately 2.5 billion adults, 43% of the global adult population, were overweight, and about 890 million (16%) lived with obesity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Overweight and obesity are the major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke, which are the leading causes of death worldwide. Losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight can reduce high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.What is intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is favoured by many people who are on a weight loss. This eating pattern cycles between periods of eating and fasting on a regular schedule. Many are replacing traditional calorie-restricted diets, which are unsustainable in the long term, with intermittent diets. There are several types of intermittent fasting, which fall under three broad categories.
Time-restricted eating: It could be a 16:8 diet, which involves a 16-hour fasting period followed by an 8-hour eating window.
Alternate day fasting: This method is a 24-hour fast on alternate days
Whole day fasting: Also known as a 5:2 diet, which means five days of unrestricted eating and two days of fasting.
Health effects of intermittent fasting
As the health effects of intermittent fasting compared with continuous caloric restriction or an unrestricted (ad-libitum) diet remain unclear, the researchers looked into it. They analysed the results of 99 randomised clinical trials involving 6,582 adults (average age 45; 66% female) to compare the effect of intermittent fasting diets with continuous energy restriction or unrestricted diets on body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors.The participants of the study had an average body mass index (BMI) of 31, and almost 90% had existing health conditions. The trial ran for periods between 3-52 weeks (average 12 weeks. They found that all intermittent diets and continuous energy restriction diets resulted in small reductions in body weight when compared with an unrestricted diet. The study showed that alternate-day fasting was the only intermittent fasting diet strategy to show a small benefit in body weight reduction compared with continuous energy restriction (mean difference -1.29 kg). This fasting pattern also showed a small reduction in body weight compared with both time-restricted eating and whole day fasting (mean difference -1.69 kg and -1.05 kg, respectively). However, this difference was not significant, as the clinical threshold is at least 2 kg.
Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Grows Moong, Methi In Space Aboard Axiom-4 Mission
They also found that alternate-day fasting was linked to lower levels of total and ‘bad’ cholesterol when compared with time-restricted eating. Compared with whole-day fasting, however, time-restricted eating resulted in a small increase in cholesterol levels. There was, however, no benefit when it came to blood sugar or ‘good’ cholesterol levels in any diet strategy comparison.“The current evidence provides some indication that intermittent fasting diets have similar benefits to continuous energy restriction for weight loss and cardiometabolic risk factors. Longer duration trials are needed to further substantiate these findings,” the researchers said. “Intermittent fasting does not aim to replace other dietary strategies but to integrate and complement them within a comprehensive, patient-centred nutritional care model,” they added.
A representational image showing hockey players engaged in on-field practice. — AFP/File
ISLAMABAD: In what could be a major setback to Pakistan hockey’s World Cup qualification ambitions, insiders in the corridors of power have revealed that the federal government is strongly leaning towards barring the national team from participating in the upcoming Asia Cup Hockey Championship scheduled to be held in Bihar, India, from August 29.
Sources close to the Prime Minister’s Office have confirmed to The News that after weeks of deliberation, it has been “decided in principle” not to send the national side across the border due to escalating safety concerns and heightened tensions fueled by an aggressive anti-Pakistan narrative running rampant in sections of the Indian media.
“The situation across the border is far from conducive for our players,” a senior government source disclosed on condition of anonymity. “While the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) was initially advised to wait for things to normalize, the emerging threats especially targeting the visiting Pakistani squad have forced the government to reconsider. The safety and well-being of our athletes remain our top priority, and under the prevailing circumstances, we cannot take such a risk.” The source further clarified that although no official communication has yet been issued to the PHF, the direction from the top tiers of government appears unmistakably clear. “We understand the consequences of non-participation, but the security situation cannot be ignored. A final decision will be conveyed soon,” the official added.
If Pakistan ultimately pulls out of the event, the repercussions could be dire. Not only would the green shirts forfeit crucial ranking points, but their path to qualifying for next year’s FIH Men’s World Cup would become significantly steeper. The Asia Cup acts as a vital qualifying event and missing it may deal a serious blow to the already struggling national team’s international standing.
The development has left the PHF in a fix, awaiting a formal word from the authorities while continuing preparations amid growing uncertainty. With the clock ticking and the stakes high, Pakistan hockey finds itself at a critical crossroads once again caught between ambition and unavoidable geopolitics.
State Department starts firing more than 1,350 workers in Trump’s shake-up of diplomatic corps
The layoffs come at a time when Washington is grappling with multiple crises
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department began firing more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its diplomatic corps, a move critics say will undermine U.S. ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad.
The layoffs, which affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers based in the United States, come at a time when Washington is grappling with multiple crises on the world stage: Russia’s war in Ukraine, the almost two-year-long Gaza conflict, and the Middle East on edge due to high tension between Israel and Iran.
“The Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” an internal State Department notice that was sent to the workforce said. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found,” it added.
The total reduction in the workforce will be nearly 3,000, including the voluntary departures, according to the notice and a senior State Department official, out of the 18,000 employees based in the United States.
The move is the first step of a restructuring that Trump has sought to ensure U.S. foreign policy is aligned with his “America First” agenda. Former diplomats and critics say the firing of foreign service officers risks America’s ability to counter the growing assertiveness from adversaries such as China and Russia.
“President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio are once again making America less safe and less secure,” Democratic senator Tim Kaine from Virginia said in a statement.
“This is one of the most ridiculous decisions that could possibly be made at a time when China is increasing its diplomatic footprint around the world and establishing an overseas network of military and transportation bases, Russia is continuing its years-long brutal assault of a sovereign country, and the Middle East is careening from crisis to crisis,” Kaine said.
Dozens of State Department employees crowded the lobby of the agency’s headquarters in Washington holding an impromptu “clap-out” for their colleagues who have been fired. Dozens of people were crying, as they carried their belongings in boxes and hugged and bid farewell to friends and fellow workers.
Outside, dozens of others were lined up continuing to clap and cheer for them with some holding banners that read, “Thank you America’s diplomats.” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen attended the demonstration.
Several offices were set up inside the building for employees who are being laid off to turn in their badges, laptops, telephones and other property owned by the agency.
The offices were marked by posters that read “Transition Day Out Processing”. One counter was labeled an “Outprocessing service center” with small bottles of water placed next to a box of tissue. Inside one office, cardboard boxes were visible.
A five-page “separation checklist” that was sent to workers who were fired on Friday and seen by Reuters tells the employees that they would lose access to the building and their emails at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday.
Many members of a State Department office overseeing the U.S. resettlement of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war have also been terminated as part of the overhaul.
‘WRONG SIGNAL’
Trump in February ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revamp the foreign service to ensure that the Republican president’s foreign policy is “faithfully” implemented. He has also repeatedly pledged to “clean out the deep state” by firing bureaucrats that he deems disloyal.
The shake-up is part of an unprecedented push by Trump to shrink the federal bureaucracy and cut what he says is wasteful spending of taxpayer money. His administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Aid, Washington’s premier aid arm that distributed billions of dollars of assistance worldwide, and folded it under the State Department.
Rubio announced the plans for the State Department shake-up in April, saying the Department in its current form was “bloated, bureaucratic” and was not able to perform its mission “in this new era of great power competition.”
He envisioned a structure that he said would give back the power to regional bureaus and embassies and get rid of programs and offices that do not align with America’s core interests.
That vision would see the elimination of the role of top official for civilian security, democracy, and human rights and the closure of some offices that monitored war crimes and conflicts around the world.
The reorganization had been expected to be largely concluded by July 1 but did not proceed as planned amid ongoing litigation, as the State Department waited for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the Trump administration’s bid to halt a judicial order blocking mass job cuts.
On Tuesday, the court cleared the way for the Trump administration to pursue the job cuts and the sweeping downsizing of numerous agencies. Since then, The White House Counsel’s Office and the Office of Personnel Management have been coordinating with federal agencies to ensure their plans comply with the law.
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Liverpool has retired the number 20 jersey worn by Diogo Jota following his death in a car crash last week.
The 28-year-old died along with his brother and fellow Portugal footballer Andre Silva near the north-western city of Zamora, Spain.
On Friday, Liverpool said his number would be retired across all levels of the club, including the women’s team and academy.
“It was the number he wore with pride and distinction, leading us to countless victories in the process — and Diogo Jota will forever be Liverpool Football Club’s number 20,” the Premier League club said in a statement.
Jota had just completed the most successful season of his career — helping Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th English league title and winning the UEFA Nations League with Portugal.
In total, he played 182 games for Liverpool and scored 65 goals, while winning the FA Cup and English League Cup along with the Premier League.
Liverpool said it made the decision after consulting with Jota’s family.
A mural honouring Jota near Anfield has been marked with countless messages from fans. (AP: Peter Byrne/PA)
“As a club, we were all acutely aware of the sentiment of our supporters and we felt exactly the same way,” said Michael Edwards, chief executive of football for Liverpool owner Fenway Sports.
“I believe this is the first time in Liverpool Football Club’s history that such an honour has been bestowed upon an individual. Therefore, we can say this is a unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person.
“By retiring this squad number, we are making it eternal, and therefore never to be forgotten.”
Players from Liverpool and Portugal joined family and friends for the funeral of Jota and his brother last weekend.
Floral tributes were laid outside the club’s Anfield stadium as part of an outpouring of grief following his death.
Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.
Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers and other guns into a large grey cauldron.
Flames later engulfed the black gun shafts pointed to the sky, as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish officials watched nearby.
The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.
After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Turkey and the wider region.
President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the PKK’s dissolution would bolster Turkish security and regional stability. “May God grant us success in achieving our goals on this path we walk for the security of our country, the peace of our nation, and the establishment of lasting peace in our region,” he said on X.
Friday’s ceremony was held at the entrance of the Jasana cave in the town of Dukan, 60 km (37 miles) northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq’s north.
The fighters, in beige military fatigues, were flanked by four commanders including senior PKK figure Bese Hozat, who read a statement in Turkish declaring the group’s decision to disarm. “We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination,” she said, before another commander read the same statement in Kurdish.
Helicopters hovered overhead, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the mountainous area, a Reuters witness said.
The UN rights office said on Friday it had recorded at least 798 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and near convoys run by other relief groups.
The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation. After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians trying to reach the GHF’s aid hubs in zones where Israeli forces operate, the United Nations has called its aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
“(From May 27) up until the seventh of July, we’ve recorded 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys,” UN rights office (OHCHR) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing in Geneva.
The GHF, which began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade, told Reuters the UN figures were “false and misleading”. It denies that deadly incidents have occurred at its sites.
“The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid site have been linked to UN convoys,” a GHF spokesperson said. “Ultimately, the solution is more aid. If the UN (and) other humanitarian groups would collaborate with us, we could end or significantly reduce these violent incidents.”
The OHCHR said it based its figures on sources such as information from hospitals in Gaza, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs and its partners on the ground.
Most of the injuries to Palestinians in the vicinity of aid distribution hubs recorded by the OHCHR since May 27 were gunshot wounds,
Shamdasani said. “We’ve raised concerns about atrocity crimes having been committed and the risk of further atrocity crimes being committed where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food,” she said.
After the GHF assertion that the OHCHR figures are false and misleading, Shamdasani said: “It is not helpful to issue blanket dismissals of our concerns – what is needed is investigations into why people are being killed while trying to access aid.” The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has previously cited instances of violent pillaging of aid, and the UN World Food Programme said last week that most trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza had been intercepted by “hungry civilian communities”.
