The homeless population continues to grow in San Joaquin County and that has prompted a rare joint-meeting between Stockton city leaders and county supervisors. According to a volunteer census called the Point In Time count, Stockton's unsheltered homeless population grew from 311 people in 2017 to 921 in the January count of this year. Garbage, fires and sprawling homeless camps have become ongoing issues for the city. Last week, a homeless camp caught fire beneath the Wilson Way overpass, damaging the bridge structure. At the Thursday meeting, leaders will look for ways to help people get off the streets and seek a permanent solution to the growing problem. As the price of housing continues to outpace wage growth, the city and county are turning to the San Joaquin Continuum of Care to be the primary organization leading the way toward solutions. Leaders are expected to adopt a resolution that aims to end veteran homelessness in the county by 2030. Funding for these programs will also be discussed in the meeting, which is open to the public. Caltrans is also looking at ways to employ the homeless to help pick up garbage. The meeting will be held in the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors chambers in the county administration building at 44 North San Joaquin Street at 6 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend. READ MORE: San Joaquin County, Stockton leaders to address homeless crisis CHECK OUT KCRA: Stay informed. Get the latest Modesto, Stockton and Sacramento news and weather from the KCRA news team.


Since Ryan Preece joined Chris Buescher at JTG Daugherty Racing for the 2019 season, their relationship has become one of more than just teammates. " Did we just become best friends?" Buescher laughed during a recent interview at Chicagoland Speedway. To which Preece quickly replied with a smile of his own: "We did." That left Buescher to put a spin on their friendship: "So which one are you, Will Farrell or John C. Reilly?" They're not Ricky Bobby nor Cal Naughton Jr. of "Talladega Nights" fame, but their fast friendship underscores the fact they're more than just NASCAR teammates. Rather, they've become bro's both on and off the race track, as they strive to not only make each other better as drivers, but also build JTG Daugherty Racing into a stronger and more consistent NASCAR Cup organization. And like brothers, there is a considerable amount of good-natured back-and-forth between Preece and Buescher. " We have very similar personalities," Preece told NBC Sports. "We're both a little goofy, we love racing and we love anything with a motor and wheels. It makes it easy when you get along with a teammate and have similar interests. " And when you talk about racing and race cars, your feels are pretty similar to where you can diagnose kind of the same issues you're having and hopefully communicate those things with others and make the cars better. At the end of the day, that's how you get better." Buescher concurs. " It's been really good," he said of their relationship. "This season, Ryan coming board, it's been pretty seamless. It's been cool to be able to have similar personalities, definitely similar interests and the same career. All those things add in where it makes it either work together and try to figure out how to make things faster. " It's always nice to have background from different places to pull, like Ryan coming from short-track racing and modifieds, whereas I've been in stock cars and big cars my whole career. They're little things that help you bring in more information and things that you know have worked on along the way and that's what has helped us get dialed in over the course of this season." At 28, Preece has become an older brother of sorts to the 26-year-old Buescher. But it's the latter who has become a teacher. Buescher, a Texas native, is in his fourth full season in Cup, while Connecticut native Preece is a rookie in NASCAR's biggest circuit. " He's kicking my butt right now, so he's pushing me to be better," Preece said of Buescher. "Usually, I'm kind of the person that's pushed people to be better, and right now Chris is pushing me to be better. " I've been getting a little bit more familiar with it. It's more than just throttle and brake. What's this feel that he has and try to find it. We're narrowing down on it. Once we get there, it'll be easier. Even though he's younger than me, he's pretty much my teacher and I'm okay with that. That's fine." Added Buescher, "I think we learn from each other. We try and tune in on some of those little things. Because at the end of the day, it's those little things that you build on to find that little bit of speed. It's not as easy as one thing is going to find you a half-second on a weekend, it's more like three or four things that will maybe get you a tenth of a second." The duo moves on to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400. " It's one of those that's a wild card of sorts," Buescher said of Daytona. "There are a handful of drivers that have definitely adopted very well to it and typically can get real good finishes out of. For me, there's a good amount of luck that goes into it as well, not getting caught in someone else's mistake. That frustrates me from time to time, especially when you end up in one of those accidents." Buescher has enjoyed a decent start to the season, including three top-10 finishes (sixth at Charlotte, ninth at Atlanta and 10th at Kansas). He sits 22nd in the season standings, 82 points out of the final playoff spot. Preece is 26th in the standings, with one top-five (third at Talladega) and one other top-10 finish (eighth at Daytona). Buescher wrecked at NASCAR's two biggest super speedways this season: 37th at Daytona and 30th at Talladega. " For us, it's so hard to give up any valuable points week in and week out," Buescher said. "You look at the beginning of the season and have a certain amount of mulligans that you feel you may have to be able to still be where you want to be in terms of points and good runs, but we've used up two already on super speedways this season and that hurts. " I try to have a positive attitude going into them and see them as an opportunity   and they are   but at the same time, they're not my favorite races. We'll put on a show one way or other. It may not be my favorite, but that doesn't mean we're going to sit back and ignore the race, so we're going to put all the effort we can into it." Follow @JerryBonkowski


As trade tensions rise between the U.S. and China, the oil market is watching the progress of a Chinese ship loaded with Iranian crude to see whether it heads home with its cargo   in possible violation of U.S. sanctions. The supertanker, Pacific Bravo was documented by tanker tracking firms TankerTrackers.com and KPLR carrying crude oil out of Iran, possibly to China for what is believed to be the first shipment since the Trump administration ended oil waivers on May first. "Are the Chinese actually going to flout the sanctions or not? This would be the first outright flouting of the sanctions, and if they're committed to them it's important to Iran and a big outlet for them, for the regime to stay afloat," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. The State Department would not comment on whether the Pacific Bravo has violated sanctions, but it did say it would enforce sanctions by cracking down ships or facilities that defy them. "Treasury continues to target ships and companies facilitating illicit trade with Iran, and has made it clear to the maritime shipping community that we will vigorously enforce our sanctions," a spokesman said. U.S. government officials have warned China and specifically Hong Kong, to avoid violating sanctions against Iran, according to news reports. The warning came after the Chinese owned oil tanker was spotted picking up a shipment of oil from Iran in early May. The Trump administration has vowed to get Iran's oil exports to zero as part of its maximum pressure campaign, ending oil exemptions for countries like China, India, Syria and Turkey on May 1. The Pacific Bravo was recently purchased by the Bank of Kunlun, a holding of the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation. It is a bank known to work closely in facilitating trade between China and Iran. Tracking the ship After loading Iranian oil, Pacific Bravo was spotted in the Persian Gulf around May 11 by the two tanker tracking firms. Once there, the tanker is believed to have shut off its automatic identification system transponder and made its way to Iran's Kharg Island where it made its first loading of crude, according to TankerTrackers.com Pacific Bravo was subsequently seen at the Soroosh offshore oilfield, according to the tracking website. Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com , said that once the vessel had loaded up, it turned its automatic identification system back on and broadcast that it was headed to Indonesia. Scrutiny of Pacific Bravo comes at a time when tensions between the United States and China are elevated. The escalating trade war and national security concerns between Washington and Beijing has put China's past relationship with Iran under increased pressure. China had publicly taken a step back from Iran and promised to comply with U.S. sanctions. However, if Pacific Bravo were to deliver Iranian crude to China would that would violate U.S. sanctions, possibly complicating ongoing trade talks. The global oil industry has kept an eye on Iran and its trading partners like China and India, monitoring any possible shipments out of the country. Iran had seen no orders put through for the month of May and had seen its oil exports slow since the Trump administrations sanctions went into place in November. The U.S. Treasury Department however, has made it clear that any violation of sanctions would not be tolerated. 'Outside the scope of the UN' Hong Kong, a hub for global finance and a city more vulnerable to U.S. sanctions than other Chinese cities, has echoed China's stance against U.S. sanctions on Iran. In response to a warning from U.S. government officials, the Hong Kong Commerce and Economic Development office, told CNBC that the city follows sanctions decided by the United Nations Security Council. "Restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council on Iran have been fully implemented in the HKSAR under the United Nations Sanctions [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action   Iran] Regulation [Chapter 537BV of the Laws of Hong Kong]. However, the UN Security Council has not imposed any restrictions on the export of petroleum from Iran. Certain countries may impose unilateral sanctions against certain places on the basis of their own considerations. Those sanctions are outside the scope of the UN Security Council sanctions implemented by the HKSAR." The U.S. had been a party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action but President Trump withdrew from agreement, which is still in place. At the time, the U.S. said it was concerned the agreement was one-sided and that it should be renegotatiated. Pacific Bravo is not the only vessel on the radar for potential Iranian oil shipments to China. On May 16th, Reuters reported that after a five-month trek beginning in January, a vessel called the Marshall Z unloaded nearly 130,000 tons of Iranian oil to the Chinese City of Zhoushan, violating U.S. sanctions. Currently sailing away from Sri Lanka Madani said his team expects that the Pacific Bravo could eventually head toward the Strait of Malacca, where it might switch hands to the Chinese, through a ship-to-ship transfer, a common practice for Kunlun owned vessels. It could take months before the oil is actually delivered to China. Madani also points out that despite U.S. warnings to Hong Kong, the city is an unlikely final destination for the tanker, due to a lack of oil refineries. Currently, the tanker is sailing away from Sri Lanka. Alex Booth, head of market analysis for KPLR says a change in the destination is likely. "It is quite common for vessels to change their destinations. Indonesia could be a checkpoint on the journey rather than the end destination," Booth said. Although Booth said it is quite likely that the vessel will end up in China rather than Indonesia, he stresses that ultimately there is no way to be certain until the delivery has been completed. This is not the first time China's Bank of Kunlun has faced warnings from U.S. officials. In the past, the bank had been used as China's conduit for trade with Iran. After having continued its trade with Iran during the last sanctions regime, the Obama administration moved to impose sanctions on the Chinese bank. In April of 2019, however, the bank informed its customers of a change in policy, stating that it would no longer clear Iranian transactions once the U.S. oil waivers ended on May 1 this year. The latest delivery could signal a shift in the bank's   and China's   policy toward Iran. The Chinese government has been vocal about its opposition toward Trump's Iran policy and in the past has gone against U.S. sanctions to help Iran. Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif paid a visit to Beijing earlier this month to discuss China, Iran relations in the wake of the U.S.'s maximum pressure campaign. He called on China and the EU to take, "concrete action" to preserve the nuclear deal. But during the ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S., the Chinese took a much harder stance against Iran. Prior to Trump's renewed sanctions on Iran, China was one of Tehran's largest trading partners, and its biggest crude customer   buying nearly 585,400 barrels per day. The Chinese embassy did not immediately return a request for comment on the Chinese owned vessel.   With reporting by Patti Domm


The 100th anniversary of Pebble Beach includes an exciting history that makes it a landmark for professional and amateur golfers alike. The greatest golfers in the world head to Pebble Beach Golf Links for the 2019 US Open Championship. Pebble Beach is celebrating its 100th anniversary and sixth time hosting the US Open. The course is considered to be one of the most beloved and beautiful courses in the world, located on the coast of California. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The 119th US Open heads to the world-class Pebble Beach Golf Links this weekend. Situated on the rugged coastline, the views of Carmel Bay make it one of the most beautiful in the world. "They say it's the greatest meeting of land and sea in the world. This course was heaven designed," said Johnny Miller, a three-time AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion and World Golf Hall of Famer. Not only does Pebble Beach have the looks, but its history only adds to its significance, including what is largely-considered to be one of the most incredible comebacks of all-time. Below we delve into the history of this famous course and what makes Pebble Beach the favorite of many pros and amateurs alike. The course was designed for free. Course founder Samuel F.B. Morse approached amateur golfers Jack Neville and Douglas Grant to design the course. Both had no previous experience with designing courses but built this one for free to maintain their amateur status. If they had been paid to architect the course, they would have been considered professional golfers and lost their prestigious standing. Neville won two California State Amateurs at Pebble Beach after the championship moved there in 1920. Read more: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The last 27 QBs taken in the first round of the NFL Draft and how this year's crop compares Here's Michael Jordan's 56,000-square-foot house in Chicago, and why it's still on the market after 6 years The 27 biggest NFL Draft busts of the last 15 years Tiger Woods staged one of the biggest sports comebacks ever at the Masters - here's how he spends his millions and lives his life off the course That's not the Samuel Morse most of us are familiar with, but they are related. Samuel F.B. Morse may sound familiar. This isn't the same guy who invented the telegraph, but he is his grand-nephew. Pebble Beach founder Samuel Morse was an environment conservationist and has left his own legacy throughout Monterey and California as one of the first to preserve the California coast. Plaques, streets and even an ecological preserve bear his name on the Monterey Peninsula. The course was the first public course to host a US Open. Pebble Beach hosted the 72nd US Open in 1972. The deal was completed with the USGA after Samuel Morse died in 1969. The USGA had its concerns about the course's conditioning as a public course near a major city, but those concerns were quickly brushed away after a successful championship that included a shot to remember from its winner. Jack Nicklaus won the tournament with a miracle shot. Nicklaus used a wind-shaped 1-iron at the 17th hole to clinch the 1972 US Open. The birdie short-hopped the flag-stick and was one Nicklaus said he doesn't think he could ever do again. A decade later, Tom Watson also had a miracle on the same hole. Tied with Nicklaus for the final-round lead, Tom Watson famously called his chip shot at the 1982 US Open on No. 17. His tee shot settled in the thick rough and it appeared that he would be lucky to secure a par-three. His caddie, Bruce Edwards, told Watson to get it close, to which Watson said, "I'm going to sink it." He did and began a spontaneous victory jog around the green. Arnold Palmer was a part-owner of the course, but he never secured a victory on it. In 1999, Palmer, along with actor/director Clint Eastwood, former MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, former United Air Lines CEO Richard Ferris, and other limited partners, purchased Pebble Beach for $820 million. Palmer recorded six Top 10 finishes on the course, but despite his many achievements, he never won a title at Pebble Beach. Tiger Woods had one of his greatest performances at Pebble Beach. Pebble Beach hosted the first US Open of the millennium in 2000. Woods was the only player to finish under par to win the championship. His 65-69-71-67 tied a US Open record with 272 and his 65 to open the tournament was the lowest score ever shot on the course during a US Open. Woods also set a US Open record by finishing 12-under par, 15 shots ahead of the runners-up - the largest margin of victory to ever occur in a major championship. No one has come close to that margin since. The win marked the start of his non-calendar year Grand Slam, better known as the "Tiger Slam." Woods also had his lone Pro-Am victory on the course. Trailing by seven with seven holes to play in the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Woods overcame the deficit to defeat Matt Gogel and claim his sixth consecutive PGA Tour victory. In the final round, Woods went 8-under, including an incredible eagle hole-out at the par-4 15th from 97 yards. Gogel didn't fair well during the back nine of the course with four bogeys to fall by two, but Woods' feat is still considered to be a forgotten gem in his decorated career. The last six presidents have visited Pebble Beach. Among those six, three have played in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and Donald Trump. In 1993, Trump made a hole-in-one on No. 12 at Spyglass Hill. More than a dozen presidents visited Pebble Beach beyond the past six since Hotel Del Monte opened in 1880. The greatest hit on the 18th hole was by a teenager. Junior golfer Christopher Meyers is believed to be the first player to make an albatross on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach to win the team title of the 2014 Nature Valley First Tee Open. Meyers holed his second shot from 203 yards with a 4-iron and was stunned to see it go in. It was the first public course to be selected as No. 1 by Golf Digest. In 2001, Pebble Beach was selected as the No. 1 golf course in America, but it isn't cheap to play on it. Greens fees are at $525, which make them among the highest in the world, and that doesn't even include a cart or caddie fee. Bottom line is if you want to play at Pebble Beach, get ready to save up some money! The 1962 Crosby was delayed by snow. The final round was put on hold for a day after Pebble Beach was hit with its first snowfall in 40 years. It hasn't snowed there since. Holes Nos. 8-10 are known as the "Cliffs of Doom." Dubbed the nickname by Golf Magazine editor David Barrett in 1992, this stretch of holes combines beauty with difficult shot-making. No. 8 has golfers play atop a 100-foot cliff that rises to a steeply sloped green to begin a treacherous trio of par-4s. No. 9 brings the golfers closer to the Pacific Ocean with a 505-yard downhill hole. The finale of the trio at No. 10 may be the widest, but its tilt can quickly derail a good shot. The brush that borders the cliffs is the saving grace that may prevent the ball from going over the cliff, but it only exists to prevent the groundskeepers from getting too close to the edge while mowing. Pebble Beach will also host the US Women's Open for the first time in 2023. Pebble Beach will be the first course to host a men's, women's, and senior men's golf tournament in the same calendar year in 2023 when it hosts the US Women's Open. It also marks the first time the national women's championship will be held at the course.


Coach Bill Belichick doesn't seem to be holding a grudge against the Texans or Nick Caserio after the New England Patriots filed tampering charges against Houston this offseason. The Texans were deeply interested in hiring Caserio, the Patriots director of player personnel, as their next general manager, but New England brought that process to a halt with their tampering filing. "That's water under the bridge," Belichick said Thursday while meeting with reporters at Gillette Stadium before the first training camp practice. The Texans may again pursue Caserio, as they did not name a general manager for the 2019 season and his contract expires after this season. During the press conference on Thursday, Belichick wouldn't disclose Caserio's position with the Patriots, nor would he say whether Caserio has power to make rostering decisions. Belichick was also vague about whether Caserio received a promotion. Belichick did say Caserio's role would be different, just like Belichick's would be - and everyone else's job on the team would be different. If Caserio does have power to make roster decisions, the Patriots could block teams - like the Texans - from attempting to interviewing him in the future. "Nick helps in a lot of ways," Belichick said. "He has a lot of experience. I'm sure he does much more than any other personnel person in the league because of his coaching responsibilities. … He's an asset in a lot of ways." MORE: Mike Trout's perfect 98.6 MPH throw to home plate had everyone in awe Roundup: A-Rod Buys J-Lo a Porsche, PBR Hard Coffee, MLB Trade Deadline Bold Predictions Ranking the NBA's Top 10 Big Threes Packers GM explains reasoning for releasing DL Mike Daniels Amani Toomer: Giants QB Eli Manning still has it


Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft. Clean athletes are done playing nice when it comes to doping. After watching the International Olympic Committee and the international governing bodies do nothing as drug cheats make a mockery of their sports and the spirit of competition, two swimmers took matters into their own hands at the world championships this week. Britain's Duncan Scott refused to share the podium or shake hands Tuesday with 200-meter freestyle champion Sun Yang, a three-time Olympic champion who has already served one doping suspension and now faces the possibility of a lifetime ban. Australia's Mack Horton had done the same Sunday after Sun won the 400-meter freestyle. "I don't think anyone at FINA's going to stand up for the athletes," American Lilly King said, referring to swimming's international governing body, "so the athletes have to stand up for themselves." NO POOL PARTY: Chinese swimmer Sun Yang confronts British rival Sure enough, FINA chastised both Horton and Scott for their actions. (It also warned Sun, who yelled at Scott from the podium and called him a "loser" as they were leaving.) In its letter to Scott, FINA made reference to its rule that allows swimmers to be sanctioned for "bringing the sport into disrepute." Isn't that what this is all about? Sun has long competed under a cloud of suspicion   Horton called him a "drug cheat" at the Rio Olympics in 2016   and his latest incident has only added to the distrust. Sun is accused of smashing a sealed vial of his blood during an out-of-competition test last year, preventing the sample from being analyzed. He also made testers wait outside his home for almost an hour, and questioned the credentials of one of the testers. Yet FINA gave Sun only a warning, ruling it did not qualify as a doping violation. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed that decision, but with the hearing not until September, FINA gave Sun approval to compete at worlds, a decision that outraged many other swimmers. "If you do step back and you hear or read the chatter or listen to what's going on, yes, you want more to be done," Dave Durden, the U.S. men's coach, told The Washington Post . That's what makes all of this so maddening. Shouldn't everyone want that? Shouldn't the power brokers at the IOC and all these other federations want all of the athletes who are competing to be clean, and be doing everything in their power to ensure that's happening? And yet, we've seen time and again that they just don't care. The cauldron in Pyeongchang a year ago was still warm when the IOC made the spineless decision to lift its ban on Russia for a systemic doping program, despite clear evidence that Russia was still thumbing its nose at the quaint notions of clean sport and fair play. Another battle royale is brewing ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which begin a year from Wednesday, with Russian athletes still banned by track and field. A few athletes have been cleared to compete as neutral athletes, but Russia's chances of being able to send a whole team to Tokyo don't look promising after Reuters found that two coaches and one doctor who'd been banned for doping were still working with athletes. As for FINA, it seems to go out of its way to give second, third and 40th chances to those accused or suspected of doping. "Frustration is probably it," Horton said after finishing second to Sun in the 400. "I think you know in what respect." At some point in their careers, athletes make a conscious choice: earn success the hard way, maximizing their natural talent with grueling workouts and personal sacrifice, or take a chemically enhanced shortcut. Human nature being what it is, there will always be some who opt for the shortcut, taking the calculated risk that they won't get caught. When they do, though, there have to be consequences. Real consequences, not these laughable slaps on the wrist or appeasement presented as punishment. Clean athletes are tired of waiting for the IOC and the guardians of their sport to do what's right. The protests at the world championships might seem like a small measure but, make no mistake, the rebellion has begun. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour . This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Anti-doping rebellion rises a year from Tokyo Olympics


Looking to add a new companion to the family? There are dozens of precious puppies near you up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Phoenix, so you won't have to look far to find the perfect new pal. Hoodline used data from Petfinder to power this roundup of puppies available for adoption near you. Read on to meet some friendly, furry locals. (Details like pet availability, training, vaccinations and other features are based on data provided by Petfinder and may be subject to change; contact the shelter for the latest information.) Dr. No, golden retriever and Australian shepherd mix Dr. No is a male golden retriever and Australian shepherd puppy in the care of Lulubelle Animal Rescue . Dr. No will get along great with your other dogs. He's already house-trained and has all his shots. More on Dr. No: I am a shy guy at first but am very sweet and gentle. I tend to look at you with my sad puppy dog eyes. I'm unfamiliar with cats, but if I'm introduced I'd most likely be just fine. Read more about how to adopt Dr. No on Petfinder . Marcus, pit bull terrier and Labrador retriever mix Marcus is an adorable male pit bull terrier and Labrador retriever puppy being kept at Lulubelle Animal Rescue . Marcus is friendly as can be   he's happy to keep company with other dogs. He has all his shots and has mastered his house-training etiquette. Marcus' current caretakers say: Marcus is a shy little guy at first, but when he warms up, he is the sweetest little guy there is. He loves playing with his brother and watching movies with his foster mom. Apply to adopt Marcus today at Petfinder . Max, schnauzer mix Max is a male schnauzer puppy staying at ABC (Animals Benefit Club of Arizona, Inc.) . Max is the life of the party   he loves other dogs. He's already house-trained and is vaccinated. From Max's current caretaker: Max is a little more laidback than his sisters, but he still has plenty of puppy energy to run around and play before settling in your lap for some cuddle time and kisses. Apply to adopt Max today at Petfinder . Millie, schnauzer mix Millie is a sweet female schnauzer puppy being cared for at ABC (Animals Benefit Club of Arizona, Inc.) . Millie is happy to keep company with other dogs. She already has all of her shots and has mastered her house-training etiquette. Here's what Millie's friends at ABC (Animals Benefit Club of Arizona, Inc.) think of her: Millie is an active girl who loves to play. She is always ready to run around the yard with her siblings and loves making new friends. Read more about how to adopt Millie on Petfinder . Phoebe, dachshund and chihuahua mix Phoebe is a charming female dachshund and chihuahua puppy being cared for at ABC (Animals Benefit Club of Arizona, Inc.) . Phoebe will get along great with your other dogs. She's already vaccinated and house-trained. Notes from Phoebe's caretakers: Phoebe may be pint-sized, but she's full of love and super sweet. Read more about Phoebe on Petfinder . Rocky, Australian shepherd mix Rocky is a male Australian shepherd puppy currently housed at ABC (Animals Benefit Club of Arizona, Inc.) . Rocky is a social butterfly   he loves other dogs. No need to worry: he is already house-trained and vaccinated. From Rocky's current caretaker: Rocky is a goofy young boy who loves every person and dog he meets. Rocky loves to go for walks and play ball. Even though he is not great at catching the ball, he doesn't let that stop the fun. Read more about Rocky on Petfinder . This story was created automatically using local animal shelter data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft. Alaskans soon will confront the dramatic effects of Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy's vetoes of $444 million from the state operating budget of $8.3 billion, which went into effect July 1. The Alaska legislature was unable to get enough support to block the cuts through a veto override late last week. The budget cuts will be immediate, affecting most Alaskans. I'm a faculty member at the University of Alaska Anchorage in the Department of Journalism and Public Communications and have served on the community advisory board of Alaska Public Media. Both the university and the public broadcasting network will face budget cuts. In the case of the university, more than 40% of its state support will be lost. Related video: Alaska may slash cash to colleges (provided by USA Today) State legislators from both parties who tried to override the vetoes described a ruinous future, with university students bailing en masse, elderly residents moving out of state and domestic violence survivors being left without emergency shelter. "You're looking at Alaska at 1869 level of services," said Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins, a Democrat. Dunleavy, who has largely avoided press interviews, told a conservative radio talk show host on July 10 that the vetoes would not "end Alaska as we know it." Advocates for the university system, the poor, the arts, public media and other entities on the receiving end of the cuts rallied supporters, from indie music groups to entrepreneurs. Business groups, including the Alaska Bankers Association, tried to persuade three-fourths of the Alaska Legislature   45 of 60 members   to override the governor's vetoes. In the end, only 37 legislators stood against the governor. How did Alaska, one of the country's richest states with a $65 billion savings account fueled by oil royalties and leasing revenues, get into this position? Safe landing or nose dive The troubles have been a long time coming. As the state prepared to reap the benefits of its oil reserves in the 1970s as the trans-Alaska oil pipeline neared completion, voters approved in 1976 an amendment to the Alaska Constitutioevere reduction in spending or a shift to different revenues. "Alaska is poised for either a safe landing or a nose dive," wrote economist Scott Goldsmith in 1992. "Whether we land safely or crash depends on how Alaskans deal with declining oil revenue." Dividing lines Other factors have compounded the state's fiscal dilemmas. The usual partisan demarcations don't apply to Alaskans. Some of the fiercest speechmaking against Dunleavy's budget vetoes came from his fellow Republicans. Alaskans are divided along more jagged lines, such as rural vs. urban, Fairbanks vs. Anchorage, pro-extraction industries vs. pro-fishing. The divides have made it hard to find agreement, and Alaskans have been whipsawed between state leaders' different interpretations of fiscal solutions. Gov. Sarah Palin campaigned for governor and then governed from 2006 to 2009 as a reform-minded Republican who imposed higher oil taxes. Her successor, Republican Sean Parnell, undid that reform in 2013. That prompted Palin to endorse Independent Bill Walker in the 2014 governor's race. He won. By that time, oil prices had flagged. The state budget, which depended on prices higher than the mid-$40 per barrel range, fell into deficit starting in 2014. State leaders turned to a Constitutional Budget Reserve to make up the difference. Walker also resorted to budget vetoes to reduce the Legislature's spending. Most notably, Walker reduced the amount Alaskans received from the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend in 2016, 2017 and 2018, enraging many Alaskans and inviting a state Supreme Court challenge from a Democratic state senator. That challenge failed, leading to the backlash that brought Dunleavy to office in November 2018. Basic income And it's the PFD that is driving Gov. Dunleavy now. He campaigned on a promise to restore the full PFD and pay $3,000 this year. That's an appealing promise to Alaskans who feel as if they have been deprived of their rightful dividend for three years in a row. The problem is that by paying a dividend of $3,000 to Alaskans, major spending reductions or eliminations to basic services must be imposed, despite rebounding oil prices and a $65 billion savings account. Former Gov. Frank Murkowski, a Republican, was one of many former state leaders to lament the decision to fully fund the PFD. He predicted in an op-ed in the Anchorage Daily News the day the veto failed that "The Permanent Fund and its Earnings Reserve are crucial to funding a significant part of state services going forward." That fund can either pay $3,000 dividends to every Alaska resident, or it can pay for government services. It can't do both. State Sen. Natasha Von Imhof, an Anchorage Republican, said, "I cannot fathom why the governor is purposely throwing Alaska into a severe economic recession. … The governor is cutting the budget not because we are in a fiscal crisis. It is to distribute nearly $2 billion to Alaskans to the detriment of core government services like public safety, roads and education." Few state universities, social service networks or public media systems have had to adjust so quickly to such sharp declines in state support. Wisconsin comes close, when its state universities lost $250 million in 2015 and 2016. Alaskans' PFD has become an entitlement so central that it impedes clear thinking about what the state needs in 2019 and what its future will be when oil wealth can't provide basic services anymore. Now read: Why you should chuck it all and move to Alaska Paola Banchero is an associate professor of journalism and public communications at the University of Alaska Anchorage. This was first published by The Conversation   " In divided Alaska, the choice is between paying for government or giving residents bigger oil wealth checks ."


CROMWELL, Conn. - While newly-minted U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland whirled through New York City on a media tour this week, several big-name golfers made their way to the Hartford area. The PGA Tour's lone stop in New England this year, the Travelers Championship starts Thursday and features Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jason Day and defending champion Bubba Watson. Koepka, who finished second to Woodland last weekend at Pebble Beach, flew across the country on Monday and didn't touch a club on Tuesday. Instead, he allowed himself to recover from the emotional and mental strain of chasing a third consecutive U.S. Open, while heavy rain fell across the area. On Wednesday, after playing in a pro-am, Koepka said he was happy to be back at TPC River Highlands, a course that is fun to play and lined by great fans. Koepka, 29, also talked about his philosophy of being process oriented and focusing on things he can control instead of being results oriented and fixating on the wins and losses. TRAVELERS: Betting odds | Tee times | Hovland goes pro "Last week it was about the process, how do I start it on line and finish it on line, and then make a putt," the four-time major winner said. "I know sometimes it doesn't happen. I can't control the result. I wouldn't tee it up if I didn't want to win, but not everything is results-based." Koepka's approach is a stark contrast to the attitude Tiger Woods extolled in 1996. As his professional career began, Woods famously told Curtis Strange in a television interview that "Second place sucks, and third is even worse." With his massive arms folded comfortably on a table and a bottle of water on his left, Koepka said, "I told my caddie (Ricky Elliott) today, we're going to try to take the mental approach that we have in the majors this week. So I'm going to try something a little bit different. We'll see how it works out." More than 2 inches of rain fell on TPC River Highlands on Tuesday, which should mean the course will be soft and scoring conditions on Thursday will be good. Koepka will draw a big gallery when he tees off at 7:45 a.m. ET with Tony Finau and three-time Travelers champion Watson. "The golf course is in perfect shape," Watson said near the 18th green. Then, with a smile he added, "I'm looking forward to it and the pairing I got, learning from the young guys and watching them play some good golf." Having turned 49 Sunday during the final round of the U.S. Open, Mickelson is no longer young by PGA Tour standards. The five-time major winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member will be another crowd favorite this week as he returns to the Travelers Championship for the first time since 2003. "This has always been one of the largest, most supported tournaments we have," Mickelson said. The 2001 and 2002 Travelers champion said that because he had been playing at least one or two tournaments leading up to the majors in previous years, he had not been able to come back to TPC River Highlands. This year, having taken the week off before the U.S. Open, he was energized enough to add the Travelers to his schedule. . @BKoepka is making lifelong fans today ❤ pic.twitter.com/W7Ls0Jkmdi - TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 19, 2019 "I'm looking forward to having a good tournament, but also it's fun for me to be back here," he said. If Koepka, ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, represents the present and Mickelson represents the past, the future is also making an appearance at this year's Travelers Championship. Viktor Hovland, the low amateur in the Masters and the U.S. Open, has turned pro and has been given a sponsor exemption into the event. But the All-American from Oklahoma State is not alone. His former teammate, Matthew Wolff, the winner of the 2019 NCAA Division I men's individual championship, has also turned pro and been given a sponsor exemption into the field. MORE: Report: ESPN plans to stop featuring LaVar Ball after his inappropriate remark to Molly Qerim Four potential Kawhi Leonard landing spots in free agency Rob Pelinka May Not Have Known the Cap Rules for Anthony Davis Trade Amari Cooper deal now more urgent for Cowboys than Prescott's Free agent DT Domata Peko met with Lions


In a sandy draw of the Santa Rita Hills, a cannabis company is planning to erect hoop greenhouses over 147 acres   the size of 130 football fields   to create the largest legal marijuana grow on Earth. Across the Santa Ynez River, two miles away, a farmer is planting the planet's second biggest grow, at 83 acres. Several operations are already as large as what industry trackers say are the world's other behemoths, in Colorado and British Columbia, with a dozen more slated to be much bigger. Santa Barbara County's famed wine region   with its giant live oaks and destination tasting rooms   and the quiet beach town of Carpinteria have become the unlikely capital of California's legal pot market. Now row after row of white plastic hoop houses sprawl amid rolling vineyards and country estates, and coastal bungalows and schools carry the whiff of backcountry Humboldt. Lobbied heavily by the marijuana industry, Santa Barbara County officials opened the door to big cannabis interests in the last two years like no other county in the nation, setting off a largely unregulated rush of planting in a region not previously known for the crop. County supervisors voted not to limit the size and number of marijuana grows. They chose not to vet growers' applications for licenses or conduct site inspections. They decided to tax the operations based on gross revenue instead of licensed square footage, as Humboldt and Monterey counties do, even though the county has no method to verify the numbers. So far, the county has received a fraction of what its consultants had predicted. In Santa Barbara, growers and their hired advocates developed close ties to two county supervisors, Das Williams and Steve Lavagnino, who pushed for and won nearly every significant measure the cultivators asked for. A third supervisor elected in November, Gregg Hart, hired a marijuana lobbyist as his chief of staff. The cannabis boom has caused a backlash from residents and vintners afflicted by the smell, and farmers who worry that spraying their avocados could make them financially liable for tainting multimillion-dollar marijuana crops. Fearing for their businesses and quality of life, they have organized into activist groups, hired attorneys, filed lawsuits and zoning appeals. The county is now trying to rein in the industry with stricter regulations and law enforcement. California voters passed Proposition 64, legalizing recreational marijuana, in November 2016. In the ensuing 16 months, Santa Barbara County supervisors worked on plans to regulate and tax the industry, while allowing it to vastly expand under temporary licenses. The open window, combined with no limits on crop size, drew companies with the means to invest millions of dollars. Farms in Santa Barbara County hold 35% of all cultivation licenses issued in California this year, despite the county having only 1.8% of the state's land. Humboldt County, the historic center of the marijuana universe, has 22%, while illegal grows there continue to dominate the larger black market. Santa Barbara County officials say the industry will boost the agricultural economy, provide jobs and shore up government coffers. Santa Barbara officials are not alone in trying to lure cannabis cultivation. But the other local governments seeking this revenue stream are mostly in remote, economically depressed regions, not high-priced coastal and tourist areas. Supervisor Williams said the revenue from the cannabis tax allowed them to create a sheriff's enforcement team that began eradicating illegal grows in August. "Thirty-five raids in a small county is a lot," he said. He envisions the county fostering an industry that obeys the law, pays its taxes and solves problems affecting its neighbors. He conceded that the board's actions helped create a "Wild West situation that we're just cleaning up now." "Our community is painfully divided about how to bring this industry under control," he said. Related video: Marijuana sales affected home values (provided by CBS Sacramento) At the south end of the county in Carpinteria, the skunky odor of marijuana pours out the open vents of steel-frame greenhouses that the cut flower industry used for decades. Residents said the irritant makes eyes water and chests tighten. Some complain of headaches and nausea. Casey Adams, 61, who has taught at Carpinteria High School for 33 years, said the smell comes and goes. It's worse in the morning, he said, and it doesn't seem to have changed much with the odor control systems. "Every day you get that scratchy throat," Adams said. The county mandated that growers in the Carpinteria Valley, which sits on unincorporated land surrounding the city, install odor control systems as part of their land use permits, and though the rule has not gone into effect, at least 12 of the 23 operations have done so, according to officials. But how much of the odor has been contained or neutralized is difficult to ascertain. Joan Esposito, 76, lives across from a greenhouse and says the smell still "permeates everything." Odor control systems are not required outside Carpinteria in the more rural wine country. In the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria valleys, the smell of pot can overwhelm the wine tasting rooms downwind of grows, while vast rows of polythene hoop houses have become eyesores on the pastoral landscape, threatening the tourism-dependent economy of one of the nation's top viticulture zones, famous to non-connoisseurs as the setting of the 2004 movie "Sideways." "The skunk smell is a deterrent to other animals and humans," said Tyler Thomas, the winemaker at Dierberg, which sits on a wedge of land surrounded by 230 acres in the permitting process for pot. "We have human beings coming to our tasting room we don't want to deter." Farmers closest to cannabis came to realize they can no longer spray pesticides without fear of being held liable for contaminating neighboring cannabis grows. By law, marijuana must be destroyed if it tests positive for pesticide. "The pesticide levels set for cannabis are extremely low," said Rick Shade, who manages 600 acres of avocado trees in the Carpinteria Valley. Sharyne Merritt, who has 13 acres of avocados, says even the organic spray she normally uses is banned for cannabis and the only acceptable one "is completely ineffective." "The cannabis growers will make tons of money while I'm going to lose half the value of my crop," she said. "No one seems to have thought this through." Graham Farrar, a Carpinteria Valley grower and president of the Carp Growers cannabis coalition, said he and his members would continue to look for a solution. Many of the Carpinteria-area cannabis growers were in the flower industry, he said, and have deep ties in the town. "It's really in our best interest to make our neighbors happy," he said. "I like to walk into the coffee shop with my head held high." Marijuana growers agreed to sign a contract to not hold farmers liable for their crops if they spray during a specified time period. But commercial crop dusters last month decided they didn't want to take the risk. *** The rush to profit from cannabis in Santa Barbara started during a moratorium on new grows. On Feb. 14, 2017, county supervisors cleared the way: Anyone who said they had been growing medical cannabis on or before the day the moratorium was passed   Jan. 19, 2016   could continue to cultivate the same amount on the same land if they signed into a registry that would grandfather them in. The growers did not have to provide any evidence that they owned or leased the property at the time, much less that they were cultivating cannabis there. This registry became the de facto list of legal growers in the county. When the state announced in the fall of 2017 that it was going to issue the first temporary cultivation licenses, the county turned to the registry to determine eligibility. Those on the list just had to sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury that they were growing medical marijuana on their site prior to Jan. 19, 2016. The supervisors rejected a measure recommended by the planning commission to have staff ask for documentation and research the veracity of the statements. The affidavit became the only documentation the California Department of Food and Agriculture was given to issue the state license. Santa Barbara was the sole county to rely just on an affidavit. When the state announced in the fall of 2017 that it was going to issue the first temporary cultivation licenses, the county turned to the registry to determine eligibility. Those on the list just had to sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury that they were growing medical marijuana on their site prior to Jan. 19, 2016. The supervisors rejected a measure recommended by the planning commission to have staff ask for documentation and research the veracity of the statements. The affidavit became the only documentation the California Department of Food and Agriculture was given to issue the state license. Santa Barbara was the sole county to rely just on an affidavit. Proposition 64 stipulated that large-scale grows not be licensed until 2023 to give small, local operators a chance to establish themselves before big corporate interests entered the market. State agriculture officials issued licenses for small grows of 10,000 square feet or less of planting space and medium licenses for up to an acre. But they allowed a loophole: Growers could stack as many of the small licenses as they wanted, leaving it to local jurisdictions to set limits. When Santa Barbara County supervisors decided to allow unlimited licenses, moneyed interests from all over the state saw an opportunity. The state licensing authority was suddenly deluged with applications for sites in Santa Barbara County   many filed by companies from Northern California and Los Angeles. All claimed they had been growing in Santa Barbara since January 2016. In the Santa Ynez Valley wine region, long tunnels of hoops began popping up last year. Just three weeks after the vote not to set limits, Iron Angel II registered with the state as a limited liability company based in Agoura Hills. By the end of the year, it had 265 small licenses   plus a single medium license   allowing it to grow 60 acres altogether. Another grow, a 30-acre greenhouse complex north of Buellton, had more than 600,000 plants (before it was raided for reasons the Sheriff's Department would not reveal). Stefanie Keenan said the rush to plant caused a spike in land values that has kept potential small growers like her and her husband out of the market. "They're charging $10,000 an acre a month to grow marijuana," said Keenan, who lives in Buellton. She urged the supervisors to start with a pilot program of local growers that would have less of an impact in communities. "You could have eased people in. But this is so in your face." Blair Pence said the field next to his winery on Highway 246 in the Santa Rita Hills had been planted with bell peppers until the spring of 2018. Now cannabis is growing on 30 of those acres and the sharp odor rolls down the canyon to his home and tasting room. He said another grow popped up on the parcel on the other side of his neighbor's land, along with two more across the street, and numerous others along the highway between Buellton and Lompoc   all in 2018, two years after the operators claimed they were already growing there. "These guys are all lying through their teeth," Pence said. A review of the sites on Google Earth confirms his observation that many farms were not there when the affidavits said they were, including one operated by a member of the county agricultural advisory board, John De Friel, who is applying for permits to grow 83 acres this year. De Friel did not respond to requests for comment. Dennis Bozanich, the deputy county executive officer in charge of developing cannabis regulations, said the sheriff has eradicated about 20 licensed farms because the operators lied on the affidavits about having grown since Jan. 19, 2016, and that investigations into others are ongoing. The state temporary licenses are expiring this year. The county now requires growers to go through its land use permitting process, which gives neighbors a chance to appeal. (But while that process is underway, temporary license holders, with the county's consent, can get a state provisional license that allows them to grow for another 12 months.) Every extra day helps. A 20-acre harvest could make over $40 million. The county is now quickly approving the longer-term grows. Those operations will be subject to more regulation than the last two years, officials say. They will have to tag and inventory every plant, a state requirement to ensure they pay taxes and sell only to licensed distributors. For the Carpinteria area, supervisors set a 186-acre limit because of residents' complaints about the smell. But elsewhere, the only limit on acreage is what the market will bear. In early May, Pence's attorney learned that the county had approved a land-use permit for a 50-acre marijuana grow, bigger than any in Colorado or Canada, across the street from the winery. *** "I never received any notice from the county," Pence said. "I had one day to appeal." The cannabis policy was developed largely by Bozanich and Supervisors Williams and Lavagnino. The two supervisors formed an ad hoc committee   not subject to California's open-meeting laws   that guided Bozanich and planning staff in writing temporary measures and, ultimately, a broad ordinance regulating the industry. At board meetings, Bozanich, Williams or Lavagnino floated concepts they had already discussed with growers   like the registry   and growers lined up to support them during the public comments. While there were numerous public hearings, few residents attended most of them and many were later caught unaware by the scope of the cultivation, failing to anticipate the consequences of the incremental measures being passed. The supervisor who regularly opposed the industry's agenda, Janet Wolf, retired this January and said the board's actions felt less like a policy debate than a "fait accompli." "Bottom line, people didn't understand the implications of anything that was going to happen," she said. "We'd never taken on a huge land-use issue and do it by an ad hoc committee in the 12 years I was on the board." Emails and calendars released to The Times through the state public records act show marijuana lobbyists and growers had easy and regular access to Williams and Lavagnino. Erin Weber, a cannabis consultant with California Strategies, a Sacramento-based lobbying firm, drafted a letter last year for Williams to send to the Coastal Commission, urging it to certify the county's cannabis regulations in the coastal zone. "This is very faithful to what we discussed," Williams responded in an email. "We will submit it without changes." He told The Times that because the anti-cannabis side also supported the regulations, he saw no problem with signing the letter. In the fall of 2017, Weber and her colleague Jared Ficker were lobbying hard to let growers on the registry cultivate with no limits. Williams' calendar contains an entry on Sept. 4 for "Sailing Trip/Diving" with Ficker and Williams' wife. When the planning department last year recommended a measure that the marijuana farmers should bear all the costs of appeals to their permits filed by neighbors, the cultivators emailed Williams that it was unfair and urged him to reject it. "Don't worry, I'll fix it with a 50-50 recovery model. Don't tell anyone though," he wrote to grower Mike Palmer. "On it," he wrote to Farrar, the president of Carp Growers, "We will cost split it if I get my way." "Thanks Das," Farrar replied. The move would have put half the cost of county staff time   as much as $14,000 for a single appeal   on the grower and half on the person making the appeal. Instead, the supervisors decided not to vote on the staff recommendation, saying it was unfair to growers, and left the county to bear the entire amount. Williams met frequently with Farrar. He wrote a letter of recommendation on Farrar's behalf to Culver City, where the grower was seeking to open a dispensary. The two also socialized. "Hey man," Farrar emailed Williams in September 2018, a couple months after the appeal measure was shot down, recommending shows they might see at the Santa Barbara Bowl. "The National   this will be awesome.. i've got an event before so not sure if i can make it but definitely will if i can." In 2017 and 2018, members of Carp Growers contributed a total of $16,500 to the supervisor's campaign committee, and they donated $12,000 to Lavagnino in the month leading up to the final vote on the cannabis ordinance last year. Williams said the contributions and his friendships did not influence his decisions. "I have friends on the other side of this, too. This is a small community." Emails suggest Farrar also had a casual relationship with Lavagnino, even though his district is on the opposite end of the county as Carpinteria. They attended a fundraising dinner together in Santa Barbara for the Special Olympics in October. That morning, Farrar wrote to the supervisor: "Hey man   happy Sunday .. what are you thinking for tonight? When do you want to get there? Drinks before?" Lavagnino also said he had friends on both sides of the issue. He said the regulatory process and law enforcement will sort out "the people in this for a quick buck" and leave responsible operators. "These people have invested a lot of money getting to this point," he said, "They're going to want to follow the rules." Lavagnino has said repeatedly that the county's goal was to bring an illicit industry into the light and make it pay taxes. The supervisors drafted a tax measure that voters passed requiring growers to pay 4% of their gross receipts to the county. This had a couple advantages over taxing by square-footage: growers would not have to pay for failed crops, and operators who ran their own distribution and retail ventures would be taxed just once, at the final sale. But for the time being, the county had a system in which they had no idea how many plants were grown, nor how much product was sold. In February 2018, a consultant for the county, HdL Companies, estimated the county would collect between $15 million and $21 million in taxes annually from the 47 acres that was licensed to grow at that point. If that acreage expanded, so would the tax stream. That month, Lavagnino urged two of his skeptical colleagues to pass a tax referendum and land-use policy so the county could reap the rewards. "I'm trying to generate what could be $20-to-$40 million a year for the county," he said. By the end of 2018, the acreage licensed had grown to more than 630 acres. Even if only a quarter of that were cultivated, the county would be due between $24 million and $36 million annually in taxes, using the consultant's formula and price-per-pound of $500 to $750. But for the three tax quarters collected so far, covering the peak of the harvest season, the county has received only $4.6 million. "We've been somewhat flying blind," Bozanich said. He said this will change later this year as growers come into compliance with the comprehensive ordinance passed last year and must register every plant with the state. Statewide cannabis industry leaders say there are not enough licensed dispensaries in California to buy what is being grown. "It's either going to leak into the informal market or rot in warehouses," said Hezekiah Allen, a cannabis lobbyist who headed the California Growers Association for four years and now serves on the board. "This is absolutely ludicrous in terms of volume." "We think it takes 1,100 acres to supply the entire state," he said. By the end of May, the growers in Santa Barbara County had applied to plant 1,415 acres. Joe Mozingo is a projects reporter for the Los Angeles Times.


We can't yet verify the claimed 205-mph top speed of the 2020 Alpina B7, the latest iteration of the BMW 7-series to be substantially modified by the longstanding German tuning house. Trust us, we tried. But an indicated 186 mph was the most that traffic would allow on the unrestricted stretches of autobahn outside Munich. Still, the strength with which the updated B7 continued to pull at that velocity left us with little reason to doubt it as not only the fastest production sedan you can currently buy, but as the best BMW 7-series. Research the BMW 7 Series on MSN Autos | Find a BMW 7 Series near you The world becomes a blurry place when you're traveling through it at 273 feet per second. Gentle bends in the road become actual curves. Trucks moving at a comfortable highway pace whiz by as if going in reverse. Braking events for distracted slow-moving commuters in the left lane generate colorful expletives. Yet the Alpina's size and refinement lend it a dogged sense of composure. It's a climate-controlled living room with warp drive. Wind noise and tire roar are calmingly moderate in the upper reaches of its speedometer, and there are welcome amounts of body control and steering precision with the Sport or Sport Plus drive modes activated. That the B7, even at near-full speed, was the most comfortable place we spent time during our recent trip to the unusually heat-soaked and air-conditioning-averse continent speaks to its capability as a premier luxury performance machine. A Challenge within the Ranks Much the same can be said for BMW's own range-topping V-12 powered M760i model. But Alpina, just as it did when we had the previous-generation 2017 B7 at the test track , continues to do it better. Building on the various updates for the 2020 7-series , Alpina fortifies BMW's optional 4.4-liter V-8 with new turbos, intercoolers, and other hardware to generate a hefty 600 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque the same as before but with better responsiveness, thanks largely to its peak twist hitting 1000 rpm earlier at 2000 revs. The standard ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, complete with Alpina's trademark shift buttons on the back of the steering-wheel spokes, also has been beefed up and retuned to swap gears more quickly. BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive remains standard, as does rear-wheel steering and pretty much every other technological advancement available on the latest 7. Producing roughly the same power as the 601-hp M760i, yet tasked with a couple hundred fewer pounds, the previous Alpina B7 was a negligible 0.1 second quicker to 60 mph, at 3.4 seconds. We expect the new car to shave a tenth or so from that time. But where the M760i's rather uncharacterful 12-cylinder shoots it down the road with the smoothness of a turbine engine, the B7's V-8 pumps a deep, offshore powerboat-like bellow through Alpina's active stainless-steel exhaust system even when fitted with a smothering particulate filter in its pipes is mandated for non United States models. We'd definitely prefer something smaller than the big B7 for tackling twisty roads, yet here, too, the Alpina acquits itself well with solid poise and a willingness to change direction that belies its substantial girth. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires wrapped around Alpina's multispoke 20-inch wheels are standard, but all-season rubber is optional, as are 21-inch wheels shod with summer Michelins. Unsurprisingly, it all feels very similar to the previous-gen B7, which both handily outgripped the M760i around the skidpad to the tune of 0.97 g and outpaced it around Virginia International Raceway's 4.1-mile Grand Course . Versatile Performance A sports sedan, however, the Alpina B7 is not. Within the 7-series lineup, Alpina considers it the more traditional choice of a luxurious BMW hot rod, one that, like the M760i, trades on exclusivity and refinement but with a more visceral punch on the road than what BMW's own engineers could conjure up. A broader bandwidth of performance settings between its default Comfort and full-tilt Sport Plus drive modes nails home that notion, allowing the B7 to gracefully relax or attack with a tap of a button on the console. As a welcome bonus, Alpina's subtle styling touches, specifically the revised front fascia with an extended chin splitter, work to balance the proportions of the latest 7's bluff nose  now with 40 percent more kidney grille!  adding to the B7's stateliness. The supple and richly aromatic hides of Alpina's custom full-leather interior option bolster the B7's feeling of specialness. But, sadly, that feature is not offered to U.S. customers due to the company's production limitations. (Alpina builds fewer than 2000 vehicles per year for global distribution.) Not that the trappings of the regular 7-series are lacking in finery, but the 205-mph B7 deserves more than just a sprinkling of Alpina emblems to dress up its cabin. Badge snobs shopping by cylinder count will miss out on the $143,795 B7's cool factor and capability and spend about $15K more in the process as they search out the top-dog M760i for its V-12 bragging rights. Those drivers will have to give way to a hard-charging Alpina B7 in their rearview mirror, though, as the M car is governed to only about 160 mph. Research the BMW 7 Series on MSN Autos | Find a BMW 7 Series near you


DUBLIN, Ohio   Injuries are a part of life on the PGA Tour, but Troy Merritt's medical plight is a curious break from the norm. Merritt, who moved into the lead on Friday at the Memorial Tournament with a second-round 66, returned to the Tour in March at The Players Championship, following surgery in January to remove the top rib on his left side after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome last year. Although pain hasn't been an issue for the 33-year-old, he has struggled to get back into what he called "tournament shape." Full-field scores from the Memorial Tournament Memorial Tournament: Articles, photos and videos "I don't feel any different. Right now it's just trying to get the body back into playing every day again on PGA [Tour] courses," said Merritt, who was alone in first place at 9 under par. "It's taken longer than I want." Merritt, whose second round at Muirfield Village included an eagle at the par-5 seventh and six birdies, has had some success, most notably a tie for 10 th place at the RBC Heritage in April, but said he's struggled to find any momentum despite a swing that has become unrestricted thanks to the rib-removal surgery. "It's freed me up a little bit more on my golf swing. My tempo has been better ever since it was out," Merritt said. "Throughout the years I get to the top of my backswing and it would pinch a little bit and cause me to get a little quick. Now they're not tight anymore and I can take my time, and as a result I hit the ball quite well in 2019."


The Premier League transfer window is officially open again and that means one thing: transfer reports are going to start kicking up a few notches. [ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] Here's a look at some of the latest gossip from around the PL… We know that Alexis Sanchez is very unlikely to be at Manchester United next season, but where is he off to? The Independent say that Juventus have held meetings with United and intermediaries about signing Sanchez, 30, this summer. It comes after Inter Milan were linked with a loan move for Sanchez , but the Chilean forward is currently on $627,000 per week at United and he would either have to take a huge wage cut to head to Serie A or United would have to subsidize his wages in a loan move to either Juve or Inter. It has been suggested that United would have to pay a huge chunk of Sanchez's wages (around $15 million) just to send him out on loan next season. Although his wages are still a huge stumbling block, the reports states some progress has been made in the recent meetings. It is certainly Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 's wish to offload Sanchez as his 18-month nightmare at United saw him score just one Premier League in his first full season at Old Trafford. With multiple injuries piling up, Sanchez never got into his groove and United have preferred Jesse Lingard , Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in the attacking roles. A move to either Inter or Juve would be a good fit for Sanchez, as he would return to Italy where he previously played for Udinese before joining Barcelona then Arsenal. On his day he is one of the most explosive, unpredictable wingers out there, but he hasn't settled since joining United in January 2018 and is a shadow of the player who led Arsenal's attack. Tottenham want to sign Bayer Leverkusen's Julian Brandt, according to the Daily Mail. The German international, 23, has a release clause in his contract of $27.5 million and Spurs are keen to add some more attacking options over the summer with the situation regarding Christian Eriksen 's future unclear. Eriksen, 27, has one year left on his current deal and both Real Madrid and Barcelona are said to be interested in signing the Danish playmaker. Brandt can play anywhere in the attacking midfield roles and given the fact it worked out pretty well for Spurs the last time they signed an attacking player from Leverkusen ( Heung-Min Son in 2015), they may well go back to the Bundesliga club to unearth another gem. The German attacker has scored 41 goals in 214 games for Leverkusen since he made his debut in 2014, and has played a prominent role for the German national team in recent years. With Lucas Moura , Harry Kane , Dele Alli , Son and Erik Lamela around, a move for Brandt would suggest that Eriksen and others attackers may move on this summer. Follow @JPW_NBCSports


It's week number three of FIFA 19's Team of the Season (TOTS) for Europe's major leagues, and this time it's the biggest and best players from La Liga which have been given major upgrades. Unsurprisingly, Barcelona dominate the list of the 20 boosted cards available in packs after winning their 26th La Liga title, with two cards available through Weekly Objectives and another through a Squad Builder Challenge. So here's a quick rundown of every player featured in the La Liga Team of the Season, as well as a 90min rating to see if these players are actually value for money upon release. Jan Oblak (GK) Few can argue about the inclusion of Atletico Madrid shot-stopper Jan Oblak, who enjoyed another fabulous season for Los Rojiblancos. His 20 clean sheets in La Liga couldn't be bettered by any other goalkeeper in the division, with his form throughout the campaign already earning him two TOWT cards. At a reasonable price as well, he's a certainty for any defence based around Spain's top tier. Price: 255,000 90min Rating: 9/10 Gerard Pique (CB) The first of many Barcelona players to feature on this list, Gerard Pique has earned himself a considerable upgrade with his TOTS card. It's an upgrade that see's the Spaniard pace increase considerably, which is usually his only flaw in the game, meaning there are few better centre-backs in the game to have this season. Price: 350,000 90min Rating: 7/10 Jordi Alba (LB) Few would've been surprised by the inclusion of Jordi Alba in La Liga's TOTS, after being the standout left-back in the division during 2018/19. The speed merchant is just about covered in every major attribute, as would be expected with such a considerable boost, which is why the defender is such a popular choice for so many players. Price: 470,000 90min Rating: 8/10 Jesus Navas (RWB) Enjoying a career renaissance as a right wing-back for Sevilla, Jesus Navas has more than earned his spot in La Liga's TOTS. In what is the 33-year-old's first upgrade on FIFA 19, the stats means that Navas is better suited to being a wing-back rather than a full-back - namely due to his 48 strength - but is a more than useful squad player to have. Price: 150,000 90min Rating: 7/10 Dakonam Djene (CB) Getafe were one of the stories of the season, as they narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification - and Dakonam Djene played a major part in their memorable season. The 27-year-old has been rewarded with a TOTS card, with the 90 pace a particular standout for the defend, while his 5'9" height is made up for with his 96 jumping. Price: 194,000 90min Rating: 7/10 Pablo Sarabia (CM) One of the standout players on this season's game, Pablo Sarabia has managed to better his 'Headliner' card with a TOTS equivalent. Despite being positioned as a central midfielder, the 27-year-old's stats - draw attention to shooting, passing and dribbling - does lend itself to a shift further forward in order to reap the benefits of this card. Price: 303,000 90min Rating: 8/10 Dani Parejo (CM) The captain of this season's Copa del Rey winners, Valencia's Dani Parejo has been rewarded with his own TOTS card to play at the heart of anyone's midfield. Technically gifted yes, the two issues surrounding the 30-year-old is his 60 pace and low defensive work-rate in an otherwise perfectly acceptable card, especially considering the price. Price: 100,000 90min Rating: 6/10 Sergio Canales (CM) Despite Real Betis' tenth-place finish, central midfielder Sergio Canales did enough to earn his first upgrade of the season, which has come in some style. The 28-year-old is equipped well for sides who prefer a more measured approach to attacking, while Canales' 90 for finishing and long shots means he can take a chance should one present itself. Price: 80,000 90min Rating: 7/10 Luis Suarez (ST) Matters in the final third now, and we begin with La Liga's runner-up in the goalscoring charts in the shape of Luis Suarez . As would be expected with the upgrade, the 32-year-old flourishes in every facet of the game, although with his 95-rated UCL Live card available for less than half the price of his TOTS card, perhaps your coins are better off going there. Price: 2,499,000 90min Rating: 7/10 Lionel Messi (RW) He was never not going to have a TOTS card, let's be honest. Lionel Messi 's 99-rated card is his THIRD in this season's instalment of the game alone, and is his most expensive version as a right winger. His 99-rated CL TOTT card is over 1,000,000 coins less, with only his pace and physical stats suffering any notable drop, so you can save yourself some coins if you're in the market for a game-changer. Price: 3,619,000 90min Rating: 7/10 Karim Benzeman (ST) The only Real Madrid player to earn a TOTS card was striker Karim Benzema , and it's fair to say it's a pretty impressive one. Above 90 in five of the six main attributes - his 43 defence being the exception - the 31-year-old appears to be the man to lead your La Liga team, especially considering he's almost 1,000,000 coins cheaper than Suarez's TOTS card. Price: 1,528,000 90min Rating: 8/10 BENCH 99, 98, 97, 96… those ratings on the @LaLigaEN Team of the Season 朗 Available in #FUT from 6 pm UK pic.twitter.com/NhXdhdYsib   EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) May 31, 2019 Marc-Andre ter Stegen (119,000) - Considerably cheaper than Oblak yes, but only betters the Slovenian when it comes to kicking/distribution. Mario Hermoso (123,000) - Has 91-rated pace to deal with the vast majority of speed merchants, combined with the physical attributes to be a shrewd selection as a centre-back. Santi Cazorla (179,000) - Great to see the Spaniard return to the peak of his powers, with his qualities on the ball unquestionable. Ever Banega (74,000) - A shadow card upgrade away from being a very handy central midfielder. Antoine Griezmann (2,900,000) - The quality is there - he's a 97-rated card after all - but you'll certainly need to save up for him. Iago Aspas (419,000) - Comparable to Griezmann in stature as well as stats, yet is seven times cheaper and could be the alternative to those eyeing up the World Cup winner. Borja Iglesias (88,000) - A useful focal point, but nothing to get too excited about. Wissam Ben Yedder (1,805,000) - Pace, finishing and stamina in abundance, the Frenchman is the definition of an Ultimate Team striker. Ousmane Dembele (1,198,000) - That's the kind of upgrade eight goals and five assists in a single La Liga season gets you these days. Valencia left-back Jose Gaya and Girona striker Christian Stuani are available through Weekly Objectives. Atletico Madrid centre-back Diego Godin available through a Squad Builder Challenge. Prices are accurate at the time of writing.


A New Jersey mother is accused of smothering her toddler son because she saw him as an impediment to the extramarital affair she was having. On Tuesday, 41-year-old Heather Reynolds appeared before a Camden County judge for a detention hearing. She is charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, possession of methamphetamine and hindering apprehension in connection with the May 2018 death of her son, Axel, ABC6, CBS3, NJ.com report. Text messages recovered from her phone showed Reynolds and a man had been having an affair while her husband was working out of state, Assistant Prosecutor Peter Gallagher alleged in court, NJ.com reports. "A review of the text messages between the defendant and her boyfriend from the previous night reveal that the defendant was becoming frustrated by the boyfriend's apparent lack of interest," Gallagher said. "And witnesses also told detectives that the defendant had expressed the sentiment that her toddler son … was an obstacle to her relationship with her boyfriend." On the morning of May 10, 2018, Reynolds walked out of her Gloucester Township home carrying the lifeless body of her son, 17-month-old Axel, and crying for her neighbors to call 911. When first responders arrived, they found Axel's body cold and bruising on his mouth and nose, NJ.com reports. Reynolds told first responders that Axel smelled like rubbing alcohol, and she posited he may have accidentally drank something poisonous. But the Camden County Medical Examiner ruled Axel's death a homicide by asphyxia. In court, Gallagher alleged the boy died when "a wipe containing [rubbing] alcohol and detergent was placed over the mouth and nose." Gallagher said in court that Axel's death was suspicious from the beginning, but it took a year for prosecutors to gather enough evidence to bring charges. Witnesses said that on the night of her son's death, Reynolds had been using methamphetamine, and police allegedly recovered residue from her purse, Gallagher said. Reynolds has pleaded not guilty to all charges. During Tuesday's hearing, her attorney, Michael Testa, Sr., said his client has "suffered greatly as a result of this," adding that her husband died six months after her son did. But Gallagher said the real victim was Axel, telling the court, "This was an absolutely brutal murder and a helpless victim." The judge ruled Reynolds will remain behind bars until trial. If found guilty, she faces a life sentence, NJ.com and ABC6 report. Testa could not be reached for comment Thursday. NOW READ: Ian Brady: What newly released Home Office files reveal (The Week) She was nine when killed in 1993. Has her murderer just been caught? (People) He killed his sister but doesn't think it should define his life (The i)


Looks like someone really hates bath time!


MADISON, Wis.   A Milwaukee Brewers playoff run and a giant Harley-Davidson birthday party helped boost tourism spending in Wisconsin last year, state officials said Monday. Visitor spending in Wisconsin increased by nearly 5 percent in 2018, to $13.3 billion, according to a report released Monday by the Department of Tourism. The state saw 112 million visitors, which was 2 million more than it had in 2017. Visitation has now grown by at least 2 percent in each of the past five years. Kristina LeVan, a Department of Tourism spokeswoman, said several large events drew visitors to Wisconsin last year, including the Brewers first playoff games in seven years and Harley-Davidson's days-long 115th anniversary celebration in Milwaukee in late August and early September. She noted that Madison hosted the CrossFit Games and speculated that large numbers of golfers may have visited Wisconsin to play the Erin Hills course, which hosted the 2017 U.S. Open. Golfers typically travel to courses that hold major events to experience playing on them, she said. The report, which was compiled by research company Tourism Economics, found that the recreational, lodging, food and beverage sectors all saw upticks in spending. The most spending occurred in the lodging sector, at $3.6 billion, which was up from $3.4 billion in 2017. The tourism industry generated $1.2 billion in federal tax revenue, $879 million in state tax revenue and $703 million in local tax revenue, the report found. The industry supported nearly 200,000 jobs in the state last year. Tourism Secretary Sara Meaney and Gov. Tony Evers planned to travel the state this week to promote the report. Their schedule Monday included stops at Rib Mountain State Park in Wausau and Great Northern Distilling, a brewery in Plover. They planned to visit to Island Outdoors, a bait shop and watercraft rental business on French Island just outside La Crosse; the Pablo Center at the Confluence, a performing arts center in Eau Claire; and Sassy Cow Creamery in Columbus on Tuesday. They'll finish their joint tour Wednesday with a visit to Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport. ___ Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1


KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Carlos Vela scored his 17th goal of the season, Diego Rossi added his ninth and Los Angeles FC beat Sporting Kansas City 5-1 on Wednesday night. Christian Ramirez opened the scoring in the 28th minute for Los Angeles (12-2-4) by sending a free kick under the wall and past a diving Tim Melia. Rossi made it 2-0 in the 50th by curling a shot from the 18-yard line and Vela scored from the penalty spot in the 63rd for a 3-0 lead. Rodolfo Zelaya scored on a breakaway in the 89th for a 4-1 lead and Mohamed El-Munir finished an individual effort two minutes later. Kansas City (4-7-7) dropped its second straight following a three-game undefeated run. Yohan Croizet scored for Kansas City in the 85th after settling Ilie Sanchez's chipped pass and finishing with his left foot. Minutes earlier, Daniel Salloi was denied his first goal of the season when Los Angeles goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega blocked a penalty kick.


The New England Patriots depth chart is only beginning to take shape, as the team has completed its spring practices, which include organized team activities and minicamp. While those sessions are advantageous for players with experience in the system, that's not exactly what they're about. Bill Belichick emphasizes teaching during the spring. Position battles don't really start until training camp. With that in mind, here are some players who may use spring practices to earn themselves a spot on the 53-man roster for 2019. Keionta Davis, DE He was a surprise addition to the roster in 2018, when he made a few starts at the beginning of the season. In Week 2, he received 52 snaps (74 percent) at defensive end. It was a quick rise and a precipitous fall. That spurred these comments from Belichick. "Keionta's had a good year for us," Belichick said in September after the Week 2 loss to Jacksonville. "He had a strong offseason and came into the spring ready to go, and followed that up with a strong training camp and preseason performances. He's earned playing time." Maddie Meyer/Getty Images By midseason, however, Davis was barely playing and making regular appearances on the inactive list on game day. His season took a strange and winding path. The third-year player could end up being a contributor in 2019, largely because the second defensive end job is wide open. Deatrich Wise is the favorite, while Derek Rivers is getting starting snaps in spring camp. But only Michael Bennett is a sure-fire starter. Davis could replicate the success he had during the offseason last year and manage another roster spot. Derek Rivers, DE Rivers did not get a starter's share at any point during the 2018 season. His only claim to future success is that he was once the Patriots' third-round pick in 2017 - and since they traded away their first- and second-round picks, Rivers was the team's top pick in the draft. That carried some cache, even if expectations aren't always high for a third-rounder. Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports In his rookie season in 2017, Rivers tore his ACL during training camp and missed the entire year. In 2018, he logged one sack and two tackles. It's his make-or-break year. If he doesn't enjoy a productive training camp and preseason, he's unlikely to make the roster, and will be considered a draft bust. However, he played at Youngstown State in college, and may have needed a few years to acclimate to the higher level of competition. Perhaps he can impress during this camp to change his narrative. Ken Webster, CB A no-name defensive back can absolutely make this roster. They always do. New England picked Webster in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He fits the description of past cornerbacks who snuck onto the 53-man depth chart. "He's a really, really good player in 2016," Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said after the team selected Webster in April. "He had some injuries that he sustained in '17 - whatever year that was - then he kind of worked his way back. I'd say he's similar to [Keion] Crosen just from the standpoint of [he has] outstanding testing numbers. I mean, [he's] really explosive in terms of his speed and his explosiveness - I mean like eye-popping numbers. Now, there's an element that has to translate over to the field, but from a physical, athletic trait standpoint, there's a lot of good qualities and he played against some pretty good people on a weekly basis." Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports Both Webster and Crossen had eye-popping physical measurements that hadn't translated to the game in college. But in both cases, the Patriots are intent upon helping make that happen. Belichick had a similar philosophy with cornerback Jonathan Jones, who is a slot cornerback and a strong special teams contributor. Webster's presence should worry Crossen, who failed to take a step forward in coverage in 2018. Christian Sam, LB Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports The Patriots linebacker group is absurd: Dont'a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Ja'Whaun Bentley and Elandon Roberts. And yet, Sam could insert himself into the mix. He was an interesting prospect coming out of college, which is why the Patriots nabbed him in the sixth round. He teased enough explosiveness to play three downs in the NFL. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending injury and landed on injured reserve for all of 2018. But in 2019, he'll have to demonstrate what he learned from his redshirt season, when he learned the team's playbook but didn't physically practice it. Perhaps he can outperform his draft position and edge his way onto the roster. Obi Melifonwu, S Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports The addition of rookie cornerback Joejuan Williams seems to indicate Melifonwu is a long shot to make the roster. Williams and Melifonwu have an irregular body type for defensive backs - they're both roughly 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. The Patriots added Melifonwu last season with the intention of trying him against bigger slot pass-catchers. He could be their answer to oversized slot receivers and undersized tight ends. He had small contributions in that role, but the Patriots' decision to add Williams will put Melifonwu's role in jeopardy. He still has a chance to stick on the team, but he'll have to prove more competent than Williams as a big slot defender. MORE: The NBA rule about timeouts that partially explains Nick Nurse's weird decision to take one Watch as jury convicts former NFL player Kellen Winslow Jr. of raping homeless woman News: Do Cowboys have best group of QBs across the entire league? Roundup: New York City Helicopter Crash; Kylie Jenner's Birthday Party; Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone' 2 things to look for during the Raiders mandatory mini-camp


Dolphins defensive tackle Kendrick Norton remains in the hospital almost two weeks after having his left arm amputated as a result of injuries suffered in a car accident, but his stay could be over soon. Norton's agent Malki Kawa told Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that Norton is set to have his sixth surgery since the accident. The goal of this operation is to finish closing up wounds left by previous procedures. Kawa added that Norton's doctors believe this will be his final surgery and that he could be released from the hospital next week. Norton gave his first interview since the accident last week and said he is "grateful" to be alive after the accident and "staying strong" as a result of the support he's received since being hurt. He's also encouraged people to donate blood while talking about plans to sponsor a blood drive once he's out of the hospital.


With Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter , there are certainly some new faces in Boston, but Brad Wanamaker joins Daniel Theis among the reserves from last season's Celtics squad that will return to the team for the 2019-20 season. Wanamaker will return to the Celtics on a one-year deal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski . Terms of the deal were not immediately available, but it is assumed to be a one-year deal for the minimum allowable salary. Last season, Wanamaker played sparingly for Brad Stevens' club-just 9.5 minutes per contest. Still, after signing with Boston last July, the 29-year-old rookie was brought back by the club. With the departure of Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier, it's possible that he will see some increased usage in what will be his second season in Boston. Free agent guard Brad Wanamaker is returning to the Boston Celtics on a one-year deal, agent Steve McCaskill tells ESPN. Wanamaker played six seasons in Europe before joining the Celtics last season as the oldest rookie (29) in the NBA. - Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2019 The re-signing of Wanamaker is the latest move by Danny Ainge's staff as they attempt to rebound from the departure of Irving and continue to toil toward reestablishing the franchise as one of the elite in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Although he will likely be an eighth-man type, one thing that most successful NBA teams have is continuity. For that reason alone, bringing Wanamaker back made lots of sense for the Celtics. MORE: 'You don't know me like that': Kevin Durant, the Warriors and a toxic locker room Why isn't Megan Rapinoe in the starting lineup for USA - England? Stephen A. Smith: 'Andre Iguodala is planning on joining the Lakers' Projected depth chart for the 76ers with Al Horford, Josh Richardson VIDEO: Alyssa Naeher Makes Unbelievable Save to Preserve U.S. Lead Over England


GENEVA (AP)   They are trapped in squalid detention centers on Libya's front lines. They wash up on the banks of the Rio Grande. They sink without a trace   in the Mediterranean, in the Pacific or in waterways they can't even name. A handful fall out of airplanes' landing gear. As their choices narrow on land and at sea, migrants are often seen as a political headache in the countries they hope to reach and ignored in the countries they flee. Most live in limbo, but recent tragedies have focused attention on the risks they face and the political constraints at the root of them. A record 71 million people were forcibly displaced around the world in 2018, according to a report last month by the U.N. refugee agency, in places as diverse as Turkey, Uganda, Bangladesh and Peru. Many are still on the move in 2019, or trapped like thousands in detention in Libya, where an airstrike on Tuesday killed at least 44 migrants and refugees locked away in the Tripoli suburb of Tajoura. Most of those in Tajoura and other Libyan detention centers have been intercepted by the Libyan coast guard, which has become the go-to border force for the European Union, which can't get 28 governments to agree about migration. Despite the rhetoric about migration crises in Europe and the U.S., the top three countries taking in refugees are Turkey, Pakistan and Uganda. Germany comes in a distant fifth. A 20-year-old who fled war in his homeland in sub-Saharan Africa two years ago survived the airstrikes, gunfire from militia members trying to keep migrants inside the compound, torture for ransom by traffickers and a sinking boat in the Mediterranean. He is now sleeping outside the Tajoura detention center along with hundreds of other migrants and awaiting a second chance to go to sea. "I faced death in Libya many times before. I am ready to die again. I already lost my brothers in the war in my country," he told The Associated Press. He didn't want his name used because the militia fighters who shot at him are still guarding the compound. Libya's interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, pleaded Friday for Europe "to address the problem in a radical way   not to prevent migrants, but to provide jobs and investment in the migrants' places of origin, as well as in southern Libya ... so as to absorb these huge numbers willing and eager to migrate to Europe." Within days of the airstrike, at least two boats filled with migrants sank off Libya's coast, leaving around 140 people missing. Another group was picked up by a rescue ship and then barred from docking on the Italian island of Lampedusa, touching off the 21st standoff between Italy's populist government and humanitarian groups. A pregnant woman watching a shipboard ultrasound of her baby smiled broadly, seemingly oblivious to the political furor on land and at sea. A similar disconnect played out recently when the body of a stowaway on an inbound flight from Nairobi crashed to earth next to a man sunbathing on a Sunday afternoon in his London garden. The next day, mourners held a lavish burial in El Salvador for a man and his young daughter who drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande into Texas. As during a 2015 wave of Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis pouring into Europe, daily reminders of migrants' plights are back on front pages. The U.S.-Mexico border has become a flashpoint amid President Donald Trump's ambitions to build a wall to keep out migrants. Many children caught crossing are stuck in squalid, unsanitary detention centers. Children have also been separated from parents in custody. Critics call such policies inhumane, heartless and "un-American." More broadly, advocates for the huddled masses on the move say not enough is being done in the migrants' home, transit or destination countries. Only international cooperation can help resolve the agonies, they say   a tough sell at a time of rising go-it-alone, populist and nationalist sentiment in many places. Filippo Grandi, head of U.N. refugee agency UNHCR , said his office has a "dialogue" going with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and "if there is any help that we can provide to the U.S. administration in dealing with this matter, we're ready to do it." But he called for a regional discussion among countries like the United States   the destination for many   as well as transit country Mexico, and the troubled home countries for migrants and refugees such as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, where gang killings and lawlessness are rife. "I have been to Honduras, to Guatemala, to El Salvador," he told reporters recently in Geneva. "The violence perpetrated by gangs, the inability of these governments to protect their own citizenship, cause part of these flows. So this needs to be addressed in the proper manner   without stigmatizing these people." ___ Lori Hinnant reported from Paris. Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report.


A photo appearing to show an EasyJet passenger flying in a seat with no back went viral and caused outrage on Tuesday. The airline, however, called the image misleading, saying the seats were out of order and nobody was assigned to them. The photo, which showed a woman in one of the seats on a flight from London to Geneva, was posted to Twitter by the tech startup CEO Matthew Harris. "No passengers were permitted to sit in these seats as they were inoperative awaiting repair," an EasyJet spokeswoman, Katie Kershaw, told Business Insider. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. A viral photo showing an EasyJet passenger in a row of seats with their backs removed is misleading, the airline has said. The image, posted by the tech startup CEO Matthew Harris on Tuesday, showed a woman using a seat on Flight EZY98HD from London's Luton Airport to Geneva. He asked, "How can this be allowed?" In a response to questions by Business Insider, EasyJet said the seats were not assigned to passengers and were awaiting repair. All passengers used seats with functional backs, a spokeswoman said. The flight was not fully booked and had five free seats, an airline source said. #easyjet beats @Ryanair to have backless seats. @IATA @EASA this is flight 2021 Luton to Geneva. How can this be allowed. @GeneveAeroport @easyJet_press @easyJet pic.twitter.com/EthMoWRR8P   Matthew Harris (@mattiasharris) August 6, 2019 That suggests the photograph was most likely staged. "No passengers were permitted to sit in these seats as they were inoperative awaiting repair," an EasyJet spokeswoman, Katie Kershaw, told Business Insider in a statement. "Safety is our highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all safety guidelines." Harris later tweeted to say the woman in the viral photograph "was moved to a spare seat once the flight was fully boarded." "Not sure what would have happened if the flight was full," he added. The plane landed at 10:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday. RELATED VIDEO: A flight attendant reveals how intoxicated you have to be before they restrain you on an airplane