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King Charles III arrived in Canada on Monday for a symbolic visit showing support for the country, which recognizes him as its sovereign, amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to acquire the North American nation as the 51st U.S. state.

Charles and his wife Queen Camilla landed at Ottawa Airport in Ontario, where the king met on the tarmac with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Governor General Mary Simon, the king’s representative in Canada. The king later held separate meetings with Carney and Simon.

Charles, 76, has kept a limited schedule while undergoing cancer treatment. His two-trip to Canada signals a strong commitment to the country, which is one of 15 nations where he is monarch.

This is Charles’ first visit to the former British colony since becoming king in September 2022.

The king accepted an invitation from Carney to open Parliament on Tuesday – the first time a British monarch has carried out the duty since his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, 68 years ago.

Carney invited Charles to Canada after Trump repeatedly suggested he wanted to annex the country, an idea fiercely rebuked by the prime minister, who secured an election win last month in part due to Canadians’ disapproval of Trump’s wish to make the country part of the U.S.

‘The prime minister has made it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever,’ Canada’s envoy to the U.K., Ralph Goodale, told reporters during a visit last week by Charles to Canada’s high commission in London.

‘The king, as head of state, will reinforce the power and the strength of that message,’ Goodale added.

Earlier this month, Carney told Trump that Canada is ‘not for sale’ and ‘won’t be for sale, ever’ during a meeting at the White House.

Charles has made subtle signals showing his support for Canada in recent months by wearing Canadian medals, calling himself the king of Canada and describing the country’s flag as ‘a symbol that never fails to elicit a sense of pride and admiration.’

The king now must perform a tricky balancing act as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is attempting to reach favorable outcomes with Trump over trade and the war in Ukraine.

When Starmer visited the White House in February, he delivered Trump an invitation from Charles for an unprecedented second state visit for the U.S. president, who has repeatedly praised the royal family.

Carney, however, said that gesture had upset Canadians.

Reuters contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Spots are filling up for the chance to have a WWE Championship opportunity.

The next premium live event on WWE’s calendar is a major one with Money in the Bank taking place June 7 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Two matches that are scheduled to occur are the famed men’s and women’s Money in the Bank matches, where six competitors in each bout will fight to be the one to climb the ladder and retrieve the briefcase. Win, and it can be used for a WWE championship opportunity at any point in the next year.

Qualifying matches have been taking place to determine who will be in the titular matches, and the field is starting to take shape. Here’s who has qualified so far and what qualifying matches are taking place before the event:

2025 Men’s Money in the Bank match participants, qualifying matches

Four of the six spots have been clinched.

Solo Sikoa (defeated Jimmy Uso and Rey Fenix)
LA Knight (defeated Aleister Black and Shinsuke Nakamura)
Penta (defeated Chad Gable and Dragon Lee)
Seth Rollins (defeated Finn Balor and Sami Zayn)

2025 Women’s Money in the Bank match participants, qualifying matches

Four sports have been secured in the women’s match.

Alexa Bliss (defeated Chelsea Green and Michin)
Roxanne Perez (defeated Natalya and Becky Lynch)
Rhea Ripley (defeated Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark)
Giulia (defeated Zelina Vega and Charlotte Flair)

When is WWE Money in the Bank 2025?

Money in the Bank takes place Saturday, June 7 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).

WWE Money in the Bank 2025 match card

Match order TBD

Men’s Money in the Bank match (Solo Sikoa vs. LA Knight vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD)
Women’s Money in the Bank match (Alexa Bliss vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Giulia vs. TBD vs. TBD)
John Cena and Logan Paul vs. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso
Women’s Intercontinental Championship match: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

AJ Cole has developed into one of the NFL’s best punters since signing with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2019. The Raiders are rewarding his performance by making him the league’s highest-paid punter, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

Cole, 29, has been a First Team All-Pro twice in the last four seasons. He logged a career-best 50.8 yards per punt in 2024 – good for the second-best mark league-wide – and has averaged at least 42.4 in net punting over the last four seasons.

Cole was entering the final year of his contract in 2025. His new four-year extension will tether him to the Raiders through the 2029 NFL season, giving him another potential chance to cash in ahead of his age-35 season in 2030.

Here’s what to know about Cole’s contract as the Raiders lock up one of their key specialists.

AJ Cole contract details

Below are the full details of Cole’s four-year contract extension with the Raiders, per Schultz:

Term: 4 years
Total value: $15.8 million
Average annual value (AAV): $3.95 million
Guaranteed money: $11 million

Before Cole inked his extension, Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson was the highest-paid at his position league-wide. He was playing on a four-year deal worth just under $14.7 million with an AAV of about $3.67 million.

The most striking disparity between Cole’s deal and Dickson’s is the guaranteed money. Dickson received $7.5 million in guarantees, per OverTheCap.com. Cole is getting $11 million more over the same period, and is the first punter to ever receive an eight-figure guarantee.

NFL’s highest-paid punters

Cole’s previous deal was worth $12 million over four years. He remains one of just five current punters to be playing on a contract worth more than $10 million in total value. Below is a look at the full list.

AJ Cole, Raiders: $15.8 million
Michael Dickson, Seahawks: $14.7 million
Jack Fox, Lions: $13.97 million
Logan Cooke, Jaguars: $12 million
Mitch Wishnowsky, 49ers: $11.2 million

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Minnesota captured its second consecutive PWHL championship on Monday, as Liz Schepers’ goal 12 minutes into overtime gave the Frost a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Charge in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The Frost won the best-of-five finals 3-1, as all four games were decided by 2-1 scores in overtime — including Minnesota’s victory in triple overtime on Saturday.

On the winning tally, Katy Knoll passed out front to Schepers, who fired a quick shot from the slot that Ottawa goalie Gwyneth Philips saved. Schepers then knocked in the rebound. Klara Hymiarova also got an assist.

Schepers also had the title-winning goal when Minnesota claimed the Walter Cup in the league’s first season in 2024.

Frost goaltender Maddie Rooney, who stopped 33 of 34 shots in the clincher, won five straight playoff games to tie the league record for victories in a single postseason.

Philips made 36 saves on 38 shots. She was voted the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP as she led all goalies with a 1.15 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage through eight starts. The rookie posted four playoff victories, one of them a shutout, and did not drop a game in regulation.

Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek opened the scoring at the 10:10 mark of the second period, with assists to Claire Thompson and Grace Zumwinkle. It was Pannek’s second goal of the playoffs.

The Charge evened the score on Tereza Vanisova’s goal at 10:09 of the third period. Danielle Serdachny and Jocelyne Larocque assisted.

Vanisova led Ottawa with 15 regular-season goals but went eight games into the playoffs without a score, finally tallying on her 33rd shot on target.

After playing penalty-free hockey in both the second and third periods, the teams were assessed offsetting two-minute minors for roughing at 8:01 of overtime.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The wait is finally over for Cornell. After nearly five decades, the Big Red are finally on top of the men’s lacrosse world once again.

Top-seeded Cornell (18-1) defeated No. 2 Maryland 13-10 in front of a Memorial Day crowd of 32,512 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to claim its fourth NCAA title and first since 1977. The Terrapins (14-5) won the title in 2022 but had to settle for a runner-up finish for the third time in the last five NCAA tournaments.

Two days after Cornell relied on its supporting cast to survive a semifinal challenge from Penn State, the Big Red’s biggest stars shined brightest in the final. CJ Kirst, who will likely be adding the Tewaaraton Award to his trophy case later this week, notched six goals and an assist, and his fellow attackman Ryan Goldstein found the net four times. Five of Kirst’s six tallies came after halftime as the Big Red asserted control of the game.

The teams traded goals for the first 20 minutes of clock time, with a marker from Maryland’s Eric Spanos knotting the game at 4-4 with 8:38 remaining in the second quarter. But Andrew Dalton gave the Big Red the lead 46 seconds later, and the Terrapins couldn’t draw even the rest of the way. Kirst, held off the score sheet for the first time in his college career in Saturday’s defeat of Penn State in the semifinals, finally got on the board with 1:49 left in the first half. That appeared to break the ice for him as he figured in six of the Big Red’s seven goals following intermission, putting an exclamation point on the day with an empty-net tally in the final minute to seal the victory.

With his six-goal outburst, Kirst brought his season total to 82, matching the Division I record for goals in a single campaign. He finishes his career with an NCAA record 247 career goals. With his 33rd assist, he stretched his already record points total to 115. Spanos paced the Terps with two goals and two assists, with Braden Erksa and Zach Whittier chipping in a pair of goals each. But Wyatt Knust recorded 12 saves behind a solid effort from the Big Red defense.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Marcus Ericsson, who finished second to Alex Palou in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, and Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood were penalized and moved to the back of the 33-car finishing order after post-race inspections revealed unapproved modifications to their vehicles.

Ericsson and Kirkwood, who finished sixth on Sunday, were each forced to forfeit both their prize money and championship points earned during Sunday’s race. Although each will receive the money and points for finishing in 31st (Ericsson) and 32nd (Kirkwood), respectively. Ericsson and Kirkwood’s teams were each fined $100,000, and the competition managers for both have been suspended for the upcoming race on the streets of Detroit.

These penalties come after IndyCar’s inspection process has faced a lot of backlash. The Team Penske Chevrolets of two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and 2018 winner Will Power were found to be using illegal modifications as well prior during qualifying last week. While both Newgarden and Power were still allowed to compete in Sunday’s race, they were forced to start in the rear of the pack.

Were Ericsson and Kirkwood’s cars the only ones penalized?

No. Callum Illott’s No. 90 car also failed post-race inspection. Prema Racing failed to meet the minimum endplate height and location, and thusly suffered the same penalties as Andretti Global. Illott finished 12th in the race, but will now be labeled as the last-place finisher.

Who is Marcus Ericsson?

Marcus Ericsson is a 34-year-old IndyCar driver from Kumla, Sweden. He won the 2022 Indianapolis 500 and finished runner-up in 2023 to Josef Newgarden.

Ericsson is currently in his seventh season in the NTT IndyCar Series and his second driving for Andretti Global. He spent his first season competing for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before moving to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020, driving for the team for four seasons. He found great success with Ganassi, winning four races, including the 2022 Indy 500, and scoring nine podium finishes.

After being stripped of his runner-up finish in the 2025 Indy 500, his best finish this season is a sixth-place finish at the season-opening street-course race in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Prior to joining the IndyCar season in 2019, Ericsson spend five seasons in Formula One but raced for struggling teams. He raced in 2014 for Caterham F1 Team before moving to Sauber F1 Team for four seasons.

When is the next IndyCar series race?

The Detroit Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, June 1, at the Detroit Street Circuit. The 100-lap race is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET.

The competition managers for both Andretti Global and Prema Racing have been suspended for this race.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

John Haliburton, the father of Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, can return to Indiana Pacers home games after being told to stay away from home and road games following an on-court incident with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo during the first round of the NBA playoffs, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the team’s decision.

Haliburton will watch remaining games from a suite at the Pacers’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse and will not attend road games for the remainder of Indiana’s series against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers lead the series 2-1.

Last week, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley said, ‘I want to reach out to (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver. It’s time to let Mr. Haliburton back in the building. Adam, I’m asking you. The man paid his dues. He did something really, really stupid, but he’s been punished. I’m asking you and the Indiana Pacers to let him back in the building for Games 3 and 4.’

John Haliburton had a courtside seat at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for Game 5 against the Bucks on April 29, and after Tyrese made the game-winning, series-clinching shot in the final seconds in Game 5 series, he ran onto the court and had a verbal altercation with Antetokounmpo.

Tyrese Haliburton admonished his dad’s actions, and John Haliburton apologized. The Pacers then told John Haliburton not to attend home and road games, and he missed Indiana’s next eight games.

‘I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game,’ John Haliburton posted on social media. ‘This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.’

Game 4 of the Knicks-Pacers series is Tuesday in Indianapolis (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

Tyrese Haliburton’s father confronts Giannis

After Haliburton’s layup with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime gave Indiana a 119-118 victory and eliminated the Bucks, John Haliburton and other Pacers fans stormed onto the court.

Moments later, TV cameras captured an animated discussion between the two before Antetokounmpo was ushered away.

Antetokounmpo’s response to confrontation

Giannis was still a little upset when asked about the exchange in a postgame interview.

‘(A)t the moment I thought he was a fan,’ Antetokounmpo said. ‘But then I realize it was Tyrese’s (father). I love Tyrese. I think he’s a great competitor. (But) it was his dad … Coming in the floor and showing me his son, a towel with his face, (and saying), ‘This is what we do. This is what we F-ing do. This what the F we do.’ I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful.

‘I’m happy for him, I’m happy for his son, and I’m happy that he’s happy for his son,’ Antetokounmpo later added. ‘That’s how you’re supposed to feel. But coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me I think is totally unacceptable, totally unacceptable.’

Antetokounmpo said their discussion on the floor ended amicably, as evidenced by a thumbs-up gesture he gave as they parted. ‘I talked with him at the end,’ Antetokounmpo said, ‘and I think we’re in a good place.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Will Zalatoris announced he’s had another back surgery. In a social media post Monday, the big hitter said that after the PGA Championship he was told he ‘re-herniated two discs.’ His surgery was Friday.

Zalatoris has made nine of 11 cuts in 2025, but both his missed cuts were at majors, the Masters and the PGA Championship. He also has two withdrawals this season, once at the Farmers Insurance Open and again at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Both WDs came before those events started, so no reasons were given.

Full statement from Will Zalatoris about his recent back surgery

Hey everyone, sharing a health update. This spring, I started feeling some discomfort and instability in my back that progressively got worse. Following the PGA Championship, an MRI showed that I had re-herniated two discs. After discussing the options with my medical team, I underwent surgery this past Friday with Dr. Michael Duffy at the Texas Back Institute.I’m happy to say that I woke up feeling good and excited about my long-term back health. Time to focus on my recovery and get back after it. Thank you to my team, friends, and family for being there for me throughout this journey. Looking forward to seeing everyone in the fall!! 

While not specifying his recovery time, he seems to be targeting this fall for his return. He previously had a back injury and subsequent surgery in April of 2023, and that derailed his next 18 months. Ahead of the 2025 season, he said he put on 20 pounds and spoke positively about his outlook at the season-opening Sentry.

‘It’s nice to be in a really good spot and really good head space,’ Zalatoris said in January. ‘Body feels great. Put in a lot of great work over the last four months. Purposely didn’t play much because I wanted to get some work in.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The Women’s College World Series will open on Thursday with a field led by four-time defending national champion Oklahoma and four other teams from the SEC.

In addition to the No. 2 Sooners, who rolled over No. 15 Alabama in the super regionals, the eight-team field includes No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee and Mississippi.

The Rebels are the only unseeded team still standing after winning two of three against No. 4 Arkansas, capped by Sunday’s 7-4 clincher, to reach the Women’s College World Series for the first time in program history.

Rounding out the final eight are No. 9 UCLA, No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 16 Oregon. The Red Raiders swept No. 5 Florida State behind another two outstanding starts from junior NiJaree Canady.

The Women’s College World Series kicks off with a quadrupleheader: Texas plays Florida, Tennessee plays Oklahoma, Ole Miss faces Texas Tech and Oregon takes on UCLA. The final eight teams will play a double-elimination bracket that gives way to a best-of-three championship series early next month.

The rest of the field will be chasing Oklahoma, which run-ruled the overmatched Crimson Tide in five innings in Saturday’s 13-2 win that advanced it to the Women’s College World Series for the ninth time in a row.

Led by the Sooners and the SEC, here are the biggest winners and losers from the super regionals:

Winners

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is the clear favorite to win yet another national championship after a relatively stressful regular season – compared only to the program’s recent standard – that saw the Sooners drop seven conference games as new members of the SEC. But they’ve been on fire this tournament: OU has scored in double figures three times and won all five games by a combined score of 47-5. The second win against Alabama included an eight-run third inning that started off with a two-run shot by shortstop Gabriella Garcia, who would homer again with a runner on in the fifth.

NiJaree Canady

One of college softball’s biggest stars has stepped up to carry her team to an unexpected Women’s College World Series berth. Texas Tech is not a national powerhouse, nor even a regional one: The program had made only six tournament appearances before this season, never advancing out of the regionals. The reigning national player of the year at Stanford who transferred after last season, Canady has changed everything for the Red Raiders. She was brilliant in Tallahassee, tossing a two-hit shutout in the opener and then going the distance in a 2-1 win to eliminate the Seminoles. The second win moved Canady to 30-5 on the year.

Texas

A rematch against rival OU in the championship series is still in play after Texas climbed out of a 1-0 hole in the series against Clemson. That took some work: After falling behind with Thursday’s 7-4 loss, the Longhorns needed extra innings to even the series and then had to hold off the Tigers’ late rally in Saturday’s 6-5 clincher. Junior shortstop Leighann Goode carried Texas to the WCWS by going 6 for 8 with four RBIs in the two wins.

Losers

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers took the first game of the series against Tennessee but went cold at the plate in losing 3-2 on Saturday and then 1-0 in Sunday’s finale. The Volunteers figured out Jordy Bahl at the plate, at least, holding the junior to one hit in six at-bats with three strikeouts in these final two games. Bahl also took both losses on the mound in matchups against SEC Pitcher of the Year Karlyn Pickens, who worked her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning of the clincher to send the Volunteers to the WCWS for the ninth time in program history. While a painful way to end a breakthrough season, the Cornhuskers are set to return most of this year’s team, led by Bahl, and should be back in the national mix next May.

Clemson

The disappointment of coming up short in Austin after taking the first game of the series isn’t new even for this young program: Clemson has now lost in the super regionals three times since playing its first game in 2020. While that marquee postseason moment has yet to arrive, the Tigers seem even more destined to eventually collide with the WCWS after pushing the defending national runner-up to the brink. Still, they’ll be kicking themselves until next spring after leaving a combined 17 runners on the bases and allowing four unearned runs in the two losses to the Longhorns.

Arkansas

Arkansas finished six spots higher than Ole Miss in the final SEC standings but never could quite figure out the Rebels, who took two of three against the Razorbacks to open league play in early March before dropping two of three over the weekend in Fayetteville. This dropped Arkansas to 0-4 in super regionals play, with all four appearances coming since hiring coach Courtney Deifel in 2016; it is one of two SEC programs, along with Mississippi State, to never reach the WCWS.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The Green Bay Packers selected Matthew Golden in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, marking the first time in 23 years they spent a first-round pick on a wide receiver.

Already, the rookie wide-out has impressive Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who spoke about Golden for the first time at his charity softball game Friday.

‘He’s a great dude,’ Love said of Golden, per The Athletic. ‘I’m excited to see just his potential on the football field. But just the start we’ve had, doing routes on air and things like that, he looks like a stud, looks like a very polished receiver, so I’m excited to see just how far he can take it.’

Golden played one season at Texas after transferring from Houston and quickly emerged as Quinn Ewers’ top target. He recorded career-high marks in receptions (58), receiving yards (987) and receiving touchdowns (9) while helping lead the Longhorns to a College Football Playoff appearance.

Love was impressed after watching Golden’s highlights from his time at Texas. The 26-year-old quarterback and noted the 5-11, 191-pound receiver will add a unique speed element to Green Bay’s offense.

‘The speed speaks for itself,’ Love said. ‘Running a 40-yard dash, any time you get a 4.2, that’s some blazing speed right there, so I’m excited to see how fast he is on the field. I’ve seen all the highlights, all the good stuff, so we’ll see once we get practice rolling and everything how good he is.’

Golden will face plenty of competition for targets in Green Bay’s receiver room. Veterans Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontavyion Wicks represent the most proven options on the active roster while rookie third-round pick Savion Williams will also look to carve out a role with the team.

Golden’s speed could give him a leg up in the competition. The Packers lost their primary downfield threat, Christian Watson, to a torn ACL in Week 18 last season. There is not yet a timetable for Watson to return, but he could miss at least the beginning of the 2025 NFL season.

Couple that with Golden’s draft position and he should get a chance to see the field early and often, provided he can accomplish his goal of clicking quickly with Love.

‘Just gain his trust, man,’ Golden said of his goal as he develops a relationship with Love. ‘That’s from me just being able to put my best foot forward every day. Just go out there and create that chemistry with him.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY