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Hamas ‘serious’ about reaching ceasefire agreement but insists on long-standing demands

Hamas confirmed on Wednesday that it is ‘ready to accept’ a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but did not endorse a 60-day pause put forward by President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the terrorist organization is ‘ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war.’ Trump has increasingly pressured Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire, but the details of such an agreement still have not been worked out.

A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss Trump’s proposal, according to an Egyptian official.

Hamas has previously said it was willing to release the remaining 50 hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement, though it has noted that fewer than half of the hostages are still alive. In return, however, Hamas demands that Israel fully withdraw from Gaza and end the war.

Meanwhile, Israel has said Hamas must surrender, disarm and exile itself from Gaza.

An Israeli official said the latest proposal calls for a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory. The mediators and the U.S. would provide assurances about talks to end the war, but Israel is not committing to that as part of the latest proposal, the official said.

Roughly 10 hostages would be released under the agreement.

Trump announced the ceasefire proposal in a Tuesday statement on social media.

‘My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

‘The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better – IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’ he added.

‘Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza,’ Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Iran to suspend work with UN nuclear watchdog, president says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian enacted a law passed by the country’s parliament last week that would end Tehran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

The legislation was approved within days of the U.S. carrying out Operation Midnight Hammer, in which it struck three major nuclear sites in Iran: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow.

The law stipulates that any future inspection of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the IAEA must be approved by the country’s Supreme National Security Council, according to Reuters. Iran maintains that the IAEA sided with the U.S. and Israel in the recent conflict. Additionally, Tehran claims that the IAEA’s resolution in early June paved the way for Israel’s strikes.

Pezeshkian’s order reportedly had no timetable or details about what the suspension of cooperation would entail, The Associated Press reported.

IAEA head of Media, Multimedia and Public Outreach Section and spokesperson Fredrik Dahl told Fox News Digital that the agency was still awaiting confirmation from Iran.

Nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have been on pause since Israel launched Operation Rising Lion. Iran then wavered on whether it would continue the talks, claiming that the U.S. was complicit in Israel’s actions. However, President Donald Trump appeared hopeful that the two countries would return to the table, even after the U.S.’ historic strikes. On June 25, the president told reporters that the U.S. would talk with Iran the following week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently told CBS News that ‘the doors for diplomacy will never slam shut.’ However, he also cast doubt on Trump’s timeline for when talks would resume.

‘I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,’ Araghchi told CBS News. ‘In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations.’

While Trump’s critics have argued that the administration has exaggerated the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear sites, parties involved in the conflict seemingly agreed on the status of the facilities. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei acknowledged that the sites were ‘badly damaged’ in an interview with Al Jazeera. 

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NHL free agency winners, losers: Defending champs run it back

Something doesn’t seem quite right when the day before free agency is more exciting than the actual opening of free agency.

That’s because NHL general managers did their best to remove some of the bigger names in the market on June 30. Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, Patrick Kane and Ivan Provorov were all gone on Monday.

There still was some action on Tuesday. Brock Boeser, who had seemed all but gone, re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Mikael Granlund joined the Anaheim Ducks. Vladislav Gavrikov went to the New York Rangers, and the Rangers traded K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Here are the winners and losers from the last two days of NHL free agency:

WINNERS

Florida Panthers

It seemed unlikely that Panthers general manager Bill Zito would be able to bring back his big three free agents of Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand but he got it done.

‘This is 100 percent those guys wanting to be part of something they created,’ Zito said.

He then got Tomas Nosek re-signed, meaning all 12 forwards who skated in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-clinching win are under contract. The only main player who left is defenseman Nate Schmidt, but Zito signed Jeff Petry as a replacement.

Vegas Golden Knights

They’re adding prolific scorer Mitch Marner to a roster that already has lots of offense in Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev. The question is whether Marner can produce in the postseason, but that’s pretty far away.

New York Rangers

The Rangers have been sloppy defensively, so it was good to add Gavrikov, the top defensive defenseman in the free agent class. They had to part with Miller to make the money work, but they received a prospect and two draft picks in the deal. General manager Chris Drury also got restricted free agent forward Will Cuylle re-signed for two years. He had been considered a potential target for an offer sheet.

LOSERS

Los Angeles Kings

Losing Gavrikov was tough. They also traded young defenseman Jordan Spence. Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin don’t seem like adequate replacements.

Teams seeking goaltending help

Jake Allen was the top free agent goalie and he signed a five-year, $9 million contract to return to the New Jersey Devils. Goaltenders Vitek Vanecek (Utah), Dan Vladar (Philadelphia), David Rittich (Islanders), Anton Forsberg (Los Angeles), Matt Murray (Seattle) and Alex Nedeljkovic (San Jose) did move. Ilya Samsonov, James Reimer and Alexandar Georgiev are among the goalies still available.

Dallas Stars

Mikael Granlund was a good fit for the Stars after he arrived before the 2025 trade deadline, but they didn’t have the cap space to re-sign him. They did sign Radek Faksa, a former Star, but he’s more of a depth player.

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What’s next for Iran’s terror army, the IRGC, after devastating military setbacks?

Once a revolutionary militia, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps built power through ideology and fear. Now, after devastating losses, its future is uncertain.

After major military setbacks, Iran’s IRGC faces a turning point. Experts explain its roots, power, and whether its reign of repression and terror can endure.

Once a fringe militia born of revolution, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has grown into the regime’s most feared and powerful force. But according to Dr. Afshon Ostovar, a leading expert on Iran and author of ‘Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards,’ said the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran may have permanently altered its trajectory.

‘What the IRGC tried to achieve over the last 25 years is basically toast,’ Ostovar told Fox News Digital, ‘Their campaign to build a military deterrent at home through missiles and nuclear enrichment, and to expand regionally through proxies, has essentially collapsed.’

Founded in the wake of the 1979 revolution, the IRGC was created to safeguard and spread the Islamic Republic’s values — often through violence. Ostovar describes how its legitimacy evolved over time, initially drawn from the overthrow of the Shah, then the Iran-Iraq War, and later through the manufactured narrative of an eternal struggle with the U.S. and Israel.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of FDD’s Iran Program Behnam Ben Taleblu, told Fox News Digital the IRGC’s origin reflects a deep mistrust of Iran’s traditional military, which had remained loyal to the Shah. 

‘The IRGC were created through efforts to collect pro-regime armed gangs called Komitehs. They enforced revolutionary edicts and developed a parallel and ideological military force due to clerical skepticism in the national army,’ he explained.

‘The IRGC are tasked with preserving and defending the revolution in Iran,’ Taleblu said. ‘That’s one reason why the 1979 Islamic Revolution has not been tamed, nor has the regime’s extremism lost any luster. If anything, terrorism and hostage-taking have continued.’

‘They created a boogeyman in the U.S. and Israel,’ Ostovar added. ‘But today, that ideology no longer resonates with most Iranians. The majority want better relations with the West and are tired of the regime’s isolationist stance.’

Today, the IRGC is deeply intertwined with the clerical elite. ‘The IRGC and the clerical elite are partners in power, treating Iran as a springboard to export their revolution,’ Taleblu noted.

Over the past year, Iran has suffered a series of strategic defeats: Hezbollah has been degraded in Lebanon, Hamas crippled in Gaza, Syria effectively lost, and Iranian military infrastructure — including nuclear and missile sites — destroyed in many cases by U.S. and Israeli strikes. Ostovar says these losses have decimated the IRGC’s regional footprint and forced the regime to reevaluate its strategy.

‘They can try to rebuild everything — but that would take too long and be too difficult,’ he said. ‘More likely, we’ll see them repress harder at home and lean on China and Russia to rebuild conventional military capabilities like air defense and advanced jets.’

Internally, the IRGC’s economic empire is also under growing strain. Sanctions, cyberattacks, and battlefield losses have made operations far more difficult. Ostovar said that foreign banks avoid any connection with Iran out of fear they may inadvertently deal with IRGC-linked entities, forcing the group to operate through front companies abroad. ‘They’ve lost a lot, and now they’ll have to redirect their limited resources to rebuild. That’s going to stretch them even thinner.’

Despite these pressures, both Ostovar and Taleblu agree that the IRGC is unlikely to turn against the regime. ‘Much like the regime elite, the IRGC is at a crossroads,’ Taleblu said. ‘They have lost much of their strategic brain trust, but are likely to remain loyal for a combination of ideological and material reasons — so long as the status quo doesn’t change.’

Looking ahead, Iran may shift focus inward, relying more on domestic repression than on external terror. ‘They can’t get weapons into Gaza. They’ve lost access to Lebanon. They may still attempt terrorism, but they’ve failed repeatedly — especially against Israeli targets,’ Ostovar said. ‘In contrast, repressing their own people is something they can do easily.’

He warns that Iran could become ‘more insular, more autocratic — more like North Korea than what it is today.’ While regime collapse is always a possibility, Ostovar believes autocracies are often resilient. ‘Look at Venezuela or Cuba — they’ve run their countries into the ground but still hold on to power.’

Ostovar thinks change — and not for the better — could come via generational shift. ‘The IRGC’s younger cadre is less religious but no less hardline,’ he said. ‘They may not care about hijabs, but they’ve spent the last two decades fighting the U.S. and Israel in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. That’s the war they know.’

Some reformist elements within the regime envision a different path — one focused on normalization and growth. ‘They want to preserve the regime not by fighting the world, but by opening up to it,’ Ostovar said. ‘They look more to Vietnam or China as models.’

Taleblu warned that despite recent setbacks, the IRGC’s grip remains strong. ‘Right now, the Guards have power without accountability, wielding political, economic, and military influence in Iranian policy. How this influence is channeled by the next generation of Guardsmen remains to be seen.’

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State Department unveils patriotic ‘America First’ rebrand as part of sweeping makeover

The State Department is launching a new ‘America First’ rebranding initiative to consolidate all the logos for its offices under a singular one depicting the American flag — an effort that aligns with the agency’s massive overhaul plans. 

Whereas separate logos existed previously for offices, including embassies, bureaus and programs under the U.S. Agency for International Development, the rebranding effort seeks to establish ‘consistent branding’ across all these platforms to best reflect American contributions abroad, according to a State Department official. 

‘The redesign is very simple, and that was to recenter and re-anchor the visual identity of American efforts overseas in the American flag,’ Darren Beattie, undersecretary for public diplomacy at the State Department, told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 

Beattie said that inconsistent branding across State Department offices and programs has meant that sometimes U.S. efforts abroad aren’t as widely recognized, while other countries that do have uniformity in branding receive greater credit. 

‘There’s some things you look at it, and you have no clue that’s associated with the United States government at all, and that’s obviously contrary to our purposes,’ Beattie said. ‘If we’re contributing something great overseas, we want that positivity and that contribution to be immediately visually distinguished as something associated with the United States.’

The State Department rolled out guidance on the rebranding effort Wednesday — just a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that USAID would officially no longer continue to provide foreign assistance. 

Fox News Digital first reported in March that the State Department would absorb remaining functions from the previously independent organization, which delivered aid to impoverished countries and development assistance. 

Compliance with the rebranding effort across State Department offices and bureaus is slated for Oct. 1, according to Beattie. 

The effort seeks to visually complement the State Department’s reorganization already underway, which officials have said is the largest restructuring of the agency since the Cold War. 

Rubio unveiled plans in April to revamp the agency because the department was ‘bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission.’

Additionally, Rubio told lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing foreign affairs in May that the restructuring aimed to ’empower’ regional bureaus and embassies who are responsible for spearheading the ‘best innovations.’ 

‘They are identifying problems and opportunities well in advance of some memo that works its way to me,’ Rubio told lawmakers. ‘We want to get back to a situation or we want to get to a situation where we are empowering ideas and action at the embassy level and through our regional bureaus. Those are literally the front lines of American diplomacy. And so we have structured a State Department that can deliver on that.’

Fox News Digital first reported in May that the agency’s reorganization plans would involve cutting or consolidating more than 300 of the agency’s 700 offices and bureaus in an attempt to streamline operations. 

The reorganization involves axing roughly 3,400 State Department personnel, amounting to approximately 15% to 20% of the agency’s domestic headcount, State Department officials previously told Fox News Digital. 

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Penn to ban transgender athletes in women’s sports, remove Lia Thomas records

The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports and strip the record of former swimmer Lia Thomas as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education.

Penn entered the resolution agreement Tuesday, July 1 to comply with Title IX, the DOE announced, as the university had been under investigation surrounding the case of Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to win a NCAA Division I title.

Under the agreement, Penn will restore the swimming records and titles of its female athletes that were broken by Thomas. The university will also not allow transgender athletes to compete in female athletic programs, and it has to send personal apology letters to impacted swimmers.

REVAMPED RULES: How NCAA’s transgender athlete policy has changed

Lia Thomas records

Thomas competed for one year as a women’s swimmer for Penn after three seasons competing on the men’s team.

She holds Penn women’s swimming records in the 100 free (47.37), 200 free (1:41.93), 500 free (4:33.24), 1,000 free (9:35.96) and 1,650 free (15:59.71).

Thomas won her NCAA title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle event in 2022. She also tied for fifth in the women’s 200-yard freestyle and was eighth in the 100-yard freestyle that year.

The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment after the announcement of the Penn resolution.

Reaction to Penn’s decision on transgender athletes

The decision comes as the Trump Administration has focused on banning transgender athletes from competing girl’s sports. In May, President Donald Trump had promised ‘large scale fines’ on California after a transgender athlete was allowed to compete and won two medals in the track and field state championship.

‘Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights’ opened a Title IX investigation into Penn on Feb. 6 − a month into Trump’s presidency − surrounding Thomas. Title IX is a law passed in 1972 that forbids sex discrimination in at any academic institution that receives federal funding.

On April 28, the office concluded the university violated Title IX and issued a resolution agreement proposal, or it would either refer the case to the Justice Department or begin another process to cut the school’s federal funding. In March, the White House cut $175 million in federal funds for Penn related to the issue.

The university said in a statement it will comply with Executive Order 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. University president J. Larry Jameson said it is a ‘complex issue’ and he was pleased to reach the agreement for the investigation.

‘Our commitment to ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all of our students is unwavering,’ Jameson said in the statement. ‘At the same time, we must comply with federal requirements, including executive orders, and NCAA eligibility rules, so our teams and student-athletes may engage in competitive intercollegiate sports.’

Jameson added the university has ‘always followed – and continues to follow’ Title IX, as well as following NCAA and Ivy League policies. Penn will begin the process to review and update the women’s swimming records set during Thomas’ season on the team ‘to indicate who would now hold the records under current eligibility guidelines.’

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Milwaukee Bucks’ grade for Myles Turner signing, Damian Lillard waiver

Things are going to be very different next season for a pair of bitter rivals that met up in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Bucks have waived Damian Lillard and stretched the remaining $113 million left on his salary over five seasons, and Milwaukee is using that salary space to pluck former Indiana Pacer Myles Turner on a four-year, $107 million contract, a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

ESPN was first to report the news.

Here are grades for Milwaukee’s decision to sign Myles Turner and waive Damian Lillard.

Milwaukee Bucks

Lillard, who turns 36 on Tuesday, July 15, is expected to miss next season with a torn Achilles. Given the assets Milwaukee gave up to land Lillard in a September 2023 trade, waiving him renders the decision to acquire him a failure.

Adding Turner does mitigate the loss of Brook Lopez, who reportedly signed with the Clippers, but Milwaukee’s offseason is all about Giannis Antetokounmpo and keeping him happy with the team’s direction. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Antetokounmpo was not pleased with the way the Bucks handled Lillard’s departure.

The Bucks may have an uphill battle to keep Antetokounmpo happy.

Grade: C+

Indiana Pacers

While Turner struggled with his shot in the NBA Finals, he was the longest-tenured Pacer, serving 10 seasons with the team. Indiana loses a stretch center with range who shot 39.6% this season from 3-point range. He’s a plus defender and was a leader for Indy.  

While the Pacers clearly appreciated Turner, they also avoided onerous luxury tax payments by re-signing him. And with Tyrese Haliburton likely to miss most, if not all of the 2025-26 season, the Pacers seemingly will take next season to regroup. In any case, Isaiah Jackson and Tony Bradley — the most likely Turner replacements — are significant downgrades.

All the worse that it’s the rival Bucks.

Grade: C

Myles Turner

Once he gets past the challenges of leaving Indy, Turner, 29, is get his well-deserved payday and gets to play alongside Antetokounmpo — for now.

Grade: A-

Damian Lillard

Lillard must now get healthy and convince a team to take a flyer on him, but he gets to choose his destination and collect his guaranteed salary.

Grade: B+

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Groups express ‘deep concern’ over 2026 World Cup in US, send letter to FIFA

More than 80 civil rights and labor groups sent a letter to FIFA on July 1 expressing ‘deep concern’ over the U.S. government’s immigration policies ahead of the 2026 World Cup in men’s soccer.

In the letter, which was first reported by The Athletic, the groups cited President Donald Trump’s executive order banning visitors from 12 countries as well as the ongoing raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in communities across the country, some of which are slated to host World Cup matches next summer. They called on FIFA to ‘use its influence to encourage the U.S. government to guarantee the fundamental rights of the millions of foreign visitors and fans.’

‘If FIFA continues to stay silent, not only will millions be placed at risk, but the FIFA brand will also be used as a public relations tool to whitewash the reputation of an increasingly authoritarian government,’ the civil rights and labor groups wrote.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP were among the most prominent national organizations to sign the letter, which was also endorsed by eight fan clubs of soccer teams.

The United States is currently hosting the FIFA Club World Cup for men’s soccer.

FIFA did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment on the letter. The organization and its president, Gianni Infantino, have repeatedly said foreign spectators and teams will have no issues entering the country next summer.

‘The world is welcome in America,’ Infantino told reporters on May 15. ‘Of course, the players, of course, everyone involved, all of us, but definitely also all the fans.’

The Trump administration has echoed that sentiment, albeit with the caveat that fans will not be allowed to overstay their visas or otherwise remain in the country following the tournament.

‘I know we’ll have visitors probably from close to 100 countries,’ Vice President J.D. Vance said in May. ‘We want them to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the game(s). But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to (U.S. Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem.’

FIFA also faced questions and criticism from human rights advocacy organizations ahead of the last men’s World Cup, in Qatar. The 2026 edition of the event, which will be co-hosted by Canada and Mexico, begins June 11.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.

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Fever beat Lynx to win WNBA Commissioner’s Cup: Highlights

No Caitlin Clark, no problem. 

The Indiana Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx 74-59 in the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final to claim the Fever’s first in-season tournament championship. The Fever, who were without Clark (groin) for the third consecutive game, held the Lynx to season-lows in points (55) and field-goal percentage (35.7%). 

Natasha Howard was named the unanimous Commissioner’s Cup MVP after recording 16 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block.

“It feels great. We knew we had to come out here with energy,” said Fever center Aliyah Boston, who finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double despite starting 0-of-6 from the field. 

The Lynx jumped out to a 13-point lead over the Fever in the second quarter, but the Fever responded with an 18-0 run of their own to take the lead and hold it until the end. With the victory, the Fever will split a prize of $500,000 and continue the Commissioner’s Cup streak of home teams going down in the final. The visiting team has won each time, aside from the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup final that was played at a neutral site in 2021.

USA TODAY Sports had coverage of the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final. Scroll below for a recap and highlights:

Fever vs. Lynx highlights

Caitlin Clark crashes interview, reacts to win

Clark may have not been on the court, but she was cheering on her teammates from the sidelines. Following the Fever’s Commissioner’s Cup win, Clark tweeted, ‘My girls did their thing !!!!!! So proud!!’

While Boston was giving a postgame interview, Clark burst onto the screen with a triumphant scream and chest bump in celebration.

Fever drink from Commissioner’s Cup, celebrate

End of Q3: Fever 52, Lynx 42

The Fever have a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Natasha Howard leads the way with a game-high 16 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kelsey Mitchell and Aari Mcdonald both reached double digits with 10 points each. Aliyah Boston’s struggles have continued as she’s been held to four points, shooting 2-of-10 from the field.

Alanna Smith leads the Lynx with 15 points, while Napheesa Collier has eight points and four rebounds.

Halftime: Fever 32, Lynx 27

Now it’s the Fever’s turn to go on a run. Indiana trailed the Lynx by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but the Fever went on an 18-0 run to take their first lead since earlier in the first quarter. The Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell has a game-high eight points. Aliyah Boston is on the board with two points after starting the night 0-for-6 from the field.

The Lynx were outscored 20-7 in the second quarter and were held scoreless for over eight minutes in the period. The Lynx are up to nine total turnovers that the Fever has cashed in for 11 points.

Alanna Smith has a game-high seven points, while Napheesa Collier is up to six points (3-of-9 FG, 0-of-1 3PT). Smith and Collier failed to score in the second quarter.

End of Q1: Lynx 20, Fever 12

The Lynx jumped out to an eight-point lead over the Fever in the first quarter of the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup final. The Fever’s turnovers spurred the Lynx’s offense. Minnesota went on a 12-0 run that was fueled by three consecutive Fever turnovers. Indiana gave up seven points off five total first-quarter turnovers. 

The Fever leads the league in points in the paint with 40.4 per game, but Minnesota has done a good job taking away the Fever’s inside looks so far and has forced Indiana into some tough shots. The Fever collectively shot 27.8% from the field, while the Lynx shot 60% in the first quarter. 

Aari Mcdonald leads the Fever with five points. Aliyah Boston was held scoreless, shooting 0-for-4 from the field.

Alanna Smith has a game-high seven points, while Napheesa Collier is up to six points. 

How to watch 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final

The fifth-annual WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final will be decided on Tuesday. A $500,000 prize pool is up for grabs.

Date: Tuesday, July 1
Time: 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT)
Location: Target Center (Minneapolis)
TV: None
Steaming: Prime Video

The game will be available to view on demand on WNBA League Pass after it concludes.

Will Caitlin Clark play in Commissioner’s Cup final?

No, Clark will not play against the Minnesota Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final, the Fever announced hours before the game. Clark had been considered day-to-day after alerting the Fever coaching staff of a groin injury on June 25th following the Fever’s 94-86 win over the Seattle Storm on June 24. She missed the Fever’s loss vs. Los Angeles on June 26 and Indiana’s win at Dallas on June 27 with the injury.

Indiana Fever starting lineup

The Fever is sticking with the same starting lineup that took the court in Indiana’s 94-86 win over the Dallas Wings on Friday. Aari McDonald will make her second start of the season after resigning with the Fever in June.

Minnesota Lynx starting lineup

The Lynx’s starting five includes Napheesa Collier, Bridget Carleton, Alana Smith, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams. This unit has started nine previous games together and have gone 8-1.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup champions, by year

Here’s every team that has won the WNBA’s in-season tournament since it began in 2021:

2024: Minnesota Lynx def. New York Liberty
2023: New York Liberty def. Las Vegas Aces
2022: Las Vegas Aces def. Chicago Sky
2021: Seattle Storm def. Connecticut Sun

Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier named WNBA All-Star captains

Clark and Collier will go head to head in the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final on Tuesday and the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will mark Round 2.

On Sunday, June 29, the WNBA announced that Clark and Collier will serve as captains of this year’s All-Star Game after picking up their second and fifth career All-Star nods, respectively. Clark, the reigning Rookie of the Year, and Collier, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, earned the honor by receiving the most fan votes.

The All-Star Game starters were revealed on June 30.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

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No. 2 seed Coco Gauff upset in Wimbledon first round: What happened?

In stunner on Day 2 of Wimbledon, No. 2 seed Coco Gauff was eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon by Dayana Yastremska. Gauff had won the French Open last month.

Gauff became the fourth woman in the top 10 rankings to lose in the first round, joining No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 5 seed Qinwen Zheng, who were also upset on Day 2, and No. 9 seed Paula Badosa, who was eliminated on on Day 1.

‘Playing against Coco it is something special. I played with her already three times, of course now four. It’s 3-1 for her. And a great person and we’re in very good relationship,’ Yastremska said after her Wimbledon victory.

Gauff was clearly short of grasscourt practice while her opponent had reached the final of the Nottingham tournament as well as the quarterfinals at Eastbourne in the run-up to Wimbledon. Gauff served a total of nine double faults and made 29 unforced errors, shaking her head in disbelief as she lost her serve three times in the second set.

Yastremska, on the other hand, looked composed and confident, her searing backhand often fizzing past the stranded Gauff.

‘It was pretty unexpected but it has been a great season for me,’ Yastremska said. ‘I love playing on grass, I feel like this season we are friends.’

This year’s Wimbledon marks the first time since the Open era began in 1968 that two of the top three women’s seeds were eliminated in the first round. Pegula, the other top American, was soundly beaten by No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretta, 6-2, 6-3.

Gauff won her second career Grand Slam singles title on June 7, beating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to take home the French Open title.

Who is Dayana Yastremska?

Dayana Yastremska, currently ranked No. 42 in the world, is from Odesa, Ukraine. She has won three WTA singles titles: the 2018 Hong Kong Open, the 2019 Hua Hin Championships, and the 2019 Internationaux de Strasbourg. Yastremska achieved her best Grand Slam performance at the 2024 Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals.

How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon tournament?

The 2025 Wimbledon tournament will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC, and the Tennis Channel. Fans wanting to stream the action can watch all matches on ESPN+.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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