June 13, 2026 10:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Throngs of UFC fans have descended on the nation’s capital for an unusual fight night at the White House. The Sunday night event is marking both America’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Fans from as far away as Australia are in Washington for the spectacle. Polling shows UFC fans skew male and nonwhite, with more identifying as Republicans, but the crowd near the Lincoln Memorial for a news conference with the fights on Friday night was diverse. Trump has billed this weekend as “the greatest show on earth.” A watchdog group tried to stop it with a lawsuit and says the event is a corrupt use of national monuments.
June 12, 2026 4:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Thursday night’s 8-6 win over Pittsburgh due to left knee inflammation. The reigning NL MVP hit his 13th homer of the season, a solo shot, in the third inning. He also had a single and walked twice, reaching base in all four of his at-bats. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts downplayed the significance of the injury and said the move to take Ohtani out of the game was precautionary.
June 12, 2026 9:14 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Andrei Svechnikov scored twice and Sebastian Aho added a second-period goal in a breakout game for Carolina’s top-line performers, helping the Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Thursday night to move within a victory of winning the Stanley Cup. Captain Jordan Staal added his fifth goal in the series. It all came together in Game 5, with Svechnikov’s short putaway at the post on the power play giving Carolina a 4-1 lead midway through the third period. Brandon Bussi finished with 22 saves in his second career postseason start. That gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Sunday night in Las Vegas.
June 12, 2026 9:20 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez helped Mexico make an exuberant start to the World Cup by scoring a goal each in a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament. With a capacity crowd of 80,824 watching at the iconic Azteca Stadium, co-host Mexico started the largest World Cup tournament in history by getting goals in each half while three red cards were shown — two for South Africa and one for Mexico. Quiñones gave Mexico the lead in the ninth minute. Jiménez added the second goal on a header in 66th.
June 11, 2026 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s deference to his catchers might have cost the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 9-8 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ohtani was on the mound in the seventh inning with the Dodgers leading by five. However, things unraveled after a couple of borderline calls to Pittsburgh’s Brandon Lowe went unchallenged. The at-bat ended with Lowe lacing a two-run double that kept the Pirates in the game. Ohtani said afterward he probably should have challenged the calls. The four-time MVP allowed a season-high three earned runs and saw his bid for a fifth straight victory slip away when Pittsburgh rallied against the Los Angeles bullpen. Ohtani did make an impact late offensively, hitting a two-run shot in the ninth that brought the Dodgers within one.
June 11, 2026 4:00 am
The Pittsburgh Pirates today placed outfielder Oneil Cruz on the 10-day injured list (left hand fourth and fifth metacarpal non-displaced fractures), retroactive to Monday (June 8), and recalled outfielder Billy Cook from Triple-A Indianapolis.
June 11, 2026 4:33 am
CRESTWOOD, Il. – Anthony Brocato connected with two home runs in an eight-run Washington sixth inning and then hit his third homer, a solo shot in the eighth, for Washington’s first-ever three-homer night, which highlighted a 13-0 drubbing of the Windy City ThunderBolts Wednesday night in the trip’s opener. Zach Kirby spun six shutout innings with a season-best seven strikeouts and Wild Things pitchers combined to fan 13 ThunderBolts as the other highlight of the night.
June 11, 2026 5:30 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks made a record comeback from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. OG Anunoby tipped in the miss of Jalen Brunson’s long 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the rally, giving the Knicks a 3-1 series lead and three chances to win the championship. It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points and Anunoby finished with 33. Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio.
June 11, 2026 5:27 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have reclaimed home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Final. Not that it’s mattered much in this series. The Hurricanes split two road games with the Vegas Golden Knights to return home for Thursday’s Game 5 with the best-of-seven series tied 2-2. Normally that would be a reassuring feeling for a team that that has long thrived in its own building in front of its raucous crowd.
June 10, 2026 4:28 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andy Pages hit a two-run homer and added a sacrifice fly during a seventh-inning outburst to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past Pittsburgh 12-3. The Dodgers pulled away once Pirates ace Paul Skenes exited. The NL Cy Young winner limited the Dodgers to two runs over six innings before leaving. Los Angeles pounced on Pittsburgh’s bullpen, scoring 10 runs in the seventh to pull away. Shohei Ohtani doubled and drove in two runs for the Dodgers. Teammate Freddie Freeman had two hits to push his career total to 2,500.
