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  • WNBA Stars Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley welcome daughter

    WNBA Stars Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley welcome daughter



    WNBA all-stars Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley have apparently welcomed their first child together.

    Their daugher, Jana Christine Vandersloot Quigley, was born on April 8, according to People magazine.

    “We are over the moon to welcome our baby girl to the world,” Vandersloot and Quigly, told People in an exclusive interview. “We have been dreaming of this moment for a long time, and it’s better than we could have ever imagined!”

    Representatives for the couple did not immediately reply to a request for comment to confirm the news of their daughter’s birth.

    Photos shared with People show the family, including their dog, posing at the foot of a white bed.

    Vandersloot and Quigley were married in 2018, years after meeting on a flight home from Slovakia at the conclusion of the 2012-2013 Euroleague season, People reported. They were both en route to Chicago to prepare for the upcoming WNBA season with the Sky.

    2013 marked Quigley’s debut season with the Chicago Sky, where she remained until 2022. She opted out to sit out the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

    Vandersloot has been playing for the Sky since 2011, save for two seasons in New York in 2023 and 2024.





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  • Listeria outbreak hospitalizes at least 10 in California and Nevada

    Listeria outbreak hospitalizes at least 10 in California and Nevada



    At least 10 people have been hospitalized in California and Nevada following a listeria outbreak under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA said in a release Saturday.

    Ready-to-eat foods produced by Fresh & Ready Foods LLC of San Fernando, California, are being voluntarily recalled, according to the company.

    More than 80 products are included in the recall, ranging from snack boxes to sandwiches and pastas. The recalled products have best-by dates between April 22 and May 19 and brand names Fresh & Ready Foods, City Point Market Fresh Food to Go and Fresh Take Crave Away.

    The recalled products were distributed throughout Arizona, California, Nevada and Washington at various locations including hospitals, hotels, corporate offices, convenience stores, airports and airlines.

    “FDA and CDC began investigating this cluster in 2024, however, there was not enough evidence in the previous investigation to identify a source for the outbreak,” the FDA said. “The investigation was reopened in April 2025 after FDA investigators found listeria in environmental samples collected from Fresh & Ready Foods, LLC during a routine surveillance inspection.”

    The agencies used whole genome sequencing to match the strain of listeria found at Fresh & Ready Foods with the outbreak causing illnesses.

    “Fresh & Ready Foods has taken immediate corrective actions including removing equipment to address this issue to ensure ongoing food safety and compliance with FDA guidance,” the company said in a release.

    Of the 10 known illnesses, eight of the hospitalizations occurred in California and two in Nevada.

    Symptoms of listeriosis, or a listeria infection, typically begin within two weeks of eating contaminated food, but can start anywhere from the day of consumption to 10 weeks later, the FDA said.

    Retailers and consumers who purchased or received the recalled products are advised by the FDA to clean and sanitize any areas they may have touched, as listeria can spread easily to other foods and surfaces.

    At-risk groups, including pregnant women and newborns, people age 65 or over and those with weakened immune systems, are encouraged by the FDA to contact a health care professional if symptoms begin, such as fever, nausea, muscle aches, vomiting or diarrhea.



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  • Hamas says it will release hostage Edan Alexander in agreement with U.S.

    Hamas says it will release hostage Edan Alexander in agreement with U.S.


    Hamas agreed to release Edan Alexander, a dual U.S. and Israeli citizen believed to be the last living U.S. citizen who remains captive in Gaza, weeks after saying it had lost contact with the group holding him hostage.

    His release is part of “the steps being taken to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow aid,” Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas’ negotiating team, said in a statement Sunday. Al-Hayya did not provide information on Alexander’s condition.

    Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, confirmed the agreement to NBC News and said he is traveling to Israel to secure Alexander’s release.

    “We are picking him up probably tomorrow,” Witkoff said. “There was a long negotiation with lots of people to thank.”

    Adi Alexander speaks with Yael Alexander at his side,
    Adi and Yael Alexander, parents of Edan Alexander, in New York City in 2024.Lev Radin / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images file

    He went on to describe this as a gesture of goodwill toward President Donald Trump, adding that it is a big moment “in large part” because of Trump.

    “The family is ecstatic,” Witkoff said.

    Alexander was serving in the Israel Defense Forces when he was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, along with roughly 250 others.

    Hamas previously agreed to release Alexander in March along with the bodies of four other dual nationals. But weeks later the militant group said it lost contact with group holding him.

    At the time, Hamas blamed the issue on Israeli strikes that hit the area where Alexander was allegedly being held.

    Hamas and Israel agreed to a temporary ceasefire in January, which led to the release of hostages in exchange for freeing Palestinians in Israeli custody. It also saw an influx of aid for Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

    But the fragile ceasefire fell apart in March after negotiations stalled on how to expand the pause in hostilities into a sustainable end to the war.

    This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.



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  • Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. says disgruntled Afans directing death threats at him and his children

    Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. says disgruntled Afans directing death threats at him and his children



    Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. says he is receiving death threats directed at both himself and his children after Saturday’s loss against the Cincinnati Reds.

    McCullers, who says he became a target of harassment from baseball fans after he allowed seven runs during a 10-run first inning, told reporters after the game that people have been sending threats to him about his performance, with some implying that they would seek to harm his two young daughters.

    “I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with just as a father, I think,” McCullers said.

    McCullers, 31, had recently returned to the field for his second major-league start after missing the last two MLB seasons to recover from injuries in his pitching arm.

    Saturday’s 13-9 loss at Houston’s Daikin Park was his second MLB game and first home game of 2025, marking his return after last pitching at Game 3 of the 2022 World Series.

    “There have been many, many threats over the years aimed at me, mostly,” McCullers said. “But I think bringing kids into the equation — threatening to find them, or next time they see us in public they’re gonna stab my kids to death, things like that — is tough to hear as a dad.”

    At a post-game press conference Saturday night, Astros manager Joe Espada expressed his frustration over the death threats, noting that he was “really upset” to hear about them.

    “It is very unfortunate that we have to deal with this,” Espada said emphatically. “After all he’s done for this city, for this team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office — I got kids too, and it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad. Very, very sad.”

    Espada added that McCullers hadn’t pitched in two and a half years, and that fans should remember that he may need some time to adjust.

    “Come on, we are better than that,” he said. “We are better than this.”



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  • Pope Leo XIV says advancement of AI played a factor in his papal name selection

    Pope Leo XIV says advancement of AI played a factor in his papal name selection



    Pope Leo XIV revealed that his papal name was partially inspired by the looming challenges of a world increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence.

    In his first formal address as the Vatican’s newly elected pope on Saturday, Leo told the College of Cardinals that he chose to name himself after Pope Leo XIII, who led the Catholic Church from his election in 1878 to his death in 1903. During his papacy, Leo XIII maintained a dedication to social issues and workers rights after much of the world had just been reshaped by the Industrial Revolution.

    Though he said there are various reasons for the name he chose, Leo XIV primarily pointed to Leo XIII’s historic encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” also known as “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor,” which laid a foundation for modern Catholic social teachings.

    Issued in 1891, the open letter emphasized that “some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.”

    “In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labour,” Leo XIV, previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, said in his address on Saturday, according to a transcript.

    Much like the Industrial Revolution, the acceleration of generative AI in recent years has already transformed the world and raised a flurry of concerns over how these new technologies will impact human labor. AI, still unregulated in much of the world, has given rise to misinformation (including by using stolen human likenesses) as well as conflicts over intellectual property and job displacement.

    Francis himself was the subject of AI disinformation in 2023 when an AI-generated image depicting him wearing a trendy puffer jacket went viral online — one of the first widespread incidents showcasing the potential of AI to mislead and misinform.

    In a warning issued by Francis early last year, the pope addressed the potential of AI to push out “partially or completely false narratives,” further cement “echo chambers” and create “new castes based on access to information and thus giving rise to new forms of exploitation and inequality.”

    Leo, the first pontiff born in the U.S., indicated in his Saturday address that he aims to continue furthering the work of Francis, who was known for his commitment to social justice.

    “It has been clearly seen in the example of so many of my Predecessors, and most recently by Pope Francis himself, with his example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life, his abandonment to God throughout his ministry and his serene trust at the moment of his return to the Father’s house,” the transcript said. “Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey, inspired by the same hope that is born of faith.”



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  • University of Miami linebacker involved in car crash that killed 2 kids

    University of Miami linebacker involved in car crash that killed 2 kids



    Adarius Hayes, a University of Miami linebacker, was involved in a fatal crash that killed a 10-year-old and 4-year-old in Hayes’ hometown of Largo, Florida.

    The crash occurred at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday when it appears a Dodge Durango collided with a Kia Soul while the Soul was making a left turn, according to the Largo Police Department. A police spokeswoman confirmed to NBC News that Hayes was involved in the crash.

    Two children — 10-year-old Jabari Elijah Solomon and 4-year-old Charlie Herbert Solomon Riveria — were killed in the crash.

    Police said several others were taken to the hospital with “serious” injuries. It does not appear that alcohol was a factor in the crash, according to police.

    “This is an ongoing and active investigation, and no further information is available for release at this time,” police said.

    Hayes was also injured in the accident, NBC South Florida reported Sunday.

    Representatives for the University of Miami’s athletics department did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Hayes’ condition. The University of Miami’s spring semester ended on Wednesday following the last day of final exams.

    Hayes played in 12 games for the university as a freshman last year and was described as a “key factor” on special teams on his team profile page. He had four tackles and one interception in first season as a freshman on the team.

    According to his profile, he saw time on the field in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in September. The University of Miami lost by one point against Iowa State in a 42-41 nailbiter game.

    Hayes played for Largo High School prior to attending the University of Miami. He was considered a “four-star prospect” and one of the nation’s top-ranked linebackers, Hayes’ university profile said.





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  • Sen. Amy Klobuchar says Democrats would have been ‘better served by a primary’ in 2024

    Sen. Amy Klobuchar says Democrats would have been ‘better served by a primary’ in 2024



    Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Sunday that the Democratic Party would have been “better served by a primary” in 2024 as she reflected on Joe Biden suspending his re-election campaign last year and endorsing Kamala Harris just months before the election.

    “You know, everything we look at in a rearview mirror after you lose an election. Yes, we would have been served better by a primary. But we are where we are,” Klobuchar told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

    She added, “I’m not interested in going backwards in time. I’m interested in going forward,” and said that she was focused on “helping the American people” under a Trump administration.

    Klobuchar also faced questions about whether Harris’ loss to Trump was a sign that women can’t win presidential elections.

    “I hope not,” Klobuchar told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker when asked whether the 2024 election means Democrats shouldn’t nominate a woman for president.

    The senator pointed out that women have successfully led other large nations, adding, “And you’ve also seen women in the U.S., incredible mayors, incredible governors. I look in the Senate — for Democrats in the last election, three of the four races where we beat the presidential ticket were women running. In Michigan, women running, in Nevada, women running, in Wisconsin.”

    “I know it’s not easy running as a woman,” Klobuchar continued. “If it was, we could play the game ‘Pick your favorite woman president.’”

    The senator also dodged a question about whether she’d rule out running for president again.

    “I am focused on my job right now,” she responded. “I’m third in leadership in the Senate, and we have a lot to do, and that means making sure people have got their Medicaid, their Social Security, and taking on these Trump tariffs that are hurting the American people and our economy.”

    “I want a better America, and I just don’t think that’s how we’re going to get there with this president,” the senator added.

    She ran for president for the first time in 2020, competing against over a dozen other Democrats for the party’s nomination, but dropped out in March of that year, ahead of Super Tuesday, the biggest election day on the primary calendar.

    After dropping out, Klobuchar went on to endorse Biden, who eventually won the Democratic nomination and the presidency.

    If Klobuchar decides to run for the Democratic nomination in 2028, it’s possible she could face some of her former foes from the 2020 race, as other Democrats including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., are also widely expected to compete again in three years.

    Other names often floated as possible contenders for the 2028 Democratic nomination include Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear; Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro; Maryland Gov. Wes Moore; Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut; Rep. Ro Khanna of California; and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.



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  • Mexican American singer Johnny Rodriguez, whose 1970s country hits topped charts, dies at 73

    Mexican American singer Johnny Rodriguez, whose 1970s country hits topped charts, dies at 73



    SAN ANTONIO — Country music star Johnny Rodriguez, a popular Mexican American singer best known for chart-topping hits in the 1970s such as “I Just Can’t Get Her Out of My Mind,” “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico” and “That’s the Way Love Goes,” has died. He was 73.

    Rodriguez died Friday in San Antonio from health complications, according to his daughter, Aubry Rodriguez. She also shared a statement on social media saying he went peacefully and was surrounded by family.

    “Dad was not only a legendary musician whose artistry touched millions around the world, but also a deeply loved husband, father, uncle, and brother whose warmth, humor, and compassion shaped the lives of all who knew him,” she wrote.

    Rodriguez was named the most promising male vocalist at the 1972 Academy of Country Music Awards, and his debut, “Introducing Johnny Rodriguez,” was nominated for album of the year in 1973. More than a dozen of his albums and singles landed in the Top 10.

    Rodriguez later said his career suffered after he began to use drugs and alcohol excessively.

    Rodriguez was born in Sabinal, Texas, a small town about 60 miles west of San Antonio and about 90 miles east of the U.S.-Mexico border.

    A Texas jury acquitted Rodriguez of murder in 1999, about a year after he walked into his mother’s house in Sabinal and shot once at an acquaintance whom he thought was a burglar. Israel Borrego, 26, died a day after he was shot.

    Rodriguez continued to play concerts in South Texas, and he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.



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  • India and Pakistan ceasefire shaken by overnight border fighting in disputed Kashmir region

    India and Pakistan ceasefire shaken by overnight border fighting in disputed Kashmir region


    A ceasefire to end the conflict between India and Pakistan was shaken by overnight border fighting in the disputed Kashmir region.

    People on both sides of the Line of Control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.

    The two countries agreed to a truce a day earlier after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades following a gun massacre of tourists that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge.

    As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all firing and military action on land, in the air and at sea. They accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal just hours later.

    Image: PAKISTAN-INDIA-KASHMIR-UNREST
    A man shakes hands with a soldier near a border post in the frontier village of Chakothi near the Line of Control (LoC), in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Sunday.SAJJAD QAYYUM / AFP – Getty Images

    Drones were spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat according to Indian officials.

    In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.

    “Most people ran as shells were being fired,” said college student Sosan Zehra who returned home Sunday. “It was completely chaotic.”

    In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, which is three kilometers from the Line of Control, people said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.

    Resident Mohammad Zahid said: “We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain.”

    U.S. President Donald Trump was the first to post about the deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.

    India, unlike Pakistan, has not said anything about Trump or the U.S. since the deal was announced. Nor has India acknowledged anyone beyond its military contact with the Pakistanis.

    Pakistan has thanked the U.S and especially Trump several times for facilitating the ceasefire.

    On Sunday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal as a positive step toward ending current hostilities and easing tensions. “He hopes the agreement will contribute to lasting peace and foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries,” added Dujarric.

    India and Pakistan have engaged in daily fighting since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.

    They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes, while insisting they themselves were only retaliating.

    India and Pakistan’s two top military officials are due to speak again on Monday.

    Kashmir is split between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety.

    They have fought two of their three wars over the region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims.



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  • How Leo became the unexpected pope

    How Leo became the unexpected pope


    “Nobody does drama like the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, shortly after emerging from the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV on Thursday.

    The quick decision, made some 33 hours after the Sistine Chapel’s doors closed and the cardinals went into sequestration, was a sign that they likely entered the conclave with enough unity around the decision to continue Francis’ legacy that they did not have to spend days tussling over a new direction for the Vatican.

    In the weeks ahead of the conclave, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, said in a joint press conference with five other American cardinals on Friday. “We listened to each other. What does the church need? What does the world need? What are we hoping for? What are we dreaming about?”

    Image: VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-CONCLAVE
    Cardinals on a balcony of the St Peter’s Basilica, as Leo made his first appearance after the being elected by the conclave. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP – Getty Images

    Leo, previously Cardinal Robert Prevost, a U.S. native with Peruvian citizenship and deep ties to Latin America, is described by the Vatican as the “second pope from the Americas,” to Francis’ first. He is known to have been close to the late pontiff, both in their daily dealings at the Vatican, and ideologically.

    Like Francis, Leo is known for his concern for the poor and marginalized, and in his first Sunday blessing as pope, quoted Francis and called for ceasefires in Ukraine and Gaza, the subjects of Francis’ final message to the world.

    The conclave is shrouded in secrecy, and many of the dealings that lead up to it remain in the shadows, but since the end of the conclave some cardinals have offered glimpses to what happened in the hours that led up to Leo’s election.

    Once the Sistine Chapel’s doors close, the cardinals swear an oath of “absolute and perpetual secrecy,” as do all Vatican staff assisting them, including cooks, cleaners and drivers. Mobile phones are confiscated, an ancient reason for a digital detox that at least one cardinal, Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, appreciated for giving him “more time on my hands just to be prayerful, just to reflect, just to be still, rather than being constantly agitated,” he told the BBC.

    On the first evening, the cardinals cast their first round votes, but black smoke billowed from the chimney, meaning no pope was chosen.

    Cardinals attend the Pro Eligendo Mass in St. Peter's Basilica
    Cardinals attend the Pro Eligendo Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the day the conclave began.Vatican Media / Corbis via Getty Images

    The cardinals adjourned for the night to Casa Santa Marta, the guesthouse were most of them were staying — and eating. Cardinal Wilton Gregory said that “a lot of dialog occurred at mealtime, coffee breaks, those moments when you can engage in smaller groups.”

    “The only method is the human method, to get to talk to another, the dialogue, to listen to one another,” Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, said, about the conversations that eventually lead to the two-thirds majority required to elect a pope.

    The next morning the cardinals returned to the Sistine Chapel and two more ballots were cast, but black smoke emerged once again.

    “Voting is like watching a glacier move, but sometimes glaciers under stress move a lot faster,” Tobin said.

    Despite wide speculation on pabalili in the wake of Francis’ death, once the conclave began, we don’t know who the other frontrunners were, or why they fell behind. But Dolan told CNN that Prevost’s name had begun to emerge from relative obscurity even before the conclave began. And he continued to confer with his brother cardinals into the conclave.

    “It wasn’t that he stood up and made this overwhelmingly convincing speech that just wowed,” said Gregory. “I don’t remember any particular intervention, but I do believe he engaged quite effectively in the smaller group conversations.”

    And while conclaves in centuries past could stretch for weeks, Prevost’s election began to take shape on the second day.

    Or as Gregory framed it: “There was a great movement on the second day, a great movement within the body that was there and there could be nothing other than the grace of God moving us toward this consensus.”

    “What I experience is that everything begins in politics and finishes mystic,” added McElroy.

    Tobin recalled the moment after casting his vote. “I walked back and I took a look at Bob, and because his name had been floating around, and he had his head in his hands,” he said. “I was praying for him, because I couldn’t imagine what happens to a human being when you’re facing something like that.”

    During a press conference on Saturday, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, himself considered one of the leading candidates for pope, said he was seated next to Prevost.

    In the minutes after his election, when the new pope was gasping for air as the weight of his new role descended on him, Tagle said he asked him if he wanted a piece of candy. Prevost accepted and Tagle pulled one from a pocket beneath his cardinal’s robe, “that’s my first act of charity,” he said he told Prevost, jokingly, “for our new Holy Father.”

    Soon after, Prevost emerged on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV, proof of an efficient and sucessful conclave.

    “This wasn’t our first rodeo,” Dolan said. “We’ve been through this 268 times.”



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