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Six current Empire Strykers players were part of the winning team claiming this year’s The Soccer Tournament (TST) prize. Mounir Alami, Brandon Gomez, Momo Gueye, Jose Gonzalez, Alan Perez and Andy Reyes all were members of the Bumpy Pitch FC side that defeated Pumas de Alabama 2-1 in dramatic target score time on Monday, June 9, to capture the Cary, N.C.-based tournament’s $1 million prize. “The chemistry that we found with Bumpy Pitch FC was incredible,” Gomez said. “I was blessed to be put on the field with guys who are so experienced.” Gomez was named to the all-tournament team…

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”  that the House of Representatives passed on May 22 includes a 3.5% tax on outbound remittance money sent primarily by immigrants to their families abroad. At first glance, this may seem like an easy way to generate revenue. But in reality, it’s a short-sighted, harmful policy that will hurt the very people who can least afford it, push money transfers into the shadows and ultimately damage the state and U.S. economy. I can say this with confidence based on research I conducted for my book, “Remittances and International Development: The Invisible Forces Shaping Community” (Routledge, 2020). In the…

Recently, a Reddit user asked: How do you decide whether to repair or replace a broken appliance? The user’s decade-old induction range wasn’t working properly, but replacing it would be expensive. Still, they liked the range and it fit perfectly in their home, so they were hesitant to buy a new one. Reddit users suggested finding the repair manual, researching a DIY solution and seeking out a factory-authorized repair person. Here’s what home and appliance experts recommend if you find yourself in a similar situation: 1. Try a low-cost fix Sometimes the owner’s manual contains troubleshooting tips that lead to…

By MIKE CATALINI NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges accusing her of assaulting and interfering with immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention center during a congressional oversight visit at the facility. “They will not intimidate me. They will not stop me from doing my job,” she said outside the courthouse in Newark after the brief hearing. McIver, a Democrat, was charged by interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump, following the May 9 visit to Newark’s Delaney Hall. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses the privately owned, 1,000-bed facility…

The Buss family’s sale of the majority ownership of the Lakers to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of this year. In a Wednesday morning news release distributed by Business Wire, both sides confirmed that Jeanie Buss will remain governor of the franchise and continue to “oversee all team operations on a day-to-day basis for the foreseeable future.” The sale of the Lakers from the Buss Family Trust to Walter came at a valuation of approximately $10 billion, making it the largest sale of a North American professional sports team all-time.…

By FATIMA HUSSEIN WASHINGTON (AP) — The budget bill championed by President Donald Trump could complicate next year’s tax filing season after the IRS lost one-quarter of its employees through staffing cuts, an independent watchdog reported Wednesday. The IRS workforce has fallen from 102,113 workers to 75,702 over the past year, according to the latest National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress. The report Wednesday offered the first official numbers on the IRS job losses associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Most of the employees took the “fork in the road” resignation offer from DOGE rather than waiting to…

By TIM SULLIVAN President Donald Trump’s spending cuts and border security package would inject roughly $150 billion into his mass deportation agenda over the next four years, funding everything from an extension of the United States’ southern border wall to detention centers to thousands of additional law enforcement staff. The current annual budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government’s primary department for immigration enforcement, is around $10 billion. If the Republican president’s big bill passes in Congress, the immense cash infusion could reshape America’s immigration system by expanding the law enforcement and detention network while increasing costs to legally…

Good legislation is rare out of Sacramento, but we have managed to find a particularly sensible bill. Senate Bill 84 will encourage businesses which may be out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act to correct those violations without being penalized. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, and coauthored by Democratic Sens. Angelique Ashby of Sacramento, Anna Caballero of Merced, Sasha Renée Pérez of the San Gabriel Valley and Aisha Wahab of Silicon Valley, is a balanced approach to a complex issue. As summarized by the legislative counsel, “This bill would prohibit a construction-related accessibility…

By JOCELYN GECKER, AP Education Writer For her 6th grade honors class, math teacher Ana Sepúlveda wanted to make geometry fun. She figured her students “who live and breathe soccer” would be interested to learn how mathematical concepts apply to the sport. She asked ChatGPT for help. Within seconds, the chatbot delivered a five-page lesson plan, even offering a theme: “Geometry is everywhere in soccer — on the field, in the ball, and even in the design of stadiums!” It explained the place of shapes and angles on a soccer field. It suggested classroom conversation starters: Why are those shapes…

By MIKE STOBBE and LAURAN NEERGAARD ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers began their first meeting Wednesday under intense scrutiny from medical experts worried about Americans’ access to lifesaving shots. First on the agenda is an awkward scenario: Kennedy already announced COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women, and his new advisers aren’t scheduled to vote on whether they agree. Yet government scientists prepared meeting materials calling vaccination “the best protection” during pregnancy — and said most children hospitalized for COVID-19 over the past year were unvaccinated.…