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Former Trump adviser John Bolton expected to plead guilty over mishandling classified documents: Sources

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks to reporters after speaking in a panel hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran – U.S. Representative Office at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on Aug. 17, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton is expected to plead guilty over mishandling classified information, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News Thursday.

Bolton could not immediately be reached for comment. The Department of Justice is declining to comment.

Bolton is expected to plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of sensitive documents, sources familiar with the matter said. Sources told ABC News that Bolton has also agreed to pay a fine of $2.25 million.

The count that he's pleading guilty to involves keeping classified national security information in diaries, according to a source familiar with the matter. Bolton is expected to maintain that he did not take documents with classification markings out of government offices.

Bolton is expected to maintain that there's no classified information in his 2020 memoir "The Room Where It Happened," but that he wants to take responsibility for his actions, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

There is a rearraignment scheduled for June 26, which indicates it's intended for Bolton to plead guilty.

The guilty plea would make Bolton thus far the only successful case that we've seen so far in Trump's campaign of retribution against those he perceives to be his political enemies.

Bolton was indicted by a grand jury in October 2025 on charges that he allegedly unlawfully transmitted and retained classified documents. The indictment, handed up by a federal grand jury in Maryland, charged Bolton with eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information as well as 10 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information.

Prosecutors had accused Bolton of using a non-government personal email account and messaging application to transmit at least eight documents to unauthorized individuals that contained information classified at levels ranging from "secret" to "top secret."

Seven of the transmissions allegedly occurred during the time when Bolton was serving as Trump's national security adviser in 2018 and 2019, while another document was allegedly sent by Bolton just days after Trump removed him from the administration in September 2019.

Bolton has been a target of Trump's ire since leaving Trump's first administration and publishing a tell-all book. Bolton has denied ever unlawfully removing documents with classification markings and has said no such information was published in his book.

Indictments following FBI operation

TYLER – Federal charges have been brought against two women who have ties to an East Texas company where an FBI operation was carried out on Tuesday. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell announced the federal indictments of Keyla Valdivia and Virginia Ponce Gamez on Wednesday during a court appearance at the federal courthouse in Tyler. They both filed not guilty pleas. Multiple agencies, including the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety, responded to Ximena’s Furniture at 10623 Highway 69 North and 10713 US 69 North. Neither the FBI nor local law enforcement agencies have publicly confirmed the nature of the operation. Gamez is charged with conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants, trafficking and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Valdivia is charged with conspiracy to harbor undocumented people and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Gas prices are falling despite the Iran war’s impact. Will it last?

Fuel prices are displayed at a gas station in Brooklyn on June 01, 2026, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(NEW YORKI) --Drivers stung by high gas prices have enjoyed some welcome relief over the last couple of weeks, even as the impact of the Iran war continues to choke off oil supply.

The national average price of a gallon of gas stood at $4.26 on Wednesday, marking a decline of 30 cents, or 6.5%, since a recent peak on May 21.

Still, prices remain well above where they clocked in before a historic oil shock set off by the war. In late February, the average gallon of gas ran less than $3.

The dropoff in gas prices owes to a decline in oil costs over the latter part of last month, which coincided with a slump in demand following Memorial Day weekend, some analysts said.

Still, they cautioned, gas prices may rise again as oil prices jump and the war shows little sign of an imminent resolution. If the war continues, some analysts said, gas price could top $5 a gallon by next month.

"It's so volatile," Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University, told ABC News. "If the war ended, prices would likely go down. But if it continues, you'll see prices go up."

In Georgia, the state with the lowest average gas prices, a gallon costs about $3.79, AAA data shows. In all, the AAA data says six states currently sell gas at or below an average price of $4 per gallon.

By contrast, the cost of a gallon of gas in California stands at $5.99, making it the state with the highest prices, AAA data shows. Even in California, however, the average price has fallen about 10 cents over the past week.

At the outset of the war, gasoline prices surged in response to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of global crude supply.

Oil prices began to fall in mid-May, however, as Iran and the U.S. appeared willing to strike an agreement that would reopen the strait. Crude oil is the main ingredient in auto fuel, accounting for more than half of the price paid at the pump, according to the federal U.S. Energy Information Administration.

On Friday, U.S. oil prices fell as low as about $86 a barrel, marking a drop of about 20% over a 10-day stretch.

"Gas prices have seen a big push because crude prices have dropped. Crude prices have dropped largely because the president has been indicating that we're close to an agreement with Iran," Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Houston, told ABC News.

The U.S. is a net exporter of petroleum, meaning the country produces more oil than it consumes. But since oil prices are set on a global market, U.S. prices move in response to swings in worldwide supply and demand.

Oil prices have ticked up in recent days, but they remain below $100 a barrel. As long as oil prices remain under that benchmark, gas prices may continue to hold steady or even decline, Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at Dow Jones Energy, told ABC News.

A near-term drop in gas prices appears possible because gas sellers are holding onto unusually large profit margins, meaning they could reduce retail prices even if their input costs maintain current levels, Cinquegrana said. Over the past two years, the average margin for sellers came in at about 34 cents per gallon, he added, but it currently stands at 50 cents per gallon.

"There's still some room for gas prices to move down," Cinquegrana said.

Looking weeks or months into the future, however, analysts cautioned about a rise in oil and gasoline prices unless normal tariff resumes in the Strait of Hormuz.

"It's still possible later this summer, even ahead of July 4, we could see the national average pass $5 a gallon," Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, told ABC News Live on Monday.

"We could be seeing much higher gas prices in very short order if the strait doesn't reopen," he added.

USDA confirms detection of New World screwworm in Texas

Herd of cows on the field (Kinga Krzeminska/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins confirmed the detection of New World screwworm in a cow in Texas after the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned Wednesday that the parasitic fly may have arrived in the mainland U.S after moving north from countries in Central America and Mexico, which have been dealing with an outbreak in livestock since at least 2022.

Rollins said that the screwworm was detected in a three-week-old bovine in Zavala County, Texas. According to the Department of Agriculture, the larvae were identified in the animal's umbilical area, and said that, so far, "there have been no further detections" of the screwworm in the U.S.

"USDA and?Texas Animal Health officials are taking immediate action?to?contain?and eradicate NWS from the?area," Rollins added. The Department of Agriculture confirmed that they formed a unified Incident Command Team with the Texas Animal Health Commission and is deploying personnel to the area.

New World screwworm (NWS) is a species of parasitic flies that feed on live tissue -- typically livestock. Human infections are quite rare and U.S. health officials have previously noted the risk to public health is very low but spread to livestock could decimate the cattle industry.

The name refers to the way in which maggots screw themselves into the tissue of animals with their sharp mouth hooks, causing extensive damage and often leading to death.

In August 2025, the U.S. reported the first human case of NWS in the country in an international traveler. The individual recovered and there was no evidence of further spread.

Screwworm was largely eradicated in livestock for decades in the U.S. through a technique in which male screwworm flies are sterilized and then released into the environment to mate with females until the population dies out. The U.S. officials are currently releasing 100 million sterile flies a week in the U.S. and Mexico.

Since eradication in 1966, the flies have been spotted domestically in isolated outbreaks through the American southwest in the 1970s and the Florida Keys in 2016.

People who travel to outbreak areas, spend time among livestock animals, sleep outdoors and have an open wound are at greater risk of becoming infested with screwworm, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes.

According to a press release from the Department of Agriculture, actions will include a 12.5-mile "infested zone" around the detection area, along with quarantines, movement controls and additional surveillance.

The department also said it would expedite the targeted release of sterile New World screwworm files from the ground, a tactic that was used successfully to stop the 2016 outbreak in the Florida Keys. The department said this would be in addition to the 4 million sterile flies per week currently being released by air in the area.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rollins assured Americans that the "food supply is 100% safe" amid potential disruptions to the U.S. cattle supply due to NWS.

Teenage girl accused of stabbing 3 horses appears in juvenile court

A horse, named Detail, who was unable to compete due to a stabbing injury. (Obtained by ABC News)

(LAS VEGAS) -- The teenage girl accused of stabbing three horses made her first appearance in juvenile court in Nevada on Thursday as prosecutors hope to move her case to adult court.

The judge said he believed the teen was a public safety risk and ordered her to remain in custody with no bail, ABC Las Vegas affiliate KTNV reported. She's due to return to court on July 8 when attorneys will discuss the possibility of moving her case to adult court, according to the Clark County District Attorney's office.

The girl -- who was in Las Vegas for the National Barrel Horse Association's Professional's Choice Vegas Super Show -- is accused of attacking three horses in a barn early Saturday, according to Las Vegas police and the NBHA.

She allegedly had access to the barn and authorities believe she may have used a knife to wound the horses, authorities said.

The horses' injuries were non-life-threatening but the wounds did keep the animals from competing in the event, which took place over the weekend, according to police.The teenager was arrested for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal -- horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, authorities said.

The Clark County District Attorney's office said Tuesday that it wants the teen charged in adult court.

"These allegations involve deliberate acts of extreme cruelty against defenseless animals and have had a significant impact on the victims, the owners, and the broader equestrian community," DA Steve Wolfson said in a statement.

Trump says he will nominate Todd Blanche as attorney general

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump, during a dinner Wednesday evening, announced his intent to nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the post permanently.

In a video shared on social media by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, Trump is seen in the Rose Garden saying that he will instruct his team to start the process to formally nominate Blanche to the post on Thursday.

Earlier, Trump's announcement was confirmed to ABC News by two sources at the dinner.

Blanche, who was once Trump's personal attorney, served as the Department of Justice's deputy attorney general until the president tapped him to serve as acting attorney general following Pam Bondi's ouster.

Trump hinted at the move in a pre-taped interview with the program "Pod Force One" on Wednesday, saying that he thinks Blanche will be nominated to the attorney general position.

"I wanted to see how he's received, you know, we put him as acting, and he's done a very good job, but I've known him a long time," Trump said.

In recent weeks, Blanche has been at the center of the controversy over the Justice Department's so-called $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund," ostensibly established to benefit the president's allies.

On Tuesday, Blanche told Congress that the department was "not moving forward with the fund."

The move came after heavy pressure from Republican congressional leadership and marked a significant defeat for Blanche, who had spent the past two weeks seeking to defend the $1.776 billion fund while refusing to rule out the prospect that settlements could be paid out to defendants who joined in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol -- including those who had been convicted for assaulting law enforcement.

But on Wednesday, the president himself admitted he did not know what the fund's future would be after a federal judge temporarily blocked it.

"I'd have to ask the lawyers. I don't know," Trump said when pressed on whether the plan was truly dead.

"The weaponization fund, as far as I'm concerned, was a beautiful thing," he added.

Before Blanche told lawmakers the administration was nixing the fund, several Senate Republicans had balked at the plan, telling him they would not be able to pass Trump's legislative agenda until the issue was resolved and even raised concerns about losing in the upcoming, high-stakes midterm elections as a result of the controversial settlement fund.

As acting attorney general, Blanche also secured the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over his post of seashells that the Justice Department claims amounted to a threat against the president.

Blanche has shrugged off the suggestion that he would use the Justice Department to more aggressively target perceived foes of the president.

North Korea unveils a new plant to produce fuel for nuclear weapons

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear bomb fuels, with leader Kim Jong Un announcing plans to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.”

Some experts still question whether North Korea has functioning nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. But the nuclear plant’s disclosure implies that Kim is eager to cement his country’s status as a nuclear power and has no intentions of placing his bomb program on a negotiating table.

After visiting the site on Wednesday, Kim said he and other top officials “confirmed the order of priority for implementing the ambitious future plan designed to beef up our state’s nuclear forces at an exponential rate,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The site is likely a uranium enrichment plant

KCNA said the facility used “more sophisticated technology” but didn’t provide further details like its location. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff assessed the site as a uranium enrichment plant and said it was closely coordinating with the United States to monitor North Korean nuclear activities.

KCNA photos showed Kim walking through narrow aisles lined with dense rows of silver tubes and pipes, in what appeared to be a centrifuge hall. Another image showed him speaking with senior officials in a meeting room, where a blurred graphic depicting a cone-shaped object was spread across a table. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the graphic showed a warhead design.

It’s the third time that North Korea has disclosed a uranium enrichment site. In 2010, North Korea showed one at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting American scholars, and in 2024, North Korea released photos of another covert uranium-enrichment plant, which experts believe was at its Kangson complex.

Experts say the newly disclosed site is likely an additional uranium enrichment facility that North Korea is suspected to have been building at Yongbyon.

“Based on a preliminary analysis, it appears that this facility is likely the newly added Yongbyon enrichment facility. It appears to have two levels and represents a substantial expansion of enrichment capability,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“North Korea’s ongoing nuclear expansion does not have a near-term end in sight,” he said.

Last September, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said that North Korea was operating a total of four uranium enrichment facilities including the Yongbyon complex, and that they were running everyday.

Kim wants nuclear weapons state

During his plant visit, Kim said the urgency for bolstering up the country’s nuclear war deterrent, both in quality and quantity, has grown because of confrontations with “the most ferocious enemies,” an apparent reference to the U.S. and South Korea.

Kim said exercising “the position of a nuclear weapons state” is his country’s “invariable” stand. He said North Korea’s nuclear materials production capacity has more than doubled compared with five years ago, a claim that cannot be verified independently.

Experts say Kim wants an international recognition as a nuclear state so that he could demand the lifting of U.N. economic sanctions. They say Kim would ultimately push for arms reductions talks with the U.S. as a way to win concessions in return for a partial surrender of his nuclear capability.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to resume diplomacy with Kim, but the North Korean leader responded the Americans must first drop its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition for talks.

Some question North Korea’s nuclear program

Since his first round of nuclear diplomacy collapsed in 2019, Kim has performed a provocative run of weapons tests and vowed repeatedly to “exponentially” expand the country’s nuclear arsenal.

This led to many experts believing North Korea now likely has nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. But some still note North Korea hasn’t proved it mastered last-remaining technological hurdles to obtain such missiles, including ensuring its warheads survive the conditions of atmospheric reentry. They say North Korea also need to perfect technologies to place multiple nuclear warheads on a single missile to defeat U.S. missile shields.

A senior South Korean official told lawmakers in 2018 that North Korea was estimated to have manufactured between 20 and 60 nuclear weapons, but some experts now put the size of the North’s arsenal at more than 100 warheads.

In 2023, North Korea unveiled a type of battlefield nuclear warheads. Some analysts speculated the warhead’s unveiling might be a prelude to a nuclear test. But North Korea hasn’t carried out a test, which would be its seventh detonation overall and the first since September 2017.

In brief: Anya Taylor-Joy stars in ‘Lucky’ trailer and more

Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe are rolling along into a new collaboration. Deadline reports Groff has joined the cast of the Vietnam War thriller Trust the Man, where he'll act alongside Radcliffe. This reunites the actors after they starred and both won Tonys for their performances in the most recent Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Trust the Man will be written and directed by Will Graham ...

The trailer for Anya Taylor-Joy's new limited series Lucky has arrived. Apple TV is set to release the show's first two episodes on July 15, and will follow with new episodes every Wednesday until the Aug. 19 finale. Lucky is based on The New York Times bestseller by Marissa Stapley, which follows a multimillion-dollar heist that goes sideways. Starring alongside Taylor-Joy are Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Drew Starkey ...

Tickets for Supergirl are now on sale. DC Studios co-head James Gunn made the announcement in a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday. "Get tickets now and tag who you’re bringing to see #Supergirl," he captioned his announcement post. Milly Alcock plays the titular cousin of Superman, Kara Zor-El, in the new film, which is directed by Craig Gillespie. It flies into theaters on June 26 ...

Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos unpack their new docuseries ‘Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House’

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos for 'Live with Kelly and Mark.' (Disney/Miller Mobley)

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos executive produce a new six-part docuseries called Squatters: Get the F*** Out of My House.

The docuseries, which follows ordinary people blindsided by manipulators who know exactly how to weaponize tenant protections, is now available to watch on Hulu. Ripa and Consuelos spoke to ABC Audio about the unbelievable true stories included in the series.

"The title didn't come out of nowhere. This is what these very frustrated homeowners keep saying because they are so desperate," Ripa said.

Consuelos said that the squatters featured in the show "are so good at finding the loopholes in the law ... to frustrate the owners of the homes."

"We've sold homes," Consuelos said. "You just assume you're selling your home, and you go check on it, and you're not gonna find a family that has moved into your house."

Not only that, but you don't assume you'll find multiple families there and discover that "they're leasing the house from a man who claims that's his house," Consuelos continued.

While the married couple have never encountered squatters on any of their properties, Ripa says she has a friend who dealt with squatters.

"He owns properties in California and he said that this is his life," Ripa said. "There's so many times that he has leased a property to a tenant who's never paid rent and then he cannot evict them and so it is a part of his life."

Through those experiences, Ripa said her friend has "had to become better than the squatters."

"It is very common. I keep saying we could do episodes not just in each state, we could episodes in every county of every state or in every borough," Ripa said. "It's not a unique thing."

Alec Burleson has 3 RBIs, Andre Pallante works 5 2/3 innings as Cardinals defeat Rangers 5-3

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alec Burleson drove in three runs, Andre Pallante threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers 5-3 on Wednesday night.

The Cardinals improved to 26-3 when leading after seven innings and got back to .500 at home, while the Rangers saw their five-game win streak end.

Pallante (6-4) allowed three hits and struck out five. After reliever JoJo Romero gave up a two-run triple to Joc Pederson in the seventh, Ryne Stanek followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings and Riley O’Brien worked the ninth for his 15th save.

Burleson hit a two-out RBI single in the first inning. Josh Jung answered for Texas with a run-scoring single in the third.

The Cardinals had three straight hits to begin their half of the third, and Burleson drove in two with a double to right field that made it 3-1.

Thomas Saggese drove in a run in the fifth with his first career triple, and Nelson Velázquez brought one more home with a single in the sixth.

Texas’ MacKenzie Gore (4-5) worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and four runs while striking out five.
Up next

The Rangers host Cleveland on Friday, with RHP Kumar Rocker (2-5, 3.54 ERA) facing Guardians LHP Parker Messick (6-1, 2.21).

The Cardinals continue their homestand against Cincinnati starting on Friday. RHP Kyle Leahy (5-3, 4.25) starts opposite Reds RHP Brady Singer (2-5, 6.18).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Smith has tiebreaking 2-run triple in 8th to help the Astros beat the Pirates 11-9

HOUSTON (AP) — Cam Smith hit a tiebreaking two-run triple to cap Houston’s six-run eighth inning, Isaac Paredes homered and the Astros overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-9 on Wednesday night.

Yordan Alvarez had four hits and two RBIs for the Astros. Smith and Paredes had two hits and three RBIs apiece, and Jeremy Peña went 2 for 3 with a double.

AJ Blubaugh (3-2) pitched the eighth inning to get the victory. Josh Hader made his season debut and worked a scoreless ninth for the save, ending the Pirates’ winning streak at four.

Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti, who went 4-1 in five starts with a 0.93 ERA in May, allowed four runs in four innings.

Henry Davis hit his first career grand slam in the fourth inning for Pittsburgh. Nick Gonzalez had a homer, double and three RBIs.

The Pirates have scored nine-plus runs in four consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors this season, and has struck out at least nine batters in eight straight games.

Pittsburgh’s Gregory Soto (4-1), who faced four batters, allowed three runs and three hits and walked one.
Up next

Pirates RHP Jared Jones (0-0, 10.48 ERA) was set to start Thursday against RHP Kai-Wei Teng (3-3, 2.57) in the series finale.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Arrest warrant issued for 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk for misdemeanor speeding charge

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has issued an arrest warrant for San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk on a misdemeanor charge of exhibition of speeding.

District attorney’s spokesman Sean Webby confirmed Wednesday that the warrant has been issued in response to a video Aiyuk posted to social media last December that appeared to show him speeding on the road in front of Levi’s Stadium.

The California Post first reported the arrest warrant.

Aiyuk posted an apology a few days after the video that appeared to show him driving well over the posted speed limit of 40 mph.

“Sorry ya’ll, my car content won’t come with speeding anymore,” Aiyuk wrote in a social media post. “Was praying with my son tonight and wouldn’t want anybody else to miss out on an opportunity to do the same with their loved ones! My apologies.”

Aiyuk is currently on the reserve/left squad list after he stopped showing up late last season as he rehabilitates a knee injury that has sidelined him since October 2024.

The issues with the 49ers and Aiyuk go back to last summer when the team previously voided $27 million guaranteed in his contract for next season for failing to participate in meetings and other team activities.

General manager John Lynch has said he doesn’t expect Aiyuk to play again for the 49ers. The team has been waiting to see if another team is willing to trade for Aiyuk. The 49ers otherwise could either cut him or keep him on the reserve list.

Aiyuk has three years remaining on the four-year, $120 million extension he signed last year. But he now has no guaranteed money remaining.

The 28-year-old Aiyuk has 294 catches for 4,305 yards and 25 TDs since being drafted in the first round in 2020.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Commissioner Adam Silver, at finals, says NBA continues to move toward league in Europe

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The NBA’s hopes of starting a new independent league in Europe by the end of 2027 are on schedule, Commissioner Adam Silver said before the start of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.

That plan — a joint effort involving the NBA and FIBA, the sport’s global governing body — has been in the works for years, but is nearing a launch at a particularly exciting time for the game in Europe with the burgeoning superstardom of San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama.

The unanimous Defensive Player of the Year this season has led the Spurs to the finals, and even 2:30 a.m. start times for games in his native France aren’t totally deterring plans for watch parties and other gatherings to celebrate Wembanyama’s first appearance in the NBA’s championship series.

“We are very much on schedule,” Silver said. “It is our hope and anticipation that that league will launch in the ’27-28 season in Europe. We are on track. Final bids from franchises are due at the end of this month, at the end of the month in June. We’ve seen record interest and we’re very excited about the ongoing opportunity and working closely with FIBA, our federation.”

Wembanyama is going home to France next season, with the Spurs set to play two regular-season games against the New Orleans Pelicans, first in Paris on Jan. 14 and then in Manchester, England, on Jan. 17. Paris and Manchester are on the list of cities expected to be part of the planned league in Europe.

Wembanyama and the Spurs played a pair of games in Paris in January 2025, with tickets for those matchups against the Indiana Pacers getting snapped up quickly. The NBA’s interest in expanding to Europe goes back long before Wembanyama’s arrival in the league, but his rise to stardom has clearly sparked additional interest in the NBA over in that part of the world.

“Presumably, we will be in position in the fall to award franchises,” Silver said.

Among other topics Silver discussed in his annual pre-finals news conference Wednesday:
Domestic expansion

The NBA announced formal plans earlier this year to explore expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas, and Silver said that “discussions are ongoing.”

Multiple groups, Silver said, are interested in having teams in those cities. But there is no timetable for when expansion could happen, though Silver remains committed to deciding if it will by the end of 2026 — as he has said multiple times before.

“It’s not a foregone conclusion that we will expand … but what we’ve told all interested parties is our board will make a decision by the end of this calendar year,” Silver said.
Clippers investigation

The independent investigation into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Kawhi Leonard and a California-based sustainability services company allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to circumvent league salary cap rules is ongoing, Silver said.

But he sounds eager for a conclusion.

“My instruction to them is we can’t be investigating forever. At some point you have to wrap it up,” Silver said. “But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right.

“My job is to follow the facts and what essentially happens here is that a factual report together with findings will be made by this independent firm. That’s presented to me. It’s then ultimately my role to determine what the appropriate discipline, if any, should be meted out based on their findings.”

Silver added that he thinks the league is “close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up” for a number of reasons, namely the Clippers need to know what — if anything — will happen, as do the league’s other 29 teams.

The Clippers have steadfastly denied wrongdoing since the story was first reported last year by journalist Pablo Torre.
Honoring Stern

The NBA still doesn’t have a major award named for former Commissioner David Stern, who retired in 2014 and died in 2020.

The league has wanted to change that for years. It’s an interesting dilemma — trying to find an award important enough to bear his name, Silver said of his former boss.

“I almost think there’s nothing that we can do in some ways that will ultimately feel that he’s getting his just due. … We’re going to come up with the right way to honor him,” Silver said.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Amid talk of Trump attending NBA Finals game in New York, Silver says sports can be unifying

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — There has been no announcement that President Donald Trump plans to attend an NBA Finals game at New York’s Madison Square Garden next week, though Commissioner Adam Silver hinted at Trump’s intentions Wednesday when he said sports remain something that unifies even in divided times.

Silver, without saying Trump’s name, responded to a question about “unique people” coming to finals games in New York and how the league prepares for such events. The New York Post, citing anonymous sources, reported Wednesday that Garden officials have “performed security walkthroughs” in anticipation of a Trump visit.

Game 3 of the series is Monday in New York, Trump’s hometown. The series opened Wednesday in San Antonio, and Game 2 is there on Friday.

“I think what’s really so special about sports in our society — and it’s a little bit of a cliché, but our increasingly divided society, and that goes to people who will be attending the first home game at Madison Square Garden — it truly brings people together,” Silver said. “It creates a sense of connectivity among people. It creates a sense of belonging, and I feel that every day.”

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Wednesday evening.

Trump is no stranger to major sporting events. He told reporters last week that Knicks owner James Dolan invited him to the NBA Finals and that he would have gone to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals — but the Knicks needed only four games to win that series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Trump called the Knicks’ return to the finals for the first time since 1999 “great to see.”

Trump has routinely dropped in on prominent sporting events during his time in politics. He’s taken in the College Football Playoff championship and caught a prime-time NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets just days before the 2024 election.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Wembanyama scores 26 but struggles from field in NBA Finals debut as Spurs fall to Knicks in Game 1

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama got blessed by nuns before the game, got the loudest ovation when the starters were announced, pumped his fist to the crowd a few times and generally seemed to enjoy his first taste of the NBA Finals.

Until the ending.

The French star had 26 points in his finals debut, though had to work for all of them — misfiring on 15 of his 21 shots from the field, some of them even hitting the top of the backboard, and seeing waves of New York defenders all game long. The worst part of all for Wembanyama, the best defensive player in the game, was seeing the Knicks score the game’s final 11 points and steal away home-court advantage with a 105-95 victory.

“I was bad tonight,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not more complicated than that.”

He said it calmly, without panic, very matter-of-factly. The Spurs lost a game. The series isn’t over. He’s not worried, yet.

“I would say that he definitely holds himself accountable,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I expect he’ll learn a lot of things from tonight’s game and come out with a good approach in Game 2.”

There’s been a history of that for both Wembanyama and the Spurs. They lost home-court advantage to Portland in Round 1 before winning the final three games of that series, lost home-court again to Minnesota in Round 2 after dropping Game 1, and didn’t even have the home-court edge against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals — a series where San Antonio trailed 2-1 and 3-2 before prevailing.

Then again, they’re playing a Knicks team that hasn’t lost since April. And it’s now June. New York is 12-0 in its last 12 games, and the Spurs now have to try and beat them in four of the next six to win this title.

“Obviously, we’ve been down in a series before,” Wembanyama said. “Never in the finals, obviously. But I’m not kicking myself about anything really. I’m not worried the slightest.”

It’s not a question if he can bounce back, or if the finals lights are too bright. Wembanyama has handled everything that has been thrown his way since he entered the NBA three years ago — even the scare that came last year when his season ended early because of deep vein thrombosis — with what would appear to be ease.

Beating the Knicks won’t be easy. But Wembanyama finding a way to play better on Friday in Game 2, that’s to be expected.

“Players come along every once in a while that, in addition to having this incredible skill, love the promotional side of it and want to play that role for the league,” Commissioner Adam Silver said of Wembanyama before the game. “We saw the role he played at All-Star, even leading the other young players, saying, let’s take this seriously, this really matters.”

Even going back to the years when the NBA was waiting for Wembanyama, Silver has never wanted to say if he or the league has an expectation for him. The reasoning is simple: There was, and is, enough pressure on Wembanyama. Silver, to his credit, hasn’t added to it.

“He came in highly touted. He was somebody who even before he came into the NBA was blowing up the internet in terms of his highlights,” Silver said. “Did I have a specific expectation in terms of numbers of years it would take him to get to the finals? No. But I would say, just trying to be an objective observer, he’s ahead of any timeline that people had in mind.”

That may be true. He’s just not ahead in the series. And Friday’s test will be a big one.

“We’re all confident,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “I feel like that is kind of who he is. He never backs down from the moment. He always kind of steps up and meets it.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba