President Donald Trump and billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s feud exploded on social media, and one potential 2028 presidential contender added his two cents into the mix.
ESPN star Stephen A. Smith fired off a post on X in the midst of the president and Musk’s extremely public break-up in front of millions of social media users. Musk asked his X user base whether it was time to "create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle."
The "First Take" pundit fired off another take, expressing interest in what Musk asked.
"Mr. @elonmusk I’m all for moving America to the CENTER. I’m definitely down for that cause! Sign me up!!!" he wrote.
Smith has expressed his dissatisfaction with both sides of the political aisle, criticizing how Democrats handled governing the country over the last four years, particularly with open borders, high spending, identity politics and cancel culture. He’s also had his criticisms of Trump, pointing to the administration’s dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
He’s also maintained that he may have "no choice" but to consider a presidential run.
As Smith has toyed with a presidential run, Trump and Musk have gone toe-to-toe after months of cozying up with one another. The main issue appeared to be opposite ideas about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was drafted and for which Trump has expressed support.
Musk then made a jab over Trump’s former relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The White House said earlier on Thursday that a source familiar with the Epstein matter said it is widely known that Trump kicked Epstein out of his Palm Beach Golf Club. The source also pointed out that the administration released the Epstein files, which included Trump’s name, and nothing was new about Musk’s revelation.
Shortly after Musk posted about Trump being in the Epstein file, Trump posted his response to Truth Social.
"I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress," Trump said, turning his attention to the "big, beautiful bill" that is before the Senate. "It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that."
"I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" the president added.
He's also a prolific scorer, winning the Art Ross Trophy five times as the player leading the NHL in regular-season points.
McDavid also shares similarities with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. McDavid and Gretzky are the only two players to be named the NHL MVP by unanimous vote. While Gretzky is often referred to as "The Great One," he believes McDavid is the greatest active NHL player.
"No question, he's the best player in hockey," Gretzky said during a guest appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show."
"Unselfish young man. He loves playing in Edmonton, loves being the captain of the Oilers. Desperately wants a Stanley Cup, that's what he wants, cares about the most. Great for our game, great for the city of Edmonton. What a year. Scored the winning goal in the Four Nations Cup in overtime."
For the second consecutive year, the Oilers and Florida Panthers meet in the Stanley Cup Final. McDavid and the Oilers took Game 1 of the series Wednesday night.
The 4-3 victory was a come-from-behind win for Edmonton, which was down 3-1 at one point in the game. But the Oilers scored three unanswered goals for a statement victory on their home ice.
After tying the game in the third period at three, an overtime period was needed to determine the winner of Game 1.
When the Oilers held a man advantage, McDavid capitalized by making a nifty saucer pass to teammate Leon Draisaitl, who flew in front of the net to get the puck past Panthers' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Gretzky, who works as an NHL analyst for TNT broadcasts, predicted how McDavid's assist would set up teammate Mattias Ekholm to make what ended up being the game-tying goal in the third period of Wednesday's matchup with the Panthers.
"They're smothering them. They're playing really smart. They're playing the Rick Tocchet defense. They've got that forward in the middle," Gretzky said during the second intermission. "They've given them the outside. Connor's going to have to take it around the net or stop up and hit the late guy, because they're cutting everything off going to the net."
Gretzky then admitted his prediction was "luck," before praising McDavid.
"He's the best player in the world," Gretzky said. "He knows what he's doing. I just got lucky with that statement."
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The series shifts to South Florida for Games 3 and 4.
Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
It’s a new look in the ACC for college football as Bill Belichick becoming the North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach shakes things up in one of the country’s top conferences.
Dabo Swinney, the longtime Clemson Tigers head coach, described the conference as playing the "New England Patriots," which includes former Patriots coach Bill O’Brien coming on as Boston College’s new leader on the sidelines.
Swinney and Belichick had a joint interview with ESPN’s Rece Davis, where he admitted not being too worried about the accomplished NFL coach joining the college ranks.
"We’re going to lean on him heavy to figure out how to defeat y’all’s punt block team or whatever else," Swinney said of Allen.
After the Tigers take on the Tar Heels, they will have to see O’Brien’s Eagles the following week.
"We play the New England Patriots this year," Swinney said. "We go to North Carolina, and then we go to Boston College to play Bill O’Brien. So, I feel like I’m playing the whole Patriots organization in about a two-week span there."
While a Belichick-led UNC squad poses a new challenge for the ACC, Clemson has handled them nicely since Swinney took over in 2018. The Tigers have beaten the Tar Heels 14 times over that span, including their last matchup in 2023 – a 31-20 victory for Clemson.
Meanwhile, Belichick is hoping to snap UNC’s losing streak against Clemson, which sits at six games. In their last 10 matchups, the Tar Heels are 1-9.
Clemson went 10-4 last season in Swinney’s 16th season as head coach, reaching the expanded College Football Playoff. They ended up losing to Texas, 38-24, in the first round to end their season.
The Tigers return quarterback Cade Klubnik, who had a career year under Swinney in 2024. They also added Tom Allen from Penn State on defense in the transfer portal.
ESPN has Clemson ranked 11th overall in their preseason poll.
Boxer and influencer Jake Paul weighed in on the highly-publicized feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Thursday.
In a post on X, Paul suggested that the spat between Trump and Musk was symptomatic of a broader problem within the Republican party.
"One of the problems with the Republican Party is on display today (As a current Republican) We unfortunately have these Alpha male egos and leaders who aren’t mature enough sometimes. They’re 50+ years old and diss tweeting each other Elon and Trump are great but they need to work together and not make America look bad," Paul wrote.
Paul has been a vocal supporter of Trump over the last year, endorsing the president prior to the election in a lengthy YouTube video in late October. Paul pointed to several statistics about the economy under the Biden-Harris administration in comparison to Trump’s presidency and called on voters to vote for change.
"Democrats have been in power for 12 of the last 16 years. So, if we aren’t happy with the current political state, economic state, environmental state, then who is to blame?"
Paul also addressed women’s reproductive rights, transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, and protecting women’s spaces in the video.
"As a future father, you will find me dead before I send my daughter to a school where men can go into her bathroom and where men can compete against her in sports. It’s bulls---. That’s taking away a woman’s rights."
Paul celebrated Trump's November victory and even attended the president's inauguration on January 20. That day the boxer event criticized those who opposed Trump after the president's inaugural speech.
"Any American who isn’t in support of Trump after this speech simply hates America and doesn’t want what’s best for this country and the world," Paul wrote on X.
But now, Paul has proven willing to be critical of the Republican party as well.
Caitlin Clark was given a two-week timeline with her quad injury, and there will be no early return.
In a much-anticipated matchup between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky, Clark will miss a fourth consecutive game.
"I'll miss this weekend's game, but after that, it's day-by-day and see how I feel, and just turn to the medical staff and what they think," Clark told reporters on Thursday, via ESPN. I feel like I've made a lot of progress and I feel good, and I'm not going to rush coming back. It's just not worth it. But after this weekend, I'll be reevaluated and we'll have a better idea of when I'll return."
The first matchup between Indiana and Chicago had some fireworks, as Clark hit Angel Reese with a flagrant foul. Reese took exception and had to be separated while jawing at Clark.
And while Clark surely wants to be on the floor for this one, the injury is too tricky to further risk anything.
"It's the type of injury like, you don't know, when I wake up, I'll feel different than the day before," Clark said.
She added that she could return on Tuesday against the Atlanta Dream - their next opponent would be the reigning champion New York Liberty, whom Clark got injured against, on Saturday.
Clark admitted that being injured is "testing [her patience] a little bit," but she's trying to use the injury to her advantage by learning on the sidelines - something head coach Stephanie White wanted her to do.
"It's taught me a lot," Clark said. "I've never been in that position before of actually getting to watch from the bench for an extended period of time… It's the same as you turn on the TV and watch the NBA or you watch other WNBA games -- that's the best way to learn basketball, is just watch and absorb it, and it's the same when I'm not active, too."
In her four games this season, Clark is averaging 19.0 points, 9.3 assists, and 6.0 rebounds. She already has a triple-double and double-double on the season.
Team USA women's soccer great Megan Rapinoe is standing by what she said in 2019.
"You cannot win championships without the gays," she said to her wife, Sue Bird during their "A Touch More" podcast.
Rapinoe said something to the same effect during Team USA's Women's World Cup title run in 2019 after a quarterfinal victory over France, the host country of that year's tournament.
"Go gays!" Rapinoe said at the time, per The Guardian. "You can't win a championship without gays on your team – it's never been done before, ever. That's science, right there!
"I'm motivated by people who like me, who are fighting for the same things. I take more energy from that than from trying to prove anything wrong. That's draining on yourself. But for me, to be gay and fabulous, during Pride month at the World Cup, is nice."
It's Pride Month now, which brought about the question from Bird to Rapinoe about what it means to play during it.
"Our team was super gay in 2019," Rapinoe responded. "A lot of us were out, a lot of our fans were gay, a lot of the other players were gay. First and easiest thing to ensure you have is gay players on our team."
In 2019, Team USA had five players who were publicly LGBTQ players. Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris, two of the team’s stars, were engaged at the time, while coach Jillian Ellis was also out.
That year, Outsports also reported that around 40 lesbian and bisexual players participated in the Women’s World Cup compared to less than 20 in 2015.
Rapinoe aided Team USA's efforts in winning back-to-back World Cups in 2019, taking down the Netherlands, 2-0, where Rapinoe scored a penalty kick in the 61st minute to take the lead.
Rapinoe had six goals and two assists during five matches in that Women's World Cup, while scoring two goals and dishing out two assists in the 2015 victory.
Team USA wasn't able to make it three straight in 2023, as they were eliminated by Sweden in penalty kicks. Rapinoe made it known that the 2023 tournament would be her last World Cup, and while she wished it ended differently, she noted feeling "so lucky and so grateful to play as long as I have."
Off the pitch, Rapinoe has been outspoken, including after the 2019 victory where she said "I'm not going to the f---ing White House," while President Donald Trump was in his first term. She also told her Team USA peers to "think hard" about going to the White House before facing France in the quarterfinal, prompting Trump to tweet out "Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! We haven't yet…"
"Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!" Trump added in his tweets at the time.
Rapinoe also commented on an earlier episode of her podcast with Bird after Trump beat former vice president Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, saying she felt "overwhelmed" that he would be back in office.
"I think that I feel – not so much personally scared, because I think that we live in very progressive places, we’re unbelievably privileged in our place in the world and life and financially and all of these things, but I think that fear extends to just people in general that will be really affected," Rapinoe explained to Bird. "I’m thinking of all my trans friends and people that I know and trans kids. I’m thinking about the potential of mass deportations if that is going to happen, and just like the general chaos that’s going to be sown is really overwhelming."
In 2023 appearances with Team USA in her career, Rapinoe scored 63 goals and had 73 assists with her two World Cup titles. She also had 56 goals and 34 assists in her 13-year professional league in the WPS and NWSL.
Thursday marked exactly four months since President Donald Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. But incidents of trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports continue to persist across the country.
Democrat-stronghold states like California, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington have openly defied the order and deferred instead to their state laws on the issue, resulting in national controversies involving biological males competing in and often dominating high school girls' sports in recent months.
The Trump administration has launched investigations and even filed lawsuits to counter this wave of incidents. But press secretary Karoline Leavitt has suggested the administration could go a step further.
In an April 18 press conference, while discussing Maine's defiance on the issue, Leavitt asserted Trump's order and Title IX as federal law, noting that violators could be "prosecuted."
Since then, many Democrat-controlled states like Maine and California have refused to acquiesce to Trump's demands.
Former NCAA swimmer and conservative influencer Riley Gaines, the leading figure in the national movement to keep males out of women's sports, told Fox News Digital that she would support prosecution as a response to the issue.
"I would love to see prosecution because I believe what is happening is criminal," Gaines said. "The way that we have been told that a man's feelings matter more than our physical safety, than our rights to participate, to call ourselves champions, I believe that is a criminal action, therefore I believe it is a criminal offense.
"Someone somewhere has to be made an example of, otherwise you will have the woman-hating Democratic Party continue with full steam ahead.
Gaines, who infamously tied with trans swimmer Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA women's championships, was only one of many women who were impacted by Thomas' participation. The event was hosted at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Gaines said she believes that the school's president, Angel Cabrera, is one of the first that should be in line for prosecution over the issue.
"I believe university officials should be charged. I believe certainly that in the state of Georgia, that the Georgia Tech president, who has continued to be very smug, who has continued to not attest or answer to any of the claims that we are making that happened on his pool deck," Gaines said of those who should be prosecuted.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Georgia Tech for comment.
Gaines leads a lawsuit against the NCAA over her experience with Thomas alongside several other women's swimmers who competed in the 2022 championships. Those plaintiffs include former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler and former University of North Carolina swimmer Kylee Alons.
Wheeler and Alons both agree with Gaines in supporting criminal prosecution against officials who have allowed trans athletes to compete in women's sports.
"I think that if schools, official states, whatever it is, are knowingly defying the law and violating Title IX especially by forcing girls to share locker rooms, change in front of boys, lose out on their opportunities, everything Title IX is supposed to stand for, I think there should be serious consequences," Wheeler told Fox News Digital.
"We're not just talking about policy disagreements, this is about knowingly stripping rights away from women and girls. If you break federal law there should be consequences like Riley said, and if that means prosecution in some of these states, then yeah, bring it on."
Alons questioned how one could not be in favor of prosecution against those officials.
"When you see the harm that this is causing women and girls, how could younot want to support prosecuting defying this?" Alons told Fox News Digital. "There's just so much harm being done and obviously there is a law for a reason, because it is causing harm so I would definetely support more action than just empty threats."
The attorney representing Gaines, Wheeler, Alons and other women in their lawsuit against the NCAA, William Bock of the Independent Council on Women's Sports, not only supports the notion of prosecuting officials letting the issue continue, but believes it's "necessary."
"At this point there's no excuse, the executive order has been in place since February 5," Bock told Fox News Digital. "People have known for four months now, and if three-four months later, you're still knowingly defying federal law, then of course a prosecution makes sense, and it's evidently necessary to protect women."
So far, Trump's enforcement of his executive order has only extended to a funding freeze to the University of Pennsylvania, where Thomas competed, temporary funding pauses against Maine that have since ended, and a Department of Justice lawsuit against Maine too.
Trump's administration has launched investigations against three other state high school sports leagues (California, Minnesota and Massachusetts) and the DOJ has given California a deadline of this upcoming Monday to amend its policies that allow trans athletes in girls' sports.
Gaines, Wheeler and Alons all find Trump's stance on the issue "refreshing" but would generally like to see more action.
"Hopefully we'll see enough with the warnings, that's how I feel," Gaines said. "We're ready to see some action."
Wheeler added, "The executive order is a good start, but we need more than that signature, we need really enforceable protection that will supersede his presidency… it's a step in the right direction, but we're not satisfied."
At the college level, Trump's executive order resulted in a change to the NCAA's gender eligibility policy just one day after the order was signed. Unlike the old policy, the new policy asserts that only females can compete in the women's category in official competition.
However, the new policy has come under heavy criticism by women's rights activists since it was signed for offering no tangible outline of how it will enforce the policy, and a lack of enforcing gender testing.
In late March, Ithaca College in New York admitted to letting a trans athlete compete in a Division III rowing competition, telling Fox News Digital that the participation of the trans athlete was due to a "misunderstanding" by the coaching staff about what was considered an official NCAA event, and referenced the policy's allowing of male practice players.
The NCAA has provided a statement to Fox News Digital, saying the competition the Ithaca trans athlete competed in "will be considered a mixed team and not eligible to compete against women’s teams. Ithaca stated their intent to adhere to the policy which allows for practice opportunities and the NCAA appreciates Ithaca’s responsiveness."
But the NCAA did not indicate that the results of the event would be voided or that Ithaca would face any consequences.
The initial goal of the Gaines vs. NCAA lawsuit was to force the governing body to keep biological males out of women's college sports entirely. In the wake of the policy change, the lawsuit's goal remains intact but also expanded.
"We've reached out to the NCAA and their attorneys and we've given them the opportunity to resolve this matter at least, if we can't reach an agreement on accountability for the past, to put in place a policy that actually protects women and has some enforceability behind it and ensures that only women participate in college women's sports," Bock said.
"We put that in writing and they haven't gone down that route with us… their policy is toothless and ineffective and doesn't protect the rights of women."
Bock added that their lawsuit will also be seeking monetary damages for all the female athletes who have been affected.
"These are significant damages and there were several hundred women were harmed and we think that a jury in Georgia is going to find that damage amount very significant."
Belichick's girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, was present for the interview, and Belichick was asked how they met. Hudson interrupted the CBS interview to shut down that question, and, according to reports, she interrupted several times and even stormed off at one point, delaying the interview by around 30 minutes.
But Kass reportedly wrote to Belichick, "This is a book segment that looks at your life in football and what people can learn from you to achieve success in their own lives."
After Belichick reportedly wanted to turn down the interview, another text Kass wrote reportedly said, "I wouldn't be this insistent if this wasn't so important to book sales and without risk."
Kass is also said to have told Belichick he spoke to a CBS producer "about sticking to the book and shared that if they do, they'll get a great interview, and he was really open, saying he's not interested in going beyond the book."
Belichick released a statement saying he was "surprised" about getting the questions about his relationship and that when Hudson had stepped in, she was doing her job. He also accused CBS of creating a "false narrative" with "selectively edited clips."
"I agreed to speak with ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ to promote my new book, ‘The Art of Winning — Lessons from My Life in Football.’ Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book," he said at the time.
"Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book."
"After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help focus the discussion. She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track. Some of the clips make it appear as though we were avoiding the question of how we met, but we have been open about the fact that Jordon and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021.
"The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true."
CBS responded, disagreeing with Belichick’s version of events.
"When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview," the company said. "There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation. This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed."
In a request for comment regarding Kass' text messages, CBS sent the same statement. Kass did not immediately respond.
Belichick, 73, and Hudson, 24, have been linked since last year. She has attended several events with him, including February’s NFL Honors.
Most 2025 preseason MLB rankings had the Atlanta Braves slotted somewhere in the top 5.
Many baseball analysts cited the talent the Braves had on their roster entering the season.
So far, though, the team's 2025 campaign has been a disappointment. Atlanta entered Thursday's matinée affair against the Arizona Diamondbacks on a three-game losing streak.
The Braves built a 6-0 lead in the early innings, but the D-Backs plated seven runs in the ninth to complete the comeback. The 11-10 victory also secured a series sweep for Arizona and pushed Atlanta's losing streak to four games.
Relief pitcher Scott Blewett gave up five runs, four of which he surrendered in the final inning. Braves closer Raisel Iglesias entered in the ninth with one out and gave up three earned runs. Iglesias was the losing pitcher, while Kendall Graveman earned the win for the D-Backs.
Baseball Hall of Famer and Braves analyst Tom Glavine weighed in on the team's collapse.
"If you were looking for a rock bottom, this might be it," the former Braves pitcher said Thursday.
While some key players such as pitcher Max Fried and others departed after last season, the Braves' core group remained largely intact.
Stellar defensive outfielder Michael Harris, the 2022 MLB rookie of the year; three-time All-Star Ozzie Albies; power-hitting third baseman Austin Riley; slugging first baseman Matt Olson; Gold Glove catcher Sean Murphy; and Cy Young winner Chris Sale all returned to the Braves and were expected to continue to produce.
All of those players, except for Sale, have had a disappointing season so far.
Ronald Acuna Jr., the 2023 MLB MVP, recently returned to the lineup after he missed the start of the season while recovering from a 2024 knee injury.
Acuna seems to have quickly returned to his MVP form, hitting four home runs and batting .333 through 12 games. In late May, he crushed a home run to deep left field off the first pitch he saw in his first game back with the Braves.
Brian Snitker has worked in the Braves organization in some capacity for nearly half a century.
He is credited with helping the Braves win the World Series in 2021. But the Braves manager's decision-making has been scrutinized this season. Snitker's contract with the Braves expires at the end of the 2025 season. He has not publicly revealed whether he wants to retire after this year.
The Braves travel cross country to open a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants Friday.
Tensions flared during the New York Giants' offseason workouts Thursday with a pair of skirmishes that prompted head coach Brian Daboll to end the session early.
Giants edge rusher Brian Burns, who was involved in one of the fights, downplayed the incident when speaking to reporters, admitting the "heat got to us."
"It’s a violent sport we play. Guys trying to get better … tensions raised a little high, heat is getting a little hotter. So, guys are getting a little more agitated. But it ain’t that deep. We squashed it."
Burns and left tackle James Hudson got into a shoving match as temperatures reached around 90 degrees. The two players removed their helmets and appeared to square up for a fight, but the situation deescalated when teammates eventually separated the two, The Associated Press reported.
Both players were sent to the sidelines, but, on the next play, another fight erupted.
This time Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor got into a spat that turned physical when Thibodeaux threw a punch. Hudson then reportedly emerged from the sideline and tackled Thibodeaux. Burns also joined in.
"I feel like it’s healthy at times," Burns said of the fighting. "I feel like it’s healthy to a certain extent. You still want to get your work done at the end of the day."
But the brawls eventually prompted Daboll to end the practice.
Quarterback Russell Wilson downplayed the incident, saying it's "nothing to worry about."
"A lot of times when you have a long practice, like the way we did, the way we're working, things happen," Wilson said. "Every great team I've been on, there's been a couple of those."
Imane Khelif, the boxer at the center of the Olympic gender controversy, is skipping a boxing tournament in the Netherlands after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes.
The Algerian boxer, who won gold at the Paris Games last summer amid scrutiny over her eligibility, did not register in time for the event before applications closed on Thursday.
Khelif had intended to return to international competition at the tournament in Hotel Eindhoven before World Boxing announced its new sex testing policy last Friday.
Eindhoven Mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem criticized World Boxing’s decision.
"As far as we are concerned, all athletes are welcome in Eindhoven. Excluding athletes based on controversial ‘gender tests’ certainly does not fit in with that," Dijsselbloem wrote in a letter addressed to the Dutch Boxing Federation and International Boxing Federation. "We are expressing our disapproval of this decision today and are calling on the organization to admit Imane Khelif after all."
3 Wire Sports, citing medical documents from chromosome tests given by the International Boxing Association (IBA) before the 2022 and 2023 world championships, reported that Khelif’s DNA showed "markers with male karyotypes." The International Olympic Committee (IOC) derecognized the IBA amid concerns about the organization's governance, financial reliance on Russian state energy firm Gazprom and integrity of the bouts.
"Chromosome analysis reveals Male karyotype. No numerical or chromosomal anomalies detected at 450-550 banding resolution," a screenshot of the document on 3 Wire Sports read. The test was at an accredited lab in New Delhi, called Dr. Lal PathLabs, before the boxing championships, according to 3 Wire Sports.
Fox News Digital reached out to World Boxing, the Algerian Olympic Committee and reps for Khelif for comment.
The IOC issued a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning.
"The IOC has always made it clear that eligibility criteria are the responsibility of the respective International Federation," the IOC said. "The factors that matter to sports performance are unique to each sport, discipline, and/or event. We await the full details how sex testing will be implemented in a safe, fair and legally enforceable way."
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 championships before a gold medal bout over gender eligibility issues.
The boxer was thrust into the global spotlight after qualifying for the Olympics, with the gender controversy coming to light. Khelif defeated Angela Carini in the initial fight during the Paris Olympics, and the IOC defended Khelif. As the controversy grew, Khelif kept on winning and eventually was awarded a gold medal.
But the IBA doubled down, saying Khelif – along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-thing – were disqualified from the world championships due to "a result of their failure to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA Regulations. This decision, made after a meticulous review, was extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition."
The IBA added that Khelif underwent two tests: one in 2022 and the other in 2023. The IBA said Khelif appealed the decision to the Court for Arbitration of Sport but withdrew during the process, making the "IBA decision legally binding."
Throughout the controversy, Khelif has maintained that their gender is female. Khelif even filed a lawsuit against detractors and critics on social media.
Before World Boxing made its decision, Khelif was planning on participating in the 2028 Olympics despite President Donald Trump's "No Men in Women’s Sports" executive order – the 2028 games take place in Los Angeles.
Khelif told ITV that the policies do not apply to the boxer.
"I will give you a straightforward answer: the U.S. president issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response," Khelif told the outlet.
"For me, I see myself as a girl, just like any other girl. I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one."
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos, Jackson Thompson, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Aaron Rodgers has made his decision for the 2025 season, as he reportedly informed the Pittsburgh Steelers he will sign with them, per multiple reports.
Rodgers told Pittsburgh that he will fly to them on Friday, where he intends to sign before the team's minicamp next week, per NFL Network.
Rodgers also plans on participating in minicamp to get accustomed to his new teammates and coaches before preparing on his own for the rest of the summer, the report added.
The New Orleans Pelicans will not part ways with star forward Zion Williamson after he was accused of rape and other physical abuse by a woman in a lawsuit filed last week, a team executive said in an interview Wednesday.
Joe Dumars, a Hall of Fame player who was named the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations in April, confirmed the team’s decision in an interview with The New Orleans Times-Picayune Wednesday, adding Williamson will "continue to be a focal point" of the organization.
"I've had really good conversations with Zion," Dumars told the outlet. "We've had lunch. Dinner. Watched playoff games together. We've done it all. I've had some real honest conversations with him. Some real direct and honest conversations.
"We're going to go forward with Zion," he continued. "He's going to continue to be a focal point here as we go forward."
Dumars made his comments less than a week after a woman, who claimed to be in a relationship with Williamson while he played at Duke, filed a lawsuit alleging that the two-time NBA All-Star engaged in a "pattern of abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior," according to reports.
The lawsuit accused Williamson of rape on two separate occasions in 2020.
According to the New York Post, in one instance, the woman claimed Williamson "picked her up, threw her down to the ground, and pinned her shoulders down so she could not move," and then he allegedly "violently raped Plaintiff in multiple ways."
She also claimed Williamson used abusive language when she refused to be intimate with him.
Williamson denied the allegations in a statement from his attorneys that called the lawsuit "an attempt to exploit a professional athlete driven by a financial motive rather than any legitimate grievance."
"We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them. The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless," the statement said.
Williamson’s attorneys said they plan to file counterclaims and "seek significant damages for this defamatory lawsuit."
Dumars told The Times-Picayune he had "been advised not to venture into any of his legal issues," but team owner Gayle Benson addressed the matter Tuesday, saying, "Lawsuits are lawsuits."
"People can sue you for anything. There’s no, there’s no reason," she said, via WWL-TV. "You can be innocent or not, so it’s just something that people do, unfortunately."
Williamson, 24, was the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Despite a career marred by a lengthy injury history, Williamson has averaged 24.7 points per game.
After eclipsing the 2,000-yard rushing mark during the 2024 regular season, Saquon Barkley was named the cover athlete for "Madden NFL 26."
Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason. His historic first year in Philly earned him Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. By all accounts, the 28-year-old will enter the 2025 season in the prime of his career. However, the star running back recently hinted that when he does eventually step away from the game, it could be sudden.
During a recent appearance on former NFL player Chris Long's "Green Light Podcast," Barkley was asked if he would step away while he was still at the peak of his career or if he would stick around.
"I'll probably [be] one of those guys that it would be out of nowhere," Barkley responded in reference to his eventual retirement. "I'll probably just wake up one day, whether it's next year or two years or four years and just be like, 'Yeah, it's over.' I don't think I will ever lose that passion."
Barkley then cited Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders' shocking decision to walk away from the NFL in 1998.
"The competitive nature is always going to be there. I like, probably my favorite player of all time is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that. Maybe one day, like it'll be out of nowhere, I'll probably be ballin', and just be like, ‘Yeah, call it quits.’"
Sanders racked up 15,269 career rushing yards before he abruptly retired. He needed less than 1,500 yards to catch up to Walter Payton's then all-time rushing record. Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith currently sits atop the league's all-time list.
The Eagles rewarded Barkley's productive 2024 campaign with a lucrative two-year contract extension. Barkley entered the 2025 campaign with 7,216 career rushing yards and was a key part of the Eagles' run to the Super Bowl LIX title.
Barkley is credited with seven NFL seasons, while Sanders played a total of 10 years in the league.
Fox News’ Connor McGahan contributed to this report.
Caitlin Clark may still be sidelined due to injury but it hasn’t stopped her from razzing her Indiana Fever teammate Lexie Hull as the team tries to power through her absence.
The Fever let their fans get to know some of the players on the roster. Hull was one of them as the team put together a picture on its Instagram account. Hull’s notes included that she was from Spokane, Washington, she has a dog named Libby and the "weird thing" that she loves.
Hull’s numbers have improved since Clark joined the team. She was averaging 4.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in 2023. When Clark joined in 2024, Hull improved her averages to 5.5 points per game and she earned 6th Player of the Year votes.
Hull is off to a hot start in her first seven games of 2025. She’s averaging 10.4 points, 4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Her field-goal percentage jumped from 44.1% last year to 54.5% this year.
Clark’s injury has definitely hampered the Fever’s ability to win games.
Indiana is 3-4 to start the season. The team topped the Washington Mystics in the first Commissioner’s Cup Game on Tuesday, 83-77.
Stephen A. Smith had a tough question put onto his lap during Wednesday’s edition of "First Take" – would he rather be president of the United States or the next New York Knicks head coach?
Smith had to think about it as he’s floated the possibility of running for president and has added his voice to some of the hot-button political issues debated in that particular arena. But the Knicks also fired Tom Thibodeau and have a position open.
The ESPN personality didn’t necessarily like the idea of working under Knicks team owner James Dolan and said he may like to be president more than the next head coach for the team in orange and blue.
"Can you see Stephen A. trying to negotiate the Ukraine-Russia situation?" Chris "Mad Dog" Russo asked.
"I wouldn’t try to negotiate it. I would work with the European Union. I would work with the United Nations. I would do what I could to empower us. I don’t want to give Ukraine unlimited funds, but I know that Russia’s ultimate quest is to recapture Europe and I don’t want that to happen. Therefore, I would help out Ukraine."
Russo applauded Smith but hedged on going any further in the political realm.
"I have no choice, because I’ve had elected officials — and I'm not going to give their names — coming up to me. I’ve had folks who are pundits come up to me. I've had folks that got a lot of money, billionaires and others, that have talked to me about exploratory committees and things of that nature. I’m not a politician. I’ve never had a desire to be a politician," Smith said.
Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy was arrested in Texas on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a family member, according to online jail records.
The six-year pro, who spent the majority of his career with the Carolina Panthers, was taken into custody by the Richardson Police Department at around 2 p.m. local time. He was arrested on one charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, according to jail records.
Hardy, 36, was drafted out of Ole Miss in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the Panthers, but he was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list in 2014 while a domestic violence case against him played out.
FOX 4 reported that in 2014, Hardy’s ex-girlfriend alleged that the NFL player assaulted her during a fit of rage. He was initially convicted of assault, but those charges were later dismissed after the victim in the case failed to appear for a second trial.
Despite recording 34 sacks and 203 tackles with the Panthers, the decision not to re-sign Hardy was made. He was then signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent in 2015, but he only played in 12 games that season after being issued a four-game suspension for violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy as it related to his case in North Carolina.
He was not re-signed the following year.
Following his football career, Hardy made his debut in MMA in 2018.
American tennis star Jessica Pegula may have suffered a tough French Open exit against wild-card entry Loïs Boisson but she was still taking swings at critics afterward.
Boisson, a French wild-card entry for the Grand Slam tournament, defeated Pegula in the fourth round of the tournament. Pegula revealed afterward she received death threats from "delusional" bettors upset over the loss to the relatively unknown tennis star.
"These (bettors) are insane and delusional," she wrote on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, via the New York Post. "And I don’t allow dms and try to remember when to shut my comments off during tournament weeks but they always find a way to my timeline. This stuff has never really bothered me much but does any other sport deal with this to our level? I’d love to know because it seems to be (predominantly) tennis?? It’s so disturbing."
The daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula, who own the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, also shared screenshots of commenters who ridiculed her for the loss. Some called her "trash" while others said she should just enjoy being the daughter of billionaires.
There were other nasty comments as well.
"You sold this match on purpose," one person wrote. "Can’t wait until Karma spends the block back on you. Hopefully your first born child will be a still birth."
Pegula added that "every person" on the Women’s Tennis Association deals with some type of awful remark.
"I get told my family should get cancer and die from people here on a regular basis. Absolutely crazy," she added.
"I’ve seen stories of comments/threats/stalking making headlines in other sports…well news flash tennis I can guarantee it’s 100 times worse. The comments are nonstop for us. Win or lose – it’s whatever they bet on.
"I actually had threats come through the NHL that they were worried about and sent to me. My response was, ‘oh that’s it? I get those all the time’ that is so messed up that that is my response. Normalizing death threats!"
Pegula added that staying off social media was unavoidable because most of their sponsorship deals involve posting on their platforms.
Pro tennis players Arthur Bouquier and Caroline Garcia also shared threats they’ve received in recent years.
"I was diagnosed with prostate cancer," he told Strahan. "I’m having surgery on Tuesday. I'll be away from ‘SportsCenter’ for about a month to recover. Then I'm coming back better than ever."
Harris said his doctor was "quite optimistic" about his prognosis. He said nothing had spread, according to his latest scans, and was hoping that once the issue is dealt with, then that would be the last of his problems.
The 60-year-old sportscaster said he hoped to spread some awareness and implore men to open up more about getting regular checkups and seeing doctors who can check these things out.
"My goal in sharing this is to join the many others who also want to normalize this conversation and hopefully provide a bit of guidance and preparation, just as it has been offered to me," he wrote.
Harris said he has leaned on colleagues Hannah Storm and Brian Custer, both who have dealt with their own serious health issues over the years. He said they both provided both inspiration and "real talk" about what to expect.
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel had previously called out the need for regular screenings.
"[Screenings] decreased in many areas, including California, as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against PSA as a regular screening tool, which I always disagreed with," he told Fox News Digital earlier this year. "Especially as MRI advanced, so not all elevated PSA automatically meant a biopsy."
Based on the increase in prostate cancer cases across all ages, Siegel emphasized the need to "diagnose it early for better outcomes."
Fox News’ Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.
Transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger led Champlin Park High School to Minnesota's state softball championship game after a pair of playoff wins on Wednesday.
The pitcher's dominance this season has prompted a lawsuit by three anonymous opposing players amid a national divide over the legality of trans athletes in girls' sports.
One of the players involved in the lawsuit reacted to the pitcher's run to the championship game in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, provided by her attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
"It is upsetting to see a male athlete dominating our sport and taking opportunities away from girls who have worked hard all season to make it to the championship game in the state tournament. On top of the unfairness, it is oftentimes a risk to play a physical sport like softball against a male athlete," the statement said.
"I am proud of the girls who played hard, and at the end of the day deserve it more than a boy, but I hope that more people will continue to stand up for female sports and take the rights of women and girls seriously."
The anonymous player's team did not reach the championship game, the ADF said.
ADF attorney Suzanne Beecher weighed in on the situation as well.
"A male’s belief about his gender doesn’t erase the physical advantages over female athletes. And every girl competing deserves the chance to experience the thrill of victory," Beecher told Fox News Digital.
"What happened tonight was not only unfair but put every female athlete at risk of getting injured due to the clear differences in biology from male to female. We filed a lawsuit against Minnesota officials to upend their radical policies that hurt female athletes across the state and restore their opportunities in a fair and safe competition."
Rothenberger pitched both the quarterfinal and semifinal on Wednesday, and even hit two doubles in the semifinal to help spark a comeback.
Champlin Park will now face No. 4-seeded Bloomington Jefferson in the title game on Friday at the University of Minnesota's Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
Champlin Park's school district previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital defending the decision to allow the athlete to compete on the softball team.
"Throughout the entire season, and as the Rebels advance to the state tournament, it is important to note that all of the student athletes participating for the Champlin Park Softball team are eligible to compete in compliance with Minnesota State High School League rules and applicable state law. Due to data privacy laws, the District is not able to provide public comment regarding a specific student athlete," a statement from the Anoka-Hennepin School District stated.
"In addition, the District is named in an active lawsuit which limits what information can be shared."
Meanwhile, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office has released a statement responding to the lawsuit against the state over Rothenberger's participation in the girls' softball season.
"In addition to getting exercise and the fun of competition, playing sports comes with so many benefits for young people. You build friendships that can last a lifetime, you learn how to work as part of a team, and you get to feel like you belong," Ellison said.
"I believe it is wrong to single out one group of students, who already face higher levels of bullying and harassment, and tell these kids they cannot be on the team because of who they are. I will continue to defend the rights of all students to play sports with their friends and peers."
After President Donald Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order, the Minnesota State High School League announced it would defy federal law by allowing transgender athletes to continue playing in women's sports. Ellison then claimed at a press conference on April 22 that he received notice from the Department of Justice threatening legal action if the state did not follow the executive order, so the attorney general decided to sue first.
The White House later responded to the lawsuit, condemning Ellison for taking legal action to enable trans inclusion.
"Why would a grown man sue the Trump administration to allow other biological males to participate in women’s sports? This is creepy and anti-woman," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital.
Minnesota's state legislature failed to pass the "Preserving Girls’ Sports Act" in early March, which would have stated that "only female students may participate in an elementary or secondary school level athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted to women and girls."
