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Chris Evert says Jannik Sinner 'shouldn't have been allowed' to leave court during French Open controversy
Tennis legend Chris Evert made the case for special treatment for the sport's top players. But then she explained why Jannik Sinner shouldn’t have gotten it the way that he did.
That’s the uncomfortable middle ground in tennis’ latest medical-timeout controversy.
Stars drive the sport. They carry television windows, ticket sales, sponsorships, interest and two-week Grand Slam marathons. It’s not naive or corrupt to acknowledge that Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are not treated like anonymous qualifiers. They aren’t anonymous qualifiers.
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Evert, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, told OutKick in a text message that "the top players still drive the game," and that if tennis wants its biggest stars to have longevity, "there should be a little more consideration of their schedule in a two-week event."
"They’ve earned that," Evert said.
She’s right.
But there’s a difference between scheduling consideration and in-match rule interpretation. It's one thing to give stars the best courts, the best windows and the best recovery opportunities over the course of a tournament. It's another thing entirely to give those players a more generous interpretation of the rules when the rulebook clearly says muscle cramping does not qualify for a medical timeout.
That’s where Evert drew the line with Sinner.
"It was clearly a cramping and dehydration situation," Evert told OutKick. "The rules state cramping is not an injury. He shouldn’t have been allowed to go off the court."
Sinner, the world No. 1, was stunned by Juan Manuel Cerundolo, the world No. 56, in the second round of the French Open on Thursday after arguably the most dramatic collapse of his career. Sinner won the first two sets, led 5-1 in the third, then unraveled physically before losing the final three sets.
That’s what makes this controversy more interesting than a simple accusation of favoritism.
Sinner lost.
This is not a case of a superstar being saved by an official and riding that advantage to victory. It’s not a case of tennis handing one of its biggest names a win. Cerundolo still pulled off the upset.
But the controversy matters anyway because the bigger issue is not one match result. It’s whether the same rules are being applied the same way when the player asking for help is one of the faces of the sport.
TNT commentator Jim Courier stated that problem in real time.
"That’s not fair. That’s not right," Courier said on the broadcast. "We love the top players, they drive the sport, but you’ve gotta apply the rules fairly. The rules are being bent for the top players."
That’s a strong accusation. It also hit on something every sports fan understands.
The rulebook is only half the story. The other half is how it gets enforced when the athlete involved is a superstar.
To be clear, Sinner should not be treated as the villain here. Evert made that point, too.
"That was the umpire’s call, and he should not be faulted," Evert said. "He was given that choice by the umpire, and chose it."
That exchange appears to be exactly what happened.
According to The Times, Sinner told chair umpire Aurélie Tourte that he thought he might vomit and asked what would happen if he took too much time between points. Tourte reportedly explained that he could receive a time violation and then a code violation, or they could call the physio to determine the issue.
Sinner then said he did not know if it was dehydration, and Tourte told him it was up to him.
That is why Evert’s distinction matters. Sinner was not trying to game the system. He told the chair umpire what was wrong, she gave him a choice, and he made a decision.
What was Sinner supposed to do? Turn down medical attention and voluntarily make his own path harder in the middle of a Grand Slam match?
No serious athlete is doing that.
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Patrick Mahomes isn’t going to tell an official to pick up a roughing-the-passer flag. Tom Brady wasn’t going to tell Jerome Boger that Grady Jarrett’s sack was actually clean. Carlos Alcaraz wasn’t going to wave off a medical timeout at the Australian Open once the physio granted it, despite protests by his opponent.
Stars accept favorable decisions. In fact, all athletes do. That’s sports.
The burden is on the officials, not the athlete benefiting from the call.
And that’s why tennis put itself in such an awkward position. The Grand Slam rulebook says players may receive treatment for muscle cramping only during normal changeovers or set breaks. It also says players may not receive a medical timeout for muscle cramping.
That sounds clear.
But tennis also leaves room for medical judgment. If there is doubt about whether a player is dealing with cramps, an acute medical condition or heat illness, the Sports Physiotherapist and Tournament Doctor have the final say. If cramps are considered part of a heat-illness situation, they can be treated as part of that broader condition.
That may be medically reasonable. It may even be necessary.
No one should want tennis players passing out on the court because officials are afraid of looking too lenient. If a player is dizzy, dehydrated, vomiting or in actual danger, the sport has an obligation to treat that seriously.
Evert acknowledged that possibility.
"I think, if there was dizziness or the feeling of passing out, then a doctor could’ve come out on the court and taken his pulse and blood pressure," Evert said, "but that’s another situation."
That feels like the right line.
Player safety? Absolutely.
A cramping timeout dressed up as something else? That’s where trust starts to erode.
Evert later told OutKick she rewatched the clip and believed the umpire "stopped the clock in his favor." She also said Sinner "specifically said dehydration," while again emphasizing that it was "no fault of his own."
"It will be interesting to see how the umpire defends her position," Evert said. "Jim Courier and all the commentators were very critical of this decision, and I would think the rules will have more boundaries now because it has happened in favor of the top players."
There's the real story.
Not that Sinner cheated. He didn’t.
Not that tennis is rigged. That’s a lazy conclusion.
The real issue is that tennis keeps finding itself in moments where the rulebook seems firm until a superstar enters the gray area. Then, suddenly, the sport looks like it has room to maneuver.
This isn't the first time in 2026 that the sport has faced similar controversy.
At the Australian Open, Sinner struggled physically in the heat during a third-round match against American Eliot Spizzirri. Sinner started cramping. The match was paused when the roof was closed under the tournament’s heat policy. The Italian star did not receive treatment during the stoppage, so it was not the same situation as a medical timeout for cramps.
But the perception issue was similar.
Sinner admitted afterward that he "got lucky" with the timing of the heat rule and roof closure. Evert brought up that match, too, telling OutKick, "Do you remember that Australian Open that was basically the same thing? He was starting to cramp and then they close the roof, right?"
Again, the roof closure may have been completely within the rules. The Australian Open had a heat policy. Officials followed it. Sinner got a break within the structure of the tournament.
But it still looked familiar: a top player in physical trouble, a stoppage, a reset and a second life. In that case, Sinner looked like a new player after the break and defeated Spizzirri en route to a semifinal appearance.
Alcaraz was involved in another version of the same conversation at the Australian Open when Alexander Zverev complained about a medical timeout during their semifinal. Zverev believed Alcaraz was cramping and said afterward that players normally cannot take a medical timeout for cramps.
Alcaraz eventually defeated Zverev and followed with a win over Novak Djokovic to capture the Australian Open title and complete the career Grand Slam.
"What can I do?" Zverev said. "It’s not my decision. I didn’t like it, but it’s not my decision."
That sounds a lot like Evert’s point about Sinner.
The player doesn’t make the ruling. The official makes the ruling.
This certainly isn't unique to tennis. Football fans have been arguing about the same thing for years.
The NFL rulebook does not say Patrick Mahomes gets more protection than his backup. It did not say Brady deserved a softer landing than everyone else. But fans, players and commentators have long believed that star quarterbacks get the benefit of the doubt from officials.
Sometimes that perception is overblown. Sometimes it is fueled by frustration, gambling, team loyalty, social media outrage or a combination of all of them.
But then a call happens in a huge spot, and the perception comes roaring back. And sometimes, perception matters as much, if not more, than reality.
Mahomes benefited from controversial penalties in Kansas City’s 2025 playoff win over the Houston Texans. Troy Aikman criticized one of the calls in real time. Officiating expert Ben Austro of Football Zebras later wrote for SB Nation that two of the controversial penalties should not have been called, including one that he said "fans the flames of preferential treatment."
Brady had his own version of this in 2022, when Grady Jarrett was flagged for roughing the passer after sacking him late in a Buccaneers-Falcons game. The call extended Tampa Bay’s drive and helped end Atlanta’s comeback attempt.
Brady’s response afterward was simple.
"I don’t throw the flags."
Correct.
And Jannik Sinner doesn't make the call on whether he gets a medical timeout.
Stars are always going to get advantages. They get the primetime window. They get center court. They get larger crowds. They get more media attention. They get more sponsor interest. They get more institutional attention because the sport is more valuable when they are healthy, present and advancing deep into tournaments.
Just like the NFL playoffs are better when Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and other marquee quarterbacks are healthy and competing.
There's nothing inherently wrong with pointing out the obvious.
Evert is right that tennis should consider its top players’ schedules and longevity, especially during two-week Grand Slam events. The best players have earned that level of consideration because they’re the ones who consistently carry the sport. They have earned those advantages through their on-court performance.
But that consideration should happen before the match.
That’s what makes these medical-timeout controversies so damaging. Even when the decision is medically defensible, even when no one did anything malicious, even when the star loses anyway, fans are left wondering where legitimate discretion ends and star treatment begins.
The answer is not to deny medical care to players in real danger. The answer is transparency and consistency.
If a player is dizzy, close to fainting or dealing with heat illness, say that. Bring the doctor out. Check the player. Make the medical reason clear. If cramps are part of a broader heat-illness diagnosis, explain that. If it’s simply cramping and dehydration, enforce the rule.
Tennis does not need a perfectly level playing field. No sport has one.
But it needs a credible one.
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Sinner does not deserve blame for taking the option he was given. But he also did not deserve a different version of the rules because he’s Jannik Sinner.
Both can be true.
And if tennis wants to avoid this conversation the next time Sinner, Alcaraz or another star starts struggling physically in a major match, it has to make the boundary clearer now.
Because stars should get the big courts, the big crowds and the big moments.
They’ve earned that.
What they haven’t earned, and what no athlete should ever earn, is a different interpretation of the rulebook because of their star power.
Reality star rips Lisa Rinna, defends Spencer Pratt and drops political bombshell: Trump-style pivot?
Reality star Mauricio Umansky is tired of the fraudulent Hollywood elites who continue to support the failure of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and from the sound of things, he's considering doing something about it.
During an appearance this week on "Tomi Lahren Is Fearless," the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star had words for reality star Lisa Rinna, who recently took a shot at mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt and President Donald Trump. Rinna wouldn't even say Bass' name when asked who the next mayor of L.A. should be.
Instead, she told a reporter that it can't be a "reality star," while aiming that squarely at Pratt, who faces Bass at the polls on June 2. "I'm sorry. I love him, but we’ve already done that. We’re not going to do that again," Rinna continued.
Umansky believes this is yet another example of hypocrisy of the Hollywood elites.
"She's not willing to endorse Karen, but she's happy it's not a reality star," the 55-year-old businessman noted.
Then, after having a few seconds to think about the state of politics in Los Angeles, Umansky dropped a bombshell.
"Let me tell you something, I am a reality star and I've thought about running for mayor. I actually think I could help the city and do some stuff, so don't be surprised if I come at this thing in a few years on the next [ballot]," he told Lahren.
"People are leaving Los Angeles, and it could ‘haunt us for decades'," the Los Angeles Times wrote in a headline back in April. During a one-year stretch between 2024 and 2025, Los Angeles County saw the nation's largest population decline. A staggering 53,000 residents fled the county over the period, according to census data.
Meanwhile, Rinna runs her injected lips about how Pratt cannot be the guy for the office because Trump's president. That's the hill she's dying on. At the same time, parts of L.A. have been turned into open-air drug markets. Things got so bad earlier this month that the city removed one of the bus benches because the homeless were using it as part of their drug den.
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Did removing the park bench do any good? Commuters say the drug addicts are still there making life miserable for them because now they don't have a bus bench AND the deplorable drug addicts weren't handled by the city. The Bass administration actually took credit for removing the bench and called it "one small example of the mayor’s broad and comprehensive approach to finally improving public safety."
Pratt's insistence on cleaning up the city and using common sense resulted in Umansky throwing his support behind his fellow reality star.
The elites like Rinna want LIB voters to believe they'd get a Trump agenda with Pratt as mayor, as if that's a bad thing.
"He's not Donald Trump by any means. Everything he's saying makes all the sense in the world," Umansky noted of Pratt's simplified agenda. "It's common sense. It's stuff we need to do in our city in order to make our lifestyle better.
"One of the things that's happening in our country which is sad to me is that there's just too much you know Republicans versus Democrats."
Umansky believes when citizens in Los Angeles and other cities across the U.S. find a common-sense middle ground, there will be improvements.
"We're going to learn how to live together, and we're going to start seeing a lot less hatred in the world and a lot more love."
Trump reveals the line Iran has to cross for US to restart offensive military campaign
President Donald Trump revealed what Iranian move could trigger U.S. forces to relaunch an offensive military campaign after waves of U.S. self-defense strikes hit Iran.
"Well, a deal that wasn't going to be good for us is the line, ultimately," Trump said. "I'm playing it out, and we're going to see."
On "My View with Lara Trump," the president addressed possible future military action in Iran as well as the political impact of the conflict. The full interview airs Saturday at 9 p.m. EST on Fox News Channel.
There have been talks of renewed U.S. military action in Iran as a shaky ceasefire and stalled negotiations test the administration’s patience.
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The U.S.-Iran ceasefire has been in place since early April, but negotiations between Iranian and U.S. officials since then have stalled, though Trump recently signaled the two sides are close to reaching a deal.
Trump told Fox News that while Iranians are "very good" negotiators, their decimated military gives the United States leverage to secure their preferred conditions, chief among them being a nuclear-disarmed Iran.
"They're crafty, but in the end, we have all the cards because we've defeated them militarily," the president said.
"They have no Navy. Every ship — they have 159 ships, every one of them are at the bottom of the sea — every single one. We take pictures of them. We have people going down taking pictures of hundreds of ships. Their Navy is totally gone, 100%. Their Air Force is totally gone, 100%."
Trump addressed the political fallout the Iran War could bring to the 2026 midterm elections as Americans reel from inflated gas prices caused by the Strait of Hormuz’s closure.
American sentiment of the conflict could also prove unfavorable for Republicans. A recent Fox News poll found that opposition to U.S. military action in Iran increased to 60%, up from 55% in April.
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The poll also found that 86% of Americans find rising gas prices — a side effect of Trump’s months-long conflict with Iran — as a problem, including 51% who label them a "major" problem.
Trump said there is a "structural problem" caused by the frequency of political elections — with midterms being two years apart from presidential elections — that leaves a narrow window for military action.
The political pressure that can discourage military action in that two-year period in fear of political fallout did not dismay Trump from acting in Iran, with the president emphasizing his priority in disarming Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
"You have a very short window for doing anything having to do with war," he said. "But I don't view that window. I view it, I have to do what's right."
Mysterious airport tunnels to open beneath hub long tied to conspiracy theories
Denver International Airport is preparing to open portions of a mysterious underground tunnel system that has long been plagued by conspiracy theories.
Airport officials announced plans this week to convert sections of the airport’s underground baggage tunnels into pedestrian walkways connecting concourses A, B and C.
The tunnels, which have long fueled speculation involving secret bunkers, "lizard people" and underground military facilities, will become an alternative route for passengers traveling between terminals.
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Currently, travelers primarily move between concourses using the airport’s underground train system.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston acknowledged the airport’s unusual reputation while discussing the project.
"Maybe along the way, travelers will finally get a closer look at the underground tunnels and decide for themselves what’s fact and what’s fiction," Johnston said in a statement released by the airport.
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Airport officials said the new pedestrian walkways are part of Denver International Airport’s broader "Vision 100" expansion plan aimed at preparing for future passenger growth.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027.
The project is estimated to cost between $300 million and $700 million.
It will be funded through airport revenue rather than taxpayer dollars, Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington told CBS News.
Denver International Airport has long attracted conspiracy theories centered on its underground tunnels, unusual artwork and the airport’s towering blue mustang sculpture with glowing red eyes, nicknamed "Blucifer."
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Speculation surrounding the airport intensified after its opening in 1995 was delayed by more than a year and went billions of dollars over budget, according to reports.
The airport has also invested heavily in other upgrades in recent years, including train improvements, gate expansions and renovations to the Jeppesen Terminal.
The announcement quickly sparked reactions online, with many users joking about the airport’s decades-old conspiracy theories.
"Be prepared to fight the lizard people along the way," one Reddit user wrote.
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Others referenced the airport’s famous blue horse sculpture.
"Praise Blucifer," another commenter joked.
Several travelers also welcomed the idea of having an alternative to the airport’s train system.
"We’ve only been asking for this since before the airport opened," one Reddit user wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Denver International Airport for further comment.
NBA's new lottery system strips worst teams of top draft odds, but may reward calculated mediocrity
On Thursday, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan designed to dramatically reshape the draft lottery in hopes of combating the league’s tanking problem.
Teams aren’t intentionally losing because they enjoy being bad. They do it because the system rewards it. The question is whether the NBA’s latest overhaul actually fixes the issue.
With a decisive 29-1 vote, and the Memphis Grizzlies casting the lone dissenting vote, the league approved its new 3-2-1 lottery structure.
The revamped system expands the lottery field to 16 teams and strips the league’s three worst teams of the most favorable draft odds.
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After years of criticism over tanking, Commissioner Adam Silver introduced his most aggressive effort yet to discourage franchises from bottoming out.
Under the new format, the NBA will significantly reduce the odds of the No. 1 pick for the league’s three worst teams.
Meanwhile, teams finishing with the fourth- through 10th-worst records will receive improved odds.
Under the revised structure, the ninth- and 10th-worst teams will carry the same 5.4% chance at the top overall pick as the NBA’s true bottom-feeders.
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Additional safeguards also prevent franchises from winning the No. 1 pick in consecutive seasons or landing a top-five selection in three straight drafts.
On paper, the changes appear to strengthen competitive integrity. In reality, they may simply redirect the incentives.
Instead of rewarding the league’s worst teams, the new system heavily favors franchises finishing in the middle of the lottery standings.
The 3-2-1 model discourages full-scale teardowns, but creates a new incentive for teams stuck near the play-in line. A larger group of mediocre teams now has reason to engineer late-season slides. The goal shifts from racing to the bottom to quietly drifting out of the postseason picture and into better lottery position.
Teams hovering near the playoff bubble will quickly recognize that falling from the eighth seed to the ninth could materially improve their odds of landing a franchise-changing player.
The Play-in tournament only complicates the math.
Under the new rules, the loser of the opening matchup between the seventh and eighth seeds receives lottery eligibility and a 2.7% chance at the top pick, while the winner locks itself into a late first-round selection.
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That remains the central flaw in the NBA’s approach to tanking.
The league continues trying to regulate behavior without addressing the economic reality driving it.
Intentional losing persists because the draft remains the NBA’s most reliable pipeline for superstar acquisition, particularly for small-market franchises that rarely attract elite free agents.
The new format will likely eliminate some of the more blatant tank jobs, the 15-win rosters built around G League call-ups before Christmas, satisfying broadcast partners and fans tired of unwatchable late-season basketball.
But it may also replace bottom-tier tanking with a league-wide jockeying match for positioning in March and April.
The race to the bottom may be slowing down.
The race to the middle is probably just getting started.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
Explosion rocks Dallas apartment building as massive fire sends black smoke into sky, at least 4 injured
At least four people were injured following an explosion and fire at a Dallas apartment building, authorities said.
The incident was reported around 1:20 p.m. at a two-story apartment complex in the city's Oak Cliff neighborhood, Fox 4 reported. Nearly 100 firefighters responded to the scene.
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Several victims were reported, the news outlet said. One person was taken to a hospital, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
Sources told FOX 4 that fire crews were en route to the location to investigate reports of a gas leak when the explosion happened.
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People in the area reported hearing an explosion before the fire, but the exact cause of the blaze was unknown. In addition, windows on neighboring buildings appeared to be blown out and debris was scattered across the street.
There also appeared to be a utility truck that was affected by the fire, the news station reported.
It was not clear how many people were in the building at the time.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Dallas Fire-Rescue. A large plume of black smoke could be seen above the fire.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson encouraged everyone to pray for those impacted by the fire.
"We ask everyone to please pray for our Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel who are still fighting this fire," he wrote on X. "They do an amazing job under very, very difficult circumstances like this. And we just pray that they will be safe while they try to save and help every single person they can affected by this," said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
Putin lands $16.5B nuclear win on Russia’s doorstep in massive Kazakhstan pact: reports
Russia signed a landmark nuclear agreement with Kazakhstan on Thursday to build the Central Asian country’s first-ever commercial power plant, marking a major geopolitical and economic victory for President Vladimir Putin, according to reports.
The $16.5 billion project, signed during high-level bilateral talks in Astana between Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, will be backed by a Russian export loan covering roughly 85% of the total cost, Reuters reported.
Rosatom, Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation, will lead construction near the village of Ulken in southeastern Kazakhstan along the shores of Lake Balkhash.
Rosatom secured the primary construction mandate after beating out competition from China National Nuclear Corp., France’s EDF and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the outlet said.
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The pact directly advances the Kremlin’s efforts to anchor its economic and geopolitical influence within former Soviet states amid Western sanctions.
According to the World Nuclear Association, Kazakhstan is the world's largest producer of uranium.
For Kazakhstan, the facility is intended to stabilize a long-term domestic energy supply, since it has struggled with old coal-reliant power infrastructure and electricity deficits for more than two decades.
"The agreement signed today on the construction of the Balkhash NPP has an important role," Tokayev said at the signing ceremony.
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Putin called the deal "a flagship project in the field of peaceful nuclear energy" and said "the commissioning of the plant will make a significant contribution to the energy supply of the Kazakh economy, helping to provide businesses and households with affordable and clean energy."
"I would like to point out that, as we agreed with the president of Kazakhstan, we are not simply talking about the creation of a nuclear power plant or construction; we are talking about the creation of an entire industry, including education, personnel training, and so on," he added.
According to Kazakhstan’s atomic energy agency, the massive facility will feature two advanced VVER-1200 Generation III+ reactors.
Total development costs are estimated at $16.5 billion, with officials noting that approximately $2 billion of the sum will be allocated toward security systems and foundational infrastructure.
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Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, with the first reactor slated to become operational by early 2034.
The project follows a 2024 national referendum in which Kazakh voters formally approved development at the Balkhash site.
However, the pivot to atomic energy is sensitive for local citizens. The nation hosted hundreds of Soviet nuclear weapons tests at the Semipalatinsk site between 1949 and 1989, leaving behind severe public health crises and environmental pollution.
Distrust increased over the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, after which tens of thousands of Kazakh workers fell ill assisting in cleanup operations.
According to Bloomberg, the two countries also signed a currency swap arrangement Thursday.
Bank of Russia Gov. Elvira Nabiullina and National Bank of Kazakhstan Gov. Timur Suleimenov signed the ruble-tenge swap agreement.
Police rush to SCOTUS justice’s home amid rising threats against conservatives — but report quickly unravels
Police responded to a "swatting call" at the residence of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in Virginia on Wednesday evening, police confirmed, marking the latest security scare involving a conservative public figure.
"Yesterday evening at approximately 9:02 p.m., officers responded to a swatting call at the residence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice in Fairfax County," a Fairfax County Police Department public information officer told Fox News Digital on Thursday when asked about reports concerning the incident at Coney Barrett’s home.
Fairfax police responded to Barrett's home after they received a call through the department’s non-emergency line, then met with the justice’s security detail, who confirmed the report was "fictitious," the officer told Fox News Digital.
The incident comes amid years of heightened threats against Supreme Court justices, including protests outside conservative justices’ homes after the leaked Dobbs draft opinion in 2022 showing the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the arrest near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home of a California man who was later charged with attempted murder.
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"Officers immediately coordinated with Supreme Court Police personnel assigned to the residence and quickly determined that the report was fictitious. No additional police resources were utilized," the police department said.
Swatting calls target an individual by calling in a false police report for crimes — such as a murder, a hostage situation, bomb threats or active shooters that would require a greater law enforcement response — to the home of the target.
A partial audio recording of the police audio surfaced on X on Thursday that reported a "call came in for sounds of gunshots." Law enforcement can be heard saying there was a "suspicious noise" at a 24-hour security coverage for a "high-priority resident" of the county.
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Barrett was on the bench Thursday morning alongside her colleagues, and read aloud summaries of two opinions she authored. Barrett made no mention of the Wednesday incident in her bench remarks.
"Swatting is an attempt to get an innocent person killed—in this case, a sitting Supreme Court Justice," posted Republican Utah Sen, Mike Lee on X as reports of the incident surfaced Thursday. "The proper response will be putting the offender in prison for many, many years."
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The leaked Dobbs draft opinion became a lightning rod for protests, with abortion-rights activists demonstrating outside the homes of Barrett, Kavanaugh and other members of the court’s conservative majority.
In June 2022, Californian Nicholas John Roske was charged with attempted murder for making violent threats against Kavanaugh while carrying a gun, knife and pepper spray near the justice’s home. He was later sentenced to eight years behind bars.
Attacks on conservative leaders have been on the rise, most recently targeting the commander in chief, including just in April at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
There were two public assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto a roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.
Earlier this month, a California Army veteran known for his display of "Make America Great Again" memorabilia and American flags outside his residence, dubbed the "Trump House," was attacked and beaten to death.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.
Fox News' Bill Mears contributed to this report.
NASCAR team member suspended after arrest for allegedly hitting man with golf cart at Charlotte Motor Speedway
There was an eye-catching name with an even more interesting set of circumstances surrounding it on NASCAR's recently released penalty report.
On Wednesday, NASCAR shared its penalty report that listed a woman by the name of Evanna Howell, who has been suspended indefinitely. According to Howell's LinkedIn page, she has been a senior account manager for 23XI Racing for over two years.
23XI Racing is co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin.
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The ban comes after a "behavioral" incident that took place at Charlotte Motor Speedway. According to court records, the incident was rather serious.
According to Cabarrus County court records obtained by WBTV, the 35-year-old Howell was arrested on May 23 and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury.
The arrest warrant alleged that Howell used a golf cart to assault a 77-year-old man at the speedway. The police report from the alleged incident stated that the elderly man suffered a "severe laceration" as a result of the alleged assault.
TENNESSEE COACH RICK BARNES REFLECTS ON KYLE BUSCH'S TRAGIC DEATH AND NASCAR'S EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE
Howell was released from Cabarrus County jail on May 26, three days after the alleged incident and subsequent arrest, after posting a $125,000 bond. She was wearing a 23XI Racing hoodie when her mugshot was taken.
Howell has been a member of the 23XI Racing account team since November 2021, according to her LinkedIn page.
The 23XI team has had a fantastic 2026 with team driver Tyler Reddick winning the first three Cup Series races of the campaign before adding two more victories since.
Reddick is the only driver with more than two wins across the 13 races of the 2026 season thus far. Hamlin is second in the standings, 122 points behind Reddick.
Giants claim locker room meeting resolves Dart-Trump controversy, but player who started it wasn't in the room
The drama that ensued after New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart introduced President Donald Trump at a rally last week reached new heights at the start of organized team activities this week in the form of a team meeting that multiple reports said was to allow the face of the franchise to address the issue.
And here's how ridiculous this stuff is: Abdul Carter was absent.
Carter is the defensive end who took to social media to basically call out Dart for supporting the president. In since-deleted posts on X, Carter said he thought the video of Dart's Trump introduction was "s--t" from AI and added, "what are we doing, man?"
The controversy that followed has spread like a wildfire.
ABDUL CARTER DELETES CRITICISM OF TEAMMATE JAXSON DART EVEN AS NEW YORK RADIO HOST SHREDS HIM ON AIR
Left-wingers are criticizing Dart for daring to support the president.
Conservatives are criticizing Carter for calling out Dart's right to support whomever he wants.
NFL people — former players mostly — taking sides.
And, of course, the media is mostly blaming Dart because this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't exercised his God-given right to have a political opinion as a United States citizen.
The truth is, the only thing that matters is what is happening within the Giants and how players are reacting to the imbroglio. Reports on that front, which OutKick and Fox News have confirmed, say the team is moving forward.
The Giants locker room has decided to continue bonding and "ignore the outside noise," one source said. Another said players such as Jameis Winston and Brian Burns spoke about the "brotherhood" of the team.
Great.
But this was a major fumble.
Because the brother who lit the fuse wasn't present.
The New York Post first reported that Carter was absent from the Wednesday OTA session and the meeting. He had told the team he'd be away while celebrating Eid-al-Adha, the Muslim holiday that celebrates the day Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Ishmael to Allah.
(Christians and Jews believe Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, who was the son of promise, to God.)
Anyway, the meeting meant to clear the air didn't include the guy who initially stunk up the joint to begin with. Because no other Giants player publicly aired his opinion in agreement or disagreement with Dart's rally appearance.
And, yes, left-wing media is blaming Dart for instigating the whole thing by appearing at the rally. But the same media has not previously pointed to other athletes supporting left-wing politicians as problematic.
Back to Carter's absence: What was the point of having this meeting without him?
Why not delay the meeting a day considering New York's OTA sessions run through Friday?
It would've made perfect sense to wait on Carter to show up to discuss keeping matters within the confines of the locker room if the guy who thrust this matter onto social media wasn't present.
Reports are nonetheless painting the matter as resolved.
That feels premature because it seems hard to resolve an issue if the most aggrieved party isn't around to agree.
The Giants will speak with reporters on Friday for the first time since the whole saga began. That should be interesting.