Hot USA News

#Breaking Baseball Players Issue Apology Over Old Offensive Tweets That Resurfaced Three Major League Baseball players had to apologize for racist and homophobic tweets made when they were still in high school. Lauren Walsh, a publicist, speaks with NPR's Audie Cornish about accountability for social media posts. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Heading May Be Riskier For Women Soccer Players Than Men Female soccer players are more likely than males to suffer measurable impact on their brains as a result of heading the ball during soccer. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Offensive Tweets Remind Major Leaguers That On Social Media, The Past Is Never Past Sean Newcomb nearly pitched a no-hitter, but it was his years-old tweets that drew headlines. He's not alone: Several MLB players have seen past homophobic and racial slurs resurface recently. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Lawson Craddock's Amazing Last-Place Finish In The Tour De France It was "incredibly emotional" to finish in Paris, the U.S. cyclist said. After fracturing his shoulder blade three weeks ago, he said, "I was raised tougher than that, raised in Texas." Read more on NPR

#Breaking Welsh Cyclist Geraint Thomas Wins Tour De France Thomas emerged from the shadows as a support rider for teammate and four-time champion Chris Froome to become the first Welshman to win the tour. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: Baseball, Broken Bones And Trade Deadlines In Major League Baseball, the perennial powerhouse teams are looking strong as the trade deadline approaches. Scott Simon talks with ESPN's Howard Bryant. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Food, Fast: Feeding The Tour De France In 'Eat. Race. Win.' A new Amazon Prime Video series follows chef Hannah Grant around Europe as she prepares locally-sourced, high-energy meals for athletes who require over 6,000 calories every day. Read more on NPR

#Breaking All Black Little League Team Wins Washington, D.C. Championship NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Keith Barnes, president of the Mamie Johnson Little League, about the organization's victory at the Washington, D.C. Little League championship Tuesday. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Rough Riding For Chris Froome, In A Wild Tour De France This year's Tour de France has been a race of misadventures for defending champion Chris Froome – who's been accosted by police and suffered a run of bad luck. He's currently third. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Lawyers For Larry Nassar Say He Was Assaulted In Federal Prison Attorneys for the disgraced former sports doctor say a judge's harsh comments at sentencing contributed to the assault, which reportedly in May when he was released into the general population. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Olympic Athletes Fear Retaliation If They Speak Out Numerous Olympic athletes have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse or assault. Yet others do not, fearing retaliation or a derailing of their athletic careers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Bleacher Report Lists 2018's Most Influential People In Sports Culture Rachel Martin talks to Bleacher Report's deputy managing editor Adena Andrews about the website's picks for the most influential people in sports culture. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Tiger Woods Gave One British Open Fan A Shot To Remember Colin Hauck was filming what he thought was going to be a critical moment for Tiger Woods but then the ball hit him right in the noggin. Hauck got a handshake from Woods and a signed glove. Read more on NPR

#Breaking German Soccer Player Says He Quit National Team Because Of Racism One of the stars of German soccer has quit the national team, complaining of racism from both fans and the football association because of his Turkish ancestry. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Swimmer Ryan Lochte Suspended For 14 Months Two months ago, he posted a photo on social media of himself receiving an intravenous infusion. That caught the attention of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which launched an investigation. Read more on NPR

#Breaking German Star Player With Turkish Roots Says He Quit National Team Over Racism Mesut Ozil was criticized after he posed for a photo in May with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose," he said. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Cleveland DMV Tries To Thwart Smiling In Driver's License Photos Ohio man's social media post shows the DMV camera with a photo attached of ex-Cavs' star LeBron James wearing his new LA Lakers jersey — one way to make sure people don't smile for the camera. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Alabama Minor League Baseball Team Tries To Honor Millennials This weekend's Millennial Night featured avocado burgers, participation ribbons (just for showing up) and napping stations. Outraged millennials condemned the condescension on Twitter. Read more on NPR

#Breaking A Pakistani Squash Player Profiled In 'The War To Be Her' Maria Toorpakai was stopped from playing squash in her native Pakistan. Today she's one of the best players. Her story is told in The War to Be Her by Erin Heidenreich. Korva Coleman speaks to them. Read more on NPR

#Breaking He's In Last Place In The Tour De France, But Not Giving Up American rider Lawson Craddock broke his shoulder blade in the first stage of the Tour de France. But he hasn't given up. Read more on NPR

#Breaking The Taliban Couldn't Quash This Pakistani Squash Champ For much of her life, Maria Toorpakai has been threatened by extremist groups like the Taliban. Now the subject of a PBS documentary, she tells how she found the courage to keep playing sports. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: NFL Anthem Protest Policy Update The NFL is struggling to handle players who want to protest during the national anthem and Ohio State is facing a sexual abuse scandal. We hear about those stories and more sports news. Read more on NPR

#Breaking More Than 100 Former Ohio State Students Allege Abuse By School Doctor Officials said the allegations of inappropriate touching and harassment date from 1979 to 1997. They include students who were varsity players in 14 sports and patients of Student Health Services. Read more on NPR

#Breaking NFL And Players Union Agree To Freeze National Anthem Rule The NFL and its players union have announced a "freeze" on a new league policy on football players who protest during the national anthem. The two agreed to the delay as they try to resolve the contentious issue. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Cleveland Browns Take On 'The Office' Players on the Cleveland Browns have put out a new video where they play characters from The Office. Read more on NPR

#Breaking NFL And Players Agree To Not Enforce Controversial Anthem Rules, For Now The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to temporarily suspend enforcement of new rules requiring players to stand during the national anthem while discussions on the policy continue. Read more on NPR

#Breaking AP: Miami Dolphins Players Who Protest During Anthem Might Be Suspended The NFL will fine entire teams if players protest on the field during the national anthem. Now, the Associated Press reports, at least one team has a policy for punishing individual players. Read more on NPR

#Breaking More Than 140 'Sister Survivors' Of Larry Nassar Abuse Are Honored At ESPYS "I'm here to tell you, you cannot silence the strong forever," said one of the women who was on stage to accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Paul & Phil Have The Tour de France Covered The duo has been called the soundtrack of cycling. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Usain Bolt, The World's Fastest Man, Is Sprinting Toward Soccer The fastest man in the world could soon be the fastest soccer player in the world. Usain Bolt, world record holder in the 100-meters and 200-meters, is about to sprint into a professional soccer career. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Lance Armstrong Returns To Cycling — As A Superfan He still loves cycling, and participates in new ways behind the scenes. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Usain Bolt Looks To Strike Twice: In Talks To Join Pro Soccer Team In Australia After the news emerged, numerous sponsorship bids – and even an offer of a place for the champion sprinter to stay – quickly followed, the team says. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Major League Baseball's All-Stars To Take The Field In D.C. Major League Baseball has reached the midway point in its season, and on Tuesday, they play the 89th All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. David Greene speaks with ESPN's Jessica Mendoza about the issues dominating the league so far this year. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Here's How LeBron James Could Bike To Work In LA (But Will He?) Basketball player LeBron James has been known to bike to and from games. Reporters from the Los Angeles Times set out to find what his bike route might look like once he starts playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking World Cup Big Screen Lets Eagles Fans Relive Super Bowl Glory In Philadelphia, fans gathered in the streets to watch the World Cup Championship. Afterwards ... well, the huge TV screen was set up anyway. Why leave? Why not stay and re-watch the Super Bowl? Read more on NPR

#Breaking France Defeats Croatia: A Recap Of The 2018 World Cup NPR's Michel Martin recaps the World Cup final with Roger Bennett, host of the Men in Blazers and American Fiasco soccer podcasts. Read more on NPR

#Breaking France Wins World Cup France entered the tournament as a favorite, powered by stars like forwards Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, while Croatia was seen as a longshot for victory. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Novak Djokovic Beats Kevin Anderson To Win Fourth Wimbledon The Serbian tennis player won his fourth Wimbledon and his 13th major title with his victory over Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Read more on NPR

#Breaking World Cup Final: France Vs. Croatia It's time for the 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia. Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to David Henry Sterry, co-author of The Glorious World Cup: A Fanatic's Guide, about what to expect. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Ex-World Cup Final Referee Talks About This Critical Role Ahead Of Croatia Vs France On the eve of the World Cup Final, NPR's Michel Martin chats with former FIFA Referee Howard Webb about what it takes to referee one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Germany's Angelique Kerber Wins Wimbledon, Beating Serena Williams In The Final Serena Williams was on course for a record-tying 24th grand slam title when she was stunned by Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon on Saturday. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: Wimbledon, World Cup Serena Williams is at Wimbledon today. NPR's Renee Montagne speaks with ESPN's Howard Bryant about that and the World Cup. Read more on NPR

#Breaking This Coach Wants To Be The Next World Champion In Backward Running Track coach Aaron Yoder says he finds running backward more comfortable. "When you're running backward, you don't have as much pressure on your knee because you're landing behind yourself," he says. Read more on NPR

#Breaking What Will Serena Williams Serve Us At Wimbledon This Weekend? After a year in which she has dealt with some health scares, Williams reclaimed her fitness and her game. She is favored against Angelique Kerber to win her eighth Wimbledon singles title. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Game, Set, Marathon: Anderson Wins Record-Shattering Wimbledon Semifinal Kevin Anderson needed more than six and a half hours to beat his American opponent, John Isner. It was easily the longest match that late in a major tournament in men's tennis history. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Has Video Refereeing Ruined The World Cup? This is the first time the World Cup has used video replay to make official calls. Some say it has made for a cleaner game, but soccer purists claim it's ruined the event. Read more on NPR

#Breaking U.S. Olympic Committee Hires Sarah Hirshland As Its New CEO The hire comes nearly five months after the previous CEO, Scott Blackmun, resigned amid calls for him to quit over former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar's sexual assault of scores of minors. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Croatia's Joy And England's Sorrow Croatia defeated England in the World Cup semifinals, giving them their first-ever appearance in the finals. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Croatia Beats England In Semifinal Match, Will Face France For The World Cup Croatia advanced to its first-ever final by defeating England 2-1 in extra time on Wednesday. England will play Belgium for third place. Read more on NPR

#Breaking England Fans React To Loss During World Cup Semi-Final On Wednesday, Croatia beat England in the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly caught up with a few England fans at a bar in Central London during the match. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Croatia Defeats England To Advance To World Cup Final Croatia beat England during the World Cup semi-final. The team will now face France. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Roger Bennett of the Men In Blazers podcast about Wednesday's match and the upcoming final. Read more on NPR

#Breaking What France's World Cup Run Means For The Country's Minority Population France has advanced to the World Cup Finals. This diverse team, with many immigrants, represents the country in the context of tension over immigration in France and across Europe. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Why 'Seven Nation Army' Is The One Jock Jam To Rule Them All From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell, just about anyone can sing its hypnotic riff. Here's why The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" is the world's biggest jock jam. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Fans Wait To See Which Team Plays France In World Cup Championship England plays Croatia to determine which team faces France in the final this weekend. France beat Belgium on Tuesday to earn its spot in the match. Noel King talks to Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated. Read more on NPR

#Breaking World Cup Semi-Final: England vs Croatia, Winner Will Play France The winner of Wednesday's World Cup semi-final between England and Croatia will advance to Sunday's championship match against France. Read more on NPR

#Breaking NFL Players Union Files Grievance Over League's New National Anthem Policy The league aimed to end controversy by requiring players on the field to stand for the anthem. But the players association says the rule "infringes on player rights." Read more on NPR

#Breaking A Look At The Fashion Trends From The 2018 World Cup Soccer players are among the most fashionable men in the world. NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Simon Doonan, creative ambassador for Barneys, about the fashion trends at this year's World Cup. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Trail Running Gains Popularity, Taking Runners Deep Into Nature Trail running mixes a deep experience of the outdoors with the ancient practice of running long distances As it gains popularity, NPR looks at a 12-mile race through one of the wildest corners of New York's Adirondack Mountains. Read more on NPR

#Breaking England Advances To World Cup Semi-Finals With Win Over Sweden And what better way to rub in the victory against Sweden then to go find an IKEA and jump on all the furniture. And that's exactly what a group of English fans did. Read more on NPR

#Breaking World Cup: England, Croatia Enter Semifinals Michel Martin speaks to one of the Men in Blazers, Roger Bennett, about what to expect in the World Cup semifinals. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: World Cup We have the latest on the World Cup and the week's sports news. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Pro Athlete To Nun Ten years ago, Sister Rita Clare Yoches was playing professional football for the Detroit Demolition. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with her about her journey from pro athlete to nun. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Tour De France Kicks Off The Tour de France begins Saturday. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with Wall Street Journal sports columnist and self-professed cycling fanatic Jason Gay. Read more on NPR

#Breaking The World Cup Quarterfinals The World Cup resumes today with two quarterfinal matches. Roger Bennett of the Men In Blazers podcast checks in with an update. Earlier in the day, France defeated Uruguay 2-0 to earn a spot in the semifinals. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Meme Goals: Brazil's Star Neymar Is On A Roll At The World Cup The Brazilian soccer player is the focus of an onslaught of mockery for his habit of hurling himself to the ground and rolling to cry foul. But some Brazilians have come to his defense. Read more on NPR

#Breaking World Cup Host City Encouraged To Save Water For Fans, Told To Shower In Pairs The city of Samara wants locals to conserve water for the hordes of soccer fans that have flooded the city throughout the tournament. Their answer: shower together! Read more on NPR

#Breaking Women Stage Their Own Tour De France On Same Route, With Tougher Conditions For the fourth year in a row, women are riding the Tour de France — the same route but one day ahead of the men, with all the traffic and inconveniences. Read more on NPR

#Breaking LeBron James' Departure Upsets Cleveland Cavaliers Fan The fan wanted to burn LeBron's jersey — he laid it on a paper beer case and dumped fuel on it. He then reached in with a match, and ended up setting himself on fire. Reports say he'll be okay. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Why Shifting World Cup Fandoms Doesn't Always Work Out What do you do when your home country's team doesn't make it into the World Cup? Commentator Mike Pesca digs into the perils of shifting support from team to team in the soccer tournament. Read more on NPR

#Breaking As USA Swimming Grapples With Sexual Abuse, Athletes Cite Lack Of Female Coaches A former Olympic athlete sued her former coach for alleged abuse and USA Swimming because she says it failed to protect her. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Reporter's Notebook: In Small-Town Russia, 'Football Is My Life' Millions of Russian adults and children play soccer on various levels. In one small town, three generations of soccer players take on the meaning of the game and the World Cup. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Latest On Rescue Of Soccer Team Trapped In Flooded Cave in Thailand The team had been trapped for 10 days. Reporter Michael Sullivan was outside the cave earlier Tuesday and has the latest. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Cave Divers Mobilized Quickly To Help Trapped Soccer Team NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Bill Whitehouse, vice chairman of the British Cave Rescue Council, about the mission to rescue a soccer team and their coach trapped inside a cave in Thailand. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Final 8 World Cup Teams Set One of the most surprising aspects of this year's soccer tournament is which of the big powerhouses didn't make the cut. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Deadspin: Serena Williams Is One Of The Most Drug Tested Tennis Players Serena Williams is the most decorated player in tennis today. According to Deadspin, she's also been tested for performance enhancing drugs more than twice as often as other top American women players. Why has she been singled out? Deadspin's Laura Wagner explains. Read more on NPR

#Breaking And Los Angeles Says Hello To Ex-Cleveland Cavalier James The currently beleaguered but storied Los Angeles Lakers get another superstar to try to bring back winning ways. LeBron James chooses to join the Lakers and the city's basketball fans rejoice. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Cleveland Says Goodbye To LeBron James, Again Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James is leaving his hometown team once again. The four-time NBA most valuable player has signed a four-year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Chris Froome, 4-Time Tour De France Winner, Cleared Of Doping This paves the way for him to compete in this year's Tour, which starts Saturday. The investigation started after a sample he provided was reported to contain more of an asthma drug than allowed. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Russia Eliminates Spain On Penalty Kicks, 4-3, After A 1-1 Tie Russia scored a shocking win over Spain Sunday to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals, and Moscow fans are euphoric. Russia has never made it this far in a World Cup. Read more on NPR

#Breaking LeBron James Leaves Cleveland To Play For Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James has signed a four-year contract worth $154 million with the Los Angeles Lakers. His agency made the announcement Sunday — less than 24 hours after the NBA's free agency market opened. Read more on NPR

#Breaking LeBron James Signs Massive 4-Year Deal With LA Lakers The four-time NBA MVP will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in his 15-year career, his agency announced on Sunday. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Stars And Champions Knocked Out Of World Cup The World Cup thrills continued over the weekend, with big names falling by the wayside. NPR's Michel Martin talks soccer with Roger Bennett, one of the "Men in Blazers" podcasters. Read more on NPR

#Breaking The Art Of 'Flopping' In Soccer With soccer's World Cup in full swing, so is the flopping. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to soccer enthusiast and writer David Henry Sterry about the art of flopping. Read more on NPR