Mizzou softball shuts out Kansas City in offensive clinic

(The Center Square) - Ohio voters elected party representatives for governor, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The election was the first since the Ohio legislature redrew congressional maps as part of a nationwide redistricting effort.

U.S. House

U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, held out against a Democratic primary challenge in his hotly contested district, according several outlets. The Ohio legislature redrew congressional district boundaries in October 2025. The new map could unseat Landsman.

Eric Conroy, an Air Force veteran and former CIA officer, will face off against Landsman in the newly apportioned district in November.

“I care deeply about policies that strengthen American competitiveness, support working families, ensure energy independence, and uphold the rule of law,” Conroy wrote.

Landsman has focused his campaign on lowering healthcare costs, including capping insulin. He also advocated for an increased minimum wage in Ohio.

U.S. Senate

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, will compete against former Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in November’s general election. Husted ran unopposed in the Republican primary to fill the remainder of Vice President JD Vance’s term in the senate, which will end in 2028.

Brown easily beat challengers Ron Kincaid, a software developer. Brown is looking to reclaim the seat lost to Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024. Brown was first elected to Congress in 2006.

“Ohioans are fed up with the corruption and greed in Washington,” Brown wrote. “They deserve a senator who fights for working families, not CEOs and billionaires.”

Brown has attacked Husted’s voting record and called for bans of stock trading in Congress. He criticized Husted’s support of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Governor

Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate, secured the Republican nomination for governor of Ohio. He fended off a challenge from Casey Putsch in the party primary competition.

Ramaswamy coasted through the primary election with an early endorsement from President Donald Trump, a former rival.

“I know Vivek well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL. He is Young, Strong, and Smart! Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country,” Trump wrote on social media Tuesday.

Ramaswamy will face off against Dr. Amy Acton, the unopposed Democrat challenger in the Ohio gubernatorial primary, in November. Acton is a physician and the former director of the Ohio Department of Public Health.

Acton has called for expanding Medicaid and fighting against further cuts to the healthcare program.

“I will fight against cuts to this life-saving program, whether they’re from Columbus or Congress,” Acton wrote.

Ohio voters will head back to the polls Nov. 3 to elect candidates for each seat and more across the state.

A teenager shot dead two staff members and injured two other people, including an 11-year-old girl, on Tuesday in the latest school shooting to rock Brazil.

A 13-year-old boy was arrested over the attack at Sao Jose Institute, a junior high school in Rio Branco, capital of northwestern Acre state, the local government said.

The injured girl was shot in the leg.

The teenager, who is a student at the school, entered the building and fired several shots in a hallway leading to the principal's office, Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Russo of the Acre military police department told reporters. 

He surrendered to police after the attack.

His stepfather, who owns the .380-caliber pistol used in the attack, was also arrested.

Police have identified other students who may have cooperated with the attacker, Russo added.

Eduardo Rodrigues Cavalcante, a receptionist at a hotel adjacent to the school, described scenes of terror, as some students tried to jump over a wall separating the school from the hotel.

"The wall is six meters high, and only one person managed to jump over and take refuge here in the hotel. The other people were left on the school roof trying to escape," the 19-year-old receptionist said, adding that he heard "gunshots and a lot of screaming."

Images released by a local media outlet showed a woman being evacuated on a stretcher and scenes of heartbreak outside the school, with people crying and hugging each other.

"In the face of this tragedy, the state expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, the school community of the Sao Jose Institute, and all education professionals affected by this event," the state government said.

It added that classes had been suspended for three days at all schools in the state and that psychological support teams had been mobilized to assist students and teachers.

Brazil has seen a sharp increase in attacks on educational institutions in recent years.

In September 2025, two teenagers were shot and killed, and three others were wounded at a school in the northeastern state of Ceara. 

In October 2023, a shooting at a school in Sao Paulo left a 17-year-old student dead and three others wounded. 

Shortly beforehand, a teenager was killed and three others were wounded in a knife attack as they left a school in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.

In April of the same year, a 25-year-old man entered a daycare center in the southern state of Santa Catarina and killed four children between the ages of 3 and 7 with an axe.

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A man suspected of ploughing a car into a crowd in the German city of Leipzig, killing two people, was ordered into a psychiatric hospital by a judge on Tuesday.

The judge found "compelling reasons" to believe that the 33-year-old suspect carried out the attack "in a state of at least significantly diminished responsibility", prosecutors in Leipzig said in a statement.

The German national allegedly drove the vehicle Monday at high speed down a main street in the historic centre of the eastern city, leaving two people dead and several others wounded. 

Germany has been shaken by a series of car-ramming attacks in recent years, including one targeting a Christmas market in 2024 in Magdeburg, and others in Berlin and Munich.

The suspect in Leipzig was treated in a specialist psychiatric hospital from April 17 to 29, "due to his mental condition and with his consent", police and prosecutors revealed on Tuesday.

Authorities said they do not believe that the suspect, who was arrested at the scene, had any political or religious motive for the act -- but believe the car ramming was deliberate.

Prosecutors allege that the man "wanted to kill and seriously injure as many people as possible".

He had previously come to the police's attention this year for "making threats and for defamation-related offences," they said, without elaborating.

Regional health officials said in a separate statement to AFP that during his stay at the hospital he did not present a danger to himself or others. 

"There were therefore no medical grounds to prevent the patient, who was in the clinic of his own free will, from leaving the clinic or to detain him there against his will," they said.

Authorities declined to give further details about his condition, citing patient confidentiality.

A 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, both German citizens, were killed in Monday's incident.

Six other people aged between 21 and 87 were injured, two of them seriously, police said. 

More than 80 people also received care "due to the psychological impact of what they experienced," they said.

- 'Deeply affected' -

The suspect is being investigated on suspicion of double murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, according to the police, who believe he acted alone.

He was expected to appear in court later Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the street where the deadly incident happened was still cordoned off as police searched the area.

At a church in the grounds of a nearby university, Heidi Rheinsdorf said she had travelled to Leipzig to show support to the local community.

Wiping back tears, the 32-year-old told AFP she was "shocked" when she heard about the car-ramming, adding: "I just don't understand why (the alleged perpetrator) did it.

"I just feel so sorry for the people."

University student Dalyan Unland, 20, said he was "deeply affected by the fact that people died... in a place where I walk every day". 

Lynn Sue Leiste said she had to muster all her courage to come and lay two white roses and a candle at a makeshift memorial at the church. 

The 25-year-old said she had been "extremely worried" as her sister was in the street at the time. 

The perpetrator "must be locked up forever", she said, adding that "security measures really could have been strengthened".

Many of the deadly car rampages Germany has seen in recent years were carried out by people who were found to have psychological problems.

The deadliest involved a Tunisian man with jihadist motives who ploughed a stolen truck through a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016, claiming 13 lives.

In 2024, a Christmas market in Magdeburg was targeted by a Saudi man, who drove a car into the crowd, killing six people and injuring more than 300. 

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Hours after the UAE's top oil executive said the country had "emerged stronger" from war and as thousands attended an Abu Dhabi summit to boost the local economy, phones across the country were alerting that missiles were incoming.

The first attacks since a truce came into effect last month were a stark reminder of its fragility, dampening hopes of a quick return to normality, even as Iran "categorically" denied on Tuesday that it was behind the new offensive.

- 'Not again' -

The new attacks on Monday, which the UAE blamed on Iran, pushed schools to revert to remote learning, having resumed in-person classes roughly two weeks earlier.

In the weeks preceding the attacks, residents had trickled back to the UAE, where 90 percent of the population are foreigners, with beachgoers returning to the iconic man-made Palm while Dubai restaurants returned to life.

One executive at a food and beverage company told AFP they were in a meeting to discuss raising salaries following war-driven cuts, when phones began ringing.

"We literally just slammed our faces into our hands and sat in silence for a solid minute," they told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

"There was an overall feeling of... exhaustion, of disbelief that this might start again," they said.

Iran targeted the UAE more than any other country during the war, hitting US assets but also energy and civilian infrastructure and even landmarks.

Despite the UAE's very high interception rate, the attacks broke the aura of stability that the Gulf had long enjoyed and sent tourists fleeing during peak season.

- New reality -

The threat of renewed strikes now looms over the region's wider economy, not just oil and gas, threatening diversification ambitions in the Gulf.

"The UAE non-oil private sector signalled a further loss of momentum in April, with operating conditions showing their weakest performance for more than five years," warned David Owen, a senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

For weeks, Gulf states have been stuck between war and peace as talks stall and the vital Strait of Hormuz remains all but closed.

"This might become a new reality where every now and then we have a few alerts," the executive told AFP, warning the economy depended on stability and the perception of safety.

Speaking about Iran, Emirati political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla said: "Whenever they are angry against America or Israel or anything, they could, they will shoot at us and probably we are their prime target."

- Why the UAE? -

The UAE is a top US ally and an Arab country with ties to Israel, making it a prime target for Iran, said HA Hellyer, Middle East expert at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

Its diversified economy means Iranian attacks have additional repercussions, while proximity to Iran makes it an easier drone target than Israel, he said.

Iran may also single out the UAE to attempt "to further drive a wedge between Gulf countries", compounding an Emirati-Saudi rift that broke out publicly in December over Yemen.

The Gulf's two biggest economies are divided over the war and on Iran. The UAE has had a more hawkish stance and expressed maximalist demands for any deal, while Saudi Arabia has supported mediator Pakistan's efforts.

The attacks attributed to Iran raise "the risk of Emirati retaliation; Abu Dhabi has signalled it will consolidate further US and Israel ties", Hellyer said.

In contrast, Riyadh has increasingly grown to see Israel as a major threat since normalisation talks fell through following the outbreak of the Gaza war.

Riyadh, which has sustained fewer Iranian attacks than its neighbour, "regards the risks of action as being greater than the risks of inaction and the Emiratis view it in the opposite direction", Hellyer said.

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Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to use the "energy and belief" generated by reaching the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as fuel to complete an historic double.

Even by his frenetic standards, Arteta was a blur of energy as the Gunners boss embarked on a jubilant lap of honour with his players after Tuesday's 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

Bukayo Saka's close-range finish in the first half sealed a 2-1 aggregate victory that sent Arsenal back into the Champions League final for the first time since their only previous appearance ended in defeat against Barcelona in 2006.

The north London club are now four games from immortality, with three wins from their remaining Premier League matches against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace guaranteeing a first English title since 2004.

After the title fight with Manchester City is decided, Arteta's side will travel to Budapest to face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich on May 30 as they chase a maiden Champions League crown.

Holders PSG, who beat Arsenal in the semi-finals last year, head into Wednesday's second leg in Munich with a 5-4 lead.

Whoever they face in Hungary will encounter an Arsenal team riding a tidal wave of emotion after the outpouring of joy from Arteta, his players and 60,000 fans on Tuesday.

From the moment, thousands of Arsenal fans massed outside the stadium to greet the team bus with red flares, flags and defiant roars of encouragement, it was clear this was a day unlike any other for the Gunners.

Arteta was ecstatic during the wild post-match celebrations and, on the cusp of history, he challenged his players to use the feeling to carry them to the finish line in both competitions.

"It's great. Everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything," he said.

"Let's use it in the right way and understand that the margins and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve are huge, but that we have the ability and the conviction to do it.

"I'm really going to enjoy it tonight, everybody is enjoying this moment now. But the high is not too high and the low is not too low. My job is to be quite stable.

"We have an incredible game against West Ham, a really tough one, and we're going to have four days to do that."

- 'An incredible night' -

Over two decades have passed since Arsene Wenger's 'Invincibles' reigned supreme with their unbeaten title-winning campaign in 2004.

Wenger gradually lost his way after losing to Barca in the Champions League final, but Arteta finally appears to have recaptured the spirit of that iconic team.

The Spaniard has laboured for over six years to create the perfect alchemy between players and fans, a bond that has come dangerously close to breaking during a trophy drought dating back to the 2020 FA Cup victory.

Arteta has hit on the perfect ingredients this season, leaving Arsenal on the brink of erasing the pain of three successive runners-up finishes in the Premier League.

"It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that's involved in this football club," Arteta said.

"The supporters were with us for every ball. They made it special and unique, and I have never felt it like that in this stadium.

"We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything on the line, the boys did an incredible job."

Winning the Champions League and Premier League in a single season would be greatest campaign in the club's 140-year history.

Arteta is happy to give the credit to his players, admitting he could never have imagined being so close to such glory when he arrived to start his first managerial job in 2019.

"They are the ones that have to make these kind of performances. I didn't really imagine it because we weren't in Europe at the beginning. This is a big achievement," he said. 

"We have been building little by little. We believed in what we wanted to do. Now we have to maintain it."

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was halting the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after just one day, in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.

Trump's so-called "Project Freedom" to help vessels leave the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint to the Gulf where Iran has seized control in response to being attacked, began on Monday.

But the US leader said on Truth Social that he was now pausing it after a request by mediator Pakistan and other countries, saying that "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.

"We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.

Washington is maintaining a blockade of Iran's ports in a bid to pressure Iran to make a deal to end the war that the United States and Israel launched on February 28.

Tensions had been soaring over the Hormuz operation, with the United States saying it had sunk seven Iranian boats, and several civilian vessels coming under attack, allegedly from Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Tuesday that the United States has completed its offensive operations against Iran, which it dubbed "Operation Epic Fury".

Rubio's comments echoed statements to Congress nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire.

"The operation is over -- Epic Fury -- as the president notified Congress. We're done with that stage of it," Rubio told reporters at the White House.

The clashes in the Strait of Hormuz were not part of the original war, he said.

"This is not an offensive operation; this is a defensive operation," Rubio said. "And what that means is very simple -- there's no shooting unless we're shot at first."

Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, killing top leaders and destroying major military and economic sites but not forcing the collapse of the Islamic republic, which has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.

Trump on April 8 declared a ceasefire with Iran that he has since extended even though negotiations with Tehran have been at a standstill.

Rubio said the United States has "achieved the objectives" of the war.

"These guys are facing, they are facing real, catastrophic destruction to their economy," he said, while adding that Trump still preferred a negotiated deal with Iran.

dk/ksb

(The Center Square) - Legislation to reduce credit card fees on purchases is a step closer to final passage in Colorado with proponents saying it will help small businesses and opponents arguing it will hurt rewards and cash back programs.

The bill was passed by the state House of Representatives on its second reading Tuesday. It will need a third reading and a final vote in the House before it heads to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk. The Legislature, which is scheduled to end its regular session on May 13, hasn't announced the date of the final vote.

Business groups, such as the National Federation of Independent Business, have voiced support for the Democratic majority's bill and argued it would save small businesses unfair costs. Credit card and consumer groups have expressed opposition, saying credit card rewards would be reduced at a loss to consumers.

Colorado’s Payment Card Networks’ Fees legislation, Senate Bill 26-134, would prohibit a 1.5-3.5% credit card fee, which businesses pay when shoppers use a credit card, from including sales tax. Currently the fee paid to the card-issuing bank is based on the total sales price, which includes the sales tax.

In Colorado, the average sales tax is nearly 11% according to the Tax Foundation. Proponents for the bill argue the credit card fee including sales tax is unfair to businesses, which are passing along the tax and not directly benefiting from it. A report by business research group CMPSI found that credit card fees on sales tax totaled $217 million in Colorado in 2024.

“They [businesses] should not have to pay fees on the local or state taxes that they are collecting from the customer,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie, the Democrat who sponsored the bill, told the House on Tuesday while presenting SB26-134 on the floor.

“They are simply acting as a pass-through, a collector of those taxes to push those on to local or state governments," said McCluskie, whose legislative district consists of six rural counties in central Colorado.

Opponents have argued that benefits to businesses would be at the loss of consumers by smaller credit card rewards.

“Consumers actively choose co-branded credit cards for the real value they provide, from travel rewards to everyday savings that help stretch household budgets,” Will Hild, president of the business advocacy group Consumers Defense, said in a statement to The Center Square. “This bill undermines that system, taking away rewards many families rely on. It also creates new costs and complexity for small businesses that depend on efficient, seamless payment systems.”

Hild was not available Tuesday for a Center Square interview.

It is not confirmed by how much or if credit card rewards would be directly impacted by the bill. Alleigh Marré, executive director of the American Parents Coalition Action group, opposed the bill and said that any limit to the credit card processing fee cuts down on the bank’s “wiggle room” from which it can offer rewards.

“That’s one of the first things that stand to be cut – those reward incentives that get passed back to the consumer,” Marré told The Center Square. She added that the loss of credit card rewards would affect families who use them for cash-back or travel benefits.

Colorado Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Teresa Busk on Tuesday told The Center Square that the chamber did not yet have a position on the issue. 

Rep. Ken DeGraaf, R-El Paso County, spoke in opposition to the bill at the Tuesday House vote, calling the argument over the issue, “A Goliath versus Goliath, and then with the emotional bait of saying that we are going to be helping small business.”

Colorado Politics reported that 175 lobbyists and firms had signed up to work on the bill, with a roughly equal split between those in support and opposition.

Missouri women’s golf head coach Caroline Westrup Gaeta was named to the Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year watch list Tuesday ahead of the NCAA Championship.

Westrup Gaeta, now in her fifth season, has led Missouri to one of its best years in recent program history. The Tigers earned a spot in the NCAA Stanford Regional, marking the team’s first postseason appearance since 2018.

Under her leadership, Missouri has made a major jump in the national rankings. The team has moved from No. 120 to No. 31 over the past four seasons, per Mizzou Athletics.

Before Missouri, Westrup Gaeta played at Florida State and later competed on professional tours before moving into coaching. She began coaching at IMG Academy before moving to the college level, where she spent one season as an assistant at Georgia before taking over the Missouri program.

Guarneri named to WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year watch list

The recognition for Mizzou beyond the head coach. Francesco Guarneri was also named to the WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year watch list in his first season with the program.

Guarneri helped guide Missouri to back-to-back team wins and its first road victory since 2015, along with two second-place finishes to close the fall season. Guarneri also previously coached at IMG Academy before joining Missouri.

Liljeberg named to All-SEC Freshman Team

Ebba Liljeberg was named to the 2026 All-SEC Freshman team Friday after leading Missouri with a 71.48 stroke average.

The freshman is on pace to set the program’s lowest single-season average for a first-year player and opened the season with a dominant win at the Sam Golden Invitational, finishing 19-under.

Liljeberg has been one of the team’s most consistent players, adding multiple top-five finishes and serving as Missouri’s top scorer at the SEC Championship.

Men’s golf commit wins ISGA National Championship

Antoni Hawkins closed his high school career with a win at the Independent Schools Golf Association National Championship.

The Merchant Taylors’ School in Rickmansworth, England, standout posted rounds of 71, 71 and 4-under and will join Missouri next season after also winning multiple international events.

San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama was accused Tuesday by the Minnesota Timberwolves of repeated illegal goaltending violations during their first NBA playoff clash.

French 7-foot-4 (2.24m) phenom Wembanyama had put in a historic defensive performance in the Spurs' Western semi-final game-one loss to Minnesota, making an all-time postseason record 12 blocks.

But Timberwolves coach Chris Finch on Tuesday told reporters that "at least four" of Wembanyama's blocks should have been ruled fouls by match officials.

"Obviously he had a historic night, but when we looked at them, at least four of them were goaltending, maybe even a fifth," said Finch.

"To me, it's a little alarming that none of them were called. Here's a generational shot blocker who's seven-foot-six, who goes after everything, and there's no heightened awareness that these blocks could be goal tends?"

While basketball players can block shots in most circumstances, it is illegal to touch the ball if it is already on a downward trajectory and it is either directly above the net rim, or has already touched the backboard.

"I mean, the third possession of the game was a goaltend, and it was a clean, obvious one," said Finch.

"So let's just say there were four. That's eight points. You know the value of eight points in an NBA game? It is massive."

The Timberwolves won the game 104-102, but the Spurs remain favorites to win the series, having finished the regular season five places higher than Minnesota, and with 13 more wins.

Wembanyama is one of three finalists for this year's NBA Most Valuable Player award, and has already been unanimously named this year's Defensive Player of the Year.

At just 22, "Wemby" is already positioned to be one of the NBA's biggest superstars for years to come.

Finch said his team had not complained directly to the league as "it's kind of a bit of a waste of time because it doesn't really change the outcomes."

"Again, it's just alarming that not a single one of them was called...  I think they're pretty obvious when you look at them," he added. 

amz/rcw

A US jury slapped the suspect in last month's media gala attack with an additional charge of allegedly shooting a Secret Service officer, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.

The fourth charge -- assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon -- comes on top of three charges filed against Cole Tomas Allen, 31, when he appeared in court two days after the incident.

Over the weekend, Jeanine Pirro, the federal prosecutor overseeing the case, said this past weekend that investigators found "a pellet" from the ammunition in Allen's gun "intertwined with the fiber of the vest of the Secret Service officer."

The indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury Tuesday, formally charges Allen with the assault on the officer.

Previously, Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, transportation of a firearm and ammunition across state lines with intent to commit a felony, as well as using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Allen, who did not enter a plea during his previous court appearance, faces a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted of trying to kill Trump during the dinner at a Washington hotel on April 25.

While security personnel fired multiple times at Allen, he was not shot, the Department of Justice reiterated in its announcement of the additional charge. 

Instead, he suffered a minor knee injury after he "fell to the ground, was restrained by law enforcement, and was placed under arrest," the department said.

The annual dinner draws scores of Washington journalists, celebrities and entertainers.

Trump has traditionally boycotted the dinner but decided to attend this year. He was uninjured in the attempted attack and has called for the dinner to be rescheduled.

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