North Korea claims to have launched a new “Korean-style” tactical nuclear attack submarine that it says heralds “the beginning of a new chapter” for its navy. But analysts say those claims should be taken with a large pinch of salt, with South Korean authorities doubting the vessel even works properly.

The submarine, named “Hero Kim Kun Ok,” was launched to much fanfare at a ceremony attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The agency quoted Kim as saying the vessel was “equipped with a large number of nuclear delivery means” and capable of “preemptive and retaliatory strikes against hostile countries,” and said he had called on the country to convert all of its medium-sized subs into nuclear-capable versions.

But South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staffs (JCS) poured scorn on those claims in a statement on Friday, saying the new sub appears “not capable of normal operation,” and warned there were signs North Korea was trying to exaggerate its capabilities.

The reports about the sub come after North Korea last weekend claimed to have simulated a nuclear missile attack to warn the United States of “nuclear war danger.”

Meanwhile, US experts have also expressed doubts over the new submarine, both over the potency of its missiles and whether North Korea would be able to build more than one such vessel.

What’s ‘nuclear’ about it?

US analysts believe the submarine, which was first revealed to be under construction four years ago, is conventionally powered but possibly capable of launching ballistic missiles tipped with nuclear warheads.

Submarine expert H I Sutton, writing on the Naval News website, said the new vessel appears to be based on the old Soviet-designed Romeo-class submarines. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, North Korea already has 20 Romeo-class subs in its fleet of an estimated 64 to 86 submarines.

The latest sub appears to have 10 missile launch tubes in a compartment attached to its sail, Sutton noted, adding that, “Given the Hermit Kingdom’s investment in ballistic missiles, it is likely that these are nuclear capable.”

North Korea has test-fired submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) nine times since 2015, most recently in 2022, according to the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) North Korea Missile Test Database.

However, other analysts said it remained unclear whether the new sub was capable of launching SLBMs.

Others were even more skeptical. Carl Schuster, a retired US Navy captain and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said the newly launched sub was probably two years away from being fully operational. He said installing and testing the sub’s internal machinery and components would take around 18 months, then there would be up to six months of sea trials and training.

And even if and when the sub does become fully operational, there are some who doubt the effectiveness of Pyongyang’s submarine-launched missiles.

Vann Van Diepen, a former US government official working on weapons of mass destruction issues, wrote on the 38 North website in July that ballistic missile subs had taken a back seat to land-mobile ballistic missiles in Pyongyang’s forces and were unlikely to be “a consequential and credible leg” of its nuclear forces anytime soon.

“Pyongyang’s land-based missiles, which are much more survivable and cost-effective than a (ballistic missile submarine) force, are highly likely to remain the mainstay of its nuclear and missile forces,” he wrote.

Sending a message

While analysts believe the sub launched on Wednesday is conventionally powered, Kim has said previously that he wants his country to produce nuclear-powered vessels in the future.

He reiterated that call in his speech Wednesday, saying it was “necessary to give greater impetus to the construction of nuclear-powered submarines to strengthen and develop our navy into a military force of a world-class maritime power,” according to KCNA.

Irrespective of its power source, Schuster said Wednesday’s launch enabled Kim to “send a deterrent message” to adversaries like the US and Japan.

“He is signaling that his nuclear program is progressing and that he can soon conduct strikes from multiple directions,” Schuster said.

All US Navy submarines, both of the attack and ballistic missile varieties, are nuclear powered. Russia, China, Britain, France and India also operate nuclear-powered subs.

The launch of the sub and North Korea’s claim to have simulated a nuclear missile attack last weekend come as Pyongyang prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the country’s founding on September 9.

The events also come amid signs that Pyongyang has been rattled by increasing cooperation between the United States and South Korea.

At the end of August the two countries held joint military live-fire exercises simulating a counterattack against invading forces. And following a May summit meeting in Seoul the US and South Korean presidents pledged to step up military cooperation. That pledge followed more than a dozen missiles tests by North Korea this year – a big increase on the eight it carried out in 2021 and the four in 2020.

Record-breaking rainfall paralyzed much of Hong Kong on Friday, with flash flooding submerging metro stations and trapping drivers on roads, as authorities suspended schools and urged the public to seek safe shelter.

Photos and videos showed residents wading through murky brown floodwaters as heavy rain continued to inundate the densely populated city of 7.5 million. In some low-lying areas, streets were transformed into surging torrents, with authorities forced to rescue motorists stuck in their vehicles.

The deluge began late Thursday night, with the Hong Kong Observatory recording more than 158 millimeters (6.2 inches) in rain between 11 p.m. and midnight, the highest hourly rainfall since records began in 1884, the government said in a news release.

Some parts of city saw almost 500 mm (19.7 inches) of rainfall in 24 hours, according to online weather data site OGimet.

The extreme conditions caught many residents by surprise and came just days after Hong Kong was lashed by its strongest typhoon in five years.

Typhoon Saola, originally a super typhoon, weakened to the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane as it reached Hong Kong last weekend – but was still potent enough to shut down the city and cause hundreds of flight cancellations. Eighty-six people were injured from the typhoon, the government said.

Friday’s deluge again caused widespread transport and business disruptions across the financial hub, with the stock market canceling morning trading, and all schools closed for the day. On Friday, authorities appealed to businesses to allow non-essential employees to stay at home or seek safe shelter, citing unsafe travel conditions.

Stuart Hargreaves, a Hong Kong resident and professor, was forced to spend the night in his car after being stranded while driving home late Thursday. The flooded roads were “impassable,” he said; at one point, “water was coming over the hood of the car and I thought it was going to flood the engine.”

Several other cars had similarly flooded and were “floating” nearby, he said. He managed to park in a safe place, but there was no way out – leaving him stuck until daybreak. When he managed to drive home nine hours later, the road was “full of rocks from landslides, debris from trees, abandoned cars and so on,” he said.

As of Friday afternoon, 119 people have been reported injured from the downpour, four of whom are in serious condition, according to Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority. The government said Friday that such “extreme” conditions were expected to continue until at least midnight.

The city’s Mass Transit Railway announced it would suspend services on one of its lines after a station in the Wong Tai Sin district was flooded, with footage shared widely online showing floodwater gushing down the stairs. Another video shows workers at a different station up to their knees in water, struggling at the entrance to keep the flooding at bay.

While most other subway operations remained open, all major bus, tram and ferry services were suspended, according to public broadcaster RTHK. And although some bus services resumed Friday afternoon, many routes remain closed or diverted.

Multiple roads were also closed off due to the threat of landslides in the mountainous territory, with authorities issuing the highest “black” rainstorm warning for the first time in two years.

Videos from Thursday evening show floodwater entering the first floors of some buildings and shopping malls, with chairs and debris scattered across the floor.

The government also warned “there may be a risk of flooding” in its northern New Territories district, which is adjacent to the Chinese mainland, after the neighboring city of Shenzhen said it would release water from a reservoir.

The downpours in Shenzhen also broke multiple rain records in the city, including the maximum rainfall records over two-hour, three-hour, six-hour and 12-hour periods, which have stood since 1952, according to Chinese state media.

Shenzhen saw 469 millimeters (about 18.5 inches) of rain from 5 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, with kindergartens, primary and secondary schools shut on Friday, state media reported. Transport was disrupted there, too, with six subway lines suspended.

Sajida Abu Salah, clad in all black, is angry.

Standing at a protest march in Haifa against the rising crime wave affecting Arab communities in Israel last week, Abu Salah cries out “Enough! Enough!,” in Arabic-accented Hebrew.

“We want to live in peace and quiet. We want to find who is behind all of this – Why? Why kill these kids?” she demands.

Abu Salah’s son Ali was murdered just the week before on his way to work, a year after a stint in prison. He’s one of the latest victims of the alarming increase in murders targeting Arab Israelis, with more than 170 killed so far this year, numbers far eclipsing those of the same period in previous years (111 were killed in all of 2022).

Abu Salah says she was supposed to be preparing for her son’s wedding. Instead, she was attending the protest where thousands of Israelis – Jews and Arabs – gathered, calling for equal justice.

“I blame the police, the government, the law, the members of the (Israeli Parliament) Knesset. They should look for all the people who are doing these terrible acts,” she says. “Why should they let my child live only 30 years? Why won’t they give him his future?”

The family are Arab citizens of Israel, who make up about 20% of Israel’s population. Many speak fluent Hebrew and also identify as Palestinian. But they say they feel like second-class citizens, and claim Israeli authorities are not treating their cases as seriously as those of Jewish Israelis.

Filling a ‘vacuum’

The rise in violence is fueled by organized crime, Israeli officials say. Activists claim gangs prey on the high unemployment rate among young Arab-Israeli men, acting as loan sharks, and force shop keepers and others to pay protection fees. Illegal guns have also flooded Arab towns across Israel, they add, and people are afraid to cooperate in police investigations for fear of reprisal attacks.

Thabet Abu Rass, the co-executive director of Abraham Initiatives, an organization that promotes equality among Israeli Arabs and Jews, says a lack of adequate policing has created a “vacuum” in Israel’s Arab community.

“This vacuum (is) filled by criminal organizations. And they’re doing everything actually, the criminal organizations are protecting, they are collecting protection (money), they are shooting people, they are (loaning) money to people if they want, but also they are making peace, reconciliation and consulting between people. Nobody else is doing this job except the criminal organizations,” Abu Rass says.

Abu Rass says Israeli police are “weak” right now, distracted by political drama, the regular anti-judicial-overhaul protests, and the recent rise in Israeli-Palestinian violence over the past 18 months. According to data from the Abraham Initiatives, few of the recent murders have led to indictments.

“It’s like we are in the different territories than they (Jewish Israelis) are. Like we are not part of Israel. But we are Israeli citizens. We are demanding fair and equal policing,” Abu Rass says.

Many of the victims have been targeted, either as part of the warring gangs or for other reasons. But uninvolved civilians, including several young children and toddlers, have been killed as well, local authorities say.

At the march in Haifa late last week, protesters carried white coffins for each of those victims thus far. Along their sides were messages with what the victim was doing when they were killed. “I went to get a pizza,” says one. “It was my birthday,” says another. Hundreds of women wearing white robes carried signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English with messages like “Arab Blood Matters,” and “Startup nation? More like innovation in discrimination.”

No sense of ‘belonging’

Badee’a Khnifes’ daughter Johara was an anti-violence and women’s rights activist who had participated in US State Department-sponsored programs. She was just 28 years old when she was killed last year after a bomb exploded under her car.

Wearing a white shirt bearing her daughter’s photo, Khnifes, who identifies as an Arab-Druze Israeli citizen, says the police have made little progress on solving her murder other than to suggest it may have been a case of mistaken identity.

“I feel like a neglected stranger in a completely neglected, dictatorial country,” she says. “I don’t have a sense of belonging.”

In the early 2000s, Israeli authorities launched a massive program to tackle a murder wave spurred by organized Jewish criminal activity. Some of the cases even involved extradition from the United States for trial in Israel.

Arab Israelis such as Khnifes want the same effort put towards this wave.

“What is happening in our Arab society now, 20 years ago it was in the center (of Israel) and the police did a wonderful job,” Khnifes says, referring to Jewish criminal activity. “We are one people, we are one country, but it means nothing. We are citizens of this country’s government. I want them to treat me and my community the same way they treat the Jewish community, who are our brothers.”

Many in this community, including Arab-Israeli member of parliament Ahmad Tibi, blame the current government – the most right-wing in Israeli history. Israel’s police force falls under the jurisdiction of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, himself once convicted of anti-Arab racism.

“He’s the most inappropriate man to be the minister for National Security. It’s ridiculous how Netanyahu chose this man in this post,” Tibi said. “This man, who is a convict and a terrorist, according to the Israeli court, is leading the police, fighting (with) the police, the police fighting (with) him, and both (are) a failure. And the cost of this failure is a lot of bloodshed in our streets in our community.”

Ben Gvir has blamed the crime wave on previous “years of neglect and ignoring warning signs” and has called on the Shin Bet – Israel’s domestic security agency, tasked with combating terrorism – to get involved in solving these crimes. He has claimed that his proposal for a new “national guard” would help as well.

“In the Arab sector, criminal organizations are active that have armed militias with thousands of soldiers and many weapons,” Ben Gvir said last month. “They are terrorist organizations. When they undertake violence on the street, they will turn the fire against the state of Israel.”

‘Internal terrorism’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, created a ministerial committee to fight crime in Arab communities .

He called the crime wave “one of the most significant challenges facing the State of Israel today,” as the committee met on Thursday.

On Thursday the committee announced proposals including giving police additional technology and administrative tools, and increasing financial penalties against criminal organizations. The committee also proposed allowing additional cooperation between the police and Shin Bet, a suggestion Netanyahu has made before.

“We will use all means, including the Shin Bet and the police – all means – in order to defeat this crime,” Netanyahu said last month after the director general of the predominantly Arab city of Tira was murdered. “We have eliminated organized crime in the Jewish sector in Israel and we will eliminate organized crime in the Arab sector in Israel. Every citizen of Israel must feel secure and not under the shadow of the threat of internal terrorism.”

That has led to some pushback, including from Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, since the agency is primarily tasked with investigating terrorism, although he is reported to have met recently with the heads of Arab municipalities.

“A country that leans toward involving the Shin Bet in every complex issue will transform into a very different country,” Bar told a parliamentary committee last month, according to Israeli media.

Whatever the method used to combat this crime wave, Arab citizens of Israel say it is only a matter of time before this crisis will spill into their Jewish neighbors’ backyards.

“Today this pain is in the Arab society, just like it was 20 years ago in the Jewish society, and it will return to the Jewish society,” Khnifes says. “And I do not wish that.”

The uncle of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman whose death in the custody of Iran’s morality police sparked nation-wide protests last year, was arrested last week, according to a family member and a human rights group.

The reasons behind his arrest are unknown, but his detention comes just days before the one-year anniversary of Amini’s death.

Amini died last September after being detained by the regime’s notorious morality police and taken to a “re-education center,” allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code. Her death triggered a social movement, with demonstrators protesting the regime’s treatment of women as well as other issues.

The protests dwindled, but the regime has ramped up its arrests of activists and their relatives ahead of the anniversary of Amini’s death September 16.

The regime has also brought back its morality police after witnesses said the force had briefly disappeared from the streets during the protests. Iran also doubled down on hijab laws, with parliament now considering draft legislation dictating harsher measures against those violating the country’s dress code.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions started their NFL campaigns with a blockbuster opening game – but there are still 30 other teams waiting to get their seasons underway in what promises to be a thrilling first weekend of the season.

Detroit stunned the reigning champions on Thursday night, and on Sunday there could be more surprises.

How to watch

The action begins at 1 p.m. ET as eight games kick off, with seven more following over the rest of the day and on Monday.

In the United States, coverage of games all season will be shown on the NFL’s ‘NFL+’ platform, with games also being shown on ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS across the year.

Sunday’s prime time game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants will be shown nationally on NBC, while Monday’s clash of the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets is broadcasted by ESPN.

Fans outside of the US can also follow the action via the NFL’s Game Pass on DAZN.

Bengals @ Browns

An Ohio derby on the opening weekend of the new season is a treat for all NFL fans, especially with expectations for both teams so high.

For the Cincinnati Bengals, with their star quarterback Joe Burrow tied down to a new long-term deal and surrounded by an explosive offensive core, another deep playoff run is the benchmark for success.

Burrow’s arrival in the city has brought about a period of unmatched success for the traditionally down-on-its-luck franchise, losing in the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship last year.

The window for teams to win a title is typically not a long one, so the Bengals will be looking to capitalize on theirs with Burrow, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and head coach Zac Taylor at the peak of their powers.

The Cleveland Browns also have high hopes for this coming season.

The trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson was meant to be the final piece of the puzzle, but he was suspended for the first 11 games of last season after he was accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women.

Watson has previously settled all but one of the sexual misconduct civil lawsuits against him. He has denied wrongdoing in those cases, and two grand juries have separately declined to indict him on criminal charges.

His form is expected to improve this season with a full preseason of training. And with some canny offseason acquisitions, there is a lot of pressure on head coach Kevin Stefanski.

The AFC North division, in which both teams reside, looks a competitive one and a win in week 1 would act as a perfect springboard for the rest of the season.

Cowboys @ Giants

NFL traditionalists have been rewarded on the opening weekend with this historic match-up picked to be broadcast nationally.

The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants have had many battles for the ages over the years and is one of the most heated rivalries across the league.

They have a lot in common – both ended last season disappointingly, both have undergone big changes and both have high expectations.

The Cowboys will be taking to the field for the first time without former running back, Ezekiel Elliott, on the roster and have also lost offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to the Los Angeles Chargers. Both these moves increases the pressure on head coach Mike McCarthy.

The addition of wide receiver Brandin Cooks adds another weapon to quarterback Dak Prescott’s arsenal. The spotlight is certainly on Prescott after a difficult time in Texas.

For the Giants, it is a case of building on last season’s growth.

The team showed remarkable improvements in Brian Daboll’s first season as head coach, with quarterback Daniel Jones elevating his game significantly – earning himself a big-money contract extension as a result – and running back Saquon Barkley looking like his old, dynamic self.

There are still improvements needed, in particular on defense, but with the trade for tight end Darren Waller the Giants look well-placed to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2007 and 2008.

Bills @ Jets

Arguably the game of the first week is its final one, with the Buffalo Bills traveling to face the New York Jets.

It is the clash of establish superpower against the upstart team looking to make an impression.

The Bills, full of star power in the form of quarterback Josh Allen, wide receiver Stefon Diggs and linebacker Von Miller, are aiming to improve on a disappointing season last time out.

The team will also be bolstered by the return of safety Damar Hamlin after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field in January.

The Jets are the team with perhaps the most intrigue surrounding them.

It looked just a quarterback away from being a serious contender last season and the arrival of Aaron Rodgers from Green Bay caps off a top-heavy roster.

With a combination of young talent – Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson – and veterans Rodgers, C.J. Mosley and D.J. Reed, the Jets look well-placed to make a deep playoff run.

Schedule

Sunday

Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons

Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings

Tennessee Titans @ New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Commanders

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears

Las Vegas Raiders @ Denver Broncos

Miami Dolphins @ Los Angeles Chargers

Philadelphia Eagles @ New England Patriots

Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

Monday

Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets

Luis Rubiales on Sunday resigned from his position as president of the Spanish soccer federation following weeks of fierce criticism over his unwanted kiss with Women’s World Cup winner Jennifer Hermoso.

“Today, I notified the interim president at 930 pm, Mr. Pedro Rocha, that I have resigned as President of RFEF,” Rubiales said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I have also let him know that I have also resigned my position in UEFA so that my Vice-presidency position can be filled.”

“To insist on waiting around,” he continued, “and holding onto that won’t contribute anything positive, neither to the Federation nor to Spanish football. Among other things, because the powers that be will prevent my return.”

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed that Rubiales had presented his resignation as chief of the Spanish football association as well as vice president of UEFA.

“The Royal Spanish Football Federation confirms that Luis M. Rubiales Béjar has presented his resignation tonight,” RFEF said in a statement. “This has been made known to the federative entity through a letter to Pedro Rocha Junco. In addition, he also resigns from his position as vice president of UEFA.”

The federation’s board of directors will now call an election to find a a successor.

Rubiales vowed to clear his name against what he called “excessive persecution.”

“I have faith in the truth and I will do everything when it’s in my hands so that it prevails,” he wrote. “My daughters, my family and the people that love me have suffered the effects of an excessive persecution, as well as many falsehoods, but it’s also true that in the street, every day more, the truth is being imposed.”

Rubiales’ unwanted kiss on Hermoso after the Spanish team’s victory in the Women’s World Cup final on August 20 sparked condemnation in Spain and across the world. The 46-year-old previously apologized and described the kiss as “mutual” – a claim Hermoso denied, saying she did not consent and was not respected.

The Spaniard was provisionally suspended by global governing body FIFA for 90 days while a disciplinary investigation takes place. Pedro Rocha stepped into the role in the interim.

A reckoning for Spanish soccer

The scandal involving Rubiales triggered a crisis in Spanish soccer, with the government pushing for Rubiales to resign and RFEF last week removing World Cup-winning manager Jorge Vilda from his role. Vilda had been filmed seeming to inappropriately touch a female staff member during the Women’s World Cup Final. He was replaced by Montse Tomé, the first woman in Spanish national team history to hold the position.

Public outcry to the unwanted kiss and Rubiales’ staunch defense of it has come from every sphere of Spanish society, including from politicians and sports stars. The incident also sparked a conversation about the prevalence of “macho culture” in Spain, a county that has witnessed massive protests against sexual violence and sexism in the past years.

The coaches of Spain’s women’s team resigned en masse and more than 80 Spanish soccer players put their name on a statement supporting Hermoso, saying they would not return to the national team “if the current leaders continue” in their posts.

Rubiales also sparked ire for his insistence that the kiss was consensual, despite Hermoso’s denials. “I did not like this incident,” Hermoso wrote in a statement about the kiss on X. “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist out of place act without any consent on my part.”

The federation then released two statements defending him, one of which has since been deleted, threatening legal action against Hermoso and accusing her of spreading “lies.”

Rubiales initially refused to stand down over the incident, repeating that he “will not resign” several times in an almost 30-minute speech at the federation’s general assembly, during which he also spoke of “unjust” campaigns and “fake feminism.”

However, his position became increasingly untenable, despite support from the federation, as players resigned and he was engulfed in a wave of criticism from the sporting world and Spanish politicians.

All 23 members of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, including Hermoso, and nearly 50 other professional female soccer players said they would not play for the national team again until Rubiales was removed. The national team’s next fixture is on September 22.

As the row dragged on, several soccer teams, both male and female, displayed their support for Hermoso at their matches – some held shirts, some wore wristbands, and some unfurled banners.

Pressure then mounted on Monday as all 19 regional presidents of Spain’s soccer federation called for Rubiales to resign following an emergency meeting, hours after Spanish prosecutors announced that an investigation that could end in sexual aggression charges against Rubiales had been opened.

On Friday, the Spanish national prosecutor filed a complaint against Rubiales “for the crimes of sexual assault and coercion against Jennifer Hermoso,” according to a prosecutor’s statement, after Hermoso filed an official complaint with prosecutors.

The complaint from the prosecutor’s office – part of the Spanish legal process – paves the way for Spain’s national court to launch a formal investigation into Rubiales and begin gathering evidence, which could lead to possible charges.

In protest against what she called an “inhumane, bloodthirsty hunt” against her son, Rubiales’ mother, Ángeles Béjar, locked herself in a church on Monday and went on a hunger strike in the town of Motril near Grenada, according to media reports.

Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker has been suspended without pay amid an ongoing investigation, the university announced Sunday.

Vice president and director of athletics Alan Haller announced in a news conference Sunday that Tucker is the subject of an ongoing investigation that began in December. An investigative report was submitted in July and a formal hearing will take place the week of October 5, Haller said.

Tucker’s suspension comes on the heels of an explosive report published in USA Today Saturday night.

According to the USA Today report, Tucker is alleged to have made sexual comments and masturbated while on a phone call with Brenda Tracy, an advocate and rape survivor.

In a letter to investigators, Tucker characterized his and Tracy’s relationship as “mutually consensual and intimate,” according to USA Today.

Tracy started the nonprofit Set The Expectation, where she speaks to athletes about ending sexual violence, according to her website. Tracy was raped in 1998 by four college football players, leading to her advocacy.

Tracy served as an honorary captain for the team’s spring football game in 2022, according to the program’s social media accounts.

This is Tucker’s fourth season with the team as he became the head coach in 2020 for the Spartans, according to the university’s website.

“This morning’s news might sound like the MSU of old; it was not,” Michigan State University interim president Teresa K. Woodruff said Sunday afternoon. “It is not because an independent, unbiased investigation is and continues to be conducted.”

Secondary coach Harlon Barnett will fill in as acting head coach, Haller announced, and former MSU head coach Mark Dantonio will become an associate head coach. The Spartans take on the Washington Huskies on Saturday at home, according to their football schedule.

Woodruff made note of counseling resources that are available for anyone who may be affected by this news and mentioned the Center for Survivors and Office for Civil Rights on campus.

“If you have heard or experienced or know of behavior that does not seem appropriate, please know that you have the support and resources here at MSU,” Woodruff said.

Hurricane Lee has strengthened back into a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, satellite pictures and data from a hurricane hunter plane indicated Sunday.

The powerful storm, which has fluctuated in intensity throughout its time over the open Atlantic, is expected to become a very dangerous Category 4 by late Sunday or early Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“Dangerous surf and rip currents have begun to reach portions of the southeast (United States) East Coast and are forecast to worsen and spread northward along much of the US East Coast during the next couple of days,” the National Hurricane Center said in an update Sunday.

Lee is forecast to slow down considerably as it moves well north of Puerto Rico, the British and US Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands, but it will have an impact there and on other Caribbean islands. It remains too early to determine its long-term track for later this week and how significant the impacts could be for northeastern US states, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada.

By midweek, Lee will make a turn to the north, eventually moving between Bermuda and the US East coast late this week.

The East Coast is bracing for the same kind of large swells and rip currents that the Caribbean is facing now.

“Swells generated by Lee are affecting portions of the Lesser Antilles,” the National Hurricane Center warned Friday night. The British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda also face swells this weekend that can bring life-threatening surf and rip conditions.

Waves breaking at 6 to 10 feet were forecast for Sunday, according to the National Weather Service office in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Larger waves were expected this week along east- and north-facing beaches.

“Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible,” the office posted on social media.

Lee was centered around 285 miles north-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands at 5 p.m. ET Sunday, moving west-northwest at 8 mph.

Lee, which was a Category 1 storm Thursday, intensified with exceptional speed into Category 5 status as it moved west across the Atlantic, more than doubling its wind speeds to 165 mph in just a day.

Vertical wind shear and an eyewall replacement cycle – a process that occurs with the majority of long-lived major hurricanes – has since led to the weakening of the storm, the hurricane center said.

Differing scenarios on Lee’s impact

Computer model trends for Lee have shown the hurricane taking a turn to the north early this week. But exactly when that turn occurs and how far west Lee will manage to track by then will play a huge role in how close it gets to the US.

Several steering factors at the surface and upper levels of the atmosphere will determine how close Lee will get to the East Coast.

An area of high pressure over the Atlantic, known as the Bermuda High, will have a major influence on how quickly Lee turns. A strong Bermuda High would keep Lee on its current west-northwestward track and slow it down a bit.

As the high pressure weakens this week, it will allow Lee to start moving northward. Once that turn to the north occurs, the position of the jet stream – strong upper-level winds that can change the direction of a hurricane’s path – will influence how closely Lee is steered to the US.

Scenario: Out to Sea

Lee could make a quick turn to the north early this week if high pressure weakens significantly.

If the jet stream sets up along the East Coast, it will function as a barrier that prevents Lee from approaching the coast. This scenario would keep Lee farther away from the US coast but could bring the storm closer to Bermuda.

Scenario: Close to East Coast

Lee could make a slower turn to the north because the high pressure remains robust, and the jet stream sets up farther inland over the Eastern US. This scenario would leave portions of the East Coast, mainly north of the Carolinas, vulnerable to a much closer approach from Lee.

Novak Djokovic won the US Open Sunday, defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the men’s final to extend his record grand slam singles titles to 24.

The world No. 2 has further cemented himself as one of the greatest tennis players ever – with Sunday’s win, he matches Margaret Court’s record for most all-time grand slam titles.

In a rematch of the 2021 US Open final, the Serbian avenged his loss to No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to complete his triumphant return to the United States.

Playing in front of a who’s who crowd, Djokovic was in his usual dominant form in the first set, never facing a break point, while hitting 12 winners in nine games. Entering tonight, Djokovic was 72-1 all-time at the US Open when winning the first set, with his only loss coming to Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 final.

The second set proved to be more competitive, as Djokovic and Medvedev exchanged games in a nail-biting back and forth, culminating in the Serb’s 7-5 tiebreak victory after an hour and 45 minutes.

From there, with the momentum in his favor and a fourth US Open title a set away, Djokovic cruised to victory, needing only one championship point to seal the historic title.

With the victory, the 36-year-old becomes oldest man to win the US Open singles title in the Open era and the first man to win three grand slam titles in a season for the fourth time – previously doing so in 2011, 2015 and 2021.

Djokovic also extends his lead over Spaniard Rafael Nadal (22) and Switzerland’s Roger Federer (20) for most men’s singles titles of all time.

At every grand slam this year, Djokovic had an opportunity to make history.

He drew level with Rafael Nadal’s 22 grand slam titles at the Australian Open, pulled clear with a men’s record 23 grand slam titles at the French Open and was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

Standing in his way Sunday was third seed Daniil Medvedev who stunned Alcaraz in the semifinals and who already defeated Djokovic in a US Open final before, and in straight sets.

Though Medvedev’s game remains perfectly suited to the fast hard courts, he was expecting Djokovic to be “10 times better than he was that day.”

“Against Novak, it’s the same. He is always better than previous time he plays,” Medvedev had said, according to the ATP Tour. “For example, I beat him in the US Open final, he beat me in Bercy in a great match. Carlos beat him at Wimbledon, he beat him in Cincinnati. Novak is going to be his best version on Sunday, and I have to be the best-ever version of myself if I want to try to beat him.”

Djokovic is unvaccinated against Covid-19 and had been unable to enter the country for the past two years. However, vaccine requirements for non-US travelers were lifted earlier this year, enabling Djokovic to make his return.

The Serb will have an opportunity to pass Court and etch his name as the all-time winningest player at the Australian Open in January 2024.

‘Every final could be the last one’

When Djokovic and Medvedev last played each other in a grand slam final, it was the Russian who upset the odds and thwarted Djokovic’s attempt to win a then record 21st slam and complete the first men’s calendar grand slam – winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same year – since Rod Laver in 1969.

Since winning his first-ever grand slam at that US Open in 2021, Medvedev has come close to winning another, taking a two-set lead in the 2022 Australian Open final against Nadal but eventually succumbed to defeat.

“The challenge is that you play a guy who won 23 grand slams and I have only one,” he said, according to the US Open. “When I beat him here (in the 2021 final), I managed to play better than myself, and I need to do it again. There is no other way.”

At 36, Djokovic could become the oldest man to win the US Open singles title in the Open Era, surpassing the record set by Ken Rosewall in 1970.

“Every Grand Slam final could be the last one,” he told reporters ahead of the final. “Ten years ago, I felt like, ‘Hey, I still have quite a few years ahead of me.’ I don’t know how many I have ahead of me now, or how many years where I [can] play four Slams in the whole season. So I am aware of the occasion.”

It will be Djokovic’s 101st match at the US Open, a tournament which he has won three times already in his career, though not since 2018.

‘You want to fight ‘til the end’

Djokovic has had a relatively straightforward run to the final, aside from surviving a scare in the third round when he found himself two sets down against his compatriot Laslo Djere, he has completed every other match in just three sets, minimizing his time on court as he has swept aside the competition.

It marks a remarkable end to a year in which he has reached the final of every grand slam, adding two more titles to his collection, after a 2022 in which he could not compete in Australia or the USA due to his decision to remain unvaccinated against Covid-19.

For Medvedev, playing in the US Open final caps an impressive hard-court season in which he reached five consecutive finals on the surface and won four titles.

His performance against Alcaraz in the semifinals displayed his powerful serve, shotmaking and tenacity, all marking him as a difficult opponent for Djokovic.

“You want to fight ‘til the end, you want to win,” Medvedev said, according to the ATP. “And that’s how you should be in the final of a grand slam.”

Ani Kirakosyani found out she was pregnant a month after the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh began.

Kirakosyani is one of the 120,000 inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh – known as the Republic of Artsakh by locals – a disputed territory home to a majority ethnic Armenian population that is internationally recognized as being a part of Azerbaijan. The region has been blockaded since December 2022, when the only road connecting the landlocked region to the outside world, the Lachin corridor, was blocked by “eco-activists” backed by the Azerbaijani government, which has since installed a military checkpoint along the corridor. This prompted the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) to warn of the risk of genocide against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Six months into her pregnancy, Kirakosyani felt a pain in her abdomen and was taken to the hospital. On the way, the ambulance had to stop and collect six other patients, as the driver had to ration its fuel. When Kirakosyani finally arrived in hospital, she was told her pregnancy was in jeopardy and she would have to give birth three months early.

Her husband was away working with the military, and he could not get fuel to make the 100-mile car ride to support her in the hospital. She was alone when the doctors told her she had had a stillbirth brought on by malnutrition and stress, she said.

International media have been refused entry into the territory since the blockade was imposed.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan US congressional body, scheduled a Wednesday hearing on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘The road of life’

The Lachin corridor is known locally as “the road of life,” as 90% of the food consumed in Nagorno-Karabakh previously came into the region from Armenia via that route, according to figures provided by the elected president of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was previously the only NGO allowed to bring humanitarian aid across the Lachin corridor, last delivered desperately needed food supplies to the region on June 14, according to an ICRC press release from August 18.

In August, UN experts urged Azerbaijan to end “the dire humanitarian crisis” in the enclave by lifting the blockade, while former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said there was “reasonable basis to believe that genocide is being committed against Armenians.”

Responding to Ocampo’s comments, a lawyer hired by Azerbaijan called the claim of genocide “a groundless and very dangerous allegation.”

As food, medicine, water and fuel are prevented from entering the territory, local supplies are dwindling. According to the administration for the Artsakh Republic, dairy products, cereal, fish, chicken, cooking oil, sugar, salt, fruit and vegetables, as well as fuel and hygiene products, are unavailable inside the territory.

Outside his shop, queues for bread meander through the unkempt streets. Garbage collections are regularly postponed due to fuel shortages, while in the local pharmacy, supplies are rapidly diminishing.

The fuel shortages also mean electricity is rationed, with power cuts for eight hours each day, and drinking water is no longer treated, leading to a spike in related illnesses, according to Stepanyan.

According to the enclave’s administration, 95% of residents are suffering from malnutrition and hidden hunger, a term referring to a lack of essential vitamins and minerals.

As winter beckons and the harvest season approaches without fuel to collect the crops, those trapped in Nagorno-Karabakh fear their cries are being ignored.

‘Ethnic cleansing’

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a tug of war over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the Soviet Union. This power vacuum was filled by nationalism, and violence against ethnic minorities quickly followed. Both Armenians in Azerbaijan and Azeris in Armenia claim they were ethnically cleansed, leaving sectarian scars on the minds of generations – on either side of their disputed border.

In the early 1990s, Armenian forces took control of large swaths of territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, in turn seized control over large parts of those territories during a six-week war in 2020 that claimed thousands of lives.

The separatist territory was left with the main city of Stepanakert and a few surrounding towns, as well as a population still reeling from the losses of the bloody 2020 conflict, which was followed by sporadic skirmishes along the border. Amid the latest flare-up of tensions, Baku claims it will fully retake and integrate the territory into Azerbaijan – while ethnic Armenians refuse to be uprooted from a region they claim is their homeland.

“Rather than use direct violence, which would incite opposition from abroad… Baku is determined to make the Armenians’ lives impossible, starve them out, and pressure them to leave,” he said.

To make matters more complicated, Azerbaijan – a one-party state headed by President Ilham Aliyev for the past two decades – has offered to supply the breakaway region via a crossing at the nearby Azerbaijani city of Aghdam.

“Instead of feigning attempts to deliver humanitarian assistance, Azerbaijan must unblock the Lachin corridor,” he said.

In its statement, the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry said the Aghdam route would allow humanitarian aid to be supplied by third parties such as the ICRC and accused Armenia of stepping back at the last moment from agreements it said had been reached in August on transportation through the Aghdam and Lachin routes. It also pointed to comments from European Council President Charles Michel in July, following talks with Aliyev and Pashinyan, in which Michel called for the Lachin corridor to be opened but said both options were “important.”

“These reasons include energy reliance on Azerbaijan,” he added.

According to Reuters, the European Union agreed in July 2022 to double gas imports from Azerbaijan by 2027.

Meanwhile Russia, which brokered the ceasefire in 2020, has peacekeepers along the Lachin corridor but has refrained from intervening further.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing on August 2 that Russia dismissed any claim of inaction against the Russian peacekeepers “as counterproductive and non-reflective of their real contribution to the effort to stabilize the situation on the ground.”

‘Running out of hope’

As co-ordinated international action to end the blockade appears unlikely anytime soon, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are left focusing on short-term solutions: gathering firewood, collecting water and foraging for food.

Next week was meant to be her five-year-old son’s first day of school. Instead, she is wondering how he will survive the winter.

At a UN Security Council meeting in August, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vahe Gevorgyan, warned that Azerbaijan’s blockade “has impacted 2,000 pregnant women, around 30,000 children, 20,000 older persons, and 9,000 persons with disabilities.”

“If the blockade does not end soon – more people will starve. I cannot sleep thinking about how I will feed my three sons,” Gharaghazaryan said. “We are all running out of hope. How many more people will have to die before the world takes notice?”

This story has been updated with comment from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.