There’s no shortage of ambition in commercial aviation — we wouldn’t have heavier-than-air flight without dreamers, after all — but Boom Supersonic is in its own category when it comes to setting the bar high.

The Colorado-based company aims to reintroduce commercial supersonic flight, which has been on hiatus since Concorde was retired in 2003. But unlike Concorde, an elitist engineering marvel that only a handful of airlines ever operated, Boom hopes its supersonic aircraft — called Overture — will democratize this type of travel, making it accessible to the masses.

Boom plans to introduce Overture to commercial service by 2029, and while that might prove challenging, the company has recently unveiled a series of new details about its technology and partners that, Scholl believes, bring that dream a few steps closer to reality.

A complex process

Overture is designed to carry between 64 and 80 passengers, at a speed of Mach 1.7 and an altitude of 60,000 feet. That’s twice the speed and 50% more altitude than leading widebody aircraft like the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A350 — as a result, Overture would travel between London and New York in about three and a half hours, cutting journey time in half.

The plane doesn’t exist yet — the first one is expected to roll out of the factory as early as 2026 — but three airlines have already placed orders for it. They are United Airlines, American Airlines and Japan Airlines, with a total of 130 orders, of which 35 come with non-refundable deposits, and 95 are pre-orders, meaning that money hasn’t changed hands yet.

Boom’s current timeline aims for a first flight in 2027 and certification of the aircraft in 2029, which would make it ready to enter service right after. Scholl admits that these targets are “aggressive” but he adds that he’s happy with the progress the company has made so far. “It’s a very complex process, but in contrast with electric aircraft or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, we don’t need an entirely new set of regulations in order to be certified,” he says. “This is another airliner. It just flies at a different speed. But from a regulatory perspective, it’s the same safety standards, the same rules that are already written — we just have to follow them and prove that we follow them.”

Earlier this year, Boom broke ground on the “Superfactory,” a 62-acre campus in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the planes will be built and tested, which will be ready in mid-2024. And in July, at the Paris Air Show, the company announced new agreements with suppliers that will build parts for the plane: Aernnova for Overture’s wings, Leonardo for the fuselage and wing box, and Aciturri for the tail section.

“The general audience might not know all those names, but they are the same people that work with large Boeing and Airbus aircraft,” Scholl says. “We’ve also taken the skin off the airplane, and shown people the engineering progress on the inside: the configuration of hydraulics, flight controls, landing gear, avionics, electrical power systems — all the guts of the airplane that make it work. We are designing everything to the highest possible safety standards to meet the stringent certification requirements.”

Sustainable fuel

Engines are among the most crucial components in a supersonic plane, as they need to propel the aircraft faster than normal airliners, requiring a different design. Boom’s engine is called Symphony, and it’s designed in collaboration with Florida Turbine Technologies, whose engineers have worked on the supersonic engines of fighter jets such as the Lockheed Martin F-22 and the F-35. Boom was previously working on the project with Rolls-Royce, one of the big names in engine manufacturing, but it pulled out last year.

Scholl says Symphony is designed with particular attention to noise, one of Concorde’s biggest drawbacks: “It’s meant to be efficient in supersonic flight, but also quiet for takeoff and landing,” he says. “That’s really, really important. And a big differentiator versus Concorde, that was famously unfriendly to airport communities. One of our goals is that when we bring supersonic service to an airport, the community is really excited to have this new connectivity and doesn’t have anything to be concerned about.”

The engine is also designed to work fully with SAF, or Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a type of jet fuel whose production methods promise to curb carbon emissions by up to 80%, according to the IATA, the International Air Transport Association. Boom is also committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

However, the SAF infrastructure is lagging behind and selling the idea that supersonic travel can be sustainable will be hard, since the engines will burn comparatively more fuel and the emissions per passenger, due to the limited capacity of Overture, will be far higher than on normal airliners.

Another problem is the sonic boom, which current regulations prohibit over land, meaning Overture will be able to go supersonic only over the oceans. NASA is currently working on a supersonic plane that will have a much quieter sonic boom, with the goal of updating these regulations. But none of that will happen in time for Boom to benefit from it: “Sonic boom mitigation is absolutely a part of the future,” Scholl says. “We will look to learn what we can from NASA’s effort, and it’s something that we expect not for our first airplane, because that would break our rule about no new regulations, but for our second one in the future.”

Turbulence ahead?

According to Richard Evans, a senior consultant at aviation consultancy firm Cirium, the chances of success for any airline that will operate Overture will rest on whether it will use it just as much as it would a conventional long-haul aircraft – meaning between 4,000 and 5,000 hours of flying time per year. “This is needed to amortize the huge ownership cost per seat of the type,” he says. “Concorde never achieved anything like those levels of utilization, with a figure of around 1,000 hours a year being more typical. Boom’s aircraft will presumably be limited to a relatively small number of high-yield routes, making such a target extremely challenging.”

Flying passengers as soon as 2029 will also be tricky, Evans adds, drawing a comparison to the delayed Boeing 777-9, a variant of an existing aircraft and not even an entirely new one, whose development will have taken 12 years once it enters service. Says Evans, “Even if Boom can attract the billions of dollars required, it will take much more than another six years to certify the type.”

Finally, he says it’s difficult to see how the supersonic sector will fit in with aviation’s goal to decarbonize. “It takes far more fuel per passenger, whether SAF or conventional, compared to flying the same route in a different aircraft type,” he says. “Even if 100% SAF can be used, it simply diverts that SAF from being used in a more efficient manner.”

The fact that no major engine manufacturer —such as General Electric, Rolls-Royce or Pratt & Whitney — is working with Boom is another reason for concern, according to Richard Aboulafia, managing director at aviation aviation consultancy firm AeroDynamic Advisory. “I regard Boom as a somewhat amusing experiment in seeing how much money people would invest in fun-looking drawings and models. Everything about it, from the lack of a serious engine to that weird and inexplicable massive redesign a few years ago speaks to a case of seriously overfunded wishful thinking.”

Speaking of that redesign, which lowered the cruise speed and increased the passenger capacity, Scholl says: “It’s about listening to customers, and about sustainability. Through wind tunnel testing, we learned that at Mach 1.7 versus Mach 2.2, we could be 40% more fuel-efficient. We’d also be able to cruise at lower altitudes, which is better from an emissions perspective. As for the passenger capacity, airlines told us that they wanted us to build the largest airplane that we could, because they think a lot of people are going to want this. That’s why we went from three engines to four, so we could carry more passengers.”

With a maximum of 80 passengers on board, Overture will still be short of Concorde’s 100, on average, but Scholl says the experience will be completely different. “Concorde was a marvelous technical accomplishment. But when I talk to passengers who flew in it, they say they loved the speed, but they don’t rave about the comfort,” he says.

“We want to build an airplane that has an outstanding level of comfort. The way we’ve approached that starts from the moment passengers walk on board: our boarding door is one inch taller than you’d find on a narrowbody aircraft, and 10 inches taller than Concorde. The front cabin has what I call cathedral ceilings — over two meters or eight feet tall. And there are two seats on each side of the aisle, with large windows.”

The fuselage will narrow towards the back, shrinking the cabin down to one seat on each side and turning overhead bins into underseat lockers. “I think the best seats in the plane are actually in the back,” Scholl says.

“We are putting a lot of care and attention into the passenger experience. We are constantly bringing in passengers of all shapes and sizes and flight crews to ask them what they like. We want to build an experience that’s inspiring, that’s comfortable, that works, whether you want to be productive or relax. It’s going to be just a fantastic way to fly.”

A massive fire burning through the desert in California and southern Nevada has scorched tens of thousands of acres in a biodiverse national preserve and torched its iconic Joshua trees.

The York Fire – already California’s largest fire of the year – has burned more than 82,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, fire officials said. It began Friday in the New York Mountains of California’s Mojave National Preserve and crossed state lines into Nevada on Sunday.

The fire is burning through and threatening groves of Joshua trees – the branching, spiky plants of the Mojave Desert that can live more than 150 years.

“We’re looking at sad outcomes for potentially millions of Joshua trees,” Hanford said. “The fire is dramatically affecting the vegetation landscape.”

It’s unclear exactly how many Joshua trees and other plant and animal life had been lost to the blaze, a Mojave Preserve spokesperson said. Preserve rangers will conduct surveys by air and ground once the fire is extinguished to determine the full scope of the damage.

When it first began, the fire was fueled by extreme conditions that spawned fire whirls and 20-foot flames which made it dangerous and difficult to control.

Now, after a few rounds of rain moved over the area from Monday night to Wednesday morning, firefighters have been able to make progress along the fire’s border and it was 30% contained as of Wednesday morning.

But the damage to the landscape will last long after the flames are put out.

“This is pretty devastating,” Cunningham said.

The Mojave National Preserve has been seeing an increase in fire frequency over the past decade due to a combination of wet winters and increasing levels of invasive grasses, fire officials say on Inciweb, a clearinghouse for US fire information.

“If an area with Joshua trees burns through, most will not survive and reproduction in that area is made more difficult,” the National Park Service says. “Wildfires could also result in the loss of irreplaceable resources in the park, like historic structures and cultural artifacts.”

In 2020, a 43,273-acre wildfire burned through the Joshua tree woodland of California’s Cima Dome, destroying as many as 1.3 million Joshua trees and leaving behind a plant graveyard, according to the National Park Service.

Firefighters braving intense desert heat to stop the York Fire’s spread in the Mojave National Preserve are among more than 11,000 wildland firefighters and personnel assigned across the country, the National Interagency Fire Center said Tuesday.

Sixty-seven active, large fires were burning in 11 states as hot and dry conditions persist throughout the US, the center said Tuesday. More than 1.1 million acres have burned across the US in 2023 as of Tuesday, the center said.

Emerging desert tortoises pose unique challenge

Firefighters were aided by a brief but heavy downpour early Tuesday and more rain on Wednesday as they worked to contain the York Fire.

But rain in the Mojave Desert, which is seasonal and scarce, “poses a unique challenge to firefighters,” the Mojave National Preserve said.

Desert tortoises – federally listed as a threatened species – become especially active on wet summer days, emerging from their burrows to drink rainwater.

“Fire crews carefully balance fire suppression with resource protection. They will be on the lookout for desert tortoises, making sure to avoid burrows and active individuals,” the Mojave National Preserve said.

The good news is that most desert wildlife can move to safety when fire approaches, park officials said.

“Resource staff at Mojave National Preserve anticipate that the York Fire has caused minimal damage to critical tortoise habitat and has likely affected few individuals since tortoise observations in the fire area are rare,” preserve staff said.

Israel’s minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Thursday joined a group of Jewish Israelis in visiting what is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, drawing condemnation from Palestinian authorities and Israel’s neighbors.

“This morning I ascended to the Temple Mount, our temple that was destroyed because of gratuitous hatred,” Ben-Gvir said on the platform formerly known as Twitter. It is the third time that Ben-Gvir, a far right-wing minister, has visited the site, which houses the al-Aqsa mosque, since becoming a minister at the end of last year. Tension at the holy site has been the spark for many previous conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians.

Thursday is a Jewish day of mourning known as Tisha B’Av, on which Jews commemorate the calamities that have befallen them – primarily the destruction of two ancient temples that stood on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.

His visit was condemned by the Palestinian Authority and the government of Jordan, which has been the custodian of Jerusalem’s holy sites since 1924 and sees itself as the guarantor of the religious rights of Muslims and Christians in the city. The Turkish and Egyptian governments also condemned the visit.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry in a statement said that Ben-Gvir’s visit “represents a provocative and blatant breach of international law and the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its sacred sites.” The Palestinian Authority called the visit to the site an effort at “imposing forcible changes on its historical and legal reality, as an integral part of the process of Judaizing Jerusalem.”

In a statement released by his party, Jewish Power, Ben Gvir placed his visit in the context of recent political upheaval in Israel.

“On this day, in this place, it is always important to remember – we are all brothers,” Ben-Gvir said. “Right, left, religious, secular. We are all the same people. And when a terrorist looks through the window, he does not differentiate between us and separate us. Unity is important, love of Israel is important.”

“This place, this is the most important place for the people of Israel where we have to go back and show our governability.”

Israel has been rocked by 29 consecutive weeks of protests against the government’s proposed judicial reforms. Israel’s Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it would in September hear challenges to a law enacted this week banning the court from rejecting government decisions based on “unreasonableness.”

The controversial bill passed by a vote of 64-0, with all members of the governing coalition voting for it, while all opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber as the vote was taking place.

Ben-Gvir, one of the most divisive figures in Israeli politics, has been convicted in the past of anti-Arab racism and has said he believes that the status quo at Israel’s holy sites should be changed.

Under the so-called Status Quo agreement dating back to Ottoman rule of Jerusalem, only Muslims are allowed to pray inside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, while non-Muslims can visit during set times. Israel and other states agreed to maintain access for Muslims to these holy sites after Israel captured them in the 1967 war.

Some religious nationalist Jewish groups have demanded access to the Temple Mount for Jewish prayer. There have been several instances of Jewish visitors conducting prayers in the disputed area, sparking outrage from Muslim authorities and forced removals by Israeli police.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, was spotted inside Russia on Thursday for the first time since he led an armed rebellion against the Russian military last month.

Prigozhin was seen in St. Petersburg, meeting with an African dignitary on the sidelines of the Russia Africa summit, according to accounts associated with the mercenary group.

Since then, Prigozhin had only been seen in public on July 19, when he seemingly appeared in a video inside Belarus, apparently greeting Wagner fighters at a base in Asipovichy.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir – claimed he convinced Putin not to “destroy” Wagner and Prigozhin during the rebellion.

Prigozhin’s rebellion posed one of the biggest challenges to Putin’s long rule.

Typically a figure who has preferred to operate in the shadows, Prigozhin and his fighters were thrust into the spotlight following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, with Wagner mercenaries playing a key role in multiple battles.

Prigozhin and Putin have known each other since the 1990s. Prigozhin became a wealthy oligarch by winning lucrative catering contracts with the Kremlin, earning him the moniker “Putin’s chef.”

His apparent transformation into a brutal warlord came in the aftermath of the 2014 Russian-backed separatist movement in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Prigozhin founded Wagner as a shadowy mercenary outfit that fought both in Ukraine and, increasingly, for Russian-backed causes around the world.

After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Wagner forces were heavily involved in taking the Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut.

At times, Wagner forces seemed to be the only ones on the Russian side winning battles with the Ukrainians.

But Prigozhin was often critical of Russian military leadership and the support it was giving his troops.

In one particularly grim video from early May, Prigozhin stood next to a pile of dead Wagner fighters and took aim specifically at Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the Russian armed forces Gen. Valery Gerasimov.

“The blood is still fresh,” he says, pointing to the bodies behind him. “They came here as volunteers and are dying so you can sit like fat cats in your luxury offices.”

Separate outbreaks of violence this week, including the alleged shooting of three Muslim men by a police officer on a train, have exposed the deep communal fissures in India weeks before it welcomes Group of 20 (G20) leaders to the capital.

Violence erupted in the northern state of Harayana state on Monday after a right-wing Hindu organization led a religious procession in the Muslim dominated region of Nuh.

Clashes spread to several districts of the finance and tech hub, Gurugram, also known as Gurgaon, home to more than 1.5 million people and hundreds of global firms, where violent mobs predominantly targeted Muslim-owned properties, setting buildings ablaze and smashing shops and restaurants.

At least six people died, including two police personnel and a cleric who was inside a mosque that was set alight, and more than 110 people have been arrested, authorities said.

Gurugram’s district counselor urged residents to remain home and ordered the closure of some private education institutes and government offices.

As the violence unfolded, about 1,300 kilometers (807 miles) south in Maharashtra on a train traveling to Mumbai, another deadly attack demonstrated the depth of the country’s sectarian divide.

In a video that has emerged of the aftermath and quickly gone viral, the officer can be seen standing over a lifeless body, rifle in arm, as terrified travelers huddle at the end the coach.

The officer glances at the body, then scans the carriage before saying: “If you want to vote, if you want to live in Hindustan (India), then there’s only (Narendra) Modi and Yogi (Adityanath).”

Referencing the country’s leader, and the Hindu monk turned chief minister of India’s most populous state, he appeared to be advocating for their popular, but deeply divisive policies.

“We haven’t heard a lot from the authorities,” he added. “But I believe this happened because we are Muslim.”

Police have arrested the officer and a motive is yet to be determined, authorities have said. However, opposition politicians and activists have called the attack a “hate crime” that targeted India’s Muslim minority population.

Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of parliament and leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen political party called it a “terror attack that specifically targeted Muslims.”

Another lawmaker and member of India’s main opposition Congress party, Jairam Ramesh, said it was a “cold-blooded murder” that was the result of a polarized media and political landscape.

The image of India that Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) want to project is one of a confident, vibrant, and modern superpower – and it will be one they want on display in India when G20 leaders meet in New Delhi next month.

But analysts say these scenes of violence underscore an uncomfortable reality as the BJP’s Hindu nationalist policies gain momentum in the world’s largest democracy after nearly a decade of Modi’s rule.

On Wednesday, hundreds of members from the Hindu extremist right-wing Bajrang Dal group took to the streets in several cities, including Delhi, burning effigies and chanting slogans against Muslims in protest against what they called “Islamic jihad and terrorism.”

Asim Ali, a political researcher based in New Delhi and no relation to Asgar Ali, said that official silence over sectarian assaults and rhetoric is encouraging for the radical groups and such attacks have become “more brazen” since BJP ascended to power nearly a decade ago.

Ethnic violence has been raging in the northeastern state of Manipur for the last two months, a topic that has received little public comment from Modi.

Ali fears sectarian tensions may only worsen next year as India heads into a bitterly fought election with Modi seeking a third term and an opposition building a coalition to unseat him.

Increase in hate crimes

The latest communal violence come against a broader rise in hate crimes against minority groups.

A study by economist Deepankar Basu noted a 786% increase in hate crimes against all minorities between 2014 and 2018, following the BJP’s election victory.

The BJP, however, says it does not discriminate against minorities and “treats all its citizens with equality.”

But Basu’s study shows – and news reports indicate – the brunt of these hate crimes targeted Muslims. And activists point to a host of recent incidents that they say contribute to India’s sharp communal divide.

Last month, the BJP chief minister of the state of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, blamed Muslims for the soaring prices of tomatoes. His accusation came weeks after he lashed out at former US President Barack Obama, saying Indian police should “take care of” the many “Hussain Obama” in the country, referring to the country’s Muslims.

Former US President Obama is not a Muslim.

Meanwhile Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who was referenced by the police officer allegedly involved in the train shooting, is among the most divisive of the BJP politicians.

Since he took office, the state has already passed legislation that, critics say, is rooted in “Hindutva” – the ideological bedrock of Hindu nationalism.

It has protected cows, an animal considered sacred to Hindus, from slaughter, and made it increasingly difficult to transport cattle. It also introduced a controversial anti-conversion bill, which makes it difficult for interfaith couples to marry or for people to convert to Islam or Christianity. Some cities named after historic Muslim figures have also been renamed to reflect India’s Hindu history.

Adityanath is also known for his provocative rhetoric against Muslims.

He once praised former US President Donald Trump’s travel ban barring citizens of several Muslim-majority countries and called for India to take similar measures, according to local channel NDTV.

India has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world with an estimated 170 million adherents, roughly 15 percent of its 1.4 billion population.

Adityanath’s cabinet members have previously denied allegations they are promoting Hindu nationalism.

But prominent Muslim author and journalist, Rana Ayyub, who has written extensively about India’s sectarian shift, says the current political rhetoric “emboldens” radical right wing groups who feel increasingly protected and untouchable in today’s India.

“It feels like an Orwellian novel playing out in front of you,” she said, adding she fears for the safety of her Muslim friends and family. “I think the silence of the country is a tacit approval for these hate politics.”

Jamaica became the first Caribbean nation to reach the knockout phase of the Women’s World Cup, sending Brazil crashing out of the tournament in the process.

Jamaica had never previously reached the knockout stages of a World Cup – men’s or women’s – prior to the 0-0 draw in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Success for the ‘Reggae Girlz’ has been based on resolute defending which has seen Jamaica become one of just three teams to collect three consecutive clean sheets – Japan and Switzerland are the other two nations.

Jamaica’s manager Lorne Donaldson sprinted onto the pitch before finding himself on the turf after attempting a cartwheel and was then mobbed by his victorious players. There were also tears and a sense of disbelief from the Jamaican squad as the reality of its achievement set in.

Brazil’s players were to a woman disconsolate – this marks the first time since 1995 that the South American side has been eliminated at the group stage of the World Cup.

“I tell you what, this is one of the best feelings I’ve had in my life,” Donaldson told ITV. “Just to see these girls and to see a country like Jamaica be able to do this, it’s unbelievable to just watch it while I’m alive right here standing. I thank the girls for doing this for the country and the country should be proud.

“The resilience, the fight. It’s a war, we know it’s a war, we’re going into a war and we have to be ready and it was a war and we stayed in the battle and we won the war. But we have some more work to do but we’ll just enjoy tonight.

“I did a cartwheel but I don’t know if it was a good one. I need a cup of beer and I’m good. I’m not a big drinker. I will enjoy.”

Marta’s nightmare farewell

Brazil’s Marta, the record scorer in World Cup history and veteran of six tournaments, looked laser-focused on the objective of qualification, passionately singing her country’s national anthem in what was her final World Cup fixture.

Brazil entered the game knowing it would almost certainly need a win to progress, barring a shock of epic proportions in the simultaneous match between France and Panama.

The atmosphere inside the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium was raucous as the South American fans and locals alike paid tribute to one of the game’s greatest players and her pursuit of the sport’s ultimate prize.

Having been used exclusively as a substitute in the previous games, Marta’s promotion to the starting lineup stood as proof that Brazil coach Pia Sundhage understood the gravity of the situation, and her teammates followed suit.

While As Canarinhas didn’t manage an early breakthrough, they dominated proceedings in the first half – racking up 64% of possession and four shots on target – while Jamaica occasionally threatened with its counterattacking style.

The tension levels in the ground palpably increased in the second half – every forward break viscerally cheered, each tackle roared on with gusto – but neither team could force the issue.

As Brazil poured more and more numbers forward, gaps opened for the ‘Reggae Girlz’ and in particular for star striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw.

Late on, Shaw broke through the Brazil defense for her team’s best chance of the game, only to blast her effort well over the crossbar.

Then in the 94th minute – the last of the allotted added time – there was an almighty scramble in the six-yard box as the ball rebounded around, bouncing off bodies before looping safely into the hands of Jamaican goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer.

Brazil’s exit is a huge shock. The team breezed through the women’s Copa America without losing in 2022 and had realistic expectations of more glory at this showpiece event.

The draw confirms that Marta’s glittering career will end without a World Cup trophy.
Arguably the finest player of her generation, Marta left the pitch in the 81st minute to adulatory applause, but the stony look on her face seemingly demonstrated her abject disappointment.

“It’s hard to talk at a time like this,” the 37-year-old said after the game. “Not even in my worst nightmares was it the World Cup I dreamed of.”

Despite the obvious pain of elimination, Marta remained upbeat about her team’s future.

“It is only the beginning. The Brazilian people asked for renewal, and there is renewal,” she added.

“I think the only old one here is me, and maybe Tami (Tamires) following. Most of them (teammates) are young girls with enormous talent, who have a great path ahead of them. It’s just the beginning for them. I finish here, but they continue.”

Five-time winners of the men’s World Cup, Brazil’s chase for a maiden women’s title will have to resume in 2027.

France overcome early scare to cruise through

The other game in Group F, billed as a presumed victory for France over Panama, briefly threatened to be anything but that at the Sydney Football Stadium in Australia.

Barely over a minute into the game, the starting team, bench and coaches alike for Las Canaleras were engaged in a mass pile-on after one of the goals of the tournament.

As Marta Cox lined up the free-kick from over 30 meters out, few would have given her a chance of finding the top-left hand corner – but that is exactly what happened as the ball arced perfectly into the net.

Cox, who had been in tears during Panama’s anthem just moments earlier, once again found herself overcome with emotion after scoring her country’s first ever goal at a Women’s World Cup.

Panama’s defense lasted until the 21st minute, when a header from a France corner looked destined for the safe clutches of Yenith Bailey in goal, only for Deysire Salazar’s attempted clearance to rocket into the roof of the net.

Normal service continued just seven minutes later as Kadidiatou Diani scored for France after some excellent play from Vicki Becho on the right wing.

Diani doubled her tally from the penalty spot soon after, effectively ending the game as a contest and confirming Les Bleues’ passage to the next round.

It was 4-1 by half-time after a cross from Léa Le Garrec from the left missed everyone and looped into the net.

Diani completed her hat-trick from the penalty spot soon after the interval as France stepped up the pressure. The 28-year-old becomes the first French woman to score a hat-trick at a World Cup – and just the third French soccer star ever, after Kylian Mbappé and Just Fontaine.

A Panama penalty restored some respectability to the result as Yomira Pinzon swept the ball home at the second attempt – having had the first ruled out for not waiting for the referee’s whistle. The cascade of French goals had done little to dampen Panama’s spirit, with Pinzon joyously dancing in celebration of her goal

A third Panama goal brought more joy, with all the team dancing by the corner flag after Lineth Cedeno took advantage of a fortuitous bounce off the crossbar to nod home into an empty net. When VAR confirmed the goal counted, the players took the opportunity to dance some more.

Becho rounded off the game for France, curling in a lovely finish to make the score 6-3.

France qualifies top of Group G, with Jamaica in second, with both teams waiting to find out who they will face in the round of 16.

Hunter Dekkers, the starting quarterback for all 12 Iowa State football games last season, is among several athletes who have been charged in Iowa district court in Story County in connection with an investigation into alleged student-athlete gambling at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa.

Dekkers faces a charge of tampering with records, with the state alleging Dekkers attempted to disguise his identity while betting on sports events. The criminal complaint alleges bets were made from Dekkers’ phone using a DraftKings account set up under the name of a family member. He has denied the accusations.

A former Iowa State football player who was recently suspended by the NFL, a current Cyclones player and a wrestler were also charged.

Dekkers is alleged to have placed approximately 366 bets totaling over $2,799, with 26 of those bets involving Iowa State events, including a 2021 football game in which he did not play, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges Dekkers, a redshirt junior, was under the age of 21 at the time when he used DraftKings, below the legal betting age in Iowa.

Current National Collegiate Athletics Association guidelines state that athletes “who engage in activities to influence the outcomes of their own games or knowingly provide information to individuals involved in sports betting activities will potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports. This would also apply to student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools.”

Quarterback steps away to fight charge

Dekker’s attorney, Mark Weinhardt, said in a statement Wednesday that Dekkers “denies the criminal charge brought against him” and that he was charged “with a serious business records crime that does not apply to this situation even if the allegations against him were correct.”

“This charge attempts to criminalize a daily fact of American life. Millions of people share online accounts of all kinds every day,” Weinhardt says in the statement.

Dekkers will step away from the team to focus on his defense, according to his attorney.

Denver Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike was charged with tampering with records. Prosecutors allege he used someone else’s name to place roughly 800 sports bets on FanDuel totaling over $21,000, including two Iowa State football games in the 2021 season in which Uwazurike participated.

Last week, Uwazurike was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for gambling on league games in 2022. He can petition for reinstatement in one year.

The criminal complaint alleges the FanDuel account linked to Uwazurike placed 32 bets involving Broncos games after he had been drafted by the Broncos. The complaint also alleges there were five specific games that Uwazurike bet on. The defensive lineman played in all five, according to his team profile.

Iowa State sophomore wrestler Paniro Johnson, who won a Big 12 Conference wrestling title last season, is alleged to have made approximately 1,283 sports bets totaling over $45,000, including 25 wagers placed on Iowa State University sports events.

Cyclones redshirt sophomore football player Dodge Sauser is accused of placing roughly 113 sports bets totaling over $3,000. The complaint alleges Sauser made 12 wagers on Iowa State football games, including bets on four games last season.

Iowa State athletics department says compliance staff working with NCAA

According to a statement from Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard, the university has been working with the “involved student-athletes,” a process that is ongoing.

“Iowa State cannot comment on any student-athletes’ circumstance or eligibility status,” Pollard said. “We will, however, continue to support our student-athletes as our compliance staff works with the NCAA to sort out questions surrounding their future eligibility for intercollegiate athletics competition.”

Athletes, coaches and staff are educated on state gambling laws and NCAA policies, Pollard added.

The Iowa Board of Regents said it is aware of the charges and is monitoring closely.

“The Board and our universities have and will continue to fully cooperate with any investigations. We have full confidence that campus administrators will take all necessary steps to ensure ongoing compliance,” the board said in a statement.

In May, Iowa’s university system announced that 26 current student-athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University were being investigated for allegedly violating NCAA rules by gambling on sporting events.

It’s been a week of high drama at this year’s Women’s World Cup with the last round of group fixtures throwing up countless story lines.

South Africa reached the last 16 for the first time, the US team came within inches of being knocked out and the Netherlands recorded the biggest score line of the tournament, beating Vietnam 7-0.

Fans can expect yet more action in the final group games on Thursday with Colombia, Germany, South Korea and Morocco all bidding to qualify out of Group H.

How to watch

In the US, matches will air on your local Fox channel. You can also stream matches by signing in with your TV provider at foxsports.com or on the Fox Sports app. Telemundo and Peacock are providing Spanish-language coverage.

Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.

A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.

Both matches take place at 6 a.m. ET.

Morocco vs. Colombia

Colombia caused a major shock in its last fixture as it scored a dramatic late winner to beat two-time world champion Germany, 2-1.

The game also saw 18-year-old sensation Linda Caicedo produce one of the moments of the tournament as she scored a wonder goal to give her team a 1-0 lead.

It means Colombia has maximum points from its opening two games and will qualify for the last 16 unless there is an unlikely swing in goal difference.

A point against Morocco, however, would see it qualify as group winner.

The African nation, playing in its first Women’s World Cup, must better Germany’s result against South Korea to stand any chance of making it through to the knockout rounds.

Whatever happens, Morocco has made history, securing the country’s first win at a Women’s World Cup against South Korea.

Defender Nouhaila Benzina also become the first player ever to wear a hijab at a senior-level Women’s World Cup.

South Korea vs. Germany

After its defeat to Colombia last time out, Germany is on the brink of an embarrassing exit from the World Cup.

The Germans have qualified for the knockout round in each of their last eight appearances at the tournament and, despite struggling in their last fixture, will feel confident of progressing.

To do so, the team must simply better Morocco’s result on Thursday.

Germany was one of the favorites to lift the title in Australia and New Zealand and poses a mountain to climb for South Korea.

Despite having lost both of its games so far, the Taegeuk Ladies can still make it out of the group should they win and results, including a big swing in goal difference, go their way.

The winner of Group H will face Jamaica in the next round after the Reggae Girlz qualified for the last 16 for the first time. The runner-up from Group H will face France.

A historic Italian bell tower was recently silenced during the night, in response to protests from B&B owners whose guests complained about the noise—but some locals are now complaining that they can’t sleep without the sound of the chimes.

A bell has tolled in the clock tower in the main square of the Tuscan town of Pienza for about 560 years. Construction of the buildings around the square began in 1459.

“I had complaints from residents and owners of B&Bs, who are also residents,” he added. “The complaints started after we digitalized the sound of the bell striking and the clock 18 months ago.”

However, some of the town’s 2,100 inhabitants told state broadcaster RAI that the unfamiliar silence during the night is keeping them awake.

“We were born here, we used to hear it in the dead of night. In the absolute silence, it was a sign of life,” one local told RAI.

With its ancient buildings, narrow cobbled streets and hilltop position overlooking the rolling Tuscan landscape, Pienza has long been a magnet for tourists.

Now protected by UNESCO, the town’s historic center was redesigned by Pope Pius II in the late 15th century according to the principles of the Renaissance “ideal city.” As the first town shaped by these Renaissance ideals of urban design, Pienza—which Pius renamed in his own honor —holds a significant place in both Italian and global urban development.

Two men driving in Death Valley National Park on July 4 got lost and illegally drove off-road, the US National Park Service alleges, sending one man to the hospital with heat-related illness.

Charges and fines are pending, NPS said in a news release Tuesday.

“Death Valley is an awe-inspiring place that demands our utmost respect and preparedness,” Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a statement. “We urge visitors to exercise caution and adhere to park rules. Don’t drive off established roads; this damages the environment and can turn deadly.”

The pair were navigating by GPS and took a wrong turn in the park, NPS said in the release. After several hours of driving back and forth along a gravel road and becoming worried about running out of gas, they decided around midnight to try to drive directly across the salt flat.

The men’s car got stuck in the mud nearly a mile off the road. The pair walked about another mile to paved Badwater Road, where they walked an additional 12 miles (19 kilometers) north, the Park Service said.

Around 3 a.m., the two split up. One man was picked up around 8 a.m. by other visitors and driven to Furnace Creek to call for help.

The lowest temperature that night was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), NPS said.

The family who picked him up drove back and found the second man and took him to Shoshone, California, NPS said. He was transported by ambulance to Desert View Hospital in Pahrump, Nevada, with symptoms of heat-related illness.

Deadly heat in Death Valley

Two possible heat-related deaths have been reported at the park this summer.

A 65-year-old man was found dead inside his vehicle on July 3, and a 71-year-old man died on July 18 after collapsing outside a restroom as temperatures topped 120 F (50 C).

NPS said a mandatory court appearance was issued to the men involved in the July 4 incident for illegal off-road driving and resulting damage to the park, with charges and fines pending.

“Vehicles that drive offroad can harm plants and animals – such as the desert tortoise – and often leave tracks that can scar the desert for decades,” the NPS news release said.

The men’s vehicle was removed on July 27 using a skid steer in the tracks created by their car to minimize additional damage.

Death Valley must: Road map

The Park Service reminds visitors that there is no cell service in most of the park, and GPS navigation can be unreliable in remote locations such as Death Valley. Visitors should travel with an up-to-date road map.

The park, the largest US National Park outside Alaska, has nearly 1,000 miles of paved and dirt roads. The Park Service said it’s safest to stay on paved roads during the summer heat.

The park’s website carries a current warning for extreme summer heat: “Expect high temperatures of 110°F to 120°F+ (43°C to 49°C+). Drink plenty of water and carry extra. Avoid hiking, do not hike after 10 a.m. Travel prepared to survive. In the case of a heat-related illness, get to a cool place and seek help immediately.”