A pod of more than 50 pilot whales has died after a mass stranding on a northwestern Scottish island, according to a marine charity on the ground.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), which responded to the report of the stranding on Sunday, said most of the 55-strong pod died shortly after washing up by the village of North Tolsta on the Isle of Lewis, with only 15 still alive when they were found Sunday morning.

“Many of the animals were already found dead, so it seems that they had been stranded during the night,” Dan Jarvis, BDMLR’s Director of Welfare, said.

When the marine animals begin stretching, they gradually start to “crush themselves under their own weight,” which can cut off circulation and lead to a buildup of toxins that can be fatal, he explained.

After attempts to refloat two of the more active whales, one was successfully released, while the other was re-stranded and later died.

Officials made the decision to euthanize the remaining whales, which had been out of the water for hours, on “welfare grounds” around 3:30 p.m. (10.30 a.m. ET), after concluding that the “shallow beach and rough wave conditions made it too unsafe to refloat the remaining animals,” the statement from BDMLR said.

The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) said it could be the “largest fatal mass stranding event we’ve had in Scotland for decades.”

Why do strandings happen?

One of the dead whales appeared to have a vaginal prolapse, which experts believe could have been the reason the entire pod was stranded.

The SMASS said on social media that it will be “conducting sampling and necropsies” of the whales to better understand their health and why they may have stranded.

Whale strandings are on the rise in the UK, although experts are still looking for a reason behind the increase.

“We’re not entirely certain why that might be, whether that’s a shift in the range and distribution of the population. Maybe it’s climate change related and they’re being pushed further to the food, or away from other areas that they used to inhabit and they’re exploring new areas,” Jarvis said.

“Trends can reflect increased population sizes, some specific human pressure causing mortality (e.g. underwater noise, entanglement in fishing gear), or simply improved reporting,” he said.

One cause of underwater noise is the use of sonar – using sound waves to see in water – by the military. According to a study published in the journal PNAS last year, multiple whale species slowed or halted foraging behaviors when they heard naval sonar or predator sounds.

But there is no single cause for a stranding, Evans emphasized, adding that they could be the result of injury, poor health or navigational error.

Pilot whale strandings are common across the world. In the UK, the largest stranding of pilot whales was in Scotland in 2011, when 77 were found stuck on the country’s northerly shores, according to Jarvis.

Last September, around 200 were beached along the coast of Tasmania, Australia. Of that number, only 35 survived and were refloated. Tasmania’s largest stranding was in 2020, when more than 450 pilot whales were found.

An extraordinary campaign by the Mexican president to undermine a leading opposition contender for the country’s 2024 presidential election has drawn an official rebuke from the federal election authority and criticism that he is damaging the democratic process.

It also appears to be having an unintended effect: delivering a much-needed boost to the coalition aiming to unseat his party.

New polling this week from a Mexican newspaper showed Xóchitl Gálvez, a freshman senator vying for the ticket of Frente Amplio por México, an alliance of three parties, within striking distance of the front-runners from the leftist president’s party — a significant development in a race that had widely been seen as leaning in the president’s party’s favor.

Gálvez’s remarkable ascent comes as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has levied a near-daily stream of attacks against her.

In regular news conferences this month, López Obrador has called her a “wimp,” “puppet,” and “employee of the oligarchy,” questioned her upbringing in poverty, and, last week, released the private financial information of her business.

Gálvez has proven so adept at turning the attention into momentum that commentators joke the president has become her campaign manager.

“AMLO is obsessed with Senator Gálvez,” Enrique Quintana, the general editorial director for the business newspaper El Financiero, wrote in a recent column, using a nickname for the president. “In a few weeks, he made her the most mentioned opposition candidate and considered by many to be the favorite.”

“This is gold for her,” political analyst Carlos Bravo Regidor told Americas Quarterly.

The immensely popular López Obrador is barred under Mexican law from seeking re-election after completing his six-year term. Crowded primaries began this summer to determine his successor, with both the opposition coalition and Morena, the president’s party, set to select their candidates in September. The general election will take place next June.

Despite disastrous pandemic policies that ranked Mexico among the countries with the highest Covid-19 death rates and mostly unchecked cartel violence, López Obrador has enjoyed some of the highest favorability ratings of any world leader. The eventual Morena flagbearer – among the candidates are the recent mayor of Mexico City, referred to as his “political daughter and his former foreign secretary – has been viewed as his likely successor.

With a compelling personal story and a tendency for headline-grabbing stunts — she once dressed as a T. rex on the senate floor to protest a controversial electoral reform, a proposal from political “dinosaurs” — Gálvez brought immediate energy and a media frenzy with her entrance into an opposition contest that had as yet failed to resonate with the public.

In a series of press interviews and viral social media posts, the senator, who represents the conservative PAN party but has staked out a number of progressive policy positions, has fought back with characteristic candor, framing the president as reckless and machista.

Her standing has jumped in the polls. In a new survey released this week by El Financiero, Gálvez’s support within the coalition primary increased by nine percent from two weeks ago, putting her six points ahead of her closest contender, the president of the lower house of Congress. In hypothetical match-ups against the three leading Morena candidates, she trails by five to 12 points.

López Obrador’s commentary has drawn the scrutiny of the National Electoral Institute, an independent agency. Last week, a complaints commission within the body said that López Obrador’s remarks “may violate the principles of impartiality, neutrality, and equity” and ordered him to stop making “comments, opinions, or statements on electoral issues.”

On Thursday, the panel again agreed to order López Obrador to revise a number of offending comments.

However it dismissed a complaint from Gálvez that the president had violated laws against gender-based political violence.

Electoral neutrality laws in Mexico date back to the 1990s, when lawmakers passed sweeping reforms in response to decades of single-party rule that allowed outgoing president’s virtually unchallenged abilities to select their political heirs.

The reforms established mechanisms to set the time periods during which campaigns could take place, regulated campaign finance, and limited how government officials can use public funds for political communication.

“By using the mañanera, which involves spending public resources, the executive’s social communication is being appropriated to attack a possible candidate,” said Arturo Ramos Sobarzo, the director of the Center for Investigation and Legal Informatics at Mexico City’s Escuela Libre de Derecho, referring to the president’s daily news conferences.

In the days since the ruling against him, López Obrador has moved between open disregard, winking half-measures, and begrudging obedience.

After contending that he was not bound by the order because his office had not been formally notified of it, López Obrador shared a document online that purported to contain information about government contracts that Gálvez’s technological services company had received. López Obrador has sought to tie the candidate to the country’s historic ruling elite with the claims, which she has denied.

Gálvez has called the release of information an illegal invasion of her privacy and said she would file a complaint with the authorities.

Such brazen actions against a political rival are without precedent in recent Mexican elections, legal experts say, but the tact is familiar for a president who has relished upending norms and targeting his perceived enemies.

In a widely condemned episode last year, López Obrador publicized the salary of a prominent journalist — apparently pulled from privileged government filings — after the reporter published an investigation into one of the president’s sons.

López Obrador has also pushed a legislative package that aims to diminish the election agency’s autonomy and its ability to punish politicians for breaking election laws, though key pieces of the measure have been struck down by the Supreme Court.

With his disregard for the electoral ruling, López Obrador is “putting at risk what we Mexicans have built as our democratic foundations,” said Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, the opposition coalition’s director for international liaisons.

“We need the attention of international public opinion and pro-democracy organizations that will begin to take note of what we are beginning to face in Mexico in this election,” he said.

While the Anglosphere was wracked by a burst of populism in 2016, most European countries proved remarkably resilient. Long-held grievances in the United Kingdom and United States fueled Brexit and took Donald Trump to the White House, but Europe – seeming at times to look aghast across the Channel and Atlantic – appeared largely immune. Brussels had fretted about a “Brexit domino effect.” In reality, the opposite came to be.

In the five years from 2016, French centrism spurted out a new political party led by Emmanuel Macron that quelled the National Front. Angela Merkel’s resignation passed without populist fanfare and delivered a moderate successor. Mario Draghi, the technocrat par excellence, slid seamlessly from the European Central Bank to Italy’s premiership. Spain even went left.

Today, there is not that same cohesion. The far right is on the march across the continent. Italy’s government under Giorgia Meloni is further to the right than at any point since the rule of Mussolini. The AfD recently won a district council election for the first time, with more victories expected to follow. In France, the perma-threat of a Marine Le Pen presidency grows with every protest against Macron’s government, whether over police violence or pension reform. Far-right parties are propping up coalitions in Finland and Sweden. Neo-Nazi groups are growing in Austria.

And in Spain, the center-left coalition looks set to crumble after elections this weekend, paving the way for the far-right Vox party to enter government for the first time as part of a coalition.

Why did Europe largely avoid the sort of populism that took root in the US and UK in 2016? And why are populist parties now steadily marching into the mainstream across the continent?

‘Cordon sanitaire’

It is often said that majoritarian electoral systems – as in the US and UK – help to shut extreme views out, while proportional systems – more common in Europe – welcome them in. Proportional systems give a louder legislative voice to parties like the AfD and Vox; winner-takes-all systems keep them quiet.

For example, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), despite winning more than 12% of the vote, secured only one seat in Parliament in the 2015 general election. Thanks to the UK’s first-past-the-post system, while there was significant support for UKIP’s anti-European Union, anti-immigration platform, it was not concentrated enough in any single constituency to deliver many seats. Nigel Farage, the former leader of UKIP, ran in seven elections but never won a seat – a supposed benefit of majoritarian systems.

But it’s not that simple. Afraid of losing voters to UKIP (and other far-right parties), the governing Conservatives ended up adopting many of its positions. First, holding a referendum on Brexit – then pursuing a hardline form of it. Middle-of-the-road Conservatives found they had to make room in their party for more extreme views, or face losing electoral ground to parties that championed them. The system that was meant to shut extremists out of the building ended up welcoming in their ideas. Farage saw many of his policies implemented without having to win a seat.

By contrast, despite often having extremist parties in the building, almost all mainstream European parties would simply refuse to consider them as potential coalition partners, under the principle of the “cordon sanitaire.” For instance, when the then-National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen (father of Marine) unexpectedly defeated the Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin in the 2002 French Presidential election, the Socialists swung their weight behind the center-right candidate Jacques Chirac, delivering him a landslide in the second-round runoff. Despite their ideological differences, the mainstream parties simply refused to cooperate with extremists.

Speaking each other’s language

Now, that dynamic has been reversed. Extremist parties that were once excluded from governing coalitions are increasingly propping them up, and the membrane separating the far and center right is proving increasingly permeable.

In Finland, Petteri Orpo – largely seen as dependable and level-headed – only replaced Sanna Marin as Prime Minister in April after allying with the nationalist Finns Party. The party’s Vilhelm Junnila lasted barely a month as finance minister before resigning after allegations he had joked about Nazism at a far-right event in 2019. Swedish Prime Minister Ulif Kristersson relies on the votes of the increasingly Euroskeptic, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats.

One peculiar feature of this new dynamic is how the far right and center right increasingly use each other’s language. Mainstream center-right parties, fearful of losing votes to more extreme groups, have increasingly begun to adopt their policies. In the Netherlands, Mark Rutte’s run as the second-longest serving leader in Europe ended this month after his new, hardline stance on asylum seekers proved too extreme for his more moderate coalition partners, causing his government to collapse.

Conversely, far-right parties have attempted to sanitize some of their rhetoric, hoping to appear a more credible electoral prospect. After the fatal police shooting of an unarmed teenager, which sparked huge protests in France, Marine Le Pen’s response was markedly restrained.

Italy’s Meloni provided the model for this. When Lega leader Matteo Salvini, a long-term admirer of Vladimir Putin, planned a trip to visit the Russian President in June last year, Meloni took the opposite stance, restating her support for Ukraine and pledging to uphold sanctions against Russia if she was elected, as she then was in September. Using more moderate rhetoric is reaping electoral success for far-right politicians across the continent.

Similarly, Germany’s AfD has begun to speak more seriously about economic policy, echoing traditional conservative values of fiscal prudence. While its flirtation with anti-vax politics may have cost it votes in the 2021 election, it has since enjoyed success in the east of the country, arguing that the government’s commitment to climate policies and supporting Ukraine’s war effort are placing overly burdensome costs on the German taxpayer. These moves suggest far-right parties, while not abandoning their extremist positions, are learning to speak the language of the mainstream to great effect.

A populist ‘wave’?

All this is to say that the “supply side” of populism warrants as much attention as its “demand side.” It matters not just what voters want to buy, but what – and how – parties are selling. A bottom-up theory of populism suggests that dramatic shifts in public opinion create irresistible “waves” of support that mainstream parties are unable to resist. But, as the American political scientist Larry Bartels points out, there is also a top-down theory: Rather than an unexpected “wave,” there has long been a “reservoir” of populist sentiment in Europe. What matters is how politicians draw on it.

The “demand side” often attributes the rise of populism to economic grievances and a cultural backlash. Financial crises, like that of 2008-2009, or big social shifts, like the European migrant crisis of 2015, are said to provide fertile ground for the seeds of populism to take root. Often the two factors can complement each other: The AfD, for instance, was founded during the Eurozone crisis in opposition to the common currency, but gained more support after adopting anti-Islamic policies following Germany’s welcoming of migrants mostly from the Middle East.

The early 2020s, then, may seem to provide ground more fertile than the previous decade for these sorts of sentiments to grow. The continent has seen the return of inflation and the soaring cost of living; the end of quantitative easing and rising interest rates; increased tax burdens as government balance sheets recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and look to fund net-zero policies and increased defense spending. Recent opinion polls show the issue of immigration is also increasing in salience, as migrants continue to turn up on Europe’s shores.

And yet, recent Eurobarometer polling shows that the public’s perception of the European economy is less bleak than we might expect – and far better than during previous crises. Negative perceptions of Europe’s economy rocketed after the financial crisis, and rose again after the start of the pandemic, but are now net positive. Similarly, trust in the European Union has been on an upward trend since 2015, and trust in national governments has remained broadly constant, but improved since the financial crisis.

A different type of populism

And so the recent successes of far-right parties cannot be explained by dramatic shifts in public opinion. Europe has weathered financial and migrant crises before, which did not translate into widespread support for populism.

Instead, what we are seeing is a different sort of populism to the one that wracked the US and UK in 2016: A populism fueled by the collapse of the cordon sanitaire between mainstream conservatives and the far right, and one which may have learned the lessons of its short-lived predecessors.

The defenestration of Boris Johnson and legal travails of Donald Trump perhaps offered the comforting conclusion that populism will inevitably implode: Its policy failures will be too great, the personal foibles of its leaders too unbearable, crass – and potentially criminal.

But, on the continent, there is a newer, smarter brand of populism taking root. Whereas the UK has been content to break international law in pursuit of Brexit and its crackdown on asylum seekers, populist leaders in Europe are taking greater care not to renege on their international commitments. Many are content to wage culture wars at home, while remaining reliable partners abroad.

Orban, then Kaczynski, provided the model for this. Meloni, since, has taken quickly to the craft: Remaining responsible on the continental stage while coldly implementing far-right policies on the domestic one. This weekend, Spain may also set out on this path. After Rutte’s resignation, the Netherlands may too.

A lot depends on the ability of mainstream parties – particularly on the left – to build tents big enough to accommodate their differences, rather than compromising with far-right parties to prop up their coalitions. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has managed this since 2018, though with dwindling success. His ability – or otherwise – to do so again this weekend may serve as a harbinger of the continent’s future.

Expectations are always high for the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) when the Women’s World Cup comes around, and this year is no different as the all-conquering team bids for an historic third consecutive title.

How to watch

The USWNT vs. Vietnam kicks off at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, with Zambia vs. Japan starting at 3 a.m. ET on Saturday.

England vs. Haiti follows at 5:30 a.m. ET Saturday, before the final match of the day gets underway between Denmark and China at 8:00 a.m. ET Saturday.

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

Click here for a list of broadcasters from around the world.

Three-peat on the cards?

Saturday sees the US juggernaut open its campaign against World Cup debutant Vietnam at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, with a squad blending elite experience with exciting young talent. Five members of the team – including stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe – were part of the successful campaigns in 2015 and 2019, while Alyssa Thompson and Trinity Rodman, already established stars in the NWSL, are making their first appearance at the sport’s showpiece event.

Rodman, daughter of NBA legend Dennis, scored both goals in the squad’s final warm-up fixture against Wales and is many people’s bet to be the breakout star of the tournament.

Rapinoe is likely to make her 200th appearance for the USWNT in Saturday’s game and will be hoping to mark the occasion with her 10th World Cup goal – only three of her compatriots have scored more in women’s World Cup history.

The 38-year-old announced earlier this month that she is to retire at the end of the 2023 NWSL season. Should she score at the World Cup, she would become the USWNT’s oldest ever goalscorer at the event, replacing Carli Lloyd.

The last time the USWNT faced an AFC opponent at a World Cup, it ran riot, emerging as a 13-0 winner against Thailand in the 2019 edition in what remains the largest margin of victory in either women’s or men’s World Cup history. Morgan scored five times on that occasion – a similar glut against Vietnam seems unlikely but not impossible as the teams meet for the first time.

The burden of history could weigh heavily upon the US players, having won four of the eight official versions of the tournament to date as well as its previous 12 World Cup games, dating back to the 2015 group stage. No country has ever won three straight titles in either men’s or women’s World Cup history.

The USWNT’s veneer of invincibility has somewhat dissipated since its 2019 triumph, with defeat to Canada in the 2020 Olympic semifinal followed by an almost unprecedented three-game losing streak under head coach Vlatko Andonovski. A confident start against Vietnam would no doubt settle some nerves with tougher missions laying ahead.

Vietnam’s tall task

Vietnam faces a metaphorical mountain if the team is to make an imprint on the fixture and will be largely hoping to avoid a similar fate as Thailand in 2019.

The Golden Star Women Warriors qualified by ousting Thailand and Chinese Taipei in a round-robin after reaching the quarterfinals of the Asia Cup for the first time in their history.

The squad boasts just one player plying their trade outside the country – star striker Huỳnh Nhu, who has racked up an impressive 67 goals in 103 international appearances and competes in Portugal’s top division for Länk FC Vilaverdense.

Given Vietnam’s relative paucity of resources and experience compared to its Group E competitors – the US, Netherlands and Portugal – its chances of advancing from the opening stage are slim.

Expect wild celebrations if the team scores at the tournament, particularly in the high profile contest against the USWNT, such as when Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhã, 21, grabbed a 92nd-minute consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat to Germany in a friendly in June.

Zambia vs Japan

Another of the tournament’s newcomers is Zambia, who will make its bow against 2011 World Cup winner Japan. Despite being the lowest-ranked team at the World Cup at No. 77, the Copper Queens have shown they are not to be taken lightly – recently shocking No. 2 ranked Germany in a friendly via a 102nd-minute winner from star striker Barbra Banda.

Japan has one of the youngest squads in the tournament, having largely eschewed the experience of known stars such as Mana Iwabuchi for the allure of youthful exuberance that has picked up World Cup trophies at lower age levels.

Saki Kumigai, the captain and lone member of the squad who appeared in the 2011 World Cup triumph, scored the decisive penalty in that historic moment for the Nadeshiko. Kumigai is the fourth highest capped Japanese woman of all time and will be relied upon for that nous as she attempts to shepherd the team to further glory.

England vs Haiti

Yet another David vs. Goliath affair on Saturday comes in the guise of European champion England taking on Haiti in the latter’s first ever World Cup match.

England coach Sarina Wiegman has had her preparations stymied by several serious injuries to key players – including captain Leah Williamson and forward Beth Mead.

The European Championship triumph in 2022 under Wiegman should help to dispel some of England’s semifinal demons in major tournaments; the team fell at that hurdle in both 2015 and 2019, to Japan and the USWNT respectively.

Haiti arrives at the event off the back of a relatively unexpected victory over Chile in the inter-confederation playoff. Both goals in the 2-1 win over Chile were scored by star player Melchie Dumornay, affectionately known as ‘Corventina’ in her home nation. Dumornay recently signed with French giant Olympique Lyonnais Féminin.

Denmark vs China

In six appearances at the World Cup, China’s women are yet to be eliminated in the group stage, and the Steel Roses would go some way towards maintaining that record with a positive result against Denmark.

The team’s most recent tournament football finished in resounding success – defeating Japan and South Korea en route to lifting the 2022 AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 2006.

Denmark, meanwhile, is appearing at the Women’s World Cup for the first time since 2007 having won all eight of its qualification matches. Bayern Munich’s new signing Pernille Harder will be key to any success, finally making her World Cup debut at 30 years old.

Escaping a tricky group which includes England, China and Haiti would represent an impressive showing for the Scandinavian outfit.

Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his partner were attacked and robbed in his apartment in Paris on Thursday evening, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The prosecutor’s spokesperson added that it is the special French police unit which works on armed robbery and burglaries that has begun an investigation on Friday.

This is not the first time a PSG player has been robbed. In March 2021, both the homes of PSG players Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria were raided and robbed in the Paris region.

PSG’s squad, Donnarumma included, is set to travel to Japan on Saturday for a preseason summer tour where it will play matches in Osaka against Cerezo Osaka and Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr before facing Inter Milan in Tokyo.

Flying the flag for a crisis-stricken nation at the biggest event in your sport is no easy task, but it’s a responsibility that soccer player Danielle Etienne is embracing ahead of the Women’s World Cup.

This year marks the first time that Etienne and Haiti have appeared at the tournament – a watershed moment for a nation used to making global headlines for less favorable reasons.

“We know how much joy the game of football brings back to Haiti,” says Etienne, part of the 23-strong squad competing in Australia and New Zealand over the coming weeks.

“Being able to say we made history – it’s an amazing feeling. We’re just excited to continue to do that as well. We don’t want this to be the end of it.”

Today, Haiti is a country scarred by the effects of political unrest and natural disasters.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake in January 2010 devastated the Caribbean nation and left an estimated 220,000-300,000 people dead, while more than 1,200 were killed and a state of emergency declared during a 7.2-magnitude earthquake two years ago.

Even as recently as last month, thousands of Haitians were displaced as a result of heavy rainfall, causing flash floods, rockslides and landslides.

A month before the 2021 earthquake, Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his bedroom, plunging the country into deeper political crisis and causing a surge in gang violence.

It’s against this backdrop of social turmoil and poverty back home that the women’s soccer team competes at the World Cup.

“Every time we step on the field, that’s why we take it as a responsibility to do so well and perform so well because we know there are millions of Haitians, not only in Haiti, but around the world who are watching and hoping that we’re doing well.”

The country’s football federation (FHF) has also been blighted by controversy. In 2020, the former president of the federation, Yves Jean-Bart, was banned from the sport for life after a FIFA ethics committee found that he had “abused his position and sexually harassed and abused various female players, including minors.”

Lawyers for Jean-Bart at the time called the ban a “travesty of justice” and said he expected to be “fully exonerated” and reinstated. This year, the former FHF president won an appeal against the ban and a subsequent counterappeal by FIFA was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on June 28.

As the controversy unfolded, Etienne says that she and her teammates have learned to process developments while still focusing on their on-field duties as players.

“I think over time, just in the history of Haiti, there’s always been something that kind of deters from any positivity,” says the midfielder.

“We just have a lot that goes on in Haiti … That’s why we take so much responsibility because we see what’s happening: ‘How do we reverse that and bring more joy again?’ We go back and take a pause away from that negative stuff and bring something that’s positive.

“We definitely have conversations about it, we don’t brush it over like it doesn’t happen. It’s just a matter of: ‘Alright guys, we know what’s going on. This is what it is.’ We can get out our feelings in a team meeting – whatever we’re feeling, whatever we’re thinking – and then we move on and do what we have to do on the field.”

And the next time Haiti takes to the field will mark the biggest occasion in the team’s history: a Women’s World Cup group-stage match against England.

Most expect Saturday’s game in Brisbane to be a one-sided contest with 49 places separating Haiti and the European champion in the women’s rankings.

But Etienne, part of the squad that earned qualification for the tournament with a surprise 2-1 victory against Chile in February, is entering the match with a positive mindset.

“I think for us, we’re going into the game just being fearless and hoping that we can give them the surprise that they’re not expecting.”

Haiti, nicknamed Les Grenadières and coached by Frenchman Nicolas Delépine, has a squad comprised largely of players representing clubs in France and the United States.

The rise of 19-year-old Melchie Dumornay, also known as Corventina, has been a particular boost to the team, and it was her goal against Chile that ultimately secured World Cup qualification for Haiti.

The 22-year-old Etienne, whose father Derrick represented the men’s national team, has been part of Haiti’s youth set-up since the age of 14. She also competed at the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2018, the first time a Caribbean nation has appeared in the tournament.

“That was another moment where we were like: ‘We’re climbing the ladder, we’re almost there, we’re almost there,’” says Etienne. “To finally hit that point when we’re at the Women’s World Cup is amazing. It’s all come full circle for a lot of us.”

Etienne returned to the national team squad at the start of the year, just two months after the birth of her son. She was first cleared to resume training in January, then was on the bench for Haiti’s final World Cup qualification games in February.

The process, though quicker than many players returning to the sport after childbirth, was gradual. Having gone seven months without playing soccer, Etienne started with light fitness sessions – adjusting to how her body was moving – before increasing the intensity.

“It was hard physically, it was hard mentally,” she says. “There were a lot of times where I doubted myself and I cried about it. I was like: ‘I don’t know if I could do it, I’m struggling.’

“And then as weeks went by, I started to feel better … For me, I had just the determination that I’m going to live up to my dreams; I’m going to be a professional soccer player; I’m going to play in a World Cup. I was determined.”

Her son, Ezekiel, will be arriving in Australia on the morning of Haiti’s first game. His presence in the stands will be a reminder of everything Etienne has gone through in order to get to that point.

“I knew that I never wanted to look back and say: ‘I wish I would have done this, I wish I would have done that,’” she says.

“And I also never wanted to say [to him]: ‘Hey, you follow your dreams,’ knowing that I stopped following mine … I’m here and I’m so glad that I kept going.”

American soccer fans have flocked to Australia and New Zealand to cheer on the US National Women’s Team (USNWT) as they attempt a historic “threepeat”, but not many can say they have been in the crowds as often as Jessica Malone.

New Zealand is now the 19th country Philadelphia resident, geologist and Women’s World Cup superfan Malone has visited for a soccer game. It’s also her fourth World Cup.

Browsing the merchandise stand at a fanzone in the New Zealand city of Auckland, which hosted the opening match a day earlier, Malone described her hobby as “ground hopping,” or “going to as many games all over the world as possible.”

Sporting a hat emblazoned with flags of all the countries she has been to, Malone said traveling for soccer has enabled her to learn more about the rest of the world beyond the US.

But, Malone says, she’s often one of few women at these matches.

“This is a hobby that’s very popular among European men because they can get to so many games,” she said. “It hasn’t been normalized that women might want to go watch men’s or women’s or travel for sport. So it’s always interesting seeing people’s reactions.”

Malone says she loves attending women’s soccer tournaments because it isn’t seen as “weird” for her to go.

In Auckland, Malone said she’s “here rooting for all women.”

Her first experience of the Women’s World Cup was the 1999 tournament held in the US, which she calls a “very formative event” in her life.

She also attended the 2018 men’s World Cup in Russia and the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.

Her love of the “beautiful game” started with the 1998 men’s World Cup, which she recalls watching with her family as a kid.

Inspired, she attended the Women’s World Cup the following year.

“Since then, I’ve always known this was my sport,” she said.

‘Awesome place to visit’

Expectations are always high for the USWNT when the Women’s World Cup comes around, and this year is no different as the all-conquering team bids for an historic third consecutive title, dubbed a “threepeat”.

And plenty of other Americans have made the trip to Auckland where the US team will take on Vietnam on Saturday morning (Friday evening US time) in the city’s famed Eden Park stadium.

The Moreland family, from Bethesda, Maryland, first saw the USNWT compete at the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

Eight years later, they said they’re excited to see how the team plays, given the dynamic between veteran players and many who are competing in their first World Cup.

Her mom Stephanie says soccer really wasn’t on the family’s radar until Cate started playing eight years ago.

Now, the family is at their second Women’s World Cup. In 2019, they attended the US Women’s National Team’s famous 13-0 victory against Thailand in Reims, France.

“You would see Cate sort of just light up each time and then when we started thinking, OK, where’s it gonna be four years from now? And Australia and New Zealand’s just an awesome place to visit and a really fun adventure for our family,” Stephanie said.

Elanor Espey and her mom Katrina from Sacramento, were also in France during the Women’s World Cup in 2019 and watched games from the fan zone in Paris.

“It’s a lot more competitive this year, which is how it should be, because you know, in the Men’s World Cup, everybody is like anyone can win and I love that it’s getting to a point in women’s soccer where that’s happening too,” she said.

The vast majority of Americans may live in big cities (more than 70%, according to the 2020 census), but there’s an enduring affection for small towns and cities.

A lot of that nostalgia is stoked by popular culture. From fictional cinematic stars like Amity Island (“Jaws”) and Bedford Falls (“It’s a Wonderful Life”) to TV towns like Hawkins (“Stranger Things”) and Twin Peaks, small-town life looms large on the small and silver screens.

American literature is spangled with small towns from Alabama (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) to the state of Washington (“Twilight”).

Many well-known Americans are proud of their small-town roots. Taylor Swift spent part of her childhood in the Borough of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania (pop. 11,000). Stephen King spent his formative years in Durham, Maine (pop. 4,100). Brad Pitt is from Shawnee, Oklahoma (pop. 31,000). Model Chrissy Teigen was born in Delta, Utah (pop. 3,600), and baseball great Jackie Robinson in Cairo, Georgia (pop. 10,000).

The United States boasts tens of thousands of towns and cities with fewer than 50,000 people. So there’s no lack of choice when it comes to visiting America’s diminutive destinations. But how do you choose which are the best?

Here are some ideas:

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Founded shortly after the first Pilgrims stepped onto Plymouth Rock, this bustling seaport on Cape Ann is famed in modern times as the home base for the “Wicked Tuna” fleet and setting of many films including “The Perfect Storm.”

Every visit to Gloucester should include fresh-off-the-boat seafood, a stop to explore the Rocky Neck art colony and a promenade along the Western Harbor all the way out to Stage Fort Park. Between whale watching and schooner tours, there are plenty of ways to get out on the water.

Population: 30,000

Where to stay: Beauport Hotel or Harborview Inn

Saranac Lake, New York

With more than 180 structures on the National Register of Historic Places, this Upstate New York village offers a time-trip back to the late 19th century when it was one of America’s leading health resorts and a destination where tens of thousands of people came to take “the cure.”

Among its many relics are the colorful Adirondack Carousel, the Victorian mansions of the Helen Hill Historic District, the Robert Louis Stevenson Cottage and the Saranac Laboratory Museum, famed around the world for its tuberculosis research.

Broadway and Main Street are awash in bars, restaurants and intriguing one-off shops. Outer enthusiasts can earn patches completing the village-sponsored paddling challenge on five lakes or hiking challenge on six summits. Come winter there’s cross-country skiing, ice fishing or downhill glides on Mt Pisgah.

Population: 5,000

Where to stay: Hotel Saranac or The Point

New Bern, North Carolina

The name betrays the fact that New Bern was settled in 1710 by Swiss immigrants. But nowadays there’s nothing faintly alpine about this hip little Carolina coastal city known for its cool bars and gourmet culinary scene.

Living history tours of Tryon Palace spin tales about North Carolina’s colonial capital while the soda fountain at the intersection of Pollack and Middle streets is where Pepsi-Cola was born in 1898 (and originally called Brad’s Drink).

Nearby Croatan National Forest offers great hiking trails or you can escape to the shore at Atlantic Beach or Emerald Isle.

Population: 31,000

Where to stay: Hanna House or Courtyard by Marriott

Beaufort, South Carolina

Founded in 1711, this charming town is the second-oldest in South Carolina, after Charleston. Stately mansions built before the Civil War surround the commercial hub along Bay Street. A pleasant park along the waters of the Beaufort River is just beyond the street lined with restaurants and shops. Shade and sustenance – with waterfront views – are available on the porches and patios at Plums, Saltus River Grill and Lowcountry Cider Co. & Superior Coffee.

Exhibits and artifacts inside the old Arsenal show how Beaufort was in Yankee hands for most of the Civil War, while the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (one of the newest units of the US National Park System) spins tales of the post-war American South.

Beaufort is bullish on festivals including an oyster festival in January, Original Gullah Festival over Memorial Day weekend, and shrimp festival in September.

A string of barrier islands is just across the bridge. St. Helena is rich in the culture of the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of formerly enslaved West and Central Africans. Farther on, the state’s most popular park, Hunting Island State Park, boasts thousands of acres of maritime forest and marsh fronted by five miles of unspoiled beach.

Population: 13,700

Where to stay: Anchorage 1770 or City Loft Hotel

Metropolis, Illinois

This Metropolis established in 1839 may have been founded almost exactly a century before the first Superman comic book was published, but that didn’t prevent the Ohio River town from cashing in on the Man of Steel’s worldwide fame.

A colossal statue of Superman towers above the town square near a Super Museum that pays homage to Clark Kent and his almost indestructible alter ego, and a park graced with a statue of Lois Lane.

Metropolis also boasts real American history: Fort Massac. A stout riverside bastion that played a role in the American Revolution, French & Indian War and Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Population: 5,900

Where to stay: Riverview Mansion or Fort Massac Campground

Mackinac Island Village, Michigan

Located in the narrow straits between lakes Michigan and Huron, this insular community has been occupied for hundreds of years by the indigenous Odawa people, French missionaries and fur traders, the British army and finally Americans after the War of 1812.

Nowadays it’s one of Michigan’s premier summer vacation destinations, with 18th-century Fort Mackinac looming high above a car-free waterfront village filled with historic buildings that now house restaurants, shops and boutique hotels.

Population: About 600

Where to stay: Grand Hotel or Mission Point Resort

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

People have been traveling to this Ozark town since Victorian times to soak in its healing waters, breathe its invigorating mountain air, and dive into its artsy vibe.

Alternative lifestyles have long been welcome in a city that hosts three Diversity Weekends and a rollicking Mardi Gras festival each year. The countryside surrounding Eureka Springs offers plenty of scope for hiking, biking, boating and whitewater sports, and The Aud hosts top-shelf music acts.

Population: 2,100

Where to stay: 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa or Basin Park Hotel

Marfa, Texas

The hippest little town in Texas is renowned for its avant-garde art and a youthful population that stokes an intriguing local bar and restaurant scene.

Despite that bizarre Prada installation on the outskirts of town, the hinterland in far West Texas still carries a Wild West vibe (as portrayed in movies like “Giant” and “No Country For Old Men” that were filmed on location in and around Marfa).

And there’s that extraterrestrial thing: What exactly are the famed Marfa Lights? Nobody knows for sure.

Population: 1,800

Where to stay: Hotel Paisano or the Hotel Saint George

Taos, New Mexico

This northern New Mexico city has two major claims to fame.

One of the architectural wonders of ancient America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Taos Pueblo was established more than 700 years ago and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited spots in the entire western hemisphere.

The town’s stunning location between the high desert and snowcapped peaks lured numerous celebrated artists and writers to live in and around Taos in the early 20th century.

With several outstanding museums and galleries, Taos remains an art hub. But it also offers summer rafting on the Rio Grande and hiking in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and winter sports at Taos Ski Valley.

Population: 6,500

Where to stay: Hacienda del Sol or Hotel Luna Mystica vintage travel trailers

Whitefish, Montana

The gateway to Glacier National Park started life as Stumptown, a whistlestop on the Great Northern Railway surrounded by clearcut forest used to lay the tracks.

More than a century later, the trees are back and Whitefish has evolved into a year-round recreational hub that ranges from winter snowboarding and skiing at Whitefish Mountain Resort to summertime water sports, mountain biking and hiking on more than 700 miles of local trails.

Downtown Whitefish is flush with top-notch restaurants, microbreweries and craft distilleries, as well as live music, yoga sessions and groovy one-off shops.

Population: 8,900

Where to stay: Firebrand Hotel or Garden Wall Inn

Moab, Utah

Set along the Colorado River and just a short drive from Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Dead Horse Point and the La Sal Mountains, this desert town in southeast Utah is ground zero for outdoor adventure sports.

So many ways to get your adrenaline rush: whitewater rafting and tubing, biking and hiking, four-wheeling, quad biking or motorcycling on gnarly desert tracks, and spectacular tower rock climbing and red-rock rappelling and canyoneering.

After dark, check out the free summer concerts or movies in Swanny City Park or consider the heavens — the Moab area boasts three certified International Dark Sky Parks.

Population: 5,300

Where to stay: Moab KOA, Under Canvas Moab or Sorrel River Ranch

Friday Harbor, Washington

The largest town in the sublime San Juan Islands does double duty as a charming seaside vacation town and a world-class marine mammal research and conservation center.

Getting there on the ferry from Seattle is an adventure all on its own while the town and its island surrounds offers plenty of other adventures, from wild foxes and migrating whales to vestiges of the Pig War of 1859 between the US and Britain, and flavorsome stops like the Westcott Bay Shellfish Company and tiny San Juan Island Distillery.

Population: 2,500

Where to stay: Saltwater Farm or Bird Rock Hotel

Julian, California

California’s gold fever spread south after the Civil War to Julian in the coastal mountains near San Diego. The gleaming yellow metal petered out long ago, but a boomtown vibe endures along a Main Street flanked by historic structures.

The town is renowned for its apple pies and quick escapes into nature on the nearby Pacific Crest Trail, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Mount Laguna and the California Wolf Center.

Population: 1,700

Where to stay: Julian Gold Rush Hotel or Quiet Mind Mountain Retreat

Volcano, Hawaii

Tucked into the lush rainforest on the windward side of the Big Island of Hawaii, Volcano Village is both the gateway to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and a cool destination in its own right.

Emphasis on both types of cool. Perched at 4,000 feet, the temperature is a lot cooler than beachside Hawaii. And it really does rain a lot in the rainforest. So pack something to keep the raindrops at bay.

Rub shoulders with local artists and artisans, scientists and national park rangers at cool joints like the Thai Thai Bistro & Bar or the Lava Rock Café.

Population: 760

Where to stay: Volcano Village Lodge or the Volcano House

McCarthy, Alaska

A genuine last frontier, this remote Alaskan burg is completely surrounded by the vast Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The copper miners of bygone times are long gone, as are most of the vices that once lured them to McCarthy.

Nowadays, it’s a hangout for bush pilots, wildlife photographers, adventure guides and a trickle of tourists who brave the rough and tumble McCarthy Road to get there.

The town is a jumping off point for visits to the nearby Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark as well as hiking, rafting, fishing, mountaineering and scenic flights in Wrangell-St. Elias (the largest US national park).

Population: 107

Where to stay: Ma Johnson’s Historical Hotel or Kennicott Glacier Lodge

Federal officials are investigating a Delta Air Lines flight that taxied around the Las Vegas airport for nearly 90 minutes on Monday in triple-digit temperatures, causing at least one person to need medical treatment.

“I want to know how it was possible for passengers to be left in triple-digit heat onboard an aircraft for that long,” he said.

Federal rules say the major US airlines must allow passengers to get off if a delay lasts three hours or longer for domestic flights. For international flights, the threshold is four hours. Airlines must provide a snack and water if a delay lasts longer than two hours.

Delta said it is aware of and cooperating with the investigation.

The airline has apologized for the incident and said at least one person required medical attention “for heat-related discomfort.”

They are also “looking into the circumstances that led to uncomfortable temperatures inside the cabin.”

The airplane tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the Boeing 757 aircraft left a gate at the Las Vegas airport on Monday afternoon but never left the ground. The plane taxied to the end of a runway and then turned around and returned to the terminal.

The loop took at least 86 minutes, according to FlightRadar24 data.

Airlines can face significant fines for violations of the delay regulations. In 2019, Delta received a $750,000 fine for 11 flights that violated the rule. The airline was given credit toward that fine for spending $450,000 on customer compensation and upgrading technology and processes.

Here’s a look at the Korean War. Although hostilities ceased in 1953, there has been no formal end to the war.

Causes of the Korean War

Korea was under Japanese rule before and during World War II, and was divided into two parts after the Japanese surrender. The Soviet Union occupied the area north of the 38th parallel and the United States occupied the area south until 1948.

Two new ideologically opposite countries were established in 1948: The Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

North Korea wants reunification under communist rule.

Other Facts

The first war in which the United Nations played a role. When asked to send military aid to South Korea, 16 countries sent troops and 41 sent equipment or aid. China fought on the side of North Korea, and the Soviet Union sent them military equipment.

The United States sent about 90% of the troops that were sent to aid South Korea.

The first war with battles between jet aircraft.

The United States spent around $67 billion on the war.

The truce talks lasted two years and 17 days.

The casualty toll had been reported as 54,246 until June 2000, when the Pentagon acknowledged that a clerical error had included deaths outside the Korean War theater in the total.

There are more than 7,600 American soldiers still unaccounted for from the Korean War.

There has never been a peace treaty, so technically, the Korean War has never ended.

US Troops Statistics

Source: Dept. of Defense
US Deaths:
Hostile: 33,739
Non-Hostile: 2,835
Total In-Theatre: 36,574
US Wounded in Action – 103,284

Other Casualties by Country (killed and missing)

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
South Korea – (217,000 military, 1,000,000 civilian)
North Korea – (406,000 military, 600,000 civilian)
China – (600,000 military)

Timeline

November 1947 – The United Nations General Assembly approves elections to be held throughout Korea to choose a provisional government for the entire county. The Soviet Union opposes this.

May 10, 1948 – The people of South Korea elect a national assembly, setting up the government of the Republic of Korea. The north refuses to take part.

September 9, 1948 – North Korean Communists establish the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

June 25, 1950 – 135,000 soldiers from the communist North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) cross the 38th parallel and invade Republic of Korea (ROK).

June 25, 1950 – The UN Security Council denounces North Korea’s actions and calls for a cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of the NKPA to the 38th parallel.

June 26, 1950 – US President Harry S. Truman directs General Douglas MacArthur to evacuate American dependents from Korea and to assist the ROK Army.

June 30, 1950 – Truman orders ground troops into action.

July 1950 – In the first month of the war, US soldiers kill significant numbers of Korean civilians under a bridge, near a village called No Gun Ri. It is unclear whether the soldiers were ordered to kill civilians or acted on their own.

July 5, 1950 – For the first time since the end of World War II, US troops go into battle, at Osan, 30 miles south of Seoul. The first American casualty of the Korean War dies here, Private Kenneth Shadrick of West Virginia.

June 23, 1951 – Jacob Malik, a Soviet delegate to the UN, proposes a cease-fire.

July 10, 1951 – Truce talks begin at Kaesong.

October 25, 1951 – Truce talks are moved to Panmunjom.

November 27, 1951 – Both sides agree the existing battle lines would be the final dividing line between North and South Korea if a truce is reached in 30 days.

April 1952 – Truce talks are deadlocked over voluntary repatriation.

October 8, 1952 – Truce talks are adjourned.

April 26, 1953 – Truce talks are resumed, and the Communists agree to voluntary repatriation.

July 27, 1953 – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Chinese People’s Volunteers and the UN sign an armistice agreement. The Republic of Korea refuses to sign. However, hostilities cease within 12 hours. Terms of the armistice include creation of the demilitarized zone, the DMZ. Each side is 2,200 yards from a center point. The DMZ is patrolled by both sides at all times.

2007-present – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency posts news releases online about recently accounted for service members’ remains.

April 27, 2018 – During a day-long summit, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledge to formally end the Korean War, 65 years after hostilities ceased. Because of the involvement of the United Nations and countries such as the United States and China in the war, these nations will need to be signatories on an official peace treaty.