A summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and African leaders began in St. Petersburg on Thursday, with a far lower turnout than previous years.

Putin has been seeking to strengthen ties with African countries and offered to send free grain to the continent, something the UN warned would not make up for Russia pulling out of a crucial grain deal. Russia has also been targeting Ukrainian ports.

Just 17 heads of African states are attending this year, the Kremlin has confirmed, less than half of the 43 heads of state that attended the 2019 conference.

In the run-up to the event, the Kremlin fumed over the poor turnout, and accused the United States and its Western allies of putting “unprecedented pressure” on African countries in an attempt to derail the summit.

Among those absent is Kenyan President William Ruto, whose government has been critical of Russia’s recent decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal, describing the move as a “stab in the back of global food security prices.”

Moscow made the decision to withdraw from the deal – which ensured the safe export of Ukrainian grain to the rest of the world – on July 17, again sparking fears over global food supplies, particularly in parts of Africa that are reliant on exports from Russia and Ukraine.

Many African countries rely heavily on on Russia and Ukraine for their grain imports. Between 90-100% of the wheat Somalia and Eritrea needs comes from the two countries, UN data shows.

The shortage of grains has worsened food insecurity on the continent and shot up food prices, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Some African politicians – further than simply not attending the summit – have expressed grave concerns about Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine.

“I don’t think that this moment in time is a good time for summits in Russia. Because Russia is involved in a war, a conflict,” said Raila Odinga, the Kenyan opposition leader.

“Africa needs to take a very firm stance on this issue. It’s a question of right and wrong. Therefore, my view is that we cannot be neutral in the place of an aggression. You must take a stand one way or another,” Odinga said.

Despite the food crisis, Russia’s has allies in Africa. During a vote by the UN last year condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Eritrea was one of only four nations globally that openly endorsed the invasion. Others were Belarus, North Korea, and Syria.

But attitudes vary. While 17 others on the continent, including South Africa voted to abstain. Eight other African nations did not put in a vote at all. A further 28 African states voted to condemn Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine.

Last month, an African delegation led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa led a “peace mission” to Russia and Ukraine to broker peace talks between the warring nations. The peace mission did not achieve its desired goal, with the delegation unable to persuade Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war – now in its second year.

Putin makes free grain pledge

The African states being represented at the St. Petersburg summit will be keen to sway Russia into rejoining the grain deal, and Putin has courted African leaders for years in a deliberate effort to broaden Moscow’s global influence. At the last summit in 2019, Russia announced arms deals worth billions of dollars for the continent, along with a plan to double its trade volume with the region.

Putin is working against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, which has driven the country into diplomatic isolation and prompted heavy sanctions from the West. He enjoys more support from some African nations, however, some of whom are yet to condemn the invasion.

On Thursday, the Russian president told the delegation of African leaders that the continent will become one of Moscow’s key partners “in a new multipolar world.”

“Russia is still a reliable supplier of food to Africa,” Putin said, adding he would send grain free of charge to six African nations in the next few months.

He repeated his complaints about the grain deal, saying promises to Russia had not been met, and called the West “hypocritical”, arguing it was blaming Russia for food insecurity but at the same time hampering exports through sanctions.

Next month South Africa will host a BRICS economic bloc summit in Johannesburg. Putin, however, will not be present at that event and will be represented instead by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Ramaphosa’s office said Putin’s absence from the BRICS summit was decided “by mutual agreement.” In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

South Africa is bound by the Rome statute, the treaty that governs the ICC, and is obligated to arrest individuals indicted by The Hague court.

Aaron Rodgers has agreed to a reworked deal with the New York Jets, the 39-year-old confirmed while talking to reporters during training camp on Wednesday.

Rodgers gave no specifics of the reworked deal, but according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the two sides agreed to a two-year, $75 million guaranteed contract through the 2024 season.

Per the report, that would be a roughly $35 million pay cut, since Rodgers’ previous deal had nearly $110 million guaranteed remaining on it.

The four-time league MVP, who contemplated retirement following last season, indicated he plans to play more than one season in New York.

“Definitely some of it is how much fun I’m having,” Rodgers said. “It’s all about the body, how the body feels.

“The team gave up significant pieces for it just to be a one-year deal. I’m aware of that, and I think there was, you know, an awareness of that. Now, again, anything can happen with my body or with the success we have this year, but I’m having a blast, so I don’t really see this as a one-year-and-done thing.”

In April, Rodgers was traded to the Jets, after spending his entire 18-season NFL career with the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers led the Green Bay Packers to a 31-25 victory in Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

One year ago, the South Africa women’s national soccer team was crowned queen of the continent as it defeated Morocco in front of 50,000 fans in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final.

The team is now making its second appearance at the Women’s World Cup, but 30 years ago, the “Banyana Banyana” was playing its first ever match as a nation emerging from apartheid.

The system of racial classification and segregation beginning in the 1940s – led by the descendants of European settlers known as Afrikaners – formally oppressed the non-White population, forcing them to live and exist separately from White South Africans. The system would only come to an end in the 1990s, ushering a new era for the “Rainbow Nation.”

In 1993, far from the glitz and glamour of the World Cup, South Africa’s inaugural game was played against neighbor Swaziland (now Eswatini) at a community soccer pitch in a Johannesburg suburb in front of a sparse crowd – even the most basic facilities were seen as a luxury to the team.

On that day, South Africa romped to a 14-0 victory over Swaziland, marking the beginning of a journey filled with challenges and trials, but one which would end with continental glory and the ultimate prize of playing at the World Cup.

First steps for the rainbow nation

Women’s soccer in South Africa first emerged in the 1960s, played by amateurs and only up to a provincial level. Over the next few decades, the game would see some growth and eventually a national team was selected from the provinces.

One of those who played for the Springboks was Fran Hilton-Smith, a trailblazer of the women’s game who would go on to organize that first match against Swaziland.

Because of the racial segregation in South Africa under apartheid rule, the nation’s soccer teams had been banned from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1960 and from FIFA since 1961. As a result, the national team in the 80s – as a squad deemed White-only – was unable to play any official matches.

While the government’s draconian, discriminatory policies stopped White and Black men from playing against each other within the country, because of the low profile of women’s soccer, players from all backgrounds were able to play with and against each other.

By the late 80s, the interprovincial soccer team featured players like current Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis – who is from a bi-racial background, as well as the Soweto Ladies Football Club, a team based out of one of South Africa’s largest townships.

With the release of future president Nelson Mandela spelling the end of apartheid rule, South Africa was readmitted to the soccer world, and the women were ready for their time in the spotlight.

Hilton-Smith, who at this point had ended her playing career, set about organizing the new women’s national team, reaching out to the association in Swaziland to organize a friendly.

She asked former Southampton and England legend Terry Paine, who was at the time coaching at Wits University in Johannesburg, to take charge of the squad as coach.

Paine and Hilton-Smith then invited players from around the country to come and try out for the newly formed team – one of those invited was a 30-year-old Ellis.

For someone who grew up unaware that girls’ soccer existed, scoring for her nation in its first game was extra special.

From apartheid to African champion

Despite the brilliant start on the pitch, things were anything but easy off it. With the federation showing minimal interest in women’s soccer and players being entirely amateur, life was tough as a soccer player, something Ellis would find out on her way home from that win against Swaziland.

“I lost my job because we had to drive up with a minibus to Johannesburg from Cape Town, and on the way back, we got a puncture and I came back to work a day late,” says a laughing Ellis.

Her employers at the meat market where she ran the spice counter would not take the excuse that she was representing her country in sport and subsequently fired her.

She can smile looking back on it now, but Ellis wasn’t just ignored despite her achievements for her country, she was actively punished for representing South Africa.

It would be another three years before Ellis would find work and despite nearly a decade of captaining the team, Ellis would never be paid a salary to play the game she loves.

Even playing itself would be a challenge as the basic needs of players weren’t accommodated.

“It was always a huge struggle because the football federation were not really interested in women’s football,” says Hilton-Smith, who headed up women’s soccer in the country for over two decades.

Even sourcing team jerseys was difficult, with the federation only providing the women’s team with the men’s leftovers, to the point that at some games, players donned shirts with the name of male players on their shirt.

“I washed the kit for years – actually for five years I’d bring the national team kit home, wash it, iron it and have it ready,” says Carroll, who fulfilled every job the team needed including coach, administrator, team doctor and security.

“It’s only lately, in the last eight years, that we’ve had women’s kits.”

Carroll eventually had to stop working with the team when she no longer could get enough time off her job to travel with the squad as all the work she did with the team was voluntary. And it wouldn’t be until the mid-2010s when the structure of the team began professionalizing.

But thanks to the sacrifice of people like Carroll, Ellis, Hilton-Smith and countless others, the national side has climbed previously unimaginable heights.

Progress still needed

In 2018, with former captain Ellis now coaching, Banyana Banyana reached the final of WAFCON, only losing to serial winner Nigeria on penalties. That appearance in the final also qualified the team for its first ever World Cup appearance in 2019 in France.

Three years later, the team would return to the continental stage and earn revenge on Nigeria on the way to a first ever WAFCON title in Morocco. Ellis was finally able to achieve as a coach what eluded her as a player.

However, Ellis holds no grudges towards the players who now enjoy professional contracts and a structure that she could have only dreamed of as a player.

Despite once again reaching the sport’s greatest competition, things are still not perfect in South Africa for the women’s team and those opportunities are still being fought for.

The team boycotted its pre-World Cup friendly against Botswana over complaints about the venue used and payment of bonuses to the team.

“I made the call for SAFA and SAFPU to come together to urgently address the concerns raised by Banyana Banyana who inspire the country so much,” said South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa.

“I am happy that they came together. The Motsepe Foundation was also approached and I am thrilled by the contribution that they made. Banyana Banyana can now focus fully on the FIFA Women’s World Cup, knowing that their immediate concerns have been addressed.”

Some of the team’s members are not yet fully professional and, despite a national league launching in 2019 off the back of South Africa’s first appearance at the World Cup, only two clubs in the league are fully professional with the rest ranging from semi-professional to amateur.

That struggle highlights of how far soccer has yet to go in the nation and is a reminder that proper treatment of the women’s game rarely comes without the players fighting for it themselves.

But even having the power to boycott a game and force the federation to give into the players’ demands is itself a sign of how much progress has been made.

With the chance to shine on the biggest stage of all, the players could push the envelope even more in their fight to develop the game to its full potential.

The team’s opening game at this year’s World Cup demonstrated all the passion and excitement the team has promised in recent years.

The players arrived at the Wellington Regional Stadium, New Zealand, in style – dancing and singing their way from the team bus to the dressing rooms – before facing world No. 3 Sweden.

After a gritty performance, South Africa was denied a draw after Sweden scored a winner in the last minute of regular time to make it 2-1.

Despite the defeat, South Africa demonstrated its potential to qualify through the group stages into the knockout rounds of the competition.

In a closely-fought battle and rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) and the Netherlands – two of the world’s top teams – came to a 1-1 draw on Thursday at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A!” reverberating around the Wellington Regional Stadium as the team faced the Netherlands in their second match of the tournament soon dissipated after the Dutch took an early lead.

Midfielder Jill Roord put the Netherlands on the board in the 17th minute, finding the back of the net past USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

It was the first time the USWNT trailed in a Women’s World Cup match since 2011 in the quarterfinal against Brazil. Prior to Thursday, the US had gone 17 straight matches without trailing – the longest streak by any team in the tournament’s history.

The Netherlands, meanwhile, was hungry for revenge after their 2-0 loss to the US in the 2019 World Cup.

Despite trailing at the half, the USWNT outshot the Netherlands 9-2 in the first half – and all their scoring chances finally came to fruition in the 62nd minute.

US captain Lindsey Horan scored the equalizer with a thumping header from a corner kick, prompting ecstatic celebrations in the stands.

Just a few minutes later, the USWNT thought they had gone ahead after forward Alex Morgan found the back of the net – but she was offside and the goal was disallowed.

Despite five minutes of added stoppage time, both teams weren’t able to best each other by the time the final whistle blew.

With the draw, the USWNT extends their unbeaten streak to 19 matches at the World Cup – the longest in tournament history for both men’s and women’s editions.

Speaking after the match, Horan called it “unbelievable” that the team was able to come back and score the equalizer to avoid a loss in the group stage.

“I felt the momentum the whole time,” Horan said. “I think the first half we could be a little disappointed in how we played but I think we fixed things right away. The pressure that we got on, the amount of chances and opportunities that came from it – so proud of the team and their response.”

Horan was also complimentary of the Dutch side, following the recent history between the two teams.

“It’s against a really good opponent. Very competitive team and one that we saw last World Cup do such good things. So for us, it’s going down a goal and coming up and getting able to tie … we keep moving forward,” Horan added.

Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar also praised her team’s performance after the match, saying they had “worked really hard” and been in frequent possession of the ball.

“I think we were very calm, especially the first half,” she said. “The second half, they dominated more of the game and they had more chances. But after all, we can be very proud of ourselves.”

Later on Thursday in a clash of fellow Group E contestants and two World Cup debutants, Portugal beat Vietnam 2-0 in the New Zealand city of Hamilton.

Telma Encarnação opened the scoring in the opening 10 minutes before Francisca Nazareth gave Portugal a well-deserved two-goal cushion.

Despite constant Portuguese pressure, the European side was unable to extend its lead further but picks up a vital three points as it seeks to reach the knockout stages of the Women’s World Cup for the first time ever.

With two defeats in its first two games, Vietnam has been eliminated.

Back-to-back defending champions USA are next scheduled to face Portugal on August 1, while the Netherlands goes against Vietnam that same day.

The group matches conclude after August 3, with the tournament then moving into the knockout stage with the 16 remaining teams.

A brutal heat wave is set to persist Thursday as more than 140 million Americans from coast-to-coast are under heat alerts, with parts of the Northeast expected to sizzle under their highest temperatures this year.

Dangerously high temperatures are creeping east into parts of the Midwest and Northeast over the next two days after extreme heat consistently smashed record highs in southern states in recent weeks.

“Low temperatures will range mostly from 75 to 80, with lower 70s in the far outlying suburbs. Coupled with elevated humidity this will make for uncomfortable conditions at night,” especially in New York City and northeast New Jersey, forecasters at National Weather Service in New York City said.

The looming threats have triggered officials to take a series of preventive steps aimed at reducing the harmful impacts of extreme heat, which kills more people than any other irregular weather event in the US.

Heat indices – a measurement of what the temperature feels like when accounting for relative humidity – are expected to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit across many areas in the Northeast and the Midwest.

Here’s how some places are bracing for potentially record high temperatures:

As temperatures spike, PJM Interconnection – the nation’s largest power grid system – has declared an emergency alert. The move activates all systems to be online, including those with planned outages.

PJM coordinates electricity for more than 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, DC, according to its website.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce actions to combat extreme heat in a briefing Thursday morning as the dangerous heat wave expands across the US.

Extreme heat from coast-to-coast

The oppressive temperatures have put entire states under heat alerts.

Missouri, Iowa, Indiana in the Midwest are all under heat advisories while New Jersey is seeing a combination of heat advisories and excessive heat warnings, according to the NWS. Most of Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma are also under heat advisories.

Heat alerts are also in effect for parts of Southern California and Arizona.

In the south, heat indices continued to break records Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon, Miami hit a heat index of 102 degrees, marking the city’s 46th consecutive day with the heat index exceeding 100.

El Paso hit a high temperature of about 107 degrees on Wednesday, which continues their streak of consecutive days of high temperatures over 100 to 41 days. The city is expected to exceed 100 degrees – again – on Thursday.

Phoenix reached 118 degrees, extending its streak to 27 consecutive days with a high temperature exceeding 110. The city also saw 17 consecutive days of low temperatures above 90 degrees.

An Iranian chess player, who competed in an international tournament without wearing a hijab, has been granted Spanish nationality, Spain’s Minister of Justice announced on Tuesday.

Sara Khadem, also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, competed in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in December 2022.

She was photographed not wearing a hijab, despite the fact that this is mandatory in Iran, leading to an arrest warrant being issued against her in her home country, according to Reuters, who interviewed Khadem in February.

She has been living in Spain ever since.

Khadem was one of a number of sportswomen to appear at a sporting event without a hijab since anti-government protests erupted in September last year, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died in mid-September after being detained by the country’s morality police for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code, sparking outrage around a range of grievances with the regime.

Spain’s Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, said that there were “exceptional circumstances” in Khadem’s situation, announcing that the country’s Council of Ministers granted her “Spanish nationality through a naturalization letter.”

The chess player met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in January, who said that he was “inspired” by Khadem.

“How much I have learned today from a woman who inspires me, the Women’s Chess Grandmaster Sara Khadem,” Sánchez tweeted. “All my support to women athletes. Your example contributes to a better world.”

On a recent vacation in Tokyo, Takumi Yamamoto opted for a special lunch of cricket curry and silkworm sashimi, washed down with a water bug cider.

The 26-year-old office worker, from the western prefecture of Hyogo, is one of scores of consumers across the world who have taken an interest in entomophagy, or eating insects, as bugs slowly become a more viable food source.

As a child, Yamamoto said he sometimes snacked on soy-sauce basted grasshoppers. In Tokyo, he indulged in insect cuisine at Take-Noko cafe, which embraces all things buggy.

“It’s fun to select from a wider variety of dishes,” Yamamoto said at the cozy second-floor cafe, surrounded by insect art and terrariums of skittering beetles, ants and cockroaches.

“Everything was tasty. In particular, the water bug cider was quite refreshing and delicious, like a green apple.”

Entomophagy started to be taken seriously globally after the United Nations deemed bugs a sustainable source of protein to feed a global population estimated to swell to 9.7 billion by 2050.

The impact of the livestock industry on climate change, coupled with global food security issues due to extreme weather and conflicts, have also increased the interest in the high-quality, economical nutrition that bugs provide.

While some consumers think eating insects is just gross, Japan has a rich culinary history of insects as food.

Grasshoppers, silkworms, and wasps were traditionally eaten in land-locked regions where meat and fish are scarce, a practice that picked up amid food shortages during and after World War II, said Take-Noko manager Michiko Miura.

“Recently, there have been advances in rearing things like crickets and mealworms for food, so the possibility of using insects as ingredients is really growing,” she added.

Several companies, including national bakery brand Pasco, have sold made cakes and snacks from cricket flour, and processed food maker Nichirei and telecom Nippon Telegraph and Telephone have invested in bug ventures in the past year.

The term “crickets” also started to trend in Japanese media recently after reports the powdered insects were being used in school lunches and snacks.

Consumer interest has also extended to Take-Noko, which manager Miura says is often fully booked on weekends.

Its curry is studded crickets in meatball form and dried garnish. The delicate “sashimi” is the left-over casing of silkworms, and the cider is infused with water bug extract and topped with a whole insect, said to taste like shrimp.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Takeo Saito who founded his namesake company Takeo Inc nine years ago and has grown it to include packaged food business offering more than 60 types of arthropod treats, from scorpions to tarantulas.

“Our aim is not for insects to be something separate, but to be enjoyed at the same table as vegetables, fish, and meat,” said Saito.

Ecuador’s government has declared a state of emergency in two provinces after its security crisis escalated over the weekend with the killing of a mayor and uprisings in several penitentiaries across the country.

More than 90 prison security agents are currently being held by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador, according to the country’s penitentiary service SNAI.

Hundreds of inmates have been killed in recent years in Ecuador as members of competing criminal organizations square off with each other inside the prisons, which are often self-ruled by the criminal organizations. In recent days, prison clashes have left at least six dead.

This comes after the mayor of Ecuador’s sixth-largest city Manta, Agustin Intriago, was killed in a targeted attack on Sunday, according to a statement from Interior Minister Juan Zapata.

Another person, Ariana Chancay, also died in the attack, according to authorities. Four people were injured, including two alleged participants in the targeted murder, who are now in police custody.

Manta is a key port in the Ecuadorian Pacific coast and one of the largest tuna ports in the world. In recent years, the port has become a notorious hotspot for drug trafficking as Ecuador has struggled to contain the presence of international criminal organizations including Mexican cartels.

Manta is located in Manabi province, now under a 60-day state of emergency and curfew. The province of Los Rios is under the same orders, as is the municipality of Duran.

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso condemned the Manta attack on Twitter, saying he had “ordered the general commander to activate the necessary resources so that the people responsible for this crime are found and brought to justice. Our thoughts are with the family of the mayor and that of the other victim.”

Intriago was elected for a second term as Manta’s mayor in February.

The attack targeting such a high-profile public officer has shocked the country, which is holding elections next month amid a growing escalation of violence at the hands of criminal organization.

Ecuador, a relatively peaceful nation until a decade ago, has become a key transit point of cocaine trafficking routes from South America towards the United States, Canada, and Asia, in part as a consequence of the peace process in neighboring Colombia since 2016.

In May, as he faced an impeachment vote, Lasso dissolved the opposition-led congress and paved the way for a snap general election on August 20.

The three main candidates running for president, left wing candidate Luisa Gonzalez, right wing candidate Otto Sonnenholzner, and indigenous candidate Yaku Perez, all condemned the attack against Intriago and vowed to tackle the security crisis in the country.

Speaking at the Big Ten football media days, Northwestern University interim head football coach David Braun declined Wednesday to address reporters questions about the hazing allegations in the university’s athletic program, saying he trusts the school will choose the right path forward.

Several former players are suing the school, claiming the university’s football program “has had longstanding issues involving hazing and bullying that takes on a sexual and/or racist tone.” At least one ex-player is also suing former head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

And last week, attorneys representing at least 15 former student athletes announced plans to sue the university over allegations its athletics department fostered a “toxic culture” that facilitated harassment and sexual abuse. At least one former volleyball player has also filed a lawsuit alleging hazing in that program, according to a copy of the civil action.

The issues with the school’s football program entered the national spotlight earlier this month after the student newspaper The Daily Northwestern cited several former players who spoke about hazing and racism.

A third-party review conducted this winter by a former Illinois inspector general found ongoing hazing, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” university president Michael Schill said in a letter earlier this month that announced Fitzgerald’s termination.

Though the investigation found no “credible evidence” Fitzgerald was aware of the alleged hazing, the head coach is ultimately responsible for the team’s culture, Schill wrote. Fitzgerald has denied any knowledge of hazing in the program.

When asked Wednesday whether he would look into any involvement of staff members who have been named in lawsuits, Braun said he trusts the university “will make decisions based on the facts.”

“What I can speak to is how proud I am of the way that our team has come together with all this stuff swirling around our football team and there is absolute resolve and confidence from our leadership within our team of how we’re going to move forward,” he said at the two-day gathering in Indianapolis for the league’s head coaches and top players to speak to the media about the upcoming season.

Northwestern linebacker Bryce Gallagher, defensive back Rod Heard II and wide receiver Bryce Kirtz were scheduled to take part in the gathering, but opted out because they “did not want our participation to be dominated by the hazing issue and steal the focus away from football and the upcoming season,” according to a statement from the team.

Braun supported their decisions, saying it has been a very difficult time for current and former players and staff members. He said the coaches will focus in the future on each player having “the ultimate student-athlete experience.”

Braun, who was named interim head coach on July 14, said when he spoke in the team’s first meeting, he wanted to challenge his team.

“We have an opportunity to either run from that or an opportunity to truly stare that adversity in the face, stare it down and go attack this opportunity to make this fall an incredible story that truly embodies what this team is all about,” he said Wednesday.

In his first interview since Fitzgerald’s firing, athletics director Derrick Gragg told ESPN the university will have mandatory anti-hazing seminars and said he is committed in ensuring “nothing like this ever happens again.”

Northwestern opens its 2023 season at Rutgers University in New Jersey on September 3.

Bronny James, who on Monday suffered a cardiac arrest and was hospitalized, had a cardiac screening several months ago as part of a program for prospective NBA players, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The screening included a transthoracic echocardiogram – which looks at blood flow through the heart and heart valves – and an EKG, which is a recording of the heart’s electrical activity, the source said. Both screenings came back with normal results.

The normal results of those tests are a good sign and likely mean the episode wasn’t caused by an anatomical preexisting problem.

But the 18-year-old will still likely have his heart rhythm monitored for a longer period in the hospital – since an EKG only captures a snapshot in time – so medical professionals can determine whether there are any unusual spikes of electrical activity.

If those readings are normal as well, doctors may also look at other possibilities of what could have caused this, including significant dehydration or intense practicing.

Bronny is NBA superstar LeBron James’ older son.

The 6-foot-3 combo guard, who is an incoming freshman for the University of Southern California’s basketball team, was rated a four-star recruit and shined in the McDonald’s All-American Game in March featuring some of the country’s top high school basketball players.

He suffered the cardiac arrest during basketball practice at USC, a family spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.

“Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU,” the family statement said.

“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”