Severe weather continues to affect millions across the US Sunday, one day after a woman died in St. Louis when a tree fell on her car during a bad storm.

Severe weather is expected to continue affecting parts of the US ahead of the Fourth of July. One hundred million people are under severe weather threats from the eastern Rockies through the Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys and into the mid-Atlantic region.

There is a Level 3 of 5 risk for much of Kentucky and northern Tennessee, impacting five million people in cities like Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, where damaging wind, large hail and a few tornadoes are likely.

On Sunday morning, storms already began appearing in Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Iowa. The storms are expected to continue into the afternoon and evening.

The weather has created challenges for Americans planning to fly for the holiday. According to the tracking website FlightAware, at least 5,020 flights into, out of, or within the United States have been delayed Sunday. At least 574 US flights were also canceled Sunday.

A flash flood warning was put into place for nearly five million people in Illinois, including residents of Chicago, due to thunderstorms and heavy rain. The rain caused delays and cancellations for some sporting events scheduled for Sunday in the Windy City: The Chicago Cubs had to push their game against the Cleveland Guardians back by several hours, and NASCAR had to alter its racing slate and truncate one of its scheduled races.

And 63 million people are under a combination of heat advisories and excessive heat warnings, with severe heat spreading from the Southwest to the Southeast. Around 70% of the country’s population, about 225 million people, will experience high temperatures above 90 degrees. And around 8% of the population, or 26 million people, will see highs above 100 degrees.

Disney World, Times Square and Yellowstone National Park can be packed to the rafters with tourists. But there are plenty of other places across the United States that continue to fly beneath the travel radar.

While there are literally hundreds of locations that fit that description, here are 25 destinations – from cities and national parks to regions and even entire states – that remain refreshingly underrated despite the surge in travel this year.

They’re listed geographically from the Northeast to the Pacific:

Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts

Far western Massachusetts boasts the Berkshires while the state’s eastern end is anchored by Boston and Cape Cod. So what’s in the middle? A Pioneer Valley carved by the Connecticut River and several vintage mill cities that have reinvented themselves in modern times.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield is where the sport was born in 1891 as a rainy-day indoor activity, while the city’s Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum & Sculpture Garden celebrates the Springfield-born children’s author.

One-off shops, restaurants and the LGBTQ scene make Northampton worth a visit, or hop across the Connecticut River and hike a portion of the New England Trail through the north woods.

Block Island, Rhode Island

Unlike the other big isles off southern New England, this offshore slice of the Ocean State has gone the extra mile to preserve its natural environment. In fact, the Nature Conservancy declared the petite isle one of a dozen “Last Great Places” in the western hemisphere.

Wildlife refuges and other nature areas protect 40% of Block Island, and residents are renowned for their fierce opposition to anything that might imperil their pristine Atlantic home.

Beaches, biking and trekking 32 miles of coastal and inland trails are the main daytime activities. After dark, the island boasts a surprisingly good food scene and laid-back bars like Captain Nick’s, Yellow Kittens and the Poor People’s Pub.

Buffalo, New York

Once a boomtown at the confluence of the Great Lakes and Erie Canal, Buffalo snoozed through much of the 20th century. As the Upstate New York metropolis slowly awakens again, people have come to realize that all that downtime helped preserve the city’s classic architecture.

Among Buffalo’s stylish structures are the Art Deco City Hall, Greek Revival Buffalo History Museum, Victorian glass houses at the botanical gardens, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s streamlined Martin House.

A renaissance of the city’s once derelict waterfront includes the Canalside shopping and entertainment district, lakeside hiking and biking trails, a naval maritime museum, and Silo City with its iconic grain elevators. Meanwhile, Niagara Falls is just up the road.

Pennsylvania Wilds

From abundant wildlife and untamed mountain streams to the old growth trees of the Forest Cathedral and Pine Creek’s gaping Mid-Atlantic version of the grand canyon, there’s still plenty of wild in north-central Pennsylvania.

One of the least populated places east of the Mississippi River, the Wilds sprawl across a vast expanse of the rugged Allegheny Plateau. In addition to Allegheny National Forest, the region harbors 29 state parks, two national wild and scenic rivers, and a world-class stargazing center at Cherry Springs, as well as human relics like the Kinzua Bridge (dubbed the “8th Wonder of the World” when it opened in 1882).

West Virginia

While West Virginia may not be “almost heaven” for everyone, it certainly is for history buffs and outdoor enthusiasts.

Harpers Ferry witnessed John Brown’s infamous 1859 raid that helped ignite the Civil War. Three years later, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson led a successful Confederate attack on the strategic Union-held town. The riverside town is also a jumping off point for the Appalachian Trail and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath.

Established in late 2020 as the nation’s newest national park, New River Gorge is renowned for whitewater sports, hiking and mountain biking, and Bridge Day BASE jumping from the humongous New River Gorge Bridge.

Durham, North Carolina

Few American cities have experienced a more dramatic turnaround over the past 15 years. From its days as a tobacco factory town, Durham has evolved into a science, art, sports and entertainment hub that revolves around a reenergized downtown and reimagined American Tobacco Campus.

The Durham Bulls – the nation’s most famous minor league baseball team – play their often-sold-out games at a spiffy little downtown stadium. At the Duke Lemur Center, visitors can walk through giant forest habitats helping to preserve some of the planet’s rarest mammals. Meanwhile, the city’s craft brewery and distillery scene is outta sight.

Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia

Georgia’s largest barrier island blends beach fun and outdoor adventure with copious wildlife and famous American families.

Although most visitors only come to Cumberland for the day – via their own boats or ferry from St. Marys on the mainland – you can also overnight at beachside campgrounds or the elegant Greyfield Inn, built in 1900 and still owned and operated by the Carnegie clan of steel renown.

Wild horses romp and sea turtles lay their eggs along the island’s 18-mile-long beach, while alligators patrol the wetlands along Cumberland Sound. JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married at the First African Baptist Church at Northend, a historic Africa American community founded by freed slaves.

Florida’s Forgotten Coast

Arrayed along the Gulf of Mexico between Port St. Joe and St. Marks, this unheralded slice of the Florida shore is about as authentic as it gets in the Sunshine State.

Talcum-powder-fine beaches on the St. Joseph Peninsula and St. George Island offer an uncrowded alternative to Florida’s more storied (and crowded) strands. Manatees and monarch butterflies are among the wildlife denizens of Wakulla Springs and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

Fresh-off-the-boat shellfish and live music are the twin attractions of the St. Mark’s Stone Crab Festival (October) and Florida Seafood Festival in Apalachicola (November).

Western Tennessee

Bordering the Mississippi River, the western end of the Volunteer State presents an enticing blend of nature, history, music and food.

Beale Street in Memphis is best known for the blues, but the city was also the cradle of soul and rock ‘n’ roll and one of the best places on the planet to catch live tunes today. The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Elvis Presley’s Graceland and Sun Studio are all here, and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel is a can’t-miss historic site.

Tangy, spicy and sweet, Memphis pork barbecue is served in more than 100 barbecue joints. If that’s not your culinary jam, the city is also flush with awesome soul food and Delta-style fish restaurants.

Western Tennessee’s role in the Civil War is the focus of Shiloh National Military Park and Fort Donelson National Battlefield, clashes that helped elevate little-known general Ulysses S. Grant to national fame.

Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park conserves nearly 13,000 acres of rare hardwood bottomland along the Mississippi River, including eerie bald cypress swamp. In addition to boating, hiking and camping, the park is an Audubon “Important Bird Area.”

Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas

Tucked into a valley on the southeast edge of the Ouachita range, Hot Springs National Park has been popular since the 1830s when the first bathhouses appeared. But few visitors make it much farther into the highlands of west-central Arkansas.

Unlike the nearby Ozarks, which boast manmade ways to sample nature and culture, the Ouachitas are exceedingly untouristy. That makes these mountains ideal for those who like their hiking, camping and fishing with a large dose of solitude.

Magazine Mountain (the state’s highest point) is a regional hang-gliding mecca and the area also boasts gnarly mountain biking routes.

Kansas City, Missouri

Missouri’s second largest city is all about sound and flavor. A cradle of American jazz, KC boasts more than 40 venues where you can listen to live jazz, blues and other tunes and probably as many joints offering savory, slow-smoked Kansas City barbecue.

Catch a Royals game at Kauffman Stadium, compare Van Gogh and Warhol at the world-class Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, delve into history at the National World War I Museum & Memorial, the frontier-era Arabia Steamboat exhibition, or take a stroll down memory lane at Country Club Plaza (opened in 1922 as the nation’s first suburban shopping center).

Southern Illinois

Wedged between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, the state’s southern tip still looks and feels a lot like Illinois did in the early 1800s when the infamous Trail of Tears passed this way and a youthful Abraham Lincoln was still splitting rails.

Hikers can explore the dark woods and deep canyons of Shawnee National Forest – and maybe have a Sasquatch sighting – on the 160-mile River to River Trail. Shorter hikes penetrate the primeval rocky outcrops of Giant City and Garden of the Gods.

Among the region’s manmade attractions are the Superman Museum and colossal statue in Metropolis, the Cave-in-Rock free ferry across the Ohio River, and the Full Terror Assault heavy metal music festival in September.

Lake Superior

The American half of the world’s largest freshwater lake (by surface area) stretches across northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, a vast expanse of water, trees, islands and wildlife that rivals anything out west.

Bookended by Duluth, Minnesota, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, the Lake Superior region embraces Pictured Rocks and Apostle Islands national lakeshores, Isle Royale National Park with its resident wolves, moose and other creatures, and the winter sports slopes of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.

Anglers can cast for 86 fish species that inhabit the lake, while divers have scores of historic shipwrecks to explore. For those who just want to glide through, half a dozen major cruise lines include Superior in their Great Lakes itineraries.

Oklahoma

A state that many people fly over and drive right through, Oklahoma is one of those underrated places you should visit sooner rather than later.

Oklahoma City flaunts a surprisingly rich and varied food scene, especially the eclectic Paseo, Plaza and Uptown 23rd neighborhoods and the Asian district.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and Oklahoma City National Memorial are both must-see spots. For the outdoor inclined, Riversport OKC offers whitewater rafting, tubing, ziplines and sky trails in the city center.

Oklahoma’s long stretch of Historic Route 66 is strewn with old-fashioned diners, museums and roadside oddities. Tulsa showcases local hero Woody Guthrie, the new Bob Dylan Center and classic Art Deco architecture, while Medicine Park village and the nearby Wichita Mountains offer a taste of Wild West days.

Badlands of North Dakota

South Dakota’s badlands are better known (especially since they “starred” in the Oscar-winning movie “Nomadland”). But the badlands of neighboring North Dakota were more consequential for American history.

That’s where young Teddy Roosevelt ranched and lived the cowboy lifestyle in the 1880s, a period that influenced his conservation ethos and tough-as-nails presidential aura.

America’s 26th president also inspired the region’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which safeguards his modest log cabin and a pristine slice of the northern mixed grass prairie and many of the species Roosevelt would have encountered, including bison, prairie dogs and wild horses.

Gateway to the park, Medora offers its own Wild West relics such as Chateau de Mores, the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Maah Daah Hey Trail and a summertime outdoor musical inspired by Roosevelt’s badlands days.

North Park, Colorado

Thanks to the irreverent TV show, just about everyone’s heard of South Park. But did you know that there’s a North Park in Colorado?

Located around a three-hour drive northwest of Denver, the broad highland valley lies between the snowcapped peaks of the Medicine Bow Mountains and Park Range in one of the state’s least populated corners.

The Continental Divide Trail wraps around two sides of North Park while the valley’s waterways provide a pristine habitat for trout, migratory birds and lots of moose.

White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Like something created for a sci-fi movie rather than a quirk of nature, White Sands feels like visiting an alien planet. That’s how strange it is to explore the world’s largest gypsum dune field.

Visitors can hike across or sled down the bright-white dunes. If you didn’t pack your own toboggan, the visitor center gift shop sells/rents plastic discs. Overnight backpack camping is available along a sandy wilderness trail.

Flagstaff, Arizona

Even though it’s Arizona’s third-largest metro area, Flagstaff tends to be a place that travelers pass through on their way to the Grand Canyon or Sedona or following Route 66. But it definitely deserves a look-see.

During the school year, the 28,000 students of Northern Arizona University fill the city with a youthful energy that infuses the restaurants and bars of the historic downtown district.

Come summer, Flagstaff’s lofty altitude (6,900 feet) brings much cooler temperatures than the rest of Arizona and almost ideal weather for hiking the nearby San Francisco Peaks and Coconino National Forest. The elevation also brings winter snow and awesome skiing and snowboarding at Arizona Snowbowl.

The city’s Lowell Observatory offers a variety of family friendly astronomy programs. Just a short drive from Flagstaff is Bearizona wildlife park, Meteor Crater and three national monuments — Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon and Wupatki.

West Texas

In frontier days, Texas west of the Pecos River was the epitome of the Wild West. An image that was later bolstered by classic movies like “The Searchers,” “Giant” and “No Country For Old Men.”

The vast region is still sparsely populated, home to wide open spaces and a couple of the nation’s wildest national parks: Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains. Terlingua ghost town hosts a huge annual chili cookoff, Fort Davis preserves a historic US Cavalry post, while Marfa offers Hollywood history, offbeat art and the mysterious “Marfa Lights” of UFO lore.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

The largest national monument in the Lower 48 states, Grand Staircase-Escalante (GSE) sprawls across almost 1.9 million acres of largely roadless wilderness in south-central Utah.

The park takes its name from the remote Escalante Canyons and a sequence of huge plateaus that descend like a giant staircase between Bryce Canyon and Zion. Supervised by the Bureau of Land Management, GSE offers plenty of scope for wilderness hiking, camping and mounting biking.

In addition to primitive camping, Grand Staircase-Escalante also boasts upscale glamping spots like Yonder Escalante near the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center in the town of Escalante, and Under Canvas near Lake Powell.

Tacoma, Washington

Seattle may get the lion’s share of ink (and visitors), but Tacoma can hold its own when it comes to outstanding attractions thanks to the incredible glass art of native son Dale Chihuly, one of the nation’s best classic car collections and outstanding seafood.

The great outdoors also beckons: Tacoma is closer than Seattle to Mount Rainier and Olympic national parks, as well as awesome cold-water scuba diving in the Hood Canal.

Channel Islands National Park, California

A throwback to old California, the five-island park preserves paleolithic digs, frontier-era ranches and relics of Spanish exploration.

But its forte is raw nature. Whales, dolphins, sea lions and sea otters frolic in the waters around the park, while the islands provide a terrestrial habitat for super-rare flora and fauna species like the Torrey Pine and Island Fox.

Only around 30,000 people set foot on the islands each year. For those who make the ferry crossing from Ventura Harbor, there’s scuba diving, kayaking, hiking and backpacking – often in total solitude.

San Luis Obispo, California

Poised halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on California’s scenic Highway 101, San Luis Obispo has only recently emerged as a bona fide tourism destination.

Two factors were responsible for the turnaround: the evolution of world-class wine regions in nearby Paso Robles and the Santa Ynez Valley, and the transformation of downtown SLO into a lively social and shopping hub for the 22,000 students at Cal Poly SLO university.

Craft breweries, reasonably priced restaurants and one-off boutiques are all the rage in a city that also offers a historic Spanish mission, Coastal Range hiking and biking, and the seaside at Morro Bay and Avila Beach within a short drive.

Kaʻū District, Hawaii

Likely the first place that Polynesians stepped ashore in the Hawaiian Islands more than 1,000 years ago, Kaʻū is the southern end of the big Island of Hawaii.

Virtually untouched by modern tourism, the district is celebrated for its dramatic black and green sand beaches, tropical fruit and coffee farms and popular Punalu’u Bake Shop.

Hikers and mountain bikers can explore the remote Kahuku Unit or Ka’u Desert in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, while Kealakekua Bay offers awesome kayaking, snorkeling and Hawaiian history at the district’s northwest corner.

Matanuska Valley, Alaska

Just an hour’s drive from Anchorage, this long river valley offers the sort of outdoor encounters that usually require a lot more time and effort to reach.

MICA Guides in Chickaloon features a full range of frozen adventures – including ice climbing and overnight camping on a glacier – while Alaska Helicopter Tours at Knik River Lodge offers fly-in glacier hiking, glacier lake paddleboarding and cross-glacier dogsledding.

Get up close and personal with furry Arctic beasts at the valley’s Musk Ox Farm and learn about the lives of frontier-era gold miners and their families at Independence ghost town.

Two Delta Air Lines pilots say they visited 48 US states in under 48 hours, potentially breaking a world record, the Atlanta-based carrier reported.

Captains Barry Behnfeldt and Aaron Wilson completed their goal of stopping in all 48 contiguous states in less time than they expected – accomplishing it in 44 hours and seven minutes, according to a news release.

Aside from the world-record attempt by the pair of US military veterans, which has not yet been confirmed by Guinness World Records, the men sought to inspire future pilots and raise funds for the Veteran’s Airlift Command.

The organization provides free, private air travel for combat-injured veterans. Behnfeldt and Wilson have raised over $30,000 for the VAC.

They also wanted to acknowledge this year as the 120th anniversary of powered flight.

The pilots initially planned for a trip of 43 hours and 31 minutes while leaving room for setbacks, according to their website.

The mission began with a conversation between Behnfeldt, who’s worked at Delta for 24 years, and a fellow airline pilot.

From there, Behnfeldt said he reached out to Wilson, who, like Behnfeldt, also pilots Delta planes and also attended the Bowling Green State University School of Aviation.

“He had all the logistics and everything figured out,” Wilson said in a news release from their alma mater.

“Flying across the country in a small airplane is something I’ve always wanted to do, so I was immediately sold on the idea,” Wilson said in the release. “I didn’t have any hesitation about saying yes.”

Behnfeldt, who served in the US Navy for 30 years, said his Navy pal and fellow pilot Thomas Twiddy also joined the pair on the trip as an in-flight technician.

The trio set off at night on June 4 from Berrien Springs, Michigan, for a journey of 5,008 miles that included no hotel stays – only periods of rest aboard the small plane as each pilot took turns flying to each state.

Their journey wrapped up on June 6 when they landed in the afternoon in Portland, Maine.

The only time the plane was shut off during their brief stops was during the refueling process, Behnfeldt said.

“And as it turned out, for the 41 stops that we did where we did not take fuel and we didn’t shut down, the average time on the ground was 8 minutes,” said Behnfeldt, who accommodated for about 18 minutes on the ground for fuel stops in his initial planning.

One of their stops was in Coffeyville, Kansas, around 11:30 p.m., Behnfeldt recalled.

“There were close to 50 people (of all ages) out on the ramp greeting us, and we weren’t supposed to take fuel there,” he said.

The pilots decided to shut down briefly and refuel and hand out t-shirts at the stop where so many had come out to support them.

“A 6-year-old girl came up me and asked, ‘Would you sign my T-shirt?’” Behnfeldt said. “It took us a little longer to get through that stop, but it was 100% worth it.”

At least 13 children have died in recent weeks during a suspected measles outbreak at internal displacement camps in Sudan’s White Nile state, amid conflict between the country’s two warring factions, according to an international medical NGO Sunday.

“The situation is critical. Suspected measles and malnutrition in children are the most urgent health problems,” the Sudanese branch of Médecins Sans Frontière (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, said.

In a series of tweets, MSF Sudan said: “Sudan’s White Nile state is receiving increasing numbers of people fleeing the conflict. Nine camps are hosting hundreds of thousands, mainly women and children.”

From June 6 to 27, the NGO treated 223 children with suspected measles in White Nile camps, it said, with 72 – including the 13 who died – admitted to two clinics it supports.

“We are receiving sick children with suspected measles every day, most with complications,” MSF Sudan tweeted.

The NGO said it had received a total of 3,145 patients to the two clinics in the month of June, adding, “as more people arrive, there’s an urgent need to increase assistance, scale up services like vaccinations, nutritional support, shelter, water & sanitation.”

“The rainy season is approaching, and we’re concerned about a rise in waterborne diseases and malaria endemic to the area,” MSF Sudan warned.

There has been a steep rise in Sudanese refugees since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on April 15. Nearly 2.8 million people have fled, according to data from IOM, the UN Migration Agency.

At least 2,152,936 people are estimated to have been internally displaced, while another 644,861 fled across Sudan’s borders into neighboring countries, according to the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix report published Tuesday.

The first of four supermoons to rise in 2023, July’s lunar display will appear to be brighter in the night sky than any other full moon event that has occurred this year.

The full moon will rise on Monday, July 3, and reach peak illumination below the horizon at 7:39 a.m. ET, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Local weather conditions allowing, you can view the celestial event by looking to the southeast after the sun sets.

“A supermoon is when the moon appears a little bit bigger in our sky,” said Dr. Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University. “As the moon goes around the Earth, it’s not a perfect circle. So, there are points in its orbit where it’s a little bit closer or a little bit farther from the Earth.”

When the orb reaches its full moon phase at a point in its path where it is closer to the Earth, it appears to be slightly larger and a supermoon occurs, Schmoll explained. While the size difference between a supermoon and a typical full moon may not be immediately apparent to the naked eye, The Old Farmer’s Almanac says the first full moon of summer will be more luminous and 224,895.4 miles (361,934 kilometers) from Earth.

This month’s moon is also known as the buck moon. July is typically when male deer’s antlers grow during an annual cycle of shedding and regrowth, according to the almanac.

There are several other names for the buck moon that come from Native American peoples, according to Western Washington University. Names like hot moon refer to summer weather while terms like raspberry moon and ripe corn moon signify the best times for harvesting fruit and other crops.

Full moons and supermoons

While most years have 12 full moons, 2023 will have 13 of these lunar events. There will be two supermoons in August, including a blue moon, which will be the closest moon to Earth this year, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The fourth and final supermoon in 2023 will rise on September 29.

Here are the full moons remaining in 2023, according to the Farmer’s Almanac:

● August 1: Sturgeon moon

● August 30: Blue moon

● September 29: Harvest moon

● October 28: Hunter’s moon

● November 27: Beaver moon

● December 26: Cold moon

Lunar and solar eclipses

People across North, Central and South America will be able to see an annular solar eclipse on October 14. During the solar eclipse, the moon will pass between the sun and Earth at or near its farthest point from Earth. The moon will appear smaller than the sun and encircled by a glowing halo.

To avoid damage to the eyes, viewers should wear eclipse glasses.

A partial lunar eclipse will also take place on October 28. Only part of the moon will pass into shadow as the sun, Earth and moon will not completely align. This partial eclipse will be viewable in Europe, Asia, Australia, parts of North America and much of South Africa.

Meteor showers

Each of the nine remaining meteor showers expected to peak this year will be most visible from late evening until dawn in areas without light pollution. Here are the events’ peak dates:

● Southern Delta Aquariids: July 30-31

● Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31

● Perseids: August 12-13

● Orionids: October 20-21

● Southern Taurids: November 4-5

● Northern Taurids: November 11-12

● Leonids: November 17-18

● Geminids: December 13-14

● Ursids: December 21-22

Tennis fans have become very accustomed to the sight of Novak Djokovic hoisting Wimbledon’s iconic gold trophy at the end of the championships in southwest London.

This year looks likely to follow the same script again, as the Serb heads to the All England Club as the overwhelming favorite to win another title and take his grand slam tally to 24.

Should Djokovic triumph as most expect him to, the 36-year-old will match Roger Federer’s record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles – held jointly with Björn Borg – and eight overall.

Djokovic has opted not to play in any ATP Tour events in preparation for Wimbledon, instead only playing in the swanky Hurlingham exhibition event in London.

Even in the twilight of his career, Djokovic continues to play some of the best tennis of his life.

Despite struggling for form in the lead up to the French Open, Djokovic found his A-game when it mattered most in Paris and looked largely unstoppable.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz looked as though he would push Djokovic all the way in their semifinal at Roland-Garros, before suffering from cramps that ended the match as a contest.

Alcaraz has openly admitted that grass is his least specialized surface, but the youngster made huge strides this year by winning his first grass-court title at Queen’s Club, the most prestigious Wimbledon warmup event in the calendar.

That win returned Alcaraz to the top of the world rankings, but the 20-year-old will have his work cut out to stop grass-court specialist Djokovic if the two face off in London.

The usual pretenders to Djokovic’s throne – Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Holger Rune among them – have enjoyed no Wimbledon success of note and seem unlikely to threaten the defending champion’s crown.

The USA’s Francis Tiafoe, who has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon, has also inserted himself into the outside contenders’ bracket after winning the first grass court title of his career at the Stuttgart Open and breaking into the world’s top 10 for the first time.

Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, whose big serve and powerful groundstrokes are real weapons on the grass, could also make a splash in SW19 after a terrific season that has earned him two ATP titles and a rise from outside of the world’s top 150 in January to the world No. 28 heading into Wimbledon.

Defending champ in danger?

In the women’s draw, rising superstar Elena Rybakina has sparked concerns that she will be unable to defend her title after withdrawing from the Eastbourne International warmup event with the same virus that forced her to pull out of the French Open.

The 24-year-old returned to the court at the German Open last week but lost in straight sets in the second round to Donna Vekić and admitted afterwards that she still hadn’t recovered fully.

Rybakina became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a grand slam title after beating Ons Jabeur in three sets in last year’s Wimbledon final, catapulting her to stardom overnight.

The world No. 3 followed up that success by reaching another grand slam final at the Australian Open in January, this time losing in three sets to Aryna Sabalenka.

Belarussian Sabalenka and Poland’s Iga Świątek are joint favorites to win the title alongside Rybakina, according to bookmakers.

Sabalenka has three titles to her name this year, including that maiden grand slam in Australia, and has matched her career-high of No. 2 in the world heading into Wimbledon.

Much like Rybakina, Sabalenka’s powerful game is a daunting prospect to face on the fast grass surface. She has enjoyed success at Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals in 2021, but was excluded in 2022 by the tournament’s blanket ban on Russian and Belarussian players.

So far, Sabalenka’s only preparation on grass has been at the German Open, where she lost in straight sets in the second round to world No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova.

Świątek started her Wimbledon preparations with a hard-fought three-set win over world No. 58 Tatjana Mariana in the opening round of the Bad Homburg Open, Germany.

The Pole has won grand slam titles on the clay and hard court – three at the French Open and one at the US Open – but she has so far failed to make a real dent at Wimbledon, her best performance being a fourth-round appearance in 2021.

Grass remains the only surface Świątek hasn’t won a senior title on, though she is starting to look more at home. Her career struggles on grass are curious, given she won the Junior Wimbledon title in 2018 for the only grand slam title of her junior career, but she will no doubt still be a serious threat at this year’s tournament.

USA’s Coco Gauff, currently ranked seventh in the world, is also looking to make it past the fourth round for the first time. However, her preparations got off to the world possible start after she was easily beaten 6-4 6-0 by Ekaterina Alexandrova at the German Open.

Gauff, whose game also has the potential to complement the fast grass courts, showed significant improvements in the 6-3 6-2 win over Bernarda Pera in the opening round of the Eastbourne International.

The 19-year-old went on to reach the semifinals before being beaten by fellow American player Madison Keys.

When is Wimbledon?

The Wimbledon main draw begins on Monday, July 3 and runs until Sunday, July 16.

How to watch

Coverage of the championships will be available on the BBC in the United Kingdom and on ESPN and the Tennis Channel in the US.

A full list of coverage around the world can be found here.

Twin energy powered a memorable 1-2 finish on Saturday as the 110th Tour de France got underway in Bilbao, Spain.

Twin brothers, Adam and Simon Yates, finished the stage in first and second place respectively – the last brothers to do so were Andy and Frank Schleck in 2011.

The Yates brothers finished just 4 seconds apart in the 182km first stage but it was Adam, representing UAE Team Emirates, who took the victory away from Simon, racing for Jayco AlUla.

“My brother came across to me. I didn’t know if I should work with him. I asked [the team] and they said ‘go for it’,” Adam told reporters after securing the yellow jacket.

The pair were caught in a sprint finish as the race reached its conclusion with Simon saying that cramps got the better off him on their way to the line.

“I’m ecstatic for him, but I also wanted to win,” Simon told reporters, in typical sibling fashion. “I’ll try to get the better of him in the coming days.

“I have a fantastic relationship with my brother, so I’m really happy for him.

“We’re pretty close normally but I had some cramps in the final. It was a humid day so unfortunately, he got the better of me but I’m sure there are more chances coming.”

Since the 1950s, the Tour has often started in a different country as a way of allowing fans from other nations to experience the race.

In total, 176 riders will race in 21 different stages including eight flat stages, eight mountain stages, four hilly stages, one individual time trial, and two rest days. The race will finish in Paris on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday, July 23.

Previous champions, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard and Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar, were the pre-race favorites and the latter finished third after the first stage.

Despite finishing behind the Yates brothers, Pogačar, who is teammates with Adam, said he was happy with the results from Bilbao.

“When I crossed the line and I saw that Adam had won, I was maybe even more happy than if I’d won. It’s a double celebration,” he told reporters.

Pogačar would also have been delighted to have gained a precious lead over his main rival, Vingegaard, especially after coming off the back of an injury.

The Tour now heads from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien for the next stage of the famous cycling race.

In China – the land of hot noodles, steaming rice and warm soups – a new and unlikely food trend has swept across the country’s social media platforms in recent weeks.

People have been sharing images of what most would consider incredibly bland foods, such as raw carrots wrapped in cheese, two-ingredient sandwiches and dressing-free salads – all unified by a single hashtag: #bairenfan.

Translation: #Whitepeoplemeals.

You’re unlikely to find depictions of roast turkey dinners or cheeseburgers when exploring the images attached to this hashtag. What you will find are unappetizing pics of no-frills, cold, assembled dishes that require little or no cooking time – the kinds of foods many Westerners traditionally associate with lunch.

The trend really started to take off in May, when people started posting photos and videos of these simple meals on social media platforms in China, though there are posts with the hashtag dating as far back as last October.

In one such video, a woman on a train in Europe unwraps a plastic bag of lettuce and a bag of ham. She bundles them together, adds mustard and starts eating.

Other posts feature photos of raw vegetables and basic sandwiches – think a single slice of bologna between two pieces of white bread – that Chinese netizens’ international colleagues or spouses have shared with them.

As the trend spread, Chinese netizens around the world started sharing their own experiences with these minimalistic meals, making #bairenfan one of the hottest phrases on various platforms and local media in the last month.

The rapid evolution of #whitepeoplemeals

The photos begged the question: is that really what people in China think Caucasians eat all the time?

“I feel it’s important to recognize that perception is an evolving concept,” says British Chinese chef Andrew Wong, the third-generation owner of London’s two-Michelin-star Chinese restaurant, A. Wong.

“China is awash with Western cultural references – art, philosophy, fashion, food. This has happened in a relatively recent and short timeframe given the history of China’s relationship with the West. It takes time to adjust to understanding the reasons behind some things and that includes certain foods.”

In this case, the trend took only weeks to evolve. At first, most of the posts shared in China were filled with mockery and disbelief.

“My Australian colleagues have expressed the ‘don’t-give-a-s**t’ spirit of white people meals to the extreme. It was a slice of bread last time. Now there are two carrots. The only ceremonial effort was putting them in a lunchbox,” wrote one user on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media site.

Another user shared a lunchbox photo of two carrots with some baby spinach and expressed concern over whether its owner could “generate enough energy” with so little food.

Others complained about feeling empty and soulless after eating such meals.

And then the trend hit Twitter, with English-language users sharing their own photos and videos with the #whitepeoplemeals hashtag. (One such tweet gathered 4.3 million views in the last 3.5 weeks.)

I found out today that on Chinese social media, there’s a trending hashtag that translates to white people meals lol

“I was so tired I ate a white people meal today”

One of hashtags is also “white people meals are still meals” pic.twitter.com/VGdedgrV2F

— Yan Fan Tokyo – we’re hiring! (@yanarchy) June 2, 2023

Many Twitter users, beyond the Chinese community, found the hashtag hilariously true.

“Well, you can’t argue with this,” one user said.

A Japanese Twitter user recalled her own experience in the United States: “I was kinda surprised that I saw people just bringing veggies in ziplock for lunch when I was an exchange student in the States.”

Back in China, as the hashtag went viral globally, some media reports expressed surprise at how quickly the international community embraced the stereotype.

Multiple outlets reported that a new trending topic had emerged – #Whitepeoplemeals have been discovered by white people – and recapped the lighthearted responses from users around the globe.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Another group appeared from the shadowy corners of the internet to show support for these simple meals, with a new hashtag – #Bairenfanyeshifan, or #whitepeoplemealsmatter – popping up on social media platforms in China.

Some said eating such foods will help them lose weight. Others looked at the matter through a more serious lens, claiming the trend reflects the lifestyle and hardship of today’s society.

One post on 163.com, a Chinese blog/media site, explored the parallels between these simple meals and the current “quiet quitting” mindset – the idea of simply slowing your progress at work instead of literally quitting the job – of the tired workers in China.

The post thanked the bland and comfortless meals for “maintaining their lives” without requiring much effort, especially during lunch at work. In other words, the no-hustle approach aligns with how little they care about their careers.

Another positive highlighted in the post: unlike full Chinese meals, these ones don’t make you drowsy, allowing you to avoid the urge to take an afternoon nap while at work.

Cross-cultural differences

Malaysia-born chef Edward Voon is the founder of Auor, a French-influenced fine-dining restaurant in Hong Kong. He says the trend highlights cross-cultural differences.

His only memory of eating something similar to a “white people meal” in his childhood was a boiled egg and canned tuna.

“We didn’t have Western food at home when I was a child as the older generations in my family didn’t have a taste for it,” he recalls. “Gathering around the table over Asian dishes was the tradition, as it was for most families at the time, and the happy buzz of everyone together sharing plates of steaming hot, delicious home-cooked food and lively conversation was what drew me to a career as a chef.”

Even the first-ever meal he tried to cook – at four years old, when he was sick of the fried eggs and chicken curry his mother made for him – wasn’t cold.

It was fried beans and potatoes.

“I almost burnt my house down,” says Voon. “The pan caught fire and I poured water on burning oil. Oops. Seriously, though, it could have been disastrous. I guess I’m quite resilient as the incident didn’t scar me for life (mentally or physically) and I was able to continue my adventures in the kitchen.”

Making a sandwich might have been safer in that case.

Over in London, chef Wong considers himself lucky to have grown up in a family of Chinese descent, but surrounded by family members, friends and peers from different backgrounds and cultures. He emphasizes that any new culture and experience can be deciphered wrongly or exaggerated, and that includes food.

“(In terms of) culture, there are more similarities than there are differences when it comes to food. Something I’ve learned even more as a chef,” he says.

Quick and easy lunches have a long history

In addition to being deterred by the mere lack of taste and tiny portions of those so-called #whitepeoplemeals, many Chinese have expressed puzzlement with uncooked food in general. That’s because Chinese traditional medicine has long dictated that our bodies respond better to warm food and beverages.

But what some of the viral posts fail to point out is that these simple cold foods are primarily only eaten at lunchtime. And there’s a historic reason for that, says Megan Elias, food historian and gastronomy director at Boston University.

“The standardization of the lunch hour in factory settings gave people less time to eat and urbanization meant they might be far from home, so they were not able to cook. Lunch wagons and quick-serve coffee shops emerged especially in America to provide cheap and easy lunches that people could eat outside or in their work rooms.”

Elias has written multiple books on food and culture, including “Lunch: A History.”

She says sandwiches became the defacto lunch option at these wagons and shops because you can “get a variety of flavors into one package without much risk of spilling or any need to heat things up” in a limited time.

“As the world gets smaller (and busier), eating convenient cold food, whether sandwiches, salads or Asian snacks, has become commonplace.”

Malaysia-born chef Edward Voon

Elias says her lunches are similar to the ones posted under the hashtag “white people meals” – but often include dishes from other countries.

“I usually have a small cold lunch so I don’t get tired and it includes something savory and something sweet,” says the historian.

“For example, an onigiri and a macaron or a small sandwich and a cookie. And always an espresso.”

Chef Voon says he now understands the beauty of sandwiches, and they grace his lunchtime from time to time.

“As the world gets smaller (and busier), eating convenient cold food, whether sandwiches, salads or Asian snacks, has become commonplace,” he says.

“As a chef, I love to bring together the many diverse flavors of Asia alongside nature’s bounty from all over the world. Cold store-bought food has its place in our busy modern lives… but you cannot beat the social and sensorial pleasures of a freshly cooked meal at home or in a good restaurant.”

Despite preferring hot flavorful meals when possible, the chef dislikes the idea of stereotyping anyone.

“I don’t like the term ‘white people meals,’ even when it’s used in a joking manner,” says Voon. “Diversity is an important part of my culinary philosophy and it is impossible to make generalizations according to race, country or culture.”

Chef Wong takes a similar stance, comparing food to language.

“It’s deeply ingrained in culture, terroir, even in political and historical events,” he says. “It’s easy for it to be deciphered wrongly or exaggerated while people are learning something new or something they haven’t experienced before. It’s easy to miss the nuances or take something out of context.”

As a food scholar, Elias says the “white people meals” trend might serve more than just a stereotype – it may actually help challenge other hackneyed cultural beliefs.

“I see the recent trend stereotyping white people’s food as bland and unappealing as an attempt to decolonize American foodways by rejecting what has typically been pushed as the ‘norm’ for American food,” she says.

“It offers some xenophobic people an opportunity to see their own foodways as ‘exotic’ or odd, which is a good way to decenter whiteness. Ultimately, though, people like what they like.”

Editor’s Note: Find the latest coverage here.

“Presumed human remains” were among the debris and evidence recovered from the seafloor where the doomed Titan submersible’s remnants were found, the US Coast Guard said Wednesday.

The remains were recovered “within the wreckage” of the submersible, the Coast Guard said in a news release – an announcement coming nearly a week after authorities determined the Titanic-bound vessel had imploded in the North Atlantic, killing all five men aboard.

The presumed remains, which the military branch said will be analyzed by US medical professionals, were among the evidence from the submersible that arrived at a Canadian pier Wednesday.

A white panel-like piece – taller than the two men guiding it onto land – and another similarly sized part with cords and wires draped with white tarp were among the debris taken off the anchor handling vessel Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, photos by The Canadian Press’ Paul Daly show.

It was not immediately clear what those pieces were. Titan was made of carbon fiber and titanium and weighed 23,000 pounds, with room for only five adults, according to OceanGate Expeditions, which operated the craft as part of its offering for extreme tourists to get close to the century-old wreckage of the Titanic for $250,000 per person.

Crew members “have been working around the clock now for 10 days, through the physical and mental challenges of this operation, and are anxious to finish the mission and return to their loved ones,” the company said in a statement.

Pelagic Research Services deferred questions to the US Coast Guard, adding its team cannot comment on or provide any information related to the investigation into the Titan’s demise. The company will hold a news conference at its East Aurora, New York, operations base after “our team has regrouped,” it said.

The OceanGate submersible and its five passengers began their descent to the 111-year-old wreckage of the Titanic on the morning of June 18. But about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive, the cramped vessel lost contact with its mother ship and did not surface as expected, kicking off a massive, dayslong multinational search and rescue operation that captured the world’s attention.

On Thursday, the US Coast Guard announced the vessel had suffered a “catastrophic implosion” that presumably killed all those aboard.

The tail cone and other debris from the submersible were found by a remotely operated vehicle about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic.

Over the weekend, the military branch said it convened a Marine Board of Investigation to probe what caused the implosion and to offer possible recommendations “to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as necessary.”

In its news release Wednesday, the Coast Guard said those working on the investigation board are collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses ahead of an expected public hearing for additional witness testimony.

“There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the Titan and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again,” Capt. Jason Neubauer, who heads the investigative board, said Wednesday.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has arrived in Belarus, the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday, days after the mercenaries’ 36-hour military insurrection posed an unprecedented challenge to the authority of Russia’s leadership.

“I see that Prigozhin is already flying on this plane. Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today,” Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian state TV Tuesday.

Prigozhin’s exact whereabouts are unknown. The warlord hasn’t been seen in any videos or photos since he left the Rostov-on-Don military headquarters Saturday evening.

However, satellite imagery by global monitoring company BlackSky shows two planes linked to Prigozhin landed at a Belarusian airbase outside the country’s capital on Tuesday morning.

Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicated the planes landed near Minsk at around 8 a.m. local time. Both planes had their transponders turned off before landing, obscuring their exact landing location.

Two sources – a senior European intelligence official and a source familiar with Prigozhin’s planes – confirmed the jets are linked to the Wagner boss but did not know if he was on board.

Questions over Prigozhin’s whereabouts have been circling for days, since the Wagner chief’s short-lived rebellion triggered a weekend of chaos for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Saturday, troops from Prigozhin’s private military group seized control of a military base and moved in convoy toward Moscow, facing little resistance, in a remarkable and unexpected challenge to the Kremlin leader.

The march was suddenly called off when a supposed deal was struck that would see Prigozhin move to neighboring Belarus.

Though Putin said Saturday those on “path of treason” or armed rebellion would be punished, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) later announced it was dropping the criminal case against the Wagner paramilitary group.

Then on Monday, Putin thanked Wagner fighters for making the “right decision” to halt their advance and offered them three options: sign contracts with the Defense Ministry or other law enforcement agencies, return home or “go to Belarus.”

Possible Wagner investigation

In Moscow Tuesday, Putin told Russian security personnel they had “virtually stopped a civil war” in responding to the failed insurrection.

The Russian leader also alluded to a possible investigation into claims that billions of rubles of state funds were spent on Wagner, saying “we” will “deal with that.”

Speaking to security personnel, Putin claimed Wagner had been completely funded by the Russian state, with 86 billion rubles (about $1 billion) funneled to the group in the past 12 months. Putin claimed the Concord company, owned by Prigozhin, received 80 billion rubles from Moscow for supplying food and providing food services.

“I want everyone to know about this: the maintenance of the entire Wagner group was fully provided for by the state,” Putin claimed. “But I hope that through its work, nobody has taken anything.”

Despite Putin’s claims, the shadowy Wagner mercenary force had long served Moscow’s interests, advancing Putin’s foreign policy and influence, particularly in Africa.

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on four companies and one person tied to Wagner that “have engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the Wagner Group to sustain and expand its armed forces, including in Ukraine and Africa.”

“The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali. The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.

Belarus ‘not building’ Wagner camps

Belarusian President Lukashenko said Tuesday that Wagner had been offered some abandoned land inside Belarus if they needed it but denied building camps on its territory for the Russian mercenaries.

“We are not building any camps yet. But if they want, we will accommodate them. Set up tents, please. But for now they are in Luhansk [in eastern Ukraine] in their camps,” he said.

Lukashenko – a longtime ally of the Russian President – also claimed he convinced Putin not to “destroy” Wagner and Prigozhin, talking up his role in halting the weekend rebellion.

He described his view of the negotiations that led to Prigozhin ending his march towards Moscow, saying he spoke on the phone to the Wagner boss throughout Saturday.

“I also realized there was a harsh decision taken – to destroy. I suggested Putin not to hurry. Let’s talk with Prigozhin, with his commanders,” Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian state media.

Lukashenko said he managed to get hold of Prigozhin and, according to his account, warned he would be “crushed like a bug” if Wagner troops continued their advance to the Russian capital.

The Kremlin has credited Lukashenko with helping to deescalate the situation, though the Belarus leader’s account of events has not been corroborated by Putin or Prigozhin.

Lukashenko also said most of the tactical nuclear weapons that Russia plans to station in Belarus have already arrived but Wagner troops would not be guarding them.

“In terms of nuclear weapons, most of them were already brought to Belarus, I won’t say how many. It’s surprising that they didn’t trace it,” Lukashenko said, according to Belarus state media.

“Russians and Belarusians are guarding it… No Wagner fighters will guard nuclear weapons. This is our task.”

If Lukashenko’s remarks are correct, it would be the first time Belarus has had nuclear weapons on its territory since the early 1990s.

Earlier this year, Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and that Moscow would complete the construction of a special storage facility for the weapons by the beginning of July.