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FILE - In this March 23, 2019, file photo, Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, right, shoots as Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore. Jusuf Nurkic is back and healthy. So are Zach Collins, Meyers Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and plenty of others. If the four-month NBA shutdown had a silver lining, it’s that a lot of ailing players got well. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola, File)

NBA shutdown allowed many in league unexpected time to heal

Jul. 3, 2020 5:05 PM EDT

Portland guard Damian Lillard was in the gym a few days ago and took notice of what injured Trail Blazers big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins were doing during their individual workouts. That’s when he realized a bright side of the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown. The injured guys weren’t...

In this April 29, 2020 photo, Venezuelan shipping magnate Wilmer Ruperti smokes a cigarette during an interview in Caracas, Venezuela. As a result of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, a high-stakes legal fight in U.S. federal court is pitting Ruperti against Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis, in connection with oil tanker Alkimos carrying high octane gasoline estimated to be worth millions. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

Venezuela sanctions set off fight for 'plundered' oil cargo

Jul. 3, 2020 5:01 PM EDT

MIAMI (AP) — For two months, the Malta-flagged oil tanker Alkimos has been quietly floating off the Gulf Coast of Texas, undisturbed by the high-stakes legal fight playing out in a federal courtroom as a result of American sanctions on Venezuela. The commercial dispute, which hasn’t been previously...

A police K-9 walks outside the Merrimack County correctional facility, Friday, July 3, 2020 , in Boscowen N.H., where Ghislaine Maxwell was being held after her arrest Thursday at a wooded estate in Bradford, N.H. The British socialite faces charges she helped lure at least three girls — one as young as 14 — to be sexually abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Epstein cohort's arrest becomes new test for plea deal

Jul. 3, 2020 4:57 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Before Jeffrey Epstein’s jailhouse suicide last year, his defense hinged on a 2008 deal with federal prosecutors in Florida over his alleged sexual abuse of multiple teenage girls. His lawyers said it prevented him from being charged with further crimes. Could that same deal now help...

Salvador Hernandez, a groom at Emerald Downs Racetrack in Auburn, Wash., wears a mask as he watches a race Wednesday, June 24, 2020, on the first day of thoroughbred horse racing at the track since all professional sports in Washington state were curtailed in March by the outbreak of the coronavirus. No spectators were allowed, but online wagering was available and the races were streamed. Organizers hope to continue racing into October on a modified schedule. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The Latest: AP source: Virus forces Heat to close facility

Jul. 3, 2020 4:32 PM EDT

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world: ___ A person with knowledge of the situation says that the Miami Heat have closed their training facility after a second player tested positive for coronavirus. The Heat will have players at the arena over the coming days to satisfy...

Mountainside Fitness posts their safety guidelines as the facility remains open even as Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has issued an executive order for all gyms to close due to the surge in coronavirus cases in Arizona Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Phoenix. For the third straight day, several health clubs in metro Phoenix were defying Ducey's 30-day shutdown order to close gyms, bars, water park and tubing businesses, raising questions about whether officials who have been criticized for responding indecisively to the pandemic will be effective in shutting down the clubs. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The Latest: WHO urges focus on first wave of coronavirus

Jul. 3, 2020 4:20 PM EDT

GENEVA — The World Health Organization’s emergencies chief says “we need to put up a fight now” during a peak in the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic — rather than focusing on when a second wave might come. Dr. Michael Ryan said the world will be much better at fighting...

Tampa Bay Rays' Blake Snell, left, talks with bullpen catcher Jean Ramirez during baseball practice Friday July 3, 2020, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Snell made headlines in May when he said he opposed the idea of players taking further pay reductions to start the season during a pandemic — that it was not worth the health risk. But he said Friday it wasn't difficult to start playing again after the players' agreement with Major League Baseball included their full pro-rated salaries. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Rays lefty Snell puts comments behind, gets back to work

Jul. 3, 2020 4:12 PM EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell reported for work, after all. The 27-year-old Snell made headlines in May when he said he opposed the idea of players taking further pay reductions to start the season during a pandemic — that it was not worth the health risk. But he said...

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2009, file photo, former hostages, from left, Tom Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell pose for a portrait in New York. The American defense contractors held for years by leftist rebels in Colombia moved closer to collecting on a $318 million judgment against their former captors after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal by a sanctioned Venezuelan businessman whose assets they were seeking to claim. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

US victims of FARC rebels win claim to Venezuelan's fortune

Jul. 3, 2020 3:33 PM EDT

MIAMI (AP) — Three American defense contractors held for five years by leftist rebels in Colombia moved closer to collecting on a $318 million judgment against their former captors when a U.S. Supreme Court justice rebuffed an appeal by a sanctioned Venezuelan businessman whose assets they seek to claim. ...

FILE - In this June 27, 2020, file phohto, Chicago Red Stars' Julie Ertz, second from left, holds Casey Short, center, while other players for the team kneel during the national anthem before an NWSL Challenge Cup soccer match against the Washington Spirit at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The National Women's Soccer League revised its anthem policy after most players knelt during the anthem before season-opening games last weekend at the Challenge Cup. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Discourse over national anthem looms for NBA, other leagues

Jul. 3, 2020 2:55 PM EDT

Rick Carlisle isn't sure what to expect from players during the national anthem when the NBA season resumes in empty arenas in Florida. The Dallas Mavericks coach does know how he will react if players kneel or otherwise violate a longtime league policy that requires them to stand during the playing of...

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2019, file photo, Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton (22) shoots after driving past Minnesota Timberwolves' Jake Layman during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers already have just about guaranteed themselves the top two playoff seeds and face a delicate balancing act when the NBA returns to action. They must try to shake off the rust after a 4 ½-month hiatus while also staying as healthy as possible for the postseason.(AP Photo/Aaron Gash, File)

Bucks, Lakers look to shed rust or rest for playoffs?

Jul. 3, 2020 1:28 PM EDT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers have all but guaranteed themselves the top two playoff seeds and face a balancing act when the NBA returns to action. While other teams will be fighting for a postseason berth or playoff seedings when they play the final eight regular season games...

FILE - This Feb. 27, 2017 photo, singer Prince Royce poses for a photo in New York. Royce says he got a wake-up call with a COVID-19 diagnosis and now wants to try and wake others too. The Latin star told The Associated Press on Thursday that he is recovering from the virus. He says he decided to speak up out of a growing frustration with seeing people going out and gathering without protection. (Photo by Brian Ach/Invision/AP, File)

AP Exclusive: Prince Royce gets a wake-up call with COVID-19

Jul. 3, 2020 10:48 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Bachata singer Prince Royce says he got a wake-up call with a COVID-19 diagnosis and now he wants to try and wake others too. Royce revealed that he is recovering from the virus in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. Royce, 31, said he decided to speak up out of a growing...

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