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☆ Michael Block: The club pro set for a potentially life-changing payout after PGA Championship fairytale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —It’s been a Block party all week at the PGA Championship, and the man at the heart of festivities is not done partying just yet. Michael Block, the 46-year-old club pro who teaches golf lessons at a public course in California, is schooling many of the game’s biggest stars on New York’s notoriously challenging Oak Hill East Course. In the 105 years of the PGA Championship, no PGA Professional has ever finished inside the top 10. Not since Steve Schneiter in 2005 has a PGA pro finished inside the top-40. Should he remain eighth at the end of play, Block will earn $545,000, according to CBS Golf – even 30th place would see him take home $110,000.

☆ Katie Taylor faces Chantelle Cameron in 'huge boxing event for Ireland'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The undisputed lightweight world champion, Taylor holds 18 gold medals – including an Olympic gold – and sits second in the Ring’s women’s pound-for-pound rankings. On May 20, national hero Taylor will face Chantelle Cameron – the undisputed super-lightweight world champion – at the 3Arena in Dublin in front of a partisan home crowd as she attempts to become a two-weight undisputed world champion. Cameron, the 32-year-old from Northampton, United Kingdom, was previously signed to MTK Global but is now signed to Matchroom Boxing alongside Taylor. Four international boxing promotions have been held across Ireland over the last six months, according to Mel Christle, chairman of the Boxing Union of Ireland. The presence of Katie Taylor headlining the bill, in her hometown, is making it a huge sporting event for Ireland,” added Christie.

CNN —One of the horses scheduled to run before today’s Preakness Stakes, the Bob Baffert-trained Havnameltdown, has been euthanized, after suffering a serious injury in an undercard race this afternoon, officials said. How to watchThe Preakness Stakes will take place on Saturday at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Julio Cortez/APThe controversy started after Medina Spirit, who died in December 2021, won the Kentucky Derby two years ago. After the race, Baffert revealed that the horse had tested positive for elevated levels of betamethasone. In February 2022, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced its decision to disqualify Medina Spirit.

☆ Rome Masters: Ukrainian tennis player refuses to shake Russian opponent's hand after semifinal victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Matt Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian tennis player Anhelina Kalinina refused to shake hands with Veronika Kudermetova, her Russian opponent, following the former’s victory in the semifinals of the Rome Masters in Italy on Friday. Speaking to reporters after the match at Foro Italico, Rome, Kalinina said, “We didn’t shake hands because the girl is from Russia basically. It’s no secret why I didn’t shake, because this country actually attacks Ukraine. We are here to play tennis.”Veronika Kudermetova began the tournament as the world No.12. Antonietta Baldassarre/Insidefoto/LightRocket/Getty ImagesKalinina denied the idea that her opponent’s nationality influenced the topsy-turvy nature of the match, describing Kudermetova as “a top player, a very great player.

CNN —World leaders gathered in Japan will attempt to project unity on China during meetings Saturday, even as differences persist between the United States and Europe in how to confront Beijing’s growing military and economic aggression. His attendance underscores the pressing need to maintain western unity in the face of Russian aggression. For example, French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that Europe should not follow the United States into war with China. Climate change will also factor into Saturday’s meetings, with a joint statement expected from the G7 leaders on accelerating a clean energy transition. Biden is balancing his world leader talks with updates from Washington on negotiations over raising the US debt ceiling.

☆ Taylor Swift interrupts ‘Bad Blood’ to defend concert-goer at Philadelphia tour stop
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Taylor Swift appeared to help a concert-goer in the crowd of her latest “Eras Tour” stop in Philadelphia on Saturday, and videos of the moment are circulating on social media. Videos from the show at the Lincoln Financial Field showed Swift interrupting her 2014 hit “Bad Blood” to defend a person in the crowd. “She’s fine,” Swift is first heard yelling into the crowd, noticeably perturbed by what she had seen. Saturday’s show wasn’t entirely full of bad blood. The “Eras Tour” is Swift’s first tour in five years and kicked off in March in Glendale, Arizona.

CNN —Russia’s air force may have just suffered one of its worst days since the Ukraine war began. Some analysts believe Ukrainian air defenses may have been pushed forward as the Russian air force uses more “glide munitions” that can fire at targets from distance. They are using these bombs “from a distance that is unreachable for Ukrainian air defense,” he said. Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, has also suggested that the nature of the threat has changed. That may be as of much concern in Russia as the loss of four aircraft over Russian territory

☆ Eurovision: The coronation may have passed off peacefully. But song contest could be a bigger headache
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

London CNN —Britain’s security services are quietly relieved that the coronation of King Charles III passed without major incident – save for some accusations of heavy-handed policing. On the face of it, the stakes associated with the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest would not appear to be particularly high. For that reason, British security officials are more exercised than they might otherwise have been about a kitschy musical competition. “On one hand you have thousands of people enjoying the nightlife, which means potential of physical targets and organized crime. This year’s event is, at its heart, a partnership between the UK and Ukraine, two major thorns in the Kremlin’s side.

All were taken by renowned British photographer Hugo Burnand at Buckingham Palace. In this photo made available by Buckingham Palace on Monday, May 8, 2023, Britain's King Charles III poses for a photo in full regalia in the Throne Room, London. Britain's Queen Camilla poses for a photo in The Green Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, London. In this photo made available by Buckingham Palace on Monday, May 8, 2023, King Charles III and Queen Camilla are pictured in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, London. Lady Ogilvy and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, London.

☆ Texas tragedy: One weekend spotlights two distinctly American political fissures
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —The national season of violence deepened with a weekend of tragedy in Texas that hit two of the rawest political divides, guns and immigration. It was the latest in a string of mass shootings in Texas and across the country that have killed many innocent people but have brought no action to end the cycle of loss. Then, on Sunday, a driver slammed into a group of migrants waiting at a bus stop outside a shelter in the Texas border town of Brownsville. But as in the case of mass shootings, there is little chance that the nation’s polarized politics will ease in order to offer the space for meaningful resolution. The latest mass shooting in Texas came after a spree of such killings in schools, supermarkets, at community parades, a bank and places of worship nationwide.

☆ Opinion: What King Charles should do now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Opinion Keith Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s note: Keith Magee is senior fellow and visiting professor in cultural justice at University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Keith Magee Arron DunworthFor King Charles III, his coronation Saturday at London’s Westminster Abbey was the culmination of a lifetime spent preparing to ascend to the throne. The British monarch is, in theory at least, a neutral figurehead with no political affiliations, no manifesto and no discernible allegiance to any side in the so-called culture wars. If the sovereign joins them, other such families, organizations and eventually the UK government (despite its current stance) will surely follow suit. If that happens, Charles might yet, like his mother at the time of her coronation, become the living embodiment of a nation’s hope for a better, fairer future at home and abroad.

☆ At Charles’s Coronation, Everything Olde Was New Again
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Sarah Lyall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The coronation of King Charles III was billed as a chance to usher in a new kind of monarchy — slimmer, more accessible and more inclusive — for the 21st century. Though Saturday’s ceremony had its share of modern flourishes, it was hard to escape the sense that they were mostly tweaks to an ancient ritual which, like the monarchy itself, can’t escape the heavy burdens of the past. As it happened, the coronation was a huge success by most measures. King Charles looked burdened, and then relieved, by the responsibility of it all; Queen Camilla looked radiant. “The Penny is mightier than the sword,” Chris Bryant, a Labour member of Parliament, tweeted.)

☆ A Coronation and an Election Leave a Restless U.K. ‘in a Waiting Room’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yet each, in its own way, confirmed a Britain on the cusp of change. The stinging defeat of the Conservatives in elections on Thursday suggested that Britain’s governing party could very well be swept from power in the general election that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak must call by January 2025. The crowning of Charles definitively turned the page from the 70-year reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and thrust the monarchy into an uncertain future. Three years after Britain left the European Union, and nine months after Britons grieved the death of the queen amid political and economic upheaval, the country is still groping for a post-Brexit identity. But even if its ultimate shape is not clear, Britain seems poised for a new era, both in politics and the monarchy.

☆ Son Heung-min: Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace condemn alleged racial abuse during Premier League game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace have both condemned alleged racial abuse towards South Korean forward Son Heung-min after the teams faced each other on Saturday. We will not tolerate such behaviour in our club.”In response to an inquiry about Saturday’s game, a spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police told CNN that it is investigating allegations of racial abuse. Last August, Chelsea said the club had identified and banned a season ticket holder “indefinitely” after reports emerged that Son was racially abused during a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge. On Sunday, the Premier League said in a tweet that it “condemns all forms of discrimination” and that “no one should have to suffer abuse of the kind received by Heung-Min Son.”Tottenham defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 to move up to sixth in the Premier League table thanks to Harry Kane’s header at the end of the first half. That took Kane to 209 Premier League goals as he moved to second in the league’s all-time scoring list ahead of Wayne Rooney.

☆ Who Pays for King Charles III? The Answer Is Changing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Stephen Wilmot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Details of King Charles III’s personal wealth are a closely held secret. WSJ breaks down what is known about the monarch’s assets, his income streams and what he inherited from Queen Elizabeth II. Photo: Hannah McKay/AFPThe funding of the British monarchy, never clean, is getting messier. The transfer of ceremonial power from the late Queen Elizabeth II to her son, King Charles III , reached a climax with Saturday’s coronation in London. Behind the scenes, the company that finances the public activities of Britain’s royal family is also undergoing a radical generational change.

☆ Kentucky Derby Favorite Forte Is Scratched as Caution Prevails at Churchill Downs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Jim Chairusmi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As Churchill Downs prepares for Saturday’s 149th running of the Kentucky Derby, a familiar uneasiness has settled over the horse-racing industry after an abnormal string of horse fatalities here over the past week has renewed concerns about the safety and welfare of racehorses. Caution has become the theme around the stable area at the historic track—which was underscored on Saturday morning, when it was announced that Forte, the favorite for the Derby, would scratch from the race due to a foot bruise.

Prince Albert of Monaco said in an interview with People magazine that he and his wife, Charlene, would be attending. King Felipe VI of Spain, who ascended to the throne in 2014 after his father’s abdication, will attend, according to the Spanish news media. Crown Prince Fumihito of Japan and Crown Princess Kiko, on behalf of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, will attend, according to the Japanese news media. Credit... Clodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersSeveral members of Britain’s government will attend, as will about 100 heads of state from around the world, according to Buckingham Palace. British RoyalsImage Prince Harry, center, will be present at the coronation, though his wife, Meghan, and their children, will remain in California.

This is a special coronation edition of CNN’s Royal News, a weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on Britain’s royal family. King Charles III stands on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the day of his coronation in London, England, on May 6. As we understand it, today’s staging was a little more impromptu – approved by the King but done so in the moment. Chris Jackson/Pool/APBeyond the balcony moment, ceremonially speaking, the day was note-perfect. Ultimately, Charles’ coronation wasn’t a celebration for everyone in the UK – many shrugged off the pomp with indifference, and plenty raised questions about holding the publicly-funded revelry in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

☆ Kentucky Derby Live Updates: Scratch of Favorite Forte Shakes Up Already Chaotic Derby
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Melissa Hoppert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Secretariat, with jockey Ron Turcotte up, passed his rival, Sham, in the homestrech and ran away with the 99th Kentucky Derby in record time on May 5, 1973. Rumors swirled: he was injured, he lost a step during his 3-year-old season, he just wasn’t the superhorse everyone thought he was, his Wood rival Sham would be the true king of 1973. His rival Sham sat near the lead and made his move to catch the leader, Shecky Greene, at the top of the homestretch. Then, and only then, did Turcotte ask his horse for more, and Secretariat, like the finest of racecars, found another gear. Nearly half of the horses in Saturday’s Derby have Secretariat in their bloodlines.

CNN —Mage won the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday. “It took me a little while to get there, to finally get it.” The victory was the first at the Kentucky Derby for Castellano in 16 attempts. Albert Cesare/USA Today/ReutersPrior to the Kentucky Derby, Mage only had one victory in three career starts. He’s the second horse to die today at the track, making it an appalling seven deaths in advance of the Kentucky Derby. They should play ‘Taps’ at the Derby instead of ‘My Old Kentucky Home.’”Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the location of Churchill Downs.

CNN —Two more horses have died at Churchill Downs, the home of the famed Kentucky Derby, officials from the track announced on Saturday. A total of seven horses have now died at the racetrack in the week-long lead up to the race. On Friday, racehorse trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was suspended indefinitely by Churchill Downs following the “highly unusual” deaths of two of his horses, Parents Pride and Chasing Artie. Three other horses – not trained by Joseph – also died in recent days. According to Churchill Downs, Wild on Ice, a Derby contender, was hurt while training on Thursday and Take Charge Briana was injured in a race on Tuesday.

☆ Anti-monarchists see an opportunity to prove their point in the coronation events.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They said they expected at least 1,000 people to turn up for Saturday’s protest, wearing yellow, holding banners and chanting, “Not my king.” Several anti-coronation parties are also planned around the country, with members eager to use the crowning of King Charles as evidence of the absurdity of having a monarchy in this day and age. “They will put a glittery golden crown on his head in a Christian church,” said Matt Turnbull, a 35-year-old Republic member who lives in London and planned to attend the protest, in an interview. “Look at it, and just accept that something about this feels weird in 2023.”Mr. Turnbull said that he expected the coronation to make his stomach turn, but that it also felt good that he would not be alone in having such a feeling. “The worse it makes me feel to watch it,” he said, “the more quickly we will move to abolish it.”That Charles appears to be less popular than Elizabeth, his mother, is also rising the hopes of anti-monarchists. Riz Possnett, 19, a University of Oxford student who uses they/them pronouns, said that the monarchy and its colonial legacy were an outdated symbol for modern, multicultural Britain.

☆ Once Close, William and Harry Are Now Rows Apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Sarah Lyall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And so it was striking, and a little sad, to see how far Charles’s two sons — Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Prince William, the Prince of Wales — have drifted apart in the past few years. William had an official role in Saturday’s coronation, as the heir to the throne; Harry had none at all, except as a relative demoted to the third row of Westminster Abbey. It’s unclear whether the two acknowledged each other at all as William processed in, long after Harry took his seat. Dressed in a morning suit with a slew of medals on his chest, Harry smiled gamely as he entered the abbey. William wore full military regalia and at one point dropped to his knee and pledged allegiance to Charles, a moment that was both shockingly anachronistic and strangely touching.

The King’s youngest son returned to London without his wife, Meghan, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Prince Harry was among the first royals to enter the Abbey. The coronation was the first time that Harry publicly met members of his family since the book was released. Royals expert draws parallels between Prince Harry and King Charles 01:04 - Source: CNNThe palace previously said it wouldn’t comment on whether the duke would appear on Buckingham Palace’s famous balcony following the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Williams added that Harry’s presence was a “show of unity” – but the extent of that unity remains to be seen.

☆ Were Will and Kate Late to the Coronation? The News Media Wonders.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the down-to-the-minute choreography of Saturday’s coronation, William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, had been expected to arrive outside Westminster Abbey at roughly 10:45 a.m. They would be among the last guests to enter the church before the stars of the show, King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Instead, Charles and Camilla pulled up to the abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach and then, rather awkwardly, did not alight. Were William and Kate running late? None of the hundreds of journalists loitering by the broadcast booths outside Buckingham Palace seemed to know for sure.

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