A Chilean cyclist and his dog get caught up in the Israel-Iran war

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A Chilean traveler recounts his harrowing escape from Iran amid Israeli airstrikes. Diego Haro, biking across Iran with his dog Mirlo, fled to Turkey last Sunday after 12 days of escalating conflict. He had been traveling in Iran’s Kurdistan province for six weeks when Israeli warplanes struck military and nuclear sites on June 13. Haro described nights filled with fear, forcing him to abandon plans to reach Tehran. He faced brief detention by armed men before being allowed to leave. He then cycled about 250 miles to the Turkish border in hopes of crossing the border on foot.

Fan banned by MLB after heckling Dbacks' Marte to tears with barb about late mother, AP source says

A 22-year-old fan who heckled Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte during a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Tuesday night has been banned indefinitely from all major league stadiums, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. Marte was seen in tears on the field after the spectator yelled a derogatory comment about Marte’s late mother during a seventh-inning at-bat in Arizona’s 4-1 win over Chicago. According to a White Sox spokesperson, the security staff at the ballpark relayed that the fan was “very apologetic and remorseful after the fact, and admitted to being very inappropriate and stupid with his comments."

Bumble says it will cut 240 jobs, or about 30% of its global workforce

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bumble has announced plans to lay off about 240 employees, roughly 30% of its workforce. The dating app disclosed this decision in a securities filing this week, citing a need to realign its operations and focus on strategic priorities. Bumble expects the layoffs to save $40 million annually, much of which it says it will reinvest in product and technology development. Its shares surged over 23% following the news on Wednesday. Bumble did not immediately specify which roles would be affected or when it would implement the cuts — but said it expects to incur related costs later in the year.

Bezos arrives in Venice as protesters say his star-studded wedding highlights growing inequality

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Multi-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have arrived in Venice ahead of their star-studded weekend wedding. Bezos waved from the water taxi as he and Sanchez arrived Wednesday at the dock of the Aman Hotel, a five-star hotel on the Grand Canal, with two security boats in tow. The nuptials have galvanized a wide assortment of activist groups protesting it as a sign of the growing disparity between the haves and have-nots as well as disregard of the city’s residents. About a dozen Venetian organizations have united under the banner “No Space for Bezos.” Among the 200 guests attending the wedding are Mick Jagger, Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio.

18th-century sunken boat discovered by chance under sea in Croatia's famous city of Dubrovnik

DUBROVNIK, Croatia (AP) — A sunken 18th-century boat has been discovered by chance near the majestic stone walls of Croatia’s medieval city of Dubrovnik. Ivan Bukelic dove into the Adriatic Sea in Dubrovnik’s old port back in April for work on a water pipeline only to find a wooden structure buried in the seabed. A key trade port in the Adriatic Sea in medieval times, Dubrovnik has been declared a UNESCO protected heritage site.  It attracts huge crowds of tourists, especially during the summer, and is also known as a filming site for HBO's Game of Thrones series. The remains of the ship in Dubrovnik’s old port have been protected for further examination.

Brazilian tourist found dead after falling from an Indonesian volcano

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's government says that a young Brazilian hiker who had plunged hundreds of meters from the ridge of a towering Indonesian volcano and was trapped there for almost four days has been found dead. The tourist, 26-year-old Juliana Marins, began on June 21 summiting Mount Rinjani, an active 2,224-foot volcano on the Indonesian island of Lombok, with a guide and five other foreigners when she fell some 1,312 feet. Indonesian rescue team said Tuesday it found Marins’ body beside a crater using a thermal drone after four days of intensive searches in difficult weather conditions and terrain. Marins’ ordeal has riveted her home country for days.

Porto celebrates the summer and a beloved saint with plastic hammers, sardines and leeks

PORTO, Portugal (AP) — Many thousands of people welcomed the summer in Porto the way the city has been doing it for decades and centuries: by bonking friends and strangers alike with toy hammers and reveling in the streets all night. The festival of St. John the Baptist is celebrated with fireworks, balloons and lots of grilled sardines. An older ritual in Portugal’s second-biggest city involved buying leek flowers, believed to bring good fortune, and inviting strangers to sniff the pungent plant. But plastic hammers replaced the leek as the symbol of the city's raucous summer solstice celebration after a local businessman introduced the playful plastic hammer in the 1960s.

Systemic failures led to a door plug flying off a Boeing 737 Max, NTSB says

The National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman says heroic actions by the crew aboard an Alaska Airlines flight ensured everyone survived last year when the door plug panel blew out of the plane. But Jennifer Homendy said Tuesday that the incident never should have happened. She says Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration could have done more to ensure the safety of the Boeing 737 Max. The NTSB had already revealed that bolts were never replaced after the door plug was removed during a repair. Homendy now says Boeing's new CEO has made many safety improvements since last summer, but that more needs to be done.

The Thunder are NBA champions, and they might be just getting started

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The promise came three years ago from Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti. It might have been overlooked for a couple of reasons. One, the Thunder were awful at the time. Two, he was speaking Latin. “Labor omnia vincit,” Presti said after the 2021-22 season, quoting a motto of Oklahoma. Depending on how Presti was translating it, it could have been “hard work conquers all” or “slow work conquers all.” Either way, it applies to the Thunder. They did hard work. They did slow work. They conquered all.

No 'Cers: Indiana fans left gasping as Haliburton's injury dooms title hopes in Game 7 loss

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers fans arrived at Gainbridge Fieldhouse ready to celebrate their first NBA title. Seven minutes into the game came the hush. As star point guard Tyrese Haliburton fell to the floor in Oklahoma City on Sunday night with what his father, John, later called an Achilles tendon injury, fans gasped as the replay was shown and they saw the anguished look on John Haliburton’s face. The moment may go down as another cruel chapter in the franchise’s long, painful history. Pacers play-by-play announcer Chris Denari told the crowd that Haliburton would want the team to continue to fight.