3 men convicted in the theft of ancient Celtic gold coins from a German museum

BERLIN (AP) — Three men have been convicted in the theft of hundreds of ancient gold coins from a German museum in 2022 and handed prison sentences ranging up to 11 years. A state court in the southern city of Ingolstadt on Tuesday convicted the defendants of gang robbery over the museum heist. A fourth defendant was acquitted of involvement in the heist but convicted for other thefts carried out by the group. The suspects were arrested months after the Nov. 22, 2022 break-in at the Celtic and Roman Museum in the Bavarian town of Manching in which 483 Celtic coins discovered were stolen. The coins dated to around 100 B.C.

Tea app takes messaging system offline after second security issue reported

Tea, a dating discussion app that recently suffered a high-profile cybersecurity breach, announced late Monday that some direct messages were also accessed in the incident. The app — designed to let women safely discuss men they date — rocketed to the top of of the U.S. Apple App Store last week but then confirmed on Friday that thousands of selfies and photo IDs of registered users were exposed in a digital security breach.

Union Pacific announces bid for Norfolk Southern to create transcontinental railroad

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific offers $20 billion cash and one share of its stock to buy Norfolk Southern Tuesday in a merger that could trigger the final wave of railroad mergers across the country. The merger would create the first transcontinental railroad in the United States that would streamline deliveries of all kinds of raw materials and goods. The railroads predict the combination would produce $2.75 billion in annual synergies. The merger will face a tough test from regulators who worry about the problems that followed past rail deals and the potential for abuse of monopolistic power. But if this Union Pacific deal gets approved, then BNSF and CSX will face tremendous pressure to merge so they can better compete.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred confronted by Bryce Harper during meeting, AP source says

CHICAGO (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had a spirited exchange during a question-and-answer session between the commissioner and the team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos previously confirmed some details from the meeting in interviews with The Bandwagon and ESPN. Manfred met with the Phillies and Red Sox during their series last week in Philadelphia. The session with the Phillies lasted more than an hour.

Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase placed on paid leave as part of MLB sports betting investigation

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting. Clase, a three-time All-Star, becomes the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave in connection with a sports gambling probe. Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31. It was unclear if the cases were related in any way. The Guardians said in a statement they “have been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted.”

Ciara is among the first descendants of enslaved people granted citizenship by Benin

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — U.S. singer Ciara is one of the first public figures to become a citizen of Benin under a recent law by the small West African country granting citizenship to descendants of enslaved people. The Grammy-winning performer’s acquisition of citizenship at a ceremony Saturday in the city of Cotonou is part of a broader initiative by Benin to attract the Black diaspora, acknowledge the country’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, and promote tourism focused on slavery-related sites of remembrance.

Mitchell's 35 points lift Fever over Sky 93-78; Clark and Reese sit out

CHICAGO (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell hit seven 3-pointers and scored 35 points and the Indiana Fever defeated the Chicago Sky 93-78 in a marquee matchup that was missing stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Clark missed her fourth-straight game for Indiana with a groin injury and has only played in half of the team’s games and Reese was out for her second straight for the Sky with a back issue. Aliyah Boston had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Fever, who have three double-figure wins over Chicago this season. Rachel Banham had six 3s and 26 points for the Sky.

Bubba Wallace becomes first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis' oval

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bubba Wallace became the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, surviving a late rain delay, two overtimes, concerns over running out of fuel and a hard-charging Kyle Larson on Sunday in the Brickyard 400. The third NASCAR Cup victory of Wallace’s career was also his most significant — his first win at one of the series’ four crown jewel races. It snapped a 100-race winless streak that dated to 2022 at Kansas. He also won at Talladega in 2021, but this milestone victory also gave him a playoff spot. No Black driver has won the Indianapolis 500, and Formula 1 raced on the track’s road course. And while the final gap was 0.222 seconds, Wallace didn’t reach victory lane without some consternation.

Tom Lehrer, song satirist and mathematician, dies at 97

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tom Lehrer, a song satirist who gained a popular following in the 1950s and ’60s lampooning marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, and then largely abandoned his music career to return to teaching math at Harvard and other universities, has died at 97. His songs included “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” “The Old Dope Peddler,” “Be Prepared” in which he mocked the Boy Scouts and “The Vatican Rag,” in which Lehrer poked at the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church. But he attacked in such an erudite, even polite, manner that almost no one objected. Longtime friend David Herder said Lehrer died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ scores Marvel's first $100 million box office opening of 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is topping the domestic box office charts in its first weekend in theaters. The Walt Disney Co. said Sunday that it earned an estimated $118 million from North American theaters. Globally, it made $218 million. “Fantastic Four” is Marvel's biggest opening since “Deadpool & Wolverine” last summer. Second place this week went to another superhero movie, “Superman,” which earned $24.9 million in its third weekend. “Jurassic World Rebirth” landed in third place with $13 million, followed by “F1” in fourth with $6.2 million. “Smurfs” rounded out the top five with $5.4 million.