All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles. But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark's rough return fueled a 106-92 rout. The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury. STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm. Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story. The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink . MERCURY'S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MO...

The high-stakes fight between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the future of the  Democratic Part y took center stage Tuesday in battleground Michigan. That's where moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, who is backed by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the party establishment, faced off in a fiery Senate nomination debate against former Wayne County Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left candidate endorsed by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The sharpest exchanges centered on campaign money, outside spending and U.S. policy toward Israel, with El-Sayed repeatedly accusing Stevens of benefiting from millions of dollars in outside spending from pro-Israel and corporate-aligned groups. "If you want your politics dictated by AIPAC or Chuck Schumer, then I'm not your guy," El-Sayed said, arguing the Democratic Party would not change if it continued to elect leaders who...

President Donald Trump enters the final day of the NATO summit Wednesday as alliance leaders seek to project unity on defense spending, support for Ukraine and the future of transatlantic security following a series of headline-making announcements and bilateral meetings during the opening day of the gathering. Trump will join fellow NATO leaders for the summit's only plenary session before holding bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. He is expected to conclude the summit with a press conference before departing Ankara, Turkey, for Washington. The final day comes after Trump used Tuesday's bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to announce the United States would lift sanctions on Turkey, saying, "We don't sanction friends." Trump also signaled he is prepared to move forward with the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Ankara despite years of U.S. opposition stemming from Tu...

PROVO, Utah — A towel and screwdriver recovered during the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination allegedly had his suspected killer Tyler Robinson ’s DNA on it — along with that of his former lover and roommate, Lance Twiggs. Robinson, 23, allegedly used the towel to conceal the suspected murder weapon in the woods near Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. He is accused of fatally shooting the 31-year-old Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at the school that day. CHARLIE KIRK'S FAMILY COMES FACE TO FACE WITH ACCUSED ASSASSIN FOR FIRST TIME It’s unclear what the screwdriver was for, but police testified at Robinson’s preliminary hearing this week that they found it near an alleged sniper’s perch overlooking the TPUSA event. Both Twiggs and Robinson provided buccal swabs to law enforcement that were used to build their full DNA profiles. Robinson's preliminary hearing began Monday and is expected to take all week. Prosecutors must establish probable cause in ...

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday identified Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards as the sailor lost at sea after an MH-60S helicopter made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea last week. Edwards, the commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 (HSC-5), went missing after the helicopter assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush made an emergency water landing on July 1, according to the Navy. Three of the helicopter's four crew members were successfully recovered, but the Navy suspended its search for the missing sailor on Sunday. NAVY SUSPENDS SEARCH FOR SAILOR WHO WENT MISSING WHEN HELICOPTER WENT DOWN IN ARABIAN SEA According to the Navy, the search for Edwards lasted more than 102 hours and covered more than 14,000 square miles. "The thoughts and prayers of every member of the Carrier Strike Group 10 team are with the Edwards family," Rear Adm. Todd Cimicata, commander of Carrier Strike Group 10, said in a statement. "While we are far from home, our heartfelt support rem...

President Donald Trump is arriving at the Turkey-held NATO summit with fresh frustration toward several European allies for their responses to the U.S.-led operations against Iran, opening a new front in his long-running campaign to pressure the alliance over burden-sharing. The summit, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday in Ankara, Turkey, is expected to focus on defense spending, Ukraine and NATO's long-term strategy toward Russia.  But it will bring Trump face to face with some of his biggest foes in NATO, including Spain, whose Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called the U.S. war in Iran "illegal, absurd and cruel." U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Wednesday that Trump remains "disappointed" by allies that declined to allow U.S. forces to use military bases or overflight rights during the operation, as well as by political statements criticizing the strikes. WHY NATO'S DEFENSE SPENDING IMBALANCE LASTED FOR DECADES "The president ...