Croatia put in a strong performance, breaking through after both sides squandered first-half chances, and came away with a convincing 3-0 victory over the Albiceleste in the second game of Group D play on Thursday. It was an ugly performance all around for Argentina, as they struggled to get their stars, Messi and Sergio Aguero into the proceedings . Argentina did have an opportunity to get off on the right foot a half hour in, but Enzo Perez missed a clear-cut chance on a near-open goal with the game still scoreless....

During an interview with MSNBC Tuesday evening, Fontes, a Democrat, said that he believed this year’s election, which has been challenged by Republican candidates across the state, went “well,” with a few “bumps and bruises here and there.” “No election is perfect and real election administrators understand this,” Fontes said. “But when you’re dealing with not reality and fantasy and conspiracy theories, every little possible inconvenience becomes sort of this epic voter suppression, which is just nonsense....

Paul Weich, a Democratic running for Arizona’s 12th congressional district, described on social media how his signs had been “shredded and scattered” across the constituency he is campaigning in. Weich, who is up against Patricia Contreras, Sam Huang, Ajlan Kurdoglu and Anastasia Travers in the Democratic primary on August 2, posted images of the latest shredded signs on social media while stating he has handed over evidence to police....

Do you like bacon, cheese and french fries? If you answered yes, well, boy, do the Arizona Diamondbacks have something for you. The D-bat Dog is an 18-inch corndog stuffed full of cheese and bacon and served with a heaping helping of fries. For just $25, you can experience a glutton's dream meal. I think the self-loathing that comes afterward costs extra, though.

Zack Alcyone admitted to being the associate of the Trump campaign’s legal representative, Kory Langhofer, during a hearing in Maricopa County on Thursday, specialist legal news website Law and Crime reported. The pair are listed as co-founders of Phoenix-based software company Signafide on the firm’s website. Adam Klasfeld, a reporter for the Law and Crime website following the Maricopa County case, flagged up the revelation in a series of posts on Twitter documenting proceedings....

McSally is one of several GOP senators who are seen as vulnerable in the 2020 election, as they are facing strong Democratic challengers. The editorial from the Eastern Arizona Courier was titled: “Profiles in Cowardice.” In the column, the newspaper’s editorial board strongly criticized McSally for calling a CNN journalist a “liberal hack” after he asked a “fair” question. Last Thursday, CNN’s senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju asked the Arizona senator: “should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial?...

Field Training Officer Kenneth Martin, of the Fort Smith Police Department, has been awarded Employee of the Month for his sensitive response to the attempted theft, which occurred at a store on Zero Street on November 30 last year in front of two children, KFSM reported. Body-worn camera footage showed FTO Martin purchasing items the couple had been caught with and bringing them back to the mother. “Ring it all up again so I can pay for it....

As most students began school last week for the new academic year, the majority of public school students are under mask mandates imposed by the districts. Arkansas’ Department of Health reported the 3,102 COVID-19 cases. There were over 100 active COVID-19 cases among students and employees each reported by the Bentonville, Springdale, Rogers, Cabot and Fort Smith districts. This follows the state’s COVID-19 numbers a week ago when just below 1,800 active cases were reported in schools....

“This is a multi-day, multi-state, multi-threat severe weather event that begins today right here over the southern U.S.,” the Weather Channel reported. In Little Rock around 11 p.m. Monday, there were thunderstorms in all directions around the state capital. The storm dropped tornadoes and massive amounts of hail throughout Central Arkansas as it moved easterly into Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky. Another system is expected tomorrow that will envelope the areas from northern Iowa all the way to the southeast Texas coast and into Biloxi, Mississippi....

The Golden Eagles will have that opportunity in a South Region semifinal matchup against No. 3 Arkansas. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:25 p.m. Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be televised on TBS. Arkansas (24-6) is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996 under second-year coach Eric Musselman. The Razorbacks edged Texas Tech 68-66 in the Round of 32. Arkansas averages 82 points per game, so they will be more than comfortable getting into a high-scoring matchup....

Christian Taylor, a defensive back at Angelo State, a Division II school, was killed after police say he drove an SUV into the showroom of an Arlington car dealership early Friday, according to the Dallas Morning News. Officers responded to a burglary call from the dealership’s security company about 1 a.m. and discovered the vehicle in the front window of Classic Buick GMC, according to the Arlington Police Department....

The findings were announced five days after the start of an investigation into ESPN cameras capturing the signals during the network’s pregame show. There was sharp division over whether the gestures — index fingers and thumbs joined in a circle, the other three fingers outstretched — were racist. The hand signal, generally associated with saying “OK,” is also associated with “WP,” or “white power.” MORE: Penn State player receives racist letter about dreadlocks...

The charges filed against the first lieutenant, identified as Mark Bashaw of the U.S. Army Public Health Center at Aberdeen, were first reported by Army Times. News of Bashaw’s court-martial spread the same day the Army began an involuntary separation process for soldiers who have refused to comply with the Army’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement, a process that officials told Newsweek was not related to Bashaw’s case. “The charge is not for refusing the order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine but is related to COVID-19 infection mitigation measures designed to protect the force,” the U....

Chapman's entire head appeared to be encased in a halo of staples. Doctors had to insert a metal plate above Chapman's left eye to anchor the fractures in his browbone. He is expected to make a full recovery and return to throwing off of a mound in six-to-eight weeks.

The Gunners took the lead through Shkodran Mustafi’s header in the second half, before Granit Xhaka received his marching orders for a two-footed lunge on Steven Defour. And Arsenal’s title hopes were on course to suffer a huge blow when Andre Gray scored a penalty after Francis Coquelin fouled Ashley Barnes inside the box. However, Ben Mee soon gave away a penalty for a foul on Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez saved the day by beating Tom Heaton....

Arsene Wenger’s men are placed sixth in the league table with 45 points from 26 games so far. League leaders, Manchester City - on 69 points from the same amount of games - are a massive 24 points ahead of the north London outfit. However, unfazed by the huge gap, the 25-year-old is optimistic that they can challenge Pep Guardiola’s side for league glory. “There’s nothing impossible in the English Premier League, we still have our chance to compete for the title, we have to fight till the end, many surprises can occur at any point,” Elneny told beINSports....

Enrique: “Deze uitschakeling doet pijn” Perisic’s persoonlijke ambitie is om voor een topclub in de Premier League te spelen en diverse bronnen hebben gezegd dat het “bijna zeker” is dat hij volged seizoen in Engeland zal spelen. Arsenal zou deze zomer Alexis Sánchez kwijt kunnen raken, waarbij Manchester City, Chelsea en Paris Saint-Germain het meest geïnteresseerd zijn in de Chileen, maar The Gunners proberen hun sterspeler nog te overtuigen om te blijven voordat ze op zoek gaan naar vervangers....

The Arsenal forward is set to become the Premier League’s highest earner, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving in the opposite direction. Read Chris Wheatley’s full story right here! Aubameyang moves closer to Arsenal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Arsenal is drawing closer as the club’s transfer negotiators arrived in Germany for talks with Dortmund. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger wants to add world-class attacking talent to the team and sees Aubameyang as the perfect forward to complement the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette in the side....

Wenger’s men started with four at the back for the first time this season on Thursday night in front of a below-capacity Emirates Stadium. While the official tickets sold numbers were 54,648, it became more apparent that just under 30,000 were inside the north Londoners stadium to watch what turned out to be Arsenal’s most consummate and easiest victory of the season so far. Arsenal’s squad have certainly benefitted from fielding their fringe players in the Europa League with the likes of Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud all getting game time under their belt....

The Germany international has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for a number of years, with his emergence at Schalke sparking initial interest. Ozil 6/4 to score v Stoke Arsenal tend to be mentioned as a possible landing spot when players of his ilk hit the market, with Arsene Wenger placing plenty of emphasis on technically-gifted playmakers. The Gunners are said to be back in the hunt for Draxler after seeing him face added competition for places at PSG, but the 23-year-old insists he is giving no thought to another move at present....