'It's frustrating:' In grueling NBA Finals, Pacers may regret Game 4 loss to Thunder

'It's frustrating:' In grueling NBA Finals, Pacers may regret Game 4 loss to Thunder

INDIANAPOLIS – TheIndiana Pacersneeded Game 4. They had Game 4. At least it looked that way for three quarters. Felt like Indiana was headed for a 3-1 series lead against theOklahoma City Thunderin the NBA Finals. Felt like Indiana was in control. And they were. Until they were not. The Thunder, who trailed for much of the game and whose largest lead was the margin of the final score,defeated the Pacers 111-104 in Game 4Friday, June 13. If the Pacers lose this series – it's 2-2 headed back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 – they will look at Game 4 as the one that made the difference, the one that altered the direction of the series. "Hey, you're up seven at home," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of an 87-80 lead to start the fourth quarter, "you have to dig in and find a way, and we were unable to do it tonight." Was it a blown opportunity? That's unfair to the Thunder who had a lot to do with how Indiana played in the final six minutes. Was it one the Pacers squandered? Was it one the Thunder took? Either way, victory slipped away from Indiana. But that's NBA Finals basketball between two really good teams that play extremely hard and are well-coached. It's a series where every possession has meaning, and possessions are grueling. Just listen to the coaches. "It's the ultimate effort, endeavor, whatever you want to call it," Carlisle said. "I mean, it's long. It's arduous. But it's the greatest opportunity going. It's really hard, and it's supposed to be hard." Thunder coach Mark Daigneault: "We had some deflating plays. It was an easy game to give up on. …  They're a hard team to beat here. They're a hard team to beat, period. I thought we gutted it out on a night when we didn't have a lot going, especially offensively." Arduous. Gutted it out. This is an exhausting series, mentally and physically for players and coaches. "It's frustrating, of course," Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said. "You want to win that game, especially a game at home where you have the lead late. But that's just not how the cookie crumbled today." It has turned into a fantastic series, one that is going at least six games, and a Game 7 won't be surprising. The Game 5 winner will have a chance to win the title in Game 6 in Indianapolis and that atmosphere the fans create at Gainbridge Fieldhouse will be electric. Coaches and players talk about how this series is won in the margins. Who dove for a loose ball and saved a possession? Who took a charge or set a solid screen? "We had a lot of guys make winning plays that can kind of be invisible to the untrained eye," Thunder center-forward Chet Holmgren said. "It's not showing up necessarily in the stat sheet. It's not like a highlight that's going to be played over and over. It's not one single instance." Oklahoma City took five more free throws and made nine more. "They missed four. We missed eight," Carlisle said. "The difference of four is significant. There's a lot of little things going on." The Thunder outrebounded the Pacers 43-33 and turned 12 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. "This series is going to come down to the basics, and our inability to effectively rebound when we needed to is the biggest thing – a bunch of second-chance points made it difficult, and in the end, impossible," Carlisle said. It's a best-of-three series now with Oklahoma City regaining home-court advantage, and the Pacers must win another on the road to win the title against a team that has lost at home eight times all season. "It's going to be a challenge," Haliburton said, "but this group has been resilient all year." In a Finals as close as this one, there's no time to sulk and let disappointment spill into the next game. "This is where we're going to have to dig in and circle the wagons and come back stronger on Monday," Carlisle said. "This is a big disappointment, but there's three games left. … This kind of a challenge is going to have extreme highs and extreme lows. This is a low right now, and we're going to have to bounce back from it." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:In grueling NBA Finals, Pacers may regret Game 4 loss to Thunder

byMario Satorik

in

June 14, 2025

'It's frustrating:' In grueling NBA Finals, Pacers may regret Game 4 loss to Thunder

'It's frustrating:' In grueling NBA Finals, Pacers may regret Game 4 loss to Thunder INDIANAPOLIS – TheIndiana Pacersneeded Game...

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Oakmont remained pristine despite the rain at the US Open. Outside the ropes, it was squishier

Oakmont remained pristine despite the rain at the US Open. Outside the ropes, it was squishier

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — There's no water at Oakmont, even when it pours. Whilethe venerable and now nearly tree-less coursecarved out of the western Pennsylvania hills held up fine despite steady overnight rain ahead of Saturday's third round, things were a little squishier, a little soggier, a little dicier outside the ropes. Standing alongside the 11th tee box — one of the lowest points on the property — Katie Fulcher looked down at her black-and-white Nike dunks and shrugged. The 28-year-old had slipped them on before leaving the Airbnb she was sharing with some friends. Now, with hershoesnot quite as white as they were when she walked through the gates on Saturday morning, she shrugged. "Fashion over function, I guess," she said with a laugh, noting she had a newer and cleaner pair of the same shoes back home in Columbus, Ohio. "To be honest, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be." For most of the day, she was right. The sun even poked out for a while in the mid-afternoon, though a brief shower passed overhead not long after the final pairing ofsecond-round leader Sam Burnsand J.J. Spaun teed off. If you just looked inside the ropes, it was almost impossible to tell that a line of storms rolled through Friday evening, forcing play in the second round to be suspended for the handful of groups left out on the course. There was no standing water to be found when the third round began under a cloudy sky at 9 a.m. on Saturday. All the rain seemed to do was slow down Oakmont's quicksilver greens a touch, a welcome development for the 67 players who survived the cut. Still, with the forecast calling for the potential of more storms on Saturday, the USGA offered full refunds to anyone who'd bought a ticket but was concerned about the weather. There were also a few problem areas that were roped off. The right side of the fairway on the short uphill par-4 17th was closed. So was a crosswalk at the 16th hole. Over on the front nine, most of which sits on the other side ofthe Pennsylvania Turnpike, crosswalks were closed on both the fourth and fifth holes, forcing a longer walk around, though hardly a dealbreaker for the thousands who made their way across the footbridge that connects the course. "If they were playing, we were going to be here," said Jackson Moore as he stood near the 12th green. Moore's waterproof black boots had a few flecks of mud on them, though Moore joked he wasn't sure how much of that mud was actually new. It helped that the weather came six days into tournament week, when most of the spectator areas had already been trampled down pretty firmly. Things were wet, but that didn't stop one woman from wearing wedge shoes as she stood behind the 13th tee. Jim Bender and his wife, Susan, both rocked sandals while their 3-year-old son Jimmy had a pair of velcro sneakers on as they stood on mulch a few feet off the 10th green. "We knew we had wipes in the car, so we were like, 'So what if our feet get dirty?'" Jim Bender said. Caitlin Jennings had black riding boots pulled over her white pants as she watched the pairing of amateur Justin Hastings and Jordan Smith putt out on the par-5 12th. Her boyfriend, Mike Clark, had on golf spikes. Most, however, just wore sneakers of some kind. And whatever issues they had didn't seem to have anything to do with their footing or their footwear. Nancy Ring, 51, stood looking at signage adjacent to the 10th green wondering how to get to the fan village. Not too far away, John Thomas and his brother Jeremy were trying to negotiate their way down the hill from the clubhouse to the first green. "Here we go with the moguls again," John, 56, said as he gingerly picked his way over the small mounds that line the space between the first and ninth fairways. Thomas, at least, had the good sense to put on what he called "the oldest pair of shoes I have." "I mean, it rained and we're going to a place where there's dirt," he said with a laugh. "The math wasn't hard." ___ AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

byMario Satorik

in

June 14, 2025

Oakmont remained pristine despite the rain at the US Open. Outside the ropes, it was squishier

Oakmont remained pristine despite the rain at the US Open. Outside the ropes, it was squishier OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — There's no water at O...

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Medicaid enrollees fear losing health coverage if Congress enacts work requirements

Medicaid enrollees fear losing health coverage if Congress enacts work requirements

It took Crystal Strickland years to qualify for Medicaid, which she needs for a heart condition. Strickland, who's unable to work due to her condition, chafed when she learned that the U.S. House has passed a bill that would impose a work requirement for many able-bodied people to get health insurance coverage through the low-cost, government-run plan for lower-income people. "What sense does that make?" she asked. "What about the people who can't work but can't afford a doctor?" The measure is part of the version ofPresident Donald Trump's"Big Beautiful" billthat cleared the House last month and is now up for consideration in the Senate. Trump is seeking to have it passed by July 4. The bill as it stands would cut taxes and government spending — and also upend portions of the nation'ssocial safety net. For proponents, the ideas behind the work requirement are simple: Crack down on fraud and stand on the principle that taxpayer-provided health coverage isn't for those who can work but aren't. The measure includes exceptions for those who are under 19 or over 64, those with disabilities, pregnant women, main caregivers for young children, people recently released from prisons or jails — or during certain emergencies. It would apply only to adults who receive Medicaid through expansions that 40 states chose to undertake as part of the 2010 health insurance overhaul. Many details of how the changes would work would be developed later, leaving several unknowns and causing anxiety among recipients who worry that their illnesses might not be enough to exempt them. Advocates and sick and disabled enrollees worry — based largely on their past experience — that even those who might be exempted from work requirements under the law could still lose benefits because of increased or hard-to-meet paperwork mandates. Benefits can be difficult to navigate even without a work requirement Strickland, a 44-year-old former server, cook and construction worker who lives in Fairmont, North Carolina, said she could not afford to go to a doctor for years because she wasn't able to work. She finally received a letter this month saying she would receive Medicaid coverage, she said. "It's already kind of tough to get on Medicaid," said Strickland, who has lived in a tent and times and subsisted on nonperishable food thrown out by stores. "If they make it harder to get on, they're not going to be helping." Steve Furman is concerned that his 43-year-old son, who has autism, could lose coverage. The bill the House adopted would require Medicaid enrollees to show that they work, volunteer or go to school at least 80 hours a month to continue to qualify. A disability exception would likely apply to Furman's son, who previously worked in an eyeglasses plant in Illinois for 15 years despite behavioral issues that may have gotten him fired elsewhere. Furman said government bureaucracies are already impossible for his son to navigate, even with help. It took him a year to help get his son onto Arizona's Medicaid system when they moved to Scottsdale in 2022, and it took time to set up food benefits. But he and his wife, who are retired, say they don't have the means to support his son fully. "Should I expect the government to take care of him?" he asked. "I don't know, but I do expect them to have humanity." There's broad reliance on Medicaid for health coverage About 71 million adults are enrolled in Medicaid now. And most of them — around 92% — are working, caregiving, attending school or disabled. Earlier estimates of the budget bill from the Congressional Budget Office found that about 5 million people stand to lose coverage. A KFF tracking poll conducted in May found that the enrollees come from across the political spectrum. About one-fourth are Republicans; roughly one-third are Democrats. The poll found that about 7 in 10 adults are worried that federal spending reductions on Medicaid will lead to more uninsured people and would strain health care providers in their area. About half said they were worried reductions would hurt the ability of them or their family to get and pay for health care. Amaya Diana, an analyst at KFF, points to work requirements launched in Arkansas and Georgia as keeping people off Medicaid without increasing employment. Amber Bellazaire, a policy analyst at the Michigan League for Public Policy, said the process to verify that Medicaid enrollees meet the work requirements could be a key reason people would be denied or lose eligibility. "Massive coverage losses just due to an administrative burden rather than ineligibility is a significant concern," she said. One KFF poll respondent, Virginia Bell, a retiree in Starkville, Mississippi, said she's seen sick family members struggle to get onto Medicaid, including one who died recently without coverage. She said she doesn't mind a work requirement for those who are able — but worries about how that would be sorted out. "It's kind of hard to determine who needs it and who doesn't need it," she said. Some people don't if they might lose coverage with a work requirement Lexy Mealing, 54 of Westbury, New York, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgeries, said she fears she may lose the medical benefits she has come to rely on, though people with "serious or complex" medical conditions could be granted exceptions. She now works about 15 hours a week in "gig" jobs but isn't sure she can work more as she deals with the physical and mental toll of the cancer. Mealing, who used to work as a medical receptionist in a pediatric neurosurgeon's office before her diagnosis and now volunteers for the American Cancer Society, went on Medicaid after going on short-term disability. "I can't even imagine going through treatments right now and surgeries and the uncertainty of just not being able to work and not have health insurance," she said. Felix White, who has Type I diabetes, first qualified for Medicaid after losing his job as a computer programmer several years ago. The Oreland, Pennsylvania, man has been looking for a job, but finds that at 61, it's hard to land one. Medicaid, meanwhile, pays for a continuous glucose monitor and insulin and funded foot surgeries last year, including one that kept him in the hospital for 12 days. "There's no way I could have afforded that," he said. "I would have lost my foot and probably died." ___ Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this article.

byMario Satorik

in

June 14, 2025

Medicaid enrollees fear losing health coverage if Congress enacts work requirements

Medicaid enrollees fear losing health coverage if Congress enacts work requirements It took Crystal Strickland years to qualify for Medicaid...

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Senate keeps provision curbing judge's orders in Donald Trump's budget bill

Senate keeps provision curbing judge's orders in Donald Trump's budget bill

WASHINGTON – Acontroversial provision in the House-passed versionof PresidentDonald Trump's package of legislative priorities, which critics warn would hinder the enforcement of court orders, remains in the Senate version of the bill. The head of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa,released his draft of the legislationJune 13 that included the provision that Trump requested to combat court orders blocking his policies. Some fellow Republicans in the narrowly divided Congress have said they would oppose the bill over the provision or that it would be removed through a parliamentary maneuver. But its inclusion in the Senate draft reflects the support of leadership to include and defend it. The provision would require judges to collect bonds from litigants challenging the government before blocking policies through injunctions or temporary restraining orders. Without a bond, the provision would prevent judges from enforcing their orders through contempt proceedings. Judges have always been able to collect bonds in civil lawsuits, essentially to ensure that defendants are reimbursed if they eventually win their cases. But judges traditionally don't collect bonds in cases against the government because the disputes are over policy rather than money like in a lawsuit between two businesses. Trump and his Republican allies would like to change that. He signed a memo in March directing the Justice Department to ask for bonds in all civil cases against the administration. Judges have temporarily blocked dozens of his policies. If the legislation were enacted, it would undo those blocks until judges set bonds. Judges could set a nominal bond of $1, according to legal experts. But if they set a larger bond that litigants couldn't afford, judges wouldn't be able to enforce their orders and the Trump administration could ignore them, experts said. In February, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan refused a request from Trump's White House Office of Management Budget to require a bond from the National Council of Nonprofits when sheblocked the government from freezing all federal grants. She said it could have required trillions of dollars because that was how much was at stake in the case but that OMB would suffer no monetary damage from the case. "The court declines," Alikhan wrote. If the Senate changes the legislation, the House would have to vote on the bill again. Some GOP lawmakers have voiced opposition to the provision at raucous town halls. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Nebraska, said May 27 he was unaware of the provision and didn't support it when he voted for the bill. The House approved the bill on a 215-214 vote, so any potential loss of support could hurt the bill's chances. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said May 30 the bond provision "will not be" in the Senate-approved bill because she expected it to be removed by the parliamentarian under a rule requiring everything in the legislation to have an impact on the budget. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Senate keeps provision for curbing court orders in Trump bill

byMario Satorik

in

June 14, 2025

Senate keeps provision curbing judge's orders in Donald Trump's budget bill

Senate keeps provision curbing judge's orders in Donald Trump's budget bill WASHINGTON – Acontroversial provision in the House-passe...

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NHL star Johnny Gaudreau's widow details how she found out he died

NHL star Johnny Gaudreau's widow details how she found out he died

Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau, has penned a heartbreaking essay forPlayer's Tribunethat details the devastating moment she learned her husband died. Johnny Gaudreau 31, who played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and his younger brother, Matthew Gaudreau, 29,were killedin August 2024 after an alleged drunk driver crashed into them as they were riding bicycles in their New Jersey hometown. In her essay, which was written in the style of an open letter to her late husband, Meredith Gaudreau revealed that the brothers' death on Aug. 29, 2024 came a week after she told her husband she wassecretly pregnantwiththeir third child, Carter, now 2 months old. "In my head I couldn't believe we were about to have three kids under 3. It seemed like so much for us to handle. I was scared," she wrote. "But your face, John. Your face in that moment told me all I needed to know: that it was going to be OK. That we were going to be the best little team ever." The day of her husband's death, which was also the four-year anniversary of the day the couple got engaged, started out on a high note. Meredith Gaudreau recalled that the pro hockey star made breakfast for their two older children, daughter Noa, now 2, and son Johnny, now 1, as she slept in. "I walked into the kitchen and said, 'Hey, today's the day. August 29. Four years ago.' Four years since the day you'd gotten down on one knee and asked one more question," she wrote. "It was going to be a great day," she added, noting that the couple would be attendingher sister-in-law Katie Gaudreau's wedding on Aug. 30. "You were heading out to play golf with Matthew and all the groomsmen. You had our car packed to the brim in perfect Tetris fashion. Things for the wedding, things for Columbus, things for Johnny's christening. "You kissed all of us goodbye and said you'd see us later. And that was that," she wrote. Hours later, the idyllic morning turned into a nightmare. "Katie called, and she said something had happened but she didn't know what exactly," Meredith Gaudreau wrote. "My dad drove me over to your parents', and I was thinking the whole time about how I was going to help you through whatever it could be that had happened to Matty," she wrote of her brother-in-law, whose wife, Madeline Gaudreau,was also pregnant at the time. "And then I walked up the front porch and learned the absolute worst had happened and that it was both of you," she wrote. "There aren't any words to go here," she added. She recalled that her initial response after hearing the news was a "shock" that was "indescribable." Then, she was "keeled over" and sick to her stomach" for days, she wrote. "The only person who can relate to me is my own sister-in-law. I see her and my heart breaks for her. I'm sick for her," she wrote. "I thought of our baby inside of me. I couldn't stand up. I was awake and having nightmares. Thinking of you in that moment. Thinking of Matty. It's just the worst thing I could have ever imagined," she wrote. "And in an instant, I missed you more than I knew was possible. And I haven't stopped missing you since." "To go from getting ready for a beautiful wedding all week with your sister, to being in a funeral home with Madeline trying to figure all these things out — it just hurt so much," she wrote. Near the end of her letter, Meredith Gaudreau expressed her appreciation for her family and the sports community for all the love and support they gave to her and Madeline Gaudreau during the worst days of their lives. She also told her late husband how much she admired him as a man, a partner and a father. "You wereperfect," she wrote."I don't know how you could have ever been better." She added that she felt "lucky" that all three of their children — includingbaby Carter, the son her late husband never had the chance to meet — inherited his best qualities. Meredith Gaudreau concluded her emotional essay by wishing her late husband a "Happy first Father's Day as a father of three!" "Thank you for the very best years of my life," she wrote. "Thank you for making us a family. Thank you for being my best friend, my favorite person, the man of my dreams."

byMario Satorik

in

June 14, 2025

NHL star Johnny Gaudreau's widow details how she found out he died

NHL star Johnny Gaudreau's widow details how she found out he died Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau, has penned ...

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At LIV and loving it, Leishman returns to the majors and gets in the mix at the US Open

At LIV and loving it, Leishman returns to the majors and gets in the mix at the US Open

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Marc Leishman's bunker shot splashed out of the sand, took four quick bounces and rolled straight into the hole for birdie on the long, par-3 eighth hole at Oakmont. Suddenly, a name that was once no stranger to leaderboards at majors was up there once again. Not bad for a player who had every reason to wonder if he'd ever get another chance to play in one, let alone contend. The 41-year-old Australian, whose departure to LIV Golf three years ago generated few headlines but changed his life completely, shot 2-under 68at the U.S. Openon Saturday. He made five birdies over his first 12 holes to briefly get on the leaderboard. He finished the day tied for 11th, eight shots out of the lead and seven behind his friend and fellow Australian, Adam Scott. "I've been playing some of the best golf of my career this year," said Leishman, who is coming off his first LIV win, at Doral in April, then earned one of four spots at a U..S. Open qualifier in Maryland this month. "The schedule sort of lends itself to be able to work on your game between tournaments, and I was really able to prepare for this tournament." This is Leishman's first major since the 2022 British Open. He is already exempt for this year's British based on a third-place finish at the Australian Open in December. His move to LIV, where tournaments do not qualify for points in the world ranking that help decide large chunks of the field in major events, left the six-time winner on the PGA Tour in limbo when it came to ever playing in golf's biggest events again. "You wonder, of course, if you're ever going to get in," Leishman said. "But there was certainly no regret. My life is as good as I've ever been right now." The $24.8 million Leishman has won since heading to LIV, to say nothing of the reduced schedule and the 54-hole tournaments, help explain that. What went missing were the all-but-automatic spots in golf's biggest tournaments that go to the PGA Tour's top performers. Leishman played in 39 of 41 majors between 2012-22. For a time, he had a knack for getting in the mix. His three top-10s at the British Open in the 2010s included a three-way tie for the lead iafter 72 holes in 2015, before losing in a playoff eventually captured by Zach Johnson. The Aussie played in the second-to-last group on Sunday at the 2013 Masters with Scott. "I like tough courses," Leishman said. "I like courses that separate the field, when it really punishes bad shots and rewards good shots." He had his share of both Saturday. Good: the bunker shot on 8, and a 300-yard fairway wood on the par-5 12th that set up birdie and got him to 2-over par. Bad: Three straight bogeys on 14-16, though he came back with a birdie on the drivable par-4 17th and par on No. 18. Leishman is well aware that a top-four finish here would add the Masters to his 2026 schedule. Either way, he is at peace with the choices he made, and where that left him — which in this case is with a late starting time in the final round of a major again. "I really enjoyed sitting down with my kids and my mates watching the Masters and the PGA," Leishman said of the year's first two majors. "I'd be more happy if people were sitting down watching me." ___ AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

byMario Satorik

in

June 14, 2025

At LIV and loving it, Leishman returns to the majors and gets in the mix at the US Open

At LIV and loving it, Leishman returns to the majors and gets in the mix at the US Open OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Marc Leishman's bunker shot ...

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As Trump goes to G7 summit, other world leaders aim to show they're not intimidated

As Trump goes to G7 summit, other world leaders aim to show they're not intimidated

WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumphas long bet that he can scare allies into submission — a gamble that is increasingly being tested ahead of theGroup of Sevensummit beginning Monday in Canada. He's threatened stifftariffsin the belief that other nations would crumple. He's mused about taking overCanadaandGreenland. He's suggested he will nothonor NATO'sobligations to defend partners under attack. And he's used Oval Office meetings to try to intimidate the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa. But many world leaders see fewer reasons to be cowed by Trump, even as they recognize the risks if he followed through on his threats. They believe he will ultimately back down — since many of his plans could inflict harm on the U.S. — or that he can simply be charmed and flattered into cooperating. "Many leaders still seem intimidated by Trump, but increasingly they are catching on to his pattern of bullying," said Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "In places as diverse as Canada, Iran, China and the EU, we are seeing increasing signs that leaders now recognize that Trump is afraid of anything resembling a fair fight. And so they are increasingly willing to stand up to him." In the 22 instances in which Trump has publicly threatened military action since his first term, the U.S. only used force twice, according to a May analysis by Shapiro. World leaders feel comfortable standing up to Trump Ahead of the G7 summit, there are already signs of subtle pushback against Trump from fellow leaders in the group. French President Emmanuel Macron planned tovisit Greenland over the weekendin a show of European solidarity.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneyhas said the U.S. is no longer the "predominant" force in the world after Trump's tariffs created fissures in a decades-long partnership between the U.S. and its northern neighbor. "We stood shoulder to shoulder with the Americans throughout the Cold War and in the decades that followed, as the United States played a predominant role on the world stage," Carney said this past week in French. "Today, that predominance is a thing of the past." The new prime minister added that with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the U.S. became the global hegemon, a position of authority undermined by Trump's transactional nature that puts little emphasis on defending democratic values or the rule of law. "Now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our collective security," Carney said. Israel'sattack on Iranhas added a new wrinkle to the global picture as the summit leaders gather to tackle some of the world's thorniest problems A senior Canadian official said it was decided early on that the G7 won't be issuing a joint communiqué as it has at past summits — an indication of how hard it can be to get Trump on the same page with other world leaders. The White House said individual leader statements will be issued on the issues being discussed. Speaking last month at a conference in Singapore, Macron called France a "friend and an ally of the United States" but pushed back against Trump's desire to dominate what other countries do. Macron said efforts to force other nations to choose between the U.S. and China would lead to the breakdown of the global order put in place after World War II. "We want to cooperate, but we do not want to be instructed on a daily basis what is allowed, what is not allowed, and how our life will change because of the decision of a single person," Macron said. Japanese Prime MinisterShigeru Ishibapushed back against Trump's agenda of levying higher tariffs on imported goods, arguing it would hurt economic growth. The Japanese leader specifically called Trump ahead of the summit to confirm their plans to talk on the sidelines, which is a greater focus for Japan than the summit itself. "I called him as I also wanted to congratulate his birthday, though one day earlier," Ishiba said. Trump cares about being tough, but G7 is a chance to reset relations Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the summit was an opportunity for Trump to "mend" relationships with other countries so China would be unable to exploit differences among the G7. She said other foreign leaders are "not intimidated" by Trump's actions, which could be driving them away from tighter commitments with the U.S. "The conversations that I've had with those leaders suggest that they think that the partnership with the United States has been really important, but they also understand that there are other opportunities," Shaheen said. The White House did not respond to emailed questions for this story. Many leaders feel more confident that they can sidestep Trump's threats Having originally made his reputation in real estate and hospitality, Trump has taken kindly to certain foreign visitors, such as U.K. Prime MinisterKeir Starmer, German ChancellorFriedrich Merzand Italian Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni. Starmer has sought to keep Trump in line with Europe in supporting Ukraine and NATO instead of brokering any truces that would favor Russia. He has echoed the president's language about NATO members spending more on defense. But in his Oval Office visit, Starmer also pleased Trump by delivering an invite for a state visit from King Charles III. The German government said it, too, wanted to send a public signal of unity, saying that while Trump's recent meeting with Merz at the White House went harmoniously, the next test is how the relationship plays out in a team setting. There will also be other world leaders outside of the G7 nations attending the summit in mountainous Kananaskis, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whomTrump dressed downin the Oval Office. Italy's Meloni has positioned herself as a "bridge" between the Trump administration and the rest of Europe. But Italy's strong support of Ukraine and Trump's threatened tariffs on European goods have put Meloni, the only European leader to attend Trump's inauguration, in a difficult position. Mark Sobel, U.S. chair of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, an independent think tank, said Trump's "trade policies, backing for right wing European movements, seeming preference for dealing with authoritarians and many of his other actions are alienating our G7 allies," even if the U.S. president is correct that Europe needs to do more on defense. But even as other G7 leaders defuse any public disputes with Trump, the U.S. president's vision for the world remains largely incompatible with they want. "In short, behind the curtains, and notwithstanding whatever theater, the Kananaskis summit will highlight a more fragmented G7 and an adrift global economy," Sobel said. ___ AP reporters Rob Gillies in Toronto, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Jill Lawless in London, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

byMario Satorik

in

June 14, 2025

As Trump goes to G7 summit, other world leaders aim to show they're not intimidated

As Trump goes to G7 summit, other world leaders aim to show they're not intimidated WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumphas long bet ...

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