Beach volleyball at Eiffel Tower stadium draws the crowds looking for the perfect social media post
PARIS (AP) — Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower is serving as a backdrop for one of the most photogenic venues of the Paris Olympics. The 13,000-seat stadium was built specifically for the Olympics at Champ de Mars, a garden where Parisians and tourists typically sit on the grass for picnics or July 14 firework displays. The site draws hundreds of people on any regular day, but since the start of the Olympics, people buy tickets to beach volleyball matches just to squeeze through crowds of people for the perfect selfies and videos with the tower and sand in the background.
Triathlon cancels Olympic swim training for the second day over poor water quality in the Seine
PARIS (AP) — Concerns about the water quality in the Seine River led officials to call off the swimming portion of an Olympic triathlon training session for a second straight day. Organizers overseeing the event at the Paris Games are optimistic that triathletes will be able to swim in the city’s famed waterway when the competition starts Tuesday. The sport’s governing body, its medical team and city officials, are banking on sunny weather and higher temperatures to bring the levels of E. coli bacteria below the necessary limits to stage the swim portion of a race that also includes biking and running.
US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas to lie in state at Houston city hall
HOUSTON (AP) — Several days of events honoring the life of longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas are set to take place. On Monday, the longtime lawmaker will lie in state in the rotunda of Houston’s city hall. Jackson Lee, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday, was 74 when she died on July 19. She had been battling pancreatic cancer. The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995. The White House says President Joe Biden is scheduled to come to Houston Monday evening to pay his respects. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to attend the funeral Thursday.
A manipulated video shared by Musk mimics Harris’ voice, raising concerns about AI in politics
NEW YORK (AP) — A manipulated video that mimics the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence to mislead just three months away from November’s elections. The video gained attention after tech billionaire Elon Musk shared it on his social media platform X on Friday. The video uses many of the same visuals as a real ad the Harris campaign released. But it swaps out the voice-over audio with a convincing impersonation. A Harris spokesperson referred to the video as “fake, manipulated lies.” AI experts and pro-democracy advocates say the video reveals shortcomings in how AI companies, social platforms and the federal government regulate use of AI in politics.
Fans swarm hill in Munich, claiming a high perch for watching Taylor Swift concert for free
MUNICH (AP) — Thousands of Taylor Swift fans have gotten free seats to her concerts in Munich on a grassy hill near the concert venue. The Swifties packed the Olympic Hill, one of the highest elevations in the southern German city, for the second day in a row Sunday. They were claiming a high perch for watching the singer’s sold-out concert in the nearby Olympic Stadium. On Saturday, they braved the heat reaching 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) and claimed their spots hours before the concert began. On Sunday thousands of fans again gathered on the hill. This time the temperatures were cooler.
One Extraordinary Photo: Charlie Riedel captures Simone Biles in flight at the Paris Games
PARIS (AP) — Charlie Riedel has been an AP staff photographer in Kansas City, Missouri, for 24 years. This is his eighth Olympic Games. Riedel discusses how he made his extraordinary photo of Simone Biles.
Two meteor showers will flash across the sky around the same time in late July
There will be back-to-back meteor showers in late July. The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks early Tuesday. And this year, it will coincide with a second smaller meteor shower, the Alpha Capricornids. The Delta Aquariids occur every year in North America’s late summer. At the peak, 15 to 20 meteors are expected to be visible per hour in the Northern Hemisphere. Viewing should be even better in the Southern Hemisphere. A weaker meteor shower, Alpha Capricornids, should produce around five meteors per hour. Multiple meteor showers occur annually and you don’t need special equipment to see them.
Princess Leia bikini costume from set of ‘Star Wars’ movie sells at auction for $175K
HOUSTON (AP) — An auction house says the gold bikini-style costume that Carrie Fisher wore as Princess Leia while making the “Star Wars” franchise has sold for $175,000. The costume was made famous when Fisher wore it at the start of 1983’s “Return of the Jedi” when Leia was captured by Jabba the Hutt at his palace on Tatooine and forced to be the space gangster’s slave. The costume was sold on Friday by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. Heritage’s executive vice president says the costume was worn by Fisher on the movie’s set but did not make it onto the final version of the film.
Hamilton declared winner of F1 Belgian GP after Mercedes teammate Russell DQ for underweight car
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Lewis Hamilton has been promoted to first place at the Belgian Grand Prix after race officials disqualified his Mercedes teammate George Russell for driving an underweight car. Russell crossed the line first Sunday after making only one pit stop, finishing just ahead of Hamilton. Russell celebrated the win in Spa but race officials found that his car weighed in below the established limits and ruled to disqualify his result. Russell said it was “heartbreaking.” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said “We have clearly made a mistake and need to ensure we learn from it.” Hamilton took his record haul to 105 F1 career victories. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved up into second place. Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the podium.
