UR MAG

The 31st Major League Soccer season will begin this weekend, andthere are more storylines than everheading into another exciting campaign.

Lionel Messi helped Inter Miami win the club's first MLS title in 2025, recording two assists in Inter Miami's 3-1 MLS Cup win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Inter Miami opens the season as the +400 betting favorite atBetMGMsportsbooks, just ahead of Los Angeles FC at +600.

LAFC has plenty of appeal as well, adding former Tottenham star Son Heung-min in the middle of last season. The franchise won its first — and only — MLS Cup back in 2022. LAFC opens its season Saturday in Los Angeles against Messi and the defending champs. LAFC is a +110 favorite on the three-way line, with Inter Miami at +210 and a draw at +270.

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San Diego FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps — 2025 MLS Cup runner-ups — have the next-best odds at +900, followed by the Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati at 14-1.

Sporting Kansas City and original MLS franchise DC United have the longest odds of any team to win this year's title at 80-1.

It's a unique season for MLS as well, with the 2026 World Cup taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The league will take a break from May 25 to July 16, in the middle of the season, to accommodate players participating on their international teams.

The NBA's anti-tanking plans are coming into focus.

The league has informed its 30 general managers it plans to make anti-tanking rule changes for next season,according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Possible changes reportedly include:

• First-round pick protections being limited to top four or top 14;

• Freezing lottery odds after the NBA trade deadline or later;

• Preventing teams from picking in the top four in consecutive years and/or after consecutive bottom-three finishes;

• Forbidding teams from picking in the top four after making the conference finals;

• Basing lottery odds on two-year records;

• Expanding the lottery to play-in teams;

• And flattening the lottery odds for all teams involved.

To be clear, the NBA wouldn't be pursuing all of those options. But even one or two of them could mark a sea change for how the league's less competitive teams do business.

The idea of locking teams out of the top four if they made it the previous year has already been implemented in Major League Baseball's draft lottery, and the popularity of the measure depends on which fan base you're talking to.

Former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, currently working as a senior adviser to basketball operations for the NBA, was reportedly present at the league's GM meeting Thursday and called for an "attack" on the problem that the executives should be prepared for in the coming year.

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NBA teams are tanking hard this season, for a reason

These changes are being discussed amid one of the most tank-heavy seasons in living memory, in whichthe Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers have already been fined six-figure sums for "overt" tanking behavior, as described by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

Tanking has been an accepted cost of doing business in the NBA for decades, buta litany of teams have been racing to the bottom this year, and a spate of injuries have left them unlikely to be any better for the rest of the regular season.

The Sacramento Kings, current owners of the worst record in the league,have now lost Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine to season-ending surgeries. The Washington Wizards, with the second-worst record,are still without trade acquisitions Anthony Davis and Trae Young, and no one is expecting them to be rushed back. The Dallas Mavericks won't be seeing Kyrie Irving or Dereck Lively again this season, and Cooper Flagg also remains out. Ja Morant is still out for the Memphis Grizzlies, who sent away Jaren Jackson Jr. at the trade deadline.

The reason why teams would be so committed this year is one of the most loaded draft classes in NBA history, with a remarkable collection of freshman currently making an impact at the college level. Darryn Peterson of Kansas, AJ Dybantsa of BYU and Cameron Boozer of Duke all stand out, but this is also a class where a franchise-changing talent could easily be found anywhere in the top 10, and maybe beyond.

The situation has proven controversial, all the way up to the NBA's ownership.Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia was ranting about "losing behavior done by losers" hours before the possible anti-tanking measure were reported, whileMavericks minority owner Mark Cuban was telling his peers to embrace the tank earlier this week.

Hello from Milan and Cortina, where American figure skaterAlysa Liusummed up today's events quite succinctly. After her nearly flawless performance in the women's free skate, cameras caught Liu saying, "That's what I'm f---ing talking about!"

Liu wonthe gold medalin women's singles figure skating, the first for an American woman since 2002, before Liu was born. And the U.S. women's hockey team beat rival Canada, 2-1, in overtime to win its first gold medal since 2018.

Our correspondents have it all covered below and atNBC News. Catch it all streaming onPeacock.

Live from Milan Cortina

During her free skate today,Alysa Liuseemed to be smiling the whole time, as she moved gracefully across the ice. When she finished, she smiled again, stuck out her tongue and raised her hands. Liu had left figure skating after the 2022 Beijing Games, only to return, on her own terms, and fall back in love with the sport.

Then Liu had to wait for two more skaters to go before she learned:She had won gold. Soon, she was being guided through a back hallway toward the medal ceremony. In that quiet moment, NBC cameras caught her reflecting on her performance.

"I just, like, can't process this," Liu said. "There's no way. I really liked my skate a lot."

On Tuesday, Liu had ended the short program in third place. Then she scored a 150.20 during today's free skate, giving her a total score of 226.79, vaulting her into first place.

Fellow AmericanAmber Glennhad started the day in 13th, after a mistake cost her points during the short program. But she made a spectacular recovery today, scoring a season-best 147.52 in the free skate, which helped her finish in fifth.

After she finished her routine, she appeared to mouth the words "So close."

About an hour earlier, theU.S. women's hockey teamhad its own chance at glory.

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For about 57 minutes today, Team USA couldn't break through. After scoring more than 30 goals in the tournament, the U.S. had been held scoreless and trailed Canada 1-0. All the U.S. needed,Hilary Knightsaid afterward, was to "put one good shot on net."

With just over two minutes left to play,Laila Edwardsfired toward the goal, where Knight had camped out in front of the goalie. Knight deflected the puck into the net, tying the game.

Then, in overtime, Team USA'sMegan Kellermade an incredible individual play, maneuvering around a defender and then chipping the puck past the goalie.

"We knew it was a matter of time, just leaning on them, slowly, slowly," Knight said in an interview with NBC. "But you can also run out of time against a great team. Fortunate that we have an amazing squad to be able to get the job done."

This marked Team USA's third gold medal and first since 2018. The Americans finished these Olympics 7-0 and outscored their opponents 33-2. With that goal,Knight also became the all-time leading scorerfor U.S. women's hockey at the Olympics.

"I'm just happy to have a gold medal," she said. "Oh, my gosh, this feels amazing."

Speedskating Corner

AfterJordan Stolzcrossed the finish line of the 1,500-meter speedskating final, he bent over, put his hands on his legs and breathed heavily.Stolz had finished secondbehind China'sZhongyan Ning, by only 0.77 seconds, and took silver.

"Ning's time was a surprise. He had the race of his life," Stolz told reporters after the race. "I didn't know much about placings until I crossed the finish line. But I was hoping if it wasn't going to be gold, I hoped I could get a silver."

Stolz got off to a slow start and admitted he "didn't have one of [his] best" races. He still has a chance to secure his third gold of these Games: He'll compete in the speedskating mass start event Saturday.

Photo of the Day

When to Watch

In the quarterfinals of the men's hockey tournament, three of the four games went to overtime. The semifinals should be appointment viewing. Are the USA and Canada on a collision course for the gold medal game? Or can Finland or Slovakia pull off an upset? Tune in to find out.

All times are in Eastern, and an asterisk signifies a medal event:

Friday, Feb. 20

• 4:30 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men's aerials qualification 1

• 4:30 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men's freeski halfpipe qualification 1

• 5:15 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men's aerials qualification 2

• 5:27 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men's freeski halfpipe qualification 2

• 6 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women's ski cross 1/8 finals

• 6:35 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women's ski cross quarterfinals

• 6:54 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women's ski cross semifinals

• 7:10 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women's ski cross finals*

• 7:30 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, men's aerials finals*

• 8:05 a.m.: Curling, women's semifinals

• 8:15 a.m.: Biathlon, men's 15 km mass start*

• 10:30 a.m.: Speedskating, women's 1,500-meter*

• 10:40 a.m.: Men's hockey, semifinals, Canada vs. Finland

• 12 p.m.: Bobsled, two-woman heat 1

• 1:05 p.m.: Curling, men's bronze medal game*

• 1:30 p.m.: Freestyle skiing, men's freeski halfpipe final*

• 1:50 p.m.: Bobsled, two-woman heat 2

• 2:15 p.m.: Short track speedskating, women's 1,500-meter quarterfinals

• 3:02 p.m.: Short track speedskating, women's 1,500-meter semifinals

• 3:10 p.m.: Men's hockey, semifinals, USA vs. Slovakia

• 3:30 p.m.: Short track speedskating, men's 5,000-meter relay finals*

• 4:07 p.m.: Short track speedskating, women's 1,500-meter finals*

That's it for now! We'll be back tomorrow.

By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would direct federal agencies to begin releasing government files related to aliens and unidentified ‌flying objects, pointing to what he described as strong public interest in the issue.

In a social ‌media post, Trump said he would order Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and other agencies to release the information, calling the matter "extremely interesting ​and important."

Earlier in the day, Trump, without providing evidence, accused former President Barack Obama of improperly disclosing classified information when discussing aliens publicly, saying Obama "made a big mistake."

"He took it out of classified information ... He's not supposed to be doing that," Trump told reporters while traveling to Georgia.

During an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen ‌released on Saturday, Obama was asked ⁠if aliens were real.

"They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in ... Area 51. There's no underground facility unless there's this enormous conspiracy and ⁠they hid it from the president of the United States," Obama said.

Area 51 is a classified Air Force facility in Nevada that fringe theorists have speculated holds alien bodies and a crashed spaceship. CIA archives released in 2013 ​said it ​was a test site for top-secret spy planes.

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PENTAGON INVESTIGATIONS

There ​was no indication in Obama's remarks that the ‌former president released classified information. Obama's office did not respond to a request for comment.

"I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!" Obama said in an Instagram post on Sunday.

In the post, Obama explained his belief that aliens exist by saying the statistical odds of life beyond Earth were high because the universe is so vast. He added that the chances of extraterrestrial life ‌visiting Earth were low given the distance.

Following his comments on Obama, ​Trump added that he had not seen evidence that aliens ​exist, saying, "I don't know if they're real or ​not."

In recent years, the Pentagon has investigated reports of UFOs, and senior military leaders ‌said in 2022 they found no evidence ​to suggest that aliens had ​visited Earth or crash-landed here.

A 2024 Pentagon report said U.S. government investigations since the end of World War Two had found no evidence of extraterrestrial technology and most sightings were misidentified ordinary objects ​and phenomena.

The website of the National ‌Archives and Records Administration says it has records related to UFOs across numerous collections.

(Reporting by ​Nandita Bose, Trevor Hunnicutt and Ryan Patrick Jones; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by ​Michelle Nichols, Colleen Jenkins, Cynthia Osterman and Kate Mayberry)

By Heejin Kim and Joyce Lee

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang

SEOUL, Feb 20 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his reclusive country had overcome stagnation and accomplished major economic goals over the past five years, as he opened the Ninth Party Congress, state media ‌KCNA reported on Friday.

The congress, which opened on Thursday, is the country's biggest political event. Held every five years, it can ‌bring changes in leadership roles beneath supreme commander Kim.

In his opening speech, Kim said the last five years had been "a proud period", citing North Korea's accomplishments in politics, economy, defence, ​culture and diplomacy, in addition to enhancing self-reliance.

For the outside world, North Korea has brought a "big change" in relations with other countries and the global geopolitical landscape, he said.

Kim did not mention relations with the United States or South Korea in his speech, nor refer to his country's efforts to develop a stockpile of nuclear weapons.

At the meeting, attended by 5,000 members of the ruling Workers' Party, new goals and plans in various sectors for the next five ‌years were submitted, KCNA reported.

North Korea is expected ⁠to showcase military capabilities at a parade and weapons development goals as part of the meeting.

FOCUS ON DAUGHTER JU AE

Analysts are monitoring whether Kim will be given the title of "president" and if his teenage daughter, Ju Ae, makes ⁠an appearance or receives some form of official post.

There has been increasing speculation among analysts and from South Korea's spy agency that Kim is grooming Ju Ae to succeed him.

When the previous Eighth Congress was convened, the circumstances surrounding North Korea were "literally so harsh that we could hardly maintain our own existence", Kim said. The ​country's ​economy and industries were antiquated, he added.

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North Korea's economy suffered its biggest contraction in ​23 years in 2020 as it was battered by ‌continued U.N. sanctions, COVID-19 lockdown measures and bad weather, South Korea's central bank has said.

But more recently there have been signs of recovery and the economy grew 3.7% in 2024, the fastest annual pace in eight years, backed by expanded economic ties with Russia, according to Bank of Korea estimates.

"Everything has changed fundamentally for the past five years," Kim said.

In a speech that focused mostly on economic development and promoting party leadership, Kim said the country was "faced with heavy and urgent historic tasks of boosting economic construction and the people's standard of living."

Earlier this week, Kim marked the completion ‌of 10,000 new houses in Pyongyang, achieving the goal of building 50,000 homes set ​during the Eighth Congress.

Kim also said, however, the country should "review shortcomings" in development, without ​providing details.

MILITARY PARADE

It is unclear how long the gathering will run, ​but the Seventh Congress lasted four days and the Eighth Congress ran for eight days.

Satellite images showed thousands of ‌North Koreans spelling out the slogan 'Ninth Party Congress' in large ​Korean characters in central Pyongyang last ​week, NK News reported, citing it as possible evidence of plans for a military parade.

Kim may have toned down his speech to avoid international or military issues, said Jeong Eun-mee, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-run think tank.

"He appears ​to be refraining from making public comments about ‌sensitive issues," she said, especially ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China in April.

Kang Dong-wan, a political science professor ​at Dong-A University in Busan, said Kim may revise rules to formalise the "hostile two states" rhetoric guiding policy toward South Korea.

(Reporting ​by Heejin Kim; Editing by Ed Davies, Lincoln Feast and Stephen Coates)