By Don Riddell, CNN

(CNN) — Norway’s impressive run at the World Cup is yet another reminder that they’ve got this whole sport thing figured out.

Whether it’s soccer, golf, tennis or – of course – winter sports at the Olympics, a tiny nation of just 5.5 million people is now churning out world beaters at an extraordinary rate.

Norway’s inimitable striker Erling Haaland is the obvious star of the highlight reel, but one of the many secrets of their success can be found in stoppage time of the game against five-time world champion Brazil. In a 40-second sequence, captain Martin Ødegaard and several of his teammates frustrated their opponents by passing the ball among themselves, “showboating” against a team who invented the phrase.

“They don’t play with pressure,” explained Norwegian podcaster Martin Sleipnes to CNN Sports. “In that sequence, they just play as if they’re teenagers on a five-a-side game, they just enjoy themselves. You can tell it by watching the body language, when the pressure goes away you are free to do whatever.”

Afterwards, Haaland explained on social media the difference between the teams.

“To have 250 million, or however many it is in Brazil, to expect you to win a football game is not easy. So, the pressure is on them, and you could kind of see that today, we just played football and enjoyed it,” he said.

In five matches between the two countries, Norway has won three times, and the Røde, Hvite, Blå is the only team that Brazil has never beaten.

The absence of pressure is deeply ingrained in the Norwegian sports culture.

“We are not concerned about winning, but about learning,” said Bodø/Glimt’s General Manager Frode Thomassen to CNN Sports earlier this year, explaining how a minnow club from a small town in the Arctic Circle had managed to beat Manchester City, Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan in its first season in the Champions League.

Now, after a 28-year World Cup absence, the national team is building on Norway’s domination of the last three Winter Olympics, leaving Milan Cortina in February with a record 18 golds and 41 total medals.

A tiny nation of roughly the same population size as the US state of South Carolina – has figured out how to keep beating countries like China (1.4 billion), the US (342 million), Germany (84 million), Italy (59 million) and Canada (40 million). Clearly, they’re doing something right, and perhaps some of their rival nations like the United States could learn something from them.

It might come as no surprise that a Nordic country would excel in winter sports, but Norway has been punching well above its weight in many sports for some time. Its triathlon program is celebrated as the best in the world, Viktor Hovland is one of the top golfers, Casper Ruud made it to world No. 2 in the ATP rankings, Haaland is in contention for the World Cup’s Golden Boot and is one of the most feared strikers in the “Beautiful Game” and Ada Hegerberg won the most prestigious individual honor in world soccer, the Ballon D’Or.

There are many reasons for Norway’s success, but there is one common theme: An emphasis on fun and enjoyment that starts at the grassroots level. If one player gets a trophy, everyone gets a trophy; they want as many children as possible to return the following season.

Former Norway goalkeepe

Por Nicki Brown y Andi Babineau, CNN

Durante la última semana, abogados, periodistas y espectadores se congregaron en una sala de un tribunal de Provo, Utah, donde los fiscales intentaban convencer a un juez de que permitiera que el caso contra el hombre de 23 años acusado de asesinar al activista conservador Charlie Kirk siguiera adelante hasta el juicio.

El proceso se vio frecuentemente obstaculizado por discusiones sobre si ciertas pruebas podían admitirse como evidencia y transmitirse públicamente por video en la sala del tribunal.

Aun así, fue un momento crucial, que ofreció la visión más completa hasta el momento del caso contra Tyler Robinson, unos diez meses después de la muerte del carismático conservador de 31 años y cofundador de Turning Point USA.

Durante la audiencia preliminar de cinco días, la Fiscalía del Condado de Utah mostró videos de vigilancia del campus grabados en el momento del tiroteo, supuestos mensajes de Robinson que los fiscales describen como una confesión y una entrevista grabada en video con un testigo clave: el excompañero de cuarto y pareja sentimental de Robinson.

Mientras tanto, la defensa se esforzó por desacreditar las pruebas forenses y plantear dudas sobre la actuación de las fuerzas del orden en la investigación.

Los abogados de Robinson llamaron a tres testigos para que declararan sobre los resultados de las pruebas de ADN y balística, pero el propio Robinson no subió al estrado, siguiendo el consejo de sus abogados, informó su equipo de defensa.

Ahora que ambas partes han presentado algunas de sus pruebas, el juez debe determinar si existen motivos fundados para sustentar los cargos de homicidio con agravantes, uso delictivo de un arma de fuego, obstrucción a la justicia, manipulación de testigos y comisión de un acto violento en presencia de un menor.

Si el juez Tony Graf considera que hay pruebas suficientes para proceder a juicio, Robinson será procesado y deberá declararse culpable o inocente.

Se espera que Graf emita su fallo tras las audiencias orales programadas para principios de septiembre, poco antes del aniversario de la muerte de Kirk.

Kirk fue asesinado el 10 de septiembre de 2025, cuando recibió un disparo mortal frente a unas 3.000 personas durante un evento de Turning Point USA en la Universidad del Valle de Utah en Orem.

Videos explícitos del tiroteo inundaron las redes sociales y políticos de ambos partidos condenaron el asesinato, un ejemplo de la violencia política que ha sacudido a Estados Unidos en los últimos años.

Los fiscales han declarado que tienen la intención de solicitar la pena de muerte contra Robinson, quien se entregó a la policía al día siguiente del tiroteo.

Aquí hay cinco elementos que trascendieron en la audiencia y que arrojan nueva luz sobre el caso:

La prueba más esperada llegó el jueves, cuando los fiscales presentaron una entrevista en video previamente grabada con Lance Twiggs, compañero de piso de Robinson en el momento del asesinato de Kirk.

Twiggs, quien también era la pareja sentimental de Robinson, declaró ante los fiscales que el acusado expresó su arrepentimiento al día siguiente del tiroteo, horas antes de entregarse a la policía.

“Empezó a llorar un poco y dijo que ojalá no lo hubiera hecho, y luego siguió dando vueltas y haciendo cosas, creo que para mantenerse ocupado o di

Por CNN en Español

El Mundial 2026 completará este sábado el cuadro de semifinales, con cuatro equipos peleando por los últimos dos lugares disponibles: Noruega, Inglaterra, Argentina y Suiza. Será el último día de doble jornada de la Copa del Mundo, así que es ideal para no perderse detalles.

Estadio Miami

Miami Gardens, Florida, Estados Unidos

• 5 p.m. de Miami.
• 2 p.m. de Los Ángeles.
• 3 p.m. de Ciudad de México.
• 4 p.m. de Bogotá.
• 6 p.m. de Buenos Aires.
• 11 p.m. de Madrid.

Posibles formaciones

Noruega: Ørjan Nyland; Julian Ryerson, Kristoffer Ajer, Torbjørn Heggem, David Moller Wolfe; Patrick Berg, Sander Berge, Martin Ødegaard; Alexander Sørloth, Erling Haaland, Antonio Nusa. DT: Ståle Solbakken.

Inglaterra: Jordan Pickford; Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Nico O’Reilly; Declan Rice, Elliott Anderson; Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane. DT: Thomas Tuchel.

Estadio Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri, Estados Unidos

• 9 p.m. de Miami.
• 6 p.m. de Los Ángeles.
• 7 p.m. de Ciudad de México.
• 8 p.m. de Bogotá.
• 10 p.m. de Buenos Aires.
• 3 a.m. (ya domingo) de Madrid.

Posibles formaciones

Argentina: Emiliano Martínez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister; Lionel Messi y Lautaro Martínez. DT: Lionel Scaloni.

Suiza: Gregor Kobel; Deni Zakaria, Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi, Ricardo Rodríguez; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka; Dan Ndoye, Fabian Rieder, Rubén Vargas; y Breel Embolo. DT: Murat Yakin.

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By Eric Bradner, CNN

Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) — Key Democratic establishment figures believe Abdul El-Sayed will blow the party’s chances of holding onto a critical Senate seat this fall. He is out to prove them wrong — and to show that they misunderstand what voters really crave.

Michigan’s August 4 Democratic Senate primary is shaping up to be 2026’s highest stakes showdown between the party’s rising progressive insurgency and an establishment more focused on electability.

After state Sen. Mallory McMorrow exited the race on Sunday, the primary is now a head-to-head, pitting El-Sayed, a former public health official backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other prominent progressives, against Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate with a track record of winning on red turf. The Democratic nominee will face GOP ex-Rep. Mike Rogers in November.

In El-Sayed’s telling, viewing the race through that center vs. left lens misses the bigger picture that voters across the spectrum are frustrated with their leaders.

“This ideology thing — people think too deeply into it,” El-Sayed said in an interview with CNN shortly before taking the stage for a rally last week in Grand Rapids.

“I don’t think most voters walk around thinking where they stand on the ideological spectrum,” he said. “I think most voters are just being like, ‘Damn, I can’t afford my health care.’ ‘Damn, I’m worried about losing my job.’ ‘Damn, this AI stuff feels scary. Who’s going to do something about that?’”

Those voters are alienated, he said, when politicians “talk to you about what you can’t have and shouldn’t fight for.”

“My job has been to show that if you’re willing to be honest, direct, specific and fearless about fighting for people, you can build a movement,” El-Sayed said.

The electability factor

The progressive flank is on a roll — driven in part by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — with democratic socialists ousting three incumbent House members in deep-blue districts in New York and Colorado primaries in recent weeks. But the stakes in those races were nowhere near as high as Michigan, a perpetual battleground where Democrats almost certainly need to retain the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters to have a path to the net four-seat gain the party needs to win a Senate majority in November’s midterm elections.

Democrats in Washington worry that nominating El-Sayed, who is not a democratic socialist but aligns with them on many issues, would alienate enough moderates to jeopardize the race against Rogers.

El-Sayed supports Medicare for All, wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement and says the United States must cut off aid to Israel — a position that has made him a target of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose super PAC has pumped millions into ads boosting Stevens. He campaigned with pro-Palestinian Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who called Hamas a “lesser evil” than Israel and once said that “America deserved 9/11,” though he later backed away from that comment and acknowledged it was “inappropriate.” El-Sayed deleted tweets calling for the defunding of police and also pushed that positio

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN

(CNN) — In our latest roundup of travel news, we bring you bathing tips from an onsen expert, a bear encounter in a Tibet hotel room, plus a new ranking of the world’s most liveable cities.

Bathing and swim spots

Japan’s famed hot springs, or onsen, are one of the country’s unique attractions, but international visitors need to be aware of the unspoken protocols, such as strict punctuality and – sometimes – waterproof bandages to cover tattoos. Oh, and full nudity is required.

A Japanese hot spring expert shares her advice on how to best enjoy the experience and how to avoid dangerous temperature-related mistakes, so a trip to the ER isn’t a new stop on your vacation itinerary.

Just a few years ago, a swim in Paris’ River Seine might have landed you in the hospital, too, thanks to toxic levels of pollution. However, the river was cleaned up ahead of the Paris Olympics and now it’s the most fashionable new swim spot in the French capital – particularly with this year’s record-breaking heat.

Full nudity is mandatory in a Japanese onsen but in scenic Varenna, on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, it’s a different story. The fishing village has become the latest tourist destination to introduce a fine for anyone found wandering its streets bare-chested or in swimwear.

From bareness to bears: A Tibetan brown bear caused havoc this week in Naqu, Tibet, when it sauntered into a hotel, drank bottled water at reception and entered a guest’s room. Watch here.

America’s best towns

Continuing our countdown of America’s Best Towns to Visit in 2026, we have Lawrence, Kansas, at No. 9.

Lawrence looks like Main Street perfection — a vibrant haven of craft breweries, indie bookstores and historic hotels. But beneath this charming Midwestern façade lies a fierce, rebellious soul.

Twice burned down in the Civil War era, this town has always resurrected itself. That spirit survives today as Lawrence’s historic Massachusetts Street fights a new battle to keep big chains out and local uniqueness in.

Be sure to also check out our full list and our No. 10 town, Roanoke, Virginia.

For World Cup visitors to the USA, however, there’s been a surprise hit tourist attraction, with more than 4,000 branches across the country: Walmart.

The retail behemoth, where bigger is always better, is taking advantage of the social media chatter and hosting VIP tours for international fans in New Jersey and Miami.

Destination inspiration

El Hierro, the most remote of Spain’s Canary Islands, was once believed to be the westernmost edge of the known world. In fact, it was the last piece of land that Christopher Columbus saw after leaving Europe before encountering the Americas in 1492.

Today, it’s a destination for modern travelers looking to rekindle their own sense of discovery. There are no resorts and no direct flights, but the island’s admirers say the choppy two-and-a-half-hour ferry ride