How will Pope Francis handle the 50th anniversary this month of “Humanae Vitae,” Pope Paul VI’s encyclical continuing the Roman Catholic Church’s ban on artificial birth control? Will the occasion be cause for joyous celebration or quiet commemoration? Why does it matter?

The answer is twofold. First, Pope Paul’s decree, titled “Human Life in Our Day” and promulgated July 25, 1968, remains controversial. Debate and dissent have always been part of the Catholic Church, but history recalls an unprecedented tsunami of protest when Paul published “Humanae Vitae” (HV) 50 years ago. The dissent persists.

Second, Paul’s decree banning artificial contraception as intrinsically evil remains part of Catholic moral doctrine, and the pope is the only one with authority to modify defined doctrine, either by his own hand or in consultation with others.

Nonetheless, HV remains both controversial and vulnerable, based as it is on a version of natural law that many scientists consider outdated and incomplete. The late Catholic scientist Thomas Hayes, for example, contended that HV’s definition of the reproductive act ignores the female role and warrants reconsideration. And many theologians warn that preserving an outdated, unscientific stance on birth control will weaken the Catholic Church’s credibility on all sexual issues, not just birth control.

HV’s teaching, however, has survived for five decades mainly because it has been unequivocally supported by all of Paul’s papal successors, including Pope Francis. “[Paul’s] genius proved prophetic,” Francis said. “He had the courage to stand against the majority.”

With that history, a change to the church’s teaching on birth control would be a long shot, writes John L. Allen in “The Francis Miracle,” his 2015 book on Francis’ papacy. The veteran Vatican reporter and editor of Crux writes that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, “is hardly Che Guevara in a cassock — a pope who intends to make sweeping changes in church teachings.” Allen reports that when asked about contraception and other controversial sexual issues, the 81-year-old pontiff insists he will uphold church doctrine because “I am a son of the church.”

Many “sons and daughters of the church,” however, insist that the doctrine banning contraceptives should be changed. They reason that no interpretation can escape Paul’s exact words in his encyclical that “it is not permissible even for the gravest reasons to do evil so that good may follow therefrom.” In HV, Pope Paul VI wrote that the Catholic Church “teaches that each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life” (emphasis mine). Again, as we shall see, scientist Thomas Hayes held that such a provision is biologically impossible.

From the beginning of his pontificate, the outspoken and extroverted Francis has shown nothing but respect and even admiration for Giovanni Battista Montini, the intellectual and reserved Italian pontiff who led the church as Pope Paul VI from 1963 to 1978. When speaking to a group of pilgrims from Brescia, Italy, Paul’s home region, Francis spoke compassionately of the pontiff “who experienced to the full the church’s travail after the Second Vatican Council: the lights, the hopes, the tensions. He loved the church and expended himself for her, holding nothing back.” Francis announced that he would canonize Paul this October.

Yet controversy around HV has been persistent. According to Joseph Eagan’s book “Restoration and Renewal,” in 1980, Archbishop John R. Quinn of San Francisco cited studies for bishops at a synod showing that “nearly 80 percent of U.S. married Catholic women use contraceptives, and 29 percent of U.S. priests do not regard the practice as serious sin.” Quinn saw the divide as “a profound theological and pastoral problem for the church.” Nonetheless, the moderate archbishop was ordered to publicly declare that he was not questioning Catholic doctrine.

The question had arisen during discussion of marriage at a session of the Second Vatican Council in 1964, but Paul took the discussion of birth control off the council’s agenda and reserved the final decision for himself. Meanwhile, Paul did solicit the advice of a talented and inclusive Pontifical Commission for the Study of Population, Family and Births.

About the same time, an article written by Hayes, titled “The Biology of the Reproductive Act: Its Application to Various Methods of Birth Control,” appeared in CrossCurrents magazine in 1965. Hayes, with a doctorate in biophysics from the University of California-Berkeley, was a staff senior scientist at UCLA’s Donner Laboratory.

In the article, Hayes started with the obvious: An accurate definition of human reproduction must contain all essential parts, including the crucial woman’s role. He defined the human reproductive act as a one-month process in which there are random acts of intercourse. Conception, he wrote, “is due to the random spacing of the individual acts of intercourse rather than any probability within each act of sexual intercourse itself. This supports the conclusion that not every act of sexual intercourse naturally tends toward procreation.” His conclusion refuted HV’s major premise.

Hayes also noted that married couples who use the church-approved “rhythm system,” also called Natural Family Planning (NFP), are making a “conscious decision” to avoid pregnancy without resorting to artificial contraception. In other words, NFP is deliberative, not natural, said Hayes. The decision-making is the same as that of a couple who, for serious reasons to limit their family, choose to use a contraceptive.

If the church approves NFP on biological naturalness, Hayes said, it could on the same basis “extend its approval to all contraceptive methods of birth control.” He added a crucial fact: The approval results “not by any change in moral principles, but in the application of a more accurate picture of human reproduction as revealed by current biological concepts.”

Hayes’ thesis surfaced during the commission’s fifth and last session in 1966, but to no avail. Pope Paul VI rejected the commission’s final report, even though an overwhelming majority of the 72 clergy and laity argued for the pope to regard the fruitfulness of an entire marriage rather than each individual act. Paul, however, would not let numbers trump papal decisions.

No one can predict what Pope Francis will say on the anniversary of “Humanae Vitae,” especially since the unpredictable pontiff has authorized a “historical-critical investigation” of all documents involved in the writing of the encyclical. As another synod of bishops scheduled in Rome this October will focus on youth, Francis may use the July event to call on prelates to say much more to the rising generation, much of whom engages in casual sex and is deprived of an appreciation of the sacramental understanding of married love.

Along the way, the bishops might suggest a simple but important course correction for the Bark of Peter by underlining Hayes’ teaching that the ban on contraception can be lifted in married life “not by any change in moral principles, but by the application of a more accurate (biological) picture of human reproduction.”

Frank Maurovich is a retired journalist who covered Catholic issues for various outlets, including RNS, from 1963 to 2009. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily represent those of Religion News Service.

This week’s State Department ministerial on international religious freedom has been a well-orchestrated, if hastily organized, event with a sense of common purpose rarely seen in the current administration.

It prominently features the work of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, as bipartisan a body as you’ll find in Washington these days. The foreign ministers and religious leaders from around the world all concur that politics should be the furthest thing from anyone’s mind when it comes to a universal value like advancing religious freedom.

Yet it doesn’t take an expert to see that politics are everywhere in the current U.S. approach to religious freedom.

It’s plain, to begin with, that the impetus for putting on the event has much to do with President Donald Trump’s indebtedness to conservative evangelical Christians for his election. To their credit, American evangelicals have engaged religious freedom issues for some time.

But the dominance of evangelicals in this sphere carries with it costs and oversights, including excessive deference to politicians and co-religionists who have shown hostility toward Islam.

In a meeting last month, Sam Brownback, the former Kansas senator and governor who is now U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, reportedly lobbied British Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch on behalf of an English anti-Muslim activist, Tommy Robinson, now in jail in the United Kingdom. A State Department spokesman called characterizations of Brownback’s meeting with Darroch “completely false” but did not comment further.

Brownback should comment further. Americans deserve to know what the U.S. interest is in a notorious bigot who has been associated with Steve Bannon, the erstwhile Trump adviser and white nativist. Brownback, who has done too little to distance himself from the anti-Muslim sentiments of the president who nominated him, should also take the opportunity to renounce positions that mar his leadership on religious freedom, including his support for Trump’s travel ban.

The White House’s equating of religious freedom with evangelical causes is apparent in its three recent nominations for USCIRF, which went to Christian political operative Gary Bauer; the Rev. Johnnie Moore, one of Trump’s liaisons to the religious right; and Nadine Maenza, who served as an aide to former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum.

Trump is not alone in handing off this issue to evangelicals. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., used his USCIRF nomination to appoint Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, a longtime leader in the religious right who has made disqualifying statements about Islam.

Nobody in the capital seems to be above politics when it comes to religious freedom, of course: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., appointed Gayle Manchin to USCIRF, where she serves as vice chairwoman. She happens to be the wife of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a vulnerable Democrat facing re-election this year and being pressed by Republicans to switch parties.

But the disgusting anti-Muslim sentiments of Trump and some of his supporters besmirch the argument that religious freedom is a cornerstone diplomatic priority, and, frankly, call the whole project into question.

The question is whether the ministerial, and religious freedom itself, can rise above the politics to serve a higher purpose.

The answer is likely yes. While undoubtedly a boost for evangelicals that Trump can tout as another “win,” the ministerial can only foster collaborations among the assembled government officials, civil-society representatives and faith groups and encourage them in their work ahead.

It is critical, however, for the gathering to hold the White House to account for its failures to stand up for everyone affected by religious persecution. In a thoughtful op-ed in the Globe Post, University of Vermont Professor Peter Henne says religious freedom advocates often “prize institutional access too highly.”

The well-meaning advocates who accepted the State Department’s invitation this week despite Trump’s record on Islam need to say plainly that Trumpism and international religious freedom contradict each other in ways we cannot ignore.

Jacob Lupfer, a frequent commentator on religion and politics, is a writer and consultant in Baltimore. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily represent those of Religion News Service.

A luxury yacht owned by the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos suffered damage when someone untied it early Sunday in Ohio, sending it adrift on Lake Erie with the crew on board.

A crew member on the SeaQuest called police to report that he and other members awoke to find the yacht floating away from the dock. The crew managed to gain control of the vessel, but not before it scraped the dock. The yacht suffered $5,000 to $10,000 worth of damage, according to a Huron Police Department report.

Bob Lippert, chief of the Huron Police Department, said it is unclear whether the vandal knew the yacht belonged to the family of DeVos, whose controversial positions on education have made her the target of ire.

"If you had just walked by it, you wouldn't know that," Lippert said.

But, he noted, the yacht's arrival made headlines in Huron: "SeaQuest Yacht docks in Huron," an article in the Sandusky Register read last week.

"The SeaQuest Yacht, famously owned by Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Education, docked in Huron Friday," the article began.

Lippert said it is possible the untying of the yacht happened without a target in mind. Tourists flock to bars nearby during summer.

"It's quite possible that it was a random act by some late-night revelers," the police chief said.

The Education Department did not respond immediately Thursday to a request for comment.

Before she became education secretary, DeVos, who has a residence in Michigan, spent three decades advocating for charter and private schools. The daughter of an auto parts manufacturer, she married Richard DeVos, an heir to the Amway fortune. DeVos flies on her own plane when on official travel.

Her positions have inspired protests at many of her engagements. Teachers unions have roundly rebuked her, and civil rights groups, disappointed in her moves to roll back protections for students, have assailed her.

At her first school visit, to a middle school in the District, protesters blocked her from entering the building and one appeared to lay a hand on her. Shortly thereafter, U.S. marshals began guarding the secretary rather than officers employed by the department.

The Huron police chief said that although nobody was injured Sunday, untying the boat could have caused far more damage if conditions had been different.

“Had the winds been different or more boat traffic, we could have had a bad situation with a collision or something of the sort,” Lippert said.

Newly released video of the moments before a cyclist was struck and killed by a FrontRunner train in Salt Lake City shows the 22-year-old didn’t appear to stop or heed the warning signals before darting across the railroad tracks.

Cameron Hooyer was riding his bike along with hundreds of others as part of a weekly, informal Thursday night meetup, dubbed the 999 Ride. About 11:15 p.m., about two hours after the July 19 ride began, the riders arrived at the railroad crossing at 900 South and 600 West.

Video released by Utah Transit Authority on Thursday shows dozens of bikers entering the tracks in the moments after a freight train passed, while the crossing arms are down and lights are still flashing. The arms rise as the lights continue to flash. About 15 seconds after the lights stop, they signal again, and a flood of cyclists rushes through before the crossing arms lower, about 5 seconds later.

About a half-dozen cyclists dash through once the arms are down — with one pedaling forward onto the tracks before turning back around — before Hooyer can be seen approaching the tracks near the top, left side of the video. He doesn’t appear to slow down, and he attempts to cross the intersection about 20 seconds after the warning signals began.

The video stops just before Hooyer is hit as the train comes into the frame.

“In my mind, it conclusively shows what happened that night that led to an unnecessary tragedy,” said Carl Arky, UTA spokesman.

Arky has previously said the train operator gave ample warning, by sounding the train’s horn and triggering the lights and arms, entering the intersection. But controversy arose soon after the crash when cyclists cast doubt on UTA’s characterization of the collision and how soon the train followed after warning signals began.

In addition, while Arky has said the train was traveling 45 mph; some cyclists said it appeared to be going much faster.

At a memorial ride for Hooyer on Saturday, his parents told reporters their son was a safe rider and questioned reports of him trying to beat the train. They declined a request for comment from The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday.

A 16-year-old has been charged by the Grand County attorney’s office with reckless burning and causing a catastrophe in the Cinema Court Fire that ignited along the Pack Creek and burned eight homes in Moab on June 12.

The charges were filed after an investigation by the Grand County Sheriff’s Office and Moab Police Department, according to a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. The name of the juvenile is not being released.

While the news release doesn’t provide detailed information about the charges, reckless burning can be charged as a class A, B or C misdemeanor. The class A charge carries the most severe potential punishment, of up to a year in jail. A crime can be charged as a class A misdemeanor if property damage from reckless use of fire exceeds $1,500 in value, according to Utah Code.

And a person can be found guilty of causing a catastrophe if he or she “causes widespread injury or damage to” people or their property through an explosion, fire, flood, avalanche, etc. State code says it can be filed as a first- or second-degree felony if the person caused it knowingly or as a misdemeanor if the person caused it recklessly.

Neither the Grand County attorney’s office nor the Grand County Sheriff’s Office responded immediately to requests for more information about the charges Thursday afternoon.

Arson investigators had determined the Cinema Court blaze was “human-caused,” but they had not narrowed down its origin.

The fire, which started in dry brush, moved quickly into a residential neighborhood, where it destroyed eight homes and a few outbuildings, displacing dozens of residents. It was mostly extinguished the next day.

Tina Saunders, who lived with her boyfriend in one of the homes that was destroyed by the fire, said she hopes the teenager learns a lesson but doesn’t think a name needs to be released.

“He’s a minor, and there’s really no reason to throw him into the spotlight and make things more difficult," she said. “There’s really no reason to put him out there and just let him be pummeled with bad remarks and everything else.”

Community volunteers raised more than $99,000, which Saunders said will be split among those whose homes were lost in the blaze. But that won’t even come close to replacing all that was lost, she said.

As for financial restitution from anyone found to be at fault for the fire, Saunders said: “That’s not anything that we’re expecting to receive."

The Salt Lake Tribune will update this story.

Conor McGregor pleaded guilty to a single count of disorderly conduct stemming from an April rampage at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, which may pave the way for the UFC’s popular star to return to the Octagon before the end of the year.

McGregor's plea was entered Thursday in Brooklyn criminal court as part of a deal with the Brooklyn District Attorney's office. McGregor was given no jail time and will not have a criminal record. Nor will his travel visa be affected. He also was ordered to pay full restitution to the bus company for damages incurred in the April 5 incident in which video appeared to show McGregor throwing a metal handcart into the window of a bus carrying UFC athletes and employees after a UFC 223 media event. McGregor, 30, had complied with that portion of the deal and also must do five days of community service and attend an anger management program lasting one-to-three days.

"I just want to say I'm thankful for the D.A. and the judge for allowing me to move forward," McGregor told reporters. "I want to say to my friends, my family, my fans, thank you for the support."

Lightweight Michael Chiesa and flyweight Ray Borg suffered minor injuries from flying glass and were pulled from their April 7 bouts.

McGregor (21-3) has not fought in the UFC since November 2016 but lost to Floyd Mayweather in a TKO last August in his professional boxing debut. A lightweight title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is 26-0 and holds the belt now, would be huge, in part because he was going after Nurmagomedov, who was on the bus that night in April.

UFC President Dana White said after the incident that there had been bad feelings between McGregor's camp and Nurmagomedov, the Russian fighter whose bout with Max Holloway for McGregor's vacated belt was scratched when Holloway was deemed unfit. Nurmagomedov was filmed in a confrontation at a hotel with Artem Lobov, a friend of McGregor, earlier in the week.

McGregor, who is from Dublin, faced a possible 12 criminal charges related to the incident, including two felony criminal mischief charges carrying a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Cian Cowley, a McGregor teammate at SBG Ireland, also was arrested in April and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

Los Angeles • The Pac-12 went 1-8 in its bowl games last season, leading to a winter of external criticism and internal soul-searching for most of its programs.

The league also extended its national title drought to 14 years, the longest in the Power Five. Athletic directors openly worried about the Pac-12 falling farther behind the other big conferences in revenue and in exposure from its television network.

After all the disappointment for its football programs late last year, this is a league that probably could benefit from a fresh start. Nearly half of its member schools are getting one with the arrival of new coaching staffs to shake up the West Coast football scene.

The Pac-12's five new coaches range from the heralded Chip Kelly at UCLA, to the surprising choice of Herm Edwards at Arizona State, to the homecoming of Jonathan Smith at Oregon State. Two of the five are first-time collegiate head coaches, while the other three — including Arizona's Kevin Sumlin — have ample experience.

"It's super competitive," new Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said Wednesday at Pac-12 media day in Hollywood.

"Football is cyclical," Cristobal added. "Sometimes conferences run into that when you have a good number of coaches that are new in the conference. I look at the level and their pedigree and where they've been and what they've done, and you're looking at competitive guys that know how to bring it and want to establish championship programs."

The new blood could energize struggling programs and alter the league hierarchy — or it could clear the way for Washington, Southern California and Stanford to continue to dominate their less-experienced foes.

While Kelly got the most attention Wednesday in his return to the Pac-12 after a remarkable tenure at Oregon, many coaches and players speculated that Sumlin's Wildcats could have the quickest opportunity for success among the newcomers.

But most coaches are hoping the moves will raise the overall level of play in the Pac-12, creating a higher standard that could translate into the postseason and the national title race after the league's disappointing performance last winter.

"I think it's an impressive group of coaches in their records and track records of winning games, championships (and) developing players," said Smith, who left Chris Petersen's staff at Washington to take over his alma mater. "I think we've got some great personalities that can sell this conference, because there is a bunch of good coaches right now in this league to make it competitive. I'm just excited to be a part of it."

Kelly, Sumlin and Edwards are all taking over programs with measures of stability in recent seasons, even if the three schools didn't pile up enough wins to satisfy boosters.

Smith has a tougher task in restarting the Beavers after the abrupt exit of Gary Andersen last season — and Cristobal is Oregon's third head coach in three seasons, following the firing of Mark Helfrich and the one-season tenure of Willie Taggart.

"I think all five guys new to the conference are tremendous football coaches," said Kyle Whittingham, who's heading into his 14th season at Utah. "I think there are just a bunch of great coaches in this league, and that's something that will enhance the league. But it still boils down to players. Players are what it's all about. I'm more interested in what players are on which teams rather than who is coaching them."

Some of the new coaches are more fortunate than others in those inherited rosters. For instance, Kelly has only eight seniors at UCLA, and he lost star quarterback Josh Rosen to the Arizona Cardinals.

"We didn't have a lot of guys in spring ball," Kelly said. "There's going to be some guys playing for us who just showed up."

Cristobal and Sumlin are grateful to inherit two of the Pac-12's eight returning starting quarterbacks. Oregon's Justin Herbert and Arizona's Khalil Tate provide a measure of security for their new bosses.

"It didn't hurt, let's put it that way," Sumlin said with a grin when asked how Tate's presence affected his decision to move to Tucson.

While Kelly's progress will be fascinating, the league also will be glued to the performance of the 64-year-old Edwards, who ended a nine-year hiatus from coaching to take over for Todd Graham in Tempe.

Edwards already has made plenty of headlines for his headfirst dive into the college game, which has included threats to "cut" players who aren't meeting his standards of commitment. When the former Chiefs and Jets coach was asked what he thought about how his style has been received, Edwards drew a blank.

“To be quite honest, you’ll figure this out about me — I don’t know what happens in the outside world,” Edwards said. “I don’t read it. I don’t watch it. I am a football coach. When I’m not a football coach, I’m trying to be the best father I can be. That’s what I concern myself with. I don’t concern myself with the outside elements because the outside elements don’t coach the team.”

Amazon's facial recognition tools incorrectly identified Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and 27 other members of Congress as people arrested for a crime during a test commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, the watchdog said Thursday.

The ACLU said its findings show that Amazon’s so-called Rekognition technology — already in use at law-enforcement agencies in Oregon and Orlando — is hampered by inaccuracies that disproportionately put people of color at risk and should prompt regulators to halt “law enforcement use of face surveillance.”

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.

For its test, the ACLU of Northern California created a database of 25,000 publicly available arrest photos, though the civil liberties watchdog did not give details about where it obtained the images or the kinds of individuals in the photos. It then used Amazon's Rekognition software to compare that database against photos of every member of the U.S. House and Senate.

Ultimately, Amazon's technology flagged photos of 28 members of Congress as likely matches with the ACLU's collection of mugshots. Among the misidentified lawmakers were Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who has called for federal privacy legislation, and six members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including civil-rights icon Lewis.

Two months earlier, the CBC wrote a letter to Amazon stressing that the lawmakers are "troubled by the profound negative unintended consequences this form of artificial intelligence could have for African Americans, undocumented immigrants, and protestors." The CBC said the software was particularly risky because "communities of color are more heavily and aggressively policed than white communities," meaning mistakes caused by faulty facial-recognition software could prove especially harmful.

On Thursday, Amazon questioned the ACLU’s methodology for its test, stressing that the threshold the watchdog set for what qualifies as a match — a “confidence,” or similarity rating, of 80 percent — had been too low. “While 80% confidence is an acceptable threshold for photos of hot dogs, chairs, animals, or other social media use cases, it wouldn’t be appropriate for identifying individuals with a reasonable level of certainty,” an Amazon spokeswoman said.

But the ACLU of Northern California countered that 80 percent is the default setting on Amazon's facial recognition tool. "Amazon should not be encouraging customers to use that confidence level for recognizing human faces," said Jacob Snow, a technology lawyer at the organization.

Snow said the findings nonetheless affirm their worst fears: that facial-recognition technologies are too unsophisticated to be deployed by law enforcement agents, where misidentification isn’t just a privacy concern — it “could cost people their freedom or even their lives.”

The privacy watchdog called again for Congress to write broad new regulations governing the use of the technology, though lawmakers long have struggled to write any federal privacy rules around facial recognition or other high-tech tools adopted by police, including location tracking technologies.

Amazon's facial-recognition technology has worried civil liberties activists since May, after the ACLU of Northern California obtained and released an open-records request showing Rekognition in use by law enforcement agencies around the country. In Washington County, Oregon, for example, the sheriff's office had built a database of 300,000 mug shots that officers can query for information about potential suspects, The Post previously reported.

In response, civil-liberties groups including the ACLU wrote Amazon that month, demanding that the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant "stop powering a government surveillance infrastructure that poses a grave threat to customers and communities across the country."

At the time, Amazon more broadly defended its technology. “When we find that AWS services are being abused by a customer, we suspend that customer’s right to use our services,” spokeswoman Nina Lindsey said. She pointed to other uses of the Rekognition technology, from identifying celebrities at the royal wedding to locating lost children at busy amusement parks.

Las Vegas • Kyle Lowry had the ball in the right corner. He was well-defended and not able to shoot or drive, so he fired a crosscourt diagonal pass to DeMar DeRozan.

For years, that was a fine idea.

This time, it became a turnover. They were on different teams during this particular scrimmage, which seems fitting.

USA Basketball’s first minicamp of this Olympic cycle started Thursday in Las Vegas, with DeRozan and Lowry — longtime teammates in Toronto — both wearing the same uniform again. DeRozan is now with the San Antonio Spurs and set to be coached by Gregg Popovich, who just happened to be running his first national team practice Thursday.

DeRozan has made no secret: He wasn’t happy getting traded out of Toronto. But if there’s a consolation prize to be had, it’s that he now gets Popovich.

“It means everything,” DeRozan said. “I could have ended up in the middle of nowhere with Joe Blow. I ended up in a great place that wanted me that strives for greatness. You can’t ask for nothing better than that.”

DeRozan was sent to the Spurs on July 18, along with center Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first round pick, for Kawhi Leonard and wing Danny Green. Leonard was one of the 35 players invited to attend this minicamp; he was one of roughly a dozen who didn’t show, a list that also includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Popovich didn’t seem bothered that there were no-shows.

“People have lives,” Popovich said. “We had a good number of people here and the people who were invited that aren’t here have reasons, whether it’s injury or personal things going on in their lives. And we understand that.”

This two-day camp that ends Friday is little more than a get-to-know-you-better event for the players and Popovich. There are no games to play, and technically there aren’t even future tournaments to prepare for — under the new qualifying rules, the U.S. isn’t yet assured of having a spot in either the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China or the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The task of making sure the Americans get to China next year has fallen to G League players, who are being coached by Jeff Van Gundy and went 5-1 in the first round of qualifying. The second round of qualifying starts in September.

Popovich is taking over the national team reins from Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke coach who led the U.S. to Olympic gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Krzyzewski was in the gym to watch Thursday.

“He’s been great,” Popovich said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t bug him to death, ask him millions of questions and try to learn from him.”

DeRozan got some 1-on-1 interaction with his new coach toward the end of practice. Popovich chatted with him for a couple of minutes, and then Houston guard Eric Gordon joined in and the three of them went over some post strategy for guards.

It was consistent with the theme of the day for Popovich, who bounced around conversations all day long — harassing Russell Westbrook during a free throw, chatting with James Harden after one drill, then moving on for a word with Kevin Durant and finally heading over to where Kevin Love was sitting and feigning exasperation as they spoke.

“All these guys have a different story, right? Just like all of you,” Popovich said. “We all have families or kids or situations in life. It’s fun to find out who they really are over and above basketball players. It helps me coach them. It makes them feel a bigger part of the program. And they know we’re genuinely interested in them off the court.”

But as far as whether Popovich got a little something extra out of working with DeRozan, that was kept secret. Popovich wanted to keep his answers specific to USA Basketball, not the Spurs.

“That was a good try,” Popovich said to one reporter who asked about coaching DeRozan.

DeRozan spoke plenty, though. There are many tough parts to him leaving Toronto, and not having Lowry at his side anymore will be one of the very hardest for him to deal with. They were inseparable at times together Thursday, even wrapping up their end-of-practice shooting at the same time before retiring to a row of chairs to get icepacks strapped to their legs.

Lowry declined to talk Thursday, saying he would address reporters on Friday. DeRozan said some of his new teammates have reached out, and expects to talk to more Spurs in the coming weeks.

“I’m easy, man. I’m not difficult at all,” DeRozan said. “When it comes to basketball, if it’s about winning, we’re already on the same page and everything else will be easy. It’s nothing complicated. I’ve been in the league. I’ve established myself, who I am. Everything else is simple.”

He seems like a perfect fit for the Spurs, or at least The Spurs Way. DeRozan is an outstanding player who has tended to let his game do the talking — an approach that Popovich and San Antonio standouts like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, even Leonard, seem to prefer as well.

“You make me sound like I fit perfectly,” DeRozan said. “Without a doubt.”

Uncasville, Conn. • Brittney Griner will always remember her first experience at a WNBA game.

She went to watch her hometown Houston Comets play when she was a kid and when the kiss cam turned to a lesbian couple, the fans started booing. The game operations people quickly took the camera off the couple.

As society has changed, so has the WNBA.

Many of the league’s top players, including several who will be playing in this weekend’s All-Star game in Minnesota, have come out over the past few years — and it has not generated the headlines it once did. The players see themselves not as just basketball role models for young women, but hope they are also making it easier for younger players who may be struggling with their sexuality.

WNBA players’ sexual orientation was rarely publicly discussed when the league first started, but now it is embraced and topics like same-sex marriage and child care are commonplace.

“It helps so much when you have players on our level come out and tell our story,” said the 6-foot-8 Griner, who came out when she turned pro. “I’ve had young girls who look up to us that haven’t told anyone about their sexuality tell me it’s made them feel more comfortable.”

Elena Delle Donne, a captain one of the All-Star teams, revealed before the 2016 Rio Olympics that she is gay. It was just one line in a story that mentioned her then-fiancee Amanda, who Delle Donne has since married.

“It’s our times, the 2000s. It’s great to see,” she said. “I’ve been gay my whole life and was fighting it, but it wasn’t something to be ashamed of. Love is love. It’s so great to see the change over the years of people being more comfortable with it.”

Diana Taurasi married former teammate Penny Taylor in 2017. The couple has a baby now and Taurasi has joked that each fine she gets for technical fouls is taking away from her son’s diaper fund. She also has talked about how important the league’s health insurance is for her family.

Taurasi’s Phoenix teammate DeWanna Bonner has twins and is married to Indiana’s Candice Dupree.

Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird, a record 11-time All-Star, decided this past season to publicly reveal she is dating soccer star Megan Rapinoe. Bird, who is the WNBA’s career assists leader and in game’s played, credits Griner for helping pave the way.

“I saw the reaction (Griner) got and it helped me with my decision,” said Bird, who entered the WNBA at a time when the league did not openly support gay players. “I think the higher profile somebody is the more normal it becomes for other people who aren’t comfortable with the idea themselves or are familiar with it. It just normalizes it.”

Bird believes that she can help others by just sharing openly what her family and friends have known for years.

“That’s what makes it so important to come out. I didn’t see it that way at first,” Bird said. “Again as my story goes, I felt like I was open. Everyone in my life knew. I just hadn’t had this conversation with a reporter. I understand now by saying it publicly you can have an impact. That’s what we’re talking about right now.”

Delle Donne said that one of the big reasons she’s been writing her books is to help young girls.

“My character is going through that and if they can read about it and I can help them that’s great,” she said.

Members of the LGBT community have noticed the increased support from the WNBA and its star players.

“Lesbian and bi women are too often invisible in our culture so the out and proud WNBA players send invaluable messages to young women that achieving your dreams is possible regardless of who you are and who you love,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “I love attending WNBA games with my wife and our children because the WNBA and its teams have created an accepting environment for all families to cheer for the talented athletes.”

Connecticut coach Curt Miller, who is the only openly gay male coach in the WNBA, wishes he had been more vocal when he was younger coaching in college about his sexuality. He feels that he could have helped mentor other gay coaches.

“I want to try and be that person. I missed two decades where I had a platform to be that person. I missed two decades because I wasn’t always comfortable with myself because I knew everything wasn’t perfect in my life,” Miller said. “I was insecure about letting down the LGBT community because could I be a role model to other people.

“To these young men out there who maybe wanted to chase a dream in athletics because I knew I wasn’t perfect behind the scenes. I realize now that if I can help a few people realize that gay men can chase a career and chase their dreams in coaching, in playing and in front office professions there’s more out there then you realize.”

After not actively reaching out to their LGBT fan base for years, the WNBA started a league-wide pride initiative in 2014 — Griner’s second year as a pro. The WNBA was the first pro league to specifically market to the LGBT community as society has become more accepting.

“As a child of the Civil Rights era who helped integrate a school in Atlanta, I know the importance of having leaders step forward to embrace diversity and inclusion,” WNBA President Lisa Borders said. “Our players are amazing athletes, but they’re also multidimensional women who follow their passions and support causes that resonate with them."

Washington • President Donald Trump took aim at Twitter on Thursday, accusing the social media company of a “discriminatory and illegal practice” that has resulted in limiting the visibility of prominent Republicans in search results.

Republicans have been up in arms since Vice News reported Wednesday that, as a result of a technique known as “shadow banning,” Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and several conservative GOP congressman were no longer appearing in an auto-populated drop-down search box.

“Twitter ‘SHADOW BANNING’ prominent Republicans. Not good,” Trump wrote to his 53 million Twitter followers. “We will look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once! Many complaints.”

Twitter “SHADOW BANNING” prominent Republicans. Not good. We will look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once! Many complaints.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2018

A Twitter spokesman declined to comment Thursday morning on the president's tweet.

The social media company has said that it is aware that some accounts are not automatically populating in the search box and is working to address the issue.

In a tweet Wednesday, Kayvon Beykpour, head of product for Twitter, said that the company was not targeting Republicans and that it is working to alter its usage of “behavior signals” that inform its search results.

“To be clear, our behavioral ranking doesn’t make judgements based on political views or the substance of tweets,” Beykpour said.

To be clear, our behavioral ranking doesn’t make judgements based on political views or the substance of tweets. We recently publicly testified to Congress on this topic https://t.co/Zk4DL7Q3hq

— Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) July 25, 2018

Vice News reported that Democrats, including some of the party's most liberal members, were not being "shadow banned" in the same way, according to a review by the publication.

In the wake of the report, McDaniel and other Republicans have castigated Twitter.

"The notion that social media companies would suppress certain political points of view should concern every American," McDaniel said Wednesday. "Twitter owes the public answers to what's really going on."

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, also weighed in, sending a tweet Wednesday that said: “So now @Twitter is censoring @GOPChairwoman? Enough is enough with this crap.”

So now @twitter is censoring @GOPChairwoman?

Enough is enough with this crap. @Jack it’s time for you to #StopTheBias against conservatives and Trump supporters and fix this once and for all. https://t.co/JC6i6y01Ek

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 25, 2018

The president’s tweet Thursday could create new political headaches for Twitter and its tech peers in Silicon Valley, which have faced months of accusations — from the highest echelons of the Republican Party — that they are biased against conservatives.

Even though Trump is arguably Twitter's most prominent user, right-leaning users still contend that they are being unfairly targeted, censored and suspended compared to their liberal counterparts.

The accusations have even made their way into some Republicans' election-year pitches to voters: California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who is angling to become speaker of the House next year, has run ads on Facebook that fundraise around allegations of anti-conservative bias on social media.

Twitter itself has admitted mistakes, even apologizing after an incident in 2017 in which it initially banned a congresswoman from promoting a tweeted video that discussed abortion. But the company has stressed repeatedly that it seeks to apply its policies even-handedly.

"Our success as a company depends on making Twitter a safe space for free expression," said Nick Pickles, a policy aide who testified on behalf of Twitter at a congressional hearing on alleged anti-conservative bias earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey has sought to defuse tensions with conservatives through a series of private gatherings with conservative leaders.

His trip to the nation’s capital in June, for example, included a dinner with Mercedes Schlapp, one of Trump’s top aides, and Greta Van Susteren, a former Fox News host, sources previously told The Washington Post. Some in attendance told Dorsey that they felt conservatives had been painted in a negative light on the site’s Moments feature, which tracks national stories and issues. Others raised fears of shadow-banning.

Richmond, Va. • Alex Smith can hear it all: The questions, the comments, the critiques. He’s older now. And he knows it. But as he heads into his 14th NFL season — this time, as the new face of Washington’s franchise — the veteran quarterback insisted he isn’t fixated on his detractors, nor is he worried that he’s past his prime.

“I don’t necessarily want to put a label, as far as ‘prime’ ... but I feel like my best football’s still ahead of me, certainly,” the former Utah star said Thursday, following his first training camp practice with his new squad. “I still feel like I haven’t reached my potential and that still pushes me, challenges me to continue to try to get better.”

He then added with a smile: “I feel like I’m a young 34-year old and I do have a lot of ball left ahead of me and I’m excited to kind of keep pushing that, push that ceiling. I still feel like I haven’t reached it.”

Smith had his best statistical season last year in Kansas City, throwing for a career-best 4,042 passing yards, along with 26 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He also finished the year with a career-best 104.7 passer rating that led the NFL. Smith went 9-6 as the Chiefs’ starter, making his fourth postseason appearance in his fifth year with the organization. But his impressive stat line has done little to silence his critics.

“The longer you play, there’s always going to be naysayers,” said Smith, a former No. 1 overall pick who was deemed a bust by some due to his poor play in San Francisco early in his career. After seven seasons with the 49ers, he was traded in 2013 to Kansas City, where he compiled a 50-26 record.

“You’re never going to make everybody happy, there are always going to be people that, yeah, aren’t with you. That’s the nature of sports,” he said, adding that it’s “unrealistic” to please everybody. “ ... I think you hear it. I’m not naive to anything. But I think at the same time, that’s not why I’m playing.”

Flowery Branch, Ga. • Falcons coach Dan Quinn had good reason not to worry about Julio Jones showing up for training camp.

Jones told Quinn weeks ago he’d report on time, even as the wide receiver sought to have his contract renegotiated. A training camp holdout appeared to be Jones’ best path to a new deal.

Finally, the Falcons announced close to midnight on Wednesday they’d reached an agreement to renegotiate Jones’ deal next year. The news came about 16 hours before Thursday’s deadline for players to report.

The Falcons open training camp on Friday.

“I probably didn’t feel the same stress that you and the fan base had,” Quinn said at a news conference on Thursday. “There were some reports regarding him not coming. I’d known he was coming to camp for a while. That’s part of good communication, player to coaches.”

The Falcons announced Jones reported before Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline.

Quinn said he spoke with Jones earlier this month when the receiver participated in an annual offseason passing camp in California led by quarterback Matt Ryan.

“It was probably during that time that I felt comfortable he was coming to camp,” Quinn said.

The reassurance from Jones was especially important after he did not participate in the Falcons’ mandatory minicamp in June.

Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were in good spirits as they discussed how they avoided the potential distraction of a training camp holdout by one of the team’s most prominent players.

It has been a good week for the Falcons’ leadership team. Quinn and Dimitroff have new three-year contract extensions, which were announced on Wednesday.

Jones, a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection, wasn’t happy that a flurry of new contracts signed by other top NFL wide receivers moved him down the list of top-paid players at the position.

He is entering the third year of his five-year, $71.5 million contract, including $47 million in guaranteed money.

The Falcons managed to make Jones happy with an undisclosed financial “adjustment” without a dramatic change to their salary cap position for 2018. Dimitroff wouldn’t reveal details of the new agreement.

The biggest reward for Jones was the assurance the team will rework his contract following the season. That promise was delivered with more than a handshake.

“Papers are written up, sitting on a desk waiting to be signed,” Dimitroff said.

The agreement preserves Dimitroff’s flexibility in his efforts to negotiate contract extensions for defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, offensive guard Jake Matthews and safety Ricardo Allen.

The Falcons already agreed to a five-year, $150 million extension with quarterback Matt Ryan, the most lucrative deal in NFL history, this offseason.

Ryan’s contract and talks with players moving closer to free agency left little financial space to make big changes to Jones’ deal before 2019.

“We felt like we came to a good agreement,” Dimitroff said. “We were very creative with how we put this together.”

Dimitroff said talks with Jones’ agent, Jimmy Sexton, were “never contentious at all, at least from our perspective.”

Jones is expected to talk with reporters on Friday, when the Falcons have their first practice of training camp. He was not seen during the 30-minute period reporters were able to view players reporting to the team’s practice facility.

Jones’ teammates seemed to have little concern about the status of the team’s top receiver.

“Oh, I don’t know what’s going on with him,” offensive guard Andy Levitre said when asked about the team’s agreement with Jones. “He’s coming? I’m expecting everybody to be here, I guess.”

Added cornerback Brian Poole: “That’s exciting. That’s definitely exciting. Yeah. That’s exciting.”

Poole said players don’t get involved in teammates’ contract talks.

“When it comes to that kind of stuff, everybody kind of worries about himself,” Poole said.

But when it comes to Quinn and Dimitroff, having one of the league’s top receivers on the practice field is crucial to the team’s hopes for a third straight playoff appearance.

“I sleep a hell of a lot better at night,” Quinn said.

After the Utah County Health Department reopened Lincoln Beach and its marina on the eastern shores of Utah Lake on Thursday, signs that used to read “DANGER” now say “WARNING.”

It’s an upgrade that comes nearly a month after the department closed the area, including to swimmers, paddlers and sailboaters, due to toxic blue-green algal bloom conditions.

Though test results showed that cyanobacteria concentrations in the lake had dropped low enough for the area to reopen, the levels are still above the threshold for safe contact, according to a news release from the health department.

“Technically it is reopened, so people, you know, they can go and put their boats in the water,” Aislynn Tolman-Hill, a spokeswoman for the health department, told The Salt Lake Tribune. “But it would not be advisable to be getting in the water — so swimming would not be advised.”

A sample taken June 25 at the Lincoln Beach marina showed cyanobacteria density was 14 times higher than a sample taken June 20 — indicating a quickly deteriorating concentration, according to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Concentrations of a particularly hazardous cyanobacteria, known as Dolichospermum, spiked to 36 million cells per milliliter, nearly four times the threshold for a “danger” advisory, prompting the closure.

The cell concentrations are now below 10 million cells per millimeter, according to the health department.

Blue-green algae are natural parts of many freshwater ecosystems, but high levels of nutrients in the water, combined with high temperatures and calm water, can promote rapid growth. High concentrations of blooms, which consist of cyanobacteria, then pose a risk to human health.

“When we’re experiencing long periods of dry, hot weather like we have been, and stagnant heat where we don’t have a lot of storms and things that can kind of churn up the water — that’s certainly the situation we have been in — it’s kind of the perfect environment for that bacteria to grow,” Tolman-Hill said.

Exposure to those toxins can lead to rash, stomach ache, headache, diarrhea and more serious symptoms, said Tolman-Hill. Dogs are particularly at risk and have died after swimming in the infected waters.

This isn’t the first time algae have prompted closures. In July 2016, the blooms spread across 90 percent of the lake, forcing the Utah Department of Health to close it completely.

The Division of Water Quality will continue to monitor the conditions at Lincoln Beach with new samples, and its algal program posts periodic updates at habs.utah.gov.

People who are concerned about possible exposure to the toxic water should contact their doctor or the Utah Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222.

Pau, France • Arnaud Demare was rewarded Thursday for hauling his muscular frame over the Alps and through the Pyrenees.

Geraint Thomas, meanwhile, is preparing to cement his hold on the yellow jersey in Friday’s final mountain test of the Tour de France.

After many of his competitors were unable to get through the mountains, Demare took advantage by dominating a mass sprint in Stage 18.

It marked the first victory by a French team, Groupama-FDJ, in this year’s race.

Sprinters Fernando Gaviria of Colombia and Dylan Groenewegen — who had each won two stages in this Tour — called it quits during Stage 12 to Alpe d’Huez. That came a day after Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel, who have a combined 44 Tour stage wins between them, failed to make the time cut on another mountain leg.

Demare said he was motivated by an accusation on social media from Andre Greipel, a top German sprinter, who alleged that Demare held on to his team car on the way up the grueling Col du Portet in Stage 17.

Demare finished Wednesday’s stage second to last but managed to avoid the time cut as thousands of French spectators cheered him on.

Greipel, who also quit in Stage 12, later apologized on Twitter, saying he had relied on “incorrect” information.

“It hurt me enormously,” Demare said. “It’s a shame that people cast doubts over my performance and my hard work. ... I thought a lot about (Greipel) today. It’s not in my mindset or my philosophy to (cheat). I worked hard in the mountains before the Tour and, as a result, I made it through mountain stages when most of the sprinters did not.”

Demare, who failed to make the cut on a climb in the Alps last year, had time to celebrate as he crossed the line with his arms wide open ahead of fellow Frenchman Christophe Laporte.

Alexander Kristoff of Norway crossed third in the same time.

After two grueling days in the Pyrenees, Thomas was able to enjoy his seventh day in the yellow jersey during the less challenging 171-kilometer (106-mile) leg from Trie-Sur-Baise to Pau, which featured only two minor climbs and a flat finish.

Thomas remained 1 minute, 59 seconds ahead of Tom Dumoulin with the Welshman’s Sky teammate and four-time champion Chris Froome third, 2:31 behind.

Only two challenging stages remain — a lengthy leg through the Pyrenees on Friday including three major climbs, then a technical individual time trial on Saturday — before the mostly ceremonial finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday.

Stage 19 starts in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes and takes the peloton over legendary climbs like the Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aubisque.

“We’re expecting the worst, hoping for the best. ... It’s the last mountain stage and I think guys will try to take every opportunity they can,” Thomas said. “But we’ve been riding real well the whole race, so hopefully we can keep that going for one more day.”

After Froome cracked on the Col du Portet, all of Sky’s strategy is aimed at getting Thomas to Paris in yellow — meaning Froome may have to help.

“Hopefully we won’t have to use Froomey. Hopefully we’ll have strength in numbers and he’ll be able to just follow as well,” Thomas said. “But obviously having Froomey at my disposal, so to speak, is just phenomenal.”

Perhaps a bigger worry for Thomas and Froome concerns the unruly fans who have consistently affected this Tour by spitting at riders — or even reaching out to grab them.

One fan who reached over the barriers nearly took Thomas down on Wednesday

“I thought it was maybe an accident, just maybe an overly exuberant fan,” Thomas said. “But when I got back to the hotel and was showed the pictures it was obviously something else. It’s not nice. It’s not what you want.”

On a warm day in southern France, Stage 18 took riders through the vineyards of Madiran to the city of Pau, the birthplace of 16th-century King Henri IV. It was the 70th time that the Tour passed through Pau, which first hosted the race in 1930.

Five riders — Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Mathew Hayman (Mitchelton-Scott), Luke Durbridge (Mitchelton-Scott), Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors) and Thomas Boudat (Direct Energie) — were involved in an early breakaway. The sprinters’ teams never let them get much more than two minutes ahead, and they were caught with 16.5 kilometers to go.

Otherwise, it was a very calm stage except for a minor crash involving Stage 17 winner Nairo Quintana and British rider Adam Yates midway through the route. Both riders got back on their bikes and continued without apparent problems.

Kids paddle around in kayaks at Farmington Pond as temperatures climb near 100 degrees Thursday afternoon. Wasatch Front temperatures are forecast to remain in the 90s through the weekend.

St. George • A teenager accused of trying to blow up a homemade backpack bomb at school after looking at Islamic State propaganda online will stand trial as an adult on two felony counts, a judge decided Thursday.

Authorities have said 16-year-old Martin R. Farnsworth wanted to cause fear after seeing the propaganda.

The device he is accused of bringing March 5 to Hurricane High School in St. George did not explode, and no one was hurt.

He is charged with attempted murder and using a weapon of mass destruction, each charge punishable by at least five years and up to life in prison, KUTV reported .

Investigators found no connections between the boy and the terror group.

In the juvenile system, defendants can only be held until 21. Prosecutors argued the teenager hasn’t shown remorse and would do it again if he wasn’t in a secure facility.

Defense attorneys say Farnsworth was bullied and suffers from a form of autism that keeps him from understanding the effects of his actions.

The Associated Press does not typically identify juveniles accused of crimes, but Farnsworth has been certified to face trial as an adult.

He earned his Eagle Scout award at 13 and got good grades in school but has few close friends and is seen as awkward, his lawyer Matthew Harris has said. Harris wanted the case to stay in the rehabilitation-focused juvenile system.

Farnsworth was also accused of using spray paint to write about ISIS on a wall at the school in February. In that case, police have said he also cut up an U.S. flag and replaced it on a flag pole with a homemade ISIS flag.

He will be tried as a juvenile on misdemeanor graffiti and abuse of a flag charges in that case.

He has not entered a plea in either case.

Kansas City, Mo. • Alex Morgan capped a seemingly effortless hat trick by converting off a dazzling piece of footwork by Tobin Heath, and the U.S. rolled to a 4-2 victory over Japan on Thursday night in its opening match of the four-team Tournament of Nations.

Megan Rapinoe also had a goal and an assist for the world’s top-ranked team, which hasn’t lost since the Americans dropped their opening match of the same tournament to Australia last year.

The rematch of those powerhouses is Sunday in East Hartford, Connecticut, after the Matildas opened the defense of their Tournament of Nations title with a 3-1 victory over Brazil on Thursday.

Morgan scored her first goal in the 18th minute when she flicked a pass from Rapinoe past Japanese goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita. And her second came a scant eight minutes later, when Emily Sonnett gathered a cross from Crystal Dunn and popped it ahead to Morgan, who headed in the goal.

The hat trick was complete after Heath, who had just entered as a substitute, made two Japanese defenders look foolish along the end line. She then swung a centering pass that was deflected to Morgan, who deposited it for her first three-goal game since Olympic qualifying in February 2016.

Rapinoe added her goal — and a bizarre, foot-stomping celebration afterward — in the 66th minute as the U.S. team ramped up the offense just as it begins ramping up for World Cup qualifying.

They can secure their spot next year in France during the CONCACAF tournament in October.

The performance by coach Jill Ellis’s squad Thursday night wasn’t entirely without fault, though.

After scoring the opener on Morgan’s quick-twitch flick, the U.S. defense quickly broke down, and Mini Tanaka beat defender Abby Dahlkemper and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher for a matching goal.

Then, midway through the second half, Japan’s Moeno Sakaguchi made a nifty move against Heath before sending a curling shot into the upper corner of the net to trim a three-goal deficit to two.

It was nonetheless a solid performance by the Americans in what has become a competitive rivalry with Japan. The teams split matches in the past two World Cup finals, and the U.S. beat Asia’s top team in the gold medal match at the 2012 London Olympics.

Earlier Thursday, defending champ Australia built on an own-goal by Poliana and another mistake by the Brazilian defender in cruising to a 3-1 victory to open the tournament at Children’s Mercy Park.

Tameka Butt added a goal and an assist for the Matildas. Marta scored a late goal for Brazil.

In Utah’s only close congressional contest, Republican Rep. Mia Love has used tried-and-true conservative attacks on her Democratic opponent, Ben McAdams: attempting to tie him to unpopular House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and paint him as a champion of unrestricted abortion rights.

McAdams dispatched with the first charge quickly — pledging that if elected he wouldn’t vote for Pelosi for speaker (though Love warned a Democratic majority would inevitably restore Pelosi to the top spot).

Dealing with the second line of attack is somewhat more complicated — as is the abortion issue itself.

It began at the Salt Lake County Republican Convention in April, when Love charged that McAdams was in the race to push “unrestricted abortion and use your money to pay for it.”

Love then relayed a story about one of her daughters saying that she is a conservative “because if you’re a country that decides that you’re going to kill our babies, you are pretty much good for nothing.”

McAdams responded quickly, tweeting that his opponent’s characterizations of him were untrue and out of line.

“As an active Mormon, I find this attack offensive & not the way we do things in Utah. Typical mudslinging from a typical Washington insider. If she spent time listening to our issues, she could talk about that. We deserve better than partisan rhetoric and personal attacks.”

As an active Mormon, I find this attack offensive & not the way we do things in Utah. Typical mudslinging from a typical Washington insider. If she spent time listening to our issues, she could talk about that. We deserve better than partisan rhetoric and personal attacks. #utpol https://t.co/hP0eBQghm4

— Ben McAdams (@BenMcAdams) April 14, 2018

More recently, Love sent out a franked flyer to constituents, touting her “pro-life values” coupled with “commonsense solutions.”

“Mia will always fight to protect life. Her pro-life principles and votes in Congress are non-negotiable.”

There was no mention of her election opponent, which would be a violation of rules for the taxpayer-funded mailers.

At the same time, she pointed to her introduction of legislation that would allow women to obtain birth control over the counter. “It’s common sense to empower women to avoid unwanted pregnancies instead of leaving them to choose an abortion after a pregnancy occurs.”

Love says her focus on abortion in recent months isn’t just a campaign tactic — it’s who she is.

“There is not one person that [doesn’t] know that one of the most important things I’ve ever done out there [in Congress] is I have been unapologetically pro-life. … I’ve gone out, I’ve been one of the main spokespersons here in Congress on the pro-life issue.

“And my stance has always been the same,” Love said. “No abortions; to protect life at all stages of development, except in cases of rape, incest or life of a mother [threatened].”

McAdams said that is precisely his position, too (as well as that of the Mormon church, of which both are members).

“I’d say, like many Utahns, I have deeply held beliefs about the sanctity of life and what we can do to promote the sanctity of life,” the Salt Lake County mayor said in an interview.

“You know, my position hasn’t changed,” McAdams said. “I think abortion is far too common in America, and we should be taking steps to reduce abortion[s]. A lot of that is through education and greater access to contraception, but I think there are a lot of steps that I would support to reduce the number of abortions.”

McAdams, in an earlier interview with Salt Lake Tribune contributing columnist Holly Richardson, said, "Ultimately, decisions about terminating a pregnancy should be made by a woman in consultation with her physician, family members and faith counselors she trusts.”

Love takes issue with McAdams' claims of consistency.

Her campaign points to McAdams’ voting record from 2009-2012 as a state senator, which aides have combed through.

“He opposed a 72-hour waiting period,” Love said, referring to McAdams’ vote on HB461, a 2012 bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Gary Herbert requiring women seeking an abortion in the state to wait at least 72 business hours between an information visit and undergoing the procedure.

McAdams was one of six senators, all Democrats, who voted against the bill during its final Senate hearing. “It was just 72 hours,” Love said. “That’s it, and he voted against it.”

One study in the aftermath of the law raises questions about Its effectiveness in reducing abortions.

In April 2016, medical researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, found that only an estimated 2 percent of women who were sure of their decision before attending an information session changed their minds during the state-mandated waiting period. “Overall, Utah’s 72-hour waiting period and two-visit requirement did not prevent women who had required information visits … from proceeding to having abortions,” the researchers wrote. “But the legally required delays did burden women with extra financial costs and logistical hassles and caused them to dwell on decisions they had already made.”

Love further noted McAdams' 2011 vote on HB353, a bill recognizing the right of a health care provider to refuse to participate in an abortion. “So his votes are in complete contrast to what he is saying,” said Love. “So he is going to have to explain that. I mean, I certainly would if it were me, and, you know, this is one of those things that voters have a right to know where you’re going to be.”

The Tribune, in its own review, found that there were at least seven bills related to restricting access to abortion that McAdams voted against as a state senator. For example, he was among seven senators to vote against HB200 in 2010, an eventually passed bill requiring doctors to describe ultrasound images to a woman before she receives an abortion. The next year, McAdams opposed HB171, a law mandating that the Utah Department of Health randomly inspect abortion clinics in the state twice a year.

But McAdams said many of his votes were due to what he considered flaws in the way the legislation was written, not evidence of a pro-abortion-rights stance. He brought up HB12, a controversial 2010 bill that would have imposed criminal penalties on women who obtained illegal abortions and noted that the bill was vetoed by Herbert.

“Those particular bills were problematic," McAdams said. “All of the bills were poorly drafted." They had "problems that I would have liked to see addressed. And they weren’t addressed.”

McAdams feared the bill criminalizing illegal abortions “would have imposed a criminal penalty on a woman who had an accident that resulted in a miscarriage, like a fall skiing or on a four-wheeler,” the former state senator said. “And, you know, a mother in those circumstances needs support and counseling from her loved ones after an accident, and to criminalize a tragedy in the life of a mother was the wrong thing to do. And that’s why I opposed it, and that’s why the governor vetoed it.”

McAdams still voted against an amended version of the bill, HB462, that changed the original wording to exclude charges against women whose “reckless” actions, such as slipping on ice or driving without a seat belt, had led to the termination of a pregnancy, The Tribune reported in 2010. McAdams told AlterNet, a national progressive news publication, he thought the revised bill — which was signed by Herbert — would “open up a Pandora’s box” of unintended legal consequences.

Despite Love’s skepticism, McAdams insists that he holds, and always has held, an anti-abortion view.

McAdams said he views Love’s criticisms of his abortion voting record as political attacks aimed at distracting from the pressing issues at stake in November’s election.

“I assume she has no record to run on, so she’s distorting my position and my record to distract from her lack of accomplishments,” McAdams said. “I don’t think she has much to campaign on, so she has has to go on the attack and try to distort my record.”

Love maintains that she just wants the mayor to clarify his position about an issue she is passionate about.

“I’m a mom,” she said. “I’ve gone through miscarriages, which have been horrible for me and for my family. And there are so many people that are looking for beautiful children to be able to bring into their homes and into this world, and I think that we lose our potential and we have less” when abortion is legal.

A Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll in June showed Love with a 6 percentage point lead over McAdams, 45 percent to 39 percent, with a margin of error of 5 points, plus or minus. The Tribune reported earlier this month that both candidates have about $1.2 million in campaign funds.

UtahPolicy reported in June that a poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates found that 49 percent of 4th District voters believe abortion should be “illegal in most cases,” while a little over a quarter say “legal in most cases.” Twelve percent believe it should be “legal in all cases” and 8 percent say “illegal in all cases.”

Utah has one of the lowest abortion rates in the country, and pregnancy termination rates both statewide and nationally have been declining for decades and are at historic lows.

The partly-made-in-Utah series “Westworld” was a critical and social media darling in Season 1. In Season 2, the reactions were somewhat mixed.

There was some backlash against the show’s convoluted, sometimes confusing storylines. And the violence.

Even though Season 1 was also convoluted, confusing and violent.

But HBO president Casey Bloys isn’t exactly worried. “I wouldn’t agree that the backlash was widespread,” he told members of the Television Critics Association.

He has a point. Just because there are complaints on social media doesn’t mean they amount to much. You don’t have to look very hard online to find all kinds of complaining about “Game of Thrones,” and that show is more popular than ever.

“Westworld” has already been renewed for Season 3, by the way. And, while nothing is official, it’s expected to return to Utah to shoot more of those gorgeous exteriors.

It’s also worth pointing out that while, yes, “Westworld” received fewer Emmy nominations this year than it did last year, it’s not exactly a big drop. It got 22 last year, tying “Saturday Night Live” for the most; it got 21 this year, a single nomination behind the 2018 leader, “Game of Thrones.”

But Bloys’ defense of “Westworld” went beyond just disputing the premise of the criticism.

“The people who love it really love it,” he said, adding that “even the people who dislike it feel the need to discuss it and talk about it. And let you know they dislike it. And debate. And for a show to arouse that kind of feeling, that’s what we want.”

In other words, they don’t care why you watch, as long as you’re still watching. And paying for HBO.

Speaking of ‘Game of Thrones’ • Bloys announced that the final season of “Game of Thrones” will debut in the first half of 2019. Which means that, at best, we’ll see the six episodes in about five months. At worst, it’ll be about 11 months.

I just hope I live long enough to see how it ends. Sigh.

As for that “GoT” prequel, HBO is “hoping” it goes into production in early 2019.

At long last, 'Deadwood’ • Bloys also announced that the long-rumored, oft-delayed “Deadwood” follow-up TV movie will go into production in October and air sometime in 2019.

“It’s been a logistics nightmare getting all the cast members’ schedules together, but we are there,” Bloys said. “It is greenlit.”

I’ll believe it when I see it.

The profane, violent Western aired its last episode on Aug. 27, 2006 — a dozen years ago.

If you’re still anxiously awaiting the return of “Deadwood,” more power to you. I can’t even remember that final episode — and I haven’t cared enough to go back and check.