USA DAWN: NEWS AND UPDATES

It was a good night for John Cena, who might finally have the crowd in his corner after A.J. Styles pissed all over his comeback, right in the midst of a fiery speech about Dylan Thomas. But before I lose my train of thought and derail this introduction like it were Golden Truth's momentum, here are the five key insights (in addition to the usual accompaniment of Twitter-friendly sidebar fodder) I took away from the May 30, 2016 edition of   Raw . It was a great night for folks who think WWE motors best when there's a murderers' row of malevolent heels manning the card. Styles, Gallows and Anderson, Seth Rollins, Charlotte, Kevin Owens…hell, even Rusev's looking fierce again holding down the midcard as U.S. Champ. In retrospect, good thing they hit the gas on New Day as fan favorites. 5. Hybrid Theory That's right, a Linkin Park reference. I'm OK with it. My gripe here has to do with tag-team-nickname fatigue. I love a good pun or play on words more tha...

Just after midnight Tuesday, in one of the last shootings of the Memorial Day weekend, two people pulled out guns and started firing in East Garfield Park. The first call to police was for one person shot on Homan Avenue. Then a second victim. Then a third. Then someone walked into a hospital a few minutes later. In all, 27 of the 69 people hit by gunfire over the weekend were shot in or near the Harrison District, one of the city's most violent and one of the most heavily patrolled by police. So many people were shot there that Deputy Superintendent John Escalante promised Sunday to beef up patrols.  Nine more people were shot there by early Tuesday. The rest of the weekend shootings were scattered across Chicago.  They happened as far north as West Rogers Park and northwest as Jefferson Park and as far south as the West Pullman neighborhood.  The violence centered on the West Side, though. Seven of the shooting incidents on the West Side had more than one vi...

PITTSBURGH — They were banged up, beat up and, perhaps, fed up on Sunday, so much  so that they could not show up for Media Day at the Stanley Cup final.  Good thing Kris Letang and Nick Bonino weren’t no-shows on Monday. In this, an exhilarating opener in what stands to be an outstanding final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks, Letang and Bonino produced one special snapshot of brilliance that now has the hosts leading this best-of-seven series 1-0 entering Game 2 on Wednesday. With the Consol Energy Center clock precariously ticking down toward overtime, Letang, seeing that star Sharks defenceman Brent Burns was without his stick, went deep into the San Jose zone. With the puck on his stick, he looked up to see a welcoming sight. “I saw (Bonino) on the back post and just tried to get it to him,” Letang said. Mission accomplished. Letang’s outstanding feed was converted by Bonino past Sharks goalie Martin Jones, giving the Penguins a 3-2 ...

When it comes to American sporting traditions, there are few events as storied as the Indianapolis 500. It's a 500-mile test of speed, endurance, and bravery that takes place at the end of May. It takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile (4km) race track that's not only the oldest of its kind but also the largest sporting venue anywhere on Earth. And this year's Indy 500 is a special one—it's the race's 100th running. With speeds well in excess of 200mph (321km/h), it's the fastest race on the motorsport's calendar, and this year Ars was in attendance along with more than 350 thousand others to take in what's often called  the greatest spectacle in racing. The Track As we'll see, the cars have changed a lot over the course of those hundred runnings. And the race has gone through good times—with crowds topping 400,000—and bad. There's been innovation, and more than its fair share of tragedy. But throughout it all the tr...

A n Indianapolis 500 rookie who only a few months ago lost his drive in Formula One thanks to sport’s extortionate pay driver rates won the 100 th  installment of North America’s most famous race in front of nearly 400,000 people at the Brickyard. Alexander Rossi, the 24-year-old American, had almost no experience of oval racing before taming the fearsome Indianapolis Motor Speedway, winning ahead of a vastly more experienced field. While the rest of the leaders had to pit for fuel near the finish, Rossi and his team Andretti-Herta gambled, almost coasting through the chequered flag with barely any fuel left in the car. Not only is it the first win for a rookie in the Indy 500 for 15 years it also marks an astonishing turnaround for Rossi, a talented victim of Formula One’s pay driver market. Rossi raced in five grand prix for Manor last year, with a best of 12 th at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. "It was close obviously [on fuel], too close for comfort,...

Pulido, a striker on Greece's Olympiakos team, was kidnapped on Sunday in his home in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Military and police forces had been searching for the 25- year-old in the state of Tamaulipas   Mexican football player Alan Pulido, who was recently kidnapped, has been rescued safe and sound, Mexican authorities said. Pulido , a striker on Greece's Olympiakos team, was kidnapped on Sunday in his home in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, law enforcement officials said. Family members told authorities that six armed men snatched Pulido around dawn in his hometown of Ciudad Victoria in the northwest of the country. Military and police forces had been searching for the 25-year-old in Tamaulipas, which shares a border with the US. It is one of  Mexico 's most dangerous states, where drug trafficking and kidnappings are rampant. Certain roads are so dangerous that the federal police sometimes escort travelers in protective convoys. Tamaulipas is h...

The 1991 classic Disney fairytale “Beauty and the Beast” is finally getting a refashioned makeover as its enchanting trailer was released  on Monday . “Harry Potter” alumnus Emma Watson will star as Belle, the gorgeous young heroine. In the trailer, the memorable voices of original characters Lumière and Cogsworth were heard conversing to each other. “Look, a girl,” Lumière exclaimed, who is voiced by Ewan McGregor. “What if she is the one?” Watson was focused on the trailer’s final scene as she attempts to touch the Beast’s forbidden red rose. The film’s release date and the words “Be Our Guest”, which was the tale’s popular song, glistened the screen. Accompanying Watson in the main cast is “Downtown Abbey” seasoned British actor Dan Stevens, who will appear in the film as the Beast, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Acclaimed star Emma Thompson will play Mrs. Potts while Welsh actor Luke Evans will portray the boastful antagonist and Belle’s annoying lo...

Image copyright World-of-Warcraft-maker Blizzard has released its first original gaming franchise in nearly two decades. Overwatch - a first-person shooter - also marks the first time the studio has launched a title worldwide on PC and consoles simultaneously. WoW is the second bestselling PC game of all time, but its subscriber numbers have halved since their peak in 2010. Blizzard predicts strong sales of Overwatch and hopes it will attract large audiences as an e-sport. The game is a departure from the developer's previous hits, in which players usually viewed the world from a god-like, third-person perspective. Instead, players look directly down the barrel of their weapon as they roam a colourful world battling other gamers. Image copyright Image caption Overwatch is a colourful first-person shooter "Blizzard has a huge following on a global basis and is one of the best renowned publishers," said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at the IHS Technol...