MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan has a 70% chance of winning Serie A according to history.
In 63 of the 93 previous Serie A seasons, the team which topped the table at the midway point went on to claim the scudetto.
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AC Milan's head coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Genoa, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Napoli's Scott McTominay, center, and Parma's Mariano Troilo, left, in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Parma, in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte watches the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Napoli in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Inter Milan's head coach Cristian Chivu reacts at the end of the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Lecce in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Inter Milan's Francesco Pio Esposito celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Lecce in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Inter strong-armed its way to the title of winter champion on Wednesday when Pio Esposito flexed his muscles.
“This semi title doesn’t mean anything,” Inter coach Cristian Chivu said. “What matters is getting to the end, getting to May, getting there knowing that we are competitive, staying fixed to the top of the table … because it will be a tight league campaign and a battle until the very end.”
It has been tight this season but Inter created a gap at the top of the table on Wednesday.
The 1-0 win over Lecce combined with Napoli’s goalless draw against Parma gave the Nerazzurri a six-point advantage over AC Milan and defending champion Napoli.
AC Milan, second on goal difference, could cut the gap back to three points if it wins at Como on Thursday.
Two years ago, Inter was on top at the midway point and went on to win Serie A. However, it was also the last team to be named winter champion and lose out on the trophy — in 2022, when the crown went to AC Milan.
Inter visits Udinese on Saturday, shortly after Napoli hosts Sassuolo. Milan welcomes Lecce on Sunday.
Napoli has reeled off three straight draws going into its match with struggling Sassuolo.
Antonio Conte’s team fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against relegation-threatened Hellas Verona, then drew by the same scoreline in a thrilling title showdown against Inter before Wednesday’s frustration.
Sassuolo has just one win from its past nine matches and that came over a month ago.
Juventus and Roma were just a point behind Napoli and any further slip up could see them leapfrog the defending champion. Juventus visits Cagliari on Saturday, the day before Roma plays at Torino.
Bologna has slid down the table following a miserable run of results and hasn’t won since November. Coach Vincenzo Italiano will be up against his former team in the visit of relegation-threatened Fiorentina.
Pio Esposito has come from Serie B to scoring in every competition for Inter this season, as well as netting three for Italy. The 20-year-old ticked another box when he finally scored at San Siro for the first time in Serie A.
“I’ve been waiting for this goal for a long time and finally it’s here,” he said. “It was amazing to score at home in front of these fans. I’ve dreamed of it since I was a kid wearing this shirt.”
Esposito is already being touted as Italy’s next great center forward and celebrated the goal by showing his muscles before a warm embrace with Chivu.
“We have a bond that goes beyond words but there’s lots of respect and affection,” Esposito said. “We grew together, me as a player and him as a coach.”
Napoli’s frustrating evening on the same night had much to do with Parma goalkeeper Filippo Rinaldi on his Serie A debut. He was named player of the match.
Conte will again be forced to watch from the stands as the Napoli coach serves the second of a two-match suspension after he was sent off at San Siro.
Napoli will hope David Neres will make a proper return. The Brazilian came on as a second-half substitute against Parma after missing the past couple of matches with an ankle sprain but he was clearly not fully fit and was taken off shortly before fulltime.
Key Inter midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu has strained his left calf and is expected to be sidelined for three weeks.
There will be no Italy training camp in February ahead of a crucial World Cup playoff in March.
Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso hoped the Italian soccer federation and Lega Serie A could come to an agreement to amend the fixture list to give the Azzurri a few days to spend together.
But it was confirmed this week that would not be the case, as a congested fixture list and television demands made it impossible to find a window.
Italy last played on Nov. 16 and will meet up on the night of March 22, just four days before the World Cup semifinal playoff against Northern Ireland.
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AC Milan's head coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Genoa, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Napoli's Scott McTominay, center, and Parma's Mariano Troilo, left, in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Parma, in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte watches the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Napoli in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Inter Milan's head coach Cristian Chivu reacts at the end of the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Lecce in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Inter Milan's Francesco Pio Esposito celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Lecce in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act to justify deploying troops as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement persist in Minneapolis.
Trump made the threat to “quickly put an end to the travesty” after a federal officer shot a man in the leg while being attacked with a shovel and broom handle on Wednesday. The incident further heightened the sense of fear and anger radiating across the city a week after an immigration agent fatally shot a woman in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
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The governor of Maine and the mayors of its two largest cities acknowledged widespread speculation that ICE enforcement actions are imminent in the state, which is home to large immigrant communities from Somalia and other African nations.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said aggressive enforcement actions that undermine civil rights are “not welcome” in the state. Mills, the mayors of Portland and Lewiston and Maine’s largest school district all acknowledged that the possibility of ICE enforcement has created a nervous atmosphere in Maine.
“But if they come here, I want any federal agents — and the president of the United States — to know what this state stands for: We stand for the rule of law. We oppose violence. We stand for peaceful protest. We stand for compassion, for integrity and justice,” Mills said in video released Wednesday.
Democrats across the country are proposing state law changes to rein in federal immigration officers and protect the public following the shooting death of a protester in Minneapolis and the wounding of two people in Portland, Oregon.
Many of the measures have been proposed in some form for years in Democratic-led states, but their momentum is growing as legislatures return to work amid President Donald Trump’s national immigration crackdown following the killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis. Republicans are pushing back, blaming protesters for impeding enforcement of immigration laws.
When Trump entered office, immigration was among his strongest issues. An AP-NORC Poll published Thursday suggests that it has since faded, a troubling sign for Trump who campaigned on crackdowns to illegal immigration.
Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, down from 49% at the start of his second term. The most recent poll was conducted January 8-11, shortly after the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.
There are still signs that Americans give Trump some leeway on immigration issues. Nearly half of Americans — 45% — say Trump has “helped” immigration and border security in his second term.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote Thursday on social media, “Motor Tanker Veronica had previously passed through Venezuelan waters, and was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
The Veronica is the sixth tanker seized by U.S. forces as the Trump administration moves to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
Noem wrote that the raid was carried out with “close coordination with our colleagues” in the military as well as the State and Justice departments.
“Our heroic Coast Guard men and women once again ensured a flawlessly executed operation, in accordance with international law,” Noem added.
The Associated Press has reached out to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for comment on Trump’s latest threat to invoke the Insurrection Act.
During a televised speech before the latest shooting, Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what’s happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” he said. “Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act and send troops to Minneapolis, Trump noted that presidents have used the 19th century law many times. This is true — but they haven’t necessarily done it in the circumstances found in Minneapolis, where the tensions have arisen from Trump already sending federal authorities into the city.
In modern times, the act has been used to mobilize troops to help local authorities or to ensure a federal court order is carried out.
The law was last used in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to help quell riots in Los Angeles after local officials asked for the assistance. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson all invoked it during the Civil Rights Movement to help enforce desegregation orders in Southern states where state and local governments were resisting.
A 1964 Justice Department memo said the act can apply in three circumstances: when a state requests help, when deployment is needed to enforce a federal court order, or when “state and local law enforcement have completely broken down.”
In a statement describing the events that led to Wednesday’s shooting, Homeland Security said federal law enforcement officers stopped a person from Venezuela who was in the U.S. illegally. The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before taking off on foot, DHS said.
After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment and all three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.
The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it said.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara’s account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security. O’Hara said the man shot was in the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
Jacob Frey spoke Wednesday night after federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd while protesters threw rocks and shot fireworks.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” he said.
Frey described a federal force that is five times as big as the city’s 600-officer police force and has “invaded” the city, scaring and angering residents, some of whom want the officers to “fight ICE agents.”
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down.
Trump made the threat Thursday after a federal officer trying to make an arrest shot a man in the leg Wednesday after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle. The incident further heightened the sense of fear and anger radiating across the city a week after an immigration agent fatally shot a woman in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
▶ Read more about Trump’s latest threats to Minnesota
An AP-NORC poll from January found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance as president. That’s virtually unchanged from March 2025, shortly after he took office for the second time.
The new poll also shows subtle signs of vulnerability for Trump, mainly regarding the economy and immigration.
Two senators from opposite parties are joining forces in a renewed push to ban members of Congress from trading stocks, an effort that has broad public support but has repeatedly stalled on Capitol Hill.
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Republican Sen. Ashley Moody of Florida on Thursday plan to introduce legislation, first shared with The Associated Press, that would bar lawmakers and their immediate family members from trading or owning individual stocks.
It’s the latest in a flurry of proposals in the House and the Senate to limit stock trading in Congress, lending bipartisan momentum to the issue. But the sheer number of proposals has clouded the path forward. Republican leaders in the House are pushing their own bill on stock ownership, an alternative that critics have dismissed as watered down.
▶ Read more about the cross-party effort
Senate Republicans voted to dismiss a war powers resolution Wednesday that would have limited Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks on Venezuela after two GOP senators reversed course on supporting the legislation.
Trump put intense pressure on five Republican senators who joined with Democrats to advance the resolution last week and ultimately prevailed in heading off passage of the legislation. Two of the Republicans — Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana — flipped under the pressure.
Vice President JD Vance had to break the 50-50 deadlock in the Senate on a Republican motion to dismiss the bill.
The outcome of the high-profile vote demonstrated how Trump still has command over much of the Republican conference, yet the razor-thin vote tally also showed the growing concern on Capitol Hill over the president’s aggressive foreign policy ambitions.
▶ Read more about the war powers vote
While President Donald Trump says he’ll take action on Greenland whether its people “ like it or not, ” his newly handpicked U.S. special envoy is setting off on his own approach.
Gov. Jeff Landry, appointed as envoy in December, said he is not interested in meeting diplomats. The Republican has not visited the Arctic island and did not attend Wednesday’s meeting at the White House that included Danish officials, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, the governor was scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday and Friday for meetings that include the topic of Greenland, Landry’s spokesperson Kate Kelly said.
▶ Read more about Landry 's new role
Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
FILE - President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Air Force One from Florida, Jan. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
