LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Postal officials unveiled a commemorative stamp of boxing legend Muhammad Ali in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, on Thursday, featuring a photo of the champ in his fighting prime.
The Postal Service printed 22 million of the Ali stamps, which feature an Associated Press photo from 1974 showing the fighter holding up his gloves in a fighting stance. His last name, in bold black and red all-cap lettering, accents the stamp.
“We honor Muhammad Ali here in his hometown, a city that shaped him and that he reshaped forever,” said longtime broadcaster Bob Costas, who hosted the unveiling event.
The champ's friends and family gathered to celebrate the issuance of the stamp, which went on sale Thursday.
“This stamp will travel millions of miles, it will pass through countless hands, but it will quietly remind the world of a man who dared to believe that kindness could be powerful and that being in service to others could be heroic,” said his widow, Lonnie Ali.
The outspoken three-time heavyweight champ mesmerized the world with his brash poetry and personality. He stayed in the spotlight in his post-fighting days by continuing his philanthropy and support of human rights issues. In his boxing days, Ali once quipped that he should be on a postage stamp because “that’s the only way I’ll ever get licked.”
The Forever Stamps come with a stamp sheet that also features a photo of Ali posing in a pinstripe suit, a recognition of his work as an activist and humanitarian.
Born Cassius Clay Jr., Ali, who changed his name after converting to Islam, died in 2016 at the age of 74 after living with Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades. He is buried in Louisville.
During his lifetime and posthumously, the man known as The Greatest has received numerous awards, including an Olympic gold medal in 1960, the United Nations Messenger of Peace award in 1998, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
Commemorative stamps featuring boxing legend Muhammad Ali are purchased after the stamp was unveiled by the U.S. Postal Service in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Dylan Lovan)
Lonnie Ali, widow of Muhammad Ali, speaks at an unveiling of a U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp of the boxing legend in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Dylan Lovan)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the eastern sea, South Korea’s military said, staging its own show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, but didn’t immediately say how far they flew. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the weapons landed in waters outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The South’s Joint Chiefs said the military has stepped up surveillance and is maintaining readiness against possible additional launches while closely sharing information with the U.S. and Japan.
The launches came as the U.S. and South Korean militaries conduct their annual springtime exercises involving thousands of troops while the Trump administration also wages an escalating war in the Middle East.
The war has raised concerns about potential security lapses in South Korea, as local media — citing security camera footage and other images — have speculated that the U.S. is relocating some missile defense assets stationed in the country to support operations against Iran.
When asked by The Associated Press this week whether U.S. Forces Korea was moving interceptor missiles from its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system in Seongju to the Middle East, President Lee Jae Myung’s office said it could not confirm details about U.S. military operations.
The office said the potential relocation of U.S. military assets would not affect the allies’ defense posture against nuclear-armed North Korea, while also citing South Korea’s conventional military strength. It earlier gave a similar response to reports about the possible relocation of Patriot missile defense systems from South Korea.
North Korea has long described the allies’ drills as invasion rehearsals and often uses them as a pretext to dial up its own military demonstrations or weapons testing.
The North in previous years has conducted numerous salvo launches of missiles or artillery while describing them as simulations of nuclear attacks against targets in South Korea.
The launches came days after the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday criticized Washington and Seoul for proceeding with their drills at a perilous moment for global security, and warned that any challenge to the North’s safety would bring “terrible consequences.”
Without directly referring to the Iran war, Kim Yo Jong said the U.S.-South Korea drills undermine regional stability at a time when the global security structure is “collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues.”
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has released separate statements denouncing the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and expressing support for Tehran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
The 11-day Freedom Shield exercise, which runs through March 19, is one of two annual command post exercises conducted by the militaries of the United States and South Korea. The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities, while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. Freedom Shield will be accompanied by a field training program called Warrior Shield.
North Korea has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul’s calls to resume diplomacy aimed at winding down its nuclear program. Talks derailed in 2019 following the collapse of Kim Jong Un's second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term.
Kim has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for aid and military technology.
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AP journalists Yuri Kageyama and Mayuko Ono contributed from Tokyo.
South Korean army's K1A2 tanks move during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
U.S. Army's armored vehicles cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
U.S. Army's armored vehicles move during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
