UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Jonquel Jones is going to have a memorable trip to Connecticut on Monday night as the Sun will retire her No. 35 jersey before the Liberty visit.
Connecticut, which is playing its last season in the state before moving to Houston next season, will honor six former Sun members of the franchise during the team's “Sunset Season”.
“It’s an honor. It means a lot, a lot of great memories there,” Jones said. “It’s an organization that saw a lot of me before I proved myself to the WNBA. I said it before, but (Connecticut) decided to move players that were really solidified in this league."
Connecticut acquired Jones on draft night in 2016 from the Los Angeles Sparks in a deal for Chelsea Gray that worked out well for both teams.
“They saw me as someone that could come in and really contribute before I ever stepped on the court in the WNBA. That means a lot to me,” she said. "It’s kind of cool to say you’re honored while you’re still playing in the WNBA as well. Definitely new territory. Something I’m looking forward to, and something that I’m really excited about.”
Jones, who won the league's MVP award in 2021, helped the team reach the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022. She is sixth in franchise history with 196 games and fifth in points scored, totaling 2,657. She's first in blocks with 270 and third in rebounds with 1,633. She was traded to New York before the 2023 season.
“It was important to us that Jonquel's legacy be permanently recognized,” Sun president Jen Rizzotti said. “Raising her number into the rafters is a tribute to one of the greatest players in franchise history and a lasting reminder of everything she has meant to this organization and to our fans.”
Connecticut will also honor former players Jasmine Thomas, Alyssa Thomas, Tina Charles as well as coaches Curt Miller and Mike Thibault.
Jones will join other Connecticut greats Margo Dydek, Katie Douglas, Nykesha Sales, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Lindsay Whalen and Asjha Jones in the rafters at the arena.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones (35) goes up for a shot against Toronto Tempo guard Brittney Sykes (20) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, contradicting an earlier federal court ruling upholding the fee hike.
The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs.
But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.
“The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” Sorokin wrote.
H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs are difficult to find American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.
Most H-1B visa applications cost several thousand dollars before the announced increase set off a wave of panic among confused employers, students and workers in the United States and abroad and led to several lawsuits, including in Boston.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also sued, in federal court in Washington, D.C., and has appealed a denial of a summary judgment against the fee hike. That left the higher fee in effect, at least until September 2026, when it is scheduled to expire. Monday's ruling is also a summary judgment, to the opposite effect. Still another lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco, by religious groups and labor organizations, setting up the possibility of divided rulings in three appellate court circuits.
The states argued that the policy impedes their ability to hire primary and secondary school educators and to staff public colleges and universities, will stymie academic research and will lead to a decline in medical workers.
“The Proclamation makes various overtures to domestic economic policy goals to justify the unprecedented $100,000 fee,” plaintiffs wrote in their complaint. “But the Proclamation gives no indication that the President gave any consideration to how the fee would affect Plaintiff States and their ability to provide their residents access to education, healthcare, and other basic human needs.”
A Department of Homeland Security statement said the agency disagrees with “this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump’s historic efforts for immigration reform.”
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, our immigration system is being reformed to serve American citizens, American workers, and American families and to preserve our national identity — not to rapidly import foreigners who take American jobs, commit crimes, burden our welfare system, and erode our cultural and social fabric.”
FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018, file photo, people arrive before the start of a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
