Hurricanes fans jam into downtown Raleigh for team's Stanley Cup parade, celebration

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes brought their Stanley Cup celebration to downtown Raleigh on Saturday, with thousands of fans arriving hours early to line sidewalks for the team's victory parade or packing in near the rally stage where the Hurricanes were set to cap off the festivities.

The team boarded double-decker buses to start the parade, which was set to weave by the State Capitol building. And the Hurricanes players were greeted by fans screaming, chanting, waving flags and wearing Carolina jerseys, still buzzing from the franchise beating the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend to win the Cup for the second time, the other coming in 2006.

Carly Goodman, 35, of Raleigh, was hard to miss in the front row behind barricades in front of the stage where the parade would end with a rally. She sported a red Sebastian Aho jersey, waved a large Hurricanes flag and was blinged out with a silver “Stanley Cup” chain necklace.

She was drinking from a “beer skate,” the novelty mug shaped like a Hurricanes skate that sold out immediately during the Game 1 of the second-round series against Philadelphia. She got up at 5 a.m. — “Let my dogs out, they were mad to get up,” she said — and made sure to head straight downtown hours in advance to ensure a prime spot.

“It’s been something special ever since 2006,” Goodman said. “Raleigh’s a small market. We’ve got college sports, but this is epic. It’s a team that everybody can get behind. It breaks down all the barriers. Everyone just comes together and smiles, no matter if you’re a Duke fan, Carolina fan, whatever — it doesn’t matter.”

It was a longer trek for Scott Stiles, 60, and his son, Joey, 24. They weren’t about to miss the celebration even though they live in Concord, a city outside of Charlotte known for its ties to NASCAR and other motorsports. So they hopped in the car around 3 a.m. to make the 2 1/2-hour drive, arriving more than five hours before the parade was scheduled to start and finding fans like Goodman already waiting closer to the City Plaza stage.

The duo — Scott in an Andrei Svechnikov jersey, Joey wearing a Seth Jarvis one — had chairs plopped in the middle of Fayetteville Street straight back from the stage, their spot marked by a giant Hurricanes flag.

“When’s the next time they’re going to win a Cup?” Scott said, pausing as a “Let’s go Canes!” chant wrapped up. “They might win it again next year, who knows? But we wanted to be a part of it.”

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Carolina Hurricanes fans crowd onto Fayetteville Street prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Championship celebration in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes fans, Sue Allen, left, and Nick Skidmorein, who arrived at 5am to get a front row seat, wait for the start of the Stanley Cup Championship celebration in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes fans crowd onto Fayetteville Street prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Championship celebration in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes fans crowd onto Fayetteville Street prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Championship celebration in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Russia has freed 24 Filipinos who have been detained for months without charges in a Siberian city, after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised concern for them in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Philippine officials said Saturday.

The 24 were scheduled to arrive in Manila in two flights early Sunday, with the first batch to be welcomed by Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who accompanied Marcos in his talks with Putin on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.

Marcos, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, led leaders of the 11-nation bloc in commemorating the 35th anniversary of ASEAN’s diplomatic relations with Russia. Marcos held a bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the summit in Kazan.

The release of the Filipinos was relatively swift after Marcos raised his concern on Wednesday. The Philippines is a key treaty ally of the United States in Asia and was among the majority of ASEAN members that voted for a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Singapore was the only ASEAN member to impose sanctions on Russia. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong joined the Kazan summit.

After his bilateral meeting with Putin, Marcos told reporters that he raised his concern over the Filipinos who have been detained for about nine months in the city of Irkutsk in southeastern Siberia without charges. He said the Philippines has no other information about their condition.

There were reports that the Filipinos may have been victims of illegal job recruitment and taken into custody in Russia due to possible violations of immigration laws, Philippine officials said.

Putin told Marcos that he was unaware of the problem but promised to look into it. Over dinner on Wednesday, the Russian president told Marcos that the Filipinos had been charged with any wrongdoing, Marcos said. “Don’t worry, we will find a way to fix this problem,” Marcos quoted Putin as saying.

The Philippine delegation was eventually notified by Russian officials that the Filipinos would immediately be deported back to Manila, Marcos said.

About 15,000 Filipinos live and work across Russia, according to Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pose for a photo on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit in Kazan, Russia, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)