KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Charlie Riedel has been a staff photographer for The Associated Press for 25 years after working 17 years for small newspapers in rural Kansas. He is based in Kansas City and covers the Chiefs, Royals and college sports. Riedel has also covered the Super Bowl, the Olympic and major golf tournaments. When not shooting sports, he has covered major news events including hurricanes, oil spills, tornados and wildfires.
I was covering a watch party for Wednesday's United States-Bosnia-Herzegovina match. My assignment was pretty straightforward so with the game being shown on a big screen behind me, I spent most of my time just watching the crowd. I was looking for reactions to what was happening on the screen and other moments that illustrated the joy and enthusiasm shown by the mostly U.S. fans. This photo was less of a reaction to the on-field action, but a spontaneous moment when the crowd started tossing people in the air to celebrate. I knew I had the opportunity to document this event with a photo that differs from the typical photos of fans just screaming with excitement.
I shot the watch party mostly with a 12-24 mm extreme wide angle lens as I was stationed in a buffer between the crowd and the stage. Because of this, my subjects were often only a couple feet away from me so I needed to be able to shoot as wide as possible. When the crowd started tossing people in the air, I decided I needed to show the person airborne with the sea of people watching and would need to get higher to do that. I was able to gain a couple feet of height by standing on part of the metal structure that supports the retaining wall holding the crowd back from the buffer. That was not high enough, so while standing on that structure, I shot the scene with my camera held high above my head and and guessing at the focus. This technique to get a higher angle is commonly referred among photojournalists as a “Hail Mary” photo because you are shooting somewhat blindly and “hope and pray” you get photos that are in focus, exposed properly and composed well. This photo was shot with a 12-24 mm lens at 14 mm and an aperture of 4.5 to get a little extra depth of field. The shutter speed was 1/1600 of a second which was as slow as I thought I could go to stop the action. The camera was set on auto exposure and auto white balance as the light was constantly changing in intensity and color. ISO was 10,000.
I shot a handful of people getting tossed airborne — most of them didn’t go very high or flailed awkwardly. With this photo, it all came together. The framing of the photo puts the scene in perspective and is loose enough to show how high she flew, as well as the vast crowd watching and cheering her on. Then there is the young lady being thrown —everything fell into place with her expression and body language and those red cowboy boots were the icing on the cake. This photo illustrated the joy and excitement that came over the crowd as it became apparent Team USA would likely win this match and advance to the next round in the World Cup.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Fans celebrate during a watch party for a World Cup soccer match against Bosnia at the KC Live! entertainment district Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
NEW YORK (AP) — A skyscraper-scaling daredevil told police that he and his girlfriend climbed the Empire State Building’s antenna and unfurled a banner about love and peace because he wanted to “do something special” for their engagement, prosecutors said Thursday at the couple's arraignment on felony reckless endangerment, burglary and other charges.
The couple, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, said little as they left court, though Beerkus responded to a journalist's question about the stunt by saying: "We believe in love."
Authorities said the two — who were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary “ Skywalkers: A Love Story ” about their “rooftopping” exploits and budding romance — created not only a spectacle but a danger by ascending the famed skyscraper's broadcast antenna Wednesday.
After reaching the top, 1,454 feet (443 meters) above midtown Manhattan, the climbers displayed a black banner reading: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace," news helicopter video showed.
Then they collected the banner and descended to a slightly lower ledge, where an apparently successful marriage proposal unfolded. Nikolau posted images of the escapade on her social media accounts, including a photo that modeled an engagement-style ring above a bird’s-eye view of Manhattan.
Police waited about a half-hour for the antenna to be powered down before Emergency Services Unit officers started ascending and eventually intercepted the climbers on their way down, according to the complaint, which noted the danger to officers who climbed about 1,250 feet (381 meters) above the ground. The court document identified the two by their formal names, Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov.
“Skywalkers: A Love Story” follows Beerkus, now 32, and Nikolau, 33, as they make often unauthorized ascents of tall structures, sometimes posing as construction workers to sneak in.
The court complaint said police found a broken lock on a security door on the Empire State Building's restricted-access 104th floor, which provides access to the antenna. The highest public floor is the 102nd, where there’s an observation deck. Going higher requires a key card, according to the court complaint.
The Empire State Building's management has called the climb “unauthorized” but hasn't answered questions about what interactions, if any, the daredevils had with security workers. Visitors to the skyscraper are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.
Beerkus and Nikolau were released without bail, in accordance with New York laws that restrict when monetary bail can be set. Their attorney, Jason Krinsky, said outside court that once prosecutors provide evidence, he and his clients would assess it and determine next steps.
“What a way to propose — something you can only dream of," Krinsky said. “So you've got to, you know, give him some credit for that.”
Other daredevils have climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.
Two people stand on the tip of the antenna of the Empire State Building in New York while holding a banner on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (WABC-TV via AP)
Two people stand on the tip of the antenna of the Empire State Building while holding a banner on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Two people descend the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person is shown atop the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, depart New York criminal courthouse building on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, depart New York criminal courthouse building on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
