HONOLULU (AP) — Residents of U.S. territories in the western Pacific were bracing Friday for a possible super typhoon, just months after the region was hit by the strongest tropical cyclone on Earth this year.
Power still hasn't been fully restored in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands after that super typhoon, Sinlaku, brought ferocious winds and relentless rains in April. Some people are still living in tents after their homes were destroyed.
“We're getting ready to do this all over again,” said Edwin Propst a former lawmaker who works in the governor's office on Saipan, where it was already Friday. “The timing is terrible.”
Typhoon Bavi was expected to become a super typhoon by Sunday night to early Monday, when it is forecast to reach the Marianas, said Paul Stanko, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service on Guam.
A cyclone becomes a super typhoon when it has maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph) or stronger. Super typhoons are equivalent to a high-end Category 4 or Category 5 storm, Stanko said.
Bavi was 760 miles (1,223 kilometers) east of Guam on Friday with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (129 kph), the weather service said.
Some residents are hoping Guam takes the brunt of Bavi to give their neighbors in the Northern Marianas a reprieve while they slowly recover from Sinlaku, Stanko said.
“That’s what we’re actually hoping for because then Saipan wouldn’t get it as bad,” he said.
Propst was hearing the same from others on Guam.
“That’s so island-style,” he said. “God bless them for saying that.”
Guam is located west of the International Date Line and is known as “Where America’s Day Begins,” as it is hours ahead of Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. mainland. It is home to two large U.S. military bases.
Propst said residents were covering windows with plywood and storing gasoline because there were long lines at gas stations for weeks after Sinlaku.
The Rev. Francis Hezel, assistant pastor of Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Dededo, Guam, said he’s hoping no island takes the brunt of the storm. But he said he wasn’t too worried, having lived through numerous typhoons. He was hopeful Bavi would change course.
“Right now the pattern is heading towards us, but those patterns change,” he said.
Still, church workers and residents were preparing.
“This is getting to be the normal thing now, typhoon preparedness,” Hezel said. “It’s happening more frequently.”
El Nino increases hurricane season activity in the Pacific. Experts say the El Nino, a natural warming cycle, should further heat a globe already warming from fossil fuel pollution and will likely turbocharge extreme weather across the planet.
While Sinlaku didn’t cause on deaths on land, Propst said residents were still mourning the six crewmembers of a cargo ship that overturned during the typhoon. Searchers found one body but the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the more than 100-hour search before finding the rest.
Propst said while a lot of progress has been made in recovering from Sinlaku, “we’re not quite there yet.”
“A few more months would have been good," he said.
This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Typhoon Bavi east of the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam on Friday, July 3, 2026. (NOAA via AP)
TORONTO (AP) — Goncalo Ramos headed in the stoppage-time winner as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a wild finish that also included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle in a World Cup round of 32 match on Thursday night.
The game featured a matchup 40-somethings Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia's Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.
Ronaldo initially tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick and give the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute. But, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.
Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.
“First half we dominated the game," Ronaldo said. "In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football.
“After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the match.”
The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments, but Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.
Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.
Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlasic was called for a holding foul inside the box. Portugal’s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.
Modrić led Croatia to second- and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022, and the match carried the weight of the two aging stars each trying to realize the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40, while Ronaldo is 41.
The men, who were teammates at Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match. The two met on the pitch after the match, and hugged and exchanged a few words.
“I played with Luca so many years,” Ronaldo said. "We’re nearly the same age. I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football.”
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Lexie Linderman is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Portugal's Renato Veiga gestures during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) scores on a penalty kick past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (1) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Croatia's Luka Modric (10) reacts to a call as Portugal's Bernardo Silva (10) looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) celebrates after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Portugal's Ruben Dias (3) celebrates a win during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) celebrates after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
