SUNDERLAND, England (AP) — Switzerland and Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka said on Thursday he was put on two years’ probation after he admitted obtaining a fake vaccination certificate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I accept the decision and take responsibility,” the 34-year-old Xhaka wrote in an Instagram post explaining the details of a case revealed in Swiss media reports last month.
The conviction also included a suspended fine of 150,000 Swiss francs ($180,000), he wrote, adding he paid the court costs.
Xhaka, who has played a men’s record 152 games for Switzerland, withdrew from the squad for four Nations League games in the past two weeks. In that time he gave a statement to public prosecutors in Lucerne who were investigating a doctor in the canton (state).
Switzerland won all four games in its second-tier Nations League group without Xhaka.
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A fan on the stands holds a banner and a picture of Switzerland's player Granit Xhaka before the Nations League soccer match between Scotland and Switzerland in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
President Donald Trump, facing protesters and a poor political climate, fought to rally Texas voters behind Senate candidate Ken Paxton on Wednesday night in a bid to stave off sweeping Democratic victories in the nation’s most populous red state. The president’s message was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, including by one who appeared to be close to the stage. In all, at least a dozen demonstrators interrupted the president.
Meanwhile, Trump says his administration will make one-time payments of $90 per person to help more than 20 million Medicare enrollees pay for their Part B premiums. It will cost about $2 billion. Less than one-third of all Medicare recipients are eligible for the payments, which are expected to be sent out this week. Not eligible are roughly 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, millions of other people with disabilities and low-income Medicare recipients.
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Rubio is reiterating that the Trump administration will keep trying to facilitate a negotiated settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine but that it’s been difficult.
“We have tried, we will continue to try, but we’re also not going to invest in pointless processes if we can’t make progress,” he told reporters in Portugal after new Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine killed 30 people.
Rubio warned about the danger of the stalemate in the war because it can lead to escalation.
“That escalation could wind up being a sabotage campaign in neighboring countries that are members of NATO,” he said. That could “quickly turn what is a war between two countries into a much broader and far more dangerous regional conflict.”
European officials have accused Moscow of a campaign of sabotage and disruption aimed at undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.
President Trump attacked Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in a late Wednesday social media post, referring to him as “Mohammed” and saying he “goes back to the days of the Jihad.”
“He is a RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In a social media post, El-Sayed, a former public health official who was born in the U.S. to Egyptian immigrant parents, responded by pointing out that the president knows his name: “He says it every day.”
“But he’s not just attacking me. He’s attacking all of us,” El-Sayed wrote. “He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office.”
The Democratic former president called the former Atlanta mayor a friend in a video message released Thursday.
“As a former judge, council member and mayor, Keisha believes that public service is about putting you first,” Obama said, touting Bottoms’ proposals to expand Medicaid and pre-kindergarten access, raise pay for firefighters and police officers, and eliminate state sales tax on groceries.
Obama also endorsed Deb Haaland for New Mexico governor and Troy Jackson in Maine’s Senate race on Thursday, as he steps up his midterm campaign activity.
Bottoms faces Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire who’s spent more than $100 million of his own money in the race.
Jackson has President Trump’s endorsement and said during his primary that he’d be “Trump with a Southern tone.” But he’s recently removed some mentions of Trump from his campaign website.
Bottoms, who also was an adviser to former President Joe Biden, got Biden’s endorsement during her primary campaign.
Texas Democrat James Talarico said Thursday he agrees with President Trump that he and Republican Ken Paxton should debate ahead of the midterm election in their Senate contest.
“Ball’s in your court,” Talarico said in a social media post, tagging Paxton.
In a Truth Social post late on Wednesday after holding a rally with Paxton in Texas, Trump said Talarico should make the debate happen right away.
“He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing, and able,” Trump said.
A message seeking comment was sent to Paxton’s campaign.
The Texas Senate contest is one of the most closely watched in the nation. A reliably Republican state, where Trump won in 2024 by almost 14 percentage points, Texas has become competitive with Election Day less than a month away.
Trump on Thursday is expected to hand out several of the nation’s highest science and technology honors, including to the entrepreneur and former DOGE chief Elon Musk.
The awards will be granted at “Science: A New Golden Age,” an afternoon summit that the White House says will highlight rapid changes in the scientific landscape, including in artificial intelligence technology, which the president refers to as super intelligence.
Musk is expected to receive the National Medal of Science alongside Google co-founder Sergey Brin, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, and Lisa Su, CEO of the semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices.
Trump will also grant the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
“These recipients are helping ensure America keeps leading the world in innovation,” said Liz Huston, a White House spokesperson.
Trump says his administration will make one-time payments of $90 per person to help more than 20 million Medicare enrollees pay for their Part B premiums. It will cost about $2 billion.
Less than one-third of all Medicare recipients are eligible for the payments, which are expected to be sent out this week. Not eligible are roughly 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, millions of other people with disabilities and low-income Medicare recipients.
Some 20.8 million people in the original Medicare Part B who are living in the United States, not receiving premium assistance from Medicaid or not paying an income-related monthly adjusted amount.
The Part B program covers expenses such as doctor’s visits, ambulance services and lab tests. Total monthly costs generally start at about $200 and vary with income.
Payments will come out of the Medicare Improvement Fund created by Congress in 2008 and intended to make improvements to the Medicare fee-for-service program. This is not the first time the fund has been used.
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President Donald Trump, facing protesters and a poor political climate, fought to rally Texas voters behind Senate candidate Ken Paxton on Wednesday night in a bid to stave off sweeping Democratic victories in the nation’s most populous red state.
But Trump’s remarks were not focused solely on Paxton.
Speaking to a packed Freeman Coliseum, Trump also pledged to award retired baseball star Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, restated his support for the death penalty for drug dealers and clarified recent comments in which he talked about the possibility of Iran bombing American cities as part of a recurring riff about how high fuel costs are “a small price to pay” for the war.
“You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country.”
The president’s message was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, including by one who appeared to be close to the stage. In all, at least a dozen demonstrators interrupted the president. Some were led away by police.
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President Donald Trump waves to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival at the White House, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
