FC Cincinnati had its humble MLS beginnings back in 2019. Humble and quite frankly, less than impressive. But fast forward to the present season and it's a night and day change for the Orange and Blue who now boast an MLS-best nine wins.

Perhaps it was almost as Todd Boehly envisaged: a Chelsea game in May, the new champions given a guard of honour after securing what may prove the first of a treble, cruising to victory over fallen rivals. Except Chelsea had to form the guard of honour – in perhaps the closest they came to a coherent formation for quite some time – and Manchester City were celebrating in the sunshine. The nouveaux riches were companion clubs for years but, since each came into extreme wealth, they have never been separated by a greater gulf. If money has talked, and one has spent largely well in recent seasons, the other spectacularly badly in the last 12 months, the consequence is that City’s fifth league title in six seasons was sealed the day before they condemned Chelsea to a first bottom-half finish since 1996. City have the luxury of having Julian Alvarez as a second-choice striker; the rested Erling Haaland’s deluxe deputy is a World Cup winner and he extended their winning run to 12 league games. But, in a season of ignominies for Chelsea, there were more. Pep Guardiola’s team felt suddenly altered on Saturday night, City’s coronation prompting him to rest nine of the starters against Real Madrid. But his second-string side are better than the club with a £600m makeover; indeed City have more than twice as many points as Chelsea. Chelsea had lost to a severely weakened City in the FA Cup and did so again in the Premier League. Over the season, Chelsea have met City four times, lost all four and failed to score in each. Alvarez has scored against them in three competitions, whereas Chelsea have only found the net against anyone in two. Of their quartet of defeats, this may have been the most respectable. Real Madrid had conceded four at the Etihad, like Liverpool and Arsenal before them. Chelsea only let in one as City chalked up a 16th consecutive home win in 2023; indeed, incongruously, the last team to stop them on their own turf was Frank Lampard’s Everton. But the context changed the minute Nottingham Forest beat Arsenal. This became an exhibition game for City, a chance for Guardiola to turn to nine substitutes and make them starters. Even Kalvin Phillips got a belated first start for City. Some 364 days after the previous time he figured in a Premier League starting 11, he headed against the base of the post, a first City goal eluding him. He was part of a makeshift midfield with Rico Lewis and Phil Foden; one is often a full-back of sorts, the other normally found in the front three. It was a reason why City were more open than usual, though it scarcely mattered. More damningly, gaps magically appeared in Chelsea’s five-man defence when City scored. Cole Palmer picked out Alvarez and the Argentinian was free to place a shot beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga. Palmer began in terrific style and the 21-year-old almost marked just his second Premier League start with a goal, Trevoh Chalobah clearing his shot off the line. Foden came close with an audacious lob while Alvarez had a second goal ruled out because of a handball by Riyad Mahrez, his supplier. Alvarez was terrific but if no one else has a second-choice striker of such stature, City can argue he is a £14m bargain. Chelsea, with as many league goals as Haaland has on his own, lack any kind of potent first-choice centre-forward, let alone a high-grade understudy. A side with a marked aversion to scoring had the opportunities to level after making a timid start. Stefan Ortega denied Raheem Sterling a goal on his return to the Etihad Stadium. Sterling was thwarted, too, by a brilliant goal-line clearance from his former teammate John Stones, even if he was then ruled offside. Sterling came off to a standing ovation, but from the home faithful; named Footballer of the Year and scorer of 31 goals in a season for City may have felt nostalgic for his old club. His season, like Chelsea’s, has been a harrowing affair. Chelsea’s other threat stemmed from two of their own. Conor Gallagher headed Lewis Hall’s cross against the post. Hall and Gallagher acquitted themselves well, two youth-team products faring better than many of the buys. Meanwhile, Noni Madueke was strangely demoted to the bench by Lampard; Trevoh Chalobah ended up at left wing-back, irrelevant experiments as Chelsea’s season peters out. Guardiola brought on some of the regulars, in Stones, Rodri, Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, which meant they had to flee in the pitch invasion after the final whistle. At least, though, they had something to celebrate. Two years ago, Chelsea beat City three times in six weeks and defeated them in a Champions League final. But, as one closes in on a historic treble and the other has endured one of the worst campaigns a superclub has ever had, it feels far longer ago. Read More Man City vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League trophy presentation delayed by pitch invasion Five titles in six years: Are Manchester City destroying the Premier League? Enzo Fernandez is Chelsea’s sole shining light to take into next season

Exit polls in Greece’s parliamentary elections show Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conservative party in the lead but unlikely to win enough seats to form a government outright

Whether Bakhmut has fallen or not, Moscow is being pulled deeper into an ever more costly fight for the frontline city as Kyiv readies...

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Sunday that its forces were still advancing around the edges of Bakhmut, aiming to encircle

Over the past week, a story alleging that homeless military veterans were booted from New York hotel rooms being used as temporary shelters to make way for newly arrived migrants dominated right-wing networks and tabloid newspapers. The front page ofThe New York Post ran with “VETS KICKED OUT FOR MIGRANTS” on 13 May, and the story was picked up by Fox News and Newsmax, where former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin claimed that “our veterans again are being kicked to the curb”. Republican officials immediately seized on the story as purported evidence for the “crisis” at the US-Mexico border and in Democratic-led US cities. But that story was false. The claims appear to have originally come from founder of a veterans’ advocacy group, according to The Mid Hudson News and The Times Union of Albany. The story’s unraveling has also placed that woman, Sharon Toney-Finch, and her nonprofit, Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, under the scrutiny of state investigators and raised questions about her own military history. Over the last year, New York City’s Democratic Mayor Eric Adams has struggled to find shelters and long-term housing for hundreds of migrants who are being bused north from Republican border states. Earlier this month, the Adams administration reportedly clashed with officials in Orange County, upstate New York, over his plans to send two buses of migrants to the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh. That plan was paused on 10 May. On 12 May, The New York Post ran a story alleging that “nearly two dozen struggling homeless veterans have been booted from upstate hotels to make room for migrants”. Ms Toney-Finch’s group was cited as the source for the information. But reporters from The Times Union and Mid Hudson News, two outlets based in upstate New York, could not find any of the allegedly displaced veterans, and Crossroads, the hotel at the centre of the controversy ,said it did not have any records of veterans recently staying there. Homeless men told The Times Union that they were approached by unidentified “recruiters” at a shelter in Poughkeepsie, New York, taken to a diner, offered money and bags of toiletries, then transported to a nearby veterans centre to pose as veterans who were kicked out of a hotel. Asked by the Associated Press about the alleged scheme, Ms Toney-Finch did not say whether the claims were fabricated but stated that “we should have verified better”. The Independent has requested comment from Ms Toney-Finch and the foundation. New York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the apparent scheme, telling reporters that people seeking asylum “were sent there with a legal contract between the city of New York and a hotel owner”. “They are allowed to contract that way and if people want to fabricate stories to undermine the whole process, I think it’s reprehensible,” she added. New York Attorney General Letitia James is “looking into” the allegations, her office told Politico. Yerik Israel Toney Foundation works to help “homeless and low-income military service veterans in need of living assistance,” according to the group’s website. Ms Toney-Finch was inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame in 2022 and is listed in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Last week, she was honoured by New York State Senator Rob Rolison as a “woman of distinction”, who also noted that she is a Purple Heart recipient. However while Ms Toney-Finch has received several military honours, there is nothing to indicate that she is a Purple Heart recipient, according to a review of her military records by The Daily Beast. The fake story played into the right-wing outrage that has reached fever pitch since the expiration of Title 42, a Trump-era border policy, that Republican officials and pundits predicted would result in immigration “chaos”. Prominent New York Republicans used the apparent story to condemn Democratic officials. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik sharedThe Post’s front cover on social media on 13 May. “Biden’s America. Kathy Hochul’s New York. Eric Adams’s New York City,” she wrote. “A disgrace.” Congressman Mike Lawler called the alleged incident a “debacle.” “If Mayor Eric Adams had a shred of decency, he would drive up to Orange County tomorrow and apologize to these veterans himself,” he said, in a statement on 12 May. It was later removed from his website. Mr Lawler later called the bogus story and Ms Toney-Finch “appalling.” “Her decision to exploit our veterans – and the genuine admiration and love our community has for them – could have turned an already tense situation into something much worse,” he said in a statement. Brian Maher, a Republican state assembly member, told Fox News on 15 May that the claims were “a slap in the face to veterans, to citizens of New York in this country, who are really being cast aside to allow for asylum seekers to come here”. He later apologised for spreading the foundation’s false claims and distanced himself from the group. “While I believed Sharon was telling the truth, I do want to apologize for those that have been negatively impacted since this news broke,” he said. Mr Maher also called for investigations by the New York State Attorney General and the Orange County District Attorney into the incident. Mayor Adams has repeatedly pressed for federal assistance while continuing to search for housing options for tens of thousands of people who have arrived in New York in the past year. With the end of Title 42, the state is preparing for “several thousand additional people seeking shelter each week,” according to the governor’s recent emergency order. “[U]pwards of 500 people” arrived each day as the city prepared for the end of Title 42, according to the mayor’s spokesperson Fabien Levy. In 2022, NYC agencies sheltered more than 61,000 asylum seekers, with roughly 37,500 people in city shelters and emergency housing. New York City shelters house more than 75,000 people on any given night, while countless remain on the streets, according to Coalition for the Homeless. Read More Eric Adams weakens shelter mandate as New York City anticipates more migrant arrivals after Title 42 expires What comes next after Title 42?

Another advocacy group is warning people of color about traveling to Florida -- but for different reasons.

A top attorney to former President Donald Trump is leaving his legal defence effort, and blaming Mr Trump’s top aide Boris Epshteyn for supposedly being dishonest and unforthcoming in his work to assist the ex-president’s lawyers with his defence against an investigation into whether he retained classified documents illegally. His exit comes as the National Archives announced it found a trove of records proving that Donald Trump and his advisors knew they were breaking rules by taking those classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, according to a report. The agency sent a letter, obtained by CNN, to Mr Trump this week revealing it had found 16 records showing he and his top advisers were aware of the correct declassification process when he was president. “The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records,” wrote archivist Debra Steidel Wall. These records will be turned over to Special Counsel Jack Smith as part of the criminal investigation into Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents. Read More Trump campaign knocks DeSantis over Disney’s cancelled Florida expansion Ron DeSantis mocked over bizarre video of roaring laughter: ‘A faulty robot’ Trump’s White House lawyer predicts ex-president will end up in jail as Mar-a-Lago probe heats up Trump whines that he is a ‘victim’ of ‘weaponisation of justice’

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenksy has said Russia is not in control of Bakhmut. Speaking at the G7 summit in Japan, Mr Zelenksy said the city, in Ukaine’s eastern Donetsk-Oblast region, “is not occupied by [the] Russian Federation as of today”. “We don’t have simple questions any more, as well as we don’t have simple answers,” he added. “Because we have a very complicated neighbour, who is a criminal and terrorist, a complicated enemy. “We are keeping young, fighting thanks to the courage of our people, our warriors, and thanks to our cleverness. We are not throwing people to die.” His comments come after Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulated his troops after the Wagner Group claimed its mercenaries seized the key battle city on Saturday afternoon. Speaking alongside US president Joe Biden at the G7, Mr Zelensky said the Russians had destroyed "everything" in Bakhmut. In his own remarks, Mr Biden said Putin will not break the revolve of the West in its support for Ukraine. Read More UK support for Ukraine will ‘never waver’, Rishi Sunak tells Zelensky Russia warns of ‘colossal risks’ if F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine Britain says Russia will ‘pay the price’ for Ukraine invasion as fresh wave of sanctions unveiled

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Ron DeSantis is going to run for president talking about his record in Florida. Joe Biden is too. Biden advisers believe they can hold up what the GOP governor calls his "Florida blueprint" as a warning to the country about what would happen if DeSantis wins the White House in 2024

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