CHICAGO (WLS) — Wrigley Field played host to a momentous occasion on Saturday as two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) clashed in a groundbreaking baseball game.

Despite the rivalry on the field, the debut of the Chicago HBCU Baseball Classic unified spectators in the stands, creating a sense of camaraderie and celebration.

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This inaugural event illuminated the pride and tradition of HBCUs, with the iconic Wrigley Field serving as the perfect backdrop for this historic moment.

“This is a first-time event, and it’s incredible for us,” expressed Aliyah Jones, a proud alumna of Alabama A&M, reflecting the excitement shared by many attendees.

Organized by Black Baseball Media, the Chicago HBCU Baseball Classic made history on the same date, May 2, as the first-ever Negro Leagues game, which featured the Chicago American Giants in 1920. The event paid homage to the rich legacy of Black baseball in America.

“This is our homecoming for HBCUs in Chicago, so to have that is truly gratifying,” said Earnest Horton with Black Baseball Media. “So many community organizations that’s coming out to this game. Day one we sold out of those first tickets, and it’s free for the community, so it’s truly heartfelt.”

Horton joined ABC7 in February ahead of the special event.

“I never had the opportunity to go to an HBCU, so this right here is very good for me,” Kappa Alpha Psi member Markus Allen said.

“With my son being an HBCU alum, we always had to travel down south to watch them play, but now it’s a blessing and an honor to see the HBCU coming to Chicago,” attendee Carolyn Bonds said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered the first pitch before the National Anthem ushered in the Prairie View A&M Panthers and the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on the field. HBCU alum and members of Divine Nine fraternities and sororities were beaming with pride.

“And to see some like this finally come to Chicago, as an educator, I can bring my kids and give them the exposure that I had 40 years ago,” Omega Psi Phi member Tracey Johnson said. “It means so much.”

“Saturday Night Live” turned its comedic spotlight on King Charles III’s recent visit to the United States, targeting Meghan Markle with a controversial label and poking fun at former President Donald Trump’s ties to Prince Andrew, the King’s embattled brother.

The iconic sketch show didn’t hold back as it satirized the dynamics between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their coverage of the King’s American tour.

During the “Weekend Update” segment, host Michael Che initiated the royal roast by referencing King Charles’s meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, part of the monarch’s whirlwind visit to the northeastern U.S.

“I’m surprised he didn’t take Mamdani back to England with him, because he is an Indian treasure,” Che quipped, adding a layer of humor to the proceedings.

This joke alluded to Mamdani’s prior remarks, where he expressed a desire to ask King Charles for the return of the Koh-i-Noor diamond to India. The diamond, a symbol of colonial legacy, was acquired by the East India Company in 1849.

Comedian Colin Jost then targeted Prince Harry and Markle, saying that celebrating America’s 250th anniversary was not the only reason King Charles made the trip across the pond. 

Jost brought up a picture of the couple as he added the visit was also ‘to seek the release of a British hostage being held by an American terrorist.’ 

The hosts rounded out the segment with a controversial gag about former-Prince Andrew. 

Saturday Night Live took aim at King Charles III’s historic visit to America as they mocked President Trump’s association with the royal’s disgraced brother Andrew

The jokes at the royals came after King Charles departed the US following his three-day tour, which included visits to Washington DC with President Trump (pictured), as well as New York City and Virginia 

Jost noted King Charles’ gift to Trump with a golden bell from a World War Two submarine commissioned by the British Royal Navy in 1944, which was named HMS Trump.

He quipped that the King told Trump, ‘Should you ever need to get ahold of us, just give us a ring.’ 

The show then brought up an image of Andrew, as Jost added: ‘Or Trump could just call the guy saved in his phone as ‘Andrew (Island).” 

The jokes at the royals came after King Charles departed the US following his three-day tour, which included visits to Washington DC, New York City and Virginia.

The trip was his first as monarch, and saw the King deliver a well-regarded speech to the US Congress and meet with a number of leading figures. 

At a White House state dinner on Tuesday, Trump risked embarrassing Charles with a surprising remark about the King’s private views on Iran and nuclear weapons. 

Trump delivered a fulsome and highly complimentary speech celebrating the enduring alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, but also couldn’t stop himself wading into tensions in the Middle East. 

‘We’re doing a little work in the Middle East right now. And we’re doing very well,’ he said, before adding: ‘We will never let that opponent ever… Charles agrees with me, even more than I do… we will never let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.’

The remark, which appeared to suggest the King privately shared Trump’s hardline stance on Iran, was met with cheers in the room.

The sketch show mocked Meghan Markle as an ‘American terrorist’ in one of several risky takes on the King’s trip to the US this week

Britain’s King Charles III addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 28 April 2026

But while many praised Charles’ visit to the US this week, California Democrat Ro Khanna told the Daily Mail he was not happy that the monarch failed to mention Jeffrey Epstein during his high-profile speech. 

‘It’s very disappointing after the British Ambassador told me that the King would talk about the survivors and sex trafficking. The King’s failure to acknowledge the pain his brother had caused is a moral failure and emblematic of an elite impunity that is an ongoing affront to survivors,’ said Representative Khanna.

In an exclusive comment to the Daily Mail, Khanna also noted that the omission was ‘disrespectful to the survivors, including to Sky and Amanda Roberts — Virginia Giuffre’s family — who I held a roundtable with this morning.’

‘The British Ambassador told me the King would at least acknowledge the Epstein survivors and victims of sex trafficking in the speech. It’s a moral failure and emblematic of the elite impunity that Americans and people around the world are sick of,’ he added.

Republican Nancy Mace also told the Daily Mail, ‘I guess the King didn’t want to talk about Epstein,’ when asked for a reaction to the address.

In response to a recent antisemitic stabbing incident in Golders Green, Britain has elevated its national terror threat level to “severe.” This adjustment signifies that another terrorist attack is considered “highly likely” within the next six months, reflecting growing concerns over national security.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) took the step of raising the U.K. National Threat Level from “substantial” to “severe” following the stabbing of two individuals in north London, a situation formally recognized by police as a terrorist act.

Authorities clarified that the decision to heighten the alert was not solely due to the Golders Green attack but was influenced by a broader surge in extreme right-wing terrorism across the country.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the attack as an “abhorrent, antisemitic” act and acknowledged the heightened threat level might be particularly distressing for the Jewish community, which has endured significant hardship.

In the aftermath of the incident, Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the Hatzola Northwest independent ambulance base in Golders Green, underscoring the government’s commitment to addressing the threat of terrorism. (James Smith/Sam Snap/Getty Images)

Police said officers were called to Highfield Avenue in the Barnet borough at about 11:16 a.m. Wednesday following reports of multiple stabbings.

Two men, ages 76 and 34, were treated at the scene for stab wounds before being taken to a hospital, where they remain and are “being looked after,” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.

On Thursday, police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Essa Suleiman. Suleiman is a British national born in Somalia who had a “history of serious violence and mental health issues”, police say.

Police arrest a demonstrator during a rally organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, opposite Downing Street in central London on April 30, 2026, following the stabbing of two Jewish men the day before in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London. (Carlos Jasso/ AFP via Getty Images)

The Home Office said the threat-level increase comes against a backdrop of rising terrorism in the U.K.

On Thursday, protesters gathered on Downing Street to voice concerns that not enough has been done to protect the Jewish community.

In response to the attack and a recent rise of antisemitic arson attacks in London, the government announced an additional £25 million in funding to protect Jewish communities, bringing total support this year to £58 million. Officials said the money will be used to boost police patrols and protective security at synagogues, schools and community centers.

The funding will also support an expansion of Project Servator, which deploys specialist and plainclothes officers trained to spot suspicious behavior and identify people preparing to commit serious crimes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the British government cannot credibly claim to be combating antisemitism unless it also confronts what he described as “explicit incitement against the Jewish state.”

“Hate slogans and anti-Semitic marches in the streets of London aren’t ‘free speech’. They are incitement,” he wrote on X. “They bring terror directed against Jews.
They must be banned. The phrase ‘Globalise the Intifada’, means killing Jews everywhere. It must be banned.”

“This is what the British government must immediately do to fight antisemitism. Otherwise, it’s just more empty words.”

Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a meeting with representatives from criminal justice agencies at number 10 Downing Street, Westminster, following a terror attack in Golders Green. (Dan Kitwood/PA Images via Getty Images)

Taylor said the attack has now been formally classified as terrorism and that counterterrorism officers are working with security services to establish the full circumstances and develop a complete intelligence picture.

“Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened,” Taylor said.

A police officer at the scene where two people were stabbed Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community and a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an antisemitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

A statement posted on X by Shomrim, a volunteer neighborhood watch group in Orthodox Jewish communities, said the suspect was seen “armed with a knife” on Golders Green Road and was detained by members before police arrived.

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said officers “swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm,” adding that investigators are “considering all possible motives” and will maintain a visible police presence in the area.

Police at the scene where two people were stabbed Wednesday April 29, 2026 in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community and a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an antisemitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

The U.K. was last at the “severe” threat level in November 2021, following the Liverpool Women’s Hospital bombing and the killing of lawmaker Sir David Amess, before it was lowered to “substantial” in February 2022.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, calling attacks on Jewish residents “an attack on Britain,” while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said there is “no place for antisemitism” in the city.

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Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner currently incarcerated in Iran, experienced a severe health crisis leading to her urgent transfer to a hospital in the country’s northwest, as reported by her foundation on Friday.

The foundation highlighted that Mohammadi endured two incidents of complete unconsciousness accompanied by a critical cardiac event.

Earlier on Friday, it was reported that Mohammadi had twice lost consciousness while in prison in Zanjan, located in northwestern Iran, according to the foundation’s information.

Her lawyers, who visited shortly after the incident, suspect she may have suffered a heart attack in late March.

During this visit, they observed that she was noticeably pale, had lost weight, and required assistance from a nurse to move around.

The hospital transfer comes “after 140 days of systematic medical neglect,” since her arrest on Dec. 12, the foundation said.

“This transfer was done as an unavoidable necessity after prison doctors determined her condition could not be managed on-site, despite standing medical recommendations that she be treated by her specialized team in Tehran,” the foundation said.

Help may be little too late, family says

Mohammadi’s family had advocated for her transfer to adequate medical facilities for weeks.

The foundation, quoting her family, said her transfer Friday to a hospital in Zanjan was “a desperate, ‘last-minute’ action that may be too late to address her critical needs.”

Mohammadi’s brother Hamidreza Mohammadi, who lives in Oslo, Norway, said in an audio message shared with The Associated Press by the foundation that her family is “fighting for her life.”

“My family in Iran is doing everything they can. But the prosecutors in Zanjan are blocking everything,” he said.

On March 24, Narges Mohammadi’s fellow inmates found her unconscious, her lawyers said she told them during the visit a few days later.

Upon later examination at the prison’s clinic, a doctor told her that she probably had had a heart attack. She had chest pain and breathing difficulties since.

Her legal representative in France, Chirinne Ardakani, said at the time that Mohammadi had been denied transfer to the hospital or to visit her cardiologist.

A prison official was present throughout the brief visit by Mohammadi’s lawyers.

Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023

Mohammadi, 53, a rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison, was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and sentenced to seven more years in prison.

Her family said in February that her health was worsening in prison, in part because of a beating she endured during her arrest in December. He said multiple men hit and kicked her in her side, head and neck.

The Nobel committee condemned the “ongoing life-threatening mistreatment” of Mohammadi in a statement in February.

“In recent days, her blood pressure has experienced severe fluctuations, going very high and low, and today she suddenly fainted due to a sudden drop in blood pressure,” her lawyer Mostafa Nili posted on X.

At first, the prison doctor injected Mohammadi with drugs but she refused to be transferred to a hospital, demanding to see her cardiologist.

A few hours later, Mohammadi fainted again. This time a neurologist ordered her immediate transfer to a hospital, the lawyer added.

Mohammadi was urgently transferred to the hospital and admitted to the cardiac care unit, “but her blood pressure continues to fluctuate severely,” Nili wrote.

He said a medical official in Zanjan recommended a one-month suspension of her sentence for treatment, but the public prosecutor in Zanjan referred the matter to his counterpart in Tehran.

Prior to her arrest Dec. 12, Mohammadi had already been serving a sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges of collusion against state security and propaganda against Iran’s government, but had been released on furlough since late 2024 over medical concerns.

Continued her activism on furlough

During that furlough, Mohammadi kept up her activism with public protests and international media appearances, including demonstrating in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, where she had been held.

In February, a Revolutionary Court in Mashhad sentenced Mohammadi to an additional seven years. Such courts typically issue verdicts with little or no opportunity for defendants to contest their charges.

Mohammadi suffered multiple heart attacks while imprisoned before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, her supporters say.

In 2023, Mohammadi became the fifth laureate to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison, further amplifying her voice in support of widespread protests that swept Iran after the death the year before of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country’s morality police for not properly wearing the mandatory headscarf.

Her selection enraged Iran’s hard-line Shiite theocracy, which increased her prison time and later sent guards to rough her up along with other prisoners who were protesting inside Evin Prison.

Yet Mohammadi remained defiant, even issuing boycott calls for the 2024 election that President Masoud Pezeshkian won.

She maintained that one day Iran’s government would change due to popular pressure.