MIAMI — Sean Manaea feels like he’s rediscovering his rhythm on the mound.

“I feel like I’m going out there and really attacking hitters,” the Mets’ left-handed pitcher shared on Saturday, prior to the Mets falling to the Marlins 4-1. “I’m not falling behind in counts or issuing walks, which is crucial. My velocity has increased, and that’s definitely a positive. I feel like I have a lot of effective tools to challenge batters.”

The night before, Manaea delivered his third consecutive strong relief performance, surrendering just one earned run on four hits over 3 ²/₃ innings during the Mets’ narrow 2-1 defeat.

It seems the rough patch may be behind him. After a challenging April and early May, Manaea has posted a 3.12 ERA with eight strikeouts over his last three outings, covering 8 ²/₃ innings. For the season, his ERA stands at 5.81 across 11 appearances.

In his most recent game, Manaea’s sinker clocked an average of 91.2 mph, a noticeable improvement from his season average of 89.6 mph for that pitch.

Manaea credited the work he’s been putting in with assistant pitching coach Dan McKinney for paying dividends.

“He’s had some ideas on drills and mechanics and stuff we have kind of been implementing,” Manaea said. “But I also think that having more reps, feeling good in my body physically and ultimately more [work] have put me in a good place.”

Manaea was squeezed from the rotation near the end of spring training, with the possibility he would be utilized as a sixth starter. But after struggling early, he was essentially relegated to mop up relief.

His appearance in the second inning Friday, behind opener Tobias Myers, was among just a few higher-leverage opportunities this season.

“If it’s helping the team win, that is what I am here to do,” Manaea said. “It was a higher-leverage situation than being in a game down six [runs] or something.”

The Mets could use the continued contributions from Manaea, who isn’t even halfway through the three-year contract worth $75 million he signed before last season.

Manaea’s first year of the deal was a complete bust — he strained an oblique in spring training and didn’t rejoin the club until July. In 15 appearances, he pitched to a 5.64 ERA.

Manaea’s best work with the Mets was in 2024, when he pitched to a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts and emerged as the de facto staff ace.

“He’s in a really good place,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets’ loss on Saturday. “Beginning with that outing against the Yankees [on Sunday when he allowed two earned runs over four innings] it was a really good sign and then [Friday].

“I thought just the way he is moving with his mechanics and the way the ball is coming out, I feel with like getting swings and misses with the fastball, especially at the top [of the strike zone] and just attacking, competing in the strike zone. There’s a lot to like right now and it’s good to see him being that guy, because we’re going to need him.”

Manaea was asked where he still feels there is need for improvement.

“It’s just like nitpicking, but just keep attacking guys,” Manaea said. “Not getting two balls before a strike and stuff like that, but ultimately I feel like I am headed in the right direction and feel good with where we are at.”

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were seen enjoying a night out at Game 3 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals, where the Cleveland Cavaliers faced off against the New York Knicks. The celebrity couple took their seats courtside, drawing attention as much for their presence as for their stylish outfits.

A proud native of Cleveland, Kelce was back in his hometown, cheering on the Cavaliers as they aimed to secure their first win in the series. The NFL star made a fashion statement with his attire, donning a light-washed Louis Vuitton denim shirt paired with matching jeans, a Cavaliers snapback, and maroon-white-and-gold Nike basketball shoes.

Swift complemented her partner’s casual look with her own chic ensemble, opting for a black jacket layered over a black top, teamed with jeans and strappy heels. Their coordinated yet relaxed style seemed perfectly chosen for a night of basketball excitement.

Kelce has deep roots in the area, having grown up in Cleveland Heights. His longstanding passion for local sports is well-known, and he’s been seen supporting Cleveland teams on multiple occasions, such as when he was invited to throw the first pitch at a Guardians baseball game. The couple’s appearance at the game highlighted Kelce’s ongoing connection to his hometown teams.

Kelce is a native of nearby Cleveland Heights and grew up rooting for Cleveland sports teams. In addition to his love for the Cavaliers, he’s previously thrown out the first pitch at a Guardians baseball game.

At one point in the evening, Kelce was seen getting up out of his seat and turning around to pump up the crowd. The NFL star waved his arms upward in an attempt to increase the energy in the building.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift spend the night out in Cleveland to watch the NBA Playoffs

The pair were out watching the Cleveland Cavaliers play the New York Knicks at Rocket Arena

An excited Kelce got into the game as the Cavaliers fought to stay alive in the playoffs

At one point, the ABC broadcast showed Swift and Kelce courtside for the first time – where the pop sensation was seen slipping her beau a piece of gum. 

Perhaps Swift may be wearing black out of a sense of ‘torn loyalty’ considering she was famously photographed in New York Knicks gear around the time of the release of her album, ‘1989’ back in 2014.

Swift even posed for a photograph alongside Knicks stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. 

Their arrival in Ohio comes just hours after the couple were spotted out and about in New York City enjoying a date night.

Kelce and Swift were seen walking into the Italian restaurant Sartiano’s at the Mercer Hotel, located in SoHo.

Swift stepped out into the night in a classic little black dress cut high enough to show off her legs.

She rounded the look out with a crimson shade of lipstick, matching black heels and a bracelet which complimented one worn by Kelce.

The football star, on the other hand, wore a Hawaiian shirt with bright pink tassels on the hem of his shirt as well as his sleeves.

The couple’s trip to the Midwest comes a few hours after they were on a date night in NYC

The couple’s appearance courtside comes days after it was revealed that Swift would not be appearing at this year’s American Music Awards – despite being the most nominated artist of the evening. 

The ‘You Belong with Me’ singer is up for a total of eight award at the 2026 show following the success of her latest album The Life Of A Showgirl.

But with Swift expected to tie the knot with Kelce in the coming weeks, she has reduced her number of public appearances at awards shows.

The couple are believed to have set a wedding date of July 3, with the lovebirds set to exchange vows in New York City.

The couple first went public with their relationship in 2023 and announced their engagement in August 2025 in a joint post on their Instagram pages that showed pictures of Kelce on one knee in a garden.

The lovebirds, seen on May 15, have been spending a lot of time in New York City this spring

Swift displayed a large diamond ring as she wrote, ‘Your English teacher and gym teacher are getting married.’

The wedding will be full of well-known names. 

Believed to be on the guest list are Gomez, the Hadid sisters, Gigi’s boyfriend Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Lena Dunham and Zoe Kravitz. 

Kelce’s football coach, Andy Reid, 68, has already confirmed he will be attending the couple’s nuptials. Also expected to be there are Kelce’s brother Jason Kelce, his teammate Patrick Mahomes and Hollywood actor Miles Teller.

WASHINGTON — An armed individual was fatally shot by Secret Service officers after he allegedly opened fire at a security checkpoint near the White House on Saturday evening.

The incident also resulted in a bystander being injured by gunfire, though the exact circumstances were not immediately clear, as reported by the Secret Service.

According to officials, the suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, approached the checkpoint located at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW around 6 p.m. He reportedly pulled a weapon from his bag and began shooting at the officers stationed there.

“Secret Service officers responded by shooting the suspect, who was then taken to a nearby hospital and later died,” stated the Secret Service in their official report.

The bystander, present in the vicinity, was caught in the crossfire during the confrontation, as confirmed by the Secret Service.

“It remains unclear whether the bystander was struck by the suspect’s initial gunfire or during the subsequent exchange of gunfire,” the Secret Service said.

There was no immediate word on the bystander’s condition.

No Secret Service members were hurt during the incident, which is still under investigation.

At the time of the shooting, Trump was in the Oval Office working with aides Steven Cheung, Natalie Harp, Margo Martin and others, according to a White House Official.

ABC News’ Selina Wang was filming a piece for social media platforms at the White House when the apparent gun shots sounded. She and crew members quickly ducked for cover.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in an X post that the agency is on scene and assisting the Secret Service.

“We will update the public as we’re able,” Patel said.

When the gunshots sounded, reporters were told to sprint into the White House Press Briefing Room.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

In a striking parallel to the latter years of Osama bin Laden, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been conspicuously absent from the public eye for nearly three months. His disappearance coincides with escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, drawing attention from counterterrorism analysts who see similarities in the situations.

This period of heightened tension reached a critical point when a military strike planned by President Donald Trump was halted on May 19. Trump, addressing reporters on Wednesday, remarked that he was “in no hurry” to proceed with the military action.

Despite his absence, Khamenei has managed to maintain a digital presence, making three posts on his official account on May 18, but he remains physically unseen in public.

Dr. Omar Mohammed, a counterterrorism expert, noted to Fox News Digital, “For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic, the United States has enacted tactics against Tehran akin to those used against al-Qaeda and ISIS over the past two decades.”

This situation has thrust Khamenei into the spotlight, not for negotiations or diplomacy, but for his notable absence as the US targets Iran’s nuclear sites with increasing intensity.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is shown in a portrait image. (Fox News)

“The U.S. has driven its leader into the same kind of operational invisibility that bin Laden lived in for 10 years in Abbottabad,” he added.

“Both Mojtaba Khamenei and bin Laden inherited their status on the back of an American operation, and both responded the same way: by ceasing to exist publicly,” Mohammed said before adding that bin Laden “stopped releasing dated videos around 2007 and confined himself to audio messages carried by hand.”

Bin Laden founded al-Qaeda in the late 1980s and masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States.

After the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, bin Laden evaded capture for a decade by hiding inside a fortified compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

To avoid Western electronic surveillance, he severed his digital footprint and relied exclusively on a network of physical couriers, said Mohammed, an expert with the Antisemitism Research Initiative at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism.

U.S. intelligence eventually tracked one of those couriers to the compound, culminating in the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed the al Qaeda leader.

OPERATION EPIC FURY: HOW AMERICA’S AIR POWER IS CRUSHING IRAN’S TERROR REGIME

Portrait of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in 2011 in a daring SEAL Team 6 raid in Pakistan. (Photo by Stephane Ruet/Sygma via Getty Images)

“Bin Laden survived with no cables out of the Abbottabad compound. Communications were carried by hand by two trusted couriers, the Kuwaiti brothers,” Mohammed said.

“Bin Laden stayed hidden for the rest of his life because the moment he surfaced was the moment he died. Mojtaba’s incentives point the same way. Mojtaba Khamenei won’t emerge,” he said.

“The Abbottabad lesson, which Tehran will have studied closely, is that the safest hiding place is not a cave in Tora Bora but a walled compound in a garrison town,” Mohammed added, recalling how U.S. forces targeted bin Laden in the cave complex before he escaped.

Bin Laden also lived roughly a mile from Pakistan’s top military academy, hiding in plain sight behind high concrete walls and barbed wire, Mohammed noted.

“The logical Iranian equivalents are hardened sites under or alongside IRGC facilities,” Mohammed added, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and possible locations where Khamenei could be.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, one of Khamenei’s few recent communications was an X post declaring a “holy war,” framing the geopolitical clash as a mandatory religious obligation.

INSIDE IRAN’S RULING IDEOLOGY: HOW A ‘HOLY MISSION’ AND MESSIANIC DOCTRINE FUEL REGIME EXTREMISM

President Donald Trump said, “I got him before he got me” after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top leaders were killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran during the U.S.-Israeli military offensive called Operation Epic Fury. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images; Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This is a religious leader calling for sacred war against America and the Jews from an undisclosed location because his enemies have publicly vowed to kill him on sight,” Mohammed said, describing the narrative as “the bin Laden template, almost line for line.”

Mohammed also suggested Khamenei’s retreat into the shadows marks a watershed moment for Washington and the future of the Iranian regime.

His predecessor and father, Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed Feb. 28 in a targeted U.S.-Israeli airstrike in Tehran during Operation Epic Fury.

“This regime that for 47 years projected its power through a single visible Supreme Leader at the Friday prayer pulpit can no longer produce that figure on demand,” he said, calling it a “strategic milestone.”

“Predecessors killed by U.S. strikes and successors who cannot show their faces. Real power exercised by a security apparatus rather than by the nominal figurehead.”

“Now one side is announcing operations on three continents through its president; the other is governed on paper by a man whose own population is uncertain where he is or what state he is in,” Mohammed said.

“The contrast is also about the optics of leadership during this war,” he added.

The American League’s top team is channeling the spirit of Little League. Despite having the third-lowest payroll in Major League Baseball, according to Spotrac.com, the Tampa Bay Rays are excelling with a mix of precise pitching, consistent contact hitting, and smart base running. This strategy has been their hallmark during many of their standout seasons over the past two decades.

“What truly astonishes me is our capability to score runs even on days when we’re not hitting home runs,” said Drew Rasmussen, a seven-year MLB veteran. Rasmussen was set to pitch in Saturday’s game against the Yankees, which was postponed due to rain. “In my experience, Major League Baseball has always been about striking out batters and hitting home runs.”

“It’s refreshing to witness a team that can score without relying on hitting the ball out of the park,” Rasmussen continued. “This approach might even be more sustainable. Teams that rely heavily on home runs are often too dependent on them for big innings. Of course, we welcome every home run, and I’m eager to see us hit more. But it’s exciting to see our athleticism keeping us competitive in games.”

The Rays, currently holding a 34-15 record, have dominated their early-season encounters with the Yankees, winning all four matchups and establishing a 5.5-game lead in the AL East.

The Rays (34-15) have won the first four meetings of the season against the Yankees to open up a 5.5-game lead in the East.

While the $336 million Yankees entered Saturday leading the majors in home runs, the $108 million Rays lead in sacrifice bunts, have the fewest strikeouts and rank No. 4 in stolen bases (two spots ahead of the Yankees).

On the mound, the Rays are right with the Yankees in MLB’s top-five in ERA and WHIP.

“I think we are doing a lot of things well,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ve kind of maximized opportunities with guys in scoring position. It’s a lineup filled with a bunch of guys who make contact and put pressure on pitchers, and then our overall speed. The up-the-middle defense has been good, pitching has been tremendous, the bullpen has really come together.”

The Rays’ game-winning four-run rally Friday started with a Yankees’ error and then included two singles, a walk, a double and a sacrifice fly to score a pinch runner.

And two first-to-third dashes.

“To see how everyone contributes to helping us win day-in and day-out has been awesome,” Rasmussen said. “It also kind of keeps everybody in the flow of playing and gives the opportunity for everyone to stay in rhythm.”

But it’s not exactly a cast of no-names considering former All-Stars Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Díaz might be the American League’s best trio of hitters outside of the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice.

“Their starting pitching is really good, they have three really linchpin hitters in the middle of their order and then a lot of complementary speed pieces that do a lot of different things that put pressure on you,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It kind of hasn’t bounced our way against them, but we have to find a way to beat that club.”

Sometimes it just takes a road trip to the Bronx to bring national attention to what the Rays are piecing together.

“If you take these games, these might come down and be the deciding factors later in the year,” Díaz said through a translator. “It’s time [people noticed]. For the last few years, we have been one of the best or better teams in MLB, so we’ll take all the attention. It feels really good.”

Díaz’s memory is a little faulty.

The Rays made five straight playoff appearances — including eliminating the Yankees en route to the 2020 World Series — but finished under .500 in each of the last two seasons.

So, what’s the difference now?

“We’re getting a little more alignment than we did last year,” Rasmussen said. “We’re doing the simple stuff — scoring runners in scoring position, throwing strikes. The stuff you learn about in Little League, but it still does pertain to the game at this level. Guys are willing to sacrifice at-bats to move a runner.

“What is it in particular? I don’t know. It just seems like we are playing an all-around team game, and I think that really has helped in our success at this point.”

Unlike other surprise teams — the White Sox, for example — the Rays aren’t being carried by surprise stud performances.

It’s more like a collection of high-end numbers on the back of a baseball card. Maybe that makes it more sustainable.

“I felt like that’s kind of how we were built going into spring training, learning the guys,” Cash said. “It was going to take a roster that was doing everything — doing their part. To date, it certainly feels like that.”