The good news for the Cardinals on Friday was that Kevin Siegrist and Dexter Fowler are both on track to make the 10-day disabled list an accurate depiction of how long they will be out. The question it creates is what happens when the time comes for Fowler to return.

John Mozeliak, now carrying the title of president of baseball operations, said that Siegrist (cervical spine strain) and Fowler (right heel spur) had both received anti-inflammatory injections before the teams trip to Arizona, and both were progressing. I think we have some optimism on this being the 10 days, he said.

But in Fowlers absence, Tommy Pham has sparkled in center, with his bat, arm and glove, raising the issue of what to do when Fowler returns. Right now, Mozeliak said, they havent considered those options, but they will.

Any time you sign a free agent of his magnitude and you bring him to do a job, its very delicate to start talking about moving him off, Mozeliak said. Clearly you want to do whats best for the team and finding ways to win and theres no doubt when you look at the last few days with Tommy Pham, hes made some excellent catches and had a positive impact on the team. So we have some time to decide what that next step looks like. Im sure all of us on the decision team will have a talk, but we havent done that yet.

Siegrist is expected to begin baseball-related activities this weekend and is eligible to come off the DL on Monday. Fowler cant do that as easily since his injury is to his heel and the team wants to keep him off that as much as possible so it can heal. Hes working out, Mozeliak said, but not necessarily baseball-related.

Fowler is eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday.

Second baseman Kolten Wong (right tricep strain) also had an anti-inflammatory shot Tuesday, which Mozeliak said had a positive effect but slowed down his return. Wong, out since June 15, is not expected back until after the All-Star break, which would be July 14 at the earliest.

Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter was taking grounders and turning double plays at second base during pregame warmups, a precursor to possibly returning, on occasion, to that position.

The Cardinals have an abundance of outfielders, plus a first baseman in Luke Voit, and the easiest way to get an extra one into the lineup would be to put one of them in first and find another place for the versatile Carpenter.

We see the same at-bats you guys see too, manager Mike Matheny said before the game, and watching Jose Martinez, watching Luke Voit, how do we keep them engaged, and is there flexibility? Jose has been one of those that has given us options in the outfield, but when you have a (Randal) Grichuk going like he is and (Stephen) Piscotty and Pham, then Dexter gets mixed back in, its going to be tough to figure out how that fits, so first base is an option. Thats really the only position that Luke Voit plays. If were faced with a tough lefty, thats something were going to at least make sure we have covered. Carp has been taking ground balls all season, all over the place. It was just a little more concentrated work at second today that might give him a little bit more opportunity.

Speaking of tough lefties, Gio Gonzalez, with a 2.87 ERA, is scheduled to start for the Nationals on Saturday.

Carpenter mostly played second in 2013, his breakout season, before moving to third base and, this season, almost exclusively, to first.

The move also works because Wong is out, leading to a variety of players filling in that spot.

We just have to think were at that point with our club to keep our eyes open, keep our options open, Matheny said, and if something looks like it may work, not be afraid to think outside the box.

Two days after former Cardinal Jhonny Peralta was signed to a minor-league contract by the Red Sox and was assigned to the teams Class AAA affiliate in Pawtucket, the Red Sox released another former Cardinal, Allen Craig. Craig, traded to the Red Sox along with Joe Kelly for John Lackey in 2014, was hitting .253 with one home run in 47 games for Pawtucket. (His slugging percentage was .316.) Craig, who hasnt played in the majors since 2015, is in the final year of a five-year contract he signed with the Cardinals in 2013 that pays him $11 million this season, and has a $13 million option for 2018 with a $1 million buyout. The Nationals put shortstop Trea Turner, the major-league leader in stolen bases with 35, on the 10-day disabled list with a fracture in his right wrist and called up infielder Adrian Sanchez.

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Fowler, Siegrist are making progress | St. Louis Cardinals | stltoday ... - STLtoday.com

NICOSIA, Cyprus Progress has been slow in high-level talks to reunify the ethnically divided island of Cyprus, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday, with security issues in particular standing in the way of a peace accord.

Guterres, whose presence on the third day of talks at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana is intended to give the discussions a boost, also played down suggestions that the body is getting weary of the drawn-out problem, which has been in its in-tray since 1964.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," Guterres told reporters after lunch with the east Mediterranean island's Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, Mustafa Akinci.

"It is slow progress and many outstanding issues are still to be resolved," the U.N. chief said.

Guterres said "new positions showing increased flexibility" in some issues had been relayed and that some gaps between the rival sides have narrowed.

"We're not impatient and we're not threatening the parties in any way," said Guterres, adding that putting a deadline on talks would invite the collapse of the process.

Top diplomats from Cyprus' "guarantors" Greece, Turkey and Britain were also at the summit.

Anastasiades said morning talks chaired by Guterres offered possible ways out of deadlock. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias echoed Anastasiades, calling the U.N. chief's input "useful and beneficial."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu repeated his view that Crans-Montana is the final stop for Cyprus talks.

"This is the final conference, the last conference and we need to reach a settlement," Cavusoglu told reporters. "So to reach a settlement, we need to agree on all outstanding issues."

Central to negotiations are opposing views over the island's future security agreement on that issue has the potential of unlocking an overall peace accord.

Turkey is rebuffing Greek and Greek Cypriot calls to remove all troops from breakaway northern Cyprus after the island is reunified as a federation. It insists that any peace accord should grant Turkish citizens the right to relocate and transfer money, services and goods to the European Union member island.

Although Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, only the Greek Cypriot southern part that is the seat of the island's internationally recognized government enjoys full benefits.

The island was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup staged by supporters of union with Greece. Turkey has since stationed more than 35,000 troops in the north.

Turkey and the minority Turkish Cypriots want at least some of the troops to remain and enforce the peace after reunification under revised military rights accorded to the guarantor nations under Cyprus' 1960's constitution.

Greece and the Greek Cypriots want military rights abolished and all Turkish troops removed, replaced instead by a U.N. Security Council-backed international police force.

"We won't allow anyone to ask for all or nothing," Kotzias said before the start of talks Friday.

Cavusoglu on Thursday scolded Greece and Greek Cypriots to "wake up from their dream" that Turkey will withdraw all of its troops from Cyprus and give up military rights there as part of any agreement.

Other unresolved core issues, including a Turkish Cypriot demand to hold the island's future federal presidency on a rotational basis, are being discussed concurrently. But movement on those matters hinges on overcoming the security hurdle, officials said.

___

Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.

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UN chief: Progress in Cyprus talks, much more to be done - Fox News

Charles Davis, a cornerback on the Virginia football team, recently won $100,000 playing the Virginia Lottery.

Davis was returning from an early morning workout when he stopped to pick up coffee for his mother, Tiffany, at a 7-Eleven in his hometown of Ashburn. He played the lotterys Cash 5 game, selecting numbers on his ticket that his grandmother suggested.

The winning numbers for that drawing were 1-3-4-7-9.

I looked at the numbers on the website after the drawing and said, I won! he said.

Davis, an American Studies major at UVa, played defensive back and wide receiver at Broad Run High School in Ashburn. He then played a postgraduate season (2015) at Fork Union Military Academy for head coach John Shuman. Davis began his collegiate career at Nebraska, participating in the Cornhuskers spring practices in 2016 before transferring to Virginia.

He sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

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Virginia football player wins $100000 playing lottery - The Daily Progress

The investigation into the June 2016 murder of a Parsons man is advancing, Labette County Sheriff Darren Eichinger said.

David N. Ellis, 23, was found dead early on Friday morning, June 3, 2016, outside his apartment at 1722 24000 Road, Apt. D. He had been shot.

Labette County 911 dispatch received a call at 1:34 a.m. that day reporting that several people entered into Ellis apartment armed with guns. The group had left at the time the call was made.

Deputies responded and discovered Ellis lying on the ground a short distance from the apartment.He was dead and deputies observed that Ellis had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the abdomen. In June 2016, former Sheriff Robert Sims said Ellis had been shot multiple times by a semi-automatic weapon. Sims would not provide specifics about how many times or where Ellis was shot or the caliber or type of weapon used.

The crime is believed to be drug related because multiple kinds of drugs were found in the apartment. The suspects initially were described as a white male, a black male and a black female.

Sheriff Eichinger said Friday the case has been actively investigated since he took office in January.

We are making progress, Eichinger said.

Since March, the sheriffs department has had two detectives on staff and they are working on the homicide as well as other cases as they come up.

Eichinger said he could not release more details about the case for fear of tainting the investigation, but he did say detectives continue to work on it and interview potential witnesses.

If you have information on the case, call the sheriffs department at (620) 795-2565.

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Sheriff makes progress in murder probe - Parsons Sun

Demarest Farms' fall parking plan includes street parking for its customers. Residents who live in the vicinity of the farm say that street parking for the farm's growing customer base is not safe. Catherine Carrera/NorthJersey.com

Demarest Farms is on Wierimus Road in Hillsdale.(Photo: Anne Caruso/NorthJersey.com file photo)

HILLSDALE No agreement was reached Friday but there was "progress" in the negotiations over Demarest Farms' parking, according to the farm's attorney.

The borough and Demarest Farms representatives met Friday morning to negotiate a resolution on parking for patrons of the farm, officials said.

"We aired our views and some progress was made," the farm's attorney, David Marcus, said. Hesaid further details could not be disclosed as the negotiations are ongoing. The representatives plan to meet again July 18.

The issue of where the farm's patrons can parkhas gotten contentious in the borough after recent "pick your own" seasons have drawn thousands of visitors to the 34-acre farm that sits on the corner of Hillsdale Avenue andWierimusRoad.

Farm co-owner JasonDeGisesaid the farm has been using off-site parking for 16 years. After nearby farms closed down, such asDePiero's Farmin Montvale, the number of customers has increased, Marcus has said.

The Borough Council recently passed an ordinance prohibiting parking on the 37 streets surrounding the farm on weekends during business hours from Aug. 30 through Oct. 30.

But the farm, which can accommodate 210 cars on-site, relies on street parking during that time for an estimated 600 vehicles.

The farm is currently seeking approval from the Bergen County Agriculture Development Board foraparking plan that calls for street parking for 600 patrons.

The borough recently offered to allow the farm to use its municipal lot downtown, which the farm would need to place a bid on, borough officials have said. The councilalso recently askedthe school board to allow Demarest Farms to use the 130 spaces at the parking lot at nearby Smith School.

A previous agreement between the school board and farm was terminated after public protest.

"We're working as best we can to support their application," Mayor Doug Frank said Friday.

Email: carrera@northjersey.com

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No agreement but 'progress' in Demarest Farms parking dispute - NorthJersey.com

Published on June 30th, 2017 | by James Ayre

June 30th, 2017 by James Ayre

The UKs progress towards achieving its climate change goals has been stalling, according to a new report from the UKs Committee on Climate Change advisers. The report argues that new policy initiatives and strategies are needed if the UK is to meet its ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals.

As a reminder here, the UK government is currently pursuing a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 (as compared to 1990 greenhouse gas emissions levels).

As of right now, the UK has reduced official greenhouse gas emissions by around 42% as compared to 1990 levels, according to the new report.

While that sounds pretty impressive, the report notes that almost all of whats been achieved so far has been in the power and waste sectors. Transport sector and building sector emissions have actually been continuing to rise in recent years.

The good news is we have got half way. But the way we have achieved this is almost entirely focused on the power sector, noted Matthew Bell, chief executive of the committee, in a conversation with Reuters. We cannot extrapolate that to 2050. Power sector emissions have been lowered so much We wont get the remaining distance we need if other sectors dont start contributing.

Reuters provides more: Earlier this week, Britains new climate change minister, Claire Perry, said the government would publish its Clean Growth Plan a framework for how Britain will reduce emissions in the 2020s and 2030s after the parliamentary summer recess. Parliament closes on July 20 and reconvenes on Sept. 5.

The plans release was originally scheduled for late 2016. The delay has been criticized by investors who are looking for policy certainty. Under current policies, Britain is on track to miss its legally-binding emission reduction targets for the mid-2020s onwards, prompting calls for more action in the heat, buildings, industry, transport and agriculture sectors.

The government also needs to present Parliament with detailed measures to address climate risks, such as risks to households and businesses from flooding, so its national adaptation program can be published early next year, the report said.

Itll be interesting to see what exactly the framework in the Clean Growth Plan ends up looking like. While city-level initiatives are in no way sufficient on their own, it is notable that London, and other cities as well, have seemingly begun working harder in recent times to reduce their emissions.

Even though the push is being driven mostly by the significant air pollution problems in London, the eventual imposition of a zero emissions zone in the central part of the city will probably have a pretty notable effect on transport sector emissions there. Its an open question, though, how long well have to wait for that policy to be implemented.

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Tags: climate change goals, UK

James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.

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UK's Progress Towards Climate Change Goals Is Stalling, Advisors Say - CleanTechnica

Progress Software's acquisition of Kinvey brings together front-end and back-end application development services.

The two companies said they plan to continue to support current Kinvey customers going forward, and Kinvey will operate as a separate company. Its mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) offering is already integrated with Progress' Kendo UI Builder for web app dev and NativeScript code framework for mobile apps, following the $49 million deal, which closed Wednesday. Organizations can buy the products from both companies separately or buy them together as a bundle.

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"This could be a real advantage for our application development," said Jim De Sotle, CEO of Novo Holdings, a software provider and Kinvey customer in New York. "I am keenly interested in the Kinvey-Progress roadmap. "

Progress Software provides application development tools including NativeScript, application interface templates and other offerings for web, mobile and desktop apps. Kinvey is well-known in the enterprise development community for its MBaaS, which allows organizations to connect their mobile apps to back-end services such as storage and other infrastructure services. The deal will allow organizations to get front-end development tools and back-end connectivity from one place.

Kinvey wasn't getting the traction in the market that it wanted, said Eric Klein, director of mobile software at VDC Research Group Inc. in Natick, Mass.

"This acquisition will get Kinvey more deals and help them," Klein said. "Kinvey has some big companies as customers and that gives them credibility. They are a well-respected startup that has a lot of good talent."

The deal will also help Progress attract more customers by offering them a broader set of features, Klein added.

Organizations today need their applications to be secure, meet industry compliance regulations, and still offer faster performance than competitors, said Yogesh Gupta, president and CEO of Progress Software.

"With Kinvey's high performance back end, you can have much faster response times," Gupta said.

The Kinvey acquisition comes after Progress Software in March bought DataRPM, a software provider specializing in machine learning that teaches software to know when someone wants to use it before they open the application. The plan going forward is to integrate DataRPM's technology into both Kinvey's and Progress Software's offerings so organizations can build apps that take advantage of machine learning, Gupta said.

Uses for the combined technology could include apps that automatically tell service technicians the maintenance history of a machine and what parts it needs replaced, or a consumer app that informs insurance companies and emergency services when a user is in a car accident, the companies said.

Novo Holdings provides construction companies with job safety applications that bring up potential jobsite hazards and logs those notifications for liability reasons. The company uses Kinvey to connect the app to back-end systems that provide this data. The Progress deal opens the door for its customers to build smarter apps, De Sotle said.

"We are quickly moving into the machine learning and predictive analytics space for safety," he said. "The combination of mobile application development tools, predictive analytics and database puts Progress in the running for our business long term."

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Progress Software's Kinvey acquisition links app dev front to back - TechTarget

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - It's a frustration for many in DeKalb County. No water bill for months and then the bomb drops with the county wanting customers to pay for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond once again took the microphone Thursday night to address residents concerns.

Amid a heavy rainfall at the Maloof Auditorium in Decatur, people continued to file in to attend the meeting. Those who were there were pretty upset about their water bills. Thurmond addressed progress and issues. In the end, he said it is more important to restore trust in the system than to collect money.

"We have made and are making significant progress in addressing these issues," said Thurmond.

Since taking office in January, Thurmond said he has spent about 70 percent of his time working on the water bill issue and solutions.

"It's been tough, Ill be quite honest with you, its been extremely difficult," said Thurmond.

They report service technician staffing was double. They are working on bids to replace more than 60,000 meters that are out-of-date. About 4,000 of the 40,000 meters with manufacturing errors have already been replaced. They increased staffing in the call center and this week, they approved a $5 million new billing software system, but he admitted there is a lot more work to do.

Thurmond announced a fourth meeting will take place in August. By then, he said he will have addressed all issues and come up with resolutions for these problems. Until then, people said they keep putting their names in for disputes and paying what they can to keep the water flowing.

More than 8,000 bills were released this week. About 27,000 bills are still held to resolve issues.

More here:

DeKalb County CEO updates progress for water customers - FOX 5 Atlanta

The operation to get the votes is in overdrive at this point as leaders try to secure 50 as soon as possible so they can come back after the July 4 recess, get a new score from the Congressional Budget Office, pass a bill and move on to the rest of their agenda. There are still questions as to whether Republicans will have a new draft by the time they leave Friday.

"I don't really know," said Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the GOP leadership. "It's possible."

Republican senators seem more optimistic than they were Tuesday when McConnell scrapped plans to vote on the legislation this week, but the divisions between conservatives and moderates are still visible. Moderates still want to reverse Medicaid cuts in the Senate bill and conservatives are urging leaders to give states more freedom to roll back Obamacare insurance regulations.

Unlike President Donald Trump who sticks to applause lines and sweeping promises of success when it comes to health care, Verma is an administration source Republican members trust to dig in. In the House, she was a closer, playing an indispensable role in getting members to vote yes.

The thinking in the Senate is she can do the same: assuage concerns and use administrative power to get Republicans over the hump.

On Wednesday she met with moderate Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito and Nevada's Dean Heller -- all who have expressed concerns with the Senate bill and hail from states that expanded Medicaid.

Verma also attended the Senate Republicans' policy lunch.

Members said Verma was helping with damage control after the CBO estimated that 15 million Americans would lose Medicaid over the next decade if the Senate passed its bill.

"She's just there with her numbers and looking at kind of broad based numbers. I think the data is really really important," Sullivan said leaving his meeting with Verma. "You know we had our lunch the other day with the CBO and you know they do important work, but it's not like the 10 Commandments coming down from Mt. Sinai. There's a lot of assumptions. A lot of assumptions that go into their estimates and some of 'em are a little bit, you know, speculative."

Trump, for his part, mentioned health care several times Wednesday, and as his habit, without specifics.

"We're going to have a big surprise," Trump said in the Oval Office during a photo op with the Chicago Cubs. "We're going to have a great, great surprise."

But Verma cannot solve all the Senate's problems.

Conservatives still want to make sure that the Senate health care bill includes more Obamacare regulation repeals. The administration could make some of those accommodations, but one GOP aide warned that "would all be temporary."

A number of Republican senators including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee have also said they want to bolster the amount of money the federal government gives low-income individuals to help buy health insurance. Corker, specifically, said after a meeting in McConnell's office that he was not comfortable rolling back a net investment tax for the wealthy while low-income people may be set back with the GOP health care bill.

"That's not an equation that's appropriate," Corker said adding that he thought leadership may address the concern.

Keeping that tax in place and increasing the subsidies, however, could be a nonstarter for conservatives.

In many ways, Wednesday was just a repeat of the negotiations of weeks past with no sign that any member is ready to give much ground at this point.

Collins -- a member who announced she wouldn't support the last version of the Senate's health care bill-- told reporters Wednesday's Republican lunch was a "full and frank" discussion on health care with Republicans still trying to sort out their differences.

"I personally think it's going to be difficult to do so, but you never know," she said of leadership's desire to reach a deal by Friday.

After her meeting, Capito raced from reporters but indicated she is still undecided and needs to think about what she heard.

"Have to see when a final bill comes out," she said. "I'm in a moment of silence. ... Silence is golden for right now."

CNN's Phil Mattingly, Sam Kessler, MJ Lee, Manu Raju, Jeremy Diamond and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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More optimism than progress for Senate health care bill - CNN

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MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks arena is really taking shape as walls of the structure are going up.The Bucks offered the media on Thursday, June 29th a look at the progress being made as construction continues in downtown Milwaukee.

Amid the hum and drone of heavy equipment, FOX6 News swept in for a grand view of center court.

"This is where the team will literally live," said Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin.

Bucks arena construction

And then, we got an inside look at the locker room.

"Obviously, we are working through all of our enclosures to facilitate the interior construction," said Jeff Maples, Mortenson Construction senior product manager.

Mortenson Construction officials and Feigin guided more than a dozen journalists through a very active build site.

Bucks arena construction

"An example of our installation of our escalator. There are 10 escalators in the project," said Maples.

The first stop was the main atrium, and then, passing by the lower bowl, before the group moved through a corridor leading to an area called the "Bucks Campus" -- 30,000 feet of customized space.

"Really unique and unlike any arena ever built," said Maples.

Bucks arena construction

"This will be one of our really special areas and points of interest of the entire arena," said Feigin.

Bucks arena construction

The tour then brought us along Juneau Avenue, which Feigin said will be a showpiece.

"It's the difference betweenconceptual and literal. It's like giving birth. I mean, you can't really feel it or understand it until it is actually coming out of the ground," said Feigin.

Feigin says it will take another month for the glass and zinc shell to be installed.

"What we really have is the building taking form," said Feigin.

Peter Feigin

There are many milestones lying ahead, but by Thanksgiving, Feigin said the entire structure will be watertight.

"For us to be on schedule and kind of avoid a harsh Wisconsin winter. We've really been lucky," Feigin said.

Bucks arena construction

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The new Bucks arena and surrounding entertainment and sports center is scheduled to open in the fall 2018.CLICK HEREto check out a virtual tour of the new Milwaukee Bucks arena.

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Checking the progress: Bucks offer a look inside the new arena in downtown Milwaukee - fox6now.com

Progress Software on Wednesday announced that it has acquired Kinvey, a start-up that offers a service that developers can use to build and host mobile apps that integrate with existing enterprise software systems. The deal cost Progress $49 million.

Progress, which makes software for companies to build cross-platform applications and claims 80,000 enterprise customers, made the announcement alongside its earnings report for the quarter ended May 31. The company earned $0.21 per share on $93.2 million in revenue during the quarter. Progress stock was up 4 percent in after-hours trading.

Earlier this year Progress unveiled a new strategic plan that emphasizes cognitive application development. The word "cognitive," a nod to computing in a way that's similar to what the human brain can do, has been popularized by IBM in recent years. The push comes during a phase of industry-wide investment in artificial intelligence (AI).

"In the future, the market is trending to the point where app development platforms have to exhibit certain new characteristics to enable intelligent and useful apps that come to you, instead of you going to an app," Kinvey cofounder and CEO Sravish Sridhar told CNBC in an email.

Kinvey was founded in 2010 and based in Boston. Over the years Kinvey became known as a key provider of mobile backend as a service, which provides the underlying necessary computing and storage infrastructure for apps, with customers such as Schneider Electric and VMware. The company had raised nearly $18 million in venture capital from investors such as Verizon Ventures and NTT Docomo.

One of Kinvey's competitors, Parse, was acquired by Facebook in 2013 and subsequently shut down.

Kinvey will remain available as a standalone product but will be integrated with existing Progress tools such as NativeScript and DataDirect, wrote Sridhar, who will report to Progress CEO Yogesh Gupta.

Progress acquired predictive maintenance start-up DataRPM for $30 million in March.

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Progress buys mobile backend start-up Kinvey for $49 million - CNBC

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell explored options for salvaging the battered Republican health care bill Wednesday but confronted an expanding chorus of GOP detractors, deepening the uncertainty over whether the party can resuscitate its bedrock promise to repeal President Barack Obama's overhaul.

A day after McConnell, short of votes, unexpectedly abandoned plans to whisk the measure through his chamber this week, fresh GOP critics popped forward. Some senators emerged from a party lunch saying potential amendments were beyond cosmetic, with changes to Medicaid and Obama's consumer-friendly insurance coverage requirements among the items in play.

"There's a whole raft of things that people are talking about, and some of it's trimming around the edges and some of it's more fundamental," said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. "Right now, they're still kind of, 'Can we do it?' and I can't answer that."

Yet while this week's retreat on a measure McConnell wrote behind closed doors dented his reputation as a consummate legislative seer, no one was counting him out.

"Once in Glacier National Park I saw two porcupines making love," said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. "I'm assuming they produced smaller porcupines. They produced something. It has to be done carefully. That's what we're doing now."

Having seen the House approve its health care package in May six weeks after an earlier version collapsed, Democrats were far from a victory dance.

"I expect to see buyouts and bailouts, backroom deals and kickbacks to individual senators to try and buy their vote," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "What I don't expect to see, yet, is a dramatic rethink of the core" of the bill.

A day after McConnell prodded Republicans by saying a GOP failure would force him to negotiate with Schumer, the New Yorker set a price for such talks no Medicaid cuts or tax reductions for the wealthy. No negotiations seem imminent.

Facing a daunting equation the bill loses if three of the 52 GOP senators oppose it the list of Republicans who've publicly complained about the legislation reached double digits, though many were expected to eventually relent. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said "of course" his support was uncertain because he wants to ease some of the measure's Medicaid cuts, and Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., told The Omaha World-Herald that the bill was not a full repeal, adding, "Nebraskans are dissatisfied with it and so am I."

McConnell, R-Ky., wants agreement by Friday on revisions so the Senate can approve it shortly after returning in mid-July from an Independence Day recess. Several senators scoffed at that timetable, with McCain saying, "Pigs could fly."

At the White House, Trump continued his peculiar pattern of interspersing encouragement to GOP senators trying to tear down Obama's 2010 statute with more elusive remarks.

Trump told reporters that Republicans have "a great health care package" but said there would be "a great, great surprise," a comment that went without explanation. On Tuesday, he said it would be "great if we get it done" but "OK" if they don't, and two weeks ago he slammed as "mean" the House version of the bill that he'd previously lionized with a Rose Garden ceremony.

The GOP's health care slog has highlighted discord between moderates who say the bill cuts Medicaid and federal health care subsidies too deeply, and conservatives eager to reduce government spending and shrink premiums by letting insurers sell policies with scantier coverage than Obama's law allows.

GOP support for the measure sagged this week after a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would produce 22 million fewer insured people by 2026 while making coverage less affordable for many, especially older and poorer Americans. It wasn't helped when an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll said that 17 percent of people approved of the Senate bill.

McConnell showed no signs of abandoning his push for the legislation.

"We'll continue working so we can bring legislation to the floor for debate and ultimately a vote," he said as the Senate convened Wednesday.

To succeed, McConnell must balance demands from his party's two wings. It's a challenge that's intricate but not impossible, with some saying an eventual compromise could include elements both want.

Centrists from states that expanded Medicaid health insurance for the poor under Obama's law are battling to ease the bill's cutoff of that expansion, and to make the measure's federal subsidies more generous for people losing Medicaid coverage. These senators, including Ohio's Rob Portman and West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito, also want expanded funds to ease the death toll from the illegal use of drugs like opioids.

Conservatives including Ted Cruz of Texas, Utah's Mike Lee and Kentucky's Rand Paul want to let insurers sell policies with fewer benefits. Some would further trim Medicaid spending and the health care tax credits, with Paul seeking to erase the package's billions to help insurers contain costs for lower-earning customers and protect the companies against potential losses.

Each group has been trying to grow its numbers to boost clout with McConnell.

AP reporters Stephen Ohlemacher, Kenneth Thomas and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

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Little progress evident as GOP hunts health bill votes - ABC News

LONDON Britain's progress in tackling climate change is stalling and new strategies and policies are needed to ensure ambitious greenhouse gas emissions cuts continue, the government's climate advisers said in a report on Thursday.

Britain's greenhouse gas emissions are around 42 percent lower than in 1990, which is around half way towards the government's legally binding target to slash them by 80 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels, the Committee on Climate Change report said.

The progress so far has been achieved even though gross domestic product has risen by more than 65 percent since 1990.

However, most of the emissions reductions have occurred in the power and waste sectors. Emissions in the transport and building sectors are rising and infrastructure remains vulnerable to severe weather.

"The good news is we have got half way. But the way we have achieved this is almost entirely focused on the power sector," Matthew Bell, chief executive of the committee, told Reuters.

"We cannot extrapolate that to 2050. Power sector emissions have been lowered so much ... We won't get the remaining distance we need if other sectors don't start contributing," he said.

Earlier this week, Britain's new climate change minister, Claire Perry, said the government would publish its Clean Growth Plan - a framework for how Britain will reduce emissions in the 2020s and 2030s - after the parliamentary summer recess.

Parliament closes on July 20 and reconvenes on Sept. 5.

The plan's release was originally scheduled for late 2016. The delay has been criticized by investors who are looking for policy certainty.

Under current policies, Britain is on track to miss its legally-binding emission reduction targets for the mid-2020s onwards, prompting calls for more action in the heat, buildings, industry, transport and agriculture sectors.

The government also needs to present Parliament with detailed measures to address climate risks, such as risks to households and businesses from flooding, so its national adaptation program can be published early next year, the report said.

Britain has experienced significant political upheaval over the past year after a referendum resulted in the move to leave the European Union.

"There is concern Brexit negotiations divert a lot of attention and resources but we also need to think about climate change issues," Bell added.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

MANILA A ban on open-pit mining in the Philippines enforced by a former environment minister has "no legal basis" and is under review, a senior official at the government's mines bureau said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee asked the Pentagon on Wednesday to produce a report on climate change and its effects on the military.

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Britain's progress on climate change is stalling, government advisers say - Reuters

Matthew Florjancic, WKYC 4:16 PM. EDT June 28, 2017

Starting pitcherMikeClevingercontinues to make progress in the Cleveland Indians' rotation. (Photo: David Richard, Custom)

CLEVELAND -- Pitcher Mike Clevinger is making the most out of his latest opportunity in the Cleveland Indians starting rotation.

Despite the Indians (40-36) suffering a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers (39-38) at Progressive Field Tuesday night, Clevinger allowed just two hits, two walks and one earned run over six innings of work against the Rangers.

Just staying locked in on every pitch, thats what Im kind of working on getting into this because it felt like the last start, I was a little sporadic, Clevinger said. My mind was going different places, and that was the main focus here.

Its always trying to take the positives and negatives and see where you go with each start. Im trying to do the same here.

The Rangers drew even with the Indians in the top of the fifth inning.

After former Indians slugger, and current Rangers designated hitter, Mike Napoli and second baseman Rougned Odor struck out and grounded out, respectively, catcher Robinson Chirinos belted a 2-1 slider from Clevinger into the seats in left field for the game-tying run.

I was trying to throw the same slider I was throwing all game, and that one just kind of backed up on me, Clevinger said. Not a good time for it.

Although Clevinger surrendered his seventh home run in 10 appearances, including nine starts this season, he was more than settled in for his six innings of work.

Clevinger struck out nine Rangers hitters and found the strike zone with 61 of his 102 pitches.

Pitching 0-1 is a hell of a lot easier than 1-0, Clevinger said. Im just trying to get the advantage and play the percentages more in my favor. It was almost like they found the barrel last start, and I started nit-picking the corners and getting a little bit away from my gameplan.

It was a lot more controlled, and I used my intensity to my advantage when need be this game, as opposed to last game, when it was hit or miss.

Over his last three starts, including Tuesdays against the Rangers, Clevinger has posted a 1-0 record with a 2.40 earned run average. Over 15 innings pitched, Clevinger has registered 17 strikeouts against seven walks and held opponents to a .196 batting average.

The first couple innings, he threw a lot of pitches, and then, he started feeling more confident with his stuff and started really throwing it, all of his pitches, Indians bench coach Brad Mills said. Attacking the zone is probably the word I could use there and really did a good job.

His pitch count kind of leveled off and came down, and he really did a good job. Anytime he goes through with a pretty good-hitting ball club and do what he does, Im sure hed like to have one 1-2 breaking ball back, but at the same time, he threw the ball extremely well, and its something he can really hang his hat on. Im really proud of the way he threw the ball.

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Mike Clevinger continues to make progress for Cleveland Indians - WKYC-TV

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Wolf sees budget 'progress;' evidence wanting Pittsburgh Post-Gazette HARRISBURG Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that state budget talks are going well. The evidence, however, has yet to be seen. Pennsylvania's new fiscal year starts Saturday, and legislators have yet to say how they will fill a gaping shortfall in the ... and more »

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Wolf sees budget 'progress;' evidence wanting - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

First-year Sunset Hills coach OKeefe is encouraged by his teams steady improvement

By SCOTT MARION, smarion@edwpub.net

Caroline Byron of Sunset Hills competes in the mixed 15-16 200-yard medley relay during Wednesdays dual meet against Paddlers of Granite City.

Caroline Byron of Sunset Hills competes in the mixed 15-16 200-yard medley relay during Wednesdays dual meet against Paddlers of Granite City.

Riley Steinkuhler of Sunset Hills competes in the 9-10 boys division during the diving portion of the meet.

Riley Steinkuhler of Sunset Hills competes in the 9-10 boys division during the diving portion of the meet.

SWIMMING: Stingrays show progress in loss to Paddlers

Victories are still hard to come by for the Sunset Hills swim team, but it continues to show signs of progress.

On Wednesday, the host Stingrays dropped to 0-2 in SWISA with a 423-265 loss to Paddlers of Granite City, but first-year Sunset Hills coach Dan OKeefe felt his team accomplished most of its goals.

I dont care so much about times, but I thought we raced very well. We finished and we raced hard to the wall, OKeefe said. It was a close meet for much of the way, but there some races where they had three or four kids and we didnt have any, which means we didnt get any points in those races. When we did get compete against them, I was pretty happy about how we did.

The girls team standings were fairly close, with Paddlers beating Sunset Hills 191-152. The Paddlers boys won by a considerable margin, outscoring the Stingrays 232-113.

Paddlers, which lost by two points to Splash City of Collinsville in its opening meet, improved to 1-1.

Despite the loss, OKeefe is encouraged by the potential of the Stingrays younger age groups, especially the 8-and-under girls.

We were talking tonight about moving one of those girls up in one of our next relays because were not very deep in terms of bodies for relays, OKeefe said. Were missing a few kids in the other age groups, including one of our top 9-10 boys. Thats kind of the nature of summer swimming, but we hope to build up an atmosphere and a competitive spirit of team unity. We want that to carry over and get them excited to do stuff more long-term.

Four Stingrays swimmers Gabby Cook (7-8 girls) Rachel Johnson (9-10 girls), Caroline Byron (13-14 girls) and Josie ODay (13-14 girls) each won three individual events.

The coaches are really great and they help us a lot and cheer us on, Byron said. Dan gives us lots of help at practice and one-on-one time to work on our strokes.

We definitely can improve a lot and weve already gotten the highest places weve had. I know we havent won in a while, but weve been doing a lot better this year.

Two-time winners for Sunset Hills included Emma Nativi (6-and-under girls), Savannah Turley (9-10 girls), Owen Gruben (11-12 boys), Madelyn Milburn (11-12 girls), Thomas Hyten (13-14 boys), Henry Gruben (15-18 boys) and Lydia Hemings (15-18 girls).

Other individual winners for the Stingrays were Mac Dacus (6-and-under boys) Grace Cook (7-8 girls), Riley Steinkuhler (9-10 boys), Andrew Byron (11-12 boys), Andrew Billhartz (15-18 boys).

Mitchell Steinhkuhler (13-14 boys) didnt win a first-place medal for Sunset Hills, but hes also excited about the Stingrays potential.

Every day we come to practice and work hard and weve really been improving on specific strokes, breaststroke in particular, Steinkuhler said. We only have four guys (in 13-14 boys), so we barely make a relay, but weve been dropping seconds off our time in every race.

As far as goals for myself, instead of second and third every time, Id like to win a few races. Team-wise, wed also like to get a couple wins in our relays.

As a new coach, OKeefe is still learning about his swimmers and their capabilities.

I lean on (assistant coaches) Drew May and Kate May a lot for their knowledge of what these kids can do, OKeefe said. Im encouraged every day by what I see them do in practice.

Relay winners on the girls side for Sunset Hills included the 7-8 100-yard medley relay, the 13-14 200-yard medley relay, the 7-8 100-yard freestyle relay and the 15-18 200-yard freestyle relay.

On the boys side, relay winners for the Stingrays were the 7-8 100-yard medley relay, the 13-14 200-yard medley relay, the 7-8 100-yard freestyle relay and the 15-18 200-yard freestyle relay.

Sunset Hills also won the 7-8 mixed 100-yard medley relay, the 7-8 mixed 100-yard freestyle relay and the 15-18 mixed 200-yard freestyle relay.

The Sunset Hills divers also lost to Paddlers on Wednesday, but Stingrays coach Gayle Lindsay felt her team performed well considering it was outnumbered.

We dont have as many divers as last year, but the ones who did come out have worked really hard and I see a big improvement from the beginning of the year, Lindsay said. Theyre starting to do more degree of difficulty dives, which Im happy with.

Sunset Hills doesnt swim again until it hosts Splash City on July 6. The meet will start at 6 p.m.

Weve got a few things that we want to work on in particular and the break will be nice, OKeefe said. Weve had three meets in six days (including the SWISA Relay Meet on Monday), so well get a little bit of rest and work on a few finer points.

Continued here:

SWIMMING: Stingrays show progress in loss to Paddlers - The Edwardsville Intelligencer

A Ford Fusion navigates an autonomous testing site in Ann Arbor, Mich. Photo credit: FORD

ANN ARBOR -- Codrin Cionca's left hand grasps the roof-mounted grab handle while his right hand rests on his leg. Cionca, a Ford engineer working on the company's autonomous vehicles, puts the Fusion's transmission into L, which powers up the car's self-driving electronics. Then he moves his feet off the pedals.

We're ready to roll.

Mcity, located on the campus of the University of Michigan, is a test course for autonomous light vehicles with many of the traffic features of urban driving. There are roundabouts, traffic lights and stop signs, pedestrian crosswalks and other types of infrastructure that self-driving cars will someday have to interact with.

Of course, Ford wouldn't have invited reporters to ride along as observers if its fleet of autonomous Fusions couldn't flawlessly pilot themselves around Mcity. So, while I was not surprised the cars didn't swerve off the road, hit a pedestrian crossing the street or veer into the bicyclist ahead of us, I was impressed with how smoothly the car worked and how quickly it sensed and adjusted to its surroundings.

Engineers have long known they could build self-driving cars -- even before cars had cameras and computers and other high-tech gear.

They've been installing the building blocks for modern autonomous vehicles since the 1980s, starting with antilock brakes, traction control, electric power steering, drive-by-wire, adaptive cruise control, cameras, etc.

Now, as engineers tie these components together, along with lidar, radar and high-definition mapping, the car is basically becoming a thinking machine that is aware of its place in the world.

The Fusion test drive, for me at least, conveyed that the mechanical bits won't be the hard part. It'll be the computers and software that gets all the components to play nicely together that will be the toughest hurdle to overcome. Think of it this way: Imagine you are at a dinner table where everyone speaks a different language. That's what engineers are facing as they try to make dozens of different technologies work as a system.

When you consider the billions of dollars automakers and suppliers are investing in automated driving technology, you expect to see the fast progress that is being made.

I tested a Land Rover recently that basically drove itself short distances off the road using a technology called "platooning," where the vehicle communicates with the one ahead of it. So, even if the lines in the road are not clearly visible and vehicles don't communicate with buildings and traffic lights, self-driving cars, using high-definition mapping and other technologies, can still function safely in certain situations.

I believe it's going to be many years, decades perhaps, until self-driving cars integrate safely onto the nation's roads and transport passengers 100 percent safely 100 percent of the time. It's not because the technology won't be ready. It's already here, and it works today in places like Mcity

As we approach a roundabout, the Fusion slows itself smoothly, then enters and executes the turn, remaining in its lane, and then exits. No easy feat. But a roundabout is a perfect example of the difficulty engineers face as they develop self-driving technology.

"Roundabouts are considered to be very challenging for automated vehicle technology," says Helen Kourous, a Ford engineer. "They are very unstructured. No two are alike. You can find many different configurations. Human drivers can sometimes get confused in them," she says.

In geofenced areas, such as the parking lot at Walt Disney World, a gated community, or a college campus, Level 5 self-driving vehicles make perfect sense, and they will work. I can see Level 3 vehicles in a few years where vehicles can drive themselves on highways but must hand off to the human driver if they can't figure out a situation. And that's about really all we can expect in the next 25 years.

I don't expect in my lifetime to ever ride on a public road in a Level 5 car, you know, sitting in the back seat reading Automotive News as the vehicle whisks me to work.

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Progress on the road to autonomy - Automotive News (subscription) (blog)

Kevin Williamson nailed the truth in his recent essay civil asset-forfeiture laws are indeed the death of due process. Justice Thomas sees that clearly and perhaps a majority will be persuaded the next time a case involving those laws reaches the Supreme Court.

However, the widespread opposition to allowing police to seize an innocent persons property simply on suspicion that it was somehow involved in or resulted from a crime is having an impact at the state level. In Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois, bills have either been signed or have reached the governors desk that make their laws less amenable to abuse by police who want to engage in some legal plunder. And in Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court has ruled in an ugly case (a 72-year-old woman was going to lose her house because her son sold some drugs in it) that the Eighth Amendments prohibition against excessive fines applies to such forfeitures. That decision will cut into the profitability of civil asset forfeiture.

I discuss those advances in my latest Forbes article.

Sadly, Congress is sitting on its hands. A bill that would defang this viper as practiced by the federal government, the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act, is stuck in its respective Senate and House committees. Yes, Congress is busy, but in the past there has been heavy support from Democrats and Republicans for the legislation. Getting the FAIR Act passed shouldnt be terribly hard. Months ago, President Trump (after meeting with some sheriffs in Texas) indicated his opposition to reforming civil asset forfeiture, but it might be possible to get him to see that signing a reform bill into law would be most popular in lower-income and minority communities. If he wants to increase his support there, that would be a good move. In any case, repairing the damage civil asset forfeiture does to due process of law should need no political calculus.

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Some Progress against the Evils of Civil Asset Forfeiture - National Review

House Republican lawmakers are skeptical that their GOP colleagues across the Capitol can pass a healthcare bill this week, and say there are no immediate plans to stick around and rubber stamp the Senate bill, even if they do manage to find the votes.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., did not warn lawmakers in a Tuesday meeting that they might be asked to consider the Senate bill this week, and he did not give any indication whether Republicans would simply approve the Senate version or go to conference, where the two sides would try to cut a compromise deal.

As of Tuesday, the House is scheduled to leave for a week-long recess on Friday.

"They have not even finished their bill, so we haven't made any decisions," Ryan said Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers.

Others said it wouldn't be easy for the Senate to simply tack on a few amendments and get the bill across the finish line.

"There's a lot more work to be done," said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. "I don't like to make predictions, but I don't think it will pass out of the Senate this week."

While some Republican lawmakers predicted the House GOP will ultimately pass whatever the Senate manages to complete, others said it would take time, consideration and negotiations with the Senate. The House worked for weeks to come up with a consensus on their own legislation and many are not prepared to simply approve of the Senate version.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who heads the House Freedom Caucus, the GOP's most conservative faction, said the House should consider remaining in session to take up the Senate bill if they can pass it this week, depending on what is in it.

"Really at this point, if the amendments are enough to bring over conservatives and moderates then yes, we should stay," Meadows said. "If not, then we need to go to conference and figure out how to find consensus."

But other House Republicans said a more realistic timeline is the end of July, before lawmakers leave for the five-week August recess.

"I think it has a long ways to go before anyone can draw a conclusion," Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., a conservative, told the Washington Examiner. "I think there are going to be a lot of changes between now and then. They can make it very easy, they can make it more conservative, but then they would lose some moderates."

Conservatives in the House are ready to pick apart whatever the Senate is able to do.

"I don't think we can give the Senate a pass," Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, told the Washington Examiner. "We have to take a look at this legislation."

One top GOP lawmaker predicted the House would rubber stamp the Senate bill because members have come to realize that the legislation has been negotiated to the point where there is no more room for change.

"If it passes in the Senate, the House will take it up and pass it," the lawmaker predicted.

Senate Republicans are engaged in behind-the-scenes negotiations with GOP holdouts and are trying to lure in both political ends of their conference with changes to the bill.

Senate GOP leaders have not scheduled a vote to proceed to the legislation due to opposition from both conservatives and centrists.

Some of the proposed changes they hope will draw support include additional money to aid states battling the opioid addiction epidemic, which could attract centrists. Another change would expand health savings accounts, a conservative priority.

Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said Senate passage would pressure the House GOP to act.

"Without a doubt, if it passed over in the Senate there would be the energy over here to get it done, to get it finalized," Walker said.

House Republicans steered clear of discussing the Senate legislation during an hour-long private meeting in the Capitol basement Tuesday morning. Instead, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price addressed the group briefly about administrative moves on healthcare reform, and the rest of the time was dedicated to this week's House floor schedule, which includes a lawsuit reform measure and bills addressing illegal immigration and sanctuary cities.

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House GOP skeptical of Senate progress on healthcare this week - Washington Examiner

John Sutcliffe says there's plenty of lineup decisions to be made with Mexico's depleted squad as they prepare to face Germany. Jonathan Dos Santos explains Mexico's need for squad rotation, and their optimistically pragmatic approach vs. Germany.

SOCHI, Russia -- When you think of Mexico national team fans, what should spring to mind is color and passion. And, sure enough, at each stop so far at the Confederations Cup, curious Russians have lined up to take photos with El Tri supporters dressed as El Chapulin Colorado, mariachis, luchadores or with Jorge Campos replica shirts.

But that undoubtedly positive aspect of fandom has been overshadowed by that goalkeeper chant. Mexico fans chant "puto" in unison as the opposition goalkeeper runs up to take goal kicks. It's common in Liga MX matches and in those involving the national team.

The Mexican federationargues the term is not an anti-gay slurwhen it is chanted en masse inside stadiums, FIFA disagrees. It has been ruled anti-gay by the world governing body, which has fined and warned the FMF on multiple occasions since November 2015. There have also been fears that home games would have to be moved away from Estadio Azteca.

The controversy first garnered global attention at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when FIFA received a complaint from anti-discrimination group Fare. The disciplinary committee ruled then that the chant was "not considered insulting in this specific context" and dismissed charges against the Mexican federation.

Since then, the FMF has launched campaigns to end the chant but there have been numerous incidents, including several during World Cup qualifiers. Last October, FIFA issued a fine of 85,000 Swiss francs ($85,000) against the Mexican federation and an appeal is currently being adjudicated upon by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In Russia, FIFA issued another warning"in relation to insulting and discriminatory chants" after the opening 2-2 draw against Portugal in Kazan, stressing that "additional measures" could be taken.

With new rules in place for the Confederations Cup giving referees the power to abandon games if there is discrimination from the stands, the fear within the Mexican federation was a match being suspended and / or some of the 2,000-strong El Tri supporters in Russia being escorted out of stadiums.

The response from the FMF has been unequivocal, with general secretary Guillermo Cantu telling ESPN that the aim is to eradicate the chant in games "all over the world" and hoping that "fans will be more educated over time." Mexico captain Andres Guardado reinforced the message.

So far, the message seems to be getting through. The chant was not heard in Mexico's last two group games and reports that two fans were escorted out of the stadium in Sochi were proved to be incorrect; FIFA told ESPN FC the stories were "without base" and they had no knowledge of the incident happening.

Speaking to a multiple Mexico fans in Russia over the past week, the feeling is that it is time to stop the chant. Outside Fisht Stadium in Sochi before the match against New Zealand, fans held up a banner asking others to refrain from chanting, while pamphlets were also handed out.

"We won't be shouting it," Mexico City native Sandra Brinones told ESPN FC. "It's been communicated and I think we Mexicans have to show that we have culture and respect for other countries and for ourselves."

"Why create a problem if we can be kicked out of the stadium, the federation can be fined or the national team punished with the suspension of a game," questioned "Caramelo," who can be seen at every Mexico game with his "Chihuahua" flag. "We're trying to make this a turning point to ask people to stop."

However, despite his desire to see an end to the chant, "Caramelo," as well as Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio, Guardado, Cantu and many fans, still don't think it is offensive.

"When it is screamed in the stadiums, it has this double entendre," Juan Jacobo Hernandez, founder of Mexican gay rights organization Colectivo Sol, told ESPN FC in an interview. "There's the festive interpretation saying that the others are imbeciles, clumsy and don't know how to score. But it's also sexist."

The origins of the chant are not 100 percent certain, but the most often-cited explanationsuggests that it is a relatively recent phenomenon, as opposed to a long-standing tradition in Mexican football.

It was first heard in 2003 when Atlas fans shouted it toward their former goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez, who had left the club for America seven years earlier and then moved on to Chivas in 1999. The trigger four years after that, it is claimed, was statements Sanchez made before the game about his heart belonging to Chivas.

But while fans in Russia have largely towed the line, it remains to be seen what will happen when Mexico plays in front of bigger crowds at the Gold Cup in the United States next month, or when World Cup qualifying resumes in September. A recent ESPN Mexico pollrevealed 69 percent of fans will continue to shout it, despite efforts to curb it and potential repercussions.

And so the future is uncertain, although it helps that supporters' groups like Ola Verde and Pancho Villa's Army are active in attempts to end the controversy. "PVA is going to work with fans throughout the Gold Cup to stop the chant," said founder Sergio Tristan. "We will be focusing on education, passing out pamphlets and doing videos, and then creating something new for the opposing goal kick."

With Mexico part of the 2026 World Cup bid along with the United States and Canada, this would be an opportune moment for the chant to disappear. The signs in Russia so far have been positive but time will tell whether this is the beginning of its end. There are bigger tests to come.

Tom Marshall covers Liga MX and the Mexican national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @MexicoWorldCup.

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Despite progress over controversial Mexico fan chant, bigger tests remain - ESPN FC (blog)