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Sam TigheOct 2, 2025, 03:14 AM ETCloseSam is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster for ESPN. He will write on the Premier League, scouting and transfers.Passing combinations can be extremely revealing when it comes to how Premier League teams play. Who sees the ball a lot, and who do they pass to? Who receives lots of passes — and, intriguingly in some cases, who doesn’t?We’re still only six games into the season and therefore working with a small sample size, but already some trends are emerging.Let’s dig into what the top teams’ most common passing connections tell us about their style.Arsenal…

The race to build artificial intelligence-driven economies is transforming how the global economy and societies are organized. Breakthroughs in generative AI and machine learning in recent years have accelerated a new industrial revolution—one in which nations that can develop and deploy the most powerful computing infrastructure will be best positioned to reap the most economic, military and geopolitical advantages. A central part of this competition is AI data centers, also called “AI factories.” Unlike traditional data centers, these sprawling facilities house a high density of specialized AI chips known as graphics processing units, or GPUs. They require customized architectures optimized for AI…

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A former Utah Supreme Court justice is expected to be named the next president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the death of President Russell M. Nelson over the weekend.Announcing his successor — Dallin H. Oaks — is largely a formality because the church has a well-defined leadership hierarchy that has governed it for decades. Nothing will change in the leadership body until some time after Nelson’s funeral, which is scheduled for Oct. 7.Here’s a closer look at how the leadership structure is arranged and how new members are chosen:Who leads…

Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2025. NYSE On Wednesday, the U.S. government ground to a halt. Stock markets, however, jumped — one benchmark even hit a record high.Traders in prediction markets are betting the shutdown will last nearly two weeks. Nothing too radical, since that’s the average length it takes for the government to reopen, based on data going back to 1990 from Bank of America.The government stoppage isn’t putting the brakes on the stock market momentum. Are investors getting too adventurous? Well, history shows the pattern is not new. The S&P 500 has…

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria is set to hold parliamentary elections on Sunday for the first time since the fall of the country’s longtime autocratic leader, Bashar Assad, who was unseated in a rebel offensive in December.Under the 50-year rule of the Assad dynasty, Syria held regular elections in which all Syrian citizens could vote. But in practice, the Assad-led Baath Party always dominated the parliament, and the votes were widely regarded as sham elections.Outside election analysts said the only truly competitive part of the process came before election day — with the internal primary system in the Baath Party, when…

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli has been imprisoned, but his reporting remains defiantly alive.From behind bars, the veteran journalist delivers news and sharp political commentary on his YouTube channel through letters relayed by his lawyers. The letters are read aloud by an assistant in an initiative Altayli’s peers have dubbed “prison journalism.”“Fatih Altayli has launched a new form of journalism: prison journalism,” fellow journalist Murat Yetkin, wrote on his news website, Yetkin Report. “Drawing on visits from legislators, letters, and his lawyers — he continues his journalism uninterrupted, conveying not only information from inside but also insights…

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president apologized Thursday for poorly managed foreign adoption programs that were rife with abuses and fraud, months after the country’s truth commission admitted state responsibilities for such practices for the first time.President Lee Jae Myung said in a Facebook post that he was offering “heartfelt apology and words of comfort” on behalf of the country to South Koreans adopted abroad and their adoptive and birth families.Findings by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and recent court rulings have confirmed some cases of human rights abuses in the course of international adoptions, Lee said, adding…

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — A monarchy at the heart of Europe is preparing for a generational change. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg will abdicate the throne on Friday after 25 years as head of state in favor of his eldest son, Guillaume. Henri has filled the largely ceremonial role of grand duke alongside his Cuban-born wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, as the government steered the country through troubles like the 2008 financial crisis, the greatest shock to Luxembourg’s economy since the 1970s.The tall and reserved 70-year-old Henri was educated in France, Switzerland and at the United Kingdom’s military academy Sandhurst. His…

HONG KONG (AP) — Tropical Storm Matmo edged closer to the Philippines on Thursday and was expected to intensify into a typhoon that could threaten southern China this weekend, just about a week after the region was battered by Ragasa, one of the strongest storms to hit Asia in years. Matmo, which had maximum sustained winds of 65 kph (40 mph), is forecast to move west-northwest to the vicinity of Luzon, the Philippines’ most populous region, at about 22 kph (13 mph), according to Hong Kong’s observatory on Thursday morning. The country’s central region was already grappling with the aftermath…

The second matchday of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League league phase is in the books and, while the table is only starting to take shape, there are plenty of talking points beginning to crop up.Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain won away at Barcelona, while Arsenal and Real Madrid ensured that their campaigns have begun with maximum points.Liverpool, however, slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Galatasaray, while Julián Álvarez and Rasmus Højlund were amongst the goals in wins for Atlético Madrid and Napoli.Read on as ESPN experts Mark Ogden, Julien Laurens, Sam Tighe and Gab Marcotti offer their thoughts on Matchday 2.What’s…