Growing up, Teresa Vicente spent long days in Spain's Mar Menor swimming in transparent waters, cupping seahorses in her hands and partying under the moonlit sky. Out there, she recalled, time stood still.
But over the decades, chronic contamination from mining, development and agricultural runoff turned the once crystal-clear waters of Europe's largest saltwater lagoon into a graveyard. A mass fish die-off in 2019 prompted the professor of philosophy of law at the University of Murcia to take action.

Mexico's taking control of its oil sector from U.S. and British companies is taught in schools and celebrated every year. The 1938 nationalization is a point of pride for millions of Mexicans including President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The popular president hails from the Mexican oil industry's heartland, and 16 years ago he led a fight against energy reforms that were aimed at drawing private investment to the massive state-run oil company, Pemex. This year, the front-runner in the race to replace López Obrador chose the anniversary of Mexico's oil expropriation to announce her energy proposals, which include maintaining large-scale petroleum production by Pemex.

Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. The ruling was a stinging rebuke for the Republican former president, who had insisted he was exercising his free speech rights.

Billie Eilish is hitting the road.
The pop performer will embark on a worldwide arena tour this fall, kicking off in Quebec City in Canada on Sept. 29 and concluding in Dublin on July 27, 2025. She'll hit many major cities in North America in 2024 before heading to Australia and then Europe.

Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial with a settlement of the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
A hearing on those issues — including a request from Jamie Spears for a broad ruling dismissing them — had been scheduled for Monday but was pulled from the court calendar after the settlement was approved by a judge on Friday.

Ralph Lauren has been known for many a grand fashion show over the years: taking over Central Park for a sumptuous anniversary celebration, for example, or staging a runway show amid his eye-popping classic car collection.
But for his Fall/Holiday 2024 collection, he decided to go minimal — at least, minimal in Ralph Lauren terms. That meant an intimate show Monday night in a (relatively) small design studio at his New York City offices, inspired by his first women's fashion show in 1972, where he displayed his wares to editors and friends in his own office.

After spending more than three hours on the court and earning a hard-fought victory, Rafael Nadal was feeling optimistic again.
Nadal's body withstood its toughest test yet at this Madrid Open in a 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 win over 91st-ranked Pedro Cachin on Monday.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has apologized upon his return to Bayern Munich for not remembering his German.
"Ich habe vergessen Deutsch (I have forgotten German)," the Italian coach said on Monday in his only words in that language, albeit with the word order mixed up, before the teams meet on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.

Two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo Nazário agreed to sell his stake in embattled Brazilian football club Cruzeiro on Monday. And he plans to do the same at Spain's second division club Real Valladolid, which he has controlled since 2018.
Ronaldo Nazário bought the indebted Cruzeiro's football department in 2021 for about $78 million and is reportedly selling it for almost $117 million.

Lionel Messi took a night off to watch the Miami Heat.
The Inter Miami star and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the world's best player — along with teammates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez — arrived just before tip-off of the Heat playoff game with the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
