In the years to come, the experiment unfolding at Chelsea under their American investors will be a fascinating case study in how to run a soccer club.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose modestly last week, but the level of claims remains at healthy levels.

Rights groups on Thursday expressed renewed concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel’s latest evacuation orders in parts of the overcrowded central city of Deir al-Balah.

The polio virus has been circulating in the battered Palestinian enclave for the first time in 25 years, relief organization the International Rescue Committee said in a statement. It said the spread resulted from the destruction of hospitals and water infrastructure, along with overcrowded living conditions.

Delta Air Lines will extend its suspension of flights to Israel by another month, through Oct. 31, as Israel and the militant group Hamas show no signs of ending the war in Gaza.

"Delta is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports," the airline said in a travel advisory.

If trying to compete with Real Madrid and newly arrived Kylian Mbappé wasn't daunting enough, now Hansi Flick's Barcelona squad is being thinned out by departures.

Barcelona looks set to lose both Ilkay Gundogan and Vitor Roque in the coming days — or even hours — with both players reportedly close to exits.

Fulham completed the signing of Sander Berge from relegated Burnley for a reported 25 million pounds ($32.8 million) on a five-year contract on Thursday, with the Norway international set to replace the departed Joao Palhinha as the club's holding midfielder.

Palhinha left for Bayern Munich in the transfer window.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said Wednesday he is retiring from the national team after 15 years and 124 games. He is staying in club football with Bayern Munich.

The 38-year-old Neuer made his debut for Germany in 2009 and won the World Cup in 2014. His last game for the national team was the 2-1 extra-time loss to eventual champion Spain in the quarterfinals as Germany hosted Euro 2024.

Two weeks after organizers scrubbed Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna amid a foiled terror plot, the singer issued her first statement on the cancellations.

"Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating," she wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday. "The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows."

Global shares mostly rose Thursday, as market optimism got a boost from a rally on Wall Street on better-than-expected profit reports from major companies.

France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 7,556.62 in early trading, while Germany's DAX added 0.4% to 18,515.22. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 8,314.16. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures rising 0.1% to 41,055.00. S&P 500 futures gained nearly 0.1% to 5,646.50.

Summer heat scorched Texas and the Southwest on Wednesday, pushing Phoenix to nearly 90 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures and putting millions of people under excessive heat warnings.

Meanwhile, energy demand in Texas hit an unofficial all-time high Tuesday, according to data from the state's grid operator.