A New York Yankees jersey worn by Babe Ruth during perhaps the most storied moment of the baseball legend’s career has sold for $24.12 million, shattering the record for most expensive sports collectible sold at auction.

The gray road jersey, sold by Heritage Auctions on Sunday in Dallas, was said to be worn by Ruth when he “called his shot” in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs.

The sale almost doubles the previous auction record for the most paid for a piece of sports memorabilia. That was for a 1952 Topps card of another Yankee legend, Mickey Mantle, which fetched $12.6 million at a Heritage auction in 2022. Before Sunday, the most expensive game-worn sports jersey was that worn by Michael Jordan in the first Chicago Bulls game of the 1998 NBA Finals; it sold for $10.1 million in 2022.

To authenticate the jersey, it was photo-matched by several third parties, using three photos that were taken before and after the famed World Series game, according to Heritage.

It was during that 1932 game at Wrigley Field in which Ruth was said to have prophesized the placement of his second and final home run of the game, which the Yankees won 7-5 before taking the series win from the Cubs. It happened after Ruth got two balls and two strikes on the count.

With grainy black-and-white video footage serving as evidence of the moment, the slugger appears to be pointing beyond the outfield, possibly indicating where he’s about to sink the homer, just before hitting it far over the center field fence.

Another telling has it that Ruth was gesturing toward the Cubs’ dugout, where players had been taunting the Yankee who then decided return the razzing before his hit.

Ruth himself has supported different versions of the event, at one point claiming that he called his shot.

What really happened has been disputed as much as its been memorialized in film and imitated on amateur baseball fields.

“It is a mystery to this day,” sports journalist Joe Posnanski told NPR’s Scott Simon last year. “What we do know is that the Cubs dugout was really riding Ruth, and he was really, you know, sort of riding them back. And we know he made some very grand gestures with his hand. There are those who say he held up his finger just to say it only takes one swing. And there are some who say he held up two fingers because they say he was saying, ‘OK, I have two strikes, and watch what I do now.’ ”

Fittingly, there’s been an equally meticulous debate in the process to authenticate the jersey, with one third-party company ruling ahead of the auction that their photo-matching was unable to confirm a match.

The myth surrounding Ruth’s play that day has only strengthened his legendary status in baseball history, Heritage Director of Sports Chris Ivy suggested, after a more than six-hour bidding war over the jersey.

“It is clear by the strong auction participation and record price achieved that astute collectors have no doubt as to what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents,” Ivy said in a statement. “The legend of Babe Ruth and the myth and mystery surrounding his ‘called shot’ are united in this one extraordinary artifact.”

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Israel’s military launched a wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon in the early hours of Sunday, in what it said was an attempt to foil an “extensive attack” by the militant group Hizbollah.

The exchange of fire was the biggest between Israel and Iran-backed Hizbollah since they fought a 34-day war in 2006, and marked a sharp escalation of the hostilities that have simmered between the two sides since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last year.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah’s leader, sought to draw a line under the exchange on Sunday evening, saying the attack was over, although its impact would still have to be assessed.

“If the result is satisfactory and the intended goal is achieved, we will consider the response operation has ended,” Nasrallah said in a televised address. “If the result is not enough, we will reserve the right to respond at another time.”

Nasrallah said Lebanese people who had fled their homes in fear of a wider war could return, adding that they could now “take a breath and relax”. 

Israel began its attack shortly before 5am local time, deploying 100 jets to bomb about 40 sites in Lebanon after identifying what it said were preparations by Hizbollah “to fire missiles and rockets”.

Nasrallah said the group had shortly afterward launched more than 340 Katyusha rockets and a large number of drones at 11 military targets in Israel’s north and the occupied Golan Heights, triggering air raid sirens across the area.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Sunday afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s strike had destroyed thousands of short-range rockets and all the drones launched by Hizbollah — which he said had been meant to hit a “strategic target” in the centre of Israel.

“[Hizbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut and [Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei in Tehran need to know that this is an additional step in changing the situation in the north, and returning our residents securely to their homes,” Netanyahu said. “And I reiterate — this is not the end of the story.”

Hizbollah said its barrage was retaliation for Israel’s assassination last month of Fuad Shukr, one of its most senior commanders, in an air strike in Beirut.

The killing of Shukr was followed the next day by the assassination in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. It prompted both Hizbollah and Iran to pledge retaliation against Israel, fuelling fears the region could slide towards all-out conflict.

Nasrallah acknowledged that Hizbollah’s retaliation had been delayed in part because of the mobilisation of Israeli and American military forces. He said a response from Iran and its Yemeni Houthi allies was yet to come.

As the exchange of fire unfolded early on Sunday, Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv suspended flights, and Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant declared a “special situation” across the country, giving him powers to restrict gatherings and limit access to certain areas.

However, according to initial assessments by Israel’s military, the barrage caused “very little” damage. Casualties on both sides were limited. One Israeli soldier was killed — by debris from Israeli missile interceptors, according to the country’s ambassador to the US — and two wounded. Three people — all presumed to be militants — were killed in Lebanon.

By early afternoon, flights to and from Tel Aviv had resumed, and most restrictions in Israel had been lifted. Some flights to and from Beirut were cancelled or delayed, but the airport remained open.

In Lebanon, the Israeli strikes hit around 30 different targets in the south, mostly in areas close to the border, but some further inland. Images circulated in local media showed smoke rising above various wooded areas, likely to be where Hizbollah’s static launchers are positioned, and villages along the border.

Nasrallah said Hizbollah’s attack had gone “as planned” and denied Israeli claims the group had intended to fire thousands of projectiles. Neither Israel nor Hizbollah provided evidence for their claims.

The Hizbollah leader spent much of a one-hour speech seeking to convince his audience the attack had been effective, stressing the decision to strike only military targets and avoid civilian casualties. The speech appeared designed to assuage a domestic audience weary of a war that has displaced more than 100,000 from border areas and killed more than 120 civilians.

Nasrallah said the group’s main target was the Glilot military intelligence base on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. This is about 110km inside Israeli territory, making the attack the deepest yet into the country. The Israeli military said Glilot had not been hit.

The attacks came as officials gathered in Egypt for the latest talks aimed at ending the war. The US and Arab states see the talks as the best chance of preventing a full-on conflict.

The White House said US President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon”. Washington has deployed additional warships and fighter aircraft to deter Hizbollah and Iran and help defend Israel.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his family members are free to disagree with his endorsement of former President Donald Trump after five issued a statement calling the move “a betrayal.”

The independent presidential hopeful suspended his campaign and backed the Republican nominee Friday. The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, he is part of one of the nation’s most prominent political dynasties.

But RFK Jr.’s family has long disavowed his candidacy and his history of spreading conspiracy theories. His sister, Kerry Kennedy, released a statement with four other members of the family to X, formerly Twitter, Friday.

“Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear,” she wrote. “It’s a sad ending to a sad story.”

In an an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” RFK Jr. said several of his family members work for President Joe Biden and consider him a friend. He acknowledged his family has long been at the center of the Democratic Party, exemplified by a bust of his father in the president’s Oval Office.

“I understand that they’re troubled by my decisions,” he told Fox News’ Shannon Bream. “But, you know, I think we all need to be able to disagree with each other and still love each other.”

RFK Jr. also thanked his wife Cheryl Hines, who supported his campaign, for her understanding when he endorsed Trump despite her discomfort with the decision.

“I am so grateful to my amazing wife Cheryl for her unconditional love, as I made a political decision with which she is very uncomfortable,” he wrote in a post on X. “I wish this also for the country — love and unity even in the face of disagreement. We will need that in coming times.”

In the interview Sunday, Kennedy confirmed reports that he also reached out to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Libertarian presidential nominee Chase Oliver “on the same basis” as he did with Trump before offering his endorsement to the former president.

He said Trump has not promised him a cabinet position if he is elected in exchange for his endorsement, but that they have agreed to work together and he plans to actively campaign for the Republican nominee.

Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_