VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — Halfway to its goal of gold, the U.S. has the No. 1 seed going into the medal round at the Paris Olympics.

And now the real games start.

Anthony Edwards scored 26 points, six players reached double figures for the U.S. and the Americans wrapped up the top spot coming out of group play by rolling past Puerto Rico 104-83 on Saturday.

The Americans — 3-0 in these Olympics, 8-0 so far this summer — will see Brazil in the win-or-go-home quarterfinals in Paris on Tuesday.

Joel Embiid scored 15 points for the U.S. Kevin Durant scored 11 points for the U.S. to get within five of matching Lisa Leslie for the all-time Olympic scoring record for the U.S.; he’s at 483, and Leslie finished her career with 488 in Olympic play.

LeBron James finished with 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 18 minutes. Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis each added 10 for the U.S., which played without Jrue Holiday because of an ankle that he rolled in the Americans’ win over South Sudan on Wednesday.

Jose Alvarado led Puerto Rico (0-3) with 18 points.

It was the first Olympic matchup between the nations since the Athens Games in 2004, when Puerto Rico ran away in the second quarter and went on to embarrass the U.S. 92-73 in what was James’ debut in the tournament.

Little different story this time.

That day in Athens, Puerto Rico won the second quarter 28-7. This time, the U.S. won the second quarter 39-16. Give Puerto Rico credit; a team that came into Saturday knowing it was eliminated from contention took an eight-point lead late in the first quarter and still led 37-36 with 5:45 left in the half.

The rest of the half: U.S. 28, Puerto Rico 8. The run was quick and decisive.

James had all six of his first-half assists during that burst and the Americans took a 64-45 lead into the break. He finished the flurry with a dunk in the final seconds, ran by his 2004 Athens teammate Dwyane Wade — now commentating for NBC, sitting courtside — while yelling something with a big smile and from there the countdown to wrapping up the No. 1 seed was officially on.

As would be expected, really.

It’s been three games, three easy wins for the Americans so far in France: a 26-point opening victory over Serbia, a 17-point win over South Sudan to clinch the top spot in Group C, and then Saturday’s game against Puerto Rico that once it got one-sided it stayed that way.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., has had to defend his stance on Israel after an op-ed he penned more than three decades ago, in which he wrote of being an Israeli army volunteer and disparaged the Palestinian people, resurfaced.

“Since he wrote this piece as a 20-year-old student, Gov. Shapiro has built close, meaningful, informative relationships with many Muslim-American, Arab-American, Palestinian Christian, and Jewish community leaders all across Pennsylvania,” Shapiro’s spokesman Manuel Bonder told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“The Governor greatly values their perspectives and the experiences he has learned from over the years – and as a result, as with many issues, his views on the Middle East have evolved into the position he holds today,” Bonder continued. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer uncovered the essay that Shapiro wrote for the Campus Times, the student newspaper of the University of Rochester, from which Shapiro graduated in 1995. In the article, Shapiro stressed his view that “Palestinians will not peacefully coexist,” because “they do not have the capabilities to establish their own homelands and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States.”

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“They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own,” Shapiro wrote, identifying himself as a “past volunteer in the Israeli army.” He referred to the Arab world as divided and “belligerent.”

The comments have resurfaced as part of a thorough review of Shapiro as he edges closer to a potential vice-presidential nod for the Democrat ticket topped by current Vice President Kamala Harris after she secured the nomination this week. 

Shapiro’s support for Israel has been controversial inside the Democratic Party due to the strong pro-Palestinian views of the party’s far-left flank. Those who oppose his candidacy launched the “No Genocide Josh” campaign and continue to pressure Harris to pick another running mate. 

Some Jewish members of Congress have said that criticism of Shapiro is unfair and assumes that Jewish politicians cannot be objective on Israel. 

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“I think there is that sense that somehow we’re not objective [on Israel] because we’re Jewish, which is just not true or fair,” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, told Axios. “There are a lot of members who are pro-Israel who have been protested against — I think as Jews it feels particularly intense and personal.”

Bonder pushed back on the idea that the newspaper op-ed, written decades ago, provides any indication of the governor’s current thinking regarding Israel. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (L) speak to the press while making a stop at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Photo by Ryan Collerd/ AFP) (Photo by Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images) (Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images)

“As the Governor has made clear for years, he supports a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live together peacefully – and he believes it is critical for leaders on both sides of this conflict to take meaningful, necessary steps towards a lasting peace,” Bonder stressed. 

“Governor Shapiro has worked hard to bring people together, listen, and keep our communities safe and heard – and he will always be a Governor for all Pennsylvanians,” Bonder added. 

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Addressing the self-identification as a “past volunteer in the Israeli army,” Bonder said, “While he was in high school, Josh Shapiro was required to do a service project, which he and several classmates completed through a program that took them to a kibbutz in Israel where he worked on a farm and at a fishery.”

Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, speaks during a campaign event with U.S. President Joe Biden, not pictured, at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Photographer: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg)

“The program also included volunteering on service projects on an Israeli army base. At no time was he engaged in any military activities,” Bonder said. 

When asked about the article during a Friday press conference, the 51-year-old Shapiro stressed his age and the time that has passed since publishing the article. He reiterated his belief that the only way forward for the region is a two-state solution that allows both Israelis and Palestinians “to determine their own futures and their own destinies,” the Times of Israel reported. 

Shapiro also had earlier this year called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “one of the worst leaders of all time” and blasted him for steering Israel “in a wrong direction,” according to the Times. 

Russian officials on Saturday said Ukrainian forces targeted overnight multiple Russian regions with a massive drone barrage.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that its air defence systems “intercepted and destroyed” a total of 75 drones over a number of regions that lie on the border with Ukraine or not far from it, including Belgorod, Krasnodar, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Voronezh, and the Ryazan region deeper inside Russia.

One of those drones was also shot down over the Azov sea, the statement said. Thirty-six drones were destroyed over the Rostov region, according to the ministry.

Rostov Gov. Vasily Golubev said in an online statement, however, that the region was attacked by a total of 55 drones. He didn’t specify how many of these were intercepted and how many hit the targets, saying only that “warehouse facilities” in the Morozovsk and Kamensky districts sustained damage in the attack.

Ukraine’s General Staff said Saturday in a Facebook post that its forces struck an airfield in Morozovsk, hitting ammunition depots with guided air bombs, as well as fuel depots in the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions.

Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed that an oil depot was hit in his region. He said one of the tanks exploded and caught fire, but it was swiftly put out.

In the Oryol region, two drones crashed into a residential high-rise building, causing a brief fire, Oryol Gov. Andrei Klychkov said. One person sought medical assistance in the aftermath of the attack, he said.

Ukraine’s Air Forces, in the meantime, said on Saturday that Russia overnight attacked Ukraine with 29 Shahed drones and four missiles.

Ukrainian air defences shot down 24 drones over nine regions of the country, Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in an online statement. It wasn’t clear from his statement whether the missiles were intercepted as well or what damage the attack caused.

Meanwhile, Russian forces attacked Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad on Saturday, firing 11 missiles, the Donetsk regional police said. Pokrovsk was hit by seven missiles from the S-300 air defence system, with no casualties reported.

Police recorded 52 destructions – 40 residential buildings, three educational institutions, a polyclinic, an outpatient clinic, a shopping centre, a shop, an industrial facility, and office premises.