No. 1 WNBA Draft Pick Azzi Fudd Headed to Dallas Wings, Same Team as Girlfriend Paige Bueckers

Azzi Fudd has been selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft

NEED TO KNOW

• She'll join her girlfriend, Paige Bueckers, on the Dallas Wings

• Both athletes played college basketball for the University of Connecticut, and went public with their relationship in July 2025

Azzi Fuddand her girlfriendPaige Bueckersare staying together!

On Monday, April 13, Fudd, a 23-year-old Virginia native and former UConn Huskies star, was selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. She will be heading to the Dallas Wings — which just happens to be the same team as Bueckers, 24.

“I’m excited to play again with Paige,”Fudd saidwhile speaking to ESPN after the pick. The couple played at the University of Connecticut, and won a national championship together in 2025.

“She’s an incredible person,” Fudd continued of her girlfriend. “An incredible player, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

The room erupted in cheer as Fudd’s interview played on a large screen inside The Shed at the 2026 WNBA Draft in New York City. Bueckers, who was seated in the audience, was seen smiling as she watched Fudd gush about their future during her big moment.

PEOPLE also caught up with Fudd at the draft, where she shared the helpful tips she’s gotten from her peers, including Bueckers.

“I feel like the advice has mostly been a combination of, one, soak this whole weekend in,” the athlete tells PEOPLE exclusively. “You know, it only happens once — it's your moment — so really take it all in, try to take notes, try to learn, try to just enjoy the moment. And then going forward, be confident, stay true to yourself, do what got you drafted, and also enjoy that moment as well.”

The pairwent public with their relationshipin July 2025, the same year the Huskies won the NCAA National Championship.

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Fudd and Bueckers have been a star couple from the start. They first met while trying out for the USA Women’s Under-16 National Team in 2017, then both made the team and went on to win gold.

It was also Bueckers who encouraged Fudd to commit to UConn.

"Paige is the kind of teammate that everyone wants to play with because she’s so selfless," Fudd toldGlamourin August 2025. "The way she plays, she gets everyone involved. She’s also just a great player, so she attracts so much attention that it makes it easier for everyone else to get good looks and opportunities on the court."

During that same interview, Fudd opened up to the outlet about what it would be like if she ever ended up on the same WNBA team as Bueckers, or if they became rivals.

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“I definitely would love to play with her again; at the same time, I’d love to play against her,” she added. “I think it's kind of a win-win. There’s no bad option.”

Like Fudd, Bueckers was alsoselected as the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draftby the Dallas Wings.

Read the original article onPeople

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No. 1 WNBA Draft Pick Azzi Fudd Headed to Dallas Wings, Same Team as Girlfriend Paige Bueckers

Azzi Fudd has been selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft NEED TO KNOW She'll join her girlfrien...

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Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia picks up emotional save on healthcare appreciation night months after his daughter's death

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia took the mound at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night in what — to that point — had been a fantastic game. Thanks to a late RBI single by new addition Kyle Tucker, the Dodgers wereclinging to a 2-1 lead. And with regular close Edwin Diaz sidelined with arm fatigue, it fell to Vesia to close things out in the ninth inning.

He rose to the occasion, turning in a dominant performance to pick up his second save of the season. Vesia struck out the side on just 10 pitches and showed some emotion after securing the final out of the contest.

There was a good reason for that. Tuesday was healthcare appreciation night at Dodger Stadium, and some of the staff of healthcare workers who cared for Vesia and his family last October — whenhis infant daughter Sterling died— were in the stands to support the Dodgers reliever.

Those healthcare workers made their presence felt during the contest, as the Dodgers broadcast cut to them after every one of Vesia’s strikeouts. Each time they were shown on the broadcast, the healthcare workers were animatedly cheering for Vesia.

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After the game, Vesia nearly started crying when asked about the healthcare workers being at the game.

During an on-field, postgame interview, Vesia pointed to the healthcare workers in the suite and called it a “very emotional day.” He added, “Everyone up there played a very, very, very big part. [My wife] Kay and I are just so happy to be able to share today. For me to get a save, it’s unbelievable.”

Vesia missed the 2025 World Series due to his daughter’s death. With the team still in the thick of the playoffs, Vesia stepped away due to a “deeply personal family matter.” Throughout the series, Vesia was shown support by both the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, whopaid tribute to the relieveron the field during the World Series.

A few days after the World Series ended, Vesia announced thedeath of his infant daughter Sterling. In his post, Vesia thanked the Dodgers, their fans and the Blue Jays for their actions as he and his family were dealing with the loss.

Vesia returned to pitch for the team this season, and is off to an excellent start. Through 7 1/3 innings, he’s yet to give up a run. He’s struck out nine hitters and picked up two saves early on and credited Dodgers fans for showing support and hyping him up before each appearance.

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Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia picks up emotional save on healthcare appreciation night months after his daughter's death

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia took the mound at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night in what — to that point — had been a fantasti...

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In address on media ethics, former Washington Post editor worries about fading moral compass

NEW YORK (AP) — In a speech about the importance of ethics in the news media, veteran editor and retired Washington Post leaderMarty Baronis singling out for criticism CBS News leaders, advocacy journalists and mainstream reporters who failed to aggressively cover former President Joe Biden's fitness for office.

The renowned Baron, also a former editor of The Boston Globe and The Miami Herald, gave a keynote address Wednesday as New York University handed out journalism awards. The Associated Press was praised for its “unyielding defense of ethical standards and principles” for not changing its style guidance after President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico. The AP'slawsuit against the White Housefor reducing some of its access is currently under consideration by an appeals court.

NYU also honored The Atlantic for how it wrote about its editor inadvertently beingincluded in a text chainwith Trump administration and military figures, and student journalists at NYU, Stanford and the University of Texas at Dallas.

Worries that ‘to each his own’ is replacing an ethical compass

While conceding he risked sounding sanctimonious, Baron dove right in. He said he worried that journalists can't agree on an ethical compass — seeking the truth with humility is his suggestion — and that “to each his own” is becoming the evolving ethos for many who cover and talk about the news.

“We will be doing ourselves no favors if that turns out to be the case,” he said. “All of us will likely be tainted by the worst practices of any one of us.”

Baron praised some work he considered exemplary, including Miami Herald reporterJulie K. Brown's reportingon the Jeffrey Epstein case and Knight Ridder stories in the run-up to the Iraq War more than two decades ago. But he spent more time on his concerns.

Among them: How Paramount Global mogul David Ellison and his choice for CBS News editor-in-chief, Free Press founder Bari Weiss, are positioning that network. Paramount is also seeking Trump administration approval for its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which would alsogive the company controlover CNN. Ellison has said CBS News — and CNN if it comes to that — will maintain editorial independence.

Ellison has said he wants CBS News to prioritize talking to Americans who identify as center-left or center-right politically, a group that he considers the majority of the country. Baron said that was “a political goal. It is not a journalistic one.”

He said that a news organization using that as a guiding principle “is fated to compromise ethics when a rock-solid story moving toward publication is deemed to fall outside the designated political comfort zone.” A CBS News representative had no immediate comment.

Ellison's perceived closeness with the Trump administration has become a prism through which much of CBS News' coverage is now viewed.

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For example, the network was criticized in February for different framing of statistics on who ICE was arresting in immigration crackdowns. The network initially reported that 40% of those arrested had no criminal history and that 14% were charged or convicted of violent crimes — the so-called “worst of the worst” the administration had talked about deporting. But later on “CBS Evening News,” the focus had shifted to the statistic that 60% of those arrested had a criminal history.

CBS News has also received attention for inviting Trump administration officials to sit at its table later this month at the White House Correspondent Association dinner. Those dinner invites are common for news outlets at that event — not just CBS — but are being watched more closely due to the administration'sattacks on the media.

Cable networks that operate as a bullhorn for the administration

In his NYU speech, Baron also criticized “cable networks that function as mouthpieces and bullhorns for the administration, who routinely funnel on-air personalities into its top positions and who supply them with lucrative landing spots when they exit. These outlets render themselves largely indistinguishable from the governments they are supposed to cover.”

His remarks came less than 24 hours before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel host, used his Pentagon podium to criticize journalists he said were “only looking for the negative” in their coverage of the Iran war. He said it reminded him of a biblical story of Pharisees who cast doubt on a miracle performed by Christ.

“Your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors,” Hegseth said Thursday.

Baron denounced media figures from both political sides who see everything through a partisan lens, consult only people who say what they want to hear and seize on an isolated fact to make sweeping judgments. “This is an outrage and advocacy industry," he said, “not a fact-finding profession.”

He also said many journalists failed to live up to the mission of seeking the truth about Biden's cognitive and physical struggled during his term as president. Baron announced his retirement from the Post in January 2021, days after Biden took office.

“Did some among us shy from aggressively exploring his intellectual and physical health for fear of aiding Donald Trump's campaign and alienating loyal readers, viewers and listeners?” Baron asked. “My guess is yes. If so, would that be an ethical breakdown in our profession? Again, I'd say yes.”

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him athttp://x.com/dbauderandhttps://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

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In address on media ethics, former Washington Post editor worries about fading moral compass

NEW YORK (AP) — In a speech about the importance of ethics in the news media, veteran editor and retired Washington Post leaderMarty Ba...

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Trump’s arch gets overwhelmingly negative public feedback but appears poised to move forward

President Donald Trump’s proposedtriumphal archproject received overwhelmingly negative feedback from preservationist groups and members of the public as plans for the massive structure were presented on Thursday to a key committee for the first time.

But the Commission of Fine Arts still appears poised to approve the project and took a preliminary vote to move ahead with the process. The independent federal agency, which has been stacked with Trump loyalists, advises the president and Congress on design plans for monuments, memorials, coins and federal buildings.

Trump has been deeply involved in the project to build an arch as he takes significant steps toimpose his styleand taste on the nation’s capital during his second term. He has already added his name to the Kennedy Center and the US Institute of Peace and is overseeing a major ballroom addition to the White House complex.

“This is personal for the president,” Commission of Fine Arts Chairman Rodney Mims Cook, Jr., said at the meeting.

In a sign of its importance to the president, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum unveiled renderings for the 250-foot arch, which would be 165-feet tall and 165-feet wide, with a 25-foot pedestal and a massive 60-foot gilt bronze Lady Liberty sculpture on top, boasting that it would “strengthen the city’s symbolic architectural vocabulary.”

The president has said he wants it to be the biggest arch in the world, modeled after Paris’ Arc de Triomphe — but larger. It would be the equivalent of a 16- to 20-story building, taller than the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the US Capitol building. Theprojectis already facing a legal challenge from a Vietnam War veterans’ group related to its scale and obstruction of the view of the Arlington National Cemetery.

After the arch presentation from Burgum and lead designer Nicholas Charbonneau, the commission heard broad concerns about the project’s scale, design and placement. It has been pictured in the proposal to sit on a traffic circle between the Arlington National Cemetery’s entrance and the Lincoln Memorial.

“We had just under 1,000 commenters. It’s saying that 100% of the comments were against the project,” Commission Secretary Thomas Luebke said.

Luebke read one letter from an unnamed individual that warned the project “would be profoundly out of scale with its surroundings” and “appears to disregard established norms that prioritize harmony with existing structures, preservation of sight lines and respect for the symbolic hierarchy of the capitals and landmarks.” The arch, the individual added, would set a “troubling precedent.”

Zachary Burt, community outreach and grants manager for the DC Preservation League, shared “serious concerns and strong opposition” to the project, particularly the arch’s proposed placement. The arch would sit atop a traffic circle on Columbia Island, a man-made strip of land between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, which was once home to Confederate leader Robert E. Lee and is now a centerpiece of Arlington National Cemetery.

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The “visual connection” between those historic places, Burt said, “is not just a simple view. It … symbolizes the sacrifices our nation has made in pursuit of its highest ideal. The proposal for a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch threatens the solemn vista.”

After several people spoke against the project, H. Edward Phillips III, an attorney from Tennessee, defended the plan. He shared that his family members served in the military and said he did not see the arch as “offensive.”

Commissioners largely expressed support for the arch. One, Trump aide Chamberlain Harris, argued that it constituted “an intentional decision” to add to the DC skyline. The commission voted without opposition to continue to review the plans.

But there was also some skepticism on the committee about the arch’s placement, including pedestrian access in the busy traffic circle, the scope of the project and its impact on the historically significant view.

Cook encouraged them to be mindful of the viewshed: “It is the binding of the wound of this nation, that bridge and keeping that connection between those two structures is paramount in what you are doing.”

The two DC-based bodies Trump has packed with allies will likely approve the arch, but it may face other more challenging reviews that require public input, including under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

As part of those reviews, stakeholders are expected to be consulted, including Arlington National Cemetery, the National Park Service and the DC State Historic Preservation Office.

The arch would also sit only feet from the corridor used for flights approaching Reagan National Airport’s runways from the north, so it will require signoff from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA requires developers to file notice at least 45 days before construction for any structure taller than 200 feet above ground level, and for lower structures located near airports or navigation facilities. And while the FAA does not issue building permits, local governments typically weigh the agency’s findings about a structure’s safety impact before approving projects.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

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Trump’s arch gets overwhelmingly negative public feedback but appears poised to move forward

President Donald Trump’s proposedtriumphal archproject received overwhelmingly negative feedback from preservationist groups and member...

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Trump recalls how Ginsburg’s death affected the Supreme Court as he discusses whether Alito should retire

President Donald Trump complimented Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito but when asked about him stepping down while Republicans are in control, he pointed to how Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death shifted the court.

“People are very angry at her, because I got to appoint people instead of Biden,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired on Wednesday.

Alito, 76, is one of the oldest justices on the Court along with Justice Clarence Thomas, 77 – another reliably conservative justice. There’s been speculation over whether Alito will retire in time for Trump to appoint and for a Republican Senate to confirm a new justice in order to guarantee the seat is not filled by a potential Democratic president in 2029.

Trump has said he didn’t know if there would be a vacancy by the end of the year but added Alito was in “very good physical health.”

“Alito is an unbelievable justice and a brilliant judge as justice, and he gets the country, you know, he does what’s right for the country,” Trump said.

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The president did, however, mention former Justice Ginsburg, who stayed on the bench while in poor health before her death in September 2020. Ginsburg died four months before a Democratic president could have replaced her.

“You know, they reach a certain age. Ginsburg could not do it, and she really hurt herself within the Democrat Party. People are very angry at her, because I got to appoint people instead of (Joe) Biden,” he said.

Trump also appeared to take a swipe at the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, who have broken with each other to strike down some of the administration’s policies, including a key tariff vote.

“And the liberals do stick together. There’s one thing about those justices, they stick together like glue, not like the Republicans,” he said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Trump recalls how Ginsburg’s death affected the Supreme Court as he discusses whether Alito should retire

President Donald Trump complimented Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito but when asked about him stepping down while Republicans are in ...

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