LAS VEGAS — Cooper Flagg made his professional debut Thursday night in the NBA Summer League and celebrated an 87-85 win over Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Flagg finished with 10 points on 5-for-21 shooting, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range. He also had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. Though Flagg struggled at times to find his rhythm, there were flashes as to why he was chosen No. 1 overall last month, doing plenty of little things that helped the Mavericks seal the win, including a key block near the end of the game.

Flagg swatted DJ Steward’s attempt with 1:10 left in the game, and Ryan Nembhard made a 3-pointer at the other end to give Dallas the 87-85 lead.

Flagg strolled into UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center at 4:17 p.m. on Thursday, wearing Dallas Mavericks gear, bright white New Balance shoes, and an emotionless look on his face as he passed through security.

Roughly 45 minutes later, he wore the same stone-cold face as he came out for warmups shortly after 5 p.m.

His fans more than made up for it with plenty of energy, electrifying the jam-packed arena that cheered loudest when he was announced as a starter in his first Summer League game.

Flagg missed his first two attempts of the game, picked up his first foul just 46 seconds into the game, and gave the crowd what they’d been anticipating, going one-on-one with fellow fan favorite James.

James buried his first attempt over Flagg, and then hit a 3-pointer after the 6-foot-8 Duke product missed his second attempt to give the Lakers a 5-0 lead.

Flagg excited the crowd at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter, jamming home his first points.

Early in the second quarter, Flagg nearly sent every fan in the building into a frenzy when he made a spin move into the paint and attempted a one-handed slam dunk over 7-foot Christian Koloko. The ball caromed off the back of the rim and still drew plenty of oohs and ahhs.

Generally filled with Lakers fans when the team plays in the summer, the arena was full of emotion with a fair share of Mavericks fans in attendance to see the 2025 National college player of the year.

Like 15-year-old Baer Epple, 15, who was seated with his father Chad in the third row from the court, donning Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks jersey.

Epple said he’s been following Flagg since before his Duke days, beginning with his junior year at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Maine.

The 15-year-old who is in Las Vegas from Seattle for an AAU tournament said he’s been a Mavericks fan for roughly four years.

“Even more of a fan now that they got Cooper Flagg,” Epple said. “Hopefully he does good, that’d be pretty cool to see. I don’t want him to be like a bust or anything.”

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told The Associated Press before the game he’s looking for nothing more than effort and grit in his team’s opening game, as he wants them all playing hard.

“This summer league is a little different when you have this type of turnout,” Kidd said. “But the guys have had a couple practices. There’s going to be some turnovers. I just want to see how they respond to a couple of mistakes being made, no one’s gonna play a perfect game and be unselfish.”

As for his prize draft pick: “We’re all excited,” Kidd said of Flagg. “Seen enough of him on tape, so now it’s good to see him on the floor.”

A US judge has once again blocked President Donald Trump from implementing an executive order ending birth right citizenship for some US residents as a legal challenge moves forward.

A New Hampshire judge approved a class action lawsuit against Trump’s executive order, and temporarily stopped the president’s order from taking effect.

The class action lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of immigrant parents and their infants.

The decision comes weeks after the Supreme Court introduced limits on how and when universal injunctions are issued by federal courts. However, the decision still allows them through certain legal avenues.

The class action suit was introduced after the Supreme Court decision, in keeping with the new standards set by the court.

Still, the White House challenged the validity of the judge’s ruling.

“Today’s decision is an obvious and unlawful attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s clear order against universal relief. This judge’s decision disregards the rule of law by abusing class action certification procedures,” spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement Thursday. “The Trump Administration will be fighting vigorously against the attempts of these rogue district court judges to impede the policies President Trump was elected to implement.”

The lawsuit argues Trump’s order goes against the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which established that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside”.

Trump has sought to revoke that right for babies born to undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors, as part of his crackdown on immigration.

The class-action lawsuit seeks to challenge the order as harmful and unconstitutional, and the judge ruled that it can proceed on behalf of the babies who would be affected by the restrictions.

The ruling also once again pauses an order that was a priority for Trump. The judge has given the government seven days to appeal.

Restricting birthright citizenship was one of his first actions in office.

Multiple courts across the US issued nationwide injunctions as they considered legal challenges to the order.

The Trump administration appealed those temporary holds to the highest US court, arguing judges did not have the authority to block a presidential order nationally while the courts considered the cases.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority sided with Trump in a 6-3 ruling that broadly curtailed judicial power, though the justices did not address the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship order.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump’s order had been set to take effect on 27 July.

Even as they face among the most punitive tariffs globally, US secretary of state Marco Rubio has sought to reassure southeast Asian nations of Washington’s commitment to the region, saying countries there may get “better” trade deals than the rest of the world.

In his first official visit to Asia, Rubio met foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Malaysia on Thursday, telling his counterparts the US has “no intention of abandoning” the region.

His visit came days after president Donald Trump renewed his threat to impose severe tariffs across many southeast Asian countries if they did not strike deals by 1 August.

The region, which includes countries that rely on exports and manufacturing, has been among the worst hit by Trump’s trade war.

Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia were sent letters this week warning they will face tariffs ranging from 20-40% – levies that Rubio said were being discussed with Asean countries.

“I would say that when all is said and done, many of the countries in Southeast Asia are going to have tariff rates that are actually better than countries in other parts of the world,” Rubio said.

Prior to Rubio’s arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned the tariffs, saying the trade war was not a “passing storm” but instead “the new weather of our time”.

Tools once used to generate growth were now being “wielded to pressure, isolate and contain”, he said.

The looming tariffs have cast a shadow over Rubio’s trip, even as he sought to underline the importance of southeast Asia to Washington.

“It is our view, our strong view, and the reality that this century and the next, the story of the next 50 years, will largely be written here in this region, in this part of the world,” he said.

Stephen Olson, visiting senior fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said Rubio had “the unenviable position of trying to reassure southeast Asian partners that [the] US continues to be committed to the region and to free and open trade relations when all the evidence points in the opposite direction.”

“Asean ministers will give him a polite and respectful reception but are unlikely to be fundamentally persuaded by anything he says,” added Olson.

Questions over Washington’s commitment to the region coupled with Trump’s unpredictable economic polices could be a boon for China.

At the same meeting China and Asean, which is China’s largest trading partner, completed negotiations to further refine their free trade area to include additional industries.

And in veiled comments, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi appeared to draw a contrast between Washington and Beijing – presenting China as a reliable partner interested in mutual development.

Without naming the US directly, he criticised Trump’s tariffs, highlighting “unilateral protectionism and the abuse of tariffs by a certain major country”.

In another sign of the economic recalibration, Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba told a television news programme that Japan needed to wean itself from US dependence in key areas.

“If they think Japan ought to follow what America says as we depend heavily on them, then we need to work to become more self-sufficient in security, energy and food, and less dependent on America,” he said.

Vietnam is the only Asian country, and the second globally, to reach a trade deal with the US. Under the agreement many goods will face a tariff of 20% but a 40% levy will remain for so-called transshipments – a provision that is aimed at Chinese companies accused of passing their products through Vietnam to avoid tariffs.

Trump’s agreement with Vietnam is seen by analysts as a sign he will use tariff negotiations to try to pressure countries to cut China from their supply chains.

Southeast Asian nations have rushed to offer concessions to Trump to avert the tariffs, which could devastate economic growth.

Levies loom over eight out of 10 Asean nations, including a tariff of 20% on the Philippines, 25% on Malaysia and Brunei, 32% on Indonesia, and 36% on Cambodia and Thailand. Laos and Myanmar, a country gripped by civil war, continue to face among the most severe tariffs globally, with a 40% levy.

In Thailand, if the government is unable to avert the 36% rate, GDP growth is expected to drop below 1% this year, according to analysis by the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.

Bangkok has pledged to reduce its $46bn trade surplus with the US by 70% within five years and eliminate the imbalance within eight years.

Officials in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, were also reportedly shocked by the letters sent by the US, which came despite a recent pledge to increase imports from the US by $34bn.

With agencies