Utah prep offensive lineman Mataalii Benjamin de-committed from the Gophers football program on Monday.
Benjamin, who is listed at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, pledged to Minnesota on June 1. The three-star prospect from Lehi, Utah, projects to offensive tackle and holds more than 15 scholarship offers.
Benjamin is the third player to exit Minnesota’s class for 2026, following receiver Kai Meza (Draper, Utah) and offensive lineman Daniel McMorris (Norman, Okla.). The previous two left in September.
The Gophers have 24 total commits for next year, including three O-linemen Andrew Trout (Cold Spring, Minn.), Gavin Meier (Janesville, Wis.) and Lucas Tielsch (Akron, Ohio).
Minnesota is excepted to have a few more openings for high school players in this recruiting cycle and offensive line slots have vacancies. The NCAA’s early singing period is Dec. 3-5.
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BY NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY and SAM METZ, Associated Press
PARIS — More than 100 investigators are racing to piece together how thieves pulled off the brazen heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris, working to recover the stolen gems and bring those responsible to justice.
The daytime theft of centuries-old jewels from the world’s most-visited museum thought to be of significant cultural and monetary value has captured the world’s attention for its audacity and movie plot-like details.
But thus far little has been revealed about how the investigation is unfolding, a source of frustration for those accustomed to the 24-hour flow of information in American true crime or British tabloids.
Suspects, like the jewels themselves, have remained out of sight, the case file cloaked in mystery and French authorities characteristically discreet.
A police van patrols in the courtyard of the closed Louvre museum after a robbery Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Police officers work by a basket lift used by thieves Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 at the Louvre museum in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Police officers, left, patrol as people queue to enter Le Louvre museum Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Police officers look for clues by a basket lift used by thieves Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 at the Louvre museum in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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A police van patrols in the courtyard of the closed Louvre museum after a robbery Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Sunday that more details would come once the suspects’ custody period ends, likely around midweek, depending on the charges. But here’s what we know so far about the case:
What investigators want to know
Authorities said it took mere minutes for thieves to ride a lift up the side of the museum, smash display cases and steal eight objects worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) on Oct. 19. The haul included a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.
Beccuau has not publicly announced what charges the suspects could face, though French media have reported that the charges include criminal conspiracy and organized theft, which can carry hefty fines and yearslong prison sentences.
How France handles arrests
Beccuau said investigators made several arrests Saturday evening but didn’t name them or say how many. One suspect, she added, was stopped at a Paris airport while trying to leave the country.
In France, where privacy laws are strict, images of criminal suspects are not made public as they often are elsewhere. Suspects aren’t paraded before cameras upon arrest or shown in mugshots.
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The presumption of innocence is inscribed in France’s constitution and deeply valued throughout society. The French often express shock at the spectacle of criminal trials in the United States, including in 2011 when media outlets photographed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then a candidate in France’s presidential election, on a “perp walk” to a New York prison after he was indicted on charges he sexually assaulted a hotel maid. The charges were eventually dismissed.
Information about investigations is meant to be secret under French law, a policy known as ″secret d’instruction” and only the prosecutor can speak publicly about developments.
Police and investigators are not supposed to divulge information about arrests or suspects without the prosecutor’s approval, though in previous high-profile cases, police union officials have leaked partial details. Beccuau on Saturday rued the leak of information about the ongoing investigation.
A police official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing case, told The Associated Press that two men in their 30s, both known to police, were taken into custody. He said one suspect was arrested as he attempted to board a plane bound for Algeria.
Additional arrests may follow as the investigation continues.
Inside the investigation
The more than 100 investigators that Beccuau said are assigned to the case are combing through 150 DNA samples, surveillance footage and evidence left behind in the thieves’ wake.
Those assigned include the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry, the special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts.
Recovering the jewels could be among the most difficult parts of investigators’ work. French authorities have added the jewels to Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art Database, a global repository of about 57,000 missing cultural items.
Interpol, the world’s largest international police network, does not issue arrest warrants. But if authorities worry a suspect may flee, Interpol can circulate the information using a color-coded notice system.
The French investigators can also work with European authorities if required. They can turn to the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, or its law enforcement agency, Europol. Eurojust works through judicial cooperation between prosecutors and magistrates, while Europol works with police agencies.
Both can help facilitate investigations and arrests throughout the 27-member bloc. Requests for help must come from the national authorities, and neither organization can initiate an investigation.
What happens next?
Beccuau said more details would be released once the suspects’ time in custody expires. How long that lasts depends on what they’re accused of. If, as French media have reported, they’re being investigated for criminal conspiracy, they can be held for up to 96 hours before charges are filed.
But don’t expect a flood of updates. Indictments and verdicts are not routinely made public in France. French trials are not televised, and journalists are not allowed to film or photograph anything inside the courtroom during a trial.
Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco. Molly Quell contributed reporting from The Hague.
“One of the most popular locations is the multihued Artists Palette, a series of eroded hills whose coloring is due to the oxidation of natural metal deposits in the mountains,” the magazine raved. “‘Star Wars’ fans will be keen to see the site that inspired the planet Tatooine.”
Many wonders made the list, including royal burial grounds in Egypt, an Indonesian archipelago of 1,500 islands and Turkish cliffs formerly inhabited by Bronze Age troglodytes (cave dwellers). Here are the first 10 destinations on CN Traveler’s accounting; check out the story for all 71 sites, which also throws a bone to Redwood National and State Parks in Northern California.
Conde Nast Traveller’s most beautiful places on earth for 2025
1 Pink Sands Beach, Harbour Island, Bahamas
2 Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
3 Zhangye National Geopark, China
4 Cappadocia, Turkey
5 Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Paths lined by clover and ferns lead through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, which is part of the Redwood National and State Parks cluster in Northern California. (Getty Images)
Russia’s test of a nuclear-powered missile that it claims can’t be stopped by air defenses reflects Moscow’s determination to look out for its security interests, a Kremlin official said Monday, after the United States and European countries increased pressure on President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Putin should focus on making a peace deal, not testing missiles.
Little is known about Russia’s Burevestnik missile, which the NATO military alliance has code-named Skyfall. Putin appeared Sunday in an official video, wearing camouflage fatigues, to hear Russia’s chief of general staff report that the missile had covered 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) in a test.
“Russia is consistently working to ensure its own security,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said when asked whether the missile announcement was a response to the sanctions and a signal to the West.
“Ensuring security is a vital issue for Russia, especially against the backdrop of the militaristic sentiment that we are currently hearing, primarily from the Europeans,” Peskov told reporters.
A man caries a photo of cameraman Yevhen Karmazin, who was killed together with corespondent Olena Hubanova, who worked under the pseudonym Alyona Gramova on Thursday, Oct. 23, when a Russian Lancet drone hit their vehicle in Ukraine’s Kramatorsk around 20 kilometres from the front line, after funeral service at St. Michael Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Relatives, colleagues and friends of two Ukrainian 43-year-old journalists Olena Hubanova, who worked under the pseudonym Alyona Gramova, and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin, who were killed on Thursday, Oct. 23, when a Russian Lancet drone hit their vehicle in Ukraine’s Kramatorsk around 20 kilometres from the front line, mourn over their coffins during a funeral service at St. Michael Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Relatives, colleagues and friends of two Ukrainian 43-year-old journalists Olena Hubanova, who worked under the pseudonym Alyona Gramova, and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin, who were killed on Thursday, Oct. 23, when a Russian Lancet drone hit their vehicle in Ukraine’s Kramatorsk around 20 kilometres from the front line, mourn over their coffins during a funeral service at St. Michael Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna place candles at a memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Independence Square, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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A man caries a photo of cameraman Yevhen Karmazin, who was killed together with corespondent Olena Hubanova, who worked under the pseudonym Alyona Gramova on Thursday, Oct. 23, when a Russian Lancet drone hit their vehicle in Ukraine’s Kramatorsk around 20 kilometres from the front line, after funeral service at St. Michael Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Trump, speaking to reporters on an official trip from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo, said Putin’s talk about missiles was not “appropriate.”
“You’ve got to get the war ended. A war that should have taken one week is now in its soon fourth year,” Trump said. “That’s what you ought to do, instead of testing missiles.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday criticized the Trump administration for changing its approach. After talks with Putin in Alaska in August, Trump said he wanted an agreement on long-term peace and didn’t insist on a prior ceasefire, but now he’s changed his mind, Lavrov told Hungary’s Ultrahang YouTube channel.
“Now all they’re talking about is an immediate ceasefire … this is a radical change,” Lavrov said.
Trump’s sanctions decision, with the punitive measures possibly coming into effect by Nov. 21, has raised the stakes in efforts to stop the fighting. As Russia and Ukraine assessed next steps, they also sought out allies.
Lavrov was hosting his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, for talks in Moscow. Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops, as well as artillery and missiles, to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Sunday that France is providing additional Mirage fighter jets and air defense missiles, while the United Kingdom will supply more missiles and help produce interceptor drones.
Ukraine’s short-handed forces are straining to hold back the bigger Russian army on the front line in eastern and southern parts of the country.
Heavy fighting is taking place in Pokrovsk, where Russian units have pushed into several neighborhoods but have failed to take control of the eastern Ukrainian city, Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Reaction Corps wrote on social media Monday.
Over the past two days, troops from the corps repelled 42 enemy attacks, the statement said, after reinforcing Ukraine’s defensive positions with assault troops, artillery and drone units.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 193 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including 34 drones it said were heading toward Moscow. No damage or casualties were reported in the Russian capital.
Two Moscow airports, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, briefly closed overnight because of the attack. Airports in other Russian regions also faced restrictions.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 100 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, with 26 reaching their targets. There was no immediate report of deaths or damage.
Ukraine’s private energy company, DTEK, announced emergency outages in Kyiv, its surrounding region and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
