Say goodbye to the “X” in the Xcel Energy Center. In downtown St. Paul, a new 14-year naming rights agreement with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe will refashion the home of the Minnesota Wild as the Grand Casino Arena, a major nod to Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley.

No, legalized gambling isn’t coming to downtown St. Paul, but fans can expect “digital activations” and “in-arena surprises,” said Jeff LaFrance, head of marketing for Grand Casino, in a written statement.

The switchover — including all new exterior and interior signage and the center ice insignia — will begin by Sept. 3, and fall into place by the time the Wild return for their next regular season in October, ending an era that began 25 years ago when the “X” opened its doors with Xcel Energy as its inaugural naming rights sponsor. Other details of the agreement were not immediately released Monday morning.

“Grand Casino Arena will serve as the anchor of a dynamic entertainment district that transforms downtown St. Paul,” said Craig Leipold, majority owner and principal investor in Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Wild, in a written statement. “The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has been a strong supporter of and investor in this city. We are thrilled for their partnership and support of the arena.”

Ronda Weizenegger, chief executive officer of Grand Casino, thanked Ted Johnson of Norden Strategies, a former chief marketing officer for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, for helping to cement the deal. The agreement is “more than a name change — it’s a signal of where we’re headed as a business,” Weizenegger said in written a statement.

The Wild worked with OVG Global Partnerships as consultants on the agreement.

The X, which seats about 18,000 fans, hosts more than 150 events and 1.7 million visitors annually, including fans of the Wild and the Minnesota Frost, as well as attendees at concerts, performances and athletic tournaments. Minnesota is known as the “State of Hockey” because of its love of the game and its affection for the Wild, who skated into the capital city when the “X” opened in 2000.

Their predecessors, the Minnesota North Stars, were founded in the 1960s but left for Dallas in 1993, leaving Minnesota without a professional hockey team for the better part of a decade.

“That huge and loyal fan base always shows up every game, and that’s going to be a big draw to whomever (holds) the naming rights,” said Heather Kliebenstein, an intellectual property attorney with the Minneapolis firm Merchant & Gould, in an interview.

“Why is this important? It’s increased brand visibility. It’s awareness. And it’s prestige,” she said. “It’s a big deal to have your name on a brand like this. It’s not about direct sales. Xcel Energy wasn’t selling energy to fans.”

“It’s about goodwill,” Kliebenstein continued. “It’s about brand equity. Somebody goes and has a great time at the game, whether it’s Target Field, or Xcel Energy Center, that name is always on the tip of your tongue when you’re going to those events.”

The team announced in April that their 25-year naming rights agreement with Xcel Energy would come to a close this summer, and that other potential partners were in the wings.

Xcel Energy will continue to work with the Wild on youth sports sponsorships and other community investments, according to the utility.

This story will be updated.

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By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday threw out appellate rulings in favor of transgender people in four states following the justices’ recent decision upholding a Tennessee ban on certain medical treatment for transgender youths.

But the justices took no action in cases from Arizona, Idaho and West Virginia involving the participation of transgender students on school sports teams. The court could say as soon as Thursday whether it will take up the issue in its next term.

The high court ordered appellate judges to reexamine cases from Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma and West Virginia involving access to medical care and birth certificates.

The action was unsurprising because the court had set the cases aside until after it decided the Tennessee case, as typically happens when the same legal issue is being considered.

The rulings all included findings that the restrictions on transgender people imposed by the states violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

In the Tennessee case, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no constitutional violation in a state law prohibiting puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria in people younger than 18.

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The justices ordered the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, to review its decision that West Virginia’s and North Carolina’s refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will get back a case from Idaho stemming from the state’s ban on certain surgical procedures for Medicaid recipients.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will review its ruling blocking an Oklahoma ban on people changing their gender on birth certificates.

In one other case, from Kentucky, the justices rejected the appeal of transgender minors and their families challenging that state’s ban on gender-affirming care.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

By SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli forces killed at least 22 people and wounded 20 others, many while attempting to get desperately needed food aid in southern Gaza on Monday, according to witnesses, hospitals, and Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received the bodies of 11 people who were shot while returning from an aid site associated with Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund in southern Gaza, part of a deadly pattern that has killed more than 500 Palestinians in the chaotic and controversial aid distribution program over the past month. Ten others were killed at a United Nations aid warehouse in northern Gaza, according to the Health Ministry.

The southern Gaza strike happened around 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the GHF site in the city of Khan Younis, as Palestinians returned from the site along the only accessible route. Palestinians are often forced to travel long distances to access the GHF hubs in hopes of obtaining aid.

Witnesses recount firings by troops

Yousef Mahmoud Mokheimar was walking along with dozens others when he saw troops in vehicles and tanks racing toward them. At the beginning they fired warning shots in air, before firing at the crowds, he said.

“They fired at us indiscriminately,” he said, adding that he was shot in his leg, and a man was also shot while attempting to rescue him.

He said he saw troops detaining six people, including three children, and it wasn’t clear what happened to them. “We don’t know whether they are still alive,” he said.

Monzer Hisham Ismail, another witness, said troops attacked the crowds while returning from the GHF hub in eastern Khan Younis.

“We were returning from the American aid hub … we were targeted by (the Israeli) artillery,” he said.

Nasser Hospital said another person was killed near a GHF hub in the southern city of Rafah.

The Israeli military said it was reviewing information about the attacks. In the past, the military has said it fires warning shots at people who move suspiciously or get too close to troops, including while collecting aid.

Israel wants the GHF to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and international aid groups. Along with the United States, Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid and using it to prop up its rule in the enclave. The U.N. denies there is systematic diversion of aid. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The Israeli military said it had recently taken steps to improve organization in the area, including the installation of new fencing, signage and the opening of additional routes to access aid.

Israel says it only targets combatants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the group of hiding among civilians because they operate in populated areas.

Strikes in and around Gaza City intensify

In northern Gaza, at least 10 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on an aid warehouse in Gaza City, according to the Health Ministry’s ambulance and emergency service. It wasn’t immediately clear whether there was aid at the warehouse.

The strike in Gaza City came as the military intensified its bombardment campaign across the city and the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp. On Sunday and Monday, Israel issued widespread evacuation orders for large swaths of northern Gaza.

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Palestinians reported massive bombing overnight into Monday morning, describing the fresh attacks as a “scorched earth” campaign that targeted mostly empty buildings and civilian infrastructure above the ground.

“They destroy whatever left standing … the sound of bombing hasn’t stopped,” said Mohamed Mahdy, a Gaza City resident who fled his damaged house Monday morning.

Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry’s emergency and ambulance services in northern Gaza, said that most of Gaza City and Jabaliya have become inaccessible and ambulances were unable to respond to distress calls from people trapped in the rubble.

The Israeli military said it had taken multiple steps to notify civilians of operations to target Hamas’ military command and control centers in northern Gaza.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Follow the AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writer

Home Depot is buying specialty building products distributor GMS for $4.3 billion, the second notable acquisition in a little over a year that emphasizes a deliberate push by the home improvement chain into building and materials supply.

The acquisitions arrive as booming sales from the pandemic fade and Home Depot intensifies its focus on professional builders.

GMS Inc. of Tucker, Georgia, is a distributor of specialty building products like drywall, steel framing and other supplies used in both residential and commercial projects.

A subsidiary of Home Depot’s SRS Distribution Inc., the supply company it bought last year, will start a cash tender offer to buy all outstanding shares of GMS for $110 per share. The total equity value of the transaction is approximately $4.3 billion. The deal is worth about $5.5 billion, including debt.

Home Depot purchased SRS Distribution, a materials provider for professionals, for more than $18 billion including debt. SRS provides materials for professionals like roofers, landscapers and pool contractors.

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“The combination of GMS and SRS will provide the residential and commercial Pro customer with more fulfillment and service options than ever before,” SRS CEO Dan Tinker said in a statement. “Together, we’ll create a network of more than 1,200 locations and a fleet of more than 8,000 trucks capable of making tens of thousands of jobsite deliveries per day.”

Home Depot, based in Atlanta, moved quickly to acquire GMS, putting in its own bid less that two week after the company QXO offered $5 billion, according to a regulatory filing. Billionaire Brad Jacobs is the CEO of QXO, which was created to snap up companies in the building supply sector. In April QXO completed its approximately $11 billion acquisition of Beacon Roofing Supply.

The GMS transaction with Home Depot is expected to close by the end of fiscal 2025. Shares of the GMS jumped nearly 12% at the opening bell. Home Depot shares declined slightly.