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NEW YORK (AP) — The Rangers bought out the contract of veteran forward Brad Richards on Friday, creating much-needed salary-cap space and parting ways with New York's de facto captain one week after the club was eliminated from the Stanley Cup finals.

Both the Rangers and Richards' agent, Pat Morris, confirmed the move. The team had no further comment.

The 34-year-old Richards had six years remaining on the nine-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2011, and this move will remove his $6.67 million salary-cap charge.

Richards will receive two-thirds of the remaining money to be paid out over 12 years — a total of $12.6 million.

Richards will also be paid $8 million in signing bonuses over the next three seasons. He didn't have to clear waivers before the buyout because his contract had a no-movement clause.

The Rangers used their second and final compliance buyout on Richards after using the first on former defenseman Wade Redden last year. They had to be used before July 1.

New York has numerous unrestricted and restricted free agents this summer, and will need as much cap space as possible to bring back key players and perhaps add others on the market.

"We're going to work on putting a good team on the ice, but every year is different," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Monday when the Rangers cleaned out their lockers. "Next year's team is going to be different, and you've got to go through the same process. It's going to be a challenge to make the playoffs, and then you take it one series at a time."

Richards, demoted to the fourth line in the finals against Los Angeles, will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He didn't speak to reporters on Monday when the team broke up for the summer.

"I am a big fan of Brad Richards," Vigneault said. "He is a classy, classy individual. If you look at Brad's overall season he had a real good year.

"I am very happy with what he brought to the table. A veteran player from Day One that was a real good extension of the coaching staff in the dressing room. He should walk away from this season very pleased with how he played and how he contributed to our team."

Richards had 20 goals and 31 assists in 82 games this season — the lowest point-per-game average of his career — and added five goals and seven assists in New York's 25 postseason games. He had only one assist in the five-game finals loss to the Kings.

Richards took on a bigger leadership role after captain Ryan Callahan was traded to Tampa Bay for St. Louis in March. His voice carried in the room even as his play declined as the playoff run got deeper.

In 210 regular-season games with the Rangers, Richards had 56 goals and 95 assists. He was benched in last year's postseason by former coach John Tortorella during New York's second-round loss to Boston.

Richards earned his contract when he hit the free-agent market after having 28 goals and 77 points during the 2010-11 season with Dallas.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The younger brother of Ivory Coast players Yaya and Kolo Toure died on Thursday, the same day his famous siblings were representing their country at the World Cup, the Ivory Coast Football Federation said.

The 28-year-old Ibrahim Toure died in England, the Ivorian federation said in a statement, and Yaya and Kolo were informed soon after Ivory Coast's 2-1 loss to Colombia at the World Cup in Brazil.

The IFF did not give a cause of death but said Ibrahim died in Manchester, where Yaya plays his club football for English champions Manchester City in the Premier League and where Kolo used to play. British media reported that Ibrahim, who was also a footballer, was battling cancer and had been receiving treatment in Manchester.

"A tough day for the Toure brothers. Just hours after the (Colombia) match ... Kolo and Yaya have learned of the death of their younger brother," the IFF said in its statement. "The entire Ivorian delegation in Brazil supports them in this painful circumstance."

The IFF didn't say if the brothers would now leave the World Cup in Brazil, where Ivory Coast has a chance of making the second round for the first time.

Midfielder Yaya Toure captained the team against Colombia in Brasilia on Thursday, while Liverpool defender Kolo was on the bench. Despite losing its second game, Ivory Coast is second in Group C behind Colombia ahead of a final group match against Greece. Yaya Toure, the current African player of the year, is a pivotal player for the team.

Manchester City released a statement saying "the thoughts of everyone connected with City are with the Toure family at this most difficult time.

"Ibrahim was a regular visitor to Carrington (training ground) and was a popular figure among the staff and players and was extremely close to his two older brothers," the club said.

A message on FIFA President Sepp Blatter's official Twitter feed, which was posted in English and French, said he was "very saddened" by the news. Belgium defender Vincent Kompany, the Manchester City captain, wrote on Twitter: "My sincere condolences to the Toure family for the loss of Ibrahim. We are all saddened by this news. Keep strong."

Kolo Toure's current club Liverpool said "the thoughts of everybody at Liverpool Football Club are with defender Kolo Toure following the news of the passing of his brother."

Ibrahim Toure played professionally himself as a striker, most recently for Lebanon club Al Safa. He also played in Ukraine, France and Syria after starting at the same Ivorian club as Yaya and Kolo. But he never realized his dream of making Ivory Coast's national team alongside his brothers.

"If I manage to join a European side, maybe one day I'll get called up by the national team," he said in an interview on the FIFA website in January. "Of course there's a huge amount of pressure on me wherever I go because I'm the brother of Yaya and Kolo Toure.

"But you mustn't forget that I'm a forward, whereas Yaya is a midfielder and Kolo is a defender. Speaking for myself, I always give everything."

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Gerald Imray is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP

RECIFE, Brazil (AP) — Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process.

Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz gave his side the lead in the 44th minute, heading in off the underside of the crossbar following a cross from Junior Diaz. Goal-line technology was used to show that the ball bounced down and in after hitting the bar.

There was a frenetic end to the first half, as moments before Ruiz's goal Costa Rica had a penalty appeal waved away when striker Joel Campbell was bundled over by Giorgio Chiellini.

Costa Rica leads Group D with six points, while Italy and Uruguay have three each before Tuesday's showdown. England has zero points after losing to Italy and Uruguay.

So after entering the tournament as an expected underdog in a group featuring three former world champions, Costa Rica is now on top.

"Maybe there are a lot of people who didn't have faith in us because we were in the 'Group of Death'. But the dead are the other ones and we're going to the next round," Ruiz said.

Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto was on the same wavelength.

"We have played a historic team. They're really good," he said. "They have wonderful players so, of course, we feel really proud. Our team feels proud, our country feels proud. ... We want to go even farther."

Italy, meanwhile, can still advance with a win or even a draw with Uruguay, since it leads on goal difference which is the first qualifying criteria.

"We gave our all. They did well to block every pass," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "There's no worry now. We just need to regain our energy."

Costa Rica's only other appearance in the knockout phase came in its World Cup debut in 1990, when it beat Sweden and Scotland under experienced coach Bora Milutinovic before ultimately getting eliminated by Czechoslovakia.

"There are no more Cinderellas in football, especially in a competition like the World Cup," Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon said.

It was exactly 24 years ago to the day that Costa Rica beat Sweden 2-1 to advance at the tournament in Italy.

For Italy, it marked the fourth consecutive World Cup in which it failed to win its second match, although only in 2010 did the Azzurri fail to advance.

"We'll play a great match against Uruguay," second-half Italy substitute Antonio Cassano said. "I'm convinced we will. ... If we regain our energy we can (advance) comfortably."

While it was nowhere near as hot as Italy feared at the Arena Pernambuco — 29 C (84 F) and 70 percent humidity according to FIFA — the Azzurri still struggled to keep up with the speedy Ticos for long stretches.

Pinto lined up five defenders but his squad was able advance forward with one swift, sweeping movement — just like in the 3-1 win over Uruguay.

"We did what we needed to do, we took away the game from the Italians," Pinto said.

The Azzurri hardly threatened until Mario Balotelli had chances in the 31st and 33rd minutes.

First, Balotelli was set up with a long, vertical pass from Andrea Pirlo and tried to lift the bouncing ball over the charging goalkeeper's head but missed the target. Then the Azzurri forward had an effort from beyond the area stopped by goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Costa Rica kept its poise and in the 36th minute Buffon had to make a diving save to stop a shot from midfielder Christian Bolanos.

In the 43rd, Chiellini made an uncharacteristic error — gifting the ball to Campbell near midfield — and then raced back and committed what appeared to be a clear foul. However, Chilean referee Enrique Osses motioned to play on.

Prandelli attempted to stir things up by adding Cassano, Lorenzo Insigne and Alessio Cerci in the second half, providing the Azzurri with four forwards instead of just Balotelli, but the 2006 winners rarely came close to equalizing.

Appearing frustrated throughout, Balotelli was shown a yellow card in the 69th for taking down Diaz.

Italy's best chances to equalize were a long, angled shot from Matteo Darmian in the 51st and a free kick from Pirlo in the 53rd that found its way over Costa Rica's wall — but Navas was waiting and pushed it away.

In added time, Costa Rica substitute Randall Brenes nearly doubled the lead with a free kick that was only slightly off target.

Then the celebrations began.

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Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Matteo Darmian, Daniele De Rossi, Antonio Candreva (Lorenzo Insigne, 57), Thiago Motta (Antonio Cassano, 46), Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio (Alessio Cerci, 69), Mario Balotelli.

Costa Rica: Keylor Navas, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Michael Umana, Celso Borges, Oscar Duarte, Christian Bolanos, Joel Campbell (Marcos Urena, 74), Bryan Ruiz (Randall Brenes, 81), Junior Diaz, Cristian Gamboa, Yeltsin Tejeda (Jose Cubero, 67).

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Andrew Dampf can be followed at www.twitter.com/asdampf

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The gunmen went door to door in the Kenyan costal town, demanding to know if the men inside were Muslim and if they spoke Somali. If the extremists did not like the answers, they opened fire, witnesses said on Monday.

Authorities blamed al-Shabab, a Somali al-Qaida-linked group, for the hours-long assault on Mpeketoni in which 48 people were killed. The attack began Sunday night as residents watched World Cup matches on TV and lasted until early Monday, with little resistance from Kenya's security forces.

After daybreak, Kenyan troops and residents stared at the bodies lying on dirt streets by still-smoldering buildings. Two hotels and many vehicles were set on fire.

The attack highlights the growing incidents of Islamic extremist violence in a country that was once viewed as the bastion of stability in East Africa, drawing tourists from around the world for safaris and beach holidays. The U.S. ambassador made Kenya's entire coastal region off-limits for embassy employees.

The merciless life-or-death religious assessment recalled al-Shabab's attack on an upscale mall in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, last September in which at least 67 people were killed, some of them after not being able to answer questions about Islam.

The Interior Ministry said that at about 8 p.m. Sunday, two minivans entered the town. Militants disembarked and began shooting. At the Breeze View Hotel, the gunmen pulled the men aside and ordered the women to watch as they killed them, saying it was what Kenyan troops are doing to Somali men inside Somalia, a police commander said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to share such details of the attack.

The several dozen gunmen also went door to door.

"They came to our house at around 8 p.m. and asked us in Swahili whether we were Muslims. My husband told them we were Christians and they shot him in the head and chest," said Anne Gathigi.

Another resident, John Waweru, said his two brothers were killed because the attackers did not like that the brothers did not speak Somali.

"My brothers who stay next door to me were killed as I watched. I was peeping from my window and I clearly heard them speak to my brothers in Somali and it seems since my brothers did not meet their expectations, they sprayed them with bullets and moved on," said Waweru.

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said the attackers fled into the nearby wilds, known as the Boni Forest after a "fierce exchange of fire" with security forces. He said 20 vehicles had been set on fire.

At a news conference, Ole Lenku was put on the defensive about the government's security record after a string of attacks. He also warned opposition politicians against inciting violence, saying it was possible the attack was linked to politics. The claim was immediately dismissed by security experts.

Kenya's top police commander, David Kimaiyo, said the death toll was 48. A police spokeswoman said authorities believe that several dozen attackers took part.

Mpeketoni is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of the tourist center of Lamu. Any tourism in Mpeketoni is mostly local, with few foreigners visiting the area. The town is 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Somali border and 360 miles (600 kilometers) from Nairobi.

Kenya has experienced a wave of gunfire and bomb and grenade attacks in recent months. The U.S., U.K., France, Australia, and Canada have all recently upgraded their terror threat warnings for the country. U.S. Marines behind sandbag bunkers have for some days been stationed on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Harald Kampa, who heads an association of hoteliers and caterers on the coast, said he wasn't aware of any immediate tourist cancellations because of the attack. But he said the attack could soon prompt more cancellations. Kenya's deteriorating security situation and travel warnings from foreign embassies has already hit the country's tourism sector.

The region saw a spate of kidnappings of foreign tourists in 2011 that Kenya said was part of its motivation for attacking al-Shabab in Somalia. Since those attacks and subsequent terror warnings, tourism has dropped off sharply around Lamu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the country's oldest continually inhabited town.

The region near the Somali border saw a spate of kidnappings of foreigners in 2011 that Kenya said was part of its motivation for attacking al-Shabab in Somalia. Kenya sent its troops to Somalia in October 2011, and al-Shabab has threatened attacks inside Kenya until Kenyan forces leave Somalia.

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Associated Press reporter Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda contributed to this report.