Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain Jordan and two tankers associated with the United Arab Emirates traveling through the strait, killing one mariner and wounding eight others. The Emirates threatened to retaliate against Iran, potentially drawing the nation that is home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai back into fighting with Tehran.

The attacks come as Iran and the U.S. vie for control of the strait through which a fifth of all traded crude oil and natural gas once passed in peacetime. The price of benchmark Brent crude oil rose to a one-month high of over $84 in trading early Tuesday, still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the war but threatening to make costs everywhere higher.

Trump insists strait will be open

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck areas around Abu Musa, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Chahbahar, Jask and Konarak, targeting Iranian “coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities.” Iran acknowledged strikes around those areas, but provided no immediate casualty or damage assessments.

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. military said.

Moments after the military announced the new strikes, Trump called it “another major attack.”

“We’re hitting them very hard. And it’ll continue, and we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re knocking out all of their offensive capability and we’re controlling the straits. We’re putting the blockade back.”

Trump also provided new details on his suggestion that the U.S. will charge tolls for ships going through the strait, an about-face after previously saying that it wouldn’t.

“We’re protecting a very rich portion of the world,” he said. “We’re spending money. And so, what we’ve done is, we are going to be reimbursed for protection.”

It’s a change in U.S. policy that, until now, said the strait should remain open to all without tolls — as it was before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Any attempt by the U.S. or Iran to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation and raise tensions, likely causing further economic disruption far beyond the region.

The U.S. Navy has fought for freedom of navigation on the seas since the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812.

Attacks resume across the Mideast

The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry said early Tuesday that Iran attacked two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one mariner and wounding eight others.

The Emirati Defense Ministry said Iran launched two cruise missiles at the tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah.

The attacks set both tankers ablaze, though the fires were extinguished.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack on the tankers, saying the vessels “ignored repeated warnings.”

“They chose to pass through a minefield and were subsequently targeted and disabled,” the Guard said.

Bahrain also came under renewed attack early Tuesday morning as Iran retaliated over the latest round of U.S. airstrikes. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens three times, urging the public to seek shelter. There was no word on any damage or casualties from the attack.

The Emirati Defense Ministry said the attack on the tankers killed one Indian national and wounded six Indians and two Ukrainians.

“The UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, its citizens and residents,” the Defense Ministry added.

The Emirates used similar language before launching attacks against Iran during the war. Fighter jets could be heard overheard Tuesday morning in Dubai.

The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the U.S. Consulate in Dubai alerted Americans early Tuesday that consular appointments had been canceled through Wednesday “due to the regional security situation.”

Jordan’s military said it intercepted four missiles from Iran, according to a statement carried by the kingdom’s state-run Petra news agency. Jordan hosts U.S. forces and has come under attack by Tehran in recent days.

Trump says Iran failed a test

Earlier Monday, Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that the agreement reached last month was “built to test” Iran, adding that “when you’re dealing with sleazebags (agreements) don’t mean much.”

“They didn’t honor the test,” the president said.

Iran asserts it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge fees in accordance with the interim peace deal. The U.S. has disputed that.

The American military and the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization have tried to establish a route through the strait along the coast of Oman that would be outside of Iranian control. Iran has attacked ships using that route, saying the U.S. is violating the interim peace deal. The U.S. has attacked Iran in response, drawing Iranian attacks on U.S.-allied Arab states.

Exchanges of fire in recent days had already cast further doubt on the interim peace deal. Washington had lifted a blockade it imposed in mid-April as part of that deal, which also called for the strait to be fully reopened.

“We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE,” Trump said on social media. “All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.”

The president said the U.S. would be “reimbursed” by 20% of the value of cargo to help cover “any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security.”

The U.S. military said it will resume its blockade of Iranian ports at midnight local Wednesday in Dubai.

Reaction in the media world has been swift and severe to the issue of subpoenas to five New York Times journalists who reported on security questions involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One — a legal maneuver seen as a troubling escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign to control and intimidate independent media outlets.

“The subpoenas are an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations, and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country,” said Jodie Ginsberg of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Media advocates and analysts expressed dismay at the tactic, even after months in which news organizations drawing President Donald Trump’s ire have been attacked both in courtrooms and in the court of public opinion; media access to corridors of power has been blocked; and a Washington journalist’s home has been searched by federal agents.

“They have used the levers of power to intimidate and demonize professional journalists who report stories that are unfavorable to the administration’s desired narrative,” said Frank Sesno, a former CNN White House bureau chief who is now a media and public affairs professor at George Washington University.

He called Friday’s subpoenas “dangerous and uncharted territory, but merely an extension of what we have seen from this administration and president.”

“Don’t like a poll? Sue the Des Moines Register. Don’t like the way an interview is edited? Sue ‘60 Minutes.’ Don’t like the coverage of the gifted Air Force One? Order the FBI to investigate and subpoena the journalists for what is, by the way, a story that is in the public interest.”

Some of the subpoenas were delivered to reporters at home

Some of the subpoenas were delivered to reporters at their homes, the Times said. Sought by Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, they seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan this week.

The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that the administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service, and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns.

The subpoenas were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House on Friday to talk about the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Times said the meeting lasted around eight hours.

The fact that the operation was conducted from the White House itself was particularly egregious to analysts like Sesno, who called the coordination “unprecedented.”

“This graphically illustrates the pressure and influence the White House and president have brought to bear on law enforcement that is supposed to be independent and driven by facts, not politics,” he said.

The National Press Club called on the Justice Department “to immediately withdraw these subpoenas and reaffirm a principle that has long distinguished the United States: a free and independent press serves the people, not the government.”

“Every American should understand what is at stake,” Mark Schoeff Jr., the club’s president, said in a statement. “When federal agents arrive at the homes of journalists with subpoenas, it is not ordinary law enforcement. It is an extraordinary assault on the freedom of the press that strikes at the heart of the First Amendment.”

The Trump administration has initiated multiple lawsuits against media outlets

Trump’s animosity toward news outlets whose agenda runs counter to his own isn't new. But in his second presidential term, he has launched an escalation, often harnessing the levers of the federal government or attempting to do so. These efforts has taken place both in actual courtrooms and in the court of public opinion.

The president has sued various news organizations whose coverage he dislikes. He has also threatened to revoke TV broadcast licenses. His FCC chairman is seeking to penalize shows like ABC’s “The View,” where some hosts speak out against Trump, by having the FCC explore revoking its exemption from equal-time rules.

The legal skirmishes include an escalating dispute between the media and Trump’s Defense Department over reporters’ access to the Pentagon. The Times has filed two lawsuits over a policy requiring journalists to be accompanied by escorts at the military complex.

The White House has also battled with The Associated Press over the news organization's refusal to follow Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico. And it has battled with The Wall Street Journal over reporting about Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to the president — including an article that described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper said bore Trump’s signature.

Last month, the Justice Department issued and then withdrew subpoenas that sought to compel reporters at The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal to testify before a grand jury, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Post confirmed that one of its journalists received a subpoena from the Trump administration as part of a broader crackdown on media leaks that in January also included the extraordinary step of an FBI search of the home of another journalist at the newspaper and the seizure of her electronic devices. The media world was stunned by the search of the home of reporter Hannah Natanson, who was covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government,

The Times is now gearing up for battle against what its lawyer, David McCraw, has called “this brazen act.”

In an internal memo seen by the AP, the paper's executive editor, Joseph Kahn, criticized the subpoenas and said: “We expect to prevail. We have the best legal team in the business. ... The law protects news gatherers from this sort of retaliatory abuse of prosecutorial power. It is essential that the courts reaffirm that protection and quash this overreach. We are confident they will in this case.”

Kahn praised the work of the five journalists — Tyler Pager, Eric Schmitt, Eric Lipton, Adam Goldman and Julian Barnes — and said they should know “that all of us as their colleagues, and the full resources of The Times, are behind them and that we will fight this legal abuse together.”

___

Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.

More than 70 people remain hospitalized, with 24 of them in critical condition, according to Bangkok city officials.

The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, the city’s deadliest in 17 years, broke out late Sunday in a northern part of the Thai capital. Firefighters needed half an hour to bring it under control.

The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to accommodate as many as 600 customers. It was not clear how many were present Sunday night.

An investigation into the cause of the fire and whether the bar was following safety regulations is ongoing. Most of the people who were killed were found trapped in windowless bathrooms where they may have sought to escape the flames, police said.

The justices are appearing before a House appropriations panel as the court seeks millions of dollars to beef up security amid a rise in threats to the judiciary.

Judges around the country have seen a rise in threats of violence and intimidation, including a fake swatting call to police about Barrett’s home in May.

The hearing comes two weeks after the conservative-majority court finished handing down a series of major opinions, including a decision that increased President Donald Trump’s power over federal regulatory agencies and another that rejected his wide-ranging tariffs, sparking harsh personal criticism.

It's the first time justices have testified before Congress since 2019, and the two justices could face wide-ranging questions as they seek to keep focus on the budget.

Security is central to the Supreme Court's budget request

The Supreme Court requested a total of $228 million for next fiscal year, a roughly 10% increase over the year before. Nearly $15 million of that would go to expanding personal protection for justices, with six more agents for each.

Another $2 million would fund an off-site residential security post aimed at making emergency responses faster, as well as increasing the number of Supreme Court police officers.

The U.S. Marshals Service, responsible for protecting judges, reported 564 threats in the government fiscal year that ended in September, an increase from the year before.

That total includes threats to the hundreds of federal judges around the country, though the nine-member Supreme Court has not been immune.

In May, Barrett’s security detail worked with police to quickly deal with the call determined to be swatting, or a fake 911 call designed to provoke a police response. Last year, her sister was the victim of a bomb threat in Charleston, South Carolina, police said. No bomb was found.

In 2022, shortly after the leak of a draft opinion overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, a would-be assassin was arrested near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with weapons and zip ties.

Chief Justice John Roberts has condemned the threats to all U.S. judges, saying during a speech in March that criticism of judicial opinions is understandable, but personally directed hostility is “dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”

The price of Brent crude climbed to just over $84 a barrel after soaring nearly 10% on Monday. U.S. benchmark crude was up 1.4% at $79.20 a barrel.

Oil prices are still below their wartime peak of nearly $120 a barrel, but uncertainty over the future stability of supplies deepened as the U.S. and Iran each asserted they controlled the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. share futures were down 0.3% as the U.S. launched more strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump said Washington was “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the strait.

Fighting in the region has kept oil tankers from using the waterway to deliver crude to customers from the Persian Gulf, driving up fuel prices worldwide.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 66,574.96 and the Kospi in South Korea declined 3.2% to 6,589.37.

The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.8% to 3,884.32, even though the government reported that China's exports jumped 27% in June from a year earlier as adoption of artificial intelligence drove strong demand for computer chips and other technology.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.1% higher, to 24,230.46, while in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,767.00.

Monday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, coming off its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6%.

Chip stocks like Micron Technology helped lead the way lower. Micron fell 4.4%, eating into what had been a stellar rise of 243.1% for the year so far.

Worries are rising that stock prices have shot too high and that the demand may not be sustainable if AI doesn’t deliver as much profit and productivity as expected.

Nvidia fell 3.5%. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street by value thanks to the euphoria around AI, it was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

Much of Wall Street’s attention this week will be on profit reports from companies saying how much they earned during the spring. On Tuesday alone, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are all releasing their latest quarterly results.

Analysts are forecasting that companies in the S&P 500 index will deliver overall growth of 23.6% from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they’re right, it would be the second straight quarter of growth better than 20%.

Companies across industries will need to deliver strong growth to justify the big moves their stock prices have made. Indexes are near records despite their sharp recent swings due to worries around AI stocks.

More costly oil would push inflation higher, potentially leading the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates. Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

In other dealings early Tuesday, the U.S. dollar slipped to 162.34 Japanese yen from 162.35 yen. The euro rose to $1.1391 from $1.1381.

___

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Stan Choe contributed to this report.

Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background, emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections. When al-Zaidi was formally installed as prime minister-designate in April, Trump said in a social media post that it was the “beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”

But Trump’s interest and involvement in the next leadership in Iraq began long before that statement.

Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework — a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran — initially said it would back former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom the Trump administration views as too close to Tehran. The U.S. president publicly announced his opposition to al-Maliki and threatened to cut off aid to Iraq if he was appointed, adding that “if we are there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom.”

The issue of Iran is likely to loom large in the discussions Tuesday. Iraq has been under pressure to disarm a network of Iran-backed militias operating in the country, some of which launched attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities after the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in February. Officially, the Iraqi government has given non-state armed groups until the end of September to disarm, but some of the most powerful militias have said they have no intention of doing so.

A Trump administration official said ahead of the Oval Office meeting that the U.S. will make “informed” decisions based on Iraq’s efforts to disarm Iranian-backed militias inside its borders. The official was granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s strategy ahead of al-Zaidi’s visit.

Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Chatham House think tank, said he expects that “the U.S. will put significant pressure on al-Zaidi” to move ahead with disarmament during his Washington visit “and Zaidi will respond by saying, ‘But I need support — intelligence support, technical support, armed support.’”

“There is a scenario in which, if the Iraqi government starts going after these groups, they will also go after the government,” Mansour said. “And this is a scenario that I think that the Iraqi government is apprehensive about.”

Al-Zaidi received Trump’s blessing, despite the fact that he was chairman of a bank — Al-Janoob Islamic Bank — that was among the financial institutions banned by Iraq’s central bank in 2024 from dealing in dollars amid pressure from the U.S. to crack down on money laundering and funneling of funds to Iran.

Since taking office, al-Zaidi has made a public show of cracking down on corruption. His government has conducted raids and arrested dozens of current and former lawmakers and government officials accused of corruption, including a number affiliated with former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

The Iraqi premier’s delegation to Washington includes a number of Iraqi businessmen as well as government officials, and al-Zaidi’s office said in a statement that the aim of the visit is to “strengthen economic and development partnerships, attract investment, and expand the role of U.S. companies in implementing infrastructure projects” and to further develop the oil-rich country’s energy sector.

Fire managers try to anticipate nature's next move, placing thousands of firefighters, hundreds of engines, batteries of bulldozers and fleets of helicopters and air tankers where they'll make the biggest difference.

This year, they're dealing with persistent drought made worse by record-low snowpack levels and consecutive days of hot, dry and windy weather. Hundreds of homes have burned, three firefighters were killed battling flames in Colorado, and most recently a helicopter helping with another Colorado fire crashed into a reservoir, killing the pilot.

National preparedness has yet to reach its highest level, but resources are getting stretched as new fires pop up daily.

“The U.S. Wildland Fire Service is prioritizing pre-positioning of crews, engines and aircraft in areas with the highest likelihood of wildfire activity,” the agency said in an email to The Associated Press when asked about available resources. “This allows for quicker initial attack when new wildfires ignite, which is often the most effective way to keep fires small.”

US preparedness level ratchets up

The National Interagency Fire Center, a collection of federal and state agencies that supports on-the-ground wildfire firefighting efforts, sets the preparedness level at 1 to 5 based on fire activity, resource demands, weather and conditions on the ground that can be fuel for a fire. By late June, a surge of wildfire activity prompted coordinators to move the needle to level 4 and begin funneling more crews to the hottest spots.

More than 2,000 fires have been confirmed by the national fire center since the beginning of July alone. The explosion of fire activity across the West has resulted in more highly skilled and experienced incident management teams being assigned. Some have traveled from Alaska and California to help with fires in the Great Basin region.

As of Monday, there were 16 such teams overseeing nearly 17,000 people spread across more than a dozen states.

It’s typical to see preparedness increase in July and August, but fire managers are hopeful they can keep juggling resources to avoid maxing out.

Over the past decade, fire managers have reached the top preparedness tier an average of 25 days per year, with the longest stretch happening in 2021, according to federal statistics. The earliest the designation ever occurred was June 21, 2002.

Firefighters hit the road to help

The nation has 10 geographic area coordination centers — or GACCs — that handle the mobilization of firefighters and other resources.

Mike Morgan, director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, noted during a news conference in early July that his state was getting help from an Alaska-based team.

“Thank God that they have the ability to free those resources up,” he said. “So I think at the moment I would say I feel pretty good about where we’re at. But I’m very concerned about where we go.”

In Utah, more crews arrived to help with the Babylon Fire, the largest active blaze in the U.S. at 166 square miles (430 square kilometers). That's larger than the size of Seattle.

In all, more than 5,600 square miles (14,504 square kilometers) — more than the size of Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks combined — have burned in the U.S. so far this year, outpacing the average for the past decade.

Sharing resources requires balance

The most recent outlook shows above normal wildfire potential in July from the Four Corners Region — where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet — north to Oregon, Idaho and Washington. It's not expected to simmer down until September.

Christopher Dunn, an assistant professor of wildfire risk science at Oregon State University, said these outlooks form the basis for determining how and where to mobilize resources. Those resources are shifted as the fire season moves from region to region.

In a busy year, states have to weigh whether to free up resources to help elsewhere or pressure federal officials to keep crews in reserve in case of increased risk. That's what Dunn described as hoarding resources.

“So there is sort of this delicate balance that has to be walked there, where you share, they share, everybody shares,” he said, “and everybody benefits from that sharing while not overextending your resources so much that you find yourself in a losing position.”

But along with sharing comes added exposure for firefighters who are in the field longer. That means more overtime and greater opportunities for burnout.

“With all this sharing and all of this increase in fire everywhere, we’re just going to see increased pressure on them to work more and work harder and essentially burn out quicker,” Dunn said.

Each fire season reignites the debate over public investment in a permanent wildland firefighting workforce and what agencies can do to retain their most experienced personnel.

“More experience is critical when dealing with extreme conditions,” said Camille Stevens-Rumann, a former wildland firefighter and an associate professor at Colorado State University.

Red flag warnings determine strategy

Even with more resources, there's not much firefighters can do when facing multiple days of strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures. Stevens-Rumann said that's where the strategic positioning of resources in advance comes in.

“They can be available for when those conditions die down, like in the evening,” she said. “But when we have day after day of red flag warnings and high winds, it’s really hard to control a fire.”

Even though Stevens-Rumann has been on the front lines and studies wildfires, it's unsettling when flames are close to home.

“There’s no denying it. It’s easy to disassociate that when you’re on a fire crew and you’re arriving to a place that you don’t have a connection to per se to fight a fire. You know, you’re there to do a job,” she said, “but when you see it in your own backyard, it’s definitely a totally different experience.”

This year, firefighters are being directed to attack every blaze as quickly as possible to limit growth, reversing a decades-long trend in which managers let some fires burn to clear out brush and dead vegetation to reduce future risks. Stevens-Rumann said there are concerns about what that means for firefighter safety and work done on the landscape to slow the flames.

“It doesn’t do us any good to build miles and miles of line that just get burnt over, over and over again,” she said, noting that newer strategies are helping managers figure out where best to take a stand.

Volunteers watch for smoke

Having eyes on the ground — or rather above the tree canopy — can help spot fires early. Despite once numbering in the thousands, there are some 350 lookout towers left in the U.S., with many staffed by volunteers due to dwindling budgets, said Michael Guerin, chairman of the Forest Fire Lookout Association.

They're not just in the West. New Jersey opened a new one just this year, and they're also used in Pennsylvania, Maine and other eastern states.

The recent fires have forced the evacuation of some towers in Colorado. Meanwhile, Guerin and fellow volunteers in California are ready for things to pick up in their state when the Santa Ana winds arrive.

They could be getting help in the future from satellites. Officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced in early July that the first satellites have been launched into orbit as part of what will be a space-based wildfire detection system.

For now, the lookout volunteers use a map, compass and their familiarity with landmarks to pinpoint the location for initial attack crews. But their job isn't done, Guerin said.

“We then become the overwatch — the people that keep them safe while they’re doing the hard work on the ground.”

Graham, who had turned 71 just two days before passing away on Saturday night, was far younger than many of his Senate colleagues and appeared to have been in good health. He suffered a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary report from the medical examiner.

It was the second time in less than a month that emergency personnel were dispatched to the home of a U.S. senator. In early June, Mitch McConnell, the former Republican Senate leader, was hospitalized for undisclosed reasons.

After weeks of increasingly dire speculation about his health, he finally revealed on Sunday that he had fallen and suffered from mild pneumonia. He released a photo, complete with a copy of the day’s newspaper.

Graham’s death and McConnell’s hospitalization have come amid an ongoing reckoning about the nation’s aging leaders, two years after the disastrous presidential debate that sparked widespread panic among Democrats about then-President Joe Biden’s capacities and accusations of a cover-up.

Some politicians have continued to obscure details about their health challenges, asking for privacy despite their public positions, and fueling conspiracy theories.

“I think we need some transparency,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Monday. “I wish Sen. McConnell and his team would have done that earlier, I think it would have resolved a lot of questions.”

Mitch McConnell

McConnell, who at 84 is only the third-oldest member of the Senate, was admitted to the hospital on June 14 with barely any explanation. Aides said he was “receiving excellent care," but offered no details about his condition.

The dearth of information fueled a wave of speculation about his prognosis, with Laura Loomer, a Trump ally and conspiracy theorist, claiming on social media that a "high level source close to the White House” had told her he was “officially brain dead.”

But McConnell, who will retire from Congress at the end of January after serving as the longest-ever Senate leader, said in a statement that he is on the mend. He said a fall had led to his hospitalization and that he was “briefly unconscious" and treated for mild pneumonia.

“You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older," he said. “Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct – I can’t help it.”

That wasn't enough to put speculation to rest. On social media, many refused to believe the veracity of a photo his office released that included the front page of the “Sports” section of The Washington Post.

Conspiracy theories about McConnell’s health are “a symptom of our times," said Sen. Rand Paul, who is also from McConnell's home state of Kentucky. Paul said people should “give him a break.”

“People think they have a right to know everyone’s medical problems," he said, "but I don’t know, where does it begin and where does it end?”

Donald Trump

The oldest person ever elected president has long offered only the rosiest picture of his health.

“Everything checked out PERFECTLY," he boasted after his last physical in May, adding that he took yet another cognitive test aimed at detecting early dementia and has “aced them all.”

His past medical reports have been criticized for offering limited detail and including statistics that some health professionals have viewed with skepticism.

When he first ran for president in 2016, Trump declined to release his health records, breaking with longtime precedent. He instead offered a four-paragraph note from his doctor declaring that he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” Rep. Ronny Jackson, White House doctor during Trump's first term, later drew headlines when he extolled the president's “incredibly good genes."

When he was infected with COVID-19 in the midst of his 2020 reelection campaign, Trump's doctors and aides withheld key details of his treatment and tried to downplay the severity of his illness.

And after an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally, Trump aides kept the public in the dark for days, declining to discuss the extent of his injuries or release medical records after assuring he was “fine.”

Thomas Kean Jr.

The obfuscation extends beyond the septuagenarian and octogenarian set. New Jersey Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. spent four months missing without explanation before he finally disclosed late last month that he had been in treatment for depression.

He said in a brief floor speech after his return that he had remained silent about his condition because he is a “private person by nature."

He won an uncontested primary during his absence, despite missing more than 100 votes in the House, and is running for reelection.

The approach stood in contrast to Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, who disclosed his hospitalization for clinical depression the day after he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment. He also suffered a stroke while running for office.

Joe Biden

Biden's halting gait, frail appearance and frequent verbal stumbles eventually doomed his 2024 reelection campaign. After a debate in which he frequently lost his train of thought, he chose to withdraw from the race, sparking an unprecedented swap at the top of the Democratic ticket that ultimately paved the way for Trump's return to office.

Many others have refused to retire. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, died in office in 2023 at the age of 90, after years of declining health, including a bout of shingles. Though she returned to the Senate after her illness, she appeared frail and confused at times. It was later revealed that her office had failed to disclose in real time that she had contracted encephalitis while recovering.

Longtime Republican Rep. Kay Granger of Texas spend the final months of her more than two decades in Congress suffering from “unforeseen health challenges” that made travel to Washington difficult.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88, the longtime House delegate for the District of Columbia, announced earlier this year that she would not run for reelection amid questions about her competency.

___ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

Dennis Sochor, who has been on death row since the 1980s, would become the oldest inmate Florida has executed in history — at least for now. Later this month, Florida is also set to execute an 80-year-old prisoner who would be the state’s first octogenarian to receive the death penalty.

The executions highlight the nation’s aging death row population and the busy death row chamber in Florida, which has already carried out nine executions this year, more than every other state combined.

Sochor is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of killing a woman on Jan. 1, 1982, just hours after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party.

Just weeks earlier, Florida executed another 74-year-old inmate, Dusty Ray Spencer, over the killing of his estranged wife. He is currently the oldest inmate to ever die by lethal injection in Florida, and Sochor will be exactly one week older if Tuesday’s execution is carried out as scheduled.

It’s unclear why Florida set the executions for the three prisoners consecutively.

Maria DeLiberato, legal director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, noted that in Florida, the governor has practically sole discretion when it comes to the scheduling of executions. In many other death penalty states, the scheduling is up to the courts.

The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, did not respond to an email seeking comment about the state’s recent executions.

A New Year's Day killing

According to court records, 18-year-old Patricia Gifford was celebrating the upcoming New Year with a friend at a Fort Lauderdale area bar when they met Sochor and his brother.

The four spent several hours talking, but after the friend became ill and went to sleep in her car, Gifford left with Sochor and his brother to get breakfast. But instead of going for food, Sochor stopped his truck in a secluded area and attacked Gifford when she refused to have sex with him, according to investigators.

Sochor was later arrested in Georgia in 1986 on unrelated charges and extradited to Florida. Sochor’s brother told police that Sochor was responsible for Gifford’s disappearance, and Sochor himself confessed on tape to choking Gifford and disposing of her body, which was never found. A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping in 1987, and he was sentenced to death.

Last week, the state Supreme Court denied Sochor’s appeals. His attorneys had argued that the state violated his right to a fair trial by failing to disclose a 2022 letter sent to Sochor’s brother from a South Florida detective asking for information about the location of Gifford’s body. The attorneys also claimed that the execution drugs wouldn’t effectively keep Sochor sedated.

A final appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oldest inmates executed in Florida

According to Florida Department of Corrections records, the oldest inmates previously executed by the state were both 72: Samuel Lee Smithers on Oct. 14, 2025, for the 1996 killings of two women and R. Charlie Gifford on Feb. 21, 1951, for the 1950 shooting of a state representative, Charles Schuh Jr.

Nationwide, the oldest U.S. inmate executed in modern times was Walter Leroy Moody Jr., 83. He was put to death in Alabama in 2018 for a wave of Southern mail bombs that killed a federal judge and a Black civil rights attorney in 1989.

A total of 16 executions have been carried out this year in the U.S., with Florida, so far, carrying out more than all other states combined.

But restoring oil tanker traffic in the vital Middle East shipping corridor to prewar flows likely will require a much bigger armada of U.S. warships if not tens of thousands of American troops on Iranian soil, experts say. Despite on-and-off fighting, Iran can still target vessels in the narrow Persian Gulf waterway with drones and missiles that have been hidden in a country a third of the size of the continental United States.

“Iran has been preparing for this type of asymmetric conflict for decades now,” said Jason H. Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and a former Pentagon official. “I think they’re starting to demonstrate why no other U.S. president since Reagan has elected to engage at this level of conflict with Iran, because they have that ability to completely disrupt the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump said Monday that the U.S. is reimposing its blockade on Iran's ports and will charge other ships for safe passage through the strait. Iran has insisted it controls the waterway, through which 20% of the world's oil normally flows, while both sides have exchanged fire over the past week in a series of skirmishes that threaten a return to all-out war.

It underscores the bind that Trump is in as commercial shipping remains stifled in the strait, oil prices are rising again and Iran has shown no sign of capitulating. The war has been unpopular with many Americans and could factor into the upcoming midterm elections with gas prices high.

“They thought the situation was under control, and now they’re seeing renewed escalations, and the markets responding negatively to this,” said Eric Lob, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Middle East program and a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University.

“It's really a kind of test of wills to see how much economic pain the Iranians are willing to absorb and then how much economic pain and even political liability this could be for Trump and the Republicans heading into November," Lob said.

Securing the strait could require ground troops

Before he was a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, Campbell was a researcher at RAND, where he worked in coordination with the U.S. military to simulate war-game scenarios against Iran.

“The things they’re doing now are precisely the types of things that were discussed and came up in really all of these types of situational scenarios,” Campbell said.

Iran produces parts for its weapons across different facilities to reduce their risk of being attacked, Campbell said. Its military units are often allowed to operate without waiting for orders from Tehran. They don't often mass in one place, making airstrikes less effective.

“It's very difficult to envision any scenario where you could satisfactorily secure the Strait of Hormuz absent ground forces,” Campbell said.

Doing so would require tens of thousand of troops, Campbell said, not only to take out Iran's hidden munitions but to secure hundreds of miles of coastline and large swaths of inland territory. The U.S. troops would likely face insurgent attacks.

Standing up that kind of force would take a few months and include “very high costs," Campbell said.

Trump insisted Monday evening that “the strait is open. It will be open,” and that the U.S. has made significant progress degrading Iran's capabilities in just a few months. Iran vowed to fight back against any U.S. interference in the strait.

Risk of US losses goes up with an increased presence

Another way to facilitate commercial traffic safely through the strait would be the continuation — and escalation — of U.S. warships guiding civilian vessels, experts say. But it comes with its own challenges and costs.

The U.S. conducted an escort operation in the 1980s when Iran had targeted shipping as part of its war with neighboring Iraq. The U.S., which supported Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with intelligence, weaponry and other aid, escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers — which were reflagged as American.

Such an effort today would require a substantial number of U.S. warships at a time when the fleet is smaller than it was in the 1980s, said Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst.

“You’d still need a very large chunk of the U.S. fleet being dedicated to this on an open-ended basis,” said Eisenstadt, who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

He said it is a much more complicated environment today as Iran has amassed advanced capabilities, including its ability to launch drone and missile strikes.

“If we were to do what we need to do in order to make this work, which might involve putting people ashore in order to clear anti-cruise missile and drone launch sites, the losses of U.S. service members can go up, and if you’re going to do an escort operation also, the losses can potentially go up,” Eisenstadt added.

Iran's threats alone can scare away ships

Commercial vessels have been avoiding traditional routes through the strait out of fear of Iranian mines. Iran has demanded that ships use a route near its coastline and that it can potentially charge fees under an interim deal to end the war. Ships have been increasingly navigating a southern route along the coast of Oman under a U.S. overwatch operation that guided them using drones and aircraft.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, said mine clearance operations are ongoing for some traditional routes through the strait but that “alternative pathways have been open.”

The southern route hasn't stopped Iranian attacks on ships, leading the U.S. military to strike Iranian air defense systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment, and small boats.

But Iran's threats alone can be enough to halt commerce in the strait, said Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy focused on energy and maritime risks in the Middle East.

“They don’t need to launch drones and missiles — they can just use the marine radio channel to make some threats,” Raydan said. “And this in itself is enough to scare off a lot of seafarers.”

Clayton Seigle, a nonresident scholar in energy security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the Trump administration has not followed through on promises it made early on in the war to militarily assist shipments that became a liability of the conflict.

“Those naval escorts, U.S. warships, larger commitments like boots on the ground never came because I think that the rhetoric got a little ahead of our risk tolerance,” Seigle said. “And when push came to shove, the United States was not ready to deploy its Navy, to deploy its other military forces in the capacity that would be needed to even have a shot at neutralizing those threats.”

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Amiri reported from New York.

Investigators say 28-year-old Michael-Anthony Leones Espino, known to friends as Mykee, was last seen Sunday afternoon leaving a home along Southwest 161st Court and 142nd Terrace in west Miami-Dade County.

Detectives and family members released several missing person flyers that indicate he may be in need of services.

Videos from his Instagram page show Espino doing what he loved, dancing, after performing with major Latin artists including Rauw Alejandro and Rosalía.

His friends are now hoping for his safe return.

“I met him during college at FIU,” said friend Camilo Restrepo. “Incredible guy, he was always so far into dancing, so while everybody else was busy and wanted to party and wanted to do other things, he was just so into the dancing. That’s all he ever wanted to do.”

Earlier on Monday, Local 10 News cameras captured deputies blocking off the street outside his family’s home with crime scene tape.

Detectives say his family is now asking for privacy and have not released any further details about Espino’s disappearance.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts Is asked to contact the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

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BSO jail records show that Scott Nelson Nida, 55, was arrested by deputies in Pompano Beach on Saturday. He’s accused of violating a domestic violence injunction. According to the agency, he “separated from BSO” on June 29, a little more than a month after his third arrest.

Nida’s first arrest came in January after being accused of attacking his longtime partner over infidelity. The victim later waived prosecution and a no-contact order was dismissed. She told investigators she “felt coerced into dropping the charges” because Nida allegedly said he would “lose his job and pension.”

But Nida was arrested again in April after being accused of attacking his partner for a second time and stealing her vehicle. Records show those charges are still pending with a court hearing scheduled for July 30.

He was arrested one month later on a domestic violence injunction violation charge. A BSO report states that he allowed his girlfriend to live with him “because she and her daughter were forced out of their previous residence” and reached out to Nida “because they had no place to go.”

Court records show Broward prosecutors declined to pursue charges in that case.

His latest arrest report indicates its the same reason he again found himself behind bars.

According to officials, a concerned acquaintance of Nida’s called in a wellness check on July 11 after receiving concerning messages from him.

When authorities arrived, they said Nida went inside the home and moved around his house before coming back outside.

A police drone found the woman and her child hiding in a storage area, with the report stating, “The pair went as far as to admit he had formed a plan for them to hide in the backyard if law enforcement came to the house for which they executed tonight.”

The woman told police they were at Nida’s home for weeks because of a financial crisis, and even had a key.

As of Monday morning, Nida was being held in the BSO Main Jail pending a scheduled court appearance.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated after Local 10 News received clarification on Nida’s employment status and a copy of his arrest report.

Basabe is a Republican in the Florida state House of Representatives based in Miami Beach, but he is being sued by two former employees, a legislative aid and an intern.

Both men say they were victims of sexual harassment, battery and defamation at the hands of Basabe.

The lawsuit was first filed about three years ago but is now making its way in front of a jury.

Basabe, who is up for re-election later this year, is actually representing himself during the trial, moving forward without a lawyer.

There was also witness testimony Monday, which was tense at times as a former legislative aide was questioned by the very man accused of sexually assaulting him.

“Did you notice any oversized children who may have obstructed anyone’s view from the front of the classroom?” Basabe asked.

“I don’t know Mr. Basabe, like I said before, I was more shocked and frozen that you slapped my buttocks in a room full of children,” replied former legislative aid Nicholas Frevola.

At one point, Basabe asked Frevola to demonstrate how he was slapped on the backside.

Another man, Basabe’s former intern, alleges unsolicited sexual advances from the state lawmaker as he drove his boss home.

“He was in the passenger seat, and it started off with him getting his face close to my neck and whispering in my ear,” said former intern Jacob Cuthbirth. “And he put his hand on my thigh and he made comments about sex with men, and was, as I said previously, he did seem pretty drunk. I told him that I’m happily engaged.”

Basabe has long denied the allegations, pointing to a pair of prior investigations brought on by the Florida House of Representatives to look into the claims, both of which were dismissed after findings of no wrongdoing.

The victims have also sued the Florida House of Representatives.

A stream of a portion of Monday’s hearing can be seen below:

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The girl was diagnosed with “mild to moderate autism,” and the abuse “started when she was 10 years old, and she will be turning 13 this year,” a Hallandale Beach police officer wrote, according to a police report.

During the police investigation, a Broward Sheriff’s Office DNA analyst reported in April that DNA belonging to Daley, 56, was on “the exterior crotch area” of the girl’s pajama pants, according to a police report.

The investigation started after the girl told her mother that Daley had sexually molested her on Feb. 17, and Hallandale Beach police officers met them at the Publix Supermarket in Hallandale Beach, where Daley worked as a stock clerk in the freezer department for about four years, according to the police report.

“She only brings the victim to work with her when she does not have a babysitter to watch her ... the victim sits in the break room,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

A detective investigating the case on Feb. 23 found surveillance video showing Daley “looks around before entering the breakroom” shortly after 9:55 p.m. and walks out at 10 p.m. on Feb. 17, according to police.

The girl participated in a forensic interview at the Nancy J. Cotterman Center in Oakland Park, and she reported Daley had abused her about 30 times at the Publix at 1400 East Hallandale Beach, according to the police officer’s arrest report.

“She always tells him ‘No!’ But he continues to keep touching her against her will ... it hurt her ... she felt threatened,” a police officer wrote about the girl’s report during the interview, according to the report.

Broward County court records show prosecutors filed a first-degree felony case against Daley, of Miramar, on June 29. He faced four counts of lewd or lascivious molestation charges.

Police officers served the arrest warrant on Sunday, and BSO corrections booked Daley at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale. He appeared in court on Monday, and a judge denied him bond.

Broward County Circuit Judge Barbara Duffy is set to preside over the case.

A spokesperson for Publix released a statement on Monday afternoon reporting that Daley was no longer employed at Publix.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Carson Merlo contributed to this report.

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Mike Sargis, the city of North Lauderdale manager, said a Ring surveillance camera recorded the video at a house on Pebble Beach, near the Boulevard of Champions.

“The family started CPR,” Sargis wrote in a statement on Monday morning.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel and BSO deputies responded to the house pool at about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday

The toddler was at the Broward Health Medical Center, and his condition was critical, according to Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies.

“The last we heard, the child was in very grave condition,” Sargis wrote in the statement.

At least three children have drowned this summer in Broward County.

A 2-year-old boy drowned on July 12 in a lake in Plantation.

Nearby, a 4-year-old girl drowned on July 5 in a lake in Plantation.

A 4-year-old boy drowned on June 19 in a pool in North Lauderdale.

More children ages 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause of death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some of the ways to reduce the risk include formal swimming lessons for kids and installing a four-sided fence that is at least four feet high and fully encloses the house pool.

The Red Cross has educational resources for children and their caregivers.

The Florida Department of Health in Broward County has a voucher program to cover the cost of lessons for children as young as babies and as old as 17. For more information, visit this page.

North Lauderdale’s Pebble Beach area

The picture of Cardinals cool, Walker chased down Kyle Schwarber, shut up a rambunctious Philly crowd and introduced himself to a much wider baseball world.

Walker used six swings to swat six homers, besting Schwarber in a dramatic final round that silenced all those boo birds and made him the first St. Louis Cardinal to win the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

Schwarber hit 11 homers during his 15-swing turn in the final round. Philly fans, who jeered everyone but Schwarber and Bryce Harper throughout the night, quietly headed toward the exits when Walker’s winning shot soared over the left field wall.

“I was once told you don’t boo nobodies,” Walker said. “So it feels pretty good.”

The 24-year-old Walker sported the Derby champions' chain, slipped on a leather jacket and still wore his batting gloves as he broke down what it took to take down Schwarber on his home turf.

“My thought was Philly is brutal,” Walker said. "I mean, honestly. But I think it’s pretty special because they love their players and that’s what you want from your home, like, where you play. I mean, I’d never hear people cheer so loud for, like, Schwarber and Harper. And those guys did their thing, for sure.

“But, you know, I can’t hate them, because that’s their guy, so I just got to play the game.”

Walker played a pretty great game in the first half for the Cardinals.

Walker is a first-time All-Star and having a breakout season in St. Louis. He already has a career-high 22 homers this season after struggling with a combined 11 over the previous two years.

Those final six in Philly all flying high with Iron Man on his bat are now stamped on the Derby highlight reel.

His cap backward just like Hall of Famer and Derby great Ken Griffey Jr., Walker celebrated with his family immediately on the field. His father rejoiced in recalling how Walker started hitting long home runs when he was 6 years old.

“When things got tough, they were always there in my corner to talk to them about it,” Walker said of his family. “They kept the energy levels high. They kept the feelings high.”

He fulfilled this childhood dream in striking fashion. Walker hit his seventh homer with two swings remaining and his eighth on the next swing to earn bonus swings. Needing to hit four straight homers to win, the right-handed Jordan knocked one off the top of the center field fence 401 feet away. He reached 10 homers and Philly fans booed with all their might, only for Jordan to finish the sensational surge and celebrate as fireworks shot off around him.

"You can’t say enough about how he was able to kind of slow the moment down, too, and lock it in,” said Schwarber, a Derby runner-up for the second time. “All of our fans were we’re raring and trying to will me to it.”

A revamped Derby format delivered great drama

MLB ditched its timed clock this season and returned to a swing format, with each hitter continuing to swing if he went deep on his final one.

The extra time between swings gave hitters time to track their home runs — and Philly a smidge more time to unleash those throaty boos at Contreras and Walker.

Each player had 20 swings in the first round and the top four advanced. Hitters were seeded for the second round, where No. 1 faces 4 and 2 meets 3.

Each player got 15 swings in the second round, with batters homering on their final swings continuing until not homering.

Boston’s Willson Contreras, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, New York's Ben Rice and Kansas City's Jac Caglianone, and Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami also participated.

Philly came ready to celebrate its slugging stars

Phillies fans were wildly optimistic that Schwarber and Harper could somehow reach the final and crown the franchise's third Derby champion.

Harper hit only eight in the first round and was the final slugger to try and advance. Schwarber could only watch as Harper failed to join him. Schwarber, then with the Chicago Cubs, made the finals in 2018 at Nationals Park before losing to Harper when he played with the Nationals.

Schwarber and Harper — the first pair of teammates to participate in the Derby since 2018 — received roaring ovations when famed ring announcer Michael Buffer introduced them ahead of the competition.

As for the other six sluggers in the field, all wearing their home jerseys with red, white and blue uniform numbers?

Yeah, they were about booed out of the ballpark, with the loudest jeers saved for Rice. He gamely laughed as he walked out of his Liberty Bell entrance.

Harper — who said earlier Monday this would be his last Derby — waved his arms and exhorted the crowd to get louder as he walked to the home plate platform placed at second base. Harper about broke the ring ropes as he shook them like a pro wrestler, and the Philly crowd went bonkers for the star known as The Showman.

The ball-shagging kids in the outfield were even booed.

The Derby’s public address announcer implored the fans to cheer during some quiet stretches when homers — non-Phillies edition — were hit.

The fans did get a rise when Caglianone smoked one into Ryan Howard territory into the third deck in right field. Contreras socked ’em into the rarified air of the left field upper deck. One homer cleared the last row of stands in that section and bounced off the concourse in front of a bar. His 490-footer was the longest of the first round.

This was the first Home Run Derby and All-Star Game held at Citizens Bank Park since it opened in 2004 and the first derby in Philadelphia since Barry Bonds outslugged Mark McGwire in 1996 to win an afternoon event in front of thousands of empty seats at Veterans Stadium.

This derby was sold out and aired on Netflix for the first time, with the streamer getting into the game this season with a three-event package. Netflix already aired the opening night game, and the third attraction is the Field of Dreams game between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 13.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional pronostica que más de 90 récords de temperatura en el país serán igualados o rotos esta semana hasta el miércoles, y la mayoría de ellos serán récords de calor nocturno.

Expertos en salud señalan que las temperaturas nocturnas que no logran bajar son aún más peligrosas que las temperaturas diurnas que se disparan.

El verano ya ha comenzado de forma sofocante en gran parte de Estados Unidos debido a la persistente cúpula de calor que se prevé cubra buena parte del territorio esta semana. Las temperaturas abrasadoras de las últimas semanas han provocado muertes relacionadas con el calor en Nueva Jersey y han contribuido a avivar incendios forestales en el oeste del país.

Sin alivio del calor por la noche esta semana

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional indicó que no se preveía que las temperaturas bajaran de 27 grados Celsius (80 grados Fahrenheit) por la noche en Fort Lauderdale, Miami y Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; y Charleston, Carolina del Sur.

En los próximos días, lugares de la región centro-norte y el noreste conocidos por sus inviernos gélidos verán que las temperaturas nocturnas se mantienen por encima de 21 ºC (70 ºF), incluidos Fargo, Dakota del Norte; International Falls, Minnesota; y Portland, Maine.

Las altas temperaturas nocturnas suponen un peligro mayor

Expertos en salud explican que las altas temperaturas durante la noche son especialmente peligrosas porque no hay tiempo para que la temperatura central del cuerpo se enfríe y se recupere del calor diurno.

“Ahí es donde se agravan los efectos en la salud, en particular para las personas mayores y las comunidades vulnerables”, manifestó Marshall Shepherd, profesor de meteorología de la Universidad de Georgia.

Un aumento de tan sólo unos pocos grados en la temperatura corporal puede provocar un golpe de calor o sobrecargar el corazón.

Los peligros del calor pueden presentarse furtivamente

Si las temperaturas nocturnas no enfrían el cuerpo, los riesgos para la salud suelen manifestarse con mayor frecuencia al día siguiente, explicó Kristie Ebi, científica de salud pública y clima en la Universidad de Washington.

“La mortalidad comienza al segundo o tercer día” porque el cuerpo no puede enfriarse, expresó el lunes.

Ser proactivo es crucial durante una ola de calor

Las señales tempranas de advertencia incluyen sudoración intensa, calambres musculares y dolor de cabeza. “Es difícil saber que uno está empezando a tener problemas con el calor. Por eso necesitamos ser más proactivos”, señaló Ebi.

Es importante encontrar una manera de refrescarse, ya sea entrando a un lugar con aire acondicionado o envolviéndose el cuello con una toalla fría.

Y los expertos en salud dicen que no hay que olvidar comunicarse con amigos y familiares, especialmente con quienes son de avanzada edad, están embarazadas o tienen problemas de salud que podrían dificultarles soportar el calor.

Cómo combatir el calor sin aire acondicionado

Incluso sin aire acondicionado en casa, hay maneras de encontrar alivio.

Ingrese a una biblioteca o un centro comercial. Siéntese frente a un ventilador y rocíe agua sobre la piel. Ponga los pies en agua fría. Empape la ropa en agua. Y, por supuesto, beba mucha agua.

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El reportero de The Associated Press Seth Borenstein en Washington contribuyó a este despacho.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the U.S. State Department had also issued a ban on transactions with Grupo Empresarial del Comercio Exterior, or GECOMEX, and Grupo Empresarial de Transporte Marítimo Portuario, or GEMAR.

The sanctions are part of a “comprehensive push to end the Cuban regime’s malign activities, both in Cuba and across our hemisphere,” a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday.

The list includes two Havana-based state-owned companies in the energy sector, Enetec and Coreydan, and the Grupo Caudal S.A., which has subsidiaries involved in audits and insurance.

The list also included four enforcement organizations: Asociación de Combatientes de la Revolución Cubana, Milicias de Tropas Territoriales, Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida, and Comités de Defensa de la Revolución.

In a statement on X, U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez described the organizations on Monday as “everyone who has participated in repressing the people in a ‘rapid response brigade’ or any militarized group.”

A group of Democrats — U.S. Reps. Delia Ramírez, Teresa Leger-Fernández, Maxine Dexter, and Mark Pocan — traveled to Cuba on Thursday with an itinerary that included a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Ramírez, of Illinois; Leger-Fernández, of New Mexico; Dexter, of Oregon; and Pocan, of Wisconsin, were critical of the Trump administration’s pressure for change on the Communist island.

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🚨ÚLTIMA HORA —> El Secretario de Estado Marco Rubio acaba de sancionar a todo aquel que ha participado en reprimir al pueblo en una “brigada de respuesta rápida” o cualquier grupo militarizado.

Los represores enfrentarán todo el peso de la ley americana.https://t.co/IdOoXv8mQ0

— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) July 13, 2026

Bukele's party Nuevas Ideas, which holds a supermajority in the legislative assembly, held its internal elections Sunday and announced the results on Twitter on Monday. Vice President Félix Ulloa will once again be Bukele’s running mate.

Bukele, 44, took office in June 2019 as the region's youngest president and has continued to enjoy high approval ratings.

His February 2024 reelection — with nearly 85% of the valid votes — was highly criticized by constitutional scholars for violating a ban on consecutive reelection. They accuse Bukele of illegally replacing the country's constitutional Court judges and attorney general to concentrate his power.

“Remaining in power is to avoid accountability for grave acts of corruption and crimes against humanity,” said Ingrid Escobar, lawyer and director of Salvadoran group Humanitarian Legal Aid, who called seeking a third term unconstitutional.

A September 2021 ruling by the constitutional Court allowed presidential reelection “for one term only.”

The ruling-party controlled Legislative Assembly then approved a constitutional reform in July 2025 to allow indefinite presidential reelection. The reform eliminated the penalty of loss of citizenship rights for those who promoted presidential reelection and the ban on presidential candidacy for those who had served as president in the previous term.

This constitutional reform also extended the presidential term from five to six years and moved up the presidential elections to 2027. The constitution previously allowed reelection of a past president after 10 years out of office.

The president has defended the constitutional reforms approved by the legislative assembly.

Bukele stated that “90% of developed countries allow the indefinite reelection of their head of government and nobody bats an eye.” He added that when a small, poor country like El Salvador tries to do the same, “it suddenly becomes the end of democracy.”

Salvadorans credit the president's security policies, including a four-year state of emergency that has imprisoned more than 90,000 Salvadorans, for drastically reducing homicide rates and making them feel safer in the country.

In 2015, El Salvador registered one of its most violent years, with 6,656 murders and a homicide rate of 106 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The country ended 2025 with a record low in homicides — 82 cases — according to government statistics.

More than 500 people have died in prison since the state of emergency, mainly for health reasons but some related to violence, according to human rights organizations.

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Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Una van y una camioneta tipo SUV chocaron en Powerline Road, cerca de Northwest 49 Court.

Personal de Bomberos y Rescate de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward respondió al lugar y trasladó a las 12 personas a hospitales cercanos.

Over the past 60 years, about 66% of all tropical activity has been generated from storms born out of the MDR. In strong El Niño years, like this one, only about half of all tropical activity comes from storms originating in the MDR. The other half comes with their beginnings in the subtropics, the zone just north of the deep tropics that includes both Gulf waters and Atlantic waters directly east of Florida and the Bahamas.

That, of course, doesn’t mean we stop looking to the MDR for tropical seedlings with hurricane ambitions, but the subtropics tend to count a little more toward overall activity in big El Niño years like this one, so we pay closer attention to those areas farther north that we might otherwise overlook.

We can find lots of powerful and impactful hurricanes that had their birth in the subtropics over the years. They can happen in both very inactive hurricane seasons (see Alicia in 1983 or Joaquin in 2015) or during gang buster hurricane seasons (see Katrina in 2005 or Milton in 2024). The area that tends to churn out the stronger and longer-lived hurricanes of subtropical origins tends to be the western Atlantic waters just east of Florida and northeast of the Caribbean.

So don’t sleep on systems that fester in these waters this hurricane season, especially since it’s here that waters are well above average and at record or near-record warmth for the time of year (this includes the Gulf, which sits at record warmth for the time of year).

It’s also an area of the Atlantic that’s protected from the intense wind shear conveyor belt that helps to reduce the contribution to tropical activity from the Main Development Region during El Niño years.

Nothing brewing this week but watching the trends in the northern Gulf early next week

The Atlantic’s in store for another sleepy week. Last week we mentioned a stalled front over western Atlantic waters later this week along which we’d follow for outside development odds. Models remain unenthusiastic to say the least, and any low-pressure candidates should stay both non-tropical and weak east of the Carolinas this week.

Beyond that in the subtropics, we’ve seen a small tick up from forecast models in the possibility of tropical mischief over the northern Gulf next week. The European AI camp, in particular, has trended more bullish, but beware of overheated forecasts from the Euro AI (its deterministic or single-run model forecast late Sunday was advertising a hurricane in the northeastern Gulf for early next Tuesday) as that model has shown zero skill in intensity forecasting so far (see our AI model post from late last month where we discussed the reasons behind this).

For now environmental conditions early next week in the northern Gulf don’t appear especially ripe for development, with a decent amount of northerly wind shear settled over the area. Google’s DeepMind machine learning-based 1000-member ensemble as well as the traditional physics-based European ensemble system both indicate development odds at around 10-20% from next Sunday (July 19^th) to next Wednesday (July 22^nd). That seems like a reasonable starting place.

It’s nothing to worry about at this point, but it’s worth checking back on the trends later this week.

The number of wounded troops from the conflict also has grown to more than 400 as of Monday. Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said the majority of them suffered traumatic brain injuries.

The Navy initially described the July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued shortly after the mishap.

The Pentagon’s war casualty count added one non-hostile death in July. It is the first death recorded since 13 service members were killed in separate incidents in March at the beginning of the war.

The first was an Iranian drone strike on a command center in Kuwait that killed six soldiers. Then one soldier died more than a week after initially being wounded in an attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Six more service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting U.S. military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq.

A total of 414 service members have been wounded, including a U.S. Air Force member added Monday. While Iran and the U.S. have resumed strikes, it is unclear if that is what led to the airman’s injury.

U.S. Central Command didn’t offer any details on the specific airman. But traumatic brain injuries that have defined most of the injuries in the war are an increasingly persistent problem among combat forces, especially those subjected to missile strikes and explosions that hit nearby.

While the injury, along with post-traumatic stress disorder, has become one of the signature wounds among veterans of the post-9/11 era, the impact on troops, especially long-term, are still poorly understood.

When asked Monday for the latest figures of seriously wounded troops, Maj. Emma Thompson, a U.S. Central Command spokeswoman, said she had no update and reiterated that “almost all” of those injured have returned to duty. She also didn’t say how many service members have been wounded enough to need evacuation from the region.

In the past, the top four teams in a conference would be placed in different regions to protect them from playing each other until the Final Four. For example, the tournament this past season had four SEC teams in the top eight overall seeds. Texas was third, South Carolina fourth, LSU fifth and Vanderbilt seventh. LSU was dropped down to seventh and Vanderbilt eighth in the bracketing to avoid having them be in the same regions.

Now if that happened going forward, the teams would remain where their seeds should have them.

“We put a lot of time into establishing those top 16 teams in the order they go in,” NCAA women's basketball committee chair Amanda Braun said in a phone interview. “You're splitting hairs to decide who has the edge and some of that is undone by those principles. To all of us, the work we did and the work those teams did justifies keeping them where they are in that group of 16.”

The men's selection committee will still separate out the top four seeds in each conference and put them in different regions.

The change would potentially only really affect the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 as those were the only conferences that had four or more teams in the NCAA field.

The women's tournament has started giving financial incentives — units — to teams for each round they advance in the tournament the past two seasons. Braun said that it wasn't brought up at all during the entire week of meetings that the committee had.

The change comes on the heels of the NCAA expanding its tournament field to 76 teams starting in 2027.

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Hialeah police said Yashira Marie Maldonado, 34, did so at her mother’s efficiency before driving off. According to an arrest report, it appears she left the girl chained up outside for almost an hour on Saturday morning before police became aware.

The girl’s exact age was redacted from the Hialeah Police Department report, but she is either 13 or 14 according to an included year of birth.

The HPD report states that officers responded to Maldonado’s home, the address of which was redacted, at around 10 a.m. Saturday after receiving reports of a disturbance.

Police said Maldonado’s mother told them that she had gone to her daughter’s home to “plea” with her to go back and free the girl.

Authorities said they went back to Maldonado’s mother’s house and found the girl “still chained to the fence, but in good health.”

According to the report, Maldonado’s mother explained that soon after getting a text message from Maldonado at around 9:10 a.m. stating, “I got fired from my job!!!!!!,” she had opened her front door and, “in disbelief,” closed it after seeing her granddaughter chained up outside.

The report states that she then went outside and “attempted to release the victim from the chain but was not successful.”

According to the report, Maldonado’s mother told officers that “she did not call (the) police because she fears (her) landlord will evict her.”

The report states that CCTV footage showed Maldonado tying the girl to the fence at around 9:05 a.m.

Police said it showed Maldonado “wrap a metal chain around (her daughter’s) waist and (tie) the other end to the house fence, restricting her from moving around.”

“(She) dropped (her daughter) off with a clear bookbag, some clothing and her medication,” the report states. “(Maldonado) left (her daughter) outside where she had no cover from the sun and no food or water.”

Police said the video then showed Maldonado “entering her vehicle and (leaving) the scene.”

They said they took Maldonado to the HPD headquarters, where she spoke with investigators. Alleged statements she made were redacted from the report.

Facing charges of child abuse and child neglect, Maldonado had been ordered held on a $10,000 bond.

As of late Monday morning, she no longer appeared in Miami-Dade jail records.

Tuesday will yield more of the same: hot, hazy and humid conditions. Temperatures will make a run for the low and mid-90s – factor in humidity, it will feel like triple digits. Afternoon showers and storms that develop will tend to favor the Everglades.

El número de heridos, por su parte, se mantiene en 16.740 desde hace siete días, según el más reciente reporte divulgado por Jorge Rodríguez, presidente de la Asamblea Nacional venezolana y hermano de la presidenta encargada Delcy Rodríguez, mediante su canal de Telegram.

La cifra de muertes ha ido en aumento en la medida que se desarrollan las labores de remoción de escombros.

La mayoría de las muertes ocurrieron en el estado costanero de La Guaira, la zona más afectada por los sismos, ubicada a unos 20 kilómetros al norte de Caracas. Después de los dos potentes sismos se contabilizaron 1.254 réplicas.

De acuerdo con el reporte, 856 edificios sufrieron daños y de ellos 190 colapsaron totalmente. Más de 1.600 estructuras de otra índole, como puentes y carreteras, también fueron afectadas.

El gobierno ha estimado que los terremotos dejaron decenas de miles de personas sin hogar. Más de 20.000 permanecen en 107 refugios temporales instalados en la capital venezolana, Caracas, y los estados vecinos de La Guaira y Miranda.

Los sismos de magnitud 7,2 y 7,5 ocurrieron con 39 segundos de diferencia a lo largo de la cordillera de la costa norte de Venezuela, según el Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos. Fueron de los más fuertes registrados en el país sudamericano en más de un siglo.

A van and a sports utility vehicle crashed on Powerline Road near Northwest 49 Court.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel responded and took the 12 people to nearby hospitals.

Location

“Both sides kind of have their line that they’re not going to cross," Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace who is also a member of the union's eight-man negotiating committee, said Monday. “Whether that results in missing games or missing a season, we’ll see.”

Baseball's five-year labor contract expires Dec. 1 and MLB is expected to immediately lock out players. The more consequential deadline is in late February or early March, when Major League Baseball would announce whether it was postponing opening day.

Owners proposed a salary cap for the first time since the union fought off MLB's cap plan with a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 that caused the first cancellation of the World Series since 1904. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says a cap is needed to lessen payroll disparity.

Soto, who signed a record $765 million, 15-year-old contract with the New York Mets as a free agent after the 2024 season, would be limited to a $265 million, six-year deal under MLB's proposal.

“Yeah, that sucks,” Soto said. “It shouldn’t be there.”

MLB’s proposal would cap spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include $20.1 million for benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. It also would establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million, forcing some teams to spend more.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders, had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year. MLB has not made a proposal on how to phase in a cap, a process that would be key for high-spending clubs such as the Dodgers.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, at 34 in the eighth season of a $426.5 million, 12-year contract, said players are aware of the proposal's intent.

“It’s trying to minimize the years and obviously the totals. For sure, we see that,” he said. “I think baseball's in a good spot right now and we can’t mess this up."

Harper, in the eighth season of a $330 million, 13-year contract with Philadelphia, said he couldn't conceive of any scenario in which the players' association would agree to a cap.

“The opportunity for players to get paid is what this is all about,” Harper said, citing the union's legacy of fighting MLB since Curt Flood helped unite players in the 1970s. “We owe it to the guys that have come before us to do the same thing.”

Harper, who signed his first major league contract at age 17, also vowed to fight MLB's proposal to ban a player from signing until he was at least 20 years old by the Sept. 1 of his signing year and two years removed from the graduating year of his high school class. MLB says college baseball provides a better development path.

“If you’re in the top three rounds as a high school kid, I think you should be able to do whatever you want,” Harper said. “It would really be tough for a guy like Jackson Holliday to not be the number one pick and not get the chance to go to the big leagues at 19 or 18 if he’s able to.”

Bargaining began in May and is expected to resume after the All-Star break. The union has asked for expanded free agency and salary arbitration rights along with almost doubling the major league minimum.

Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft viewed the early negotiations as “back-and-forth proposals that may or may not be unrealistic.”

Skenes, a 24-year-old right-hander in his second full big league season, could see a sharp decrease in potential contract offers under MLB's system. He currently is on track to become a free agent after the 2029 season and has a $1,085,000 salary in his last season before arbitration eligibility. He also has earned nearly $5.6 million from the pre-arbitration bonus pool that started in 2022.

“MLB is kind of presenting their perfect-world offers and we’re kind of presenting our perfect-world offers," Skenes said. “So there’s a lot of time before there’s any real movement, I think.”

San Diego's Mason Miller, baseball's top closer, also could become a free agent following the 2029 season. A 27-year-old right-hander, he is earning $4 million this season.

“I still have some optimism,” he said. “The place that the game's at right now, I think killing that momentum is kind of fruitless for everybody.”

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AP Assistant Sports Editor Jake Seiner contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Now that plans to revive Miami’s historic playhouse are moving forward, Local 10 News got a look inside the iconic building that opened its doors in 1927.

“Phase one was the shoring up and the beginning of the restoration,” said Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado. “The third floor isn’t in as bad of shape, the second floor was in worse shape because there were some leaks in the bathroom there. Back in the day the actors lived up there.”

There has also been preservation work during the construction.

“We also gathered all the historical pieces and we have them stored,” said Regalado. “A lot of people have asked us about the markers, the arch; that is all put away, and now we will start building the second piece of it which is the corridor that goes between the two buildings.”

Regalado said the next phase will be the construction of a new 300-seat state-of-the-art theater.

“Theater is part of the fabric of any community that is thriving and wants to attract the kind of talent we want here in Miami-Dade, so it is important to have a theater like the Coconut Grove Playhouse,” said Coconut Grove Playhouse Executive Director Juan Jose Escalante.

The award-winning theater company GableStage will operate the restored theater.

It’s a reopening that will also be a bit of a homecoming for Escalante, who once worked at the theatre’s box office.

“I saw so many plays, I saw so many people who are now Oscar winners now, who started their work on the craft right here on this stage,” he said. “We are going to have five productions a year, but most importantly we are going to have a very robust community engagement and education program here.”

Regalado spoke regarding who owns the land, how the restoration is being funded and who is responsible for its operation and maintenance.

“The land belongs to the state of Florida but all the funding is Miami-Dade County,” she said. “The city of Miami, when my father was the mayor, actually earmarked $10 million, but then they took it away. So this is all county cultural affairs funding, and one of the things that we tried to explain to everyone is that it needs to be completely self-sustaining. So there’s pockets of it that have a little bit of commercial, and the reason for that is the county is not committed to the operation and maintenance of this building. So we created it in a way where GableStage and the little retail that we allowed is going to make it completely self-sustainable.

“The next phase is $40 million,” she continued. “That’s going to get us to the opening, but the county is not committed to (Operations and Management). When you start adding the litigation and the time and the cost and everything, it’ll probably end up being closer to $60 million when we’re all done. But it’s a beautiful historic building and we’re committed to restoring it and really bringing something lovely into the portfolio of Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs.”

According to the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, “Miami’s world-renowned creative sector is one of the cornerstones of the city’s economy.”

In 2023, Miami-Dade’s Department of Cultural Affairs said a “groundbreaking nationwide study” found that the county’s “Arts and cultural sector generates $2.1 billion in economic activity and supports over 31,000 jobs in Miami-Dade County.”

Back in 2012, the county said a landmark study found “Miami-Dade County’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations represent a significant business industry in Miami-Dade County--one that generates almost $1.1 billion in local economic activity, an almost 17% increase over the last study released five years ago.”

Playhouse Preservation FAQ

By saying that an interim ceasefire gave it the right to establish the terms under which ships traversed the strait, and threatening and firing upon vessels that did not use its preferred route, Iran has sought to exert control over the waterway and gain negotiating leverage with the United States.

On Monday, President Donald Trump sought to tip the scales. He reimposed a blockade on Iran and said the U.S. controls the strait and would charge fees to ships for safe passage — essentially borrowing from the Iranian playbook.

The announcement came as the U.S. and Iran have been ramping up attacks against each other to assert control over the strait, threatening a return to all-out war.

The world has long considered the strait — which passes the coastlines of Iran and Oman — a free-to-use, international waterway. But soon after it was attacked by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28, Iran claimed sovereignty over it, disrupting world energy markets and driving up prices.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

Both Iran and the US say they control the Strait of Hormuz

In a posting on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said the U.S. "will be, from this point forward, known as THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT."

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile arsenal, says Tehran controls the strait. "We will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it,” the Guard said Sunday.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, established in 1982, no country has the right to claim international waters and all ships have the right of unimpeded passage.

Even though the U.S. and Iran haven't ratified the convention, “that doesn’t matter, because this has become part of universal custom, so all states can rely on it under all circumstances,” said Marc Weller, director of the International Law Program at the University of Cambridge.

Still, both Iran and the U.S. have been using tools to exert control over the strait and constrain traffic.

“You have two nations, both of which are very capable — the U.S., because it has the most powerful Navy in the world, and Iran, which is geographically well positioned to disrupt commerce throughout the Strait of Hormuz — (and) can exercise a significant degree of control,” said Raymond Waid, who leads the maritime industry group at law firm Liskow & Lewis in New Orleans and is a former Navy officer.

Maritime data agency Kpler said crossings declined by around 52% between Friday and Monday compared with the same period a week ago. About 14 ships passed through the strait on Sunday; before the war, about 130 ships passed through the strait daily.

Iran says it has made ‘sincere’ efforts to ensure safe shipping

The ability to disrupt shipping in the strait gives Iran leverage over the global economy.

Tehran used this leverage early in the war by attacking transiting ships and demanding payment in some cases to allow vessels through. Just the fear of being attacked by Iranian drones or speedboats was enough to deter ship traffic.

After an interim ceasefire was announced last month, Iran insisted that ships register with the recently created Persian Gulf Strait Authority to have their crews and cargo vetted.

Iran also is demanding that ships only use a route near its coastline instead of a southern route along the coast of Oman, where the U.S. military had started guiding ships through. The central part of the strait has been mined by Iran, so few vessels have tried to pass using that route.

Tehran is suspected of attacking ships that have used the Oman route. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, which issues maritime security alerts, said it received reports of six ships attacked in the strait near Oman since June 25.

Iranian officials assert the right to manage traffic through the strait

Washington and Tehran have debated what they agreed to regarding the strait. U.S. officials say the interim agreement signed last month called for the strait to be reopened while a more permanent resolution to the war was negotiated.

Iranian officials have said a clause in the interim deal gave them the right to manage ship traffic and that, so long as they didn't charge fees for 60 days, it was up to them to decide operating conditions.

The interim agreement stated that Iran will “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa.“ It also called for Iran to ”conduct dialog with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the strait.”

The US now says it will charge a fee for safe passage

The U.S. said Monday it will charge a 20% toll on cargo shipped through the strait “for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.”

That's something the U.S. previously opposed, and any attempt by the U.S. or Iran to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation.

The new U.S. plan echoes an earlier Iranian claim — which it opposed — that said it might charge tolls that could reach as high as $2 million per vessel.

Countries can levy fees on ships for a specific service when passing through an international strait, said Weller, the international law professor. For example, Chile collects fees in the Strait of Magellan for pilotage and other services that ensure safe passage, he said.

“A fee would be possible, but it has to be a fee commensurate with the actual service granted,” he said. “So it’s not anything Iran should earn money off. It’s not $2 million per vessel or something like that.”

The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency which oversees safety and security measures in international shipping, said the group was waiting to find out more about Trump’s proposal but said its stance against tolls for passage remains unchanged.

Late Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi used Trump's support for tolls to mock him and legitimize Iran’s position.

“POTUS is absolutely right," he posted on X. "Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service ... 20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”

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AP Writer Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York contributed to this report.

Inside, there are pools upon pools upon pools, all filled with newborn sea turtles.

The team at the Florida Atlantic University Marine Science Lab in Boca Raton provides groundbreaking research in understanding how turtles live and survive in the ocean.

“We bring in different species of sea turtles, the loggerheads, the greens and the leatherbacks and we raise them usually anywhere from two to six months,” said lab coordinator Emila Turla.

Director Jeanette Wyneken has been studying these reptiles for 24 years.

“We need to know what characteristics the population of turtles have that may be advantageous for species recovery, they are all either threatened or endangered,” she said. “One of the things we never knew was that this species of turtle dives down pretty far, at least at this age, we know the big ones do but we didn’t know the little guys are going down.”

Experts say the mysterious leatherbacks spend 70% of their lives in deep water.

The research facility is using satellite tagging to answer questions about the turtles that have never been known, until now.

“One of our turtles went down to 330 feet on one breath, one little baby leatherback turtle,” said Turia. “And the turtles are typically going to about 230 feet deep.”

But it’s what is happening in the nests on the beach that has these scientists focusing on the vulnerable leatherbacks that have declined by 90%,

David Anderson works in tandem with the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex on one very important study.

“My team and I survey all five miles of Boca Raton beaches for all the sea turtle nesting activity,” he said. “The sex ratio study, to determine how many hatchlings are male and how many hatchlings are female from that particular nest, because they are temperature dependent to be male or female.”

Meaning if its cool in the sandy nests, the leatherbacks will be male, and if those nests are hot then the turtles will be female.

Tje team’s research over decades shows the heat is producing way too many females and not nearly enough males.

“We know in general its hot chicks cool dudes, but the hot part up here, that’s easy, it’s too hot to make anything but girls,” said Wyneken. “If it gets too much hotter they’re just dead so that’s too hot to hatch.”

Climate change, a hotter planet, warming oceans, all of these symptoms are capable of wiping out the sensitive sea turtle population, but this turtle nesting season has seen a whopping 41 leatherback nests on Boca Raton beaches so far, which is double the annual average.

“Just because there’s a lot of nest numbers doesn’t mean everything’s great, because the hatchlings still have a tremendous struggle to survive to adulthood, which would take them 20-25 years to do so,” said Anderson.

Only one in one thousand hatchlings will even survive, and this summer season has seen record breaking heat.

Hatchlings also get confused by light pollution and piles of seaweed that trump the feverish work of tiny flippers.

After the turtles grow to the size of a human hand, they take a boat ride offshore to be released into the gulf stream.

Some will be equipped with satellite tags to continue the search for answers to help understand how to help in the sea turtle species survival.

Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in southern Utah have ancient cliff dwellings, petroglyphs and scenic canyons, as well as coal and uranium deposits that state officials want made available for development.

Trump, a Republican, issued proclamations under the Antiquities Act to reduce their size by about 90% each. He took similar actions during his first term, but those were reversed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

The latest move comes as Trump and other Republicans have drastically reshaped the management of vast taxpayer-owned lands concentrated in Western states. Trump administration officials and congressional Republicans have sought to expand drilling, mining and logging on public lands, while removing protections for imperiled species and rolling back rules for conservation.

“They took the land from the people quite honestly,” Trump said at a signing event at the White House Monday. “We’re giving it back.”

President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, established Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 1996, and President Barack Obama, also a Democrat, created Bears Ears National Monument in 2016 under the Antiquities Act. The 1906 law gives presidents the powers to protect sites considered historic, archaeologically significant or culturally important.

Davina Smith-Idjesa, a citizen of the Navajo Nation and co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, said tribal leaders had braced for a reduction since Trump was elected to a second term. She said it was “heartbreaking” and accused federal officials of sidestepping their legal responsibility to consult with tribal nations that would be impacted.

“From a Navajo perspective, Bears Ears is not simply a piece of federal public land,” Smith-Idjesa said. “This is a living cultural site that holds our histories, our ceremonies, our traditional foods and medicines and our ancestors’ footprints.”

‘Big day for Utah’

Utah officials had long fought against the monument designations and argued that the state should be in charge of controlling its own lands. Trump in his first term reduced their size, calling their creation a “massive land grab.” Combined they spanned more than 3.2 million acres (13 million hectares), an area nearly the size of Connecticut.

Trump reduced them Monday to less than 303,000 acres (123,000 hectares) combined.

That's a greater reduction than his first term, when he left Grand Staircase Escalante at 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) and Bears Ears at 213,000 acres (86,000 hectares).

“This is a big day for Utah,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox as he stood next to Trump at the White House. “These monument designations are supposed to be the smallest area as possible to protect the antiquities.”

Bears Ears was the first national monument created at the request of tribal nations that consider the land sacred. The landscape contains ancestral villages, ceremonial and burial sites and features in some tribes’ creation and migration stories. Its designation honored five tribes in the region — Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute and Uintah-Ouray Ute.

Home to hundreds of thousands of objects of cultural and scientific significance, Bears Ears is jointly managed by an agreement between tribal nations and federal agencies.

Grand Staircase-Escalante consists of cliffs, canyons, natural arches and archaeological sites, including rock paintings. It holds large coal reserves, while the Bears Ears area has uranium.

The national monument designation provides sweeping protections not just for significant geological features or artifacts but also for the surrounding landscape, banning drilling, mining and new construction nearby. Proponents of Trump’s move to downsize say the protective boundaries stretch too far and hinder mining for critical minerals.

Trump asserted Monday that people can not hunt, fish or “virtually not even walk” on the monuments. That's false: Hunting, fishing, camping and other recreation are permitted under state and federal regulations, said Steve Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, a conservation group.

Biden designated or expanded more than a dozen monuments and had a goal to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

Trump’s policies are largely the opposite: He wants to tap into the natural resource wealth of federal lands that total more than 100,000 square miles (260,000 square kilometers) and offshore areas under federal control, such as in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska.

That’s drawn backlash from Democrats who warn of the wholesale disposal of treasured landscapes for commercial gain.

“Today’s executive action is another chapter in this administration’s war on the West," Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico said Monday. He added that Trump was “turning the Antiquities Act on its head."

Land sale proposals fell flat

Trump Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said last year that federal officials would review and consider redrawing monument boundaries as part of a push to expand U.S. energy production.

Trump in his current term has used proclamations to lift commercial fishing prohibitions within expansive marine monuments in areas of the Pacific Ocean and in the Atlantic Ocean off the New England coast. Those monuments were created by Democratic and Republican administrations. The effort to boost the fishing industry, which has been challenged in court, marks a dramatic shift in federal policy by prioritizing commercial interests over efforts to allow the fish supply to increase.

Some Republicans have tried to sell or transfer federal lands to states or other entities. Those efforts have largely fallen flat: A push by some GOP lawmakers in the House to sell public lands ran into bipartisan opposition, while another proposal by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah to sell more than 3,200 square miles (8,300 square kilometers) of federal lands was removed from Republicans' big tax and spending bill.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year turned back a lawsuit from Utah officials who sought to wrest control of vast areas of public land within the state from the federal government.

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Hannah Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City.

Mattingly passed on a guaranteed spot in the AL dugout when he left his job as Toronto's bench coach to manager John Schneider after the World Series, which the Blue Jays lost in seven games to the Dodgers.

A six-time AL All-Star, Mattingly thought at the time he was finished with baseball.

He's not only still in the game — he's now the interim manager for the Philadelphia Phillies and has them back in the thick of the playoff race.

He'll also coach against Schneider and his Blue Jays staff at Tuesday's All-Star Game played in Philadelphia's home Citizens Bank Park.

“It is weird being on the other side,” Mattingly said Monday. “I was kind of torn a little bit. But then I go home and my 11-year-old asked me, ‘Do we get to go on the field for Home Run Derby?’ It's like, OK, well, I'm done with that. He made that decision.”

Mattingly is taking directions from a pair of his sons in Philadelphia.

Mattingly originally took the job in Philadelphia to serve as former manager Rob Thomson's bench coach at the urging of his young son, Louis.

"He was kind of like, ‘Dad, you can’t stop. You’ve got to keep going,”’ Mattingly said in January.

Mattingly kept going and joined a Phillies organization where another son, Preston, is the general manager.

Mattingly said in November he left his role in Toronto after reaching his first World Series because of a desire to spend more time with his family.

It's one big family reunion in Philly.

Blue Jays All-Star second baseman Ernie Clement said Mattingly was missed in Toronto.

“It's awesome that he teamed up with Preston,” Clement said. “They're just doing a great job.”

Mattingly is 45-24 with the Phillies since he took over when Thomson was fired in late April after they had lost 11 of 12 games and were tied for last in the majors. Led by All-Stars Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Jhoan Duran, Jesús Luzardo and NL starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez, the Phillies are just two games back of Atlanta in the NL East.

Mattingly has said he would be interested in having the interim tag removed and possibly returning for a second season as manager. He said Monday he wanted to table that discussion until the offseason.

Mattingly is in his 23rd straight season as a major league manager and coach, having managed the Dodgers and the Miami Marlins.

Mattingly played 14 seasons as a first baseman in the major leagues, all for the Yankees, from 1982-95. The 1985 AL MVP, he captained the Yankees in his final five seasons. He never reached the playoffs until 1995, when he hit .417 with a homer and six RBIs in the five-game Division Series loss to Seattle.

The 65-year-old Mattingly said he feels “as grateful as can be” for his career, even if it ends without a World Series ring.

“I've been in this game for a long time," Mattingly said. “I've done a lot of tremendous things for my family. I don't feel unlucky at all.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

El hombre, quien es estudiante, sufrió fracturas en los huesos de la pierna al aterrizar durante un salto en tándem, según un funcionario del aeropuerto.

Personal de Bomberos y Rescate de Miami-Dade respondió poco después de las 10:40 a.m. a la zona de Southwest 219 Avenue y 287 Street, según registros de despacho.

Bomberos y Rescate usaron un helicóptero para trasladar al hombre, quien sufrió heridas traumáticas, al Ryder Trauma Center de Jackson South, según personal de MDFR.

La editora sénior de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Frine Gomez, y la editora de asignaciones Mariana Ortiz, contribuyeron a este reporte.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last week that a fan named Terry Thompson had wagered $18.5 million with FanDuel and was eventually rewarded with a personalized video from Harper.

In the video, Harper addressed the fan by name and even mentioned the man's young son. Harper shared a screenshot Monday of the request on Cameo, an app that allows users to pay celebrities to record custom videos. FanDuel obtained the video through a partnership with Cameo.

“Had I known FanDuel’s true intent, I would not have made the video,” Harper said. “The same is true had I known anything about Terry or his situation, or about any alleged ‘partnership’ between Cameo and FanDuel.”

The Inquirer reported Thompson lost $1.5 million, according to a lawsuit that the Public Health Advocacy Institute filed in March in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia on behalf of Thompson and against FanDuel and DraftKings. Thompson also was reported to have lost money to DraftKings.

The video was marked with FanDuel's logo. Harper said in the video he reached out at the request of Thompson's VIP manager on the site, “your host Bryttanni at FanDuel."

Harper addressed the situation on a social media post Monday, hours ahead of his scheduled participation in the Home Run Derby.

“I did not know FanDuel would do this,” Harper wrote. “I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.”

Asked for comment, FanDuel said it was "committed to fostering a culture of responsible gaming and protecting our customers.

"Unlike illegal offshore sportsbooks, FanDuel employees are trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling and offer resources and tools, and we continue to review and strengthen our policies to ensure we have the industry’s strongest consumer protection initiatives.”

Cameo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

It was shortly after the 2012 presidential election and Republicans had lost badly to President Barack Obama.

Graham was calling with an outlandish proposal — “getting the band back together” — on a bipartisan plan for immigration reforms.

The move was classic Graham.

He has been called the “bridge.” The “dealmaker.” The senator at the center of all the action. And, more recently, “the Trump whisperer.”

Graham embodied a sort of institutional secret sauce that kept the Senate moving — and talking and arguing and laughing — with his hyperkinetic insistence on doing something when the place would otherwise seem destined to grind to a halt of atrophy and dysfunction.

After Graham’s sudden death over the weekend, it is unclear who, if anyone, will fill his role.

“Few have been able to frustrate and anger, amuse and engage me in a single conversation the way Lindsey could,” said Sen. Chris Coons, the Democrat from Delaware, who celebrated Graham’s birthday over dinner after the NATO summit in Turkey just days before the South Carolina senator died.

“I will miss having him as a partner in the Senate.”

Graham stayed at the center of the action

Many lawmakers like to see themselves as central to the action, but Graham was among the few actually positioned squarely at the heart of virtually every debate. With his relentless ability to adapt to the political times, he gave voice to issues at home and abroad, and insisted on drawing others into the arena.

There was almost no bipartisan gang in Congress that didn't count Graham as a member — from the gang of eight he hatched with Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to pass immigration reform through the Senate in 2013, to his recent effort with colleagues to impose sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine.

“We didn't agree on everything in our bipartisan immigration proposal,” Schumer said Monday, “but we agreed it was worth trying, because doing nothing was worse.”

At a time when Congress is increasingly broken, with lawmakers unable to carry out its basic legislative functions, let alone act with civility toward one another, Graham played a unique role in bringing the sides together.

The heartfelt statements and stories shared on Graham's passing, from other prominent senators as well as the back benches of the House, reflected the breadth and depth of his partnerships.

“We talked at all hours of the day or night, and traveled through all kinds of weather, meeting dictators and democracy defenders,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who joined with Graham on the Russian sanctions bill.

Blumenthal said their views often differed, “but he listened to me,” the senator said, "and sought to bridge our differences.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., opened the day's session noting Graham's empty desk in the chamber, covered with a black drape and white flowers.

Graham's friendship, he said, “made this job richer and its burdens lighter.”

His political shapeshifting drew criticism

Not that Graham was always successful. There have been plenty of times when GOP senators walked out of their private lunch meetings during a particularly stalemated time in Congress, simply shaking their heads at the latest plan from Graham to break the gridlock.

Graham’s political shapeshifting brought his detractors, to be sure, as did his unbridled pursuit of military intervention abroad.

His bipartisan immigration work with Schumer and the Democrats left Graham almost permanently outcast by the nativist and anti-immigration flank of his party.

And most decisively, Graham’s rapprochement with Trump, after having declared their relationship finished following Trump's role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol, damaged the senator's credibility among some would-be partners.

Still, Graham’s proximity to Trump during the president's second term kept him central to the action, the one senators of both parties would lean on to understand the White House's view.

“Many of us consider him the Trump whisperer,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who served as a manager in Trump’s first impeachment. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.

“If we wanted to know what the president’s thinking was, or how he might be moved on something, you would go to Lindsey to discuss it,” Schiff said.

Graham's “voice is going to be really, really missed in terms of the relationship that Senate Republicans have with the president and his team,” Thune said on CNN, because "he was so good and so effective at talking to the president.”

Senators say Graham's humor lightened the load

In the chamber of 100 senators, with big personalities and bigger egos, Graham's self-effacing humor made it more bearable, helping to smooth the edges and bridge the divide.

He had “a wonderful sense of humor that he used to cut through the tension,” Schiff said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in her own statement, told a story of seeking Graham’s support for her bill to ensure visas for Afghan refugees.

“I remember standing outside of a little phone booth in the Republican cloakroom last year as he spoke with the Vice President, holding up a sign that said ‘Save the Afghans’ and he put the phone on hold and said ‘OK OK I will go on your bill even if it gets me in trouble,’” she said.

“I will miss him.”

The man, who is a student, suffered leg bone fractures while landing during a tandem jump, according to an airport official.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel responded shortly after 10:40 a.m. to Southwest 219 Avenue and 287 Street, according to dispatch records.

Fire rescue used a helicopter to fly the man, who suffered traumatic injuries, to Jackson South’s Ryder Trauma Center, according to MDFR personnel.

Local 10 News Senior Assignment Editor Frine Gomez and Assignment Editor Mariana Ortiz contributed to this report.

Los Angeles City Attorney's Office spokesman Ivor Pine confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday that Jackson's case has been assigned for a pre-filing diversion available to eligible individuals. The City Attorney Hearing is an alternative to misdemeanor criminal prosecution.

Though charges will not be filed against Jackson at this time, the case remains open and can be re-evaluated if there are more developments.

At the time of the arrest, the Los Angeles Police Department said officers were called to Jackson's home in the West Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. NBC4 reported that Jackson allegedly attempted to take a phone away from a woman when he thought he was being recorded, and the woman had scratches on her arm.

Jackson has been the Rams’ starting left tackle for the past three seasons, starting 45 regular-season games and six playoff games. The former undrafted free agent re-signed with the Rams on a three-year, $57 million deal in February 2025.

The Rams issued a statement following the arrest saying the team was aware of the incident "and we take these matters very seriously. Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Broward prosecutors upgraded a case against Kohnert, 44, a father of seven, from child abuse without great bodily harm to aggravated child abuse, a severe first-degree felony in Florida.

Kohnert and his wife, Jennifer Kohnert, stand accused of subjecting their 12-year-old adoptive daughter to “mental and physical abuse” for about three years in Coral Springs, according to a police officer’s report.

“Jennifer and Joel have been her caretaker since she was two-months old,” a police officer wrote, according to an arrest report.

The girl reported that her adoptive mother had “pulled her hair, slapped her -- causing her lip to bleed -- and kicked her while she was on the ground ... provided her with distressing information regarding her biological parents, including details of substance abuse and death,” a police officer wrote, according to the report.

A Florida Department of Children and Families investigator responded to the girl’s school on Feb. 11 after she told a school resource officer that her parents were also locking her in a bedroom without access to a restroom, according to police.

“She has been locked in her bedroom overnight and, at times, during the day. She stated that while confined overnight, she urinates on herself and, at times, defecates on herself ... In the morning, she is required to bathe outside in the backyard while wearing a bathing suit, despite inadequate weather conditions,” a police officer wrote, according to a report.

The girl reported her parents gave her an air mattress, used a lock to secure the door from the outside, and used a sound machine at a high volume, according to the police report.

“She is only allowed approximately three outfits at a time, which are kept in her room ... she is forced to use her clothing to clean urine and feces using vinegar and bleach. After cleaning, she is required to wash the same clothing outside in a small bucket and then dry it in her room ... she brushes her teeth in her room and is required to swallow the toothpaste,” a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report.

The girl also described her parents’ punishments, according to police.

“She has been required to tread water in the pool for extended periods, sometimes up to approximately 45 minutes, as a form of punishment,” a police officer wrote, according to the report.

The girl’s siblings said she is usually in her room “writing Proverbs” and rarely allowed to participate in “normal family activities such as eating meals or playing” with them, according to police.

“I observed the bedrooms of the other children, which were clean, properly furnished, and contained toys and personal items. In contrast, [the girl’s] room lacked decoration, contained minimal furnishings, and had a noticeable odor consistent with urine. The closet ... was being used for storage of household items, including paint,” a police officer wrote, according to the report.

Kohnert, 45, told a detective who questioned her that the girl had “made threats toward the family” about three years ago, and she had taken her to Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital to have her admitted in December, but her request was denied after a mental health evaluation, according to police.

Records show Kohnert, 44, who joined BSFR on Nov. 15, 2010, answered a detective’s questions during the police investigation and said he was aware of the conditions.

“Joel acknowledged that there was safety concerns associated with the victim’s bedroom door and window being secured in a manner that restricted her ability to exit,” a police officer wrote. “This practice is particularly concerning given Joel’s professional background, where he would reasonably be expected to recognize the inherent safety risks associated with restricting a child’s ability to exit a room during an emergency.”

Police officers arrested the Kohnerts on March 31 at their family’s home in Coral Springs, and they posted a $100,000 bond on April 1, according to Broward County court records.

Their defense attorney described them as “devout Christians” and “devoutly religious” during their first bond court hearing. Broward County Circuit Judge Corey B. Friedman ordered them to stay away from their children and firearms.

Court records show Kohnert, 45, pleaded not guilty to child abuse on April 6. A judge issued a warrant for Kohnert’s arrest on June 26.

Kohnert, 45, faced six charges: Four counts of contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor; one count of child neglect without bodily harm, a third-degree felony; and one count of aggravated child abuse.

Related report: Broward Fire Rescue lieutenant, wife accused of confining daughter, 12, to room for years

But through her brother's decades of public service, Nordone has been by his side, supporting him in speeches, appearances and even campaign ads.

Besides being a frequent attendee at Graham's political events, Nordone is woven deeply into her brother's personal and political biography. After both of their parents died in just over a year, Graham, then age 22, became legal guardian for his 13-year-old sister.

Now, after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tapped Nordone to serve in Graham's seat until January, Nordone is heading to Washington, tasked with representing the interests for which her brother advocated with passion.

A special primary held next month will sort out what Republican moves forward in the general election to face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

From brother to legal guardian, Graham raised his sister

While Graham was in his early 20s, his life — and that of his sister — was turned upside down. Their mother died in 1976 after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma. Fifteen months later, his sister, then 13, discovered their father after he suffered a heart attack in his sleep and died.

Graham was just beginning law school at the University of South Carolina. With both parents gone, he pivoted, saying that his chief goal was to ensure his sister was cared for.

“I can remember the day my father passed away, standing in the living room of that house, absolutely scared to death,” Nordone told NPR in 2015. “Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised me he would always be there for me and always take care of me.”

Making regular treks from school in Columbia to Seneca, where his sister was being looked after by relatives, Graham kept tabs on his sister from then on and became her legal guardian. After he became a military lawyer in the Air Force, he adopted her, to ensure that she would receive his military benefits.

Graham’s bond with his sister was indelible

Graham, who never married or had children of his own, once joked as he ran for president in 2016 that his sister could be among a “rotating” cast of White House hosts standing in as first lady.

But the bond between the two, aside from being integral to Graham’s own biography, was evident in their public appearances. When Graham filed his candidacy paperwork in March for this year’s election, Nordone was by his side, along with her children and grandchildren.

“What have I learned in this life I’ve led? I take nothing for granted. I count every blessing, every day,” Graham said then, going on to recount how he and his sister forged through life together from that point. “I understand what a blessing my life has been and the only way I can pay you back for the blessings I’ve received is to be the most thoughtful, relevant, aggressive senator.”

Nordone married, had children and ultimately grandchildren and has worked with people with disabilities. Talking to C-SPAN in 2015, Graham said of his own life that his sister's success “is the highlight of it, by far.”

Bob McAlister, a former consultant to Graham on several campaigns, reflected on how the difficulties in their growing up bonded the siblings in a way that most would not understand.

“He grew up with nothing,” McAlister said. “The back of the bar where he and his sister grew up was always kind of top of mind to him. ... And I think the way he and Darline grew up just had an indelible impact on him, and for some reason, it gave him the drive that he had to do what he did.”

“A lot of people have different ideas about Lindsey from what they’ve seen on TV and all that, but everything about him can be traced back to his boyhood, the way he grew up, the way he took care of his sister," McAlister added.

Graham's sister played a political role in his life, too

Graham often talked about his background, and the plight he shared with his sister, in campaign appearances, and she was there for many of them.

She also popped up in a 2014 campaign ad, as Graham sought a third Senate term, saying he brought assurances after their parents' deaths that he would take care of her.

“He never let me down. Never. I don’t see how he did it, to take on the responsibility of raising a little sister,” Nordone said. "That came from within for Lindsey.”

Trump recommended Graham's sister as interim appointee

Hours ahead of McMaster's announcement, President Donald Trump said on social media that he had recommended that the governor pick Nordone, calling the selection “a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

Voters in Virginia and Nevada — both states where abortion is already legal through at least 24 weeks of pregnancy — are considering state constitutional amendments to create a right to abortion.

And in Missouri, which in 2024 became the first state to use a constitutional amendment to undo an abortion ban, voters are being asked to override that to bring back an abortion ban, with limited exceptions, and to write into the state constitution a ban on some gender-affirming care for minors.

Here's a look at the situation.

One of the most conservative states could undo its ban

The measure put on Idaho's ballot through a volunteer-run petition drive would create a law, not an amendment to the state constitution.

Idahoans United for Women and Families, which is leading the campaign, shared with The Associated Press a letter from state election officials Monday verifying that it has qualified for the ballot.

It would allow abortion until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be somewhere past 21 weeks into a pregnancy, though there’s no fixed time frame. The change would make the state's law similar to what it was before the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to ban abortion.

Idaho now is one of six states where an abortion ban at all stages of pregnancy does not include exceptions for the health of the girl or woman. Like most other bans, it does allow abortion to save the life of the woman or in pregnancies caused by rape or incest.

It also became the first state, in 2023, to make it a crime to help a minor obtain an abortion without the consent of their parents. Despite a court challenge, most parts of that law have remained intact.

David Ripley, the CEO of the anti-abortion group Idaho Chooses Life, is preparing to campaign against the measure.

“This is going to have a profound impact on Idaho,” he said, “and will basically invalidate virtually every pro-life law that the legislature has enacted over the last 30 to 40 years.”

Missouri is considering a turnabout

Whichever way the ballot measure vote goes in Missouri, it's already a state with several firsts after Roe was overturned.

It was the first state to begin enforcing a ban on abortion throughout pregnancy. And in 2024, it became the first state to use a ballot measure to roll back a ban. Even after that, though, abortion access was deeply limited by state regulations until a court ruling in June blocked enforcement of many of them.

In the state, where Republicans dominate the government, there have been legal battles surrounding the language of the constitutional amendment. The one before voters, unlike the previous ban, would allow exceptions in the cases of medical emergencies and fetal anomalies. Like the earlier one, there would be exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.

Two states are considering amendments to preserve the right to abortion

Both Nevada and Virginia currently allow abortion through at least 24 weeks of pregnancy. That means amendments to preserve the right to an abortion would likely not have a major impact on access to abortion in either state.

The amendments could be factors, however, in driving voter turnout in states where both Democrats and Republicans have prevailed in statewide elections in the last five years.

Nevada voters already approved the amendment in 2024 by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. But the state constitution calls for amendments to pass in public votes twice before they take effect.

The measures could be a test for abortion-rights groups

Some groups want to see state laws that go further than Roe v. Wade did and lift restrictions on abortions throughout pregnancy.

In June, the National Abortion Federation, an organization of abortion providers, opposed “rigid legal cutoffs that ban or restrict abortion care at viability or arbitrary gestational lines.” The organization does not raise money for political campaigns, but its positions may indicate what some other groups are thinking.

In 2024, a South Dakota measure called for banning abortions during the third trimester and allowing some restrictions in the second trimester, while protecting the right to them in the first trimester. Voters rejected it.

Most national abortion-rights groups did not support it either. Since Roe was overturned, abortion rights advocates have lost four statewide votes on reproductive rights. Their side has prevailed in 14 referendums over the same period.

Melanie Folwell, executive director of Idahoans United for Women and Families, says national groups that sit out these votes are thinking narrowly.

“I would encourage them to get out of their bubbles of activism and actually begin to engage with the public on where folks are at,” she said.

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Aventura police said they were able to halt Yu Zheng, 43, of Flushing, Queens, while she was still at the mall after the victim got “multiple fraud alerts” from Bank of America about credit card transactions at around 6:30 p.m., prompting her daughter to call police.

According to an arrest report, the first transaction that raised eyebrows was for $636 at Ferragamo.

Police said they went to the store and found out that a woman, later identified as Zheng, bought a men’s belt after having “attempted to complete the purchase using multiple different credit cards stored on her cellular phone, repeatedly attempting payment until one of the digital cards was finally approved.”

The manager had described Zheng as “an Asian female wearing a blue baseball cap, white shirt and dark-colored jeans.”

Authorities said they then got word from the victim’s daughter about a $3,102 buy at Louis Vuitton.

The report notes that she had also been spotted in Bloomingdale’s making a nearly $4,000 purchase.

Police said they used the aforementioned description to track Zheng down while she was still in the mall. They said an officer spotted her “walking past Sephora at a hurried pace while keeping her head down and attempting to avoid eye contact” with police.

Authorities said officers detained Zheng and took two cellphones from her, later seizing nearly $1,800 in cash as well. They said surveillance footage later showed her meeting with an unknown man in a rental SUV.

“Surveillance footage showed Zheng placing the fraudulently obtained merchandise inside the vehicle before it departed the area,” the report states. “(The) investigation further revealed the vehicle entered the Aventura Mall property at approximately (9:30 a.m.) and remained on the property throughout the day before leaving immediately after Zheng was taken into custody” that evening.

According to the report, detectives determined that Zheng had initially made or tried to make multiple smaller transactions, one of which was for only $1.

“The progression from nominal transactions to luxury retail purchases is consistent with organized fraud operations testing compromised financial information before maximizing financial gain,” it states.

Police concluded that Zheng and her still-unidentified accomplice “demonstrated characteristics commonly associated with organized fraud rings, including the use of multiple digital payment methods, repeated testing of compromised accounts, rapid movement between luxury retailers and coordination with a waiting vehicle to quickly remove stolen property before detection.”

Officers arrested Zheng on charges including organized fraud, grand theft with others, forgery and identity theft.

A records check, they said, “revealed an extensive criminal history involving fraud-related offenses throughout multiple jurisdictions within the United States, including charges related to fraudulent use of credit cards, fraudulent use of personal identification information, prostitution, human trafficking, and federal criminal offenses.”

“Although Zheng had accumulated numerous felony-related arrests, she was not listed as a convicted felon in any state at the time of this investigation,” the report states.

As of Monday afternoon, she remained in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $20,150 bond.

Records show that if she posts bond, she’ll have to prove that the funds came from a legitimate source.

Los fiscales de Broward elevaron el caso contra Kohnert, de 44 años y padre de siete hijos, de abuso infantil sin lesión corporal grave a abuso infantil agravado, un delito grave de primer grado de carácter severo en la Florida.

Kohnert y su esposa, Jennifer Kohnert, son acusados de someter a su hija adoptiva de 12 años a “abuso mental y físico” durante unos tres años en Coral Springs, según el informe de un oficial de policía.

Un investigador del Departamento de Niños y Familias de la Florida acudió a la escuela de la niña el 11 de febrero, después de que ella reportara que sus padres la encerraban en una habitación sin acceso a un baño, según la policía.

“La han encerrado en su habitación durante la noche y, a veces, durante el día. Ella declaró que mientras está encerrada durante la noche, orina y, en ocasiones, defeca encima... por la mañana se le exige bañarse afuera, en el patio trasero, usando traje de baño, sin importar las condiciones climáticas”, escribió un oficial de policía, según un informe.

Oficiales de policía arrestaron a Kohnert, de 45 años, el 31 de marzo en la casa familiar en Coral Springs, y ella pagó una fianza de $100,000 el 1 de abril, según registros judiciales del condado de Broward.

Los registros judiciales muestran que un juez emitió una orden de arresto contra Kohnert el 26 de junio.

Kohnert, de 45 años, enfrentó seis cargos: cuatro cargos de contribuir a la delincuencia o dependencia de un menor, un delito menor de primer grado; un cargo de negligencia infantil sin lesión corporal, un delito grave de tercer grado; y un cargo de abuso infantil agravado.

La policía de Aventura dijo que lograron detener a Yu Zheng, de 43 años, residente de Flushing, Queens, mientras aún estaba en el centro comercial, después de que la víctima recibiera “múltiples alertas de fraude” de Bank of America sobre transacciones con su tarjeta de crédito alrededor de las 6:30 p.m., lo que llevó a su hija a llamar a la policía.

Según un informe de arresto, la primera transacción que levantó sospechas fue por $636 en Ferragamo.

La policía dijo que fueron a la tienda y descubrieron que una mujer, luego identificada como Zheng, compró un cinturón de hombre después de haber “intentado completar la compra usando varias tarjetas de crédito distintas guardadas en su teléfono celular, probando el pago repetidamente hasta que una de las tarjetas digitales finalmente fue aprobada”.

El gerente había descrito a Zheng como “una mujer asiática con una gorra de béisbol azul, camisa blanca y jeans oscuros”.

Las autoridades dijeron que luego recibieron aviso de la hija de la víctima sobre una compra de $3,102 en Louis Vuitton.

El informe señala que también la habían visto en Bloomingdale’s haciendo una compra de casi $4,000.

La policía dijo que usó la descripción mencionada para ubicar a Zheng mientras aún estaba en el centro comercial. Indicaron que un oficial la vio “caminar frente a Sephora a paso apresurado, con la cabeza agachada y evitando el contacto visual” con la policía.

Las autoridades dijeron que los oficiales detuvieron a Zheng y le quitaron dos teléfonos celulares, y más tarde le incautaron cerca de $1,800 en efectivo. Indicaron que un video de vigilancia mostró después que se reunió con un hombre no identificado en una camioneta SUV alquilada.

“El video de vigilancia mostró a Zheng colocando la mercancía obtenida de forma fraudulenta dentro del vehículo antes de que este saliera del área”, indica el informe. “La investigación reveló además que el vehículo entró a la propiedad de Aventura Mall aproximadamente a las 9:30 a.m. y permaneció allí durante todo el día, hasta que se retiró justo después de que Zheng fuera detenida” esa noche.

Según el informe, los detectives determinaron que Zheng había hecho o intentado hacer inicialmente varias transacciones más pequeñas, una de ellas por apenas $1.

“La progresión de transacciones nominales a compras minoristas de lujo es consistente con operaciones de fraude organizado que ponen a prueba información financiera comprometida antes de maximizar la ganancia económica”, señala el informe.

La policía concluyó que Zheng y su cómplice, aún no identificado, “mostraron características comúnmente asociadas con redes de fraude organizado, incluido el uso de múltiples métodos de pago digitales, pruebas repetidas de cuentas comprometidas, movimiento rápido entre tiendas de lujo y coordinación con un vehículo en espera para retirar rápidamente la mercancía robada antes de ser detectados”.

Los oficiales arrestaron a Zheng bajo cargos que incluyen fraude organizado, hurto mayor en coautoría, falsificación y robo de identidad.

Una verificación de antecedentes, dijeron, “reveló un extenso historial criminal relacionado con delitos de fraude en múltiples jurisdicciones dentro de Estados Unidos, incluidos cargos relacionados con uso fraudulento de tarjetas de crédito, uso fraudulento de información de identificación personal, prostitución, trata de personas y delitos federales”.

“Aunque Zheng acumuló numerosos arrestos por delitos graves, no figuraba como delincuente convicta en ningún estado al momento de esta investigación”, indica el informe.

Hasta el lunes por la tarde, permanecía en el Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center bajo una fianza de $20,150.

Los registros muestran que, si paga la fianza, deberá comprobar que los fondos provienen de una fuente legítima.

A la niña se le diagnosticó “autismo de leve a moderado”, y el abuso “comenzó cuando ella tenía 10 años, y cumplirá 13 este año”, escribió un oficial de la policía de Hallandale Beach, según un informe policial.

Durante la investigación policial, una analista de ADN de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward reportó en abril que se halló ADN perteneciente a Daley, de 56 años, en “la zona exterior de la entrepierna” del pantalón de pijama de la niña, según un informe policial.

La investigación comenzó después de que la niña le contara a su madre que Daley había abusado sexualmente de ella el 17 de febrero, y oficiales de la policía de Hallandale Beach se reunieron con ellas en el supermercado Publix de Hallandale Beach, donde Daley trabajaba como empleado de bodega en el departamento de congelados desde hacía unos cuatro años, según el informe policial.

“Ella solo lleva a la víctima al trabajo cuando no tiene quién la cuide... la víctima se queda sentada en el cuarto de descanso”, escribió un oficial de policía, según el informe de arresto.

Un detective que investigaba el caso encontró, el 23 de febrero, un video de vigilancia que mostraba a Daley “mirar a su alrededor antes de entrar al cuarto de descanso” poco después de las 9:55 p.m., y salir a las 10 p.m. del 17 de febrero, según la policía.

La niña participó en una entrevista forense en el Nancy J. Cotterman Center, en Oakland Park, y relató que Daley había abusado de ella unas 30 veces en el Publix ubicado en el 1400 East Hallandale Beach, según el informe de arresto del oficial.

“Ella siempre le dice ‘¡No!’. Pero él sigue tocándola en contra de su voluntad... le dolía... ella se sintió amenazada”, escribió un oficial de policía sobre el relato de la niña durante la entrevista, según el informe.

Registros judiciales del condado de Broward muestran que los fiscales presentaron el 29 de junio un caso por delito grave de primer grado contra Daley, residente de Miramar. Enfrenta cuatro cargos de actos lascivos o lascivia con una menor.

Los oficiales de policía ejecutaron la orden de arresto el domingo, y el personal de BSO Corrections ingresó a Daley en la Cárcel Principal del Condado de Broward, en Fort Lauderdale. Compareció en corte el lunes, y un juez le negó la fianza.

La jueza del Tribunal Circuito del Condado de Broward, Barbara Duffy, presidirá el caso.

Local 10 News tiene una solicitud pendiente de información sobre la situación laboral de Daley con Publix Supermarkets.

En una conferencia de prensa, el progresista Sánchez anticipó que se manifestará el miércoles en las calles para reiterar el pedido. Ese mismo día la conservadora Keiko Fujimori recibirá sus credenciales como presidenta electa.

La semana pasada un Grupo de Trabajo sobre la Detención Arbitraria de las Naciones Unidas concluyó que la detención inicial de Castillo —ocurrida el 7 de diciembre de 2022 cuando aún era presidente— fue “arbitraria” y consideró que “el remedio adecuado” sería dejarlo “inmediatamente en libertad” y ofrecerle una indemnización.

El presidente interino de Perú, José Balcázar, respondió que un pedido para liberar a Castillo está "en trámite”, sin dar detalles. El viernes la defensa de Castillo interpuso un hábeas corpus por detención arbitraria fundamentándose en la opinión del grupo de trabajo de la ONU.

La opinión de los expertos en derecho internacional no es vinculante, pero en más de 30 años Perú ha obedecido varias de sus conclusiones debido a que el país sudamericano está suscrito a la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos y al Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos.

Sánchez es un aliado político de Castillo y una de sus principales promesas electorales fue liberar al exmandatario —sentenciado a más de 11 años de cárcel por conspiración para la rebelión— si ganaba la presidencia. “Estos 42 meses de detención arbitraria e ilegal (de Castillo) se sienten como un secuestro; ha sido una voluntad política de una mayoría parlamentaria que hoy ha tomado la democracia”, dijo Sánchez.

Hace una semana Sánchez reconoció a regañadientes como presidenta electa a Fujimori por su triunfo en el balotaje del 7 de junio, pero insistió en afirmar que el proceso estuvo marcado por irregularidades. La dirigente asumirá el poder el 28 de julio.

Fujimori ganó por casi 50.000 votos de diferencia sobre Sánchez. El triunfo de la hija del fallecido expresidente Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) —condenado por corrupción y por el asesinato de 25 peruanos en 1992— se logró por el decisivo voto de los peruanos en el extranjero. Dentro del territorio peruano Sánchez obtuvo más votos.

Castillo fue detenido el 7 de diciembre de 2022 por su propia escolta policial en Lima cuando, junto a su esposa y sus dos hijos menores, se dirigía a la embajada de México luego de haber intentado disolver sin éxito el Parlamento y gobernar por decreto. Meses después hubo manifestaciones a su favor reprimidas por la policía y militares que dejaron 50 civiles asesinados.

Sánchez anunció que en la marcha del miércoles por la tarde pedirá además justicia para los manifestantes muertos, entre los que había siete adolescentes.

En sus recientes presentaciones ante los medios, Fujimori no ha opinado sobre la liberación de Castillo ni sobre si buscará impulsar la justicia para el medio centenar de peruanos asesinados.

The National Weather Service is predicting that more than 90 temperature records across the U.S. will be tied or broken this week through Wednesday — and most of those will be overnight heat records.

Health experts say overnight temperatures that fail to cool down are even more dangerous than daytime temperatures that soar.

It has already been a sweltering start to the summer across much of the U.S. due to the long-lasting heat dome expected to blanket much of the country this week. The blistering temperatures over the past few weeks have caused heat-related deaths in New Jersey and helped fuel wildfires in the West.

No relief from the heat at night this week

Temperatures were not forecast to drop below 80 F (27 C) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina, the National Weather Service said.

Over the next few days, places in the Midwest and Northeast known for frigid winters will see nighttime temperatures remain above 70 F (21 C), including Fargo, North Dakota; International Falls, Minnesota; and Portland, Maine.

Hot temperatures at night pose a bigger danger

Health experts say that high overnight temperatures are particularly dangerous because there's no time for the body's core temperature to cool down and recover from daytime heat.

“That’s where the health outcomes are amplified, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable communities,” said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd.

Just a few degrees of increased body temperature can lead to heatstroke or put too much strain on the heart.

Dangers of heat can sneak up on you

If temperatures at night don't cool down your body, the health risks more often show up the next day, said Kristie Ebi, a public health and climate scientist at the University of Washington.

“Mortality starts the second or third day" because the body's unable to cool, she said on Monday.

Being proactive is crucial during a heat wave

Early warning signs include heavy sweating, muscle cramps and headache. “It’s hard to know you’re getting in trouble with the heat. This is why we need to be more proactive," Ebi said.

It's important to find a way to cool off, whether stepping into air conditioning or wrapping a cold towel around your neck.

And health experts say don't forget to check in on friends and family members, especially those who are older, pregnant or who have health challenges that might make it more difficult to handle the heat.

How to beat the heat without air conditioning

Even without air conditioning at home, there are ways to find relief.

Stop by a library or a mall. Sit in front of a fan and spray water on your skin. Put your feet in cold water. Soak your clothes in water. And of course, drink plenty of water.

___

Associated Press reporter Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed.

The Buffalo Bills' franchise player was voted the NFL’s top quarterback by The Associated Press in a preseason survey.

The 2024 AP NFL Most Valuable Player beat out Patrick Mahomes, who earned the top spot each of the three previous seasons.

Allen received five first-place votes from a panel of eight AP pro football writers, who ranked the top five quarterbacks entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Allen appeared on all eight ballots and also got one second-place vote, one third and one fourth.

Mahomes finished second just ahead of reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford. Lamar Jackson came in fourth and Joe Burrow was fifth.

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Allen followed up his MVP season with another excellent campaign in 2025, but the Bills had their streak of five straight AFC East titles ended by New England and were knocked out of the playoffs in the divisional round against Denver, costing coach Sean McDermott his job.

Allen threw for 3,668 yards, 25 TDs and had 10 picks for a 102.2 passer rating. He ran for 579 yards and 14 scores, making his fourth Pro Bowl and finishing third in MVP voting.

Allen and the Bills are still seeking their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1993 season despite seven straight playoff appearances.

2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Mahomes finished his worst season in the NFL on the sideline after suffering a torn ACL in Week 15. The Chiefs were 6-8 with Mahomes and lost all three games without him.

Still, the three-time Super Bowl MVP — a unanimous choice for No. 1 in this survey in 2023 and 2024 — commands enough respect to earn two first-place votes and finished second behind Allen. He had 3,587 yards passing for 22 TDs with 11 picks before going down with his first significant injury in the NFL. Mahomes is aiming to be ready for Week 1 as Kansas City tries to rebound from its first losing season under Andy Reid.

3. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Stafford earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his 17-year career, and beat out Drake Maye for his first NFL MVP award last season.

He got one first-place vote, two seconds and appeared on all eight ballots in this year's preseason survey. The Rams went 14-6, including a pair of playoff victories and a loss to Seattle in the conference championship.

Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards passing and 46 TDs. He threw eight picks and finished second to Maye with a 109.2 passer rating.

4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Jackson, a three-time All-Pro and two-time NFL MVP, had his first losing season as a starter, going 6-7, and the Baltimore Ravens missed the playoffs.

Jackson threw for 2,549 yards, 21 TDs and seven picks, posting a 103.8 passer rating. Jackson had a career-low 349 yards rushing and two scores.

Jackson got two third-place votes and appeared on six ballots.

5. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Burrow played only eight games last season because of a toe injury, leading the Bengals to a 5-3 record. It was the third time he played 10 or fewer games due to injuries.

Burrow bounced back the following season to win the AP Comeback Player of the Year award the previous two times.

The three-time Pro Bowl QB threw for 1,809 yards, 17 TDs and five picks with a passer rating of 100.7. Burrow appeared on five ballots with one third-place vote.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Perhaps even more astonishing? He has only two PGA Tour victories since. He has played in the final group at a major only once.

What hasn't changed is his optimism that he can get back to his best golf, now matter how far away that looks for a player who is No. 51 in the world, who has not been to the Tour Championship the past two years, who has not been in the conversation at a major in five years.

“If you give up on reaching your ceiling, then I don't see a point in playing anymore,” Spieth said Monday. “So for me it's always about I'll do everything I can to be trying to be at the very best in the world, because I know that I can be. I have been. It's nice to have the blueprint.”

The blueprint was nearly a decade ago — the pursuit of the calendar Grand Slam that ended with a bogey on the 17th hole at St. Andrews in 2015, his British Open title two years later, and playing in the final group at Carnoustie in 2018 as he tried to keep possession of the claret jug.

He feels he is on the right track and keeps getting a bad hand. The analogy he used earlier this year was having a bad shoe at the blackjack table, staying put because as soon as he walks away, fortunes surely will turn.

He's still at the table.

“I'm quite frustrated with the results considering I know where my game is at,” Spieth said. "It’s better than it was four or five years ago when I got back to top 10 in the world. It’s without a doubt better than it was then. It’s just not quite showing up in results.

“At the same time, it’s a stay-the-course mentality,” he said. “Sometimes you get rewarded right away, like I did back then maybe in a bit of a lucky fashion, and I understand that sometimes it’s delayed. And that’s how it feels like it is right now. ... So I'm just waiting for that opportunity.”

The return to Royal Birkdale at least allows him to remember how it felt to walk up to the 18th green with victory secure, sitting on the edge of a pot bunker with the claret jug as dozens of photographers captured the image of a 23-year-old often referred to then as “Golden Child.”

What he can't relive is the finish. He lost the lead on the 13th hole even though his bogey felt like stealing a shot — he took a penalty drop from a dune covered in high grass, hit a blind shot from the driving range and limited the damage with a chip-and-putt for bogey, just like always.

Then came the 6-iron he nearly holed on the par-3 14th and the 50-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th hole — “Go get that,” he famously said to caddie Michael Greller — and two more birdies.

“Maybe the best shot and best putt I've ever hit don't exist anymore,” Spieth said with a smile.

The par-3 14th is gone now. The R&A instead wanted the 15th hole to play as No. 14, and it built a new par-3 15th that measures 241 yards and has yet to get many positive reviews.

“Undecided,” Rory McIlroy said last week.

“As is always the case in par 3s, you have to wait until a tournament plays to see how the par 3 plays,” Tommy Fleetwood said on Monday.

Perhaps the biggest change for Spieth are the conditions. It was wet and green and lush in 2017, the wind coming out of the opposite direction. Now it is mostly yellow, brittle and firm, and much of England is coping with a heat wave.

Players were in shorts for the Monday practice round, which followed a “Last Chance Qualifier” that Joe Dean of England won with a 68 to secure his spot in the field.

“It’s going to play quite different than the last time we were here,” Spieth said. “We’ve had an opposite wind, too, the last couple days. ... Holes that are close to being drivable become mid- to long irons, and just with the wind switch, the difference into and down are so dramatic over here that picking a strategy is going to be key.”

A change of scenery might not be the worse thing for Spieth. He arrived over the weekend and relived some of those shots in the closing stretch, at least on the holes still there. But at this stage in his career, it's more about looking forward.

“I'm always comparing myself a bit to myself at my best, but not to try to be the exact player, just more so that I know that I can do it," Spieth said. “I know my ceiling is where that level was, and so I’m going to strive for it with the type of player that I am now.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Los congresistas Mark Pocan de Wisconsin, Teresa Leger-Fernández de Nuevo México, Maxine Dexter de Oregón y Delia Catalina Ramírez de Illinois llegaron el jueves en una visita que se extendió hasta el lunes. Es el segundo viaje de representantes en tres meses.

Durante un intercambio con un pequeño grupo de periodistas antes de regresar indicaron que además de Díaz-Canel habían sostenido reuniones con ministros, profesionales médicos, empresarios y recorrido las calles de La Habana. Pero aclararon que actualmente no hay conversaciones entre Washington y La Habana que destraben la situación.

“No creo que se estén llevando a cabo negociaciones”, dijo Pocan cuando se le preguntó sobre los avances en el diálogo binacional para que se destrabe el cerco energético que tiene semiparalizada a la isla desde hace seis meses. “Pienso que (el secretario de Estado) Marco Rubio está convirtiendo esto en algo personal y no profesional”, agregó.

Ambos gobiernos reconocieron en varias ocasiones que hubo contacto entre sus funcionarios, pero no ofrecieron detalles. Recientemente el nieto del nonagenario líder socialista Raúl Castro, el coronel Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, se ofreció como interlocutor ante Trump.

Rubio es hijo de padres cubanos y creció en Miami, adonde comenzó su carrera política bajo la fuerte influencia de los grupos de exiliados anticastristas.

Trump y su secretario de Estado indicaron que esperan vencer por asfixia al gobierno de la isla, al que señalan de ineficiente. Las autoridades cubanas denunciaron que se trata de un castigo colectivo.

El cerco energético impuesto por Estados Unidos a Cuba en enero y la amenaza contra terceros países que vendan combustible a la isla agudizó un lustro de crisis ocasionada por sanciones previas y políticas internas fallidas como la unificación monetaria.

En las calles las consecuencias son palpables: apagones de más de 20 horas diarias, limitaciones en el transporte público, cancelación de vuelos, caída en el turismo, recortes en la jornada laboral y una paralización de la vida doméstica en general.

Los legisladores lamentaron el impacto del cerco energético. Según el congresista Pocan una persona con la que habló en Cuba describió la situación actual como “Gaza silenciosa”.

“Puede que no haya bombardeos, pero sin duda existen condiciones que impiden a las personas llevar su vida cotidiana. No pueden ir al trabajo, no pueden conservar sus alimentos, no pueden acceder a suministros médicos ni vivir como lo hacían antes”, señaló. “Me pareció una descripción muy acertada”.

Por su parte Leger-Fernández aseguró que no tiene “ningún sentido obligar a un país a sufrir y a estar sometido a un asedio”.

Paralelamente Dexter –quien además es médica de formación—y Ramírez indicaron que buscarán impulsar enmiendas en el Congreso de Estados Unidos para prohibir el impacto en la salud y evitar una acción mayor de Trump sin autorización legislativa, como las operaciones armadas contra la isla con las que amenazó en reiteradas ocasiones.

———

Siga a Andrea Rodríguez en X: https://x.com/ARodriguezAP

Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene and two New York Yankees, first baseman Ben Rice and outfielder Cody Bellinger, gained American League starting spots because of injuries.

Rice, third in the major leagues with 29 home runs behind Schwarber (32) and the Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez (31), starts at first because Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is skipping the game to rest a bad back. Guerrero's initial replacement, the Athletics' Nick Kurtz, sprained a thumb.

Bellinger replaced Yankees teammate Aaron Judge, who hasn't played since May 31 because of a fractured rib. Greene took over from Minnesota Twins outfielder Bryon Buxton, sidelined by a hip injury. Bellinger will be in right and Greene in left.

Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchez and Toronto right-hander Dylan Cease were announced as starting pitchers on Sunday.

Even without Ohtani, NL manager Dave Roberts of the two-time champion Dodgers has three of his players in the starting lineup along with two Phillies and two Braves.

New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto bats second, followed by Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, Washington shortstop CJ Abrams, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, Atlanta second baseman Ozzie Albies, Phillies right fielder Brandon Marsh, Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin.

AL manager John Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays has Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout leading off, followed by Alvarez at designated hitter, Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Bellinger, Rice, Green, Rice and Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement.

Sánchez will be the 14th pitcher to start an All-Star Game in his home ballpark, the first since the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw in 2022. He will be the Phillies' first All-Star starting pitcher since Roy Halladay in 2011.

Cease will be the Blue Jays' first All-Star starting pitcher since Halladay in 2009.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Mike Sargis, administrador de la ciudad de North Lauderdale, dijo que una cámara de vigilancia Ring grabó el video en una casa ubicada en Pebble Beach Road, cerca de McNab Road.

“La familia comenzó a hacerle RCP”, escribió Sargis en un comunicado el lunes por la mañana.

Personal de Bomberos y Rescate de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward y agentes de la BSO respondieron a la piscina de la vivienda alrededor de las 10:30 a.m. del domingo.

El niño fue trasladado al Broward Health Medical Center y su estado era crítico, según agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward.

“Lo último que supimos es que el niño estaba en condición muy grave”, escribió Sargis en el comunicado.

Al menos tres niños se han ahogado este verano en el condado de Broward.

Un niño de 2 años murió ahogado el 12 de julio en un lago de Plantation.

Cerca de ahí, una niña de 4 años murió ahogada el 5 de julio en un lago de Plantation.

Un niño de 4 años murió ahogado el 19 de junio en una piscina de North Lauderdale.

El incidente ocurrió afuera de un edificio en el 230 de Lincoln Road, donde funcionan, entre otros comercios, una tienda Five Below y una Ross Dress for Less.

Las autoridades indicaron que las tres personas sufrieron heridas leves a causa del incendio, el cual provocó la evacuación del edificio, y fueron trasladadas al Mount Sinai Medical Center para recibir tratamiento.

Según explicaron, el fuego se originó en una bóveda de FPL conectada al edificio.

El edificio ya estaba reabierto la mañana del lunes, aunque la alcantarilla seguía rodeada de cinta de precaución.

Incendio en alcantarilla de Lincoln Road hospitaliza a tres

Un fuego en una bóveda eléctrica de FPL obligó a evacuar un edificio comercial en Miami Beach

Las tres personas afectadas sufrieron heridas leves y fueron atendidas en el Mount Sinai Medical Center, mientras el edificio ya reabrió sus puertas.

“Surgery. Prehab. Return to martial arts practice. Go again. Final fight of the contract. Please God!” McGregor wrote on Instagram on Monday.

McGregor’s first fight in five years lasted only 1 minute, 9 seconds because of a knee injury sustained while attempting an opening roundhouse kick on Saturday.

McGregor’s return to the octagon was highly anticipated but ended in disappointment when he awkwardly landed on his right knee in the opening seconds. McGregor went to the mat two more times in failed attempts to continue before the scheduled five-round match was halted by the referee.

On Sunday, McGregor's manager, John Kavanagh, said his client did not have a previous knee injury.

“That opening jump switch kick was drilled daily for months, multiple times in warmup. Never an issue,” Kavanagh wrote on Facebook. “Knee went when he (threw) the very first kick. Doesn’t get any worse than this.”

Following the fight, McGregor also said he had no previous injury.

“I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight,” McGregor said on X. “I had no injury / injuries going into the fight."

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AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

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Isabelle Johnson, who has hazel eyes, is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. She is also known as Jessica Bowman, Jessica Thrush, and Jessica Dowdy.

Detectives identified Johnson as a suspect in the murder of Jason Coulthart, who vanished on May 24 in Niceville, in Okaloosa County.

“Detectives developed information identifying the location where Coulthart’s body had been buried on a property off Sunset Lane in Freeport,” Niceville Chief Mark Hayse said in a statement.

On June 25, detectives found Coulhart, 43, dead in Walton County, where a judge issued an arrest warrant for Johnson on June 26.

“The next step in this investigation is to hold every single person involved in Jason’s death accountable,” Adkinson said. “If they knew, if they helped, or if they chose not to speak up, they will have to answer for their role in this.”

On June 26, detectives arrested Bobbi Wagstaff, 31, FOR possession of a controlled substance and accessory to a capital felony after the fact in Walton County.

On July 1, detectives arrested Martin Leaverton and Sandra Leaverton and accused them of helping Johnson. The Leavertons, both 63, each faced a charge of accessory to a capital felony after the fact.

On July 9, a DNA test confirmed the identity of the remains in a shallow grave in Freeport.

On Friday, detectives arrested Michael White and Kathleen Morris and accused them of helping Johnson hide until June 30 in Santa Rosa Beach.

Morris, 59, and White, 74, faced charges in Walton County of obstruction and accessory to a capital felony after the fact.

Detectives also released a surveillance video showing Johnson in Destin, in northwest Florida.

Detectives asked anyone with information about Johnson’s whereabouts to call 911 and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office at 850-892-8111.

WANTED FOR MURDER: Isabelle Johnson, 38, has an active warrant on an open count of murder and is believed to be actively evading law enforcement. @WCSOFL is releasing the last known video of Johnson from a business in Destin just days after the discovery of human remains… pic.twitter.com/ijllUbuOfV

— Walton County Sheriff's Office, Florida (@WCSOFL) July 10, 2026

ISABELLE JOHNSON: WANTED FOR MURDER

WALTON COUNTY, FLA - Walton County Sheriff’s Office is continuing investigative efforts to locate Isabelle Johnson after the discovery of human remains found in a shallow grave on a property off Sunset Lane in Freeport on Thursday, June 25th.… pic.twitter.com/Wes4bv1xGZ

— Walton County Sheriff's Office, Florida (@WCSOFL) July 10, 2026

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Authorities said they received a call about an unresponsive man in the area of Southwest 162nd Avenue and 138th Terrace at around 10 a.m. and medics soon pronounced him dead.

MDSO homicide detectives “have assumed the unclassified death investigation” and his “cause and manner of death will be determined by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner,” an agency spokesperson said.

Authorities have not released the man’s name and the spokesperson said MDSO didn’t have additional information to provide as of late Monday morning.

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It happened outside of a building at 230 Lincoln Road, home to, among other businesses, a Five Below and a Ross Dress for Less.

Officials said the three people suffered minor injuries after the fire, which led to a building evacuation, and were taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center for treatment.

They said the fire ignited an FPL vault connected to a building.

The building was back open as of Monday morning, though the manhole was still surrounded with caution tape.

Isabelle Johnson, quien tiene ojos color avellana, mide 5 pies 3 pulgadas y pesa alrededor de 120 libras. También es conocida como Jessica Bowman, Jessica Thrush y Jessica Dowdy.

Los detectives identificaron a Johnson como sospechosa del asesinato de Jason Coulthart, quien desapareció el 24 de mayo en Niceville, en el condado de Okaloosa.

“Los detectives obtuvieron información que identificó el lugar donde había sido enterrado el cuerpo de Coulthart, en una propiedad ubicada en Sunset Lane, en Freeport”, dijo en un comunicado el jefe de Niceville, Mark Hayse.

El 25 de junio, los detectives hallaron a Coulhart, de 43 años, muerto en el condado de Walton, donde un juez emitió una orden de arresto contra Johnson el 26 de junio.

“El próximo paso en esta investigación es hacer que cada una de las personas involucradas en la muerte de Jason rinda cuentas”, dijo Adkinson. “Si lo sabían, si ayudaron, o si decidieron no hablar, tendrán que responder por su papel en esto”.

El 26 de junio, los detectives arrestaron a Bobbi Wagstaff, de 31 años, por posesión de una sustancia controlada y complicidad después del hecho en un delito grave capital en el condado de Walton.

El 1 de julio, los detectives arrestaron a Martin Leaverton y a Sandra Leaverton, y los acusaron de ayudar a Johnson. Los Leaverton, ambos de 63 años, enfrentaron cada uno un cargo de complicidad después del hecho en un delito grave capital.

El 9 de julio, una prueba de ADN confirmó la identidad de los restos hallados en una tumba poco profunda en Freeport.

El viernes, los detectives arrestaron a Michael White y a Kathleen Morris, y los acusaron de ayudar a Johnson a esconderse hasta el 30 de junio en Santa Rosa Beach.

Morris, de 59 años, y White, de 74, enfrentaron cargos en el condado de Walton por obstrucción y complicidad después del hecho en un delito grave capital.

Los detectives también difundieron un video de vigilancia que muestra a Johnson en Destin, en el noroeste de Florida.

Los detectives pidieron a cualquier persona con información sobre el paradero de Johnson que llame al 911 y a la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Walton al 850-892-8111.

Walton County Sheriff’s Office detectives asked the public for help on Monday with finding a 38-year-old woman wanted for murder.

Isabelle Johnson, who has hazel eyes, is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. She is also known as Jessica Bowman, Jessica Thrush, and Jessica Dowdy.

Detectives identified Johnson as a suspect in the murder of Jason Coulthart, who vanished on May 24 in Niceville, in Okaloosa County.

“Detectives developed information identifying the location where Coulthart’s body had been buried on a property off Sunset Lane in Freeport,” Niceville Chief Mark Hayse said in a statement.

On June 25, detectives found Coulhart, 43, dead in Walton County, where a judge issued an arrest warrant for Johnson on June 26.

“The next step in this investigation is to hold every single person involved in Jason’s death accountable,” Adkinson said. “If they knew, if they helped, or if they chose not to speak up, they will have to answer for their role in this.”

On June 26, detectives arrested Bobbi Wagstaff, 31, FOR possession of a controlled substance and accessory to a capital felony after the fact in Walton County.

On July 1, detectives arrested Martin Leaverton and Sandra Leaverton and accused them of helping Johnson. The Leavertons, both 63, each faced a charge of accessory to a capital felony after the fact.

On July 9, a DNA test confirmed the identity of the remains in a shallow grave in Freeport.

On Friday, detectives arrested Michael White and Kathleen Morris and accused them of helping Johnson hide until June 30 in Santa Rosa Beach.

Morris, 59, and White, 74, faced charges in Walton County of obstruction and accessory to a capital felony after the fact.

Detectives also released a surveillance video showing Johnson in Destin, in northwest Florida.

Detectives asked anyone with information about Johnson’s whereabouts to call 911 and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office at 850-892-8111.

WANTED FOR MURDER: Isabelle Johnson, 38, has an active warrant on an open count of murder and is believed to be actively evading law enforcement. @WCSOFL is releasing the last known video of Johnson from a business in Destin just days after the discovery of human remains… pic.twitter.com/ijllUbuOfV

— Walton County Sheriff's Office, Florida (@WCSOFL) July 10, 2026

ISABELLE JOHNSON: WANTED FOR MURDER

WALTON COUNTY, FLA - Walton County Sheriff’s Office is continuing investigative efforts to locate Isabelle Johnson after the discovery of human remains found in a shallow grave on a property off Sunset Lane in Freeport on Thursday, June 25th.… pic.twitter.com/Wes4bv1xGZ

— Walton County Sheriff's Office, Florida (@WCSOFL) July 10, 2026

Las autoridades dijeron que recibieron una llamada sobre un hombre inconsciente en la zona de la Southwest 162nd Avenue y la 138th Terrace alrededor de las 10 a.m., y los paramédicos lo declararon muerto poco después.

Los detectives de homicidios del MDSO “asumieron la investigación de esta muerte, cuya clasificación aún no ha sido determinada”, y su “causa y forma de muerte serán determinadas por el Médico Forense de Miami-Dade”, indicó un portavoz de la agencia.

Las autoridades no han revelado la identidad del hombre, y el portavoz dijo que el MDSO no contaba con información adicional para ofrecer hasta el lunes por la mañana.

La policía de Hialeah dijo que Yashira Marie Maldonado, de 34 años, hizo esto en el apartamento tipo estudio de su madre antes de irse en su auto. Según un informe de arresto, todo indica que dejó a la niña encadenada afuera durante casi una hora el sábado por la mañana antes de que la policía se enterara.

La edad exacta de la menor fue censurada en el reporte del Departamento de Policía de Hialeah (HPD), pero según el año de nacimiento incluido, tendría 13 o 14 años.

El reporte del HPD indica que los oficiales respondieron a la casa de Maldonado, cuya dirección fue censurada, alrededor de las 10 a.m. del sábado tras recibir reportes de un disturbio.

La policía dijo que la madre de Maldonado les contó que había ido a la casa de su hija para “rogarle” que regresara y liberara a la niña.

Las autoridades indicaron que volvieron a la casa de la madre de Maldonado y encontraron a la menor “todavía encadenada a la cerca, pero en buen estado de salud”.

Según el reporte, la madre de Maldonado explicó que poco después de recibir un mensaje de texto de su hija a eso de las 9:10 a.m. que decía “¡Me despidieron de mi trabajo!!!!!!”, abrió la puerta de su casa y, “sin poder creerlo”, la cerró al ver a su nieta encadenada afuera.

El reporte señala que luego salió e “intentó liberar a la víctima de la cadena, pero no lo logró”.

Según el informe, la madre de Maldonado les dijo a los oficiales que “no llamó a la policía porque teme que su casero la desaloje”.

El reporte indica que las cámaras de seguridad mostraron a Maldonado atando a la niña a la cerca alrededor de las 9:05 a.m.

La policía dijo que el video mostraba a Maldonado “amarrar una cadena de metal alrededor de la cintura de (su hija) y atar el otro extremo a la cerca de la casa, impidiéndole moverse”.

“(Ella) dejó a (su hija) con una mochila transparente, algo de ropa y su medicamento”, indica el reporte. “(Maldonado) dejó a (su hija) afuera, sin protección contra el sol y sin comida ni agua”.

La policía dijo que el video mostró después a Maldonado “subir a su vehículo y abandonar el lugar”.

Agregaron que trasladaron a Maldonado a la sede del HPD, donde habló con los investigadores. Las declaraciones que habría hecho fueron censuradas en el reporte.

Enfrentando cargos de abuso y negligencia infantil, a Maldonado se le fijó una fianza de $10,000.

Hasta el lunes a media mañana, ya no aparecía en los registros de la cárcel de Miami-Dade.

The progress came as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a motorist in Maine on Monday, and Houston prosecutors complained the administration was still withholding critical information in their investigation into a fatal shooting by an ICE officer last week.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the evidence turned over by U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen's office included previously withheld hard drives containing statements, police body camera video and other materials in the Minnesota killings. Federal prosecutors also turned over Good’s badly damaged SUV, she said.

“The wonderful thing now is we have all the evidence,” Moriarty said. “Any time the government is responsible in whatever way of taking the life of a community member we need to have a full and thorough investigation.”

Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed in her vehicle while leaving an anti-immigration enforcement protest in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

Her death and that of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse shot and killed days later during a Jan. 24 protest, sparked outrage across the country and calls to rein in immigration enforcement.

The Minneapolis immigration crackdown, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” ended in February after being billed as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever.

At least nine people have been killed nationwide since the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign began last year. No one has been charged in connection with the deaths, and the federal government has suggested state prosecutors don’t have jurisdiction to investigate federal officers.

Lawyers for Good’s family said the transfer of evidence represented “an important and meaningful step towards justice and accountability.” The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which took custody of the evidence, declared that “great strides have been made” to ensure a “thorough and complete review” of the shootings.

But a lawyer for Pretti's family said Rosen's office, in a meeting Monday afternoon, wouldn't confirm any cooperation agreement between state and federal agencies.

“No family should be required to beg federal authorities to do their job,” Steve Schleicher said in a statement. “Without a public commitment by federal authorities to cooperate with the state, it is difficult — if not, impossible — to pursue justice that holds the individuals accountable for Alex’s death.”

Spokespersons for Rosen's office, as well as ICE and the federal Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment Monday.

Legal wrangling in another ICE-related shooting may have led to evidence release

Moriarty on Monday declined to provide details on what prompted the federal government to turn over the evidence.

But documents recently filed in a lawsuit brought by state and local officials suggest the breakthrough came after federal officials sought evidence state investigators gathered in the investigation of ICE agent Christian Castro.

Castro, 52, was charged with assault and falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Prosecutors say Castro fired through a Minneapolis home’s front door and shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh while in pursuit of another man.

State and local prosecutors said they would provide evidence in Castro's case as soon as the federal government agreed to share its evidence in the shootings of Pretti and Good.

“We are willing to share evidence with you if the exchange is reciprocal,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans wrote in a legal filing to federal officials.

Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison later amended their lawsuit to add details about the federal government’s refusal to share the evidence collected in the fatal shootings.

Days later, they said in a court filing that the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office and state officials “have recently re-engaged in discussions about the prospect of mutual information sharing.”

Ellison, in a statement Monday, said he remains “deeply troubled” it took more than half a year for federal officials to hand over the materials.

“It should never have taken this long,” he said. “I hope that this is the beginning of a major course correction on the part of the federal government.”

Moriarty added that she's not yet prepared to drop the lawsuit against the Trump administration, which seeks access to evidence in the three shootings.

Houston investigators complain feds are leaving them in the dark

Prosecutors in Houston, meanwhile, echoed similar concerns about obtaining critical information from federal officials as they look into last week’s death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for decades.

DHS has acknowledged officers stopped Salgado Araujo while looking for someone else, but maintains the homebuilder rammed an ICE vehicle while attempting to leave the scene. The agency says that prompted an officer to open fire in self-defense, though it has yet to provide evidence to back up that claim.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Monday that his office doesn’t even know the identities of the ICE officers involved or where they are nearly a week later.

“The federal government has not invited us in,” Teare said. “The federal government is not collaborating with us with this investigation.”

The man killed Monday in Maine was from Colombia. Federal officers claimed he tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against officers pursuing him for deportation. The shooting took place in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland.

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Associated Press reporter John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this story.

The team announced bullpen coach Dan Hubbs will serve as interim pitching coach for the remainder of the season.

Sunday's 9-1 loss at the Chicago White Sox left the Athletics with a nine-game losing streak entering the All-Star break. The Athletics' 5.21 ERA ranks next to last in the major leagues, ahead of only Colorado's 5.44.

At 41-55, the Athletics are fourth in the AL West.

Emerson joined the Athletics in 2014 as bullpen coach and was promoted to pitching coach in 2017.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

“Audiences on every sofa and in every movie (theater) seat would feel the impact of this unlawful merger,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the case, said in a news conference from Los Angeles. He said the deal would result in higher prices, fewer movies and TV shows and lower quality of content overall.

A Paramount-Warner combo would bring together two of Hollywood's last five legacy studios. It would also mean putting Warner's HBO Max, libraries filled with fan favorites like “Harry Potter” and even CNN under the same roof of Paramount-owned CBS and the Paramount+ streaming service.

In Monday's complaint, the states said such a tie-up would also “inflict substantial harm” on movie theatres and basic cable distributors. Bonta's office said the states are asking Warner and Paramount to not close this merger “until after the judicial process concludes." And if the companies do not agree, the coalition would then file a temporary restraining order.

Paramount said Monday's lawsuit “distorts settled antitrust law" and maintained that its merger would instead create a "stronger competitor against dominant streaming and technology platforms who have harmed the market for theatrical exhibition and jobs in the entertainment industry.”

The company, which was bought by Skydance just last year, vowed to “vigorously defend” the transaction.

Warner deferred to Paramount for comment. Beyond California, states joining Monday's lawsuit include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.

Where Paramount's takeover of Warner stands

Monday's antitrust case arrives at a pivotal time for the Paramount-Warner transaction — which, after months of what became a very public bidding war with Netflix, received shareholders’ stamp of approval in April and then a blessing from President Donald Trump's administration just last month.

The companies have hoped to close their deal sometime in the third quarter of this year, recently signaling an effort to complete the process in the coming weeks. The states’ lawsuit could throw a wrench in those plans, at least for now.

The clock is ticking. Paramount also pledged to give shareholders some compensation if that process isn’t complete by Sept. 30 — in the form of a 25-cent per share “ticking fee” for every quarter past that date. And it’s agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion.

Beyond the U.S., Paramount has touted additional regulatory clearances it says it’s received in a handful of other countries, including China, Canada and Australia. Meanwhile, other reviews remain in progress, including in the European Union and the U.K. — which has separately suggested it may intervene.

Including debt, Paramount’s proposed purchase of Warner is valued at nearly $111 billion (or $31 per share) based on current outstanding shares.

Critics decry merger

Warner and Paramount argue that merging will be good for growth in the industry and give consumers access to more content, especially if HBO Max and Paramount+ libraries are combined. But critics have decried what further consolidation could mean in an industry already controlled by just a few major players.

Monday's lawsuit from the states pointed to movies that make their way into theaters and the wider TV landscape — noting that a combined Paramount-Warner could control nearly a third of both the theatrical film distribution market as well as basic cable programming.

Such a combination would create “a massive company with unprecedented power and influence over news and entertainment across the globe,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is among those challenging the deal. Beyond consumer impacts, she also said the merger would “put jobs and businesses nationwide at risk.”

Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals have already voiced “unequivocal opposition” to the deal. Monday's challenge garnered applause from groups like the Writers Guild of America, who warn that consolidation would result in "fewer jobs, lower wages for entertainment workers, less variety of programming, and higher prices for consumers”

Paramount argued on Monday that delaying the merger “will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood."

The company added that the states' case would “shield” larger streaming rivals like Netflix from meaningful competition.

Political questions

Throughout Paramount's quest for Warner, questions of political influence have also piled up — with criticism falling largely along party lines in Washington. No Republicans signed on to the states’ case on Monday.

Democrats have long expressed skepticism about whether regulators working under Trump would scrutinize the deal as heavily. Several attorneys general joining Monday's lawsuit took aim at the Justice Department's decision to not challenge the deal — pointing in particular to the president's close relationship with the billionaire family of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

“Something happened and perhaps that something had to do with a mega-billionaire named Ellison," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told reporters on Monday. “We are seeing more and more instances where the Trump DOJ is just rolling over for corporate consolidation," she added.

Last month, DOJ leadership released a lengthy statement in support of the deal — maintaining a Paramount-Warner combo would “increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.” The Justice Department had maintained that politics would not play a role in its review.

Trump himself previously made public comments about Warner’s future, despite backpedaling on what he once suggested his personal role would be in approving a merger.

Many eyes are on CNN, a network that has long attracted ire from Trump and his allies.

Paramount’s CBS has already seen significant turmoil and shifts in editorial leadership since coming under Skydance ownership last year — and if Warner merger goes through, the reach of that could grow. Several Trump administration officials have also been far from shy from sharing their hopes for CNN under Paramount ownership, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling reporters in March that “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

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Mikella Schuettler contributed from Phoenix.

El abogado Félix Ulloa, actual vicepresidente de la República, acompañará nuevamente a Bukele, que asumió su primer mandato el 1 de junio de 2019.

Nuevas Ideas informó en su cuenta oficial de la red social X que "las elecciones internas 2026 han finalizado con éxito” y también publicó los resultados oficiales del proceso.

El partido oficialista realizó el domingo las internas, aunque desde el sábado abrió las votaciones por internet para sus afiliados que residen en el extranjero.

El 1 de junio Bukele cumplió su séptimo año de gobierno con una aprobación del 87,8% de la población, según una reciente encuesta del Instituto de Opinión Pública de la Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas.

Según este sondeo, el principal logro de Bukele está relacionado con la seguridad. En marzo de 2022, el mandatario declaró la guerra a las pandillas que por más de tres décadas mantuvieron aterrorizado al país convirtiéndolo en el más peligroso del mundo y ahora afirma que El Salvador es uno de los países más seguros.

En 2015, El Salvador tuvo 6.656 asesinatos y una tasa de homicidios de 106 por cada 100.000 habitantes. Ese año fue uno de los más violentos en la historia de la nación y el más violento desde el fin de la guerra civil (1980-1992).

El Salvador cerró 2025 con una baja récord en homicidios —82 casos— en medio de un prolongado y cuestionado régimen de excepción con el que el gobierno combate a las pandillas.

La reelección presidencial indefinida en El Salvador fue habilitada a través de una reforma constitucional aprobada por la Asamblea Legislativa el 31 de julio de 2025, la cual eliminó la sanción de pérdida de derechos ciudadanos a los promotores de la reelección presidencial y la prohibición de la candidatura presidencial a quienes hayan ejercido como presidentes en el anterior periodo.

Esta reforma constitucional también extendió el periodo presidencial de cinco a seis años y adelantó las elecciones presidenciales a 2027.

Bukele fue reelecto por primera vez en febrero de 2024 con el 84,65 % de los votos válidos luego de una resolución de la Sala de lo Constitucional de septiembre de 2021 que habilitó la reelección presidencial “por una sola vez”.

El presidente ha defendido las reformas a la Constitución aprobadas por el Congreso que está controlado por Nuevas Ideas, que elimina los límites a los mandatos presidenciales y permitiría que se mantenga indefinidamente en el poder.

Bukele afirmó que “el 90% de los países desarrollados permiten la reelección indefinida de su jefe de gobierno y nadie se inmuta”. Agregó que cuando un país pequeño y pobre como El Salvador intenta hacer lo mismo “de repente se convierte en el fin de la democracia”.

Blaney drove like NASCAR's King while ruling the Cup Series race from qualifying through every stage in a weather-delayed victory which left the Team Penske Ford driver in contention for the points championship.

Blaney won every stage after starting on the pole and led 171 laps in his win. The race was delayed 3 hours, 9 minutes by rain and lightning and ended at 1:45 a.m. on Monday.

The 171 laps led are the most at a drafting-style track since Petty led 184 of 200 laps for his first Daytona 500 win in 1964.

As a result, Blaney is third in the NASCAR points race, only 65 behind leader Denny Hamlin. Tyler Reddick is second.

Even Blaney was shocked to learn he is in the thick of the championship race heading into Sunday's race at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

“Really?” Blaney asked when told he is only 65 points out of the lead. “Wow! Wow!”

It was a race to remember for Blaney and Team Penske. Blaney's dominance began when he won the pole while joined by Team Penske teammate Joey Logano on the front row. He then survived the long weather delay to answer every challenge while winning Stage 1, Stage 2 and then surviving a three-wide battle on the final lap.

“I couldn’t ask for a better weekend,” Blaney said. "Sat on the pole, won both stages and won the race.

“My car was incredibly fast, leading. I could defend moves without having to throw, like, low-percentage blocks. I just never really did that.”

Blaney knew he had the speed to recover if he briefly lost the lead.

“Some moves are kind of unbeatable to defend as the leader,” he said. “I would just let people get to my inside. If they passed me, great, I think I can probably develop a run to get them back.”

Blaney's crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, made the crucial decision to keep the No. 12 Ford on the track after Blaney brushed the wall with 29 laps remaining. Blaney worried he felt a “terrible” vibration following the contact with the wall but Hassler was able to quickly determine there was no serious damage.

“We were able to get some pictures really quick, see that the damage wasn’t too bad,” Hassler said. “Obviously we saw there was a little bit. ... We looked at it, there were 30 cars on the lead lap, not a lot of laps left. Our chance to win was to stay out, take a little bit of a risk. Fortunately it worked out for us.”

Blaney fought off challenges from Bubba Wallace and Christopher Hill, who finished second, on the final lap. Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top four. Wallace was penalized for passing below the double yellow lines and finished 29th instead of second.

Blaney said he didn't have the best-handling car but enjoyed being able to rely on his superior speed with the race on the line.

“That was kind of a fun dynamic of my car is really fast, handles a little worse than theirs,” Blaney said. “Their car handles better but isn’t quite as quick down the straightaway. Fun how all that played out.”

Now Blaney will continue to chase the Toyotas of Hamlin and Reddick for the points lead. Blaney's strategy is simple: "Just keep doing what we’re doing."

Asked if he can win the championship, Blaney said “I don’t think it’s out of the question.

"We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. That surprises me we’re that close. I think before San Diego I was like 160 out. It shows you how quick things can kind of ebb and flow. ... Never know when we can get there or not."

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The statement released Monday was signed by top economists, along with computer scientists and some executives at tech companies including Anthropic, Google and OpenAI.

“AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years,” says the letter organized by Stanford University's digital economy lab. “This could drive an unprecedented transformation of our economy, larger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame. It could bring risks, including large-scale job displacement, as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards.”

The letter, which has only four sentences, says leaders must “build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society.”

The Stanford lab says the letter has so far been signed by more than 200 economists and AI researchers, including 16 winners of a Nobel Prize.

Computer scientist and AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio was among the signatories and said in a separate statement that based on the trajectory of AI development, “it is highly plausible that AI will drastically transform our economies.”

“We must be intentional and make collective, democratic choices, rather than letting market forces play out and risking leaving most citizens behind,” wrote Bengio, a professor at the University of Montreal.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams accused Trump and his lawyers in a scathing ruling of having manipulated the court system when he sued a federal agency under his control, bypassing a requirement that parties in a lawsuit must have adverse interests. The lawsuit ended in a settlement that granted the president immunity from tax audits and established a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been unjustly persecuted.

The judge stopped short of explicitly voiding the deal shielding Trump from tax scrutiny but said the government cannot claim in official proceedings that the agreement was the result of a legitimate legal process.

“Whether Executive Branch actors can privately agree to give themselves and their former clients blanket immunities and billions of dollars in tax monies for legally undefined grievances was never an issue advanced to this Court,” said Williams, an appointee of President Barack Obama. “The question is whether the Parties could do so by claiming to be adverse and engaging the legitimacy of a court proceeding. The answer is a resounding ‘no.’”

The ruling comes just ahead of a key confirmation hearing

Though the practical impacts of the ruling may be limited since the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed months ago and the administration has already abandoned the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that came out of it, the order nonetheless amounts to a scathing rebuke and tees up a politically uncomfortable line of questioning for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as he faces the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

“The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the Parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law," Williams wrote in her ruling.

She added: "Ensuring that our courts are used only for the express purpose created by the Constitution is the obligation of every judge and an obligation that this Court must discharge in light of the matter before it.”

The $10 billion suit against the IRS and Treasury Department in January accused the agencies of a failure to prevent a leak of the president’s tax information to news outlets between 2018 and 2020.

In May, however, the administration announced that it was settling the case and creating a fund to compensate people who believe they've been mistreated by the criminal justice system. The fund was quickly shelved amid bipartisan backlash, though the Trump administration has said it intends to proceed with a separate element of the deal affording Trump and family members protection from tax audits.

From the start, the judge had appeared skeptical of the complaint and assigned a group of attorneys to determine whether there was a conflict in the case since, as sitting president, Trump was suing “entities whose decisions are subject to his direction.”

Even after the settlement was revealed, she directed Trump attorneys to lay out their positions on whether the parties in the case were truly adverse to each other, whether the dismissal of the lawsuit was premised on deception and whether the case should be reopened.

She made clear in her ruling that she was not satisfied by the lawyers' answers.

“After a review of the record, and the Parties’ statements, the Court declines to adopt or accept the credulous exercise of divorcing President Trump’s current job title from an understanding of what happened here,” she wrote.

The ruling also raises the possibility of disciplinary actions

The judge referred Trump attorney Alejandro Brito, who filed the case, for possible disciplinary action before the state bar in Florida and said another lawyer, Daniel Epstein, will not be granted permission to file within the Southern District of Florida for up to a year.

A spokesman for the Trump legal team responded to a request seeking comment from Brito with a statement that blamed the IRS for allowing the president's tax returns to be leaked.

The judge also ordered that her ruling be sent to the state bars in New York and the District of Columbia, where ethics complaints have been filed against Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.

Williams pointed to Blanche’s congressional testimony in early June in which he revealed that the fund was no longer moving forward. Though nothing had been filed in court, Blanche appeared confident in his testimony that he “could speak for, and bind, both sides of this matter,” Williams said.

“Acting Attorney General Blanche’s apparent capacity to speak for both Plaintiffs and Defendants, sign a ‘settlement’ document on behalf of all Parties to this action, and then repudiate part of that agreement, demonstrates that there was only one party whose interests were being represented throughout this case,” the judge wrote.

The judge also raised ethical concerns about Blanche and Woodward’s involvement in the settlement given Blanche’s past representation of Trump as well as Woodward’s previous defense of Jan. 6 defendants and a co-defendant in Trump’s classified documents case.

“Instead of either recusing because of their previous representations or vigorously defending this lawsuit as required to do so by DOJ policies and procedures, these lawyers agreed to a ‘settlement’ involving a staggering amount of money potentially benefitting former clients,” she said.

Blanche denied in a CNN interview last spring that he had developed the settlement terms, saying, “The president has outside counsel, and their counsel, the Department of Justice, not me."

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Associated Press writers Fatima Hussein and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

After the long holdup, Jay-Z started the show at 12:17 a.m. Monday and told the audience that “somebody rushed the door” and that he didn't want to start performing and have “people get trampled” on their way in.

“Really sorry for the inconvenience, but I had to make sure everybody was OK,” he told the crowd before thanking them for their patience and promising a “good time tonight.”

In a statement, the Yankees, Jay-Z's Roc Nation and Live Nation said hundreds of people in large groups without tickets “stormed over peaceful ticketholders, and in some cases, breached security" and the stadium had to shutter entrances for an extended period of time before being able to cautiously reopen.

Video from outside the stadium showed a large crowd of people standing around an entrance. A different video from inside the stadium showed people rushing inside through an open door before several security guards were able to stop additional people from entering.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said it did not have information about arrests at the stadium over the incident.

How much of the money will be delivered, and when reconstruction of Gaza can begin, is unclear. The ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group that took effect in October is effectively stalled.

European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica announced the fund after a meeting in Brussels of the Palestine Donors Group, which includes EU and Middle East nations along with international organizations and financial institutions.

“The ceasefire in Gaza remains fragile, and the situation on the ground for civilians is not getting better," Šuica said. She said the money will move through “trusted partners" but didn't give details.

Few places in the Palestinian territory of over 2 million people have been left unscathed, and the United Nations, World Bank and EU estimate that reconstruction will cost $70 billion.

The U.N. has said Gaza has more than 60 million tons of rubble, enough to fill nearly 3,000 container ships. It will take over seven years to clear, with additional time for demining.

The meeting also brought together Nickolay Mladenov, the head of the Board of Peace set up by U.S. President Donald Trump to lead Gaza's reconstruction; Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner; Ali Shaath, the head of the new Palestinian committee meant to administer Gaza’s daily affairs but still unable to enter; and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.

Mladenov has made clear that the next steps in implementing the ceasefire are stalled over the difficult issue of disarming Hamas militants in Gaza.

“We are investing not only in the Palestinian future but also in the regional stability, shared security and just and lasting peace for everyone together,” Mustafa said, calling for “a resilient, sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian state" — something Israel's current government has opposed.

The Palestinian Authority seeks a role in Gaza’s reconstruction, but the U.S. 20-point plan only makes a reference to the possibility of a future Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, EU ministers discuss the West Bank

Separately, top diplomats from the 27-nation EU debated how to respond to increased Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

The bloc's executive, the European Commission, has tabled options including cutting off trade with Israeli settlements in the territory.

Nations like Ireland and Spain are calling for forceful action. The Czech Republic, Germany and others alongside the commission are more cautious, seeking to apply incremental pressure. Some nations have signaled they would veto sanctions.

Do sanctions “have a meaningful impact or not? What role could they play as a political message, and would this be escalatory in a wrong direction?” said Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the European Council's legal service had found that severing trade ties with Israeli settlements in the West Bank — not technically sanctions — would require a majority vote and not total unanimity from bloc members.

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel said a clear majority in the EU agrees on severing commercial ties with the settlements. He dismissed arguments that tough action would boost Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances in an election in October: “I hope that now it’s time for decisions.”

The aorta is our largest artery, like a highway that arches up from the heart and then curves back down through the abdomen — carrying oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body as other arteries branch off from it.

What doctors call an aortic dissection happens when a tear in its inner lining lets blood rapidly leak between its other layers, according to the American Heart Association. That reduces blood flow to vital organs, and sometimes can lead to a rupture that pours blood into surrounding tissues. It often can be caused by an aortic aneurysm, a weakened spot on the artery that can bulge like a balloon.

Risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol that in turn stiffens arteries — called atherosclerosis — and smoking. It's more common in older people but also can be caused by certain genetic conditions in younger people.

A preliminary medical examiner's report shared by Graham's office said the aortic dissection was related to artery hardening.

Symptoms tend to be sudden, with severe stabbing-like pain, often in the chest or back but sometimes in the neck, jaw or abdomen depending on where in the aorta the tear happened. According to the heart association, people also may suddenly lose consciousness, have clammy or sweaty skin, experience stroke-like symptoms such as sudden weakness on one side of the body, or show signs of shock, including rapid heart rate or confusion.

Fast treatment improves the chances of survival. Depending on where the tear occurred and its extent, surgeons may try to repair it or patch the torn section of the aorta.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Immigrant rights groups identified the man who was killed in Biddeford as a 26-year-old native of Colombia. The Colombian Embassy said it was in contact with U.S. authorities about the Colombian national's death and “is providing the necessary consular assistance to his family.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said in a post on X that agents were surveilling an address for a person with a final order of removal from the country. When ICE tried to stop a vehicle driven by someone coming from that address, the "vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said.

Prior to the brief ICE statement on the incident, Maine U.S. Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against ICE agents in Biddeford, a coastal city roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland. The agents involved didn’t have body cameras, he said.

When asked about the contrasting statements, King told CNN that that's what the investigation is all about.

“Did this young man actually try to run over an ICE agent or was he in danger of running over other people in the street?" he said. “Was there a reasonable expectation of bodily harm or deadly force to justify this shooting?”

DHS did not immediately respond to an email seeking clarity on what led to the shooting.

King, an independent, said Mullin also told him the officers were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant but that it was not for the person who was shot. King said Mullin told him that earlier information that the man was the target of an enforcement action was incorrect.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said Mullin told her the Homeland Security Department’s Office of Inspector General is investigating in cooperation with the FBI.

Messages seeking comment were left for the inspector general’s office and the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The Maine attorney general’s office, which is also investigating, said initial statements suggest the motorist was trying to flee in the direction of the agent. The office said the agent who killed him has been placed on leave.

Witness says he heard driver say, ‘I tried to stop’

Daniel Boucher said he looked out his third-floor window after hearing a “pop, pop, pop” sound and saw a small car “turned 90 degrees to the curb” with an SUV behind it. The driver was wounded and the car started moving down the street until the SUV hit it, Boucher said.

“His face was bloody. His head was bloody,” Boucher said, getting choked up. “I clearly heard the victim say, ‘I tried to stop.'"

Boucher said he saw an ICE officer bring a medical bag to where the man was lying before an ambulance and fire truck arrived. At one point, Boucher said, the agent who shot the man walked close to him.

“I was emotional and I just let him have it, and he looked at me and said, ‘He tried to run me over,’ or something to that effect," Boucher said. "I don’t remember his exact words.”

Video from a security camera at a nearby business, obtained by the AP, shows a white vehicle approaching an intersection at a modest speed before making several slow circles. A law enforcement SUV blocked its path and two officers open the driver’s door and dragged out a limp body.

It was not clear from the video at what point shots were fired.

The man was authorized to work in the US, advocates say

Two advocacy groups — the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! — said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S.

After the shooting, his family contacted the Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, but they weren't ready to speak publicly about the shooting, said the group's executive director, Mufalo Chitam.

Mary Hayes, who lives close to where the shooting happened, said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Hayes told the AP as she held a piece of cardboard with “No ICE Stop ICE” written on it. “I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

Sadie Dilboy said the man killed in the shooting regularly came to her laundromat and would bring his daughter, who he'd give quarters to buy candy from the vending machine.

“He was such a good person,” she said. “He was always cleaning up.”

Anti-ICE protesters gather near the scene

Several hundred demonstrators gathered in Biddeford on Monday night to wave anti-ICE signs and call for the agency to be abolished.

“We will always be a city of immigrants,” said Maine Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat from Biddeford.

A handful of pro-ICE and pro-Trump protesters demonstrated across the street.

Some demonstrators had gathered in the city within hours of the shooting. Amy Goodman arrived with a sign that said “Stop Killing Us” and directed it toward police working at the scene.

“Sadly, it’s something we’re seeing a whole lot more often lately, and I’m mad about it,” she said.

A recent uptick in Trump's immigration crackdown

On July 7, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

The shootings come amid a Trump administration push to carry out its mass deportations agenda. During the five-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people.

The figures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests are surging. The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

Hundreds of Maine ICE arrests since Trump’s return

ICE had a significant presence in Maine earlier this year, which prompted several protests. Immigration officials later said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after hundreds of arrests.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horrific crimes" including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Court records show that while some had felony convictions, others had unresolved immigration proceedings or had been arrested but never convicted of a crime.

ICE arrested 546 people in Maine between the start of Trump’s second term and March 11, 2026, the most recent data available, according to ICE arrest data provided to the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the AP.

About 45% of arrested people had criminal backgrounds. During the equivalent 416-day period before Trump took office, roughly 69% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, the data shows.

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Willingham reported from Boston and Brook reported from New Orleans. Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak in New York, Aaron Kessler in Washington, Kate Brumback in Atlanta and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who worked at the global electronics company Analog Devices, was accused of helping an Iranian business associate get around American export control laws. U.S. prosecutors say the business associate’s Tehran-based company makes navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Authorities say the scheme included the creation of a front company in Switzerland.

The second defendant, Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, called Abedini in court documents, was not on trial. He is believed to be in Iran after an apparent prisoner exchange for an Italian journalist.

Sadeghi was found guilty on three of the five charges. He showed no visible reaction to the verdict, which came early in the fourth day of jury deliberations. He and his lawyers did not comment as they left court, and he will remain free until sentencing Oct. 13

Sadeghi, a 43-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, chose not to testify. A father of two, he lost his job at Analog Devices due to the charges. Although he was arrested in December 2024, long before the current war with Iran, his trial has unfolded during the conflict.

“At its core, this case is straightforward. You cannot send goods, especially the goods at issue in this case, to Iran. Period. Full stop,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter told the jury. “The defendant knew that, and conspired with Mr. Abedini to do that.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan, in his closing remarks, said documents, text messages and photos proved that the illegal acts were the “fruits of this relationship” between Sadeghi and Abedini.

“The evidence established that he knew what Abedini was doing because he told him in writing,” Dolan said. “He helped him anyway.”

Sadeghi's attorney, William Fick, told jurors that the scheme laid out by the prosecution “makes no sense” and was full of holes. He said Sadeghi was only offering advice to a longtime friend about how to get business with the semiconductor company, and wasn’t responsible for procuring the parts for Abedini.

Fick said there was no proof the parts ended up in Iran, and he disputed that the Swiss company was a front.

“If you look at the world through dirty glasses, everything looks dirty,” Fick said. “That is fundamentally what the prosecution is asking you to do here.”

Fick also said prosecutors hadn't shown Sadeghi gained anything from the alleged plan — although the prosecution pointed out that they didn't need to prove a motive.

“He had nothing to gain and everything to lose,” Fick said. “He has lived in the country for decades. He was a well-regarded, respected employee on his way up in the company.”

Prosecutors had hoped to introduce evidence during the trial related to an Iranian drone used in a 2024 attack that killed three U.S. troops at a remote base in Jordan.

However, before the trial, defense attorneys sought to exclude any evidence related to Abedini’s role in drone manufacturing or attacks on American troops.

The judge agreed, ruling that prosecutors could only give general evidence about Abedini’s Iranian company and how its technology had potential military applications, including for drones. During a hearing in February, prosecutors acknowledged they didn’t have evidence that Sadeghi “knew anything” about the technology he was accused of exporting was allegedly used on the drone involved in the Jordan attack.

Both defendants have been charged with export control violations. Abedini is separately charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization that resulted in the deaths of three service members.

Abedini was arrested at an airport in Italy on a U.S. warrant in December 2024, but was released a month later and returned to Iran. Three days after his arrest, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was detained while reporting in Iran. Sala, who was believed held as a bargaining chip for Abedini’s release, returned home in January 2025.

She did it in “Furiosa” and the upcoming “Dune: Part Three.” Now she's under the blazing California sun for “Lucky,” a propulsive Apple TV crime thriller that has her trading blows with goons, bloodying her otherworldly face.

“Listen, I’ve been to the desert so many times at this point it’s kind of unreal. I don’t look like a desert creature, and yet I’m always there and I love it,” says the actor. “People like to see me struggle, and they like me to survive. And, luckily, I enjoy doing it, too, so it works out.”

Taylor-Joy plays the title character in an adaptation of Marissa Stapley's novel about a con artist who wakes up in a hotel room and realizes she's been betrayed by a close ally and is forced on the run.

Lucky is soon pursued by both the FBI and a ruthless crime boss over a missing $10 million. Her widowed father isn't much help: He raised her to be a criminal but is now behind bars, only helping from a phone call.

“She’s at an inflection point when we meet her in the book and in the show where she’s got to chart her own course. She’s got to take things into her own hands, and she’s got to really decide how she wants to live her life,” says Lauren Neustadter, an executive producer.

A character evolves

The seven-episode series premieres Wednesday, and even in the first episode, Lucky has to fight her way out the closed trunk of a car and slam a screwdriver into the neck of a bad guy, finding herself alone in the desert. “How can someone so small cause so much trouble?” a goon asks.

“We see this character evolve from beginning to end. She starts off being all about the con, and the question is, ‘Where will that go? How will she evolve and who will she become?’ And I think that it’s one of the things that makes this show so special,” says Neustadter.

The series co-stars Annette Bening, Drew Starkey and Timothy Olyphant, with a female-centric soundtrack that includes a stirring theme song by Fiona Apple and tunes by Sleater-Kinney and Siouxsie Sioux.

Bening plays a cold-blooded mob leader who gets stuck between trying to save her son and tangling with her brutal boss and former lover. She's as likely to order a killing as be executed herself.

“She is an abused woman and she’s an abuser,” Bening says. “So, she’s so intriguing. I thought the writing was really good. And I did want to play this kind of borderline sociopathic woman.”

Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media company approached Taylor-Joy with the book, asking her to not just consider leading the series as an actor but also offering to make her debut as an executive producer.

“I remember crossing my fingers and thinking, ‘God, I really hope I like this book.’ And then I did and I fell in love with Lucky and I felt that I had something to contribute in this space, which I think if you’re coming on as an executive producer is the feeling that you want to have,” says Taylor-Joy.

The show — created by Jonathan Tropper and written and showrun alongside Cassie Pappas — is a crime thriller but with a family drama at its heart, one that prompts Lucky to wonder if there's another way to live.

“Thematically, that’s what Jonathan and I were really drawn to, is this idea of how much does family affect who you are versus how much can you break that path and write yourself a new one,” says Pappas.

Lucky leans into grifting skills to survive

Lucky has grown up grifting with her dad, stealing money-filled envelopes at birthday parties and faking injuries to get free hotel rooms. Now on the run, she leans into those skills to survive but also yearns for a better life.

“We all struggle against sort of the restraints of our past and the baggage we were given by even good parents and getting to a point where we can figure out who we are,” says Tropper. “Hers just has much higher stakes because the act of her trying to figure that out could get her killed.”

For Taylor-Joy, in addition to leaping off trucks, dodging killers and stealing cars onscreen, she got to make casting decisions and advise on the look and sound of the show behind the camera.

“I think we had a wonderful time making it, and I think you can feel that on the screen, despite the screwdrivers through the head,” she says with a laugh.

Astronomers have detected a type of sugar in space that's also found in raspberries and self-tanners. The sugar, called erythrulose, lurks in what's called the interstellar medium: thin clouds of gas and dust littered between stars.

Sugar does more than sweeten tea and powder doughnuts. Different varieties fuel our cells and even make up DNA. Scientists are itching to know how sugars form because they're a key ingredient for life as we know it.

Using two dish-shaped radio telescopes in Spain, researchers collected data from a large gas cloud near the center of the Milky Way. They identified the sugar in gas form by comparing telescope signals to samples in the lab. It's the latest kind of sugar detected in space — in a region crossed by NASA's twin Voyager, the farthest spacecraft to ever travel from Earth.

The results were published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Scientists have found interesting chemistry in our galaxy, including building blocks for genetic material and parts of the cell. They spotted a cousin to table sugar near the center of the Milky Way about 25 years ago, and black grains from asteroid Bennu retrieved by NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft yielded other sugars, including a key DNA ingredient.

The latest sugar isn’t essential for life, but can easily convert to a form that’s thought to be crucial to kick-starting life on Earth. And it’s one of the most complex sugars spotted so far, said astrophysicist Erika Hamden with the University of Arizona.

It's “a pristine example of the stuff that’s just floating out in the galaxy,” said Hamden, who had no role in the new research.

These interstellar investigations are all about understanding how life got started. Did faraway comets or space rocks deliver the essential ingredients to us? Or were the essential components already here that eventually gave rise to our solar system?

The new sugar lends evidence to the latter theory. Researchers want to look for more sugars in space and learn about how they convert to different forms.

Finding them in one spot means they're likely also hiding in distant corners of the galaxy along with other important bits, said study author Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, an astrophysicist at the Center for Astrobiology in Spain.

“The key ingredients for the origin of life could be present in other regions across the galaxy, opening the possibility for life to develop elsewhere in the universe,” Jiménez-Serra said.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Neill achieved his highest level of fame in “Jurassic Park” playing paleontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough.

Neill earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries “Merlin” and another as narrator of 2017’s “Wild New Zealand.” Neill also earned three Golden Globe nods — for “Merlin,” “One Against the Wind” and “Reilly: Ace of Spies.”

Some notable reactions:

Steven Spielberg

“Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.” — in a statement.

Laura Dern, actor

“Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness, and love, always with the driest of wit. He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.” — via Instagram.

Richard E. Grant, actor

“Knew @samneilltheprop for 3 decades and finally worked with him on ‘PALM BEACH’ in 2018. An officer and a Gentleman in the truest sense. Guided and helped me through a very difficult time in my Life … Sail on, kind Sir. — via Instagram.

Cillian Murphy, actor

“Like everyone who knew and worked with Sam, I admired him and adored him in equal measure. He was one of the kindest, funniest and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors … RIP.” — in a statement.

Nicole Kidman, actor

“Sam was one of the greats, a joy to be around,” she said. “We met when I was just 18 and he took me under his wing and we stayed friends for life. He was charming, kind, funny and intelligent. He will be greatly missed, and my heart goes out to his family.” — in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Billy Zane, actor

“I’m deeply saddened by the untimely loss of my dear friend, @samneilltheprop. We first crossed paths years ago through our work, but what I came to treasure most was the man himself—funny, endlessly curious, wickedly intelligent, generous, and always able to make you feel at ease. ... He carried himself with grace, humility, and a wonderfully mischievous sense of humor that made every conversation a pleasure. ... Rest peacefully, Sam. You’ll be missed more than words can say.” — via Instagram.

Colin Trevorrow, director

“Sam Neill was a deeply soulful and beautiful man. He was a friend and collaborator at a challenging time, and his strength gave us all strength. I’ll remember him for his tranquility, his love of wine, and for the calm assuredness he brought to his characters. It’s not every lifetime you get to befriend a legend. Forever grateful.” — via Instagram.

Christopher Luxon, prime minister of New Zealand

“Sir Sam Neill was one of the greats. He started out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today — one of our greatest cultural exports.” — via X.

Jacinda Ardern, former prime minister of New Zealand

"It was just a few weeks ago that I had the profound joy of sitting with Sam Neill, talking about life, politics, and home. He was such a thoughtful, curious, and decent person. Someone who was principled, unafraid of speaking his mind, and willing to take up a fight when he saw injustice. ... We’ve lost another incredible kiwi, and I feel profoundly sad. All my aroha to his whanau and friends. And to you, Sam, you have our gratitude and admiration. Rest easy. Moe mai rā" — via Instagram.

Anthony Albanese, prime minister of Australia

“Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts. Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance. He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace.” — via X.

Laura Tingle, Australian journalist and Neill’s former partner

“I think Sam Neill was the greatest theatrical creation of little Nigel Neill, a little boy with a stutter who was sent off to boarding school at eight years of age and spent his life in flight ever after that and showing off to make friends in new places. And I think that the humanity of that is what made him so approachable and so loved by so many people who saw all his work in television and movies.” — in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Sharon Lawrence, actor

“My condolences and appreciation for the immense joy and mastery Sam Neill brought our industry. Do yourself a favor and find ‘DEAN SPANLEY’ on a streamer- he’s wonderful and it will soothe someplace in your spirit that needs it now. — via Instagram.

Joel Tobeck, actor

“This man made me feel like I could fly. Even when I was all over the place in his presence he made it ok. We loved to talk rugby. RIP my old mate. Sam Neill, a true gentleman.” — via Instagram.

Rachel Griffiths, actor

“Such a shock — loved by so many — I’ll be cracking two paddocks tonight,” referring to wine from the actor’s vineyard, via Instagram.

Kylie Minogue, singer

“Vale Sam,” a Latin term for “farewell” that’s often used in Australia and New Zealand, via Instagram.

Toni Collette, actor

“I love you, dear Sam. You hero. You legend. You sweetheart. Our great friend. You are already missed so very much. Continue in peace wherever you are.” — via Instagram.

Lesley-Ann Brandt, actor

“Sending love and condolences to your family. A remarkable man and artist. NZ loses a giant and one of its greatest gifts.” — via Instagram.

Kate Mulvany, actor

“It was the greatest of honours to shout at Sam onscreen and to laugh ourselves silly offscreen. He was truly the most wondrous human. Not was. Still is. Will always be. Such is his incredible legacy of life, art, advocacy and love.” — via Instagram.

Dean was clinging to a one-shot lead when he hit into a pot bunker on the 18th hole and splashed out to 3 feet. The massive grandstands on both sides of the green were about two-thirds full, and they offered applause for the winning putt that Dean would love to hear on the weekend.

At least the 32-year-old Dean, who once delivered groceries to pay the bills, now has a chance.

He finished one shot ahead of Andrew Wilson. Aldrich Potgieter, who made bogey on the final hole to finish two shots behind, got into the Open later Monday when Louis Oosthuizen withdrew because of a back injury.

The R&A created this final qualifier to give 12 players a last chance to make the field, and to give the spectators at Royal Birkdale something more to watch than players chipping and putting during a long practice round.

“To see the amount of people out here today, it's been great,” said Dean, who will be playing in his third British Open, his first since Royal Troon in 2024. “We stopped at a local Premier Inn and we had a few people ask if we were playing in the qualifier today, which obviously you don't usually get. Yeah, I think it has drawn a lot more people.”

The top two alternates — Potgieter and Matti Schmid — were required to play to keep their status on the reserve list. They were joined by a collection of players who narrowly missed various qualifying opportunities. They remained the top two alternates when the competition ended, and the list was filled out by order of finish from Monday’s competition.

Dean lost out on a 3-for-1 qualifier at West Lancashire two weeks ago and was invited to compete. It paid off most handsomely on the back nine. He was tied for the lead when he hit 6-iron for his second shot on the par-5 14th hole that rode the wind and bounced along the firm turf to 4 feet.

“Probably the best 6-iron I've ever hit,” Dean said.

He made his British Open debut at Royal Birkdale in 2017 and tied for 70th. Dean is No. 268 in the world and currently 67th in the Race to Dubai on the European tour. This was a good addition to the schedule as the final major of the year. Plus, he's getting married on Tuesday.

“It was cheaper,” he said, referring to the unusual day of the week to exchange vows.

Dean also is the only player at Royal Birkdale to spend time delivering groceries, a part-time job he started during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and kept for nearly four years to help fund his career when he didn't have a card and was mostly playing one-day events.

“I had a great time doing it,” Dean said. “Met some really good friends and grounded me really well.”

Wilson birdied the par-5 17th to give himself a chance but had to settle for a par on the 18th.

The last chance to win came down to Potgieter, but his flip wedge to the 17th went some 20 feet long and he made par, and his drive on the 18th landed near the spectator railing. His approach from the rough was one pace from clearing a pot bunker, instead bouncing back into the sand. By the end of the day, it didn't matter.

Schmid moved up to first alternate.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

On Monday, a group of financial regulators is set to issue guidance intended to remind banks and other financial institutions of their know-your-customer requirements with respect to credit risk management, particularly as it relates to borrowers who are not authorized to work in the U.S.

The newest warning is one of several measures the Trump administration has taken to discourage people in the U.S. illegally from interacting with the larger U.S. financial system. The measures, over the last nine months, are designed to strongly encourage banks to remove them as customers while not expressly mandating that the banks do so.

The joint announcement is planned from three of the nation's bank regulators: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Association. The agencies said that banks should take into account that people in the U.S. illegally may not be able to repay a loan because of deportation. In short, they say, people working in the U.S. illegally pose overall risk to the financial system.

There is limited data on how many people in the U.S. illegally have bank accounts and have loans through the banks.

This comes as part of President Donald Trump’s executive order signed in May that requires banks and other financial institutions to take a closer look at the citizenship of their customers. That order started the most recent wave of banking regulation changes, ordering bank regulators and government departments to look for signs that people without legal status are opening accounts or obtaining loans or credit cards.

Among other things, the guidance being issued Monday advises financial institutions to “identify, measure, monitor, and control these risks through safe and sound underwriting practices that assess a borrower’s willingness and capacity to repay according to the terms of the credit obligation” according to a news release.

In May, Treasury’s financial crimes arm — also known a FinCEN — issued an advisory to banks telling them to watch out for identity theft, payroll tax fraud, and money laundering schemes tied to hiring people who are not authorized to work in the U.S.

The advisory calls on financial institutions to be alert for more than a dozen red flags that indicate an individual is in the U.S. illegally.

The White House has also taken other measures to discourage people in the U.S. illegally from using the financial system. The Treasury last November announced that it would reclassify certain refundable tax credits as “federal public benefits,” which bars some immigrant taxpayers from receiving them, even if they file and pay taxes and would otherwise qualify.

Tax experts said immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents as children, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipients, and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status would be affected by the planned change.

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Sweet contributed from New York.

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At Victory alone, inspectors documented more than 100 rodent droppings in multiple areas, including where food was stored and clean dishes were kept.

As with all emergency closures, the shutdowns were temporary. Each restaurant was allowed to reopen after completing the required cleanup and passing a follow-up inspection.

No restaurants or food service establishments in Broward County or the Florida Keys were ordered shut last week.

**DUNKIN DONUTS

1190 NW 62ND ST.

MIAMI

ORDERED SHUT 7/9

6 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Dead rodent present. Observed dead rodent on top glue trap under metal shelves by exit door.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance. Observed ceiling tiles at dining area soiled with water marks.”

“Hole in or other damage to ceiling . Observed hole in ceiling next to drive thru window. Also observed hole on wall near drive thru window.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed handwashing sink inside customer restroom soiled with paper residue. Employee cleaned during inspection. Also observed handwashing sink across ice machine soiled with dark substance.”

**H&H BAGELS

11311 SOUTH DIXIE HIGHWAY

PINECREST

ORDERED SHUT 7/7

15 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Live, small flying insects found. Observed 30+ live flies in kitchen area on walls and clean food containers and food trays above triple sink. Observed 2 live flies in mop sink on wall next to ware wash area in kitchen. Observed next to walk in cooler in kitchen area; 3 live flies on dry storage rack on plastic to go cups.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance. Observed vents soiled with dust in kitchen area.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed nova cream cheese above onions and sodas in walk in cooler. Operator removed onions from under nova.”

“Employee with no beard guard/restraint while engaging in food preparation. Overseer employee on cook line with longer facial hair needing restraint.”

“No currently certified food service manager on duty with four or more employees engaged in food preparation/handling.”

“No proof of required state approved employee training provided for any employees.”

**VICTORY RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE

MIDTOWN MIAMI

3252 NE 1ST AVE.

MIAMI

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 7/7

19 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 100+ droppings at dry storage second floor by Ac unit pipes. Observed approximately 50+ droppings on top of lid of containers with rice and grits at dry storage. Observed approximately 25 droppings at racks with clean plates at second floor storage. Observed approximately 10 droppings at hookah station at counter.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cooked rice container as per chef today at 2pm, cooked rice (56F - Cold Holding), more than 6 hours. Repeat Violation.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed cutting boards soiled across cook line prep area. Repeat Violation.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Observed near reach in freezer.”

“Accumulation of debris on exterior of ware washing machine.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance. By ware washing area. Repeat Violation.”

“Floor area(s) covered with standing water. Observed standing water on floor by ware washing area. Repeat Violation.”

“Hole in or other damage to wall. Observed a hole at wall at food runners station.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed hand sink used as a dump sink at bar and hookah station. Observed knives and towel inside hand sink at kitchen. Repeat Violation.”

Registros de la cárcel de BSO muestran que el sargento Scott Nelson Nida, de 55 años, fue arrestado por agentes en Pompano Beach el sábado. Se le acusa de violar una orden de protección por violencia doméstica.

El primer arresto de Nida ocurrió en enero, luego de ser acusado de atacar a su pareja de muchos años por un caso de infidelidad. La víctima posteriormente renunció a la acusación y se desestimó una orden de no contacto. Ella declaró a los investigadores que “sintió que la coaccionaron para retirar los cargos”, ya que Nida supuestamente le dijo que “perdería su trabajo y su pensión”.

Pero Nida fue arrestado nuevamente en abril, acusado de atacar a su pareja por segunda vez y de robar su vehículo. Los registros muestran que esos cargos siguen pendientes, con una audiencia programada para el 30 de julio.

Fue arrestado un mes después por un cargo de violación de una orden de protección por violencia doméstica. Un reporte de BSO indica que permitió que su novia viviera con él “porque ella y su hija fueron desalojadas de su residencia anterior” y que ambas recurrieron a Nida “porque no tenían adónde ir”.

Registros judiciales muestran que los fiscales de Broward decidieron no presentar cargos en ese caso.

No está claro qué llevó al más reciente arresto de Nida el sábado, por un cargo de violación de una orden de protección por violencia doméstica.

Local 10 News solicitó el reporte de su más reciente arresto, así como una actualización de BSO sobre su situación laboral.

Hasta la mañana del lunes, Nida permanecía detenido en la cárcel principal de BSO, a la espera de una comparecencia judicial programada.

En el Dunkin’, ubicado en el 1190 NW 62nd St., los inspectores hallaron un roedor muerto sobre una trampa de pegamento cerca de la puerta de salida, además de techos sucios con manchas de humedad, un hoyo en el techo junto a la ventanilla del autoservicio y un lavamanos utilizado para fines distintos al lavado de manos. El local acumuló seis violaciones y fue clausurado el 9 de julio.

En H&H Bagels, sobre South Dixie Highway en Pinecrest, los inspectores contabilizaron más de 30 moscas vivas sobre las paredes, los recipientes de comida y las bandejas de la cocina, así como productos crudos almacenados junto a alimentos listos para consumir. El establecimiento tampoco contaba con un gerente certificado en el turno ni con constancia de la capacitación estatal requerida para su personal. En total, se documentaron 15 violaciones y el cierre se ordenó el 7 de julio.

El caso más severo fue el de Victory Restaurant & Lounge, en Midtown Miami, que llegó a inspección tras recibir una queja. Allí, los inspectores encontraron más de 100 excrementos de roedor en el área de almacenamiento seco del segundo piso, además de arroz cocido que llevaba más de seis horas a una temperatura insegura, tablas de cortar sucias, moho dentro de la máquina de hielo y agua estancada en el piso cerca del área de lavado. El restaurante acumuló 19 violaciones —varias de ellas repetidas de inspecciones anteriores— y fue cerrado el 7 de julio.

Como ocurre con todos los cierres de emergencia, las suspensiones fueron temporales: los tres negocios reabrieron después de completar la limpieza requerida y aprobar una segunda inspección.

Ningún restaurante del condado de Broward ni de los Cabos de Florida fue cerrado la semana pasada.

The U.S. military then began another round of strikes against Iran on Monday.

Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as her late brother’s temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate. Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress and an advocate for U.S. military aggression in Iran, died Saturday at 71 after a tear in his aorta.

The Latest:

Trump says US will seek Strait of Hormuz tolls as reimbursement for ‘protecting’ other countries

Moments after the U.S. military announced a new round of strikes on Iran, Trump called it “another major attack.”

“We’re hitting them very hard. And it’ll continue, and we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

The president added: “We’re knocking out all of their offensive capability and we’re controlling the straits. We’re putting the blockade back.”

Trump also provided new details on his administration doing an about-face and suggesting that it will charge tolls for ships going through the Strait of Hormuz, after previously suggesting that it wouldn’t.

“We’re protecting a very rich portion of the world,” he said. “We’re spending money. And so, what we’ve done is, we are going to be reimbursed for protection.”

Trump scales back 2 Utah national monuments

The move to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments unravels protections established by former presidents for areas with unique archaeological and historical features.

It comes as Republicans under Trump have sought to drastically reshape the management of vast taxpayer-owned lands concentrated in Western states. Republicans have moved to expand oil and gas drilling, ramp up logging and remove habitat protections for imperiled species.

The altered monuments had been designated under the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law meant to preserve important sites. Democrats and conservationists warn of the disposal of treasured landscapes for commercial gain.

US military has begun another round of strikes against Iran, US Central Command says

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the command said on social media.

The strikes are just the latest volley between the two nations that began last week after Iran attacked a series of merchant vessels off the coast of Oman.

Trump offers no details on Thursday night address

When asked in an interview with Hugh Hewitt what his Thursday address will be about, Trump made it sound like nothing out of the ordinary.

“It’s just going to be a speech like a lot of my speeches,” he said, without offering any more detail.

Trump says memorandum of understanding was ‘built to test’ Iran

“Memorandum of understanding when you’re dealing with sleazebags don’t mean much,” Trump said during an interview with Hugh Hewitt.

Trump said he questioned why the U.S. was entering into a memorandum of understanding to create a ceasefire with Iran rather than moving toward a full deal first. Trump last week declared the ceasefire was “over.”

“They didn’t honor the test,” Trump said.

Trump promises at least 2 more rounds of strikes on Iran are coming

“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow — and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “They have nothing. They have nothing going, other than they have big mouths.”

The president did not elaborate but him saying that more strikes were coming previously preceded a new round of U.S. military strikes on targets in Iran.

Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Lindsey Graham, picked to fulfill remainder of his US Senate term

Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as her late brother’s temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a news conference at the Statehouse on Monday that Nordone would serve the remaining months on Graham’s current term, which expires in January. A person familiar with the appointment process but not authorized to speak about it publicly said Nardone would be sworn in Wednesday. She will be the first woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate.

“It is such an honor,” Nordone said. “Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him.”

Graham died over the weekend at age 71. He never married or had a family of his own, but Nordone was often by her brother’s side for the political touch points of his career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads.

Senators deliver emotional tributes to Lindsey Graham after his sudden death

Graham’s desk was covered in black cloth and a vase of white roses as the Senate opened Monday afternoon.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune eulogized Graham as a friend and a statesman, saying he “died with his boots on” because he had just returned from his 10th trip to Ukraine.

One day “we will laugh together again,” Thune said, tearing up during his opening remarks.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the seniormost Senate Republican, said he was used to being the butt of Graham’s jokes. He “always brought a smile to your face and levity to the halls of Congress,” Grassley said.

Grassley said the Senate could “show our appreciation” for Graham by passing a bipartisan package of Russian sanctions that Graham introduced on Friday, just before his death on Saturday.

US military’s tally of deaths in the Iran war has risen to 14

That’s after a Navy pilot died in a helicopter crash on July 1 in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially called it an emergency landing and said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.”

The Pentagon’s war casualty count added one non-hostile death in July. A U.S. Central Command spokesman confirmed it was the pilot.

It’s the first death since 13 service members were killed in two separate incidents in March at the beginning of the war.

A total of 414 service members have been wounded, including a U.S. Air Force member added Monday.

While Iran and the U.S. have resumed strikes, it’s unclear if that’s what led to the injury. U.S. Central Command and the Air Force wouldn’t offer details. Most troops were wounded in March, while 34 were wounded in April and three in June.

Trump to address the nation on Thursday

The president posted on social media that he would be “making a Speech to the Nation” at 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

Trump appeared to refer to himself in the third person in the post.

He did not disclose the details of his planned speech, but the announcement comes after Trump said he would block Iran-related ships from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and that the U.S. would charge a 20% fee on all cargo going through the waterway.

US military to resume Iranian blockade

The U.S. military says it will resume its blockade of Iranian ports Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT.

U.S. Central Command said on social media that it “will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas” and will “support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade.”

A notice to mariners released Monday by the U.S. military warned of using force if ships don’t comply. It also said the military will let through humanitarian shipments.

The statement follows Trump declaring that the U.S. would be reinstating the naval blockade and charging a 20% toll on eligible cargo.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, would not say whether the military would be collecting tolls as part of the blockade and referred questions on Trump’s post to the White House.

UN maritime organization is against charging fees for passage through international straits

The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency which oversees safety and security measures in international shipping, said the group was waiting to find out more about Trump’s proposal but said its stance on tolls remains unchanged.

“We have always been consistent on its stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation. There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait,” the organization said in a statement.

Rubio has previously said the US wouldn’t allow tolls in the Strait of Hormuz

Trump’s announcement comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Gulf leaders late last month and said the U.S. would not support Iran charging fees for ships to go through the Strait of Hormuz.

“That’s international waterway. There isn’t a nation on Earth that supports having to pay money to go through the Straits,” Rubio told reporters in Bahrain on June 25.

Rubio also said there was “zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters. The president’s made it clear that’s not going to happen. It’s not going to be a part of this. It cannot be a part of this.”

Judge blasts Trump’s IRS lawsuit as filed for ‘improper purpose,’ recommends attorney discipline

A federal judge said Monday that Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose” as she referred attorneys for disciplinary actions.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams amounts to a stinging rebuke of the Republican president’s lawsuit, characterizing it as an exercise in self-dealing in which he sued an entity that is effectively under his control.

The suit concluded in May with a settlement agreement that created a since-abandoned $1.776 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the president, as well as immunity from tax audits.

“This was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law,” the judge wrote.

US military uses drone boats in a first-of-its-kind attack

U.S. Central Command says it used drone ships to hit an Iranian ship maintenance facility and submarine, calling it first.

“Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” the command said on social media Monday.

The post featured video of the drone boats approaching a dock that had a submarine sitting on top of it followed by aerial footage of the explosion on Sunday.

The strike comes despite the Trump administration’s claim that it has completely destroyed Iran’s navy.

The Corsair drones also were used to help rescue a pair of Army aviators from the waters off Oman early in June after their Apache helicopter was struck by an Iranian drone.

ICE involved in fatal shooting in Maine, state House speaker says

Democrat Ryan Fecteau posted on Facebook that the shooting Monday in Biddeford, outside Portland, involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that the State Police and Maine Department of Public Safety were at the scene, and that he expects the FBI to investigate.

Few details are available. ICE, the FBI and the Maine Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Project Relief, an immigrant rights advocacy group, posted that “a young person” from its community was killed “during an encounter with ICE in Biddeford.” Protesters have already begun gathering at Mechanics Park in Biddeford.

This would be at least the ninth death from an encounter with federal immigration officials since the start of the Trump administration’s mass deportations agenda and the second in a week, following the killing of a Houston man.

EU rallies dozens of nations to pledge $1 billion for recovery fund in Gaza

The European Union coordinated efforts to raise 900 million euros ($1 billion) in aid for Gaza, working with 65 governments and organizations including the White House and the United Nations, the bloc’s top diplomat said Monday.

Kaja Kallas announced the fund after a meeting of the Palestine Donors Group in Brussels.

“The EU is the most credible supporter, for the Palestinian people. We are the largest donor and the strongest backer of the two-state solution,” she said.

The meeting was the second gathering of the Team Gaza Initiative, an effort by the EU to rally support for recovery projects like sanitation and farming in the destitute and war-ravaged coastal enclave of some 2 million people.

Ukraine fears Graham’s death leaves weaker link to Trump

Just days before his death, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was standing in Kyiv’s St. Michael’s Square, giving Ukrainians reason for optimism: He said new hard-hitting bipartisan economic sanctions against Russia were within reach back in Washington.

Now Ukraine’s leaders are devastated. Graham had been one of Kyiv’s closest allies in Washington and a trusted intermediary with Trump, who had a strained relationship with Zelenskyy. They fear that without Graham, Ukraine’s ability to influence could be diminished across a broad range of issues.

“Huge and absolutely unexpected loss,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker with Zelenskyy’s party. “He was the closest link between Ukraine, our president and Trump,” he added. “Our position in Trump’s entourage might be weaker.”

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Ukraine and nine other countries announce a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles

Ukraine and nine other countries have formed a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles. The 10 countries announced the agreement at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris on Monday, taking advantage of Kyiv’s experience of fighting Russia.

“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” their statement said.

Zelenskyy went to France seeking help against Russia’s ballistic missiles, which have pummeled his country in the more than four years since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion.

Putin was unyielding after Kyiv’s long-range attacks on refineries, tankers and terminals have caused widespread fuel shortages. “Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told pro-Kremlin activists.

Trump says all but Iran will have ‘fair and open’ use of strait — after paying US a 20% toll

A fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the strait without paying any fees before Iran asserted control over it after the start of the war.

Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge fees in accordance with an interim peace deal reached last month. The U.S. and others dispute that, citing international law on freedom of navigation, and the American military has tried to establish an alternative route outside of Iranian control.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called for the strait to be open, as it was before the war. “Freedom of navigation has to be respected,” she said.

Trump says Gov. McMaster should appoint Graham’s sister to finish his term

Trump says he’s recommended that Lindsey Graham’s sister be named as his temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate.

Trump posted on social media Monday that Gov. Henry McMaster should appoint Darline Graham Nordone to fulfill the rest of Graham’s term, which expires in January.

Graham died over the weekend at age 71, and McMaster is expected to announce his pick later Monday afternoon.

After their parents died at a young age, Graham was left to raise his sister, whom he later adopted. The pair were very close, and Graham’s sister was by his side as he filed reelection paperwork earlier this year.

The Democratic Party’s direction also is at stake in Michigan and Wisconsin

Following the downfall of Graham Platner in Maine, progressives view the Upper Midwest Senate races as their last chance to shape the Democrats’ Senate caucus and prove their theory of the case in the midterm elections.

In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens is running against progressive Abdul El-Sayed for the state’s Democratic Senate nomination in a race Democrats must win to hold the seat held by Sen. Gary Peters, who is retiring and has endorsed Stevens.

In Wisconsin, democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong has surged in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary against more conventional Democratic lawmakers, including former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.

Michigan voters choose nominees on Aug. 4. The primaries in Minnesota and Wisconsin are Aug. 11.

▶ Read more

What happened to Minnesota nice?

In Minnesota, the two leading Senate candidates have clashed over electability, their ties to corporate interests and willingness to fight Trump’s administration.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, backed by progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, says her opponent, Rep. Angie Craig, is backed by “secretive dark money groups.”

“The very folks who are standing in the way of the things that people need to be able to afford their lives, who are Democrats, are funded by these corporate special interests,” Flanagan told The Associated Press.

Craig counters that Flanagan has raised campaign funds from major companies, and that if she becomes the Democratic nominee, Republicans would focus on her ties to an ongoing fraud inquiry into the state’s Medicaid programs. “To stop Donald Trump, we’ve got to win elections,” Craig told the AP.

The next big races between moderates and progressives are in pivotal Midwestern states

Progressives hope to prove economic populism resonates beyond deep blue enclaves. Democratic Party leaders worry progressive candidates could damage their brand and imperil their chances of retaking either chamber of Congress.

August primaries in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota will be another gauge of Democratic voters’ frustration with the establishment. The Upper Midwest is a battleground for progressives and moderates. The outcomes could impact Democrats’ chances in the upcoming midterms and shape their party’s future direction.

How will a special primary work?

South Carolina law requires a one-week filing period beginning July 21, for a special primary to be held on Aug. 11. A runoff if necessary would be held on Aug. 25, leaving the nominee just over two months to campaign for the general election on Nov. 3.

All of this is problematic according to federal law, which requires military and overseas ballots to go out 45 days before any federal election. For the general election primary, that would have been June 27. Federal Election Commission officials didn’t immediately return a message seeking clarity.

Congo since May has been battling the outbreak of a type of Ebola with no approved treatment or vaccine. Last week, the Congolese health minister, Roger Kamba, said the virus had spread to two more provinces.

The striking staff at Rwampara General Hospital in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, includes epidemiologists, case investigators, drivers and gravediggers who say they have not been paid by Congolese authorities. The protesting staff shut the hospital and blocked the road leading to it, even burning a tire outside.

“We don’t know how it is possible to not have been paid for two months,” Bahati Claude, a health worker at the hospital told The Associated Press. “We don’t want to give up the job.”

The treatment center is different from the one in Ituri where a study of two badly needed treatments began earlier this month.

Congolese authorities declared the Ebola outbreak on May 15, after the disease had been transmitting for weeks without official detection, according to the World Health Organization. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, and the delay in confirming the outbreak came in part because tests were done for a more common type of Ebola.

During a visit to Ituri last week, Congo's health minister said the government is verifying a list of those working to control the outbreak, as some unrelated names have been added to the payroll.

“We must ensure that these payments reach the right people,” Kamba said. “We have faced a few challenges, notably changes to the lists, which have led to complaints from people saying they are not being paid even though they are working. We have the means to sort this out.”

There are 1,926 confirmed cases in the country, including 702 deaths, according to Congolese authorities.

Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted Monday on X that a second U.S. citizen, a humanitarian worker in eastern Congo who had contracted Ebola, was transferred to Germany. The first American to test positive for the virus was a doctor working in Congo during the early weeks of the outbreak.

The two leading candidates, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, have clashed over electability, their ties to corporate interests and willingness to fight Republican President Donald Trump's administration in Washington. Millions of dollars in political ads have blanketed televisions and phone screens for a race that has become emblematic of Democrats' deeper divides.

The increasingly bitter contest will be among the next races where progressive candidates are facing more moderate rivals. August primaries in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota will be another gauge of Democratic voters’ frustration with the establishment. The races across the Upper Midwest may also offer another test of the electability of hard-left candidates.

After notable progressive successes so far this year, party leaders worry these candidates could damage Democrats' brand and imperil their chances of retaking either chamber of Congress this fall or maintaining the governor's mansion in a battleground state ahead of the 2028 presidential election. The progressive left says recent results prove their message is the party's path to victory.

Flanagan, who is backed by progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, last week convened a press conference to condemn “secretive dark money groups and special interests” she says are at work in the Minnesota race. She argued the groups are working to elect Craig, a more conventional Democrat backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other senior Democratic leaders.

“What we are facing right now in our party,” Flanagan told The Associated Press, “is the very folks who are standing in the way of the things that people need to be able to afford their lives, who are Democrats, are funded by these corporate special interests. That is the choice I think that we have, and people are onto it.”

Craig counters that Flanagan raised campaign funds from major companies while chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. She says that if Flanagan becomes the Democratic nominee, Republicans would focus on her ties to an ongoing fraud inquiry into the state's Medicaid programs.

“The coalition we’re building is people in Minnesota who understand that in order to stop Donald Trump, we’ve got to win elections,” Craig told the AP. She warned that Minnesota is often underappreciated as “the very definition of a swing state, and we simply can’t take this U.S. Senate seat for granted.”

Craig argued that it was important that Democrats do not reject corporate funding while Republicans continue to embrace backing from wealthy donors. She also said she supports major campaign finance reforms restricting the role of money in politics.

“But until we get to that day, it’s naive to think that we’re not going to need resources,” Craig said.

Upper Midwest becomes next theater in Democrats' progressive vs. moderate fight

The Minnesota primary, in which Flanagan and Craig are vying for the seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, is Aug. 11. Wisconsin also holds its primary that day — one week after voters will choose nominees in Michigan on Aug. 4.

In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens is running against progressive Abdul El-Sayed for the state's Democratic Senate nomination in a race Democrats must win to hold the seat held by Sen. Gary Peters, who is retiring and has endorsed Stevens. And in Wisconsin, democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong has surged in the state's Democratic gubernatorial primary against more conventional Democratic lawmakers, including former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.

In each case, progressives hope to prove that an economically populist message resonates with voters beyond deep blue enclaves where they have had recent success, like New York City and Denver. But Democratic leaders fear that the insurgent candidates risk blowing winnable races for Democrats with messages considered too radical for most voters.

Craig also criticized progressives for gambling with Democrats' chances to retake the Senate due to poor campaigning and vetting of candidates. She noted the recent downfall of Graham Platner, who easily won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine in June but dropped out of the race last week after facing an allegation of sexual assault, which he denies.

“We just saw one of our best Senate opportunities go down in flames in Maine, potentially, with that same coalition,” Craig said.

“And many of the same people are working on the lieutenant governor’s campaign as Graham Platner’s campaign," Craig added. "My coalition is statewide. I’m going everywhere. I’m talking to everyone. I’m working to bring people back to the (Democratic Party).”

Following the fallout from the Platner scandal, progressives view the Upper Midwest Senate races as their last chance to shape the Democrats' Senate caucus and prove their theory of the case in the midterm elections.

“Abdul El-Sayed was already the most important primary candidate in the nation, and this underscores the importance of that race, both in the primary and the general,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a political action committee that backs Flanagan and El-Sayed.

The organization views this year's Senate races in Michigan and Maine as key tests of whether progressives’ message and organizing strategies could prove effective in competitive races. The high-stakes strategy was meant to assuage potential concerns among Democratic voters that progressives are unelectable in competitive races ahead of the party’s 2028 presidential primary.

“Our hope is to not have an outlier but a pattern of shake-up-the-system economic fighters who win tough swing state elections," Green said.

A long populist history in the Midwest

The Upper Midwest has populist traditions going back decades, including by electing progressive and conservative populists, said Steven Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. The region was often a model for the Progressive Era’s reform-minded policies, but it also elected some of the most stridently conservative Cold War voices like Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.

“What’s interesting about the Upper Midwest is that you get well-developed and articulated left populism, and well-developed and articulated right populism in competition and combat. It produces some very lively election seasons,” Schier said.

More recently, the Great Lakes region has been the nation's marquee political battleground, with state legislatures and the presidential winner swinging between Democratic and Republican candidates for the last decade. No matter who wins, the results of the midterm primaries in the region will have major ripple effects in national politics.

“This culture will take broad concerns that populists bring up and trumpet them throughout the electoral system, and that’s true on both the right and the left up here," Schier said.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Mariano Rajoy, a member of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, made the comment in a column for Spanish outlet El Debate ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal between the European neighbors.

“They’ve won every match they’ve played at this World Cup and are currently top of the FIFA rankings. They also have an exceptionally strong squad. That said, one thing they don’t have is any French players," Rajoy wrote on July 10.

On Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told French broadcaster BFM TV that “France has no skin color. Any contrary claim stems from stupidity, racism or a combination of the two."

A day earlier, French Football Federation President Philippe Diallo wrote on X that “Mariano Rajoy’s remarks about the French team carry intolerable whiffs of racism,” adding that “they also raise questions about the deplorable climate that gives rise to such sentiments. Our players do not need a certificate of nationality from a former Spanish prime minister.”

A spokesperson from Rajoy's Popular Party on Monday said the remarks were sarcastic and made without malice.

“These columns are written without ill intent,” said spokesperson Borja Sémper. “This expression is used without ill intent.”

Spain's ruling Socialist government swiftly condemned the remarks by Rajoy, who was prime minister from 2011 to 2018.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez referenced the comments without naming his predecessor, writing on X: “There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin color. Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it. Playing soccer. Caring for our elders. Or opening businesses. France, we’ll see you in the semifinals. May the best one win and may racism lose."

France will face Spain on Tuesday in Dallas.

Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares also spoke out Monday, saying the Popular Party's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, needed to disavow the remarks.

It's not the first time France's team has faced racism during this World Cup.

Earlier this month, French captain and star player Kylian Mbappécondemned a Paraguayan senator over remarks she made following Paraguay’s loss to France in the round of 16.

Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, posted a series of comments on X mocking the French player’s origins, upbringing, education and appearance after France won on July 4 with a penalty by Mbappé.

A delicate drop shot which made Alexander Zverev change direction so suddenly that the German player over-extended his right knee at a crucial point of the third set.

Sure, there were plenty of the usual whizzing, missile-like baseline winners from Jannik Sinner in his four-set victory over Zverev in the Wimbledon final. He also showed off the new variety of his game, though — which came in handy when Zverev unleashed more power than he had used before against the top-ranked player.

The variety of shots were what Sinner’s two coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, appreciated most from their player in Sunday's match.

Just like the Big Three and Big Four before them — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — Sinner, Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz (who is out injured) are continually evolving their games, Cahill noted.

“Alexander is now playing a different style of tennis against Jannik,” Cahill said. “We know Jannik is going to have to improve in certain areas to handle that type of game. Carlos is going to come back really strong, as well — as we all hope … You need to keep adding things to his game.

“We saw a lot of the stuff he doesn’t normally like doing, even in the final today: sliced backhands, a couple lobs, couple drop shots. Really stepping up when he needed to in the big moments.”

Deficit to Alcaraz in Slams count reduced

Sinner’s second consecutive Wimbledon victory matched the two titles that Alcaraz won before him at the All England Club and raised his overall tally to five Grand Slams — narrowing the gap to Alcaraz’s seven.

Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury and it remains unclear if he’ll return in time for the year’s final Grand Slam at the U.S. Open.

Zverev’s performance in London leapfrogged him ahead of Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot when the new rankings were released Monday.

Zverev’s run on the grass followed his first major title at the French Open last month – after Sinner’s stunning second-round meltdown in Paris.

“Big, big respect to Sascha, because he’s doing something amazing. His game is growing and growing,” Sinner said, using Zverev’s nickname. “You have always someone who is pushing you to the limit. We hope that Carlos is coming back, as well, because tennis needs him.

“Having Novak still around, having all the young players coming, it’s really, really nice,” added Sinner, who beat the 39-year-old Djokovic in the semifinals. “At the same time, you always need to work hard.”

Sinner's mom couldn't watch on Centre Court

Sinner twice had to come back from a set down in a five-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round — when he also had to deal with blood seeping through his shoe due to a toenail issue.

He didn’t lose another set until Zverev unleashed a barrage of serves at up to 139 mph (224 kph) and backed those up with huge forehands to the corners.

Sinner knew he had a challenge to face when the first-set tiebreaker was decided by an inside-out forehand winner from Zverev.

So did Sinner’s mom, Siglinde, who couldn’t bare to watch some of the more tense moments on Centre Court.

“My mom, I see her, she left the stadium a couple of times,” Sinner said on court during his victory speech, glancing over after she had returned in time for the trophy ceremony. “It’s not easy.”

Chasing the sun

Amid stifling heat and humidity in Paris in late May, Sinner had his 30-match winning streak ended after coming within one game of a straight-set victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56.

Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and acknowledged during Wimbledon that doctors discovered what was bothering him — without revealing the details.

“His medical records are his medical records. We won’t speak about any of that,” Cahill said. “But it’s up to us to make some changes, to do some little things differently.”

Sinner now leaves the court often between sets to refresh himself, change his shirt and get a moment of air-conditioning. During another heat wave the week before Wimbledon began, he used an ice vest to cool down.

“Look, he’s a redhead that lives in the north of Italy, that grew up in the snow and the Alps. Hot weather is a little bit different for him than it is for most people,” Cahill said.

“The more time he spends in the heat, the better he’s going to be at it,” Cahill added. “We might even make some changes to the preseason, chasing the sun a little bit more, getting him more acclimatized to playing in these types of conditions.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The government said it is banning the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, or IMCR, also known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.

It also banned Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a threat to national security. Committing sabotage on behalf of the groups will be punishable by up to life imprisonment after Parliament approves the legislation, which the government expects to take place by the end of the week.

Security Minister Angela Eagle said in a statement that the IMCR has claimed seven attacks in the U.K. The group had said online that it was responsible for a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London in recent months, including fires at synagogues and Jewish charity ambulances, as well as a Persian-language media organization critical of Iran’s government. No one were injured in the blazes.

“Sitting behind IMCR were members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, who almost certainly directed IMCR attacks across Europe,” she said. Quds, or Jerusalem, Force is the Guard’s expeditionary unit.

The group sprang up online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Law enforcement officials and intelligence experts say Iran-backed proxy groups are behind a growing number of attacks in Europe, most targeting the Jewish community and Persian-language media critical of Iran’s Islamic government.

They typically work by recruiting members of criminal groups to carry out sabotage and other attacks.

A group under Russian military intelligence also under scrutiny

Authorities said Monday that Britain is also designating the GRU Volunteer Corps, a group controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency, as a national security threat. The U.K. says the group conducts foreign intelligence collection and hostile covert operations on behalf of the GRU.

Authorities said the new measures will make it easier for police and intelligence agencies to tackle what they call “thugs for hire," or anyone supporting the proxy groups.

“We have already taken tough action against the Iranian regime and those linked to it, and against Russian operatives and networks targeting our country. These new powers will make it easier to prosecute and lock up anyone carrying out their dirty work here in Britain," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

The bans come under a new U.K. law that took effect last week, giving the government powers to tackle proxy organizations carrying out hostile activity on behalf of foreign states.

Earlier this month, two Romanian men were given prison sentences over the stabbing of a journalist from a Persian-language television station, an attack the judge said was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.

There was no immediate comment from Iran.

The European Union in January listed the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on protests.

No casualties were reported, but the attacks marked an escalation not seen since a Saudi-led coalition struck Houthi-controlled areas several years ago. Saudi Arabian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the airstrikes in Yemen.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, in a video statement on Telegram, warned airlines against flying through Saudi airspace, saying these warnings should be taken "seriously until the blockade on Sanaa International Airport is lifted.”

The internationally recognized government in Yemen said earlier that the strikes that hit Sanaa International Airport were meant to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.

The Houthis vowed to retaliate for the strike, which marked the first major escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia following a period of relative calm.

The U.N. Security Council, in an emergency meeting on the developments Monday afternoon, officials expressed concern about the risk of a wider escalation.

“Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation,” U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs Khaled Khiari told the 15-member council. “We call on all actors to constructively engage in negotiations under UN auspices.”

For years, a Saudi-led coalition based in Yemen’s south has fought the Houthis in the north.

Saree said on Telegram earlier on Monday that Saudi Arabia launched the airstrikes in what he called the end of a period of “de-escalation.” He warned that “this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished.”

In the latest Telegram update, Saree said the strikes in Sanaa were aimed at “closing it to humanitarian flights carrying patients and stranded individuals to and from Sana’a International Airport.”

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, intervened the following year to try to restore the government to power. Tensions rose earlier this year between U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE as their yearslong partnership in the war in Yemen broke down, leading to the UAE pulling out of Yemen.

The official spokesperson of the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said Monday evening on X that air defenses dealt with ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward the southern region without providing further details.

The attack on the airport in Sanaa comes after tensions between the two sides flared earlier this month. The Houthis alleged that Saudi planes violated their airspace to try to prevent an Iranian plane from carrying a Houthi delegation to Tehran for the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Yemen's defense minister, Gen. Taher al-Aqili, said in a post on X that the airport’s runway was struck Monday to stop an Iranian plane transporting the Houthi delegation from returning from the funeral.

In a video statement released shortly before the strikes, al-Aqili warned against infiltrating Yemeni airspace with Iranian aircraft.

“At this moment, we say that our patience has run out. Accordingly, we will respond appropriately to this treacherous and brutal act, and we will confront and deal with the hostile aircraft violating Yemeni airspace and sovereignty by all available means,” he said.

The Houthis said the plane was diverted to Hodeida Airport, where it landed.

Video footage by the Houthi-controlled al-Masirah broadcaster appeared to show a missile striking a runway at Sanaa airport followed by a loud explosion.

A statement from the government in the south said that all airports in Yemen were “closed until further notice, with immediate effect.” The Yemeni defense ministry issued orders to evacuate the airport and surrounding areas.

Rashad al-Alimi, who leads Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said Iran had made a request to operate a flight by Iranian airline Mahan Air from Tehran to Sanaa to return the Houthi delegation.

The council, which denied the request, said in a statement Monday that Houthis had insisted on receiving the Iranian flight “outside the legal and sovereign frameworks governing civil aviation.”

Hans Grundberg, the U.N.'s special envoy for Yemen, said in a statement that his office is monitoring Yemeni airspace developments and expressed concern about the risk of wider escalation. He called on involved parties to engage in dialogue that preserves the “relative calm Yemen has experienced since 2022.”

Houthi-controlled areas were last targeted by the Saudi-led coalition before a U.N. brokered truce to cease hostilities came into effect in 2022.

The 25-year-old Adams died two weeks after helping South Africa reach the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time.

Authorities have not released a cause of death.

"Cape Town central police registered an inquest for investigation following the discovery of the body of a 25-year-old male on Saturday," police said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “Circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation.”

Police said the body was discovered at a property in the Cape Town neighborhood of Schotsche Kloof at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, but gave no more details.

Adams' father, Juanito Adams, told South African TV news station eNCA on Sunday that the family were waiting for the results of an autopsy and had not yet made any funeral plans.

“As you all know, it was an untimely death. The family is struggling to process it,” Juanito Adams said. “It won't be easy to carry on. People say it will become easier, but it won't. You just learn to live with it.”

Adams played in all three of South Africa's group games as it produced its best performance at the World Cup. He did not feature in the 1-0 loss to Canada in the round of 32 on June 28.

South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said Adams had played in his team's group game against Czech Republic hours after learning that his grandmother had died. McKenzie asked the public and media to “exercise restraint and compassion” and not speculate on the cause of Adams' death while authorities conduct an investigation.

There were moments of silence and tributes for Adams at the England vs. Norway and Argentina vs. Switzerland World Cup quarterfinal games on Saturday.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Miami forecast high is 95 degrees; the record is 96, so we could be flirting with record heat this afternoon. Saharan dust has arrived and this will limit the rain chances and help warm up the temperatures. Keep it tuned to Local 10 for more.

The gusher of investment in data centers — likely topping $700 billion this year — to power artificial intelligence has made memory chips, computer processors and other equipment, as well as electricity, more expensive. Economists expect it will continue to push up inflation at least through the end of this year.

While it won't be as large a spike as occurred in 2021-2023, when inflation peaked at 9.1%, massive AI spending is likely to keep prices rising more quickly than the Federal Reserve would like. Such increases could lead the central bank to lift its key interest rate later this year to cool spending and bring down inflation. Higher rates from the Fed often boost borrowing costs for auto loans, mortgages, and business loans.

Fed officials will closely watch June's inflation report, to be released Tuesday, for further signs of AI's impact on prices. Inflation last month likely cooled as gasoline prices have fallen after a ceasefire was reached between the U.S. and Iran, though whether that trend continues is now unclear as the U.S. and Iran have resumed fighting.

AI spending is lifting prices for consumer electronics

Just four large tech companies — Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft — are expected to invest $720 billion this year, mostly on data centers.

Those data centers use a lot of semiconductors, and chip supplies have run low. As a result, economists at JPMorgan Chase estimate that the cost of some computer memory chips will have soared by as much as 400% between 2024 and the end of this year.

Americans are already seeing higher prices for a range of consumer electronics, including laptops, smartphones, video game consoles, and computers. Electricity prices are also jumping as data centers absorb a growing share of new electrical capacity.

In a high-profile announcement last month, Apple announced it was boosting prices for laptops and iPads by about 15% to 25%. A topline MacBook will now cost $1,999, up from $1,699.

Many analysts expect price hikes will come for iPhones next.

“The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," Apple said in a statement. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”

On the same day, Microsoft announced that the price of its Xbox video game console will increase $100 by Aug. 1, citing higher prices for memory chips. Sony is also charging more for the PlayStation, while Dell Computer and HP have raised prices for their laptops.

A “wave of AI-related cost pressures spilling over into consumer prices is still in the early stages of building,” analysts at investment bank Evercore ISI recently wrote.

It's the latest in a series of waves that have boosted inflation

The impact on broader measures of inflation may be relatively modest, with many economists forecasting that AI investment will boost core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, by roughly a half-percentage point by the end of this year.

Still, that could be enough to offset declining prices elsewhere, as the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs continues to fade and as rental costs cool. Core inflation, according to the Fed's preferred measure, was 3.4% in May and some economists now expect it may decline only slightly by the end of the year, remaining well above the Fed's 2% target.

The boost from AI may prove temporary, but it follows previous waves of higher prices stemming from tariffs and the gas price spike resulting from the Iran war. The Fed typically “looks through,” or ignores, temporary price increases, rather than boosting rates to fight them, but an ongoing series of temporary price shocks could threaten to create more sustained inflation, which has already been above the Fed's target for more than five years.

“In isolation one or two such shocks is perhaps transitory, something they’re willing to live with,” said Abiel Reinhart, an economist at J.P. Morgan. "A sustained series of shocks, or a wider range of shocks, becomes more concerning to them.”

Federal Reserve officials have increasingly focused on AI

Fed policymakers are increasingly focused on AI's inflationary impact. Kevin Warsh, who took over as chair May 22, has said he believes that over time AI will make the U.S. economy more efficient, which should reduce inflation even as growth accelerates.

He acknowledged in remarks July 1, however, that AI investment is now boosting demand, but declined to speculate on how inflationary the impact would be.

Yet many Fed officials worry that demand for AI-related gear will continue to outstrip available supply, a recipe for persistent price increases.

“If this creates a sustained impulse to demand relative to supply in inflation, I do think that’s the kind of situation where you don’t look through this,” John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said Thursday. Williams is also vice chair of the Fed's rate-setting committee. Williams has supported keeping rates unchanged, but his comment suggests that under some scenarios he could support a hike.

According to the minutes of the Fed's June 16-17 policy meeting, released Wednesday, many other officials share Williams' concerns.

Another channel through which AI could raise inflation is through its huge demand for electricity, which has caused many utilities to raise prices. Power companies throughout the U.S. are adding more capacity, an expensive step that can also boost electricity costs.

According to the government's consumer price index, electricity prices rose 5.9% in May compared with a year earlier, a bigger increase than overall inflation, which was 4.2%. After a pandemic spike, electricity price gains had dropped back to about 2% annually in early 2025.

While prices for computer chips could peak this year and then decline, experts expect electricity demand from AI will push up utility costs into 2028 or even beyond. In February, economists at Goldman Sachs forecast that electricity prices will rise 6% this year and next, and an above-average 3% in 2028.

“We do know what effect AI is having on inflation now, and it is inflationary, not deflationary,” Dario Perkins, an economist at TSLombard, wrote this week.

Growing awareness of the dangers social media poses for young, developing brains has shown up in a wave of new restrictions globally. Australia, the U.K., Turkey, Indonesia and others have passed bans on kids under 16 or 15 from using platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

Laying out a list of her concerns about the use of social media by kids, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — a doctor by training — said that children under 3 should have no exposure to screens at all.

“I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges because childhood won’t wait and once it’s gone, we can never give it back,” von der Leyen told reporters.

“Just as we don’t give our children keys to the car before they have their license, or we do not let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed. We need to set the age at which they can, the children can, legally access social media,” she said.

Von der Leyen noted infinite scrolling as one of the “addictive” traits that tech companies must address.

The commission has also been targeting tech companies through other means, and last week used its sweeping Digital Safety Act to warn Meta that it needs to disable addictive design features such as infinite scrolling or risk a hefty fine.

Von der Leyen said there should “phased and gradual access for different age ranges” to social media. Children under 13 should only have “time-limited” access under the supervision of parents, teachers or other caregivers, she told reporters.

Teenagers should be given gradual access to platforms that can prove they are “age appropriate” and safe for them, she said.

While she didn't go into further detail, she and the European Commission — the EU’s powerful executive branch — are likely to come up with a proposal for the 27 member countries to weigh in the near future. Von der Leyen’s policy proposals carry great influence with EU member countries.

A special panel set up to study child safety online delivered its report to the EU chief on Monday. The report said that when it comes to safety, “the burden of proof needs to be on providers, not regulators, parents and children.”

“Until they demonstrate that their services are safe by design, social media and other digital services providers should have restricted access to children under the age of 13 in the EU,” said the report, which is likely to influence von der Leyen's thinking.

It recommended that “further precautionary age restrictions” should be considered by EU countries for children over 13.

Many social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok already prohibit anyone under the age of 13 from signing up for an account. But those restrictions have been criticized for being too easy to get around and the EU's digital regulators accused Instagram's parent Meta Platforms earlier this year of failing to keep underage users of the site.

The European Commission is working on its own age verification app that will let users prove their age while keeping their identity anonymous.

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Chan reported from Toronto.

“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against Russia's missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of Europe wary of Moscow’s wider ambitions on the continent.

Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.

“We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats,” the statement said. “We recognize Ukraine’s unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia.”

The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and said the plan remained open to other countries.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system with missiles that would let Europe supply itself with new antiballistic capability and provide it to others around the world who need protection.

Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down

Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic retaliation to Kyiv's recent long-range attacks on refineries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.

“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists.

European foreign ministers were meeting separately in Brussels where they discussed Ukraine’s needs and Russia’s threats to the continent.

Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate efforts with European countries to develop its air defenses ahead of winter, when Russia usually intensifies its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.

Ukrainian officials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge last week to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian officials warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take years. It was unclear how quickly a European system could be built.

Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations

Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine’s recent successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the fighting, although Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace efforts by the Trump administration.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris meeting but dismissed its aspirations.

“This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said. “They are driven by the profound delusion that it’s possible to inflict a strategic defeat on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite the war.”

Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge recently, analysts and Western officials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress slow and costly, they say.

Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days

Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula between July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tugboats, Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.

The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian effort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics. Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian officials made no immediate comment.

European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv

The Paris meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which brings together more than 30 countries and about 25 heads of state and government, appeared to be a demonstration of a long-term commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe's resilience.

Zelenskyy’s trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters in Washington. Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham "the closest link between Ukraine, our president and Trump.”

The trip also comes amid a major reshuffle of Zelenskyy's government that saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon the Russian ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about “a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries.”

Ukraine's neighbors have also felt the war's impact.

In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova’s territory, Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday. It said the incident was “serious and unacceptable.”

Ukraine fires over 300 drones toward Moscow

Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its domestically developed long-range drones and missiles.

Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, adding that three people were killed and three were injured by the attack in the Pionersky settlement in the western part of the Moscow region.

The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134 long-range strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at Ukraine.

A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region set fire to a docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the flag of Togo, killing five crew members and wounding 10, said regional military administration head Oleh Kiper.

Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation

Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan for a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals.

Small drones were smuggled into Russia’s Bryansk region using air balloons and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air bases by Ukrainian agents, who were arrested, the security service said.

A covert Ukrainian operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet with drones carried secretly into Russia, according to Ukrainian officials.

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Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Lorne Cook in Brussels and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

La técnica, conocida como “tableros de ajedrez de paja”, es un método sencillo pero ampliamente utilizado para estabilizar las dunas de arena frente al viento y ayudar a que las plantas echen raíces con agua suministrada a través de un sistema de riego.

La extensa retícula que creó sobre la arena se ha convertido en la imagen icónica de la campaña de China, de décadas de duración, contra la expansión de las condiciones desérticas, conocida como el Programa de Bosques Protectores de las Tres Regiones del Norte o la Gran Muralla Verde.

Las generaciones de trabajo han logrado avances medibles, pero los científicos advierten que preservar los logros requerirá décadas de esfuerzo continuo.

Durante mucho tiempo, la sequía, el sobrepastoreo y la agricultura eliminaron la vegetación, dañaron el suelo y dejaron zonas vulnerables al viento y a las tormentas de arena. Ese tipo de degradación de la tierra con el paso del tiempo se conoce como desertificación. El área de tierras desertificadas en el norte de China alcanzó su punto máximo en 2000, y desde entonces se ha reducido en más de 1.000 kilómetros cuadrados (400 millas cuadradas) cada año, según datos publicados por medios estatales.

El gobierno chino afirmó que la iniciativa, iniciada en 1978, ha desempeñado un papel crucial en la transformación de vastas regiones que abarcan casi la mitad de China, pasando de “la desertificación avanza y la gente retrocede” a “el verdor avanza y la desertificación retrocede”. Los bosques plantados por el programa ahora cubren en total, 500.000 kilómetros cuadrados (200.000 millas cuadradas).

“La amplia importancia del Programa de las Tres Regiones del Norte no radica solo en la escala de la restauración, sino en el compromiso político de largo plazo que hay detrás”, señaló Barron Joseph Orr, científico jefe de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas de Lucha contra la Desertificación. En una respuesta a The Associated Press, escribió que revertir la desertificación es posible cuando pasa a formar parte de estrategias de desarrollo a largo plazo.

En otros lugares, los esfuerzos para combatir la desertificación han incluido un proyecto lanzado en África en 2007 para plantar árboles en varios países con el fin de frenar el avance del desierto del Sahara.

Medir el éxito de la Gran Muralla Verde

Zhu Jiaojun, científico del Instituto de Ecología Aplicada de la Academia China de Ciencias, quien desde hace mucho tiempo se ha dedicado a la construcción y gestión del programa, señaló que el progreso es resultado de los esfuerzos de los trabajadores de primera línea en el control de la arena, junto con la planificación de alto nivel y una inversión estatal sustancial. Añadió que el aumento de las precipitaciones en años recientes en algunas zonas ha facilitado la restauración de la vegetación.

“El logro en la lucha contra la desertificación se debe al duro trabajo de la gente y a un poco de suerte con el clima”, comentó Zhu.

Según datos de monitoreo a largo plazo del equipo de Zhu, las tierras desertificadas de China se han reducido en torno a un 10% en general desde 2000, y las áreas de desertificación severa o extrema han disminuido en más de un 40%. La cobertura forestal en el área del programa ha aumentado de alrededor del 5% en 1978 al 14% en 2022.

En una reciente visita de prensa organizada por el gobierno a un rincón del desierto de Kubuqi, unos 800 kilómetros (500 millas) al oeste de Beijing, Yin Yuzhen, de 60 años, relató sus primeros días como trabajadora de control de desierto como “muy solitarios”. Mientras trabajaba junto a su esposo cerca de su ciudad natal en el vecino desierto de Mu Us, dijo que era una delicia encontrarse con cualquier otra criatura.

“Incluso el paso de un pájaro por el cielo me hacía feliz”, recordó Yin.

Hace cuatro décadas, recordó, el viento levantaba tanta arena que resultaba difícil ver a corta distancia.

“Pero ahora podemos ver el sol. Podemos ver el verde a lo lejos. Podemos ver la carretera”, afirmó Yin.

Ahora, ella y su esposo trabajan todos los días desde el amanecer hasta el mediodía, cuidando los árboles y reparando o reemplazando los tableros de ajedrez. Les ayudan sus hijos y, a veces, voluntarios locales.

Zhu, el científico, estimó que más de 300 millones de trabajadores rurales han participado en el programa, en su mayoría de manera remunerada y a tiempo parcial.

Mantener tanto la tierra como el sustento

Orr indicó que los ecosistemas restaurados en tierras áridas pueden volverse cada vez más autosostenibles con el tiempo, pero aun así requieren una gestión cuidadosa y un monitoreo a largo plazo, y que el éxito depende de factores como la disponibilidad de agua y la salud del suelo.

El grupo de defensa ambiental Green Camel Bell, en la provincia de Gansu, trabaja para explicar la desertificación y sus riesgos a agricultores y pastores, plantar árboles con ellos en zonas de tierras áridas y ayudar a restaurar y sostener la vegetación.

“Los esfuerzos para combatir la desertificación y restaurar los bosques deberían vincularse a los medios de vida locales, para que las comunidades no vean el desarrollo económico y la protección ecológica como una elección entre una cosa u otra”, indicó su fundador, Zhao Zhong.

Orr coincidió en que los esfuerzos de restauración tienen muchas más probabilidades de tener éxito si se estructuran para ayudar a que las comunidades se beneficien económicamente.

Zhu dijo que una pregunta clave para el proyecto es cómo puede sostenerse la conservación si se reduce la escala de la intervención humana y la inversión.

“Esto es lo que nos preocupa mucho y también es el mayor desafío”, advirtió Zhu.

Yin espera que la generación más joven continúe su trabajo.

“Necesitamos enseñar a los jóvenes a amar esta Tierra", señaló. "Si la amamos con todo el corazón, la naturaleza nos amará de vuelta”.

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La productora de video Olivia Zhang contribuyó a esta historia.

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La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo financiero de múltiples fundaciones privadas. AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido. Encuentre las normas de AP para trabajar con filantropías, una lista de patrocinadores y las áreas de cobertura financiadas en AP.org.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

The EU decision affects nine people and four entities accused of links to an online spying network that the bloc said has targeted governments and carried out sabotage operations against critical infrastructure like heating and power plants since 2010. Britain slapped sanctions on 24 people and entities.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said those hit by the sanctions “contribute to Russia’s efforts to destabilize the EU, its member states and international partners.”

France, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania and Finland, “among others,” have fallen prey to the network, she said in a statement.

Germany summoned Russia's ambassador, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris intends to call in Russia's envoy in the coming days. He told French BFM television that the aim of the cyberactivities is “either to capture information, or sabotage the operation, for example, of railway infrastructures, as it was the case in Poland.”

The EU focused its sanctions, which are mostly asset freezes and travel bans, on the 16th Center of Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Kallas said the FSB has been “controlling a variety of cyberthreat groups,” and said it “has conducted a wide range of malicious cyberactivities with growing severity.”

Some countries have accused Russia of using cyberattacks and propaganda to interfere with elections.

In April, Sweden said a pro-Russian group with links to Russia’s security and intelligence services was behind a cyberattack on a heating plant last year. The announcement followed warnings from officials in Poland, Norway, Denmark and Latvia that Russia is attacking critical infrastructure across Europe.

With its sanctions, the EU notably targeted a member of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, Yevgeny Bashev, and a company it says he runs, Impuls.

“The company provides technical and material support to cyberattacks and attempted cyberattacks conducted by GRU Unit 29155,” the sanctions notification said. It said the actions of Impuls “constitute an external threat” to EU member countries and have had “a significant effect” on an unnamed country outside the bloc.

Britain said Impuls recruited hackers and cyber specialists from Russian universities and academies. It slapped sanctions on Bashev as well as three other senior GRU officials “for their role in directing GRU cyber and hybrid threat operations.”

Britain believes Russian intelligence agencies “have tasked cybercriminals to collect intelligence to support Russia’s military and foreign policy objectives, threatening security across Europe.”

Peters, who is retiring after 12 years in the Senate, said Stevens “will be ready on day one to fight for Michigan.” The endorsement, which was announced Monday, marks a reversal for Peters, who told The Associated Press in late May that he intended to stay neutral in the race.

But since then, Democratic leaders have increasingly rallied behind Stevens as the Aug. 4 primary approaches and concerns grow that El-Sayed is too far left to succeed in November. Holding the Michigan seat is viewed as critical to Democrats’ hopes of reclaiming the Senate majority.

Stevens, a four-term House member, has campaigned as a more moderate Democrat focused on manufacturing issues in the critical battleground state. El-Sayed, who has never held elected office, is running on a more progressive platform that includes Medicare for All and campaign finance reform. He's also been outspoken about the war in Gaza, which has been a fault line within the party.

Concerns about Michigan have only intensified after Democrats’ attempt to flip a Senate seat in Maine was thrown into turmoil when nominee Graham Platner withdrew from the race following a sexual assault allegation last week. Democrats there must now choose a new nominee to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Peters’ endorsement also comes after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of Michigan’s Democratic primary earlier this month, transforming the race into a head-to-head contest between Stevens and El-Sayed.

“Senator Peters knows what it takes to win in Michigan, and he knows what Michigan needs from our next U.S. Senator: grit, effectiveness, hard work, and Michigan common sense,” Stevens said in a statement. “I am honored to have his support.”

Peters won two Senate races in Michigan and led Senate Democrats’ campaign arm during the 2022 and 2024 election cycles.

His endorsement adds to Stevens’ growing support from the Democratic establishment, with the race being viewed nationally as a broader fight over the party’s direction.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has also backed Stevens, along with Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. El-Sayed has support from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and, more recently, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.

The campaign has grown increasingly contentious in recent weeks.

El-Sayed has attacked Stevens over tens of millions of dollars in outside spending supporting her campaign, including by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Stevens has criticized El-Sayed for not disclosing his personal financial records.

During a July 7 debate, each accused the other of running a negative campaign.

“Abdul has spent this entire campaign attacking me,” Stevens said.

The Democratic winner will likely face Republican Mike Rogers, a former member of the U.S. House running uncontested for his party's nomination, in what is expected to be one of the country’s most expensive and closely watched Senate races.

The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar was the city’s deadliest in 17 years. It broke out late Sunday in a northern part of the Thai capital, and firefighters needed half an hour to bring it under control. The fire left 25 people hospitalized in critical condition, city officials said.

Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said most of the deaths were caused by smoke inhalation.

By daybreak Monday, the site had been cordoned off as dozens of forensic officers sought clues about what caused the fire. The bar's street-facing windows were blown out, and debris littered the sidewalk, including charred television sets, speakers and an electric guitar. Associated Press journalists looking through the shattered windows could see empty beer bottles still sitting atop burned tables.

The bar, which in Thai calls itself a brewery or beer hall, claimed to accommodate as many as 600 customers. It was not clear how many were present Sunday night.

According to Bangkok’s Erawan emergency services center, 73 people were hurt. The Bangkok city government said there were 28 dead, one more than Erawan’s tally.

The dead were trapped in bathrooms

National Police Chief Kittharath Punpetch said most of the dead were found trapped in windowless bathrooms near one of the rear exits, where they may have sought shelter from the flames.

He said the exit was not used, and people may have been blocked from reaching it by a table set up in a hall to sell candy, or because it was too dark to find the way out.

Access to another exit near the kitchen might also have been narrowed by shelving units and lockers, said Kittharath, who visited the scene Monday. There were signs that at least some of the exit doors might have been locked, he added.

Investigators focused on the ceiling above a performance stage, where they found materials that may have been used as decorative elements, he said. Police will examine whether flammable materials were used in the interior and how electrical wiring was installed across the ceiling.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters that a musician who was performing at the bar told him he saw smoke coming out of a circuit breaker near the stage before the power went out. Then an explosion was heard, and thick smoke quickly filled the place.

Video posted on social media showed people fleeing as flames shot out of the single-story building and black smoke billowed into the sky.

Buddhist monks prayed for the dead

Several Buddhist monks visited the site Monday to pray for the victims, while nurses handed out face masks to help protect people from lingering smoke and fumes from the building.

A registration site was set up to gather information from relatives looking for loved ones.

Singer Sukanya Wongwongwai said she was performing nearby when she heard about the fire and rushed to the scene because several of her bandmates were performing at the bar. She said one of them died, three were hospitalized and one had not been located. Her band later announced on Facebook that the missing member was also found hospitalized.

“From what I heard from people who were inside when the fire started, everything went dark. The power was out, and there was smoke everywhere, so they couldn’t locate other people,” she said.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the bar offered apologies and condolences and said it was cooperating with investigators. It said the bar’s owner suffered serious injuries and was in an intensive care unit.

Mourning family members identify the dead at a morgue

Family members gathered at Bangkok's Institute of Forensic Medicine to identify the dead.

Keo Oudone Poungpany, 24, was at the institute to identify his younger brother's body. Both of the brothers, migrant workers from neighboring Laos, were working as bar employees when the fire broke out.

Poungpany said he was using a restroom outside the bar when the fire began.

He described walking back toward the bar and encountering dozens of people running away from the flames and hearing loud noises.

From the outside the bar, he began shouting for his brother. “The heat was unbearable, I couldn’t get back in,” he said.

“For now, I want to bring my younger brother’s body back home,” Poungpany said. “I want to bring him home to my parents. My parents are waiting for their kids to come back together, but now one is gone.”

In 2022, 14 people were killed by a fire at a music bar in the eastern part of the country. And more than a decade before that, 67 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a fire during a Jan. 1, 2009, New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub in Thailand's capital. That blaze was apparently sparked by an indoor fireworks display.

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This report corrects the total number of dead from the 2009 fire at Bangkok's Santika nightclub to 67. The number 66 in previous versions was based on an earlier story that had not been updated.

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Sahatthaya Kraikhunthot contributed to this report.

That suggests the generational divide on Israel’s actions since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war in Gaza extends beyond politics to religious identity.

“I pray for people in the land of Israel. I don’t need to pray for the state,” said Cameron Bernstein, a 27-year-old medical student in New Orleans. She was raised with strong ties to Israel, where she celebrated her bat mitzvah, but said that now “it doesn’t play a role in my life, more than another country with people I love.”

The survey of 1,022 Jewish adults from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that this split on support for Israel is particularly apparent among adults like her who identify as religiously Jewish. Jewish adults who are religiously unaffiliated but identify as Jewish in other ways tend to have less of an emotional connection to Israel in general.

Among the religiously Jewish adults — who make up 68% of Jewish adults overall — about 6 in 10 say that being Jewish is “extremely” or “very” important in their life, regardless of their age.

But about half of older religious Jewish adults say that supporting Israel is “extremely” or “very” important for their Jewish identity, similar to the percentage who say that about celebrating Jewish holidays. By contrast, only about 4 in 10 younger religious Jewish adults emphasize support for Israel, while about 7 in 10 say celebrating Jewish holidays is highly important.

Susan Boyer, 72, from Southern California, equates supporting Israel with supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland in the Middle East.

Like many other Jewish Americans, the retiree believes Israel is an essential refuge against the possible repetition of large-scale massacres of Jewish people, like the Holocaust, especially as concern about antisemitism rises among Jewish adults.

“I’ve been defending myself as a Jew since I was a child ... getting mugged by girls in my classes for being a Jew,” Boyer said. “It’s invasive into your daily living that you have to constantly, constantly be defending yourself as a Jew, constantly making sure that nobody is redefining you or nobody is like insulting your land.”

To Ari Pollack, a 30-year-old arts fundraiser in Wisconsin, Israel’s military operations — especially in the last few years — provide fodder for antisemitism and thus make everywhere less safe for Jews.

“I’m personally pretty opposed to basically everything Israel’s doing these days,” said Pollack, who grew up attending religious school. “A source of a lot of frustration that I have for the Jewish establishment is that sort of dogmatic teaching of pro-Israel ideas that I’ve had to unlearn as an adult. And it’s part of what’s kept me away from, you know, attending regular synagogue services.”

Like about 3 in 10 religious Jewish adults under 45, Pollack says that Israel has committed genocide during the war in Gaza, a charge that Israel has vehemently denied. That’s compared with about 2 in 10 Jewish adults ages 45 and older.

The poll suggests that other elements of Judaism remain important to many younger Jewish adults. Americans under 45 who identify as religiously Jewish are more likely than older Jewish adults to say that marking or celebrating Shabbat or avoiding certain foods, like pork or shellfish, are highly important to their Jewish identity.

Phoebe Wapnitsky, a 32-year-old in Connecticut, also strongly opposes Israel’s military actions, which she perceives as unaligned with Jewish values.

“Standing against oppression, promoting social justice — those are the roles that Judaism plays in my life,” she said, adding that she felt disconnected from Israel even before the Oct. 7 attack.

Brian Ebarb, a 47-year-old attorney in Louisiana, also says his Jewish identity was about “action and community” — but those include supporting Israel.

“When the government makes mistakes, it should be criticized,” he said, but added that shouldn’t become an excuse for attacking an entire people. “The existence of the state of Israel is so precarious that we have to be careful and not allow criticism of Israel to become criticism of Jews worldwide.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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The AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults was conducted June 11-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The poll included interviews with 1,022 Jewish adults. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points and the margin of sampling error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Era uno de varios incendios forestales que ardían en países de Europa occidental al tiempo que la región sufre su tercera ola de calor con alerta roja este año.

En España, el lunes aún había 10 personas desaparecidas por un incendio que arrasó la semana pasada una remota comunidad de ciudadanos extranjeros en el sur, y que mató a 13 personas en uno de los fuegos más mortíferos en el país.

El incendio en el bosque de Fontainebleau es inusual por su proximidad a la capital francesa, a unos 70 kilómetros (42 millas). La región alberga el castillo de Fontainebleau, apreciado por Napoleón, y es popular entre visitantes de París y de otros lugares.

El presidente francés Emmanuel Macron dijo que se estaban desplegando todos los medios necesarios para combatir el incendio de “escala excepcional”.

Se desplegaron dos aviones que arrojaban agua sobre la zona, junto con cientos de bomberos en tierra, informó el portavoz del servicio regional de bomberos, Paul Laurain, a la radiodifusora pública France-Info.

El jefe de la administración regional, Pierre Ory, dijo a medios franceses que hay una pesquisa en marcha y que se estaba considerando la posibilidad de un incendio provocado.

Se ha declarado un nuevo incendio en otra sección del bosque, dijo Ory. El incendio inicial aún no está contenido y seguía propagándose a un ritmo moderado.

“Los vientos están cambiando, lo que está complicando significativamente el trabajo de los bomberos”, dijo.

Los trenes hacia y desde la concurrida estación Gare de Lyon sufrieron interrupciones a última hora del domingo, pero volvían a la normalidad el lunes por la mañana. Un tramo de la transitada autopista A6, que conduce hacia el sureste desde París, fue cerrado por el riesgo de incendio.

Grandes fuegos en el sur de Francia ya han calcinado miles de hectáreas desde la semana pasada, lo que interrumpió la carrera ciclista del Tour de France y puso al límite los recursos de extinción.

Francia atraviesa el pico de su tercera ola de calor del verano, con temperaturas que superan los 40 grados Celsius (104 grados Fahrenheit) en zonas del oeste y del centro, y alrededor de 37 ºC (98 ºF) en París.

España se recupera de incendio forestal mortal

Un ciudadano británico de 93 años murió el domingo en un hospital por heridas sufridas en el incendio forestal de Los Gallardos, lo que elevó el número de muertos a 13.

Se esperaba que el presidente del gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, visitara el lugar del incendio el lunes. Las autoridades regionales dijeron que el incendio fue contenido el domingo después de afectar unos 70 kilómetros cuadrados (27 millas cuadradas) de bosque y tierras de cultivo, un área mayor que el tamaño de Manhattan.

España también sufre calor extremo, que combinado con el viento y las escasas lluvias está creando las condiciones ideales para que pequeños incendios forestales crezcan sin control.

Europa es el continente que se calienta más rápido en el mundo, con temperaturas que aumentan el doble de rápido que el promedio mundial desde la década de 1980, según el Servicio de Cambio Climático Copernicus de la Unión Europea.

Evacuan viviendas en el Reino Unido debido a incendios

En el Reino Unido, se evacuó a personas de varias decenas de viviendas rurales en el norte de Gales después que un incendio forestal se declarara en una ladera montañosa el domingo, reportaron medios británicos.

Incendios forestales también ardían en varios lugares de Inglaterra al tiempo que otra ola de calor —la tercera este año— generaba condiciones calurosas, soleadas y secas.

La Oficina Meteorológica (Met Office) informó que las olas de calor récord desde mayo han llevado a que 2026 se convierta en el primer año en registrar temperaturas de 35 ºC (95 ºF) o más en seis días separados. Eso superó el récord anterior establecido en 1976 y 2020, cuando se registraron cinco días con esas temperaturas.

El índice de severidad de incendios de Natural England ha situado a gran parte de Inglaterra en riesgo “muy alto” de incendios forestales, con algunas zonas del sur de Inglaterra y las Midlands en riesgo “excepcional”.

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Naishadham reportó desde Madrid. Eva Van Dam en París y Sylvia Hui en Londres contribuyeron a este despacho.

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Una versión anterior corrigió edad de ciudadano británico que murió el domingo.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

It was among several wildfires in western Europe as the region bakes under its third red-alert heat wave this year.

In Spain, 10 people were still unaccounted for Monday from a fire that ripped through a remote southern expatriate community last week, killing 13 people in one of the country's deadliest blazes.

The Fontainebleau forest fire is unusual for its proximity to the French capital — about 70 kilometers (42 miles). The region hosts the Fontainebleau Chateau favored by Napoleon and is popular with visitors from Paris and beyond.

French President Emmanuel Macron said all necessary means were being deployed to fight the fire of ″exceptional scale.”

Two water-dumping planes were deployed over the area along with hundreds of firefighters, regional fire service spokesperson Paul Laurain told public broadcaster France-Info.

The head of the regional administration, Pierre Ory, told French media that an investigation is underway and that arson was being considered a possibility.

A new fire has broken out in another section of the forest, Ory said. The initial fire is still not contained and was continuing to spread at a moderate rate.

“Winds are turning, which is significantly complicating the work of the firefighters," he said.

Trains to and from the bustling Gare de Lyon train station were disrupted late Sunday but were returning to normal Monday morning. A section of the busy A6 highway leading southeast of Paris was shut down because of fire risk.

Large fires in southern France have already scorched thousands of hectares (acres) since last week, disrupting the Tour de France cycling race and stretching firefighting resources.

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave of the summer, with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris.

Spain reeling from deadly wildfire

A 93-year-old British national died Sunday in a hospital from injuries sustained in the Los Gallardos wildfire, elevating the death toll to 13.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was expected to visit the site of the fire on Monday. Regional authorities said the blaze was contained Sunday after affecting some 70 square kilometers (27 square miles) of forest and farmland — larger than the size of Manhattan.

Spain is experiencing extreme heat, which combined with wind and little rainfall is creating the ideal conditions for small wildfires to grow unchecked.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Homes evacuated in UK due to fires

In the U.K., people were evacuated from several dozen rural homes in north Wales after a wildfire broke out across a mountainside on Sunday, British media reported.

Wildfires also burned in several locations across England as another heat wave — the third this year — brought hot, sunny and dry conditions.

The Met Office said record heat waves since May have led to 2026 becoming the first year to record temperatures of 35 C (95 F) or higher on six separate days. That broke the previous record set in 1976 and 2020, when five days were recorded with such temperatures.

Natural England’s fire severity index has put much of England at “very high” risk of wildfires, with some areas in southern England and the Midlands at “exceptional” risk.

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Naishadham reported from Madrid. Eva Van Dam in Paris and Sylvia Hui in London contributed.

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A previous version corrected the age of a British national who died Sunday.

In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He died on Monday in Sydney, according to a statement posted to the actor’s social media page.

His death was “sudden and unexpected,” the statement said, adding that he “remained cancer free” when he died. A cause of death wasn’t specified. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,” his family wrote.

Tributes were paid by fellow actors and directors, including Steven Spielberg, who helmed the first “Jurassic Park” movie.

“I adored making all the ‘Jurassic’ movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world,” Spielberg said in a statement.

Actor Sharon Lawrence wrote on Instagram: “Condolences and appreciation for the immense joy and mastery Sam Neill brought our industry."

Actor came to world's notice with ‘Dead Calm’ and ‘My Brilliant Career’

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s, along with Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong. His range was remarkable, playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy “Sweet Revenge” to chopping off Hunter’s finger in “The Piano” to poking his own eyes out in the sci-fi horror “Event Horizon.”

He portrayed both saintly and sinner: In “Omen III: The Final Conflict,” he played Damien the Antichrist, and he also played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in “The Tudors.”

The actor first came to the attention of international audiences in Armstrong’s 1979 film “My Brilliant Career,” which also introduced Judy Davis. He later appeared in Phillip Noyce’s “Dead Calm,” a classy thriller set at sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman.

Neill twice co-starred with Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred Schepisi’s “Plenty” and — again for Schepisi — in “A Cry in the Dark,” a film about the sensationalized aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in the Australian Outback.

He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries “Merlin” and another as narrator of 2017’s “Wild New Zealand.” Neill also earned three Golden Globe nods — for “Merlin,” “One Against the Wind” and “Reilly: Ace of Spies.”

Richard E. Grant, a longtime friend who co-starred with Neill in 2019’s “Palm Beach,” described him in a post on Instagram as “an officer and a gentleman in the truest sense.” Grant said Neill had “guided and helped me through a very difficult time in my life.”

‘Jurassic Park’ was his best-known film

Perhaps Neill achieved his highest level of fame in “Jurassic Park,” playing paleontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs.

His character was thoughtful and reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park before the chaos: “Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?”

Grant survived the harrowing events when the creatures get loose, but didn’t return for “The Lost World: Jurassic Park II” in 1997. He came back for the third episode in 2001 and “Jurassic World: Dominion” in 2022.

“It’s probably a little late to learn these things,” he told the New York Daily News in 2001, “but I finally feel I’ve worked out how to be an action hero. I’m happier with Grant this time. He’s gnarly and grizzled, but he looks like he knows what he’s doing.”

Early life in Northern Ireland and New Zealand

Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Neill emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 7. He was born Nigel Neill, but told interviewers he started to go by Sam because there were too many Nigels at his school.

His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island and he was sent to boarding school in Christchurch. After college, he took the lead in “Sleeping Dogs” in 1977, the first feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade.

Neill’s other film roles included playing a Soviet submarine officer who memorably dreams of a home in Montana in “The Hunt for Red October” and an investigator in director John Carpenter’s “In the Mouth of Madness.”

On the small screen, Neill played the malign Chester Campbell in TV’s “Peaky Blinders” and Thomas Jefferson in the four-hour CBS miniseries, “Sally Hemings: an American Tragedy.” On Apple TV+, he was on “Invasion,” playing Oklahoma Sheriff John Bell Tyson, a man late in his career searching for his purpose. In 2024, he starred opposite Annette Bening in the Peacock series “Apples Never Fall.”

Beloved in New Zealand as an unassuming celebrity

The actor became known in New Zealand as a modest and unassuming person who didn't embrace celebrity. On social media, he often posted images of his farm animals, many of them affectionately named after celebrities and friends, like Laura Dern the chicken, Kylie Minogue the duck and Helena Bonham Carter the cow.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon mourned Neill as “one of the greats” in a statement posted to social media.

“He started out when there was barely a film industry to speak of,” Luxon wrote. “For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today.”

Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

His memoir “Did I Ever Tell You This?” came out in March 2023 and he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to film,” a title approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” Neill told The Guardian in 2023, referring to his cancer diagnosis and treatment. “But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends.”

He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

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Kennedy reported from New York.