The U.S. military launched attacks early Wednesday following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that President Donald Trump blamed on Iran. Iran pledged to respond and said it “will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”

The latest flaring of fighting cast doubt on progress toward a permanent end to the war, which has lasted more than three months and further roiled markets already wavering from spates of heavy selling of stocks in companies linked to the boom in artificial intelligence.

With prospects for fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz in doubt, oil prices resumed their upward climb.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.9% to $92.30 per barrel, after falling on Wednesday. It was trading at approximately $70 a barrel before the war in late February.

Benchmark U.S. crude was up 1% to $89.04 per barrel.

“The situation remains highly volatile,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a Wednesday note. “This once again demonstrates the difficulty Iran and the U.S. face in working toward a sustainable ceasefire that allows for the free flow of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.”

They noted that demand tends to be strong at this time of year, adding to upward pressure on prices.

U.S. futures edged lower following losses for chipmakers including Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, and Marvell Technology during U.S. trading.

South Korea’s Kospi gave up 4.7%, to 7,720.59, after surging the day before. Samsung Electronics, which makes memory and logic chips and is the country's most valuable company, sank 5.8%. Shares of chipmaker SK Hynix plummeted 6.3%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4% to 64,524.84 after data showed Japan’s producer price index, a measure for prices at the wholesale level, rose 6.3% in May from a year before. That's the fastest pace in more than three years.

Shares of multinational investment holding firm SoftBank Group, which has a strong AI focus, lost 8.9%. But chipmaker Tokyo Electron advanced 5.3%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1% to 24,296.62, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.7% to 3,980.24. Official data on Wednesday showed that China’s producer prices rose to nearly a four-year high of 3.9% in May compared with a year earlier.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,624.50.

Taiwan’s Taiex was trading 1.6% lower, while India’s Sensex climbed 0.6%.

On Tuesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 7,386.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 50,872.11, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 1% to 25,678.82.

U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology went from an early 4% gain to a 10% drop before closing 1.4% lower. Shares of Marvell Technology sank 7.6%, and AMD sank 3%.

Investors are also monitoring updates on U.S. inflation that are set for this week as the Iran war is driving up global energy prices.

In other dealings, the U.S. dollar was steady at 160.36 Japanese yen. The euro was trading at $1.1550, up from $1.1543.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

The deal struck between the Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers came four weeks after talks began.

The talks were the first under new DGA President Christopher Nolan, who took the job in September.

Along with similar four-year deals — longer than the industry three — ratified in recent weeks by unions representing writers and actors, the DGA agreement adds to the likelihood of long-term labor peace despite many other industry upheavals.

The collective bargaining agreement must still be approved by the guild’s national board, and no details on the terms will be released until then, the DGA said in a statement. It then must be ratified by the guild membership. But tentative agreements generally win approval at both stages.

The directors' previous contract had been set to expire June 30.

The AMPTP said in a statement that it was pleased to help achieve “a fair deal that helps advance a stable and successful entertainment industry.”

Video taken by a motorist shows the wooden cross engulfed in bright orange flames as it leans against a tree in Grant Park, a popular area near Lake Michigan. The Chicago Fire Department confirmed the flaming object was a cross, and said officials put out the fire.

Chicago Police said there were no reports of injuries and that they are investigating the motive and circumstances around the “object on fire."

Keinika Carlton, 43, was driving home from running errands with her daughter and mother-in-law when they saw the cross on fire. She said she felt a combination of shock, sadness, disgust, as well as curiosity.

“Is this a racial thing? Is this a religious thing?" she said. “As Black women, of course, our first thought is racial, because burning crosses are known to be used as a tactic, an act of violence toward Black Americans in the South.”

Carlton estimated the cross was at least 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall. The experience was new to all of them, including Carlton's mother-in-law, who grew up in Kentucky.

Carlton said as they slowed down to shoot a video of the flames, she saw around her other cars slowing down and people walking nearby, staring at the cross burning.

While the motive behind the burning cross was not immediately clear, cross burnings in the U.S. have historically been seen as “symbols of hate” that are “inextricably intertwined with the history of the Ku Klux Klan,” according to a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision written by the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The justices ruled that the First Amendment allows bans on cross burnings only when they are intended to intimidate because the action “is a particularly virulent form of intimidation.”

Alyna Carlton, 22, said she never thought she would see something like that in her lifetime.

“It kind of really opened my eyes, had me realize that I’m not that far removed from the past.”

Josep Turull, the Catalan rector of the Sagrada Familia and the priest in charge of its parish activities, recently granted The Associated Press a private tour to show off his favorite gems ahead of Pope Leo XIV's highly anticipated Mass on Wednesday night.

“We say that one of the elements of the Sagrada Familia Basilica is that you never exhaust it,” Turull said. “I have spent the last eight years as its rector, and each day I discover something new.”

1. Enigmas are engraved in the façades

Each morning, Turull approaches the basilica's elaborately decorated façades. They are packed with an abundance of religious scenes and symbols, some easy to interpret for anyone with a basic understanding of Christianity, while others are mysterious and even shocking to see in a church.

The westward-looking Façade of the Passion is stark, its figures tormented, their bodies strained in angular poses. That was how architect Antoni Gaudí wanted it — “harsh and cruel, as if made of bones,” to show the pain and torment of Christ’s final days.

Decades after Gaudí's own death, sculptor Josep Subirachs tempered the façade's misery with some playful elements. There's Gaudí himself, above the central door, staring across at Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary. And what's that suduko-like numbered grid next to Judas kissing Jesus before his betrayal?

The “magic square” symbolizes the inevitability of Christ's death; adding the numbers in any direction always produces 33, Jesus's age at his crucifixion.

Another puzzle awaits the patient eye that drifts across to the scene of Peter denying Christ: a small, square-shaped labyrinth. Turull said that it alludes to the need to keep faith in God when we feel lost.

2. The tower tops hold cornucopias and real birds of prey

After celebrating Mass, Leo will step outside to offer a blessing for the Tower of Jesus Christ that made the Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church when it was raised in October.

The basilica's heights are bursting with nature, from the rooster who crowed while Peter denied Christ to reptiles doing the job of gargoyles, and piles of fruit that crown its spires.

There are also flesh-and-blood beasts; a family of peregrine falcons nest in the tower dedicated to St. James, keeping away pigeons and, more importantly, their excrement.

Gaudí's masterpiece was chosen as one of the ideal spots to reintroduce the species, as it was one of the last locations in town where these birds nested before disappearing during the 1970’s. The falcons have been breeding successfully at the basilica for over two decades.

Turull said that these lightning-fast birds of prey “recover the cycle of natural life.”

3. The tour goes underground to find Gaudí's crypt

For the millions of annual visitors who admire the colored light filtering through the basilica's stained-glass windows, jostle for position to snap selfies and huddle around tour guides, it is easy to overlook what Turull calls its “spiritual heart." That requires going through a modest side entrance and descending a staircase.

Underground is a much smaller, more intimate chapel, where dozens of worshippers silently attend Mass and faith manages to keep sightseeing at bay.

Fittingly, it is here where Gaudí, a fervent Catholic, rests in a discreet tomb set inside a nook. He died exactly 100 years ago to the day when he was hit by a streetcar.

“People come to ask for his intercession,” Turull said, gesturing to the tomb interred in the floor. “That’s why there are so many candles. Because people place their trust in him. Many people have received favors for having prayed at the tomb of Gaudí.”

The Vatican is in the midst of a decades-long process that could eventually make Gaudí a saint. After Pope Francis named Gaudí “venerable” in 2025, the Vatican must now confirm a miracle attributed to his intercession for him to be beatified, then a second miracle for him to be canonized.

The basilica has proposed that the pope pray at Gaudí’s tomb during his visit, but whether he does remains to be seen.

4. A seashell for holy water

Before ascending, Turull pauses at an enormous seashell — a real one, not made of stone — that serves as a basin for holy water. He said that Gaudí had the seashell from the Philippines set in wrought iron and fixed to the column.

“Gaudí always takes nature as an example,” Turull said, referencing the way the natural world inspired his designs and decorations.

5. A changing room fit for a pope

Up a twisting staircase, a private room bathed in sunlight houses two freestanding oak cabinets laced with intricate ironwork. Designed by Gaudí, they hold the basilica’s most precious relics and most important clerical clothing. Among them is Pope Benedict XVI's chasuble — a cloak that clergy wear when celebrating Mass — from when he consecrated the Sagrada Familia in 2010.

This is where Pope Leo will change into a chasuble that is being sewn at a workshop just for this occasion.

Turull said the vestment will feature details symbolizing the day’s importance and a design related to the basilica's recently raised Cross of Jesus Christ. But he won't say anything more for now; some things need to stay secret.

___

AP videojournalist Hernán Muñoz contributed to this report.

He and his wife now live among shards of memory: a bicycle where his bedroom stood; the garden where he planted tomatoes as a boy; a portrait of his late mother painted on a wall, based on a photograph lost in the demolition. Their mobile home, set up amid the rubble, is also marked for removal.

They are “trying to erase my memories, my childhood, my history,” he said, wiping away tears.

For decades, Israel has worked to expand the Jewish presence in annexed east Jerusalem — the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and home to major Jewish, Christian and Muslim sites. Settlers have exploited discriminatory policies and archaeological claims to evict Palestinians far from the region's war zones.

Activists say those efforts have gone into overdrive in recent years, as Israel is no longer constrained by U.S. pressure and attention has shifted to Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Over 260 homes and other structures were demolished in 2025, a 70% increase from three years earlier, with some neighborhoods seeing the most evictions in decades, according to Ir Amim, an Israeli anti-settlement group that closely tracks such policies. There have been at least 116 demolitions so far this year, it said.

It’s “an intensity and scope that we have never seen,” said Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim. “Israel can decide, yes, this neighborhood, we want to erase it … No one is going to stop us.”

Israeli government supports settlement growth

Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state, and the U.N. and much of the international community consider them to be illegally occupied.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its unified capital and says residents are treated equally by law.

Palestinians in annexed east Jerusalem are eligible for Israeli citizenship, but unlike Jews, they must apply for it — a long, uncertain process. Most choose not to because it would recognize Israel’s claims to the city. That leaves them with few ways to challenge housing policy, largely set by Israel’s Parliament.

Rights activists say that in addition to supporting the development of major Jewish settlements — which many Israelis view as ordinary neighborhoods — authorities have severely limited the growth of Palestinian neighborhoods, making it virtually impossible to obtain housing permits.

Last year, nearly 9,000 permits were approved for Jerusalem’s Jewish residents and fewer than 700 for Palestinians, according to Bimkom, an Israeli rights group. Palestinians make up some 40% of Jerusalem's population and are concentrated in the east.

Israeli officials say the discrepancy exists because Palestinians rarely apply for permits. Many Palestinians say it’s futile.

When Palestinians build without permits, they face the threat of demolition. Settler groups meanwhile exploit an array of laws to purchase or take over Palestinian properties.

Previous U.S. administrations have pressed Israel to slow or suspend settlement projects, viewing them as an obstacle to resolving the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump broke with that tradition in his first term, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it's up to Israeli authorities to set policy in Jerusalem, and that it expects them to respect due process and the rule of law.

The neighborhood is near major religious sites

Abu Diab's neighborhood, al-Bustan, extends through a valley just outside the Old City, with the dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque visible above the towering walls. Named for the orchards that once grew there, the neighborhood is now a crowded jumble of low concrete blocks and demolition sites.

It's part of the larger district of Silwan, home to some 20,000 Palestinians and coveted by settlers because it is near major religious and archaeological sites. The mosque is the third holiest in Islam, and the hilltop where it stands is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was where the two Jewish temples stood in antiquity.

The Jerusalem municipality said the homes in al-Bustan are being demolished because they were built without permits in areas not zoned for housing. A park and public parking lot will be established there for the benefit of all residents, it said in a statement.

The municipality said it put forward plans for alternative housing in the neighborhood but that residents did not show “serious intentions” to reach an agreement.

Abu Diab has been battling demolition orders in court since 2004. Part of his home was built before 1967, but his growing family expanded it without permits because it was impossible to get them, he said.

In February 2024, police gave him and his wife minutes to pack before demolishing their home. Since then, they have lived in the mobile home, their suitcases packed.

They are among some 1,500 Palestinians in al-Bustan whose homes could be demolished at any time.

Settlers move in as Palestinians are evicted

A short distance away, in the congested Batan al-Hawah neighborhood, settlers are moving in as Palestinians are evicted.

Zuhair al-Rajabi and dozens of his extended family were ordered out in January, when Israel's Supreme Court ruled against them after more than a decade of legal action.

Thumbing through papers in his living room, he pulled out a document from 1966 saying the property is his. He says he has to leave by July but has nowhere to go, as rents are high in Jerusalem. “The problem, in short, is that they don’t want us here,” he said.

March marked the highest rate of state-led evictions in the neighborhood in decades, with 15 families forced out and hundreds more people at risk, according to B'Tselem, an Israeli rights group.

Israeli laws allow settlers to reclaim properties that were owned by other Jews before the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes in what is now Israel during that conflict are barred from returning. Authorities have also transferred state-held land to settler groups.

The Batan al-Hawah evictions show “the cooperation between settler organizations and state institutions, based on discriminatory laws, toward a shared goal — the Judaization of east Jerusalem and the replacement of Palestinian residents with Israeli settlers,” said Yair Dvir, a spokesperson for B’Tselem.

The Israeli judiciary, in a statement, said courts rule on the merits of each case based on the circumstances, applicable law and established precedent, and denied colluding with private organizations.

Daniel Luria, the executive director of Ateret Cohanim, one of the main settler organizations in east Jerusalem, said it was working to correct a “monumental historical injustice” by helping Jews to return to what had been a Yemenite and Sephardic Jewish neighborhood up until the early 20th century, when he says they were expelled by Arabs and then again by the British.

Since 2004, around 50 Jewish families have moved into the neighborhood and more are eager to join them, he said. “There's never going to be a Palestinian state,” he added.

An Israeli flag waves above the home where Khalil Basbous was evicted in January. The 68-year-old moved into a relative's house around the corner but walks past his former home every day.

“It’s mine,” he said, wiping tears from his face and softly touching an olive tree he had planted by the door. “I have no doubt that I will return.”

After recovering from a muscle injury, the captain of the reigning world champions played 20 minutes and scored a penalty in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Iceland on Tuesday in its final tune-up match before the World Cup.

Messi, recovered from muscle fatigue and a slight strain in his left hamstring that he suffered in his last appearance with Inter Miami on May 24, started the game from the bench.

Just days before his 39th birthday and his sixth World Cup, Messi came on in the 70th minute and he scored a penalty kick after Lautaro Martínez was fouled inside the area.

Messi, the all-time top scorer for the Argentine national team with 117 goals, converted the penalty with a high left-footed shot in the 72nd minute.

Argentina, seeking its fourth World Cup title after those won in 1978, 1986, and 2022, will open its tournament against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City in Group J, which also includes Austria and Jordan.

It was the second match between the two nations. The first one was at the 2018 World Cup, when the European side managed a 1-1 draw in which Messi missed a penalty.

___ AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Members of the House Oversight Committee are slated to interview the billionaire Microsoft co-founder behind closed doors, as they have done with other witnesses in the investigation. Transcripts are often released later.

Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer, the committee chairman, formally requested that Gates testify after he appeared multiple times in a trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe.

The files read like a who’s who of powerful men across tech, finance, politics and other industries. All have denied involvement in Epstein’s crimes, but some maintained or formed friendships with him even after his history of sexual abuse came to light.

Included in the files are calendar entries for meetings between Gates and Epstein, email correspondence between the two about philanthropic projects and photos of Gates at events that Epstein also attended.

Their professional relationship began in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor, and lasted until at least late 2014, according to the documents.

Epstein was federally indicted in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. The Justice Department alleged that Epstein formed a vast network of underage girls, some as young as 14, for him to sexually abuse between 2002 and 2005. He died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Gates, who chairs the Gates Foundation, has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of girls. He has said they met only to discuss philanthropy and has called his association with Epstein “a huge mistake.”

Both Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, have said his association with Epstein created tension in their marriage.

The foundation acknowledged in February that a small number of employees had met with Epstein based on his “claims that he could mobilize significant philanthropic resources for global health.” They never created a charitable fund together, and the foundation made no payments to Epstein.

Foundation CEO Mark Suzman commissioned an external review in March to examine its past engagement with Epstein.

At another closed-door deposition in February, former President Bill Clinton faced more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers about his association with Epstein more than two decades ago. Epstein had visited the White House several times during Clinton’s presidency, and Clinton flew occasionally on Epstein's private jet.

The former Democratic president said he had seen no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse and stopped associating with him long before Epstein's 2008 guilty plea. Clinton has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Democrats on the House committee have pushed for testimony from President Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein. Republicans have said they have not come across any evidence that Trump did anything wrong during his well-documented friendship with Epstein.

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Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City.

The five firms represented or performed work involving 98 former players who in recent years sought six- to seven-figure payouts from the settlement for Parkinson’s disease claims, the special masters appointed to help oversee the settlement wrote in a report filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

Of those, 37 remained pending and will now be denied, with a chance for the players to restart the claims process. But 57 were approved — totaling more than $95 million — before tips about suspicious activity prompted an audit. The attorneys' share of that came out to about $20 million, the report said, and additional firms may have been involved in similar actions.

The report called it “an organized scheme ... in which these law firms — and potentially others — circumvented the Settlement’s anti-fraud safeguards and laundered questionable Parkinson’s Disease diagnoses into payable claims.”

According to the report, the attorneys involved included Bart Oates, a former three-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers who earned his law degree while still playing in the NFL. Oates did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press on his law firm voicemail seeking comment.

NFL fund meant to last for 65 years

The NFL in 2013 agreed to establish the fund, meant to last for 65 years, to settle class-action allegations that it long hid what it knew about the neurological risks of playing after concussions. The plan offers retired players baseline testing and compensation of up to $5 million for the most serious illnesses linked to football concussions, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and deaths involving chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The league has previously expressed concerns about doctor-shopping or other fraud in the disbursement of the money, while some attorneys representing players have accused the league of throwing up roadblocks for players seeking payment. A judge in 2019 terminated three of the four lawyers serving as class counsel after they objected to restrictions on geographical restrictions on the doctors who can evaluate retired players for dementia and other brain injuries.

“The NFL remains committed to ensuring that players and their families receive the benefits they deserve, and any misconduct threatens the integrity of the Settlement and the prompt payment of legitimate claims," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement to the AP. “We are pleased with the Special Masters’ Decision, which sends a clear message that fraud in the NFL Concussion Settlement Program will not be tolerated.”

Under the settlement, only doctors contracted with the claims program are allowed to render qualifying diagnoses; those doctors must be board-certified, have expertise in neurology, and comply with anti-influence rules designed to prevent fraud or kickbacks.

Law firms recruited retired players

The report said that the law firms circumvented that requirement by recruiting retired players as clients and sending them to unapproved doctors who diagnosed them with Parkinson's and prescribed them a drug that suppresses the symptoms.

At one point, retired players waited in a hotel lobby in Dallas to meet with a traveling doctor who had rented a suite for the purpose of examining them for Parkinson’s, the report said. Another unapproved doctor used by the firms was neither board-certified nor known to be a movement disorders specialist, but even if he were, he would have been ineligible due to past bankruptcy, tax liens and civil judgments, it said.

After the diagnosis and prescription from an unapproved doctor, the law firms sent the clients to approved ones — who were hamstrung in making a decision about whether the former player had the disease, because the player was already on medication to suppress the symptoms, the report said. The approved doctors typically could rely only on the past medical history: the prior diagnosis and current prescription.

The report identified the law firms involved as Douglas Grossinger, Attorney at Law; Feder Law, LLC; Pro Athlete Law Firm, P.A.; Syme Law, PLLC; and Reppert Oates & Vytell, LLC. It said the practice began with Grossinger, who then recruited other attorneys to submit claims for him so as to avoid raising suspicion for submitting so many Parkinson's claims.

Oates did not farm out claims to other attorneys, but he engaged in a similar practice with diagnoses, the report said, with informants telling auditors that he “cold-called Retired NFL Players, promising a Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease” if the players switched from another law firm to his.

“By structuring their clients’ evaluations in this way, Mr. Grossinger and ROV deliberately put (approved) Physicians in a position where they had little choice but to defer to manufactured outside records,” the report said.

Grossinger, a New York-licensed attorney, declined to comment on the record when contacted by the AP. Pennsylvania-based Fred Feder said in a text message he would not make any statement without first consulting his lawyer. The AP could not immediately confirm contact information for Syme Law or Pro Athlete Law Firm.

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Johnson reported from Seattle. AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

But most people who responded instead weighed in to criticize the effort itself, according to an Associated Press analysis of 35,000 public comments submitted in the second half 2025 and recently made public through a lawsuit.

One visitor to a park in North Carolina called the administration’s efforts “un-American." Another derided the idea of “having Americans call in and snitch on each other.”

“Hey Donald Trump!” wrote a person in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park, “Trying to erase history doesn’t mean it didn’t still happen!”

A large chunk — more than half, not even accounting for duplicative submissions — was a backlash to the effort itself, according to an Associated Press analysis.

What the Trump administration did

Some comments submitted in response to the administration’s solicitation flagged interpretive changes that officials might now seek to undo — and in dozens of cases already have, according to one group.

But considering that the National Park Service logged some 323 million visits at more than 400 sites last year, the 35,000 initial public comments received from June to January and released following a lawsuit was a tepid response.

An order by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last year targeted “inappropriate content” including any signs and exhibits "negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”

The order following one by President Donald Trump on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" sought to emphasize the achievements of America and splendor of its landscape.

The goal, Burgum wrote, was to restore sites to “solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing.”

A watchdog group of librarians, public historians and data experts called Save Our Signs, relying on photo submissions and news reports, has documented at least 59 signs removed or modified.

They include signs referring to slavery, climate change, women’s rights and involvement in conservation and Native American history, said Jenny McBurney, a government publications librarian at the University of Minnesota who is part of the group.

“It seems to be anything that is sort of going against the ideology, this idea of America is perfect and can do no wrong, which of course we know is not true,” McBurney said.

Many of the changes were at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, where the administration removed exhibits on the lives of nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president. Some of those exhibits were later restored under a judge's order before further work was halted after the administration appealed.

How visitors responded

More than half the comments showed signs of coordination and were critical of the effort itself. But many others were personally crafted.

The comments come to light as a result of a Sierra Club lawsuit seeking their release. Some commended the parks, including their staff and signage.

“We had a great time learning about the development of this site including the difficult parts of our American story,” wrote a visitor to Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis. “We need those reminders to help us become even better in the future.”

Others veered into silliness: “Didn’t see any Bigfeets,” wrote a visitor to Washington’s North Cascades National Park.

A large portion, though, took aim at the administration.

“Trump’s idea of having Americans call in and snitch on each other ... is straight out of the fascist playbook he’s literally acting like Hitler or Mussolini,” wrote one visitor.

Some signage was flagged

Some visitors alerted what they saw as inappropriate references to historical figures, including Black leaders, related to race and inclusion philosophies.

A visitor to Missouri's Harry S. Truman National Historic Site flagged an installation they said praised the former president as a “founding father" of diversity, equity and inclusion and a “precursor” advocate of critical race theory, or a way of looking at U.S. history through the lens of racism.

"I came here to see his hat and maybe a piano, not to read about intersectionality and ‘equity frameworks.’ I nearly choked on my commemorative root beer," the visitor wrote.

Another complained that a sign at Virginia's Booker T. Washington National Monument described the Black leader as a “father of DEI and early architect of critical race theory.”

“This sign is blatantly misleading, politically loaded, and clearly designed to push a modern agenda by hijacking a respected historical figure. It’s like naming Paul Revere the first Uber driver because he got around fast,” the person said.

How the administration responded

The Trump administration has been vague about the changes it has made as a result of the program.

“In many cases across the system, flagged materials remain unchanged," an Interior spokesperson said in an emailed statement, while not answering questions about signs or exhibits that are or will be changed.

Other locations where signs have been removed or changed include Maine’s Acadia National Park, Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, New York City’s Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Virgin Islands National Park, according to Save Our Signs.

“We hear from folks all over the country that history matters, that our national parks matter and that this is important to them,” McBurney said.

___

Gruver reported from Fort Collins, Colorado. This story included reporting from Associated Press writer Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Data released Wednesday by global energy think tank Ember, along with a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, show the continued growth of solar and decline of coal in the United States despite federal policy. In May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%, Ember said. Coal supplied 12.2%, its fourth-lowest monthly share ever.

“For years solar power has risen in the U.S. electricity mix," said Nicolas Fulghum, senior energy and data analyst at Ember. "At the same time, coal power has lost its status, first as the largest source in the U.S. mix, and then gradually over the years has fallen even further.”

Solar also became the third-largest source of electricity in the U.S. in May, behind natural gas and nuclear, Fulghum said. Coal generation hit an all-time monthly low in April and rebounded only modestly in May, allowing increasing solar generation to overtake coal, he added.

Electricity is produced by converting sources of energy — fossil fuels, renewable resources and nuclear — into electrical power. Burning coal, oil and natural gas for electricity emits carbon dioxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere and warming the planet. By contrast, solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and nuclear are carbon-free.

After about two decades of essentially flat electricity consumption in the U.S., electricity demand is increasing to power artificial intelligence, grow domestic manufacturing and electrify transportation and heating. Fulghum said he expects to see more months where solar exceeds coal generation, before overtaking it on an annual basis in a few years.

These milestones signify that solar “has staying power” at a time where there's less support for renewable energy at the federal level, he added.

Wind and solar combined have overtaken coal in the past, and wind power alone has outpaced coal during spring months when wind speeds pick up. Ember gets its hourly and monthly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Globally, electricity generation from renewables is growing rapidly. Renewables will become the largest global energy source, used for almost 45% of electricity generation by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

Trump helps the struggling US coal industry while curtailing solar and wind

Last week, Trump announced a plan to boost the struggling U.S. coal industry by spending nearly $700 million to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports. Trump said at a White House event that “coal’s a great business,” and that "in terms of power, there’s really nothing like it.”

Martin Pochtaruk, CEO and founder of Canadian-based solar panel manufacturer Heliene, said Trump can say that coal is coming back, but investors will invest their money in whatever brings the best return. And for power generation that is solar, making it the fastest-growing fuel, he added.

A White House spokeswoman defended the administration's overall energy policies, saying they were geared toward strengthening the country's security.

“The President has reversed the Left’s devastating policies, saved the American coal industry, prevented the retirement of more than 17 gigawatts of power, and saved lives during heightened demand periods," Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

While Trump is trying to reverse the coal industry's decline, solar has been the top source for new power for five years, SEIA said. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie said solar and battery storage were practically the only energy resources being built in the first quarter, making up 91% of all new generating capacity.

The Trump administration has canceled solar and wind projects, implemented policies that slowed clean energy permitting and development and terminated $7 billion in funding intended for affordable solar energy projects across the U.S.

“As power demand skyrockets, political and regulatory attacks are slowing down the exact resources we rely on,” Darren Van’t Hof, interim president and CEO of SEIA, said in a statement. “Impeding the only sector that is actively building new power is a reckless gamble that will only drive electricity bills higher.”

Several groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency over canceling the Solar for All program. A district court dismissed the case last week citing lack of jurisdiction. The plaintiffs have another filing pending in the Court of Federal Claims.

In a ruling Saturday, a federal judge struck down guidance from the Internal Revenue Service restricting tax credits for wind and solar projects.

Trump has blamed renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power for skyrocketing energy costs. But energy analysts say recent price hikes are based on growing demand, aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events that are exacerbated by climate change. Most recently, the war in Iran that Trump launched has also led to a spike in energy costs.

Top states for solar voted for Trump

States won by Trump in the 2024 election accounted for 74% of all solar capacity installed in the first quarter of 2026, with Texas, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Arizona and Mississippi ranking among the top 10 states for new solar additions, SEIA said. The U.S. now exceeds a total of 6 million installations nationwide across all solar sectors, which includes large-scale solar arrays, commercial, community solar and residential or rooftop solar.

Johanna Neumann, at the Environment America Research and Policy Center, said it's “good news for our health and our planet that solar continues to grow,” and also, not surprising.

“Today we can harness solar more affordably than any other energy source. It’s scalable. And it’s also our most abundant renewable energy source,” said Neumann, senior director of the center's campaign for 100% renewable energy. “So I think it’s hard to keep the lid on a good idea, especially if the economics are tilting in your favor as well, which they are in the case of solar.”

Environment America's renewable energy dashboard shows that 32 U.S. states generated at least 10% of their retail electricity sales from solar, wind and geothermal energy last year, compared to 18 states in 2016. Clean energy in the South is booming, particularly in Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi, Neumann said.

“I think there is a misconception in the United States that clean energy is something for the coasts and liberal cities,” she said. “The true story of renewable energy is a 50-state story.”

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

With the World Cup about to kick off, security is heightened and there’s a zero-tolerance policy for drones over or near stadiums during the 78 matches in 11 U.S. cities.

Authorities have ratcheted up counter-drone measures used at the Super Bowl and other major events, while Congress has given law enforcement broader authority to electronically disable drones or shoot them down.

“The war in Ukraine has become a real-world testing ground for drone technology, and if there is one threat that keeps me up at night, it is from drones,” New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Taking the threat seriously

Congress just gave state and local law enforcement the green light to take control of a threatening drone or even shoot them down if needed in December, though the first option will be to disable them electronically and land them safely. Key federal agencies already had that power.

The Federal Aviation Administration will restrict the airspace around and over crowded stadiums for World Cup games and fan events — much like it has done for years around NFL and Major League Baseball games. Violators can face fines up to $100,000, see their drones confiscated and even face criminal charges for flying within three miles of one of the games. But those penalties likely wouldn’t deter a determined terrorist.

The FBI has spent the last seven years building up its capability to deal with drones by investing in the technology needed to quickly identify drones and take control of them, and authorities have been using that already at major events. The bureau also provided counter drone technology training this year to law enforcement in all World Cup host cities that taught them how to recognize dangerous drones and respond.

The military has also developed counter drone lasers like the ones used along the Mexican border earlier this year and other systems to shoot down drones, but the FBI is not planning to do that during the World Cup because of the dangers involved with the wreckage of a drone falling over a major city.

“If the drone is intercepted and it no longer flies, it’s going to fall. And as we say, no matter what you do, you can’t change the law of gravity,” said national security expert Hal Kempfer, who estimates that he has trained more than 30,000 law enforcement officers on counter-terrorism techniques.

‘Everybody’s a little behind'

The government has invested heavily in systems that should allow officers to take control of suspicious drones and land them safely or jam their signals, including handing out $250 million to help states prepare to protect World Cup matches and the big public events planned this summer to honor America's 250th birthday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Congress at a recent hearing that federal officers have successfully dealt with drones over several recent events, including bringing down eight drones over a Formula 1 race in Miami and 12 that entered the no fly zone over the Masters golf tournament, but “everybody's a little behind” the rapidly evolving technology.

“Biggest concern I have is honestly with drones,” Mullin said. “I wouldn’t say a vulnerability, but it is, it is one of the areas that we are struggling with every single day.”

Drones are scary in the wrong hands

The FBI is taking a “zero-tolerance” approach to protecting the airspace around World Cup events. Devin Kowalski, an FBI assistant director in charge of the bureau’s Critical Incident Response Group, said the agency plans to treat all drones “like they could be a real-deal threat.” Other federal agencies, including Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard, will take the lead at several stadiums while the FBI protects three of them.

“When that drone comes into the TFR (Temporary Flight Restricted area), we’re handling it as if it’s something that could hurt people, and we’re aggressively locating its operator and conducting the logical investigation to determine the nature of the situation as well as to hold that person accountable,” Kowalksi said in an interview with The Associated Press.

ATF Director Rob Cekada said in an interview that the focus now is on protecting the World Cup, but the America 250 events, World Series, Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics aren’t far behind. “Then think about all the events in every communityin the country — high school and college games — that are a concern for our state and local partners. So we want to do what we can to help them as best as possible,” he said.

Derek Reisfield, who is the former president of one of the companies providing counter-drone technology to the host cities, said “this technology in the wrong hands is very scary.” and there are many around the globe who want to harm America.

“We have to assume that there’s somebody in Iran who’s spending every day thinking about how they can attack the United States on our home turf,” said Reisfield, who used to lead Ondas and now serves on the board of a Ukranian company called Swarmer that makes software that allows one person to control hundreds of drones.

Early detection could be key to stopping drones

Some of the technology could allow authorities to detect drones up to 25 miles out, which would provide more time to mitigate the threat, according to Matt Sloane, the co-founder of SkyfireAI. But it's possible that someone could sneak a drone up close to a stadium and launch it from less than mile away, which would leave little time to act.

And the systems designed to jam the signal from an operator or take control of a drone might not be effective if it is preprogrammed to crash into a stadium full of fans while carrying an explosive payload or if it is controlled over a fiber optic line.

The battlefield tactic that might pose the greatest threat would be sending a swarm of multiple drones to attack at the same time. Even with the best defenses, a few drones might sneak through to the target as Iran has been able to do with large numbers of its Shaheed drones. The U.S. military has an assortment of weapons to knock drones out of the sky, but Iran has still be able to hit targets across the Middle East.

But Sloane he feels like the government is doing what it can to be ready.

“The threat is real, certainly. But I do think that there’s a lot being done to prepare for it. To educate about it,” said Sloane, whose company has helped protect Super Bowls in the past. “And then we just need to tell everybody who’s just trying to take pretty pictures ‘Hey this is not the time. Keep your drone in the box.’”

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

Nine-year-olds rebounded to pre-pandemic reading scores and saw some recovery in math, according to data from a test taken regularly in the U.S. since the 1970s. The same recovery has not emerged for 13-year-olds, whose average scores in math and reading remain below pre-pandemic averages. In fact, the latest reading scores, from teens who took the test in 2024, are essentially the same level as they were when the test started in 1971.

Since the pandemic, schools and state policymakers have focused on overhauling instruction for elementary students, especially in implementing the “science of reading,” which teaches kids to read by understanding how letters form sounds. But recent test scores show educators should also focus more intensely on adolescent learners and turning around academic outcomes in middle school, said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board.

Indeed, the 13-year-olds who took the national test experienced the pandemic's disruption during formative elementary years of schooling. In a few years, they will have graduated — and they may still be behind.

“The 13-year-olds who took this assessment last year are headed to high school now or are already enrolled," she said. "Schools won’t have them much longer. We can’t hesitate or wait if we’re going to turn these trends around.”

What the test measures

Typically given every four years, the long-term trends assessment offers a snapshot into the academic skills of American students at ages 9 and 13. Roughly 31,000 students in public and private schools sat for the test in the 2024-2025 school year. Unlike the main Nation's Report Card test for fourth and eighth graders, which is updated regularly with new skills to reflect changing curricula, the long-term test has stayed largely the same since the 1970s.

American students' academic achievement was already declining when the pandemic hit. Test scores peaked around 2012, then started to fall, said Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics.

“We can clearly see that this isn’t just a pandemic story,” Soldner said.

The test results show younger kids are improving foundational skills, such as identifying facts in a simple news article or understanding basic multiplication and division. Seventy-one percent of 9-year-olds reached the benchmark in reading, and 84% reached that level in math, a few percentage points higher than in 2022.

Teenagers are tested on more advanced skills, such as making generalizations from a reading passage and comparing information from charts and graphs. Only 58% met the benchmark skill level in reading and 70% in math, with no statistically significant improvement from 2023.

Fewer students are reading for fun

Compounding the issue of stagnant literacy rates: Fewer students than ever are reading for fun.

Students who took the test also completed a survey. Only 14% of 13-year-olds said they read for fun every day, down from 27% in 2012 and a peak of 37% in 1992. Among 9-year-olds, 37% said they read for fun every day, a significant decline from 53% in 2012. Researchers have noted the decline in time spent reading corresponds with the rise of social media use on cellphones.

Still, younger children have shown an “incredibly encouraging” recovery academically in recent years, Soldner said. “Almost 50 years of progress has been eliminated” for 13-year-olds, he said.

The 13-year-olds who took the most recent test would have been in second or third grade during the first year of the pandemic. They would have returned to in-person learning in fourth or fifth grade and taken this national test in their last year or two of middle school.

In contrast, the 9-year-old group would have been entering kindergarten or first grade as the pandemic's most acute phase ended and schools reopened. Their second and third grade years would have been more reflective of typical in-person teaching.

Those experiences are dramatically different, Soldner said, as the older group would have missed foundational years in building literacy and computational skills in school.

While more recent declines in student outcomes are alarming, decades of test data show it's possible to change children's trajectories over time, said Mark Miller, an eighth grade math teacher and former member of the National Assessment Governing Board.

“We have made progress in the past, from the early '70s to 2012,” Miller said. "Can it be done again? Absolutely."

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The next thing the reigning NL Cy Young winner knew, he was circling the parking lot, searching for a spot. Not long after, one of the brightest stars in the game was watching various Ingomar Little League teams practice.

The 24-year-old star tried to stay “incognito,” which is kind of hard to do in general when you're 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds and one of the brightest young stars in your sport. Soon enough, Skenes found his way onto the field in sandals, a T-shirt, and a pair of shorts, a sure sign that the typically well put-together Skenes hadn't planned on stopping in the first place.

Over the next two hours, he played catch, signed autographs, and remembered a time in his life when his relationship with the game was far simpler.

The impromptu practice went viral, as things tend to do when Skenes is involved. His girlfriend, former gymnast turned influencer and actress Livvy Dunne, s hared it on TikTok. A popular Pittsburgh DJ did the same on Instagram.

Skenes has learned to accept that attention comes with the territory, even when he's trying to avoid it.

“Should’ve worn some sunglasses and a fake moustache,” he joked.

Yes, Skenes is well aware of the core memory he created for the players at Ingomar Little League, about 20ish minutes north of PNC Park. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Garrett Anderson did the same for Skenes when the two briefly connected while Skenes was growing up in Southern California.

Yet just as importantly, with the Pirates in the midst of a losing streak that stretched to four after they were drilled 12-2 loss by Los Angeles on Tuesday — when the Dodgers exploded for 10 runs in the seventh immediately after Skenes departed — it offered Skenes a reminder of why he does what he does for a living.

“I went to watch some baseball, but you got to remember it’s just a game,” Skenes said. “There’s a lot of things that make it a business. It’s work. It’s a job for us, for sure, on some days more than others, but you got to remember you love the game and why you started playing it in the first place.”

Particularly during the times when that love can feel elusive during a difficult stretch like the one Skenes is in at the moment.

Despite limiting the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers to two runs over six innings and retiring four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani all three times he faced him, Skenes remained winless over his last five starts after the bullpen imploded behind him.

Is Skenes in a slump? Only in comparison to the remarkably high bar he has set during his rapid ascent to one of the best pitchers in baseball. His ERA since May 17 is a pedestrian 4.50, more than double his career ERA up to that point.

Things were a little better, a little sharper against the Dodgers than they have been of late. He recorded seven strikeouts, and Los Angeles swung and missed at more than 15 of the 103 pitches he threw.

Skenes' fastball largely went where he wanted, when he wanted, and if Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe can knock down a sharp grounder that instead deflected off his glove and into the outfield with two outs in the sixth that allowed Freddie Freeman to score and tie the game, Skenes might have exited with the lead.

Not that it mattered in the end. The 10-spot the Dodgers put up in the seventh made sure of that.

Still, Skenes is trying to keep things in perspective. The season is long. Every team struggles at some point. He is trying his best to remain focused on the process.

Asked why his fastball — which now sits more in the 97 mph range after frequently topping 100 as a rookie two years ago — looked better on Tuesday than it has in a while, he shrugged.

“Just a good day, I think,” he said. "Kinda comes and goes as the season goes. Just a good day with that.”

The lobs he threw to the Little Leaguers didn't have nearly that kind of velocity. They might have as much meaning, however, over the arc of a season that can sometimes feel more like a slog than a dream come true.

“We’ve all played those sandlot fields when we were nine,” he said, later adding, "The game looks different when it’s 200-foot fences and there are no ads out there, no fans out there, just playing for the love of the game.”

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

Iran launched attacks on sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response. Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting U.S. forces.

Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

The downing of the Apache attack helicopter and the strikes by the U.S. military further strained the ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

Strikes by US and Iran shake the Mideast

Fighter jets from the U.S. Air Force and Navy conducted the strikes in Iran, the U.S. military’s Central Command said, targeting “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites.” Iran acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage.

“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” Central Command said.

Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near its territory “are at constant risk” and later vowed that there would be a response to the new U.S. strikes.

Iranian forces “will leave no attack or threat unanswered,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “Leave our region if you want to be safe.”

Jordan said Wednesday it shot down five incoming missiles launched by Iran, which Iran said targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. That air base has hosted American F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft.

Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency carried the statement from its military, which added that there were no injuries in the attack and that explosives experts had examined the debris from the interceptions.

Cargo ship attacked by small boat in Gulf of Aden

Elsewhere in the region, guards on board a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden exchanged fire with gunmen in a small boat and repelled their attack, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have said they will resume their attacks against Israel-affiliated ships moving through the Red Sea, while Somali pirates have also become more active in the region.

US helicopter collided with Iranian drone, official says

The U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter that crashed went down near the Strait of Hormuz after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation. CNN, CBS News and other outlets earlier reported the collision.

In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued both of the helicopter's aviators at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after their aircraft went down during a patrol off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command said.

Trump said both crew were “safe and uninjured.”

The U.S. service members were spotted and picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.

Trump has insisted an Iran deal is coming

Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran, but didn’t say why there was reason for optimism.

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the U.S. have taken hardline positions.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to have been buried by American airstrikes during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

Israel's military said on Wednesday it had launched multiple strikes in southern Lebanon over the past day, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority, while Lebanon's government has been taking an increasingly hard line against Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia.

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Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; Michelle L. Price in New York; Will Weissert in Washington; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones is officially running for the District 24 seat.

The deep-blue district covers Miami Gardens, Hollywood, Miramar and Pembroke Park.

Jones kicked off his campaign for Congress in front of a packed crowd in Pembroke Park on Tuesday night.

“I beg of you tonight that you trust me once again,” said Jones. “You’ve trusted me in Tallahassee. I ask them that you send me to Washington D.C. to have me fight on your behalf.”

Jones expressed that people are looking for new leadership and change.

“I think people are tired of the same old talk, they’re tired of same old politicians, they’re looking for change, they’re looking for transparency and they’re looking for new leadership,” he said. “And I think we’re going to bring that to them.”

Jones was born and raised in Miami Gardens. He made history in 2020 by becoming the first LGBTQ+ person elected to the Florida State Senate.

If he wins, he’d be the state’s first LGBTQ+ member of Congress.

It’s a campaign focused on affordability, saying prices are too high and promising to advocate for working people.

“I shared yesterday that I will join any caucus, I will join any piece of legislation that is lowering the cost of groceries, that is lowering the cost of gas,” Jones said. “I will join any legislation that is making the lives of people better that are going through the process right now.”

Jones already has several competitors in the Democratic primary, including former Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime, current Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, Rudy Moise and Christine Sanon-Jules.

Broward Fire Rescue’s Broderick Espinoza and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Jesus Fuentes were recognized during Tuesday night’s Lauderdale-by-the-Sea commission meeting for their quick actions following a near-drowning during Memorial Day weekend.

“I’m just truly blessed that he’s alive and well, here with us,” said Espinoza. “Honestly it was all a blur, I was just really focused. I didn’t really know anyone was around us.”

Body camera footage captured the frantic moments after 5-year-old Tyler Nelson was pulled from a pool at the Plunge Beach Resort on May 24.

At the time, Tyler had no pulse so the off-duty Espinoza immediately started CPR.

Fuentes and two off-duty nurses also jumped in to help.

Within minutes, Tyler regained a pulse and started to breathe again.

“It’s just a humbling experience,” said Fuentes. “At the end of the day, we didn’t do anything that anybody with our training wouldn’t do. Our training just took over.”

Tyler spent two days in the ICU before being released with a clean bill of health.

His mother said she would forever be grateful to those who saved her son’s life.

“They’re angels, they allowed God to literally use them to be a vessel to save my son,” said Markita Pittman-Nelson. “I mean, two firefighters and two nurses, what more could a person ask for.”

Added Fuentes: “I understand it as a parent myself, I understand how emotional it is for her to still have Tyler around and how grateful she is to us. Like I said, at the end of the day, it’s nothing that we think of. It’s nothing that we make a big deal out of, we’re just doing our duty.”

But, the 20-year veteran’s winning goal on Tuesday night was anything but simple. Then again, considering how he has played against the Vegas Golden Knights in this series, perhaps it was.

With the game tied at 3 in the third period, Staal’s sprawling backhand shot while in the air with 13:29 left beat Vegas' Carter Hart and found the back of the net for his second score of the game, and it held up as the winner in the 5-3 victory.

“For a second, I wasn’t sure if it exactly went in, and I heard everyone go quiet,” said Staal, who lay face down on the ice after his acrobatic goal. “I heard some guys yelling. I was in my own world. It was an incredible moment, obviously, and just let a big yell go and then celebrated with the guys.”

It was yet another big moment that Staal found a way to spark his team when it needed it most.

The 37-year-old, who has five goals in the series, said as long as the wild and zany series that has been defined by “no lead is safe,” the Hurricanes have to pounce on every opportunity.

“There are fine lines of making plays, and we have to make big plays, there’s no question,” Staal said. “But it’s a simple game that we can run, and when you know when they maybe call uncle, and you jump on it. And that’s what they’ve done to us very well, as well. It’s just kind of a back-and-forth kind of stress game, and who can do it better."

Tuesday, that was Carolina.

The Hurricanes came out with a sense of urgency by taking a 2-0 lead early to set the tone, and dominated the shots on goal, 23-12 after two periods, and then withstood Vegas' late surge before Staal's heroics.

The series is tied at 2 and returns to Carolina for Game 5 on Thursday.

That's how long the Golden Knights have to figure out how to stop Staal from adding to his scoring tally.

“He’s killing us in front of the net, Staal,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “So, we have got to do a better job around the blue.”

Staal became the first player since Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders in 1982 to score a goal in each of the first four games of the final.

Staal also tied the second-longest playoff goal streak in franchise history, behind teammate Logan Stankoven, who set the record at five earlier this postseason.

He said he isn't concerned with milestones, though, or the fact that he has 11 points in these playoffs, including seven goals.

“I don’t think big picture right now, it’s too hard to think like that," Staal said. "It’s just like, my goodness, it’s the next shift, next play, next game, next everything. And that’s all that’s running through my brain, is how do we get two more wins.

"And that’s it.”

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

Terrell Ray was killed when the dirt bike he was riding crashed into the side of a hearse outside the Angels of Paradise Mortuary located at 2796 NW 46th St. in the country’s unincorporated Brownsville area.

Hundreds of friends and family filled the intersection Tuesday night to honor and remember their friend, their brother, and for Mahogany Johnson-Ray, her husband.

“I’m happy that I have so many people behind me, walking with me through this journey,” she said.

The two had known each other since middle school and were married for over three years.

Johnson-Ray said Ray’s loss will have an effect on the entire community.

“It’s incredible but it’s scary because it’s how he touched so many lives,” she said. “You can see that a lot of people really, really truly love him because, look at (all these people).”

Loved ones created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.

Mariagracia Ramjohn’s son Ezekiel was breastfed. He later had a whole chicken leg, sweet potatoes, pears, and eggs. He loved avocados. His allergic reaction surfaced when he was 6 months old.

“For some reason, something was always telling me, like, be careful with peanuts,” Ramjohn said. “So I gave him peanuts at six months when he had his pediatrician appointment ... at the parking lot, because I was a little scared, and immediately, just a rash around his mouth. And I was like, ‘Oh no!’”

The rash spread, and he vomited. It was clear to his pediatrician that he was allergic to peanuts, so she had to clean house.

“You don’t realize how much stuff has peanut butter in it,” Ramjohn said. “There are so many things.”

Ramjohn asked Dr. Nicole Akar-Ghibril, a pediatric allergist and immunologist at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, for help.

“We think part of the reason that we have as many food allergies as we do today is because of prolonged avoidance,” Akar-Ghibril said. “And so back in the day, when I was a kid, the recommendation was, ‘Don’t let your kid have peanuts until they’re three.’ Now, we really know that early introduction makes a difference.”

Akar-Ghibril is the director of the hospital’s oral immunotherapy program.

“The way it works is a desensitization to a food that we know a child is allergic to, and so the whole point is to raise the threshold that a patient can tolerate,” Akar-Ghibril said about the treatment.

Akar Ghibril has been retraining her patients’ immune system by exposing them to small, gradually increasing amounts of an allergen.

“When we’re making doses for oral immunotherapy, the amount that we’re starting with is diluted and diluted and diluted, so the amount we actually can’t measure it on a scale because it’s that small,” Akar-Ghibril said.

Ezekiel was tested and started treatment at 8 months old.

“Every two weeks going to up dose. Every day, dosing him. It was a lot of work, but very thankful, very happy with the results,” Ramjohn said.

At 2 years old, Ezekiel had peanut butter crackers in his lunchbox without a problem.

“I used to hold my breath at first,” Ramjohn said. “I was like, ‘Where’s the epic head? Where’s the Zertek? Where’s the Benadryl?’”

Akar-Ghibril said the maintenance phase is done daily, probably for the rest of their lives.

“They have to kind of consider it like their daily peanut medicine or their daily egg medicine that will give them that kind of layer of security if they were accidentally exposed to that food,” Akar-Ghibril said.

Though the situation along the border was calm hours after the strikes, Kabul has previously responded to Pakistani strikes by targeting Pakistani posts along the frontier.

Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the latest airstrikes targeted the Afghan provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika and killed 11 children, one woman and one elderly man.

There was no immediate acknowledgment of the strikes deep inside Afghanistan from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or military.

The strikes came a day after suspected Pakistani Taliban militants attacked a security post in the Hasan Khel area of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, triggering an intense gunbattle in which six members of the Federal Constabulary were killed and several others wounded, according to Pakistan’s Interior Ministry.

Local authorities said Tuesday that security forces killed eight of the attackers and thwarted an attempt to overrun the checkpoint. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi later attended funeral prayers for the dead personnel in Peshawar, the ministry said.

Naqvi paid tribute to the dead and expressed condolences to their families, saying their sacrifices would not be forgotten. He also said Pakistan remained united in its fight against militancy and that operations against groups threatening peace and security would be intensified.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have engaged in deadly fighting since late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan.

Pakistan in February declared it was in open war with its Afghanistan, following a surge in militant attacks on civilians and security forces inside Pakistan. Afghanistan has said a deadly Pakistani airstrikes in March hit a drug-treatment center in Kabul, killing more than 400 people. The death toll could not be independently confirmed.

Pakistan has disputed the claim and denied targeting civilians, saying it struck an ammunition depot.

The latest development comes months after China hosted peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Urumqi, in northern China, and later Beijing said Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution.

Authorities in Pakistan have said that Beijing and some other friendly countries were still encouraging both sides to reach an agreement for durable peace.

Masood Khan, an Islamabad-based security analyst, said Pakistan’s priority is ending attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, which Islamabad says operate from Afghan soil.

Khan said the solution to the tension lies in enforcing a decree by Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada ordering the TTP to stop attacks on Pakistan. “That decree must be implemented sincerely and faithfully,” he said.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants that carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan since it seized power in the country in 2021 amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan border has remained closed to bilateral trade since October, stranding thousands of people.

___

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

Police said 31-year-old Diego Pereira is who lost his life during the shooting that occurred shortly before 5 a.m. Friday outside the Sandbar sports bar, located at 6752 Collins Ave.

According to witnesses, a fight between Pereira and Quayshawn West inside the bar turned violent.

Police said Pereira was shot in an alley shortly after the altercation.

West is now facing a second degree murder charge.

As of Tuesday evening, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond.

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According to Miami Gardens police, the attempted robbery and shooting were reported at about 1:35 a.m. in the area of Northwest 173rd Street and 36th Avenue.

Police said a male resident at the home opened the front door to the would-be robber and the two got into a physical altercation.

The resident’s girlfriend then ran to neighbors for help, authorities said.

One of the neighbors then heard the sound of gunshots, which police say came from the alleged robber’s gun.

That neighbor then went over to where the fight was happening and shot the suspect in the head, police said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials transported the suspect to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he later died.

“Forty five years on this block, and we ain’t never seen a crime scene or anything out here,” neighbor Katara Bloom said.

As police say there’s no longer a threat to this community, neighbors say they’ll continue to stick together.

“This is not a bad neighborhood -- this is a pretty good neighborhood,” Bloom said. “Nobody really has any problems. We’re like family in this community; each one of us knows each other.”

It’s unclear whether the person who lives at the house was randomly targeted as police say the motive is still unclear.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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Lawyers originally couldn’t finish their opening statements Monday, as the 55-year-old Pino continually broke down in court, prompting a recess for the day.

Pino is charged in the death of Lucy Fernandez, 17, after a boat crash on 2022’s Labor Day weekend. Her father, Andy Fernandez, was the state’s first witness on Tuesday. He testified about the last time he hugged his daughter before a “beautiful afternoon” took a tragic turn ― and the frantic search for her after the crash.

“She gave me a hug,” he said. “And I remember it because it’s the last time I held her alive.”

Authorities said Pino, then 52, was behind the wheel of a 29-foot Robalo boat in the early evening hours of Sept. 4, 2022 when he lost control and slammed it into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key, killing Lucy Fernandez. Two other girls were seriously hurt, including 17-year-old Katerina Puig.

Andy Fernandez also testified Tuesday to identifying her body at the hospital and his daughter’s relationship with the Pino family.

Andy Fernandez said he did not believe Pino was impaired at the time he met with the group on the boat before they parted ways and departed for the Ocean Reef Club.

A passenger on the boat, Camila Alvarez, also testified on Tuesday.

“I just remember a jolt where I pop up and the boat capsizes,” Alvarez testified.

Alvarez additionally testified that the Pinos provided alcohol for both the adults and teenagers. She recounted the chaotic moments after the crash.

“I do hear someone telling me, ‘Lucy, Lucy,’ like ‘She’s not here, she’s not here,’” Alvarez testified, saying she saw Pino in the water with “hands kind of just on the boat.”

An attorney who was involved in the civil case against Pino additionally testified about a document he filled out where he referenced post-crash statements he made to FWC ― and doubled down on his claim that a second vessel caused the crash.

Attorney Brent Reitman read from the document, that stated, “The wake of the unidentified vessel headed northbound was a contributing legal cause of the incident in question.”

Prosecutors, in their opening statements on Monday, called that claim a “fabrication” and a “falsehood” that Pino maintained “long after the day of this tragedy.”

Jurors also heard from other witnesses, including a good Samaritan who came upon the scene and helped, as well as one of the investigators involved.

They were sent home at around 5:30 p.m. and were scheduled to come back on Wednesday morning.

“Trabajo sí. Bloqueo, no”, pedían las personas congregadas y provenientes de diferentes sectores gremiales, artesanales y del comercio en una plaza en el centro de La Paz, la capital gubernamental de Bolivia, que con su vecina El Alto son las más castigadas por las protestas antigubernamentales y los cortes de carretera.

Los manifestantes demandaron la aprobación de leyes que ayuden a sobrellevar los costos adversos de los bloqueos que se suman a una de las peores crisis económicas en el país.

Horas antes, en Sucre, la capital de Bolivia, se realizó otra concentración masiva en la que se exigió lo mismo al presidente Rodrigo Paz, que tome medidas para que regrese la normalidad al país, incluso, que decrete un régimen de excepción. El lunes, el mandatario promulgó la ley que reglamenta esa medida, aunque no la decretó de inmediato.

“El dictar el estado de excepción es una discusión de los ministros, a la cabeza del presidente, y que será tratada en el momento en que corresponda tratarse, lo demás son especulaciones”, dijo en una breve declaración a los medios el ministro de Gobierno, Marco Antonio Oviedo, horas antes de las manifestaciones.

Los gremios de artesanos y comerciantes han señalado que se sienten perjudicados por los 39 días de bloqueos viales que han ocasionado escasez de alimentos, oxígeno medicinal y combustible.

El martes, no se registraron protestas directas en las calles que dan a la sede de gobierno en La Paz, aunque el problema mayor seguía siendo la escasez de combustible que dejó un escaso transporte público. De acuerdo a la Administradora Boliviana de Carreteras, los cortes han disminuido un poco pero se mantienen en unos 85 puntos viales.

Desde mayo, campesinos, indígenas y sindicatos obreros piden la renuncia de Paz porque aseguran que su gobierno no respondió a tiempo a sus pedidos sectoriales.

The incident occurred aboard the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas on Sunday, May 31.

According to deputies, Matthew Stilwell of Pawnee, Illinois attempted to photograph the 13-year-old victim under her dress while the two were in one of the ship’s gift shops.

The girl noticed what Stilwell was doing and ran to her mother to report the incident, deputies said.

Authorities said the victim told them that while she was browsing jewelry, Stilwell was “standing unusually close behind her with the camera application open on his cellphone,” according to an arrest form.

This happened three times before the victim ran away to report the incident, deputies said.

When the ship returned to Port Everglades on Sunday, June 7, deputies boarded and were presented with surveillance video corroborating the girl’s story.

Deputies then spoke to Stilwell, but his alleged confession was redacted from his arrest form.

As of Tuesday evening, he was being held behind bars at the Paul Rein Detention Facility on a $22,500.

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The Broward Sheriff’s Office identified the couple as Jeyson Javier, 32, of Opa-locka, and Daniela Alfonso Dominguez, 25.

According to Javier’s arrest report, BSO detectives from the agency’s Burglary Apprehension Team were following a Honda Civic Friday when they spotted Javier exiting the driver’s side door of the car with a skateboard in hand and then going over to a parking lot at 2200 S. Ocean Drive in Hollywood.

Detectives said Javier forcefully entered a 2025 Honda CR-V, re-programmed the vehicle’s key fob and then took off in it as the Civic followed it back to Miami-Dade.

According to the report, Javier stopped the SUV in Miami Gardens where he appeared to rip off the vehicle’s GPS and then drove it to an apartment complex at 20401 NW 17^th Avenue in Miami Gardens.

“This is consistent with (the) suspect utilizing an apartment complex as a cool down location for the stolen vehicle,” the report stated.

Detectives said Javier then re-entered the Civic and drove away before he was stopped by authorities in the area of Northwest 27^th Avenue and 183^rd Street.

Deputies said both Javier and Dominguez were taken into custody, and their daughter was found sleeping in the back seat of the Civic.

According to the report, multiple items were found in the car that were believed to be used to steal vehicles.

Both Javier and Dominguez declined to speak with detectives, the report stated.

They both face charges of grand theft auto, possessing burglary tools with intent to use and child neglect without great bodily harm. Javier also has an out of county hold for grand theft of a motor vehicle, online jail records show.

As of Tuesday morning, Javier was being held at the Broward County Main Jail without bond and Dominguez was no longer appearing in the online jail database.

SAFETY TIPS

Here are some ways to protect yourself from tech-savvy car thieves:

• BSO deputies asked drivers to park vehicles in a secured garage.
• If forced to park outside, deputies want drivers to lock their car doors and install a secondary GPS tracker on the vehicle to track it if it’s stolen.
• Deputies also suggest that residents install surveillance cameras where the car is parked.
• The National Insurance Crime Bureau recommends using a key fob that activates an ignition kill feature that can only be deactivated when the same fob unlocks the vehicle.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends immobilizing-type devices to prevent thieves from bypassing a vehicle’s ignition system and hot-wiring the vehicle.
• Zurich recommends on-board diagnostics port locks to block thieves from plugging in cloning devices.
• The AARP recommends hiring a mechanic to install a remote kill switch that can cut the power to vital car systems with a key fob.
• Consumer Reports recommends adding a visible steering wheel lock.

Local 10 News Digital Journalist Andrea Torres contributed to this report.

Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, has won enough votes to advance to the general election, The Associated Press determined Tuesday. He’ll face Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general and health secretary under President Joe Biden.

The winner will succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to lead the state that is home to roughly 39 million people, Hollywood, a booming tech industry and a vast farming region that helps feed the nation. By itself California represents one of the largest economies in the world.

The next governor will have to take on stubborn issues including a high cost of living, housing shortages and homelessness.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in California

Hilton is banking his campaign on voters being frustrated enough to do something they have not done in two decades: elect a Republican to statewide office. The last time that happened was when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won a second term in 2006. Hilton has campaigned as an outsider who would bring change after more than 15 years of one-party rule.

“If you’re happy with the way that California is being run, Xavier Becerra is your guy,” Hilton said in a recent interview. “If you want change, vote for me.”

But simply having an ‘R’ next to his name stacks the odds against Hilton, since Republicans make up just about 25% of registered voters compared with Democrats’ 45%. Trump’s endorsement likely boosted Hilton with GOP voters during the primary but could be a major liability in the general election.

Becerra was a chief architect of the state’s resistance to Trump during the first years of his presidency after then-Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, appointed him attorney general in 2017. In that role Becerra filed at least 120 legal actions against the federal government.

Becerra has made pushing back against Trump’s incursions a central piece of this campaign, as the president has repeatedly gone after the state during his second term including by curbing a signature plan to reduce planet-warning emissions from cars, withholding aid for wildfire recovery and suing over state policies supporting transgender student-athletes.

“Donald Trump is doubling down on decline and counting on people being too fearful, distracted or gullible to fight back,” Becerra told a crowd on primary night. “As governor I will never back down from the threats of small cowards in big offices.”

Results conclude a chaotic primary

It took nearly a week to determine the general election matchup for governor due to California’s notoriously slow vote-counting process. Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter and they are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days. Counties process and count mail ballots in roughly the order they are received, so the last ones returned are the last ones counted.

The AP determined Friday that Becerra had won enough votes to advance to November. Hilton had been vying for a second spot against Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund manager turned climate activist who poured $215 million of his personal fortune into the campaign and blasted Californians’ screens with ads.

Steyer steadily narrowed Hilton’s lead for second place every day since Election Day on June 2. But he was never on track to fully close the gap. The AP advanced Hilton to the general election on Tuesday after determining there weren’t enough outstanding votes for Steyer to catch Hilton.

Election data shows that large numbers of Democratic voters held onto their ballots until the final days of the election. That helped explain why Steyer did better than Hilton in the votes counted after Election Day.

Steyer conceded Tuesday and urged his supporters to back Becerra.

“It would be a travesty for Steve Hilton to win the governorship, and Californians must unite behind Xavier Becerra to ensure he does not,” he said in a statement.

Affordability is a central issue

How to make the state more affordable was a major theme throughout the primary. Hilton promised to make Californians’ first $100,000 free of income tax, create a loan program for first-time homebuyers and freeze in-state tuition at public colleges. Becerra, meanwhile, said he would declare states of emergency to address high energy costs and housing shortages and to freeze home insurance rates.

The two have one thing in common: They both come from immigrant backgrounds.

Hilton moved to California from the United Kingdom in 2012 and became a citizen in 2021. Back in the U.K., he was an adviser to Conservative Party officials including former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Hilton has poked fun at his British accent by comparing himself to the Austria-born Schwarzenegger.

“I know that some of you may be watching and saying, ‘Who is this guy with a funny accent?’” he said on election night. “Well you know there was actually an immigrant who was governor of California not that long ago.”

Becerra was born to Mexican immigrant parents in Sacramento and also raised there. He said his family’s story mirrored his “underdog” campaign for governor.

“Like my parents, I never gave up,” he told supporters on election night. “I never stopped believing in the beaconlike goodness of California. And thankfully, neither did you.”

Becerra would be the state’s first Latino governor since the late 1800s.

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Associated Press journalists Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington contributed.

Groff, 59, was summoned to the closed-door hearing in a letter on March 3. She delivered a pre-written statement and answered lawmakers’ questions.

“I am not a conspirator, and I never would have agreed to this language. Their unilateral decision to label me as a potential conspirator remains my scarlet letter,” she told lawmakers in a pre-written testimony about prosecutors referring to her as a co-conspirator in 2008 in Palm Beach County, according to Politico.

Groff worked for Epstein for about 18 years, starting in 2001, and she continued to do so despite him becoming a registered sex offender in 2008.

“She’s maintaining that she really didn’t know Jeffrey Epstein, even though she worked for him for 18 years,” U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch told reporters.

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s ranking member, said Epstein had described Groff as someone he was “very close” to.

Groff, who lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, was mentioned more than 150,000 times in the files released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“There are some things that she said that probably aren’t along the same lines as what some of the victims have said,” U.S. Rep. James Comer, the committee’s chair, told CNN. “So, we’re going to have to review that.”

In a civil lawsuit that survivors filed in 2024 in New York, Groff was alleged to have “made travel arrangements for the girls, tended to their living needs, and scheduled massage sessions.”

Rep. Yassamin Ansari told CNN that Groff faced questions about scheduling meetings between Epstein and President Donald Trump before their fallout.

“She said she did that about once a quarter,” Ansari said. She later wrote on X, “This is a massive cover up. When Democrats are back in power, we need to bring back every witness to testify under oath in front of the American people.”

Related social media posts

This is a massive cover up. When Democrats are back in power, we need to bring back every witness to testify under oath in front of the American people. pic.twitter.com/yBwUd5KOq9

— Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (@RepYassAnsari) June 9, 2026

'90% of her testimony was not believable.' Rep. Stephen Lynch joined @jaketapper after longtime Epstein assistant Lesley Groff testified on Capitol Hill. Groff denies knowing about Epstein's wrongdoing. pic.twitter.com/5U41wJAWmz

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) June 9, 2026

U.S. Reps. Clay Fuller and Andrew Clyde filed the resolutions against U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross. Clyde wrote Tuesday on social media that Ross' “deeply disturbing actions prove she is incapable of displaying integrity or impartiality. She must be impeached and removed from the bench.”

It is up to the House Judiciary Committee to decide whether to start impeachment proceedings against Ross. Federal judges are appointed for life and can only be removed from the bench through impeachment.

A person who answered the phone in the judge’s chambers Tuesday afternoon said Ross had no comment.

Ross was nominated to the Northern District of Georgia in January 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and she was confirmed by the Senate in November of that year. She had previously served as a state court judge in DeKalb County, which includes a small part of Atlanta, since 2011. Before taking the bench, she had worked as a state and federal prosecutor, mostly in Atlanta, for more than a decade.

The investigation of Ross began after one of her law clerks reported that on multiple occasions the judge had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer in her office within earshot of staff. It also was alleged that the judge didn’t properly supervise clerks and on one occasion yelled and cursed at staff.

Ross received a “private reprimand” after the investigation confirmed the sexual activity and found she attended a partisan event and initially lied to deny the allegations.

The court’s investigation did not publicly identify the judge or the court location within the 11th Circuit’s jurisdiction, which includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia. A person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter confirmed to The Associated Press that Ross was the judge who was disciplined.

Separately, the Atlanta Police Department has said it has opened an investigation to determine whether the “high-ranking law enforcement officer” found to have had sex with a federal judge in the judge’s chambers is a member of their department.

William Pryor, the chief judge of the 11th Circuit, opened the initial investigation of Ross. He asked her to respond to the clerk's allegations and she replied the same day and “specifically denied” each allegation. In a follow-up email the next day, the judge speculated to Pryor that the law clerk may have invented things in retaliation for being required to work in the office.

Pryor appointed a special committee to investigate. That investigation was detailed in a report attached to the disciplinary order.

The committee’s review of logs and security footage showed an officer had frequently visited the judge’s chambers in uniform around lunchtime. Six clerks recalled seeing someone who fit the officer’s description, with three remembering overhearing what may have been sexual activity in the judge’s office.

Three clerks remembered bringing summer interns on their first day to watch the judge presiding over a hearing in a criminal case. Right after that, they told the committee, the judge declined to have lunch with the interns, acknowledging having too many martinis the night before at a primary election victory party for a district attorney friend.

The clerks said the judge didn’t provide sufficient guidance and “rarely, if ever, substantively edited civil orders the clerks drafted.” While clerks described an “eggshell culture,” the committee didn’t find evidence of abusive behavior.

The judge ultimately admitted to having an extramarital sexual relationship with the officer but denied the allegations about mistreatment of staff, the committee wrote. The judge acknowledged to the committee having gone to a “mixer” of former employees of a district attorney’s office, where the judge used to work but said it was in a separate room from the victory party.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move was not announced.

The restructured deal was first reported by ESPN and NFL Network.

Cincinnati gains around $10 million in cap space by spreading out some of his base salary over the final three years of the deal (2027 through '29). Burrow signed a five-year, $275-million extension in 2023.

The Bengals found themselves low on cap space after acquiring defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants before the NFL draft and signing him to a one-year extension worth $28 million.

Cincinnati is also trying to get some of its key players from its 2023 draft class still under rookie deal signed to extensions before the start of training camp. That group includes DE Myles Murphy, RB Chase Brown, and defensive backs Jordan Battle, DJ Turner and Dax Hill.

Burrow, the top overall pick in the 2023 draft, is going into his seventh season. He led the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2021 season and the AFC championship game the following year, but Cincinnati has missed the playoffs the last three seasons.

Burrow played in only eight games last season. He suffered a turf toe injury in a Week 2 win over Jacksonville and was out until late November. He threw for 1,809 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions that included three pick-6s.

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

The temporary injunction issued Monday by a Texas district court prevents the NCAA from enforcing its ban of Sorsby. The transfer QB had been ruled ineligible for what will be his final college season after he acknowledged years of gambling that included at least 40 bets on his own team while a freshman at Indiana.

Since NCAA rules call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team, the judge's decision sent shockwaves through college sports, including in Texas Tech's own league.

Yormark said there was a “thoughtful and productive conversations” with the athletic directors as “we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation.”

In a statement without getting into specifics, the commissioner said many of the ADs voiced their opinions.

"We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group, and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference,” he said.

Next will be a meeting of the league's executive board, when there is expected to be a discussion to present options, but no immediate action is expected then. The full board of directors, made up of presidents and chancellors from the league's 16 members, is expected to meet next week.

Part of the injunction from the 99th District Court against the NCAA includes a two-game suspension for Sorsby. He would miss games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State, but eligible to return when the Red Raiders play their Big 12 opener at home Sept. 18 against Houston.

The NCAA is appealing to a higher Texas court.

Sorsby made thousands of impermissible bets on college and pro sports that were worth at least $90,000 while at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Those bets include the ones he made while a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2022, though none were on games in which he played that season.

“I think that’s the unpardonable sin,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said Tuesday. "And I think everyone in America grew up knowing that was the unpardonable sin when it comes to sports and gambling.”

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AP Sports Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Human towers, or “castells” in the Catalan language, are not only a feat of equilibrium, strength and teamwork, but a crucial part of the proud identity in this northeastern Spanish region.

One of the most celebrated groups to uphold this tradition, the Castellers de Vilafranca, was tapped to perform for the pope during his seven-day trip to Spain and allowed The Associated Press to tag along on their journey, from the long bus ride to the backstage jitters to the sweaty, grinning high-fives after Leo's applause.

“A fundamental richness of castells is that anybody can take part, independently of their age, their culture, their weight or height, their beliefs or ideologies,” said Ernest Gallart Pérez, the group’s president. “Every person has their place on the structure.”

Bruna’s mom, Maria Vall Camell, joined at 18 and later met her husband in the group, where everyone dons trademark jade green shirts, white pants, tight black sashes and red bandannas with white dots. The bandannas and sashes provide crucial gripping points as members climb up — and down — each other’s bodies as the tower rises.

“The human towers are like the skyline of Catalonia,” Vall told the AP on the bus as more than 130 castellers traveled from their small town, Vilafranca del Penedes, deep in Cava wine country about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Barcelona. “They are an identity, very important for our culture, and they represent very well our society, that we work together as a team.”

Castells are an integral part of Catalan celebrations, whether patron saint days or competitions with hundreds of participants. But at their core, they are family traditions, passed down for generations.

“It’s union, family, strength,” said Aida Ibañez Sadurní, who participated in Tuesday’s tower with her father, Xavier Ibañez Sanz. “When we get everybody down, we hug each other crying, and it’s the biggest emotion.”

It takes months to practice, and mere minutes to create the towers, starting with a large base, people pressed shoulder to shoulder in tight circles, their heads against their neighbors’ shoulders, their arms intertwined.

On Tuesday, smaller groups of four climbed up and formed a first standing circle, and more crawled up until Bruna — in her function as the “anxaneta,” a girl who serves as the pinnacle — went all the way to the top and waved, before climbing down.

When the castell successfully disbanded, Leo smiled broadly and the approximately 40,000 people in the stadium erupted in football-volume cheers.

“It’s a relief, I’m very happy, very joyful,” said Àngel Grau, the “cap de colla” or coach of the group, as the sweaty, cheerful group made their way back out to their buses and long ride home.

“There were a lot of people watching us from around the world, and whether you believe a lot or believe less, it’s such an occasion for pride for us.”

___

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.

The races set up significant tests of whether Democrats' redraw of California's House maps will pay off for the party.

Several other major U.S. House races also were set Tuesday as California's protracted vote count from the state's June 2 primary ground on. Two Republicans will face each other in a Southern California House district drawn to end one of their careers. And a Sacramento seat will become a high-profile generational clash between two Democrats.

But the most attention was on two districts in the vast midsection of the state that will help determine whether Democrats can claim victory in California's role in the mid-decade redistricting wars. Both will be crucial to determine which party controls the U.S. House in this year's midterm elections.

Democrats hope to pick off a perennial GOP target in the Central Valley

Progressive Randy Villegas, a political science professor and school board member, on Tuesday beat the favored pick of establishment Democrats, moderate Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, to advance to the November election against Valadao, a perennial target whose district Democrats redrew to shift further to the left.

Democrats narrowly beat Valadao in their 2018 wave, only to see him win back the seat in 2020. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw its weight behind Bains, but Villegas won the primary and will test whether progressives or moderates are best positioned to face the resilient Republican.

"Voters in the Central Valley have spoken and they have declared that the Valley is not for sale,” Villegas said in a statement.

Republicans had hoped to face Villegas.

“Socialist Randy Villegas clawed his way out of a bruising Democrat primary by sprinting to the far left and embracing the same failed policies that made California unaffordable for working families,” said Christian Martinez, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement.

An independent hopes to keep Democrats from winning redrawn district

For a few days after last week's primary, California's 6th District near Sacramento was a possible warning sign for Democrats, as Kiley and a long-shot Republican who ran on peace in the Mideast held the top two slots in the nonpartisan primary. But the state's slow but regular tally of late Democratic mail ballots catapulted Pan onto the November ballot.

Democrats broke up Kiley's conservative Northern California district, so the congressman opted to run in the new, Democratic-leaning district, left the GOP and became a vocal opponent of partisan redistricting.

“This race will be a choice between the extreme partisan politics that have made California the most unaffordable state in the country, and the independent leadership that allows our local communities to thrive,” Kiley said in a statement.

California Democrats scrambled their map to counter gains Republicans made in Texas and elsewhere after President Donald Trump called for the GOP to create as many conservative seats as possible in its bid to hold onto the House of Representatives in November.

California’s 52 House races provided a miniature of national trends. That included the fallout from redistricting ahead of this year’s midterm elections, this time with Democrats redrawing the map, the generational battle among Democrats and questions of whether moderates or liberals are better positioned to win in swing districts.

New districts set up clashes between members of the same party

In more fallout from redistricting, Republican Rep. Young Kim on Tuesday advanced to the November election. She will face fellow Republican Rep. Ken Calvert after Democrats drew them both into a single district, guaranteeing that one would not return to Congress next year.

“Throughout this campaign, we made the case that after more than three decades in Washington, it is time for fresh conservative leadership, and I look forward to continuing that conversation with voters in the months ahead,” Kim said in a statement.

Calvert replied in his own statement: “Voters throughout the district recognize I'm an effective member of Congress with a history of delivering results, cutting taxes and making life more affordable.”

Also on Tuesday, a major generational Democratic clash was set up as Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang advanced to face longtime incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui on the November ballot.

The 81-year-old congresswoman has held the Sacramento-based seat since the death of her husband, former Rep. Bob Matsui, in 2005. Bob Matsui had represented the district since the 1970s.

Vang, 41, is one of a slew of Democrats across the nation mounting an explicitly generational challenge in the wake of Joe Biden’s presidency.

“People are tired of leaders who answer to their biggest donors instead of the families they represent,” Vang said in a statement after the race was called. “The squeeze on working families doesn’t check your party registration — and neither will I.”

Matsui released her first ad of the general election Tuesday night, focusing on a local mother whose son had muscular dystrophy and who praised Matsui for legislation funding therapies for the disease.

Veteran Democrats survive challengers as others vie to replace Pelosi

Two other veteran House Democrats in California also made it past younger challengers to the November ballot. Rep. Brad Sherman, 72, a 15-term congressman representing part of Los Angeles, will face a Republican in the fall. Mike Thompson, 75, is seeking his 13th term in a Northern California district.

In San Francisco, a wealthy progressive challenger was unable to crack the top two slots to fill retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat. Instead, state Sen. Scott Wiener and city Supervisor Connie Chan will face off to replace the former House speaker.

The 7th District seat held by Matsui is considered a safe one for Democrats, but was redrawn as part of the party’s bid to add five more U.S. House seats elsewhere. Voters signed off on the changes with a constitutional amendment last year.

Democrats initially were concerned about getting locked out of the general election in a San Diego-area seat under the state’s primary system, which sends the top two vote-getters to the November ballot regardless of party. But San Diego City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert managed to emerge from a large field of other Democrats and will face Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor.

Deputies took John Stevens, 52, of Boca Raton, into custody on Monday.

According to investigators, an anonymous tip alerted BJ’s management to a scheme in which Stevens was stealing company merchandise and selling it for profit, even shipping the goods directly from the store to the people he was selling it to.

Authorities said the thefts occurred between March and June at the store at 5901 W. Hillsboro Blvd. in Parkland.

Stevens was seen on surveillance camera taking merchandise from the sales floor, bringing it to a shipping room and using the store’s UPS shipping computer to send the goods to locations across the United States, including his own home, according to an arrest form. Authorities said he was advertising and selling the products on eBay and Facebook.

Deputies said Stevens shipped stolen property on 27 separate occasions and cost the company around $10,000 in financial loss.

He is facing charges of grand theft of more than $10,000 but less than $20,000, organized dealing in stolen property and 25 separate charges of dealing in stolen property.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Stevens was being held at the Broward County Mail Jail on a $25,000 bond.

Wednesday will feature a mix of sun and clouds with east winds- can’t rule out a random shower along the east coast in the morning. Showers and storms that develop during the afternoon will tend to favor inland South Florida, especially the Everglades.

While his classmates dutifully listed their academic awards, extracurricular activities and sport accolades in the high school yearbook, the Long Island resident opted for just six simple words for his entry.

“Knicks in 6. 2026 NBA Finals,” Pfeufer wrote next to his portrait in the 2020 Smithtown High School West yearbook.

The prescient prediction has gone viral after he shared photos on social media in recent days. One Instagram post has more than 130,000 views.

The Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs 2-1 in the best of seven series. They dropped Game 3 Monday night with President Donald Trump making the first appearance by a sitting president at an NBA championship game. The teams play again Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

Pfeufer, now 23 and in sales, said he wanted to use the yearbook to make a bold declaration about his beloved Knicks, who he concedes were “terrible” at the time. (The Knicks finished 2020-21 season with a record of 41-31.)

“I was at my good buddy’s house and I said, ‘Knicks, six, 2026’,” he said. “It rhymed so well that I just figured, all right, I’m gonna put that there.”

“I could have said Knicks in 5, 2025, or Knicks in 7, 2027,” he added. “I guess I got the right year.”

Pfeufer said he took some grief, particularly from his parents, for not using the yearbook space to spotlight his school achievements, which included being a member of the honor society.

“I kept it just as the quote because I thought that if it happened, it would look way better than if I had a bunch of awards underneath,” he says.

Pfeufer says his parents have since come around to his thinking.

“Now that it’s happening the way it is, they said for the first time in their lives, alright, you were right,” he said.

Early in the playoffs, the lifelong Knicks fan said he swore off watching the team’s games because every time he tuned in, they lost. Since they’ve reached the finals and his prediction is inching closer to reality, he’s been watching them at home with family.

Pfeufer believes the current squad has what it takes win the franchise's first NBA title since 1973 — even if it isn't in six games.

“I absolutely love that they play ethical basketball,” he said. “It’s team basketball. Everyone knows their role and cares so deeply, and you can see it whenever they play. They have heart.”

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

Kasey Keller. Brad Friedel. Tim Howard. Brad Guzan. They all played on major international club stages, and their national team could always count on having elite talent in net, even when the rest of the roster wasn't world-class.

That's no longer the case as the current American team prepares for its home World Cup.

While Matt Freese and Matt Turner are both solid domestic professionals, they have yet to match their esteemed predecessors' level of international accomplishment for club or country. Both are hoping they can summit that obstacle over the next few weeks — as soon as coach Mauricio Pochettino lets them know who's starting Friday night, that is.

“It’s fair to say the U.S. has a great goalkeeping corps, historically,” said Freese, the New York City FC keeper. “I was a fan of that goalkeeping corps for most of my life. Still am. And so it’s an honor to be on this team and be a part of that group to hopefully continue that great legacy.”

The U.S. arrived at its final World Cup training base in Orange County this week, but Pochettino has yet to announce which of his goalkeepers will start when his team opens the group stage against Paraguay in Inglewood, California — and it's tough not to see that as an indicator of the state of the U.S. situation in net.

Freese has been the Americans' regular starter since the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer, while Turner was their starter at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar under coach Gregg Berhalter. Freese seems likely to be Pochettino’s pick for Friday, but the fact that it hasn’t been made yet is interesting for both competitors for the job.

“Not a ton of clarity, but I think the messaging for me is just to always be ready,” Turner said Tuesday. “It’s about training really well, keep fighting, and then the decision will be made."

No matter who gets the nod, the U.S. will have a Major League Soccer goalkeeper in net at the World Cup for the first time. That's a coup for MLS, but the Americans are used to fielding goalies who had success beyond their shores.

The 27-year-old Freese has spent his pro career in MLS since he left Harvard in early 2019. The 31-year-old Turner is also back in North America's top league with the New England Revolution after his European career stalled before it really got rolling.

Pochettino has split up the time in net in the Americans’ four matches in 2026, even working third-stringer Chris Brady into the mix. Turner started their friendly against Senegal last month, while Freese got his turn last weekend against Germany.

Turner knows he is probably behind Freese on Pochettino's depth chart, but the lack of a starting announcement has him working just that much harder.

“Given the fact that I haven’t played a ton in the last year for the national team, of course, for me, that makes me feel like the door is always cracked,” Turner said. “Everyone has a chance. But I think the coach will always pick the guy that’s playing the best, and he’s going to make the right decision for the team, and whatever my role is going to be, I’m going to be ready to do it to the best of my ability.”

Turner made his U.S. debut in early 2021, while Freese only got his first U.S. callup in January 2025, finally making his debut last June. But he quickly seized the starting job and played all six Gold Cup matches, earning praise for a run that included two clean sheets and three penalty saves during a successful shootout.

“I dream of this opportunity,” Freese said. “You work for this opportunity, but you never know if it’s going to come. I learned probably nine years ago, the ones that work hard without the promise of reward are the ones that usually succeed.”

NOTES: All 26 players participated in a full practice Tuesday for the first time in this World Cup training cycle. Tyler Adams, who sat out Monday's light workout for a maintenance day, was in the mix along with defender Chris Richards, who went through his second straight full practice while recovering from an ankle injury he picked up last month with Crystal Palace.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

U.S. District Judge Emily Marks issued the ruling hours after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional. Marks permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffrey Lee, 49, by nitrogen gas. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday.

The decision, for now, blocks the use of the controversial new execution method that Alabama has championed since 2024. But the issue seems likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court, which so far has never ruled a state's execution method to be unconstitutional.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall's office is appealing the decision, according to a Tuesday night court filing. Marshall's office did not issue an immediate comment. A spokeswoman for Lee’s legal team said they did not have an immediate comment.

Marks wrote that the appeals court found the method carried “a substantial risk of serious harm." She also ruled that the state had the ability to switch to Lee’s preferred method, a firing squad. Inmates challenging execution methods are required to suggest an alternative method.

“Therefore, Lee has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment,” Marks wrote.

Marks wrote that her order only blocks the state from executing Lee by nitrogen gas. She noted the state has two other authorized execution methods, lethal injection and the electric chair. She said Lee is “not entitled to an injunction barring the state from executing him using one of those methods.”

Alabama in 2024 began using nitrogen gas to carry out some executions. The execution method involves strapping a respirator to the person’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death from lack of oxygen. Nitrogen has been used in eight executions in the United States — seven times in Alabama and once in Louisiana. Lee was scheduled to be the ninth person executed with nitrogen.

A three-judge panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday set the stage for Tuesday's ruling. The court said the three minutes that it could take for an inmate to lose awareness is an “intolerable” time frame, "given the suffering that would likely take place under Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol.”

The decision was welcomed by death penalty opponents and critics of the controversial execution method.

“Three minutes of conscious suffocation is torturous. If that doesn’t violate the constitution, let alone international law, nothing would,” said Bernard Harcourt, a professor at Columbia University Law School. Harcourt represents one of several other Alabama inmates challenging the method as unconstitutional.

The Rev. Jeff Hood, who served as spiritual adviser at two nitrogen executions, said, “I pray that we are witnessing the collapse of this horrific method nationwide.”

Alabama has maintained that the method is constitutional.

In her 26-page ruling, Marks noted the constant litigation over execution methods.

“Were Alabama to adopt firing squad as a method of execution, that method would likely be challenged as well. Indeed, there is likely no method — no matter how humane — that would be immune to constitutional challenge. But the Constitution does not guarantee a painless death, and human life cannot be purposefully extinguished without some risk of pain. The Court, the condemned, and the State must all confront that sobering reality,” Marks wrote.

Lee is currently housed at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. He was convicted of two counts of capital murder for killing Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson while robbing a pawnshop on Dec. 12, 1998. Prosecutors said Lee entered Jimmy’s Pawnshop with a sawed-off shotgun and shot Ellis, the owner of the store, and Thompson, a store employee.

A jury voted 7-5 that Lee should receive a sentence of life imprisonment. However, a judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced Lee to death. Alabama in 2017 ended the practice of judicial override and no longer allows a judge to disregard a jury’s sentencing decision in death penalty cases.

Although matches will be played at the newly-renamed “Miami Stadium” in Miami Gardens, city leaders in Miami Beach boasted the beach as the base for all things FIFA.

“We’re used to the big games, Super Bowls, Art Basel,” said Mayor Steven Meiner. “We are now on the world stage.”

“It all starts here on Thursday with a watch party and a concert kicking off here on the beach,” said Ray Martinez, Chief Operating Officer of the FIFA World Cup Host committee.

For the upcoming weeks, visitors can expect to see more police and more fire rescue.

Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones said the department will be using its real time intelligence center, drone mitigation, and more officers will be on the street.

Miami Beach Fire Chief Digna Abello told Local 10 News that rescue vehicles will be positioned strategically around the entertainment district and in high-volume areas.

Other parts of South Florida are getting a piece of the action, too.

On Tuesday at Tropical Park, young soccer players were treated to drills with pro player David Ruiz of Inter Miami.

“Me, being the professional player coming here to be with these kids, is an amazing feeling,” Ruiz said.

In Hialeah, along with watch parties, Mayor Bryan Calvo said children will participate in the first annual “Mayor’s Cup.”

In orders filed Tuesday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins dismissed claims against Robert M. Murphy Jr., as well as multiple N.C. State athletics officials tied to their oversight rules, citing procedural reasons.

The lawsuit was filed in February in state court in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete filed in 2022. That complaint alleged years of misconduct by Murphy, including improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.

Collins granted the motion seeking a dismissal from Murphy’s attorneys, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired in claims dating back as early as 2013.

Collins also dismissed claims against multiple athletics officials such as former athletic director Debbie Yow and current AD Boo Corrigan on jurisdictional grounds. His ruling stated any complaint should go through the North Carolina Industrial Commission — a state agency that deals with workplace matters with N.C. State as a public university — rather than civil court.

Jared Hammett, a Raleigh-based attorney representing Murphy, issued a statement to The Associated Press describing his client as “someone who dedicated his life to working with athletes" while referring to a “rush to judgment” that can impact “real people's lives.”

“The truth is nothing happened but a man’s career being ruined for money,” Hammett said. “As a lawyer I am just glad that we have been able to help another person who needed support and found himself needing that defense.”

Durham-based attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented players going back to the original case, said the athletes plan to appeal.

“This dismissal has nothing at all to do with Mr. Murphy’s sexual abuse of these 31 former student-athletes,” Sutton said in a statement to the AP. “It was decided based only on questions of legal procedure. We plan to appeal this outcome and in coming days will be adding new claims against NCSU for men who have recently come forward.”

All but two of the 31 athletes are “John Doe” plaintiffs to protect anonymity, while two former men’s soccer players are named.

One is Benjamin Locke, who filed the original complaint in August 2022. The other is one of two athletes who filed their own federal lawsuits in February 2023 and April 2023. The AP typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly about it, which Locke has done.

Sutton, who has represented plaintiffs in each lawsuit, filed to dismiss those pending Title IX lawsuits before moving the case to state-level jurisdiction in September 2025.

Murphy, at N.C. State from 2012-22, was among nine defendants originally named individually. Others were school officials accused of negligence in oversight roles, saying concerns about Murphy’s conduct reached senior levels of the athletic department but the school’s response was insufficient.

Sutton and co-counsel Robert O. Jenkins filed in April to dismiss former N.C. State chancellor Randy Woodson as a defendant.

“N.C. State does not condone sexual misconduct of any kind,” the school said in a statement Tuesday evening. "The health and safety of our students and student-athletes is paramount to the university and our athletic programs.

“We agree with the court’s analysis and the decision that the law supports dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims in this case. We recognize the immense courage it takes for someone to come forward, and our hearts go out to any student or student-athlete who has been impacted by distressing experiences.”

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

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That decision comes following Tuesday’s unanimous approval vote by the Broward County School Board.

“If we’re bringing in this program, it’s going to be implemented correctly,” said board member Rebecca Thompson.

The agreement says after a review by law enforcement, violators will receive $225 fines in the mail. The majority of the revenue from the fines will go to Bus Patrol, the company providing and installing the cameras on about 1,000 Broward school busses free of charge.

About 30% of the revenue from fines would go to Broward schools.

Broward Teachers Union president Anna Fusco said she supports the program if it’s keeping students safe.

“Cars are not always paying attention and if we can give some type of deterrent, some extra safety measures that those arms are up that you need to stop your damn car, then I’m in favor of it,” Fusco said.

In Miami-Dade County, the program was temporarily halted by the sheriff after the system was improperly issuing fines to drivers who were not illegally passing busses, and those drivers had no way to appeal their fines.

Broward Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn said they’ve since ironed out those kinks and drivers will be able to appeal fines they believe could be improper.

“Our legal team has done a good job in making sure those issues aren’t in our current contract,” said Hepburn.

Police say the five children Gwendolyn Rolle, 59, was trusted to take care of were found living in deplorable conditions.

According to authorities, all five kids were forced to live in the same room where they were not allowed to bathe and were starved.

Police said Rolle was acting as an unofficial foster parent for the five siblings, whose ages range between 4 and 9, after their father left them in her care.

Two of the children are non-verbal and attend a special needs school, police said.

“They were just left there for her to care for,” said Fort Pierce Police Department Maj. Michael Santiago. “She is not a licensed foster care parent. This was she was doing a favor for somebody, and what ended up happening was the sequence of events with this was that she neglected their childcare.”

According to Rolle’s arrest affidavit, police received an anonymous tip on June 2 reporting abuse and neglect at her Fort Pierce home.

When officers got there, they said they found the home in a deplorable state.

“That house has two bathrooms, one in the master and one for open use of the rest of the house,” said Santiago. “That bathroom was completely gutted. So there was no shower, there was no bathtub. There was a toilet that was completely stuffed, clogged.”

Authorities said Rolle kept the master bathroom locked when she wasn’t at home.

“We had reports and eyewitness information that the kids were using the bathroom in a bucket outside of the house,” said Santiago. “That was the only way they were allowed to use the bathroom. So, they weren’t showering, they weren’t bathing, they weren’t cleaning themselves. At times they would be left without eating any food.”

Santiago says witnesses even reported seeing the children bathing on the porch with a hose as their siblings held up a bedsheet to block the view.

According to police, the children would often only eat at school, with one teacher stating in the report that sometimes the odor coming from the kids was so strong that she had to use a spray to “freshen up the room.”

The children also reported being hit by Rolle when disciplined.

“The investigation is ongoing,” said Santiago. “The big thing about this is that we were able to get the kids out of that environment so that they can continue on living a good life, a better life, and not being in those conditions.”

Arman Motiwalla, de 37 años y residente de Plantation, era un exitoso ejecutivo de seguros y padre de familia que trabajaba en Synergy Insurance Affiliates LLC, ubicada en 350 Camino Gardens Blvd., en Boca Ratón.

Motiwalla recibió múltiples disparos y murió en el estacionamiento de la empresa el 8 de abril.

Los detectives informaron que Willie Byrd, de 42 años y residente de Boynton Beach, estaba esperando dentro de un vehículo, salió y asesinó a Motiwalla.

Los investigadores dijeron que lograron vincular el vehículo con Byrd y que durante un allanamiento encontraron una nota que contenía el nombre de la víctima, el nombre de su prometida y las direcciones de su oficina y su vivienda.

Sin embargo, el motivo del crimen sigue sin estar claro. Al momento de su muerte, Motiwalla estaba involucrado en una intensa batalla legal con su ex empleador, la empresa Innovative Partners, con sede en Coral Springs, alegando que fue despedido por denunciar violaciones generalizadas y prácticas ilegales.

No existe vínculo conocido entre la demanda y el asesinato de Motiwalla.

La prometida de Motiwalla, Madison Belle Bou-Nahra, reaccionó al arresto.

“Que alguien esté sentado en una celda de prisión obviamente protege a otras personas y por eso debemos estar agradecidos”, dijo. “Pero eso no cambia el hecho de que le quitaron la vida a una persona”.

La policía de Boca Ratón indicó que la investigación continúa en curso.

Hasta el martes, Byrd permanecía detenido en la cárcel del condado Palm Beach.

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Arman Motiwalla, 37, of Plantation, was a successful insurance executive and father who worked at Synergy Insurance Affiliates LLC at 350 Camino Gardens Blvd. in Boca Raton.

He was shot multiple times and killed in the parking lot of the business on April 8.

Detectives said Willie Byrd, 42, of Boynton Beach, was waiting in a car, got out and murdered Motiwalla.

Investigators say they were able to tie the vehicle to Byrd and a search uncovered a note containing the victim’s name, his fiancee’s name, and the addresses of his office and home.

But a motive remains unclear. At the time of his death, Motiwalla was involved in a bitter legal battle with his former employer, the Coral Springs-based company Innovative Partners, claiming he was fired for reporting widespread violations and illegal practices.

There’s no known connection between the lawsuit and Motiwalla’s killing.

Motiwalla’s fiancee, Madison Belle Bou-Nahra, reacted to the arrest.

“Somebody sitting in a prison cell obviously protects other people and for that we should be grateful,” she said. “But it doesn’t take away the fact that somebody’s life was taken away from them.”

Boca Raton police say the investigation into the case remains ongoing.

Byrd remained in the Palm Beach County jail as of Tuesday.

Los abogados no pudieron concluir sus alegatos iniciales el lunes, ya que el hombre de 55 años rompió en llanto repetidamente en la sala, lo que provocó un receso por el resto del día.

Pino enfrenta cargos por la muerte de Lucy Fernández, de 17 años, tras un accidente de bote ocurrido durante el fin de semana del Día del Trabajo de 2022.

Las autoridades indicaron que Pino, entonces de 52 años, estaba al mando de una embarcación Robalo de 29 pies durante las primeras horas de la noche del 4 de septiembre de 2022 cuando perdió el control y chocó contra una baliza de canal cerca de Boca Chita Key, causando la muerte de Fernández. Otras dos jóvenes resultaron gravemente heridas, incluida Katerina Puig, de 17 años.

La selección del jurado concluyó el viernes, luego de que los posibles jurados fueran interrogados sobre sus trabajos, experiencias de vida, posibles prejuicios y lo que sabían sobre el caso.

La jueza de Miami-Dade Marisa Tinkler Méndez rechazó las solicitudes para aplazar el juicio.

La fiscal Laura Adams pudo completar su alegato inicial mientras Pino se mostraba visiblemente afectado en la corte.

“Después de causar la muerte de Lucy, este acusado evitó asumir responsabilidad al contarle a la policía una versión inventada de cómo ocurrió este accidente de navegación, y mantuvo esa falsedad mucho tiempo después del día de esta tragedia”, dijo a los jurados. “La evidencia en este caso, señoras y señores, les mostrará que esto no fue un simple accidente ni un error momentáneo de juicio. La evidencia demostrará que Lucy murió porque el acusado no cumplió con las obligaciones más básicas que exigen las reglas de navegación”.

Sin embargo, durante el alegato inicial del abogado defensor Howard Srebnick, el visible colapso emocional de Pino llegó a un punto en que Adams solicitó una suspensión, argumentando que su comportamiento era “inapropiado” para que el jurado lo presenciara.

“El señor Pino va a tener que ser capaz de controlarse”, dijo Tinkler Méndez, quien más tarde añadió que “no es apropiado en absoluto que el jurado esté presenciando estos comportamientos emocionales”.

Srebnick había logrado presentar una parte de su alegato inicial. Argumentó que el accidente fue simplemente una tragedia.

“El estado admite que esta no era la intención de George”, dijo Srebnick. “No tenía la intención de chocar contra una baliza. No tenía la intención de que nadie resultara herido. Su propia hija, su propia esposa y él mismo estaban en ese bote. La señora Pino testificará que George, su esposo, no estaba bajo los efectos de ninguna sustancia. Ella no habría puesto en riesgo su propia vida”.

Tras el receso, equipos de Miami Fire Rescue evaluaron a Pino y finalmente el proceso fue aplazado hasta el martes.

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Broward commissioners approved the upgrade to its 911 system on Tuesday. It’s part of an agreement with Motorola that will cost $25 million over the next decade.

Similar technology is already being used in Miami-Dade County.

“This takes it to a whole another level of technology,” Broward Mayor Mark Bogen said. “This is like going from the modem to high-speed internet.”

The system will also allow callers to send recorded video.

“You can actually send a video to the 911 operator to show where you are at, to show what is going on,” Bogen said.

It will also have enhanced digital location-tracking capabilities.

“It gives the person answering the phone more opportunity to know what is going on and also to help identify that person and their location more accurately,” Bogen said.

All together, Bogen said the upgrade “really gives our law enforcement and 911 dispatch such a much bigger picture of how they can provide help to the person in need.”

“It is worth providing the safety to the public,” he said. “Saving one life is worth it.”

The new system is set to come online by mid-2028.

Los comisionados de Broward aprobaron el martes la modernización del sistema 911. La actualización forma parte de un acuerdo con Motorola que costará $25 millones USD durante la próxima década.

Tecnología similar ya se utiliza en el condado Miami-Dade.

“Esto lleva la tecnología a otro nivel”, dijo el alcalde de Broward, Mark Bogen. “Es como pasar de un módem a internet de alta velocidad”.

El sistema también permitirá que las personas envíen videos grabados.

“Usted podrá enviar un video al operador del 911 para mostrar dónde se encuentra y qué está ocurriendo”, dijo Bogen.

Además, contará con capacidades mejoradas de rastreo digital de ubicación.

“Le brinda a la persona que responde la llamada una mejor oportunidad de saber qué está sucediendo y también de identificar a esa persona y su ubicación con mayor precisión”, afirmó Bogen.

En conjunto, Bogen dijo que la actualización “realmente les da a las fuerzas del orden y a los despachadores del 911 una visión mucho más amplia de cómo pueden brindar ayuda a una persona que lo necesita”.

“Vale la pena proporcionar esta seguridad al público”, dijo. “Salvar una sola vida lo justifica”.

Está previsto que el nuevo sistema entre en funcionamiento a mediados de 2028.

La decisión se produjo tras la aprobación unánime del programa por parte de la Junta Escolar del condado Broward el martes.

“Si vamos a implementar este programa, se hará correctamente”, dijo la integrante de la junta Rebecca Thompson.

El acuerdo establece que, tras una revisión por parte de las autoridades, los infractores recibirán multas de $225 USD por correo. La mayor parte de los ingresos generados por las multas será destinada a BusPatrol, la empresa encargada de suministrar e instalar gratuitamente las cámaras en aproximadamente 1,000 autobuses escolares de Broward.

Alrededor del 30% de los ingresos por multas será destinado a las escuelas de Broward.

La presidenta del Sindicato de Maestros de Broward, Anna Fusco, dijo que apoya el programa si contribuye a mantener seguros a los estudiantes.

“Los conductores no siempre están prestando atención y si podemos ofrecer algún tipo de disuasión o medidas adicionales de seguridad cuando esas señales están desplegadas y usted necesita detener su maldito vehículo, entonces estoy a favor”, dijo Fusco.

En el condado Miami-Dade, el programa fue suspendido temporalmente por el sheriff después de que el sistema emitiera multas de manera incorrecta a conductores que no habían adelantado ilegalmente a autobuses escolares, y esos conductores no tenían forma de apelar las sanciones.

El superintendente de las Escuelas de Broward, Howard Hepburn, dijo que esos problemas ya fueron corregidos y que los conductores podrán apelar las multas que consideren improcedentes.

“Nuestro equipo legal ha hecho un buen trabajo asegurándose de que esos problemas no estén presentes en nuestro contrato actual”, afirmó Hepburn.

Según la policía de Miami Gardens, el intento de robo y la balacera fueron reportados alrededor de la 1:35 a.m. en el área de Northwest 173rd Street y la 36th Avenue.

La policía indicó que un residente de la vivienda abrió la puerta principal al presunto ladrón y ambos se involucraron en un altercado físico.

La novia del residente luego corrió a buscar ayuda de los vecinos, dijeron las autoridades.

Uno de los vecinos escuchó entonces detonaciones, que según la policía provinieron del arma del presunto ladrón.

Ese vecino se dirigió al lugar donde ocurría la pelea y le disparó al sospechoso en la cabeza, informó la policía.

Funcionarios de Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trasladaron al sospechoso al HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, donde posteriormente murió.

“Cuarenta y cinco años en esta cuadra, y nunca habíamos visto una escena del crimen ni nada parecido aquí”, dijo la vecina Katara Bloom.

Mientras la policía afirma que ya no existe una amenaza para esta comunidad, los vecinos aseguran que seguirán unidos.

“Este no es un mal vecindario, es un vecindario bastante bueno”, dijo Bloom. “Realmente nadie tiene problemas. Somos como una familia en esta comunidad; cada uno de nosotros se conoce”.

No está claro si la persona que vive en la vivienda fue atacada al azar, ya que la policía indicó que el motivo aún no está claro.

La investigación continúa en curso.

Durante una audiencia en el Tribunal de Menores del condado Miami-Dade, el juez determinó que existe causa probable en el caso contra Naseline Timouche y ordenó que la madre se someta a evaluaciones antes de que pueda considerarse cualquier contacto futuro con su hija.

El tribunal también ordenó terapia y evaluaciones para determinar las necesidades de la menor.

Timouche, residente de la comunidad Sunshine Lakes, en el noroeste de Miami-Dade, fue arrestada el sábado por cargos de abuso infantil y negligencia infantil tras una investigación de agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade (MDSO).

Según el informe de arresto, los agentes acudieron a la vivienda de Timouche el sábado para realizar una verificación de bienestar y encontraron a la hija de Timouche con numerosas cicatrices y marcas en su cuerpo.

Los agentes dijeron que la niña les contó que con frecuencia era dejada sola en casa durante largos períodos de tiempo, incluso durante la noche.

Según el informe, la víctima también afirmó que había sido golpeada en numerosas ocasiones con un cable, una sartén y una espátula, y que su madre no la alimentaba con frecuencia.

El informe señala que la víctima dijo que Timouche no le permitía comer los alimentos de la casa porque eran para los “invitados” y que la obligaba a comer alimentos vencidos o incluso comida sacada de la basura.

Según el informe, la menor afirmó que su madre a veces la despertaba durante la noche para golpearla sin motivo aparente, incluida una ocasión en la que le golpeó el rostro con un cable de cargador.

La policía indicó que la menor presentaba numerosas cicatrices compatibles con las acusaciones que relató.

Según el informe, una vecina dijo a la policía que conoció a la niña hace dos meses por medio de otro vecino y que le había permitido quedarse en su casa, además de proporcionarle comida y refugio cuando era dejada sola.

La vecina contó a los agentes que vio a la menor caminando sola el viernes y nuevamente le proporcionó comida y ropa limpia, informaron las autoridades.

Los vecinos expresaron su sorpresa por las acusaciones.

“Nunca lo habría sospechado”, dijo la vecina Simone Haritos.

Haritos dijo que ocasionalmente trataba de ayudar a la niña cuando la veía sola.

“Trataba de ayudarla con pequeñas cosas, como galletas y agua, porque no quería tener problemas con la madre”, dijo.

Aunque calificó las acusaciones como desgarradoras, Haritos dijo que cree que la familia podría haber estado enfrentando dificultades.

“Creo que es realmente triste. Pienso que probablemente estaban bajo mucho estrés”, dijo. “No es barato vivir aquí y, por lo que entiendo, no son de aquí. Estoy segura de que probablemente enfrentaban muchas dificultades”.

Timouche permanece detenida sin derecho a fianza.

La menor fue colocada bajo cuidado temporal de crianza, según los procedimientos judiciales. Los registros indican que la niña nació en Chile y que su padre permanece en ese país.

The Tuesday announcement follows several incidents where traders have used inside information to profit on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Just last week, it was disclosed that former Congressman George Santos was under investigation for allegedly illegally betting he wouldn't attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address after initially saying he would. In April, a U.S. Army soldier was charged with using classified information to make a $400,000 profit trading on Polymarket on the timing of the U.S. military operations in Venezuela earlier this year.

Kalshi will now assign a score to new markets, and the score will determine how much Kalshi believes that particular market is at risk of insider trading or market manipulation. If a market scores high on these metrics, Kalshi will require its customers to provide employment information to trade on that market. Those who Kalshi identify as a presumptive insider on that particular market will be banned from trading in those markets as they are created, the company said.

“By implementing these new integrity measures, we continue to lead the industry on the issue of market integrity among federally regulated prediction markets,” said Robert DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, in a statement.

The employment information collected on users will only be used if suspicious activity is seen on the market in question, the company said. The company says these new screening tools have stopped at least 100 potential insider trades.

“This lets us identify presumptive insiders – people who have material, nonpublic information about a market’s outcome – and screen them out before a trade is ever placed,” Kalshi said in a statement.

Prediction markets have been pushing hard to gain legitimacy among the public and policymakers as a legitimate platform where users can bet on everything from sports to the weather to elections. Kalshi, in particular, has been trying to differentiate itself from its major competitor Polymarket, whose primary operations are outside of U.S. jurisdiction. Kalshi also disclosed that it has made at least 20 referrals to law enforcement or securities regulators for market manipulation or insider trading.

Kalshi announced in February that it was creating an Independent Surveillance Audit Committee to help it combat market manipulation and insider trading. The changes announced this week resulted partly from the committee's work, the company said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Kalshi's changes earlier Tuesday.

Haji Najibullah's sentencing capped a daylong proceeding in Manhattan federal court that featured a dramatic few moments when the reporter, David Rohde, faced Najibullah and described how Najibullah took part in the abduction of him and two other men in 2008 in Afghanistan but was now “refusing to take responsibility as I look at him today.”

Rohde, who is MSNOW’s national security reporter and previously worked for The New York Times and other publications, told Judge Katherine Polk Failla that he was “surprised and disappointed” that Najibullah was trying to blame others and circumstances for his role in the kidnapping of Rohde, another journalist and a driver.

The men were held for more than seven months before making a dramatic escape from a Taliban-controlled compound in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

In April 2025, Najibullah pleaded guilty to providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to take hostages.

The bearded Najibullah, 50, who wore a black skull cap in court Tuesday, admitted that he provided material support including weapons to the Taliban from 2007 to 2009, knowing it would be used to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Speaking through an interpreter, Najibullah apologized to Rohde and his family, saying “what happened to him was terrible, and I deeply regret my role in it.”

Standing at a lectern just feet from Najibullah, Rohde said it was Najibullah's lies that led him to go to what he thought was an interview but what turned into an ambush.

“Hostage taking is a cruel and cowardly crime. Family members spend weeks and months thinking they have the power to save their loved one's life,” Rohde said, noting it's “an illusion” because families lack the leverage and vast sums needed to meet ransom demands.

Still, Rohde said, the pain he and those who know him have suffered is dwarfed by the deaths of three U.S. soldiers who were killed by Najibullah's cohorts in a separate operation.

Three times, he named the soldiers as he spoke, becoming emotional about their deaths, the pain his family endured and his love for journalism.

In a statement afterward, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the case proves that “those who harm Americans and engage in acts of terrorism will be hunted down and brought to justice, no matter how long it takes.”

As she announced the sentence, the judge praised Rohde for the work that he and his wife have done on behalf of the families of others who were kidnapped.

She said she stopped short of giving Najibullah the life prison sentence that federal sentencing guidelines called for because he had pleaded guilty, sparing more trauma for his victims, and because he was subjected to harsh prison conditions for six years, including during the pandemic.

But she rejected most of the arguments for leniency made by his defense lawyer, who requested an 18-year prison term for his client as he portrayed him as doing what was necessary to protect his homeland during war.

She said fighters under his control attacked a convoy of soldiers, killing three of them.

“I don’t think he needed to pull the trigger, to decapitate a body, to be responsible for what happened,” Failla said.

Rohde called it the “biggest mistake of my life” to set up an interview with Najibullah that resulted in the kidnapping and said he would not have done it if he knew Najibullah was behind the killing of American soldiers.

He noted during his statement in court that the hostage takers had claimed he was a spy “when in fact I was a journalist” who was trying to get the viewpoint of a Taliban commander “to understand their hopes, their lives and their worldview.”

Then, he repeated that he remains “a journalist and I could not be prouder of being part of this profession,” a statement that briefly caused him to get choked up.

The law requires government agencies and private companies to integrate cattle-tracking, land ownership and deforestation-monitoring systems to identify livestock linked to forest loss and keep them out of supply chains.

Supporters say the measure could help tackle one of the leading causes of deforestation in Colombia’s Amazon, where cattle ranching has long been associated with land grabbing and the clearing of forests for pasture.

The law comes as Colombia seeks to reverse decades of forest loss, much of it driven by the expansion of cattle ranching into previously forested areas. Supporters say it could close longstanding loopholes that have allowed cattle raised on illegally cleared land — including inside protected areas and national parks — to enter legitimate supply chains and eventually reach supermarkets and export markets.

A demand for beef not linked to deforestation

Susanne Breitkopf, director of forest campaigns at the Environmental Investigation Agency U.S., an environmental watchdog that has investigated deforestation linked to Colombia’s cattle industry, said the law could become a model for other tropical forest nations.

“It is a victory for forests, for the communities that protect them, and for consumers who demand that the beef they purchase does not contribute to deforestation and illicit economies,” Breitkopf said.

The legislation also arrives as governments and businesses face growing pressure from international markets to demonstrate that commodities such as beef are not linked to deforestation. Environmental advocates say traceability systems are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for access to some overseas markets and could help authorities better identify land grabbing and illegal forest clearing by cutting down or burning forest.

Colombia has lost about 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) of forest — an area roughly the size of Belgium — according to organizations that supported the legislation, with the problem particularly acute in the Amazon region.

Creating a nationwide legal framework

Brazil’s Amazonian state of Para has adopted traceability requirements for cattle producers and committed to tracking individual animals throughout the supply chain, but environmental groups say Colombia’s law goes further by creating a nationwide legal framework.

A 2025 analysis by the Environmental Investigation Agency found that hundreds of thousands of cattle were transported between 2020 and 2024 from municipalities overlapping national parks.

The law is the result of years of campaigning by environmental organizations, researchers and lawmakers who argued that weak oversight allowed cattle linked to illegal deforestation to move through Colombia’s fragmented supply chain.

Natalia Katixa Escobar, a researcher at Dejusticia, a Colombian legal and policy research center that has studied links between cattle ranching and deforestation, said the law helps bridge a longstanding divide between environmental and agricultural oversight.

“One of its first achievements is that it creates a bridge between environmental and agricultural policy,” she said. “The control mechanisms associated with cattle ranching and cattle traceability had no environmental perspective.”

Colombia's environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres told The Associated Press the government hopes the measure will help distinguish producers who operate responsibly from those linked to forest destruction.

“This means it will become increasingly difficult for the destruction of forests or economies associated with illegal activities to hide behind seemingly legitimate supply chains,” Vélez said.

A 2-year timeline for implementation

Within six months, the government must establish programs to help suppliers comply with the new requirements, create a certification system for deforestation-free products and provide funding to strengthen monitoring systems in active deforestation hot spots.

Within a year, authorities must regulate procedures governing the country’s cattle identification and traceability systems and establish due diligence requirements for deforestation-free cattle ranching.

By the end of the second year, slaughterhouses, meat processors, cattle auctions, traders and live cattle exporters will be required to implement due diligence policies and best practices aimed at ensuring their supply chains are free from deforestation.

The legislation also requires the gradual integration of government databases, allowing officials to compare information on land tenure, cattle ownership and forest loss for the first time.

Supporters say those measures could significantly improve authorities’ ability to identify cattle raised on recently deforested land and prevent them from entering legal markets.

But the law’s success will depend largely on implementation, including whether the government can adequately fund new systems and enforce the rules in remote regions where illegal deforestation remains widespread.

If fully implemented, supporters say, the law could become a model for other tropical forest nations seeking to protect forests while maintaining access to increasingly demanding international markets.

“The real test will be what happens on the ground,” Escobar said, noting that while the law could improve oversight and information-sharing, reducing deforestation will also depend on governance and enforcement in remote regions of the Amazon.

“Whether it will significantly reduce deforestation in the Amazon remains to be seen,” she said.

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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During a hearing in Miami-Dade County Children’s Court, the judge found probable cause in the case involving Naseline Timouche and said the mother must undergo evaluations before any future contact with her daughter can be considered.

The court also ordered therapy and evaluations to assess the child’s needs.

Timouche, who lives in the Sunshine Lakes community in northwest Miami-Dade, was arrested Saturday on charges of child abuse and child neglect following an investigation by Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies.

According to an arrest report, deputies responded to Timouche’s home Saturday to conduct a welfare check and found Timouche’s daughter with numerous scars and marks on her body.

Deputies said the girl told them she was frequently left home alone for extended periods of time, including overnight.

According to the report, the victim said she had also been hit numerous times with a cord, frying pan and a spatula and does not often get fed at home by her mother.

The report states that the victim said Timouche does not allow her to eat the food in her home because the food is for “guests,” and forces her to eat expired food instead or food from the trash.

According to the report, the victim claimed that her mother would sometimes wake her up at night and strike her with items for no apparent reason, including one time where she was struck in the face with a charging cable.

Police said the victim had numerous scars on her body that were consistent with her claims.

According to the report, a neighbor told police that she was first introduced to the girl two months ago from another neighbor and has allowed her to stay in her house and has provided her with food and shelter when she is left alone.

The neighbor told officers that she saw the victim walking around alone on Friday and once again provided her with food and clean clothing, authorities said.

Neighbors expressed shock at the allegations.

“You would never suspect that,” neighbor Simone Haritos said.

Haritos said she occasionally tried to help the girl when she saw her alone.

“I would try to help her, little things like cookies and water because I didn’t want to get into it with the parent,” she said.

While describing the allegations as heartbreaking, Haritos said she believed the family may have been struggling.

“I think it is really sad. I think they were probably under a lot of stress,” she said. “It is not cheap over here and they are not from here from what I understand. So I am sure they probably had a lot of uphill battles.”

Timouche remains in custody and is being held without bond.

The child has been placed in foster care, according to court proceedings. Records indicate the girl was born in Chile and that her father remains in that country.

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NASA announced on Tuesday that the Miami Sunset Senior High School graduate, who went on to become a NASA astronaut and U.S. Army Colonel, had been selected for the Artemis III mission.

Rubio, 50, turned his acceptance speech into a gratitude list that included his wife, his four kids, family, friends, “NASA community,” engineers, flight controllers, directors, peers, and support staff.

“What an incredible blessing and an honor it is to be standing here representing all of you,” Rubio said.

Jared Isaacman, the 15th administrator of NASA, introduced Rubio as an “Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot, family medicine physician, and record-setting astronaut mission specialist.”

Rubio and his fellow crew members — Randy Bresnik, the NASA commander, Andre Douglas, NASA mission specialist, and the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano — are preparing for a 2027 spaceflight around Earth ahead of the 2028 lunar landing.

Before joining the Johnson Space Center’s 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class, Rubio served in the Army as an aviator and a physician for over 28 years, and he was a West Point “Black Knights” parachute team member.

Rubio graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1998 and earned his doctorate of medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2010.

Rubio’s deployments included Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and he was a battalion surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group in the U.S. Army when NASA selected him.

His long list of awards includes the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Space Exploration Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters, and the Air Medal.

Related story: NASA unveils Artemis III astronauts to test technology for a future moon landing

Related social media posts

.@USArmy Black Hawk helicopter pilot, family medicine physician, and record-setting astronaut Frank Rubio is joining Artemis III as a mission specialist. pic.twitter.com/3Uoz1ZbZG4

— NASA (@NASA) June 9, 2026

“What an incredible blessing and an honor it is to be standing here representing all of you.”

Artemis III mission specialist Frank Rubio takes a moment to thank his family and colleagues for their support. pic.twitter.com/zHqW5ipx9m

— NASA (@NASA) June 9, 2026

Según un comunicado de la BSO, uno de los hombres vestía zapatos rojos, una camiseta negra de Nike y un sombrero tipo boonie, mientras que el otro tenía tatuajes en los brazos, rastas y llevaba una camiseta sin mangas blanca y pantalones oscuros.

“Las imágenes de vigilancia muestran al sujeto tirando de un vagón plegable azul y rompiendo la manija de la puerta trasera de la camioneta de trabajo”, escribió el martes Claudinne Caro, portavoz de la BSO, en un comunicado.

Los agentes de la BSO estimaron que el valor de las herramientas robadas el 19 de mayo en 2050 NW 29th St. asciende a aproximadamente $8,000 USD, según Caro.

Pérez pidió a cualquier persona con información sobre el caso que lo llame al 954-202-3113 o se comunique con Broward Crime Stoppers al 954-493-8477 para permanecer en el anonimato.

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One man was wearing red shoes, a black Nike T-shirt, and a boonie hat, and the other had tattoos on his arms, dreadlocks, and wore a white tank top and dark pants, according to a BSO statement.

“The surveillance footage shows the subject pulling a blue foldable wagon and breaking the back door handle of the work van,” Claudinne Caro, a BSO spokeswoman, wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

BSO deputies estimated the value of the tools stolen on May 19 at 2050 NW 29th St. at about $8,000, according to Caro.

Perez asked anyone with information about the case to call him at 954-202-3113 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 to remain anonymous.

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It happened on April 3 in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95, just south of the interchange with Interstate 595.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers said Aaron McCullough, 33, of Tamarac, lost control of a silver 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, careened across all lanes of the highway and hit the end of a guardrail.

Both McCullough and his passenger, who has not been identified by FHP, were injured when authorities said they hit the car’s windshield.

The victims were taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where McCullough’s passenger was pronounced dead.

Police said a blood draw from McCullough revealed he had a blood-alcohol level well above the legal limit and prosecutors said it took more than five hours before that level fell below the legal limit.

Investigators said they were able to determine that McCullough had been drinking at a nightclub earlier in the evening, with records showing he purchased a bottle of tequila around 9:30 p.m.

Arrested on Thursday, McCullough is facing charges of DUI manslaughter and DUI causing property damage and remains behind bars on no bond.

El accidente ocurrió el 3 de abril en los carriles en dirección norte de la Interestatal 95, justo al sur del intercambio con la Interestatal 595.

Agentes de la Patrulla de Carreteras de Florida (FHP) informaron que Aaron McCullough, de 33 años y residente de Tamarac, perdió el control de un Chevrolet Malibu plateado modelo 2017, cruzó todos los carriles de la autopista y chocó contra el extremo de una barrera de protección.

Tanto McCullough como su pasajero, cuya identidad no ha sido revelada por la FHP, resultaron heridos al impactar contra el parabrisas del vehículo, según las autoridades.

Las víctimas fueron trasladadas al Broward Health Medical Center, donde el pasajero de McCullough fue declarado muerto.

La policía indicó que un análisis de sangre realizado a McCullough reveló que tenía un nivel de alcohol en sangre muy por encima del límite legal, y los fiscales señalaron que pasaron más de cinco horas antes de que ese nivel descendiera por debajo del límite permitido.

Los investigadores determinaron que McCullough había estado bebiendo en un club nocturno más temprano esa noche, y los registros muestran que compró una botella de tequila alrededor de las 9:30 p.m.

Arrestado el jueves, McCullough enfrenta cargos de homicidio por conducir bajo la influencia del alcohol (DUI) y DUI con daños a la propiedad. Permanece detenido sin derecho a fianza.

La NASA anunció el martes que el graduado de Miami Sunset Senior High School, quien posteriormente se convirtió en astronauta de la NASA y coronel del Ejército de Estados Unidos, fue seleccionado para la misión Artemis III.

Rubio, de 50 años y padre de cuatro hijos, convirtió su discurso en una lista de agradecimientos que incluyó a la “comunidad de la NASA”, líderes, ingenieros, controladores de vuelo y directores.

“Ustedes son quienes hacen posible todo esto, así que gracias”, dijo Rubio. “Y por último, pero definitivamente no menos importante, a mis compañeros… y a todo el personal de apoyo que tenemos. Esperamos representarlos a todos”.

Rubio y sus compañeros de tripulación —Randy Bresnik, comandante de la NASA; Andre Douglas, especialista de misión de la NASA; y Luca Parmitano, de la Agencia Espacial Europea— se preparan para un vuelo espacial alrededor de la Tierra en 2027 antes del alunizaje previsto para 2028.

Antes de integrarse a la Clase de Candidatos a Astronauta de 2017 en el Centro Espacial Johnson, Rubio sirvió en el Ejército como aviador y médico durante más de 28 años, además de formar parte del equipo de paracaidismo “Black Knights” de West Point.

Rubio se graduó de la Academia Militar de Estados Unidos en West Point, Nueva York, en 1998 y obtuvo un doctorado en Medicina de la Universidad de Servicios Uniformados de Ciencias de la Salud en Bethesda, Maryland, en 2010.

Entre sus despliegues militares figuran Bosnia, Afganistán e Irak, y se desempeñaba como cirujano de batallón del 3.er Batallón del 10.º Grupo de Fuerzas Especiales del Ejército de Estados Unidos cuando fue seleccionado por la NASA.

Su extensa lista de reconocimientos incluye la Medalla al Servicio Distinguido de la NASA, la Medalla de Exploración Espacial, la Medalla al Servicio Superior de Defensa, la Legión al Mérito, la Estrella de Bronce con dos racimos de hojas de roble y la Medalla Aérea.

Historia relacionada: NASA presenta a los astronautas de Artemis III para probar tecnología destinada a un futuro alunizaje.

Publicación relacionada en redes sociales

.@USArmy Black Hawk helicopter pilot, family medicine physician, and record-setting astronaut Frank Rubio is joining Artemis III as a mission specialist. pic.twitter.com/3Uoz1ZbZG4

— NASA (@NASA) June 9, 2026

Inflation is expected to reach 4.2% in May from a year earlier when the Labor Department reports last month's figures Wednesday, according to a survey of economists by data provider FactSet The annual increase would be up from the 3.8% reading in April. On a monthly basis, prices are forecast to have risen a hefty 0.5%, slightly below the 0.6% increase in April.

Inflation had been cooling before President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April 2025, which lifted the costs of many goods. Prices have since surged after the Iran war made oil and gas more expensive, making affordability a key political issue. The main question now is whether inflation will fade if the war ends and oil and gas prices fall, or will it persist even after the war.

Some economists worry that prices are still elevated in areas that should be unaffected by gas costs, such as dental care, motor vehicle repair, and other services. At the same time, wages are rising only modestly, which should reduce pressure on firms to raise prices further.

To that end, economists and financial markets will closely watch core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories. Core inflation is forecast to have risen 0.3% in May from April, according to FactSet, a pace that is consistent with annual readings far higher than the Fed's 2% target. On an annual basis, core inflation may tick higher to 2.9% from 2.8%.

Gas prices have fallen this month, but they rose in May because of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off about a fifth of the world's oil supply. Prices at the pump rose, on average, from about $4.04 in mid-April to $4.49 in mid-May, according to the Energy Information Administration.

They have since fallen back to $4.16 on average nationwide, according to AAA, which could lead to a cooler inflation reading in June.

More expensive diesel fuel has lifted shipping costs, with companies like UPS and FedEx adding fuel surcharges in the past couple of months. That is likely to push up grocery prices, which jumped 0.7% in April and are 2.9% higher than a year ago.

Stubbornly high inflation has shifted the debate among Fed policymakers, who had signaled at the start of the year that they were inclined to cut their key rate twice more this year. Now, more officials are saying they expect the Fed's next move will likely be a hike rather than a cut. When the Fed boosts its key rate, it typically over time leads to higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and business loans.

Wall Street investors expect the Fed to raise rates in December, according to futures prices tracked by CME Fedwatch.

Despite higher inflation, the job market appears to be improving, with hiring increasing to a healthy level in May, and the economy is still growing. These positive signs suggest the Fed doesn't need to cut rates to stimulate growth and hiring. They also signal that the Fed's rate isn't so high that it is weighing on the economy. Yet some officials want rates to cool growth a bit, because that can bring down inflation.

Interest rates on two-year and 10-year Treasury securities have increased since Friday's jobs report showed hiring accelerated in May, a sign investors expect inflation may remain elevated and eventually require Fed rate hikes.

Higher inflation has put the new Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, in a difficult spot. He advocated for rate cuts last year and was chosen by Trump to replace Jerome Powell, after Trump relentlessly criticized Powell for not reducing rates more quickly. Yet for now, Trump and White House officials are mainly arguing that interest rates don't need to increase, rather than demanding further cuts.

Some economists still see tariffs pushing up some costs, particularly clothing, which jumped 0.6% in April and are 4.2% more expensive than a year ago. Pricier fuel may have also led to higher airline fares last month, which would lift core inflation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convey the concerns and “to discuss U.S. and European coordination and response efforts to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda,” the State Department said in a statement.

“The department’s highest priority and focus remain protecting the health of the American people and preventing this Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores,” it said.

A State Department official was more blunt, saying the U.S. “has stepped up” to confront the outbreak and “now the world must do more to step up as well.”

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private call between Rubio and von der Leyen, said it's time for action and that without it, trans-Atlantic travel could be affected.

The official said the U.S. wants to see action that includes financial contributions to combat the disease and “commonsense restrictions on travel from the affected area.”

The World Cup tournament opens Thursday in Mexico and unfolds over nearly six weeks, with the United States hosting most of the games.

The Trump administration has banned travelers who have been in one of the affected countries in the previous three weeks from entering the United States and is establishing quarantine procedures for affected American citizens returning home from those places.

There are relatively few direct flights between Africa and the United States per day but more than 300 direct daily flights between Europe and the United States.

The U.S. says it has contributed more than $200 million to efforts to end the outbreak in Congo and Uganda since it was first confirmed last month.

The European Union announced earlier Tuesday that it was boosting its Ebola response funding by 16.5 million euros ($19 million) on top of 15 million euros ($17.3 million) related to the outbreak that it contributed last month. The European Union delegation in Washington had no immediate response about Rubio's call with von der Leyen.

Democrats assailed Rubio during congressional hearings last week about the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the impact that may have had on the Ebola response. Rubio insisted that early detection programs have been rolled into health deals struck with African countries and that the U.S. “response has been very quick."

Un video de vigilancia en el área de la vivienda de Johnson, ubicada en Northwest 34 Terrace y Ninth Street, muestra a Merisma buscando refugio detrás de un contenedor de basura, informó el lunes el teniente Antonio González, portavoz de la policía de Lauderhill.

“El centro de despacho de la BSO escuchó un fuerte golpe a través de la línea abierta” durante la llamada al 911 realizada por Johnson antes de que este confesara: “Acabo de dispararle”, según González.

Los agentes de la policía de Lauderhill arrestaron a Johnson y el Departamento Correccional de la Oficina del Sheriff de Broward lo ingresó el lunes en la cárcel principal del condado Broward, en Fort Lauderdale.

Johnson compareció el martes ante un tribunal de fianzas en el condado Broward. El abogado Joshua Rydell lo representó. Su madre, Cora Johnson, habló en su defensa.

“Si se hubiera evitado el acoso, esto también se pudo haber evitado”, dijo la madre de Johnson durante la audiencia.

Johnson enfrenta un cargo de asesinato en primer grado. El juez de circuito del condado Broward Corey Friedman le negó el derecho a fianza. El juez Thomas Coleman fue asignado para presidir el caso de homicidio capital.

El abogado Jack Palmeri, ex fiscal que no está vinculado al caso, dijo que es probable que la defensa invoque la ley de legítima defensa “Stand Your Ground”.

“Usted perdió de vista lo que estaba ocurriendo. No sabe qué daño podía causar esa persona detrás del contenedor de basura”, dijo Palmeri sobre la decisión de Johnson de disparar.

The law, signed in December by Gov. Kathy Hochul, went into effect Tuesday. Her office is calling it a “first-in-the-nation law” that will boost transparency at a time when it says AI generated performers are popping up across all forms of media, including on social platforms and in digital advertising.

Synthetic performers are defined under state law as “digitally-created media that appear as a real person.” The law applies to ads in any medium.

“In New York, we are setting the rules of the road instead of letting AI run the show,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. The "simple, honest disclosure" required by the law “protects consumers, respects our creative workforce and keeps New York at the forefront of responsible innovation,” she said.

Ads that don't “conspicuously disclose” that they have used a synthetic performer will be subject to a penalty of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for any further violations.

There are specific carve outs listed in the law to exempt ads for movies, television shows, streaming content, video games and other works that feature synthetic performers in the entire work. It also doesn't apply to audio advertisements or ads where AI is solely used for language translation.

When the law was making its way through the state legislature last year, the American Association of Advertising Agencies and several other advertising organizations issued statements in strong opposition to the law.

The 4As, as the organization is better known, said in one blog post that it would hurt advertisers by “injecting compliance uncertainty into the advertising process, burdening brands (and their agencies) who advertise in New York and undermining creative and technological innovation.”

Other organizations, like the The New York State Broadcasters Association, said in public statements during the legislation's journey to become law that they were relieved to see some of those carve outs that were created through amendments, but remained concerned about the broad definition of a synthetic performer. David Donovan, the president of the organization, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday that local broadcast stations are ready to comply with the law.

The biggest supporter of the law was SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union that recently ratified a new contract with studios and streamers that they say provides further protections against synthetic performers.

The law is one of many proposed or enacted in several U.S. states with the goal of boosting job security for real humans or curbing the potential privacy and safety risks posed by AI. The existing state laws that have been passed include barring deepfakes in specific instances, limiting the collection of certain personal information and requiring more transparency from companies.

Just after Hochul signed the synthetic performers law in December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pressuring states not to regulate AI. The move came out of fear that the patchwork of regulations across the states could impede AI companies’ growth and allow China to catch up to the U.S. in the AI race. Critics of the executive order argue it will allow tech companies to operate with little to no oversight.

On Tuesday, the Hurricanes announced the game themes for each of their seven home games at Hard Rock Stadium.

Plan accordingly, Canes Family…

Our 2026 Game Theme schedule is here! 🙌

🔗: https://t.co/8sHaOKvNWx pic.twitter.com/9DSiftU41F

— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) June 9, 2026

Sept. 10 vs. Florida A&M (8 p.m.): Home Opener

The Hurricanes should roll to a 2-0 start for the fifth consecutive season when they open their home schedule against the Rattlers.

Sept. 26 vs. Central Michigan (6:30 p.m.): UHealth Cancer Awareness Game, Family Weekend, and 1991 National Championship Celebration

UHealth partners with the Hurricanes for its annual Cancer Awareness Game, and fans can expect to see plenty of pink throughout the field and Hard Rock Stadium. The university also will welcome students and their families as part of Family Weekend festivities. Additionally, Miami will honor its undefeated 1991 national championship team on the 35th anniversary of its 12-0 season, which came during the program’s time in the Big East Conference.

Oct. 17 vs. Florida State, Presented by City National Bank: ORANGEOUT!

The university is asking fans and students to wear orange as the Hurricanes host rival Florida State. Last season, Miami’s Orange Out game took place in the season opener against Notre Dame.

Oct. 24 vs. Pittsburgh, Presented by Estrella: 2001 National Championship Celebration

Miami will honor its famed 2001 national championship team, marking 25 years since its dominant 12-0 season and national title under head coach Larry Coker.

Nov. 14 vs. Duke, Presented by The Islands of the Bahamas: Homecoming

Duke, Mensah’s former school, will visit Hard Rock Stadium, where the program is inviting former Hurricanes from all eras back to campus for Homecoming Weekend.

Nov. 21 vs. Virginia Tech, Presented by Boost Mobile: Salute to Service

In honor of National Veterans and Military Families Month, the school says it will host a “Salute to Service” game featuring festivities inside and outside Hard Rock Stadium that recognize veterans and pay tribute to those who serve and those in training to serve. The team is expected to wear special uniform tops and pants for the game.

Nov. 28 vs. Boston College: Canes 4 Life Day (Senior Day):

Miami will close out its home schedule and regular season slate by honoring its 2026 senior class.

For season ticket information, call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit miamihurricanes.com/tickets.

You'll usually be in the money — at least if recent history holds.

The New York Knicks, after two straight wins in the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, lost at home 115-111 on Monday night with Trump, a longtime fan of the Big Apple's NBA team, in a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden.

He similarly may have had a jinxing role for MLB's Washington Nationals during his first term, when the home team lost Game 5 of the World Series to the Houston Astros 7-1.

In November, the president was on hand when the NFL's Washington Commanders hosted the Detroit Lions, and the visitors romped 44-22. And he was front and center at Bethpage Black when Europe topped the U.S. golf team in last fall's Ryder Cup.

It’s a glaring irony for a president fanatical about sports but also especially obsessed with winning.

Trump frequently mentions his own election victories, even boasting of a 2020 win over Joe Biden that never happened, and touts his record of endorsing winning Republican primary candidates. His love of sports also sometimes leads him into hostile territory, including heavily Democratic Manhattan, where his very presence led to sustained booing before Game 3's tipoff.

The White House called the suggestion that Trump's attendance might not bode well for home teams “foolish” and called him “the people's president.”

“President Trump is the greatest champion for sports of any president in American history, and he loves them," spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement.

To be fair, Trump's attendance doesn't guarantee the home team will lose.

Last September, the New York Yankees beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 as the president marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Trump was also there when Navy beat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, when the Midshipmen were technically the home team — though Navy wasn't playing in its home stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

He's also been to plenty of sporting events where home field advantage isn't a factor.

That was true for his attending the U.S. Open in September and the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as that year's Daytona 500. Ditto for 2025s NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

It also won't be an issue Sunday, when the White House's South Lawn will host a UFC show to mark Trump's 80th birthday.

If the trend holds, however, it may not be great news for the U.S. national team in the World Cup, which opens Thursday.

The Americans have never made it past the semifinal stage in the tournament's modern history anyway — and they'll have to contend this time with Trump playing an outsize role in organizing the event. He has pledged to attend the final and award the trophy to the winning team.

Trump getting blamed for New York's loss

Some Knicks fans have faulted the president for the Game 3 defeat, even though their team still leads the series. Game 4 will also be played in New York on Wednesday, though this time Trump isn't expected to attend.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and frequent foil for the president, playfully picked up on the theme of Trump as a jinx, reposting a past White House post on X declaring “Call it the Trump effect” alongside discussion about the Knicks' loss.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith — himself mentioned as a possible future presidential hopeful — suggested before Game 3 that it'd be Trump's fault if the Knicks didn't win. Afterward, he said, “What I feared would happen ended up happening.”

“The president disrupted our mojo,” said Smith, a longtime Knicks fan, before adding, “The man messed things up.”

Asked after the game about Smith potentially blaming him for a Knicks loss, Trump dismissed the commentator's political aspirations and questioned his intelligence.

“I think he’s a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for his flight back to Washington early Tuesday

“You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that,” he said. “I don’t think he does, actually.”

Frequent booing hasn't kept Trump away

Before he was a politician, Trump, a native of the New York City borough of Queens, frequently attended Knicks games, sometimes sitting courtside. His return to the Garden nonetheless drew long and loud boos when his face was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem.

In fact, he's been roundly booed repeatedly, though it has more to do with his politics than any role he might have in jinxing the home team. Trump drew boos at the Nationals' World Series game and during the Commanders game and the U.S. Open. At some events he's cheered and the crowd reaction can also be mixed — though Trump just as likely to simply claim a more friendly reception than he actually gets.

After the Knicks game, the president tried to suggest that the boos were “I think, mostly cheers.” The White House similarly attempted to spin the incident into a political show of strength, posting a photo of Trump at the game with the caption “King of New York.”

Offering a different assessment was New York's Daily News tabloid. It featured a cartoon of an exaggeratedly rotund Trump wearing a No. 38 Knicks jersey — with a bubble emerging from his mouth saying “approval rating.”

In an interview on Tuesday, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera repeated accusations against the Trump administration made by other Cuban officials, including the foreign minister and the president, and complained bitterly that the U.S. is targeting Cuban civilians with its decades-old embargo and new blockade of energy shipments to the island.

“The sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” she said at Cuba's embassy in Washington. “We are not a threat to the U.S., and we don’t want confrontation.”

Torres Rivera, who holds the formal title of chargé d’affaires, described the situation as “a war without bombs.” She said efforts to change Cuba’s government by coercion or force would be met by fierce resistance.

“Raúl is sacred,” she said of the indictment by a federal grand jury last month of Castro. The 95-year-old former president faces conspiracy and murder charges related to the 1996 shootdown of two unarmed civilian planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue while he was serving as Cuba’s defense minister.

“Raúl is a sacred symbol of the revolution, and we will defend Raúl — as we will the country — until the end,” Torres Rivera said. “If we are attacked, we are going to respond, and we are prepared for that. But we don’t want it.”

Her comments reflect a belief among many Cubans and Cuba analysts that the charges against Castro and the sanctions imposed on others in the socialist government's leadership are similar to those the Trump administration touted as a reason for the military intervention in Venezuela in January that deposed then-President Nicolás Maduro.

On Thursday, the same day the U.S. Treasury Department leveled sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Castro’s son and grandson, along with others, U.S. President Donald Trump said of Cuba: “We’re going to handle that as soon as we’ve finished” military operations in Iran.

Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.

Torres Rivera said the moves by the Trump administration to tighten the screws on Cuba’s already faltering economy have resulted in untold misery for ordinary Cubans who are struggling to survive with power cuts of up to 20 hours a day and exorbitant costs for gasoline, kerosene and everyday goods, including food and medicine.

“What is happening now is tough,” she said. “It is heartbreaking.”

Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials have repeatedly denied that Cuba’s economic strife is America’s fault and repeatedly cast the blame on the Cuban government’s socialist policies. They have not ruled out military action against the island but have said they are willing to give Cuban authorities time to make reforms.

Torres Rivera said that recent discussions between senior U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana and elsewhere have been “professional and respectful.” But she said that Cuba is not willing to change unless reforms are made from within and not under duress.

A former Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, another socialist country with which Cuba has long-standing ties, she noted that Washington and Hanoi have forged a positive relationship over the past four decades, but only because the Vietnamese enacted reforms at their own pace. The same should be permitted for Cuba, she said.

“We want to make sure that the only changes to the system are done by us,” she said.

Rubio, however, has said Cuba poses a serious national security threat to America because of its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia and friendly relations with U.S. foes in Latin America.

“I really don’t believe this system is capable of reform unless new people take over or a new mindset takes hold,” he told lawmakers at a congressional hearing last week.

The State Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the Cuban ambassador's comments.

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On Monday, police officers arrested Johnson, and Broward Sheriff’s Office corrections booked him at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, according to inmate records.

When Johnson appeared in bond court on Tuesday in Broward County, Attorney Joshua Rydell was representing him, and his mother, Cora Johnson, told the judge her son was ”a good" person.

“If bullying is prevented, this could have been prevented also,” Johnson’s mother said during the hearing.

Johnson faced a first-degree murder charge. Broward County Circuit Judge Corey Friedman denied bond.

Before the shooting, Johnson told the 911 dispatcher that Merisma “was threatening people,” and surveillance video shows Johnson armed with a gun when Merisma raised his arms and hid behind a trash can, Lt. Antonio Gonzalez, a spokesman for the LPD, said on Monday.

“BSO dispatch heard a loud banging over the open line” during Johnson’s 911 call before Johnson confessed, “I just shot him,” according to Gonzalez.

A relative said Merisma had made threats before, and the shooting was in self-defense. Attorney Jack Palmeri, a former prosecutor not connected to the case, said a Stand Your Ground defense was likely.

The shooting was outside of Johnson’s home, in a driveway near Northwest 34 Terrace and Ninth Street, records show.

Gonzalez reported that Johnson first shot Mersima when he was raising his arms and later once in the head when he was hiding behind his garbage can.

“You have lost sight,” Palmeri said about Johnson’s decision to fire. “You don’t know what that harm is doing behind the garbage can.”

Broward County Circuit Judge Thomas Coleman was set to preside over the capital homicide case.

Johnson’s bond court hearing

Related reports

• Arrest made in fatal Lauderhill shooting
• Man found fatally shot in driveway in Lauderhill neighborhood, police say

Location

The U.S.-born pope received a raucous welcome at the Olympic stadium in Barcelona, the second stop of his weeklong visit to Spain that has drawn huge crowds despite the country’s strong secular bent.

The crowd, estimated at 40,000, erupted in cheers when Leo emerged from the stands in his popemobile and looped around the grounds. He thrilled sections of the crowd each time he stopped to bless babies or to do the “6-7” hand gesture that has now become a signature.

The event featured several nods to Catalan culture, including a demonstration of the region’s famed human tower acrobats, known as castellers. The eight-level tower drew an appreciative applause from the pope after the smallest child reached the top, waved, and then quickly shimmied down.

Leo also spoke in Catalan, more than initially foreseen, during the prayer vigil that featured a question-and-answer session with young adults. Such exchanges are scripted in advance and are typical features of papal trips. But Tuesday’s edition was particularly raw given the subject matter Leo covered.

One young woman told Leo of a suicide attempt and the “darkness" she had experienced with bouts of depression. Another spoke about her father’s attempt to kill her mother and a childhood spent in juvenile detention. She asked how she could ever forgive her father.

Leo thanked the youths for their honesty and willingness to share their stories publicly. He blamed the malaise on what he said was a society that demands perfection of its youth and silences “moments of darkness and suffering.”

He compared the “silent illness” of depression among young people to the suffering of Christ on the cross.

“In those dark hours, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus shared our pain and revealed to us the face of a compassionate God, who bears our sorrows, who suffers with us, weeps our tears and remains at our side with his presence full of love and mercy,” Leo said.

But he also identified abusive families where domestic violence is normalized as being behind many problems facing today's young people.

“So many crime reports, even today, reflect a toxic climate in family relationships marked by abuse and oppression and, in particular, by violence against women, which unfortunately often leads to femicide,” Leo said.

Leo urged young people to find solace in their faith. And he drew applause when he demanded better health services and care for mental health problems and domestic violence.

“We are all called to address this dramatic reality, both personally and as a society, because we are responsible for confronting it in all its dimensions,” he said.

Leo has been emphasizing a message of hope for youths in Spain, a once overwhelmingly Catholic country that experienced a religious crisis after its 20th century dictatorship ended and democracy took root.

Recently, church officials and sociologists alike have pointed to indications that young Spaniards are showing an increasing interest in their spiritual lives, with anecdotal reports of rises in conversions among young adults.

Patricia Garzón, a 25-year-old who attended the prayer vigil with her friend, said her faith helps her every day.

“I believe that it is more difficult (for young people) today because before social media didn’t exist, and today we are constantly comparing ourselves with one another (online),” she said. “And we need someone from above to help us, to help us see that he loves us for who we are, not how others want us to see ourselves.”

The highlight of Leo's visit to Spain comes Wednesday when he inaugurates the soaring central Tower of Jesus Christ on Barcelona's famed Sagrada Familia basilica.

___

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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A Local 10 viewer recently provided photographs showing workers removing equipment from the restaurant at 18690 NW 67th Ave. in the Country Club Plaza near the Miami Lakes and Hialeah border.

The restaurant’s name has been removed from the building, and graphics that once covered portions of the front windows have also been taken down.

Local 10 visited the location and observed no signs that the buffet was operating. A sign posted on the front door states, “We are closed.”

The apparent closure follows years of health code violations, state ordered shutdowns, fines and repeated enforcement actions documented in state inspection records.

Many Local 10 viewers may remember China Buffet from a July 2025 Dirty Dining investigation.

Reporter Jeff Weinsier and photographer Frank Debesa visited the restaurant after state inspectors ordered the buffet temporarily closed following an inspection that documented 21 violations.

Watch the original report:

Inspection records show the violations included live roaches, food held at unsafe temperatures and a dishwasher that was not dispensing sanitizer.

While attempting to ask employees about the closure, an employee exited the restaurant and physically confronted Weinsier.

Video recorded by Debesa showed the employee shoving the camera and grabbing Weinsier’s microphone. The microphone was damaged during the encounter.

State records show China Buffet accumulated hundreds of violations over nearly a decade of inspections.

According to state records, the restaurant’s emergency closures involved recurring issues with roaches. Inspection reports also documented flying insect activity, food held at unsafe temperatures and sanitation deficiencies.

The restaurant operated under a permanent food service license issued to Goodbuffet LLC and had seating for 192 customers.

State records show China Buffet was ordered closed in April and August 2017, August and September 2018, January 2021 and July 2025.

State records also show regulators assessed at least $4,840 in fines against the restaurant between 2017 and 2026.

The July 2025 closure was not the final enforcement action.

State records show inspectors returned to the restaurant in April 2026 and documented 22 violations, issuing a warning and requiring a follow up inspection.

A subsequent inspection in May 2026 documented 10 additional violations and resulted in an administrative complaint recommendation.

The restaurant’s state food service license remains listed as active in state records.

However, equipment appears to have been removed from the location, the restaurant’s name has been taken down from the building and no signs of business activity were observed during a recent visit.

Local 10 has reached out for information regarding the restaurant’s status.

For years, China Buffet was a familiar name to Dirty Dining viewers because of its repeated health code violations and enforcement actions.

Now, nearly a year after a confrontation that drew widespread attention, the restaurant that repeatedly found itself under state scrutiny appears to have gone dark.

“An employee said, ‘Hey, this box stinks, Chris,’” Andrews recalled.

The box was labeled “car parts.”

Other stinky boxes came down the belt. When opened, Andrews found they were filled with thousands of shark fins headed to Hong Kong, likely intended for shark fin soup. Eventually, officers confiscated 1,600 pounds of shark fins — from nearly 17,000 sharks — around the country. It was a major case, all linked to those first boxes Andrews found in Anchorage.

“We wouldn’t have gotten that shipment if it didn’t stink,” he said.

Andrews is a wildlife inspector for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He and his team are in charge of intercepting trafficked wildlife. They enforce international conservation treaties that protect more than 40,000 species and national laws like the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

It’s weird work, and he loves it.

They find things every day at airports and docks around Alaska. They’ve intercepted commercial shipments of designer bags made of crocodile or python leather and also ill-advised international souvenirs. Once, Andrews stopped a passenger carrying two taxidermied lizards, each as long as a skateboard. The passenger had walked off a plane carrying a big garbage bag over his shoulder. Andrews said the tails sticking out made him suspicious.

“I walked up to him. I was like, ‘Sir, what’s in that bag?’” he said.

The man didn’t have permits for the protected reptiles, so he had to give them up.

Live animals are less common, Andrews said. They find those maybe a dozen times a year.

“We had some monitor lizards that were smuggled inside speakers,” he said. “They put them in socks and, like, tried to conceal them inside speakers.”

Some of this traffic is driven by people trying to acquire specimens to complete unusual collections, Andrews said.

“I mean, we’re seeing cockroaches, we’re seeing pill bugs, we’re seeing ants,” he said.

The work is important for the preservation of ecosystems and protected animals, Andrews said. But the day-to-day work is fun for him, too. He never knows what’s going to be in the next box.

That also makes it terrifying.

“There’s these spiders out of India that are the size of dinner plates that are really aggressive,” Andrews said. “I hesitate every time I open a box, like, ‘Please don’t be the one!’”

Finding a live animal, Andrews said, creates a challenging, time-sensitive problem: “How do we keep this thing alive? Is it poisonous? Where does it come from?”

Like the day they found 400 baby turtles smuggled inside of a pair of snow boots, Andrews said. There were 12 different species.

“I didn’t know what they ate,” Andrews said. “I didn’t know if they liked heat. I didn’t know if they liked water. I was in here with a terrarium book, just trying to figure out what they were.”

It’s not what he expected when he took a job with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He studied forestry in college.

“It was a wildlife position in Alaska,” Andrews said. “I thought I’d be dealing with, you know, bears and moose. I’ve never dealt with a moose.”

Three decades later, the job still excites him. But his teenagers are bored of the work stories he brings home.

“Sometimes I think, ‘Oh yeah, they’ll love this one!’” he said. “And then they’re just, you know, ‘OK, yeah Dad, another dead monkey or whatever you found.’”

Andrews said his team can sometimes put confiscated goods to use. A few years ago, the department intercepted 10 electric guitars made of protected Brazilian rosewood. Now those guitars are in the possession of Anchorage School District jazz bands. But it’s often not that easy.

“What do you do with 50,000 shark fins?” he wondered.

___

This story was originally published by Alaska Public Media and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Recientemente, un televidente de Local 10 proporcionó fotografías que muestran a trabajadores retirando equipos del restaurante ubicado en 18690 NW 67th Ave., en Country Club Plaza, cerca de la frontera entre Miami Lakes y Hialeah.

El nombre del restaurante fue retirado del edificio y también fueron removidos los gráficos que antes cubrían parte de las ventanas frontales.

Local 10 visitó el lugar y no observó señales de que el buffet estuviera operando. Un aviso colocado en la puerta principal indica: “Estamos cerrados”.

El aparente cierre ocurre después de años de violaciones al código de salud, cierres ordenados por el estado, multas y repetidas acciones de cumplimiento documentadas en registros de inspección estatales.

Muchos televidentes de Local 10 recordarán a China Buffet por una investigación de Dirty Dining realizada en julio de 2025.

El reportero Jeff Weinsier y el fotógrafo Frank Debesa visitaron el restaurante después de que inspectores estatales ordenaran el cierre temporal del buffet tras una inspección que documentó 21 infracciones.

Vea el reportaje original:

Los registros de inspección muestran que las violaciones incluían cucarachas vivas, alimentos mantenidos a temperaturas inseguras y una máquina lavavajillas que no dispensaba desinfectante.

Mientras intentaba preguntar a los empleados sobre el cierre, un empleado salió del restaurante y confrontó físicamente a Weinsier.

Un video grabado por Debesa mostró al empleado empujando la cámara y arrebatando el micrófono de Weinsier. El micrófono resultó dañado durante el incidente.

Los registros estatales muestran que China Buffet acumuló cientos de infracciones durante casi una década de inspecciones.

Según los registros estatales, los cierres de emergencia del restaurante estuvieron relacionados con problemas recurrentes de cucarachas. Los informes de inspección también documentaron actividad de insectos voladores, alimentos mantenidos a temperaturas inseguras y deficiencias de saneamiento.

El restaurante operaba bajo una licencia permanente de servicio de alimentos emitida a Goodbuffet LLC y tenía capacidad para 192 clientes.

Los registros estatales muestran que China Buffet fue obligado a cerrar en abril y agosto de 2017, agosto y septiembre de 2018, enero de 2021 y julio de 2025.

Los registros estatales también muestran que los reguladores impusieron al menos $4,840 USD en multas al restaurante entre 2017 y 2026.

El cierre de julio de 2025 no fue la última acción de cumplimiento.

Los registros estatales muestran que los inspectores regresaron al restaurante en abril de 2026 y documentaron 22 infracciones, emitieron una advertencia y exigieron una inspección de seguimiento.

Una inspección posterior en mayo de 2026 documentó 10 infracciones adicionales y dio lugar a una recomendación de denuncia administrativa.

La licencia estatal de servicio de alimentos del restaurante aún figura como activa en los registros estatales.

Sin embargo, aparentemente se retiró equipo del lugar, el nombre del restaurante fue removido del edificio y no se observaron señales de actividad comercial durante una visita reciente.

Local 10 solicitó información sobre el estado actual del restaurante.

Durante años, China Buffet fue un nombre familiar para los televidentes de Dirty Dining debido a sus repetidas violaciones al código de salud y acciones de cumplimiento.

Ahora, casi un año después de una confrontación que atrajo gran atención pública, el restaurante que repetidamente estuvo bajo escrutinio estatal parece haber apagado sus luces.

The Government Accountability Office report documents serious problems at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso where three detainees have died in little more than six months. Evidence in one of those deaths, of a 55-year-old Cuban migrant who died in January after being held down by guards, was “missing or destroyed," the report found.

ICE rushed to open the camp in August before construction was complete and failed to conduct required oversight to ensure detainees were held in sanitary conditions and receiving adequate medical care, according to the report.

The Department of Homeland Security noted that ICE has replaced the contractor running the facility. “This new contractor will allow Camp East Montana to continue abiding by the highest detention standards with the ability to provide more medical care on-site,” said DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis.

The GAO's findings echo past reporting by The Associated Press and other news outlets about dangerous conditions at Camp East Montana, which quickly became the nation’s largest immigration detention facility.

But the government report also details previously undisclosed incidents, including that a detainee escaped in October due to what ICE called the contractor’s oversight failure. In January, a security guard lost a loaded firearm inside the facility that was never recovered.

The contractor failed to administer skin tests to screen detainees for tuberculosis, relying on a questionnaire instead, the report said. The inadequate screening allowed a detainee with tuberculosis to be housed with the general population, which later suffered an outbreak.

GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency in Congress that investigates how federal funds are spent and evaluates whether programs and policies are operating effectively. The office opened its review into Camp East Montana at the request of Democrats in the House and Senate.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois called the report’s findings “damning.”

“We now know even more details of how dangerous and irresponsible the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign truly is,” said Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, adding that “those detained are experiencing conditions that shock the conscience.”

A rush to build led to an inexperienced contractor

Facing pressure to increase its detention capacity, the Trump administration routed the contract to build Camp East Montana through the Army to speed construction after ICE twice failed to successfully award one. That resulted in selecting a small, little-known contractor, Acquisition Logistics, for the $1.3 billion deal despite it having no prior experience operating detention facilities and facing what ICE called a “significant learning curve.”

The Army — and later ICE after the camp was transferred to the agency — wasted millions of dollars paying for services it did not need because the contract did not account for fluctuations in the detainee population, the report said.

The Army blew up to $11.5 million paying for guards, medical services, transportation and meals in the weeks before the camp held detainees. The agencies wasted millions more because it was contracted to pay the cost of meals for the camp’s maximum population of 5,000, even when the number of detainees there dropped to around 1,600, the report said.

Facility didn't initially meet detention standards

The facility did not meet ICE detention standards or the contract’s requirements in several ways when it opened, in part because it had not been inspected as required by ICE policy, the report said. The camp lacked security cameras on the perimeter and had other surveillance blind spots that raised the risk of sexual assaults or escapes.

The camp could not accommodate detainees using wheelchairs and had no showers compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, resulting in the disabled being held in medical care rooms.

The recreation area wasn’t available for several days, and after one yard was opened, it wasn’t enough space to provide required time for detainees. The law library, space to meet with attorneys and a visitation area did not open for weeks, resulting in detainees being deprived of legal resources and contact with family and friends, the report found.

The problems persisted as ICE began transporting more detainees there from across the country, the GAO found. While built to house up to 5,000 immigrants for short-term stays, its population has averaged about half of that from October until April, according to ICE’s most recent data.

Missing evidence and other problems

Detainees held at the facility didn't receive comprehensive health assessments, which meant that those with chronic conditions received substandard care, the report said.

The contractor cleaned the dormitories weekly rather than daily as required, resulting in unsanitary conditions. Some guards offered detainees cookies if they would clean their own rooms. Acquisition Logistics didn't reply to messages seeking comment.

The GAO report says investigations into the January death of Geraldo Lunas Campos were undermined after “evidence associated with the incident was missing or destroyed.” It did not elaborate. Campos died after he was restrained by guards and an outside autopsy report ruled the death a homicide due to asphyxia. The contractor at the facility did not provide use-of-force and death reports to ICE as required, according to the new report.

An investigation by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility into the death is on hold pending a criminal investigation by the FBI.

On Jan. 14, Nicaraguan detainee Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, died of suicide after staff put him in a medical holding room instead of suicide-resistant cell and left him unattended for intervals longer than 15 minutes, the report said. Staff could not see into the room because the contractor had failed to install vision panels that had been requested months earlier, it found.

“These are huge discrepancies in their failure to prevent suicides,” said Diaz family attorney Randall Kallinen, noting that the report strengthens a potential wrongful death claim he's considering. “They are part of an entire laundry list of problems at Camp East Montana.”

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Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.

When they fell behind against Atlanta in the first round of the NBA playoffs, desperation turned into domination. The Knicks won 13 straight games, many of them blowouts, in one of the most impressive postseason stretches in NBA history.

They don't need to do anything so dramatic now. With a 2-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, a simple 2-2 record the rest of the season would give New York its first championship since 1973.

So after dropping Game 3, the Knicks don't need an overhaul. But they do need to be better.

“We have a veteran group. Nobody is quote-unquote panicking or anything like that,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. "Everybody is disappointed that we didn’t go out and execute and play to what we feel our standard is. That’s not taking anything away from San Antonio, but we feel like we can play a lot better than what we did.

“We’re looking forward to going out on the floor and showing it.”

Game 4 is Wednesday in a series in which the road team has won all three games, only the second time that's happened in the NBA Finals.

The Spurs jumped on the Knicks right at the start and then outplayed them late in their 115-111 victory on Monday. Victor Wembanyama controlled the action on both sides with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.

Showing no fear of a rowdy road environment in the first NBA Finals game in Madison Square Garden since 1999, just as they didn't in winning a Game 7 on the road against defending champion Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, Wembanyama and the Spurs again looked like a team that might be able to win a title without first experiencing the growing pains that other young groups have.

“We will see. But my bet would be yes, it’s possible,” Wembanyama said.

The Spurs thought so even after dropping two games in San Antonio, which means to win the title they would have to become the first team to do so after starting 0-2 in its own building. It's a belief built from having one of the best players in the world and loads of talent around him, a group so confident that the players didn't think much of their accomplishment Monday.

“I didn’t want us to get too happy about one win and get satisfied and take our foot off the gas a little bit for the next game,” said guard Stephon Castle, who scored 23 points. “But I think since the end of Game 2 we’ve still been confident that we’re going to win this series, and that’s what we plan to do.”

The Knicks' first loss since April 23 didn't send them scrambling for solutions, because they were constantly looking for ways to improve even when all they did was win.

“Each game, no matter what the situation is, we’re growing as a team. I think we’re learning and we’re getting better — obviously before last night,” Jalen Brunson said. “No matter what the situation is, we’re going to stick together. We’re going to execute, we’re going to be better. That’s just how our mindset has to be going forward.”

There are things to fix. Karl-Anthony Towns isn't scoring in the fourth quarter. Wembanyama has clearly figured out ways to hurt the Knicks in the last 1 1/2 games after struggling by his standards before that. They have to turn the ball over less and defend better without fouling — no matter what Brown thought of the officiating in Game 3.

The Knicks did enough of those things well to run off the second-longest winning streak in postseason history. Now they have to recover quickly from a loss, or they'll head to San Antonio for Game 5 with the series tied.

“We have, what, 13 games in a row, 50 days of film to show what it looks like when we’re at our best. So we’ve got good film,” Towns said. “We’ll get back to our fundamentals, what makes us great, what made us great, and get back to work."

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Stephon Castle's first name.

___

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

De la Espriella’s campaign issued a statement saying that Cepeda secured more than 70% of the vote across 109 municipalities with active illegal armed groups, reaching as high as 97% in some locations. Cepeda’s camp didn't immediately respond to the accusations.

Cepeda, an ally of President Gustavo Petro and a former member of Colombia's communist party, has acted as a mediator between Colombia’s government and Marxist rebels. In the first round of the election, he won around 41% of the overall vote, which had 14 candidates on the ballot.

“These results, on their own, do not constitute definitive proof of a crime,” De la Espriella’s campaign said, noting it had filed a complaint with prosecutors. “But they should oblige authorities to investigate if there were threats, pressures or mechanisms to coerce voters and alter their freedom.”

De la Espriella, a conservative lawyer who supports U.S. President Donald Trump and calls himself “The Tiger,” came out in front in the first round with 43.7% of the vote, followed by Cepeda, who garnered 40.9%. The candidates will face off again in a runoff election on June 21 that will decide who will lead Colombia during the next four years.

A European Union electoral observation mission said that it had received complaints from voters who said that they were pressured by “government officials and illegal armed groups” during the May election, but the mission didn't specify which candidate people had been pressured to vote for.

Security has become one of the top concerns for voters in Colombia, along with corruption and the state of the nation’s healthcare system.

The municipalities where Cepeda got a large portion of the votes are located along Colombia’s Pacific coast, an area of the country that tends to support the current government.

Under Petro, a former member of the now defunct M-19 rebel group, Colombia’s government has attempted to stage peace talks with the nation's remaining rebel groups, under a strategy known as “total peace.”

Analysts say rebel groups have used ceasefires granted to them by the government to strengthen their grip over rural communities, where they run illicit ventures such as cocaine labs, tax legal businesses and threaten civilians who stand in their way.

Cepeda has said during the campaign that he favors the continuation of negotiations with rebel groups, even if he would adjust some of the methods. De la Espriella has promised to cancel the talks and take a more confrontational approach to rebel groups that includes using airplanes to spray coca fields with herbicides.

Trump recently endorsed de la Espriella on Truth Social, praising the 47-year-old lawyer as a “Smart, Strong and Tough Leader” who would be “tremendously successful” in restoring “LAW AND ORDER!”

Petro replied to Trump’s endorsement with a post on X, writing that “freedom dies” when one country intervenes in another’s affairs.

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

Esta reforma busca “reordenar, redimensionar y perfeccionar la organización de la Administración Central del Estado, con el propósito de lograr mayor eficacia en la función administrativa”, sostiene la iniciativa publicada en el sitio oficial de la sede legislativa.

El proyecto se presentó en el contexto de un cerco petrolero estadounidense que sumado a la crisis que padece la isla desde hace un lustro ha provocado apagones de más de 20 horas diarias, recortes de la jornada laboral y desabastecimiento de alimentos y medicinas.

En el nuevo esquema de gobierno habrá 20 ministerios más el Banco Central, que conservará su rango ministerial.

Algunos ministerios se unirán, como el de Educación Superior que incorporará al de Ciencia y Tecnología. Otros serán nuevos como el de Deporte y Recreación y uno de Información y Comunicación Social.

La norma establece que la administración del Estado estará subordinada al Consejo de Ministros, como establece la Constitución.

Se desconoce la implicación que la reestructuración tendrá en las plazas de trabajo.

The rowdy scenes came a few blocks from Madison Square Garden, where elated fans have typically gathered during the team's historic playoff run. But the area outside the arena was largely off-limits to the public on Monday as a result of President Donald Trump’s attendance at the game.

Instead, roughly 7,000 people gathered at nearby Bryant Park for a city-hosted watch party.

While the party was largely calm, some fans blocked traffic and refused to disperse, and others threw glass objects or brawled in the street, according to police and video of the altercations.

In total, eight people were arrested — two for assaulting a police officer — and 13 others were issued criminal court summons. Police said that five officers were injured. The New York Police Department did not immediately provide information about the nature of their injuries or details on the people arrested.

In a statement, the department said that “the crowd became increasingly rowdy, violent, and destructive, and there were many incidents of disorderly and dangerous behavior.”

Members of the crowd "engaged in incredibly reckless behavior — there were large physical and violent fights that resulted in multiple injuries," the statement continued.

A spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani emphasized that the “overwhelming majority” of fans had watched the game peacefully.

“But the fights and other disruptive incidents — including assaults on police officers — in various parts of the city are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson, Sam Raskin, added.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama had not heard about fans getting attacked.

“My thoughts, of course, is that we can’t forget it’s a game,” Wembanyama said. “We’re just playing a game out there. I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other. It’s unacceptable.”

Neither City Hall nor the NYPD would confirm whether a planned watch party outside Madison Square Garden would resume when the Knicks host the Spurs on Wednesday for the fourth game of the series.

During the conference finals last month, the NYPD announced it would not support watch parties outside the arena, citing “very rough” crowds as a public safety threat.

But that decision — which ultimately rests with the mayor's office — was later reversed after the Knicks reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

_____

This story has been updated to correct the date of the next NBA Finals game. It is Wednesday, not Thursday.

Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, faces a federal charge of causing death on a mass transportation system in the killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, a charge that is punishable by death. A separate state case against Brown in which he is charged with first-degree murder is on pause pending the outcome of the federal case.

At the request of Brown's attorneys, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell found that their client is not currently competent to stand trial and ordered him to spend up to four months in a prison medical facility to try to restore his competency.

Defense attorneys said in a court filing Tuesday that Brown insisted that they provide the judge with the following information: “I would like to tell the court I have a body emergency. Someone has full access to my body and they are controlling me wrongfully. And law enforcement refuses to investigate it. And it requires for an investigation. When describing the technology someone was using I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.”

Brown told his lawyers he wants a court order directing law enforcement to investigate his body emergency, they wrote.

A forensic evaluation by federal mental health examiners was filed under seal in the federal case in April. It found that Brown “is presently not competent to stand trial, but that his prognosis for restoration to competency is favorable with appropriate medication therapy,” the judge wrote in his order.

Brown “is suffering from a mental disease or defect that renders him unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings or to assist properly in his defense,” Bell wrote.

The judge ordered Brown committed to the custody of the attorney general for hospitalization and treatment “to determine whether there is a substantial probability” that Brown will be able to proceed “in the foreseeable future.”

Once that period is over, the judge will determine whether Brown's competency has been restored and whether the case can move forward, whether continued treatment is needed or whether Brown cannot be made competent, the judge wrote.

The outbreak, reported in 14 of Borno state’s 27 local governments, is unfolding in communities with health systems made fragile by nearly two decades of violent extremism from the Boko Haram insurgent group.

The illness is endemic and seasonal in the country, where only 14% of Nigeria's population of more than 200 million have access to safely managed drinking water supply services, according to government data from 2020.

The situation is sometimes worse in Borno, both in Maiduguri, the state's capital, which is densely populated, and in remote communities with poor sanitation and hygiene due in part to being out of the close reach of health authorities.

The medical group said that it has treated 7,439 cholera patients at its facilities, representing an average of 185 admissions per day. It said that it recorded 500 patients last week on Friday, a single-day record in the outbreak.

“Open defecation is making it worse also, and there is less partners (on the ground),” said Jessie Kurnurkar, a project coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF.

“By the time we know the cases in the community, the local transmission has happened, and it is difficult to respond, because the spread has become more,” Kurnurkar said.

Patients at an MSF treatment center in Maiduguri spoke to The Associated Press about their experiences in the outbreak.

Aisha Ibrahim, a cholera patient at the facility, said that she has been defecating nonstop since she became ill with cholera and had been in admission for more than four days.

“When they discharged me, the vomiting stopped, and when I got home, I started stooling again, and it became severe (so) I was rushed back to the center,” Ibrahim said.

La ajustada ventaja que Fujimori mostraba al inicio se revirtió el lunes, y Sánchez comenzó a liderar con una ligera delantera. El candidato de Juntos por el Perú lograba hasta ahora 50,112% de los sufragios, mientras que la líder de Fuerza Popular sumaba 49,888%, según el conteo preliminar de la Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE), la organizadora de los comicios.

Pero el martes por la mañana Fujimori comenzó a acercarse a Sánchez, y la diferencia que él mostraba la noche del lunes, con casi 50.000 votos sobre Fujimori, cayó a poco más de 39.000. Durante la jornada las autoridades también comenzaron a sumar los votos provenientes del extranjero, que llegaron en maletas diplomáticas, y de varias zonas remotas de las zonas rurales de Perú.

Quien gane los comicios del domingo se convertirá en el noveno presidente del país sudamericano en 10 años. Ambos candidatos han prometido que respetarán los resultados.

Fujimori, quien se postula por cuarta vez, dijo el martes a la prensa que tiene “mucha esperanza” en el voto desde el extranjero, y también en un grupo de actas electorales de Lima que aún no han sido contabilizadas. “Corresponde esperar”, subrayó.

Sánchez —exministro del expresidente Pedro Castillo, quien se encuentra encarcelado— no se había manifestado el martes, pero uno de sus voceros, Ernesto Zunini, indicó en una conferencia que el partido “respetará los resultados” del proceso electoral y están aguardando “el fin de la contabilidad”.

Simpatizantes del partido de Sánchez protestaron frente al Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, gritando “¡el voto se defiende en las urnas y las calles!”.

“Exigimos que se respete el voto de la gente”, expresó Hernando Cevallos, uno de los dirigentes del partido de Sánchez. Añadió que las autoridades y jueces electorales deben “acelerar el proceso” de conteo de votos y “evitar las presiones”.

Keiko Fujimori, hija del fallecido expresidente Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), y Sánchez se impusieron a 33 candidatos en la primera vuelta de abril, pero entre ambos no obtuvieron ni el 20% de los votos. Las autoridades electorales tardaron más de un mes en declararlos ganadores de esta etapa.

El Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, la máxima autoridad electoral, ha indicado que los resultados del balotaje se podrán conocer en un mes.

La demora en anunciar los resultados finales se debe a una ley electoral, la cual exige que cada cédula de votación y cada acta —que resume los votos de cada mesa— debe ser transportada hasta más de un centenar de oficinas para su conteo. También deben llegar a Lima, desde 63 países, las cédulas y actas de quienes votaron en el exterior. A eso se suma el reconteo de votos y la resolución de impugnaciones.

El aumento de la delincuencia, en particular la extorsión, fue la principal preocupación de los votantes. Los expertos atribuyen el creciente poder del crimen organizado a los beneficios cada vez mayores que genera la extracción ilegal de oro en los Andes y la Amazonía.

El ganador de la segunda vuelta tomará posesión de su cargo el 28 de julio para un mandato de cinco años.

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Deandre Pressley is “a documented” member of the 700, a violent gang associated with the Gangster Disciples, a highly organized gang founded in the 1960s in Chicago, according to the report.

Last year, a victim in California reported speaking to a woman and a man who had lied over the phone to persuade her to give more than $30,000 to Pressley, according to the report.

The victim said the scammers called her on May 1, 2025, pretending to be Bank of America employees who were protecting her from scammers who could include bank tellers, according to the report.

“The victim said she was given an account number which she does not remember and provisioned it on her digital Apple wallet,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.

The victim made in-person withdrawals and deposits and digital transfers before Pressley transferred it all again to separate accounts, according to the deputy’s report.

A MDSO deputy arrested Pressley at 6:45 p.m. on June 5 at Fifth Avenue and Davis Parkway in Florida City, and corrections booked him shortly after 2:25 a.m. on June 6 at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Pressley, who was at the Metrowest Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon, faced nine charges in two pending cases in Miami-Dade County, according to inmate and court records.

In one case, Pressley faced four charges: Organized scheme to defraud, organized scheme to defraud conspiracy, money laundering, and unlawful use of a communications device. His bond was $10,000.

In the other case, Pressley faced five charges: Third-degree grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, organized scheme to defraud conspiracy, money laundering, and unlawful use of a communications device. His bond was $12,500.

A judge ordered Pressley to show that the $22,500 he used for bail was not from the proceeds of a crime.

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

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Deputies arrested Daniel Cancio shortly after 3:45 p.m. on Monday at 10855 SW 72 St. in Kendall after the victims reported a shooting, according to the MDSO deputy’s arrest report.

A driver reported stopping at the red light at Sunset Drive at Southwest 97 Avenue and talking to Cancio about witnessing him speeding through a school zone, according to the deputy’s arrest report.

The driver “observed [Cancio] reach into the rear area of his vehicle and retrieve what appeared to be a firearm,” a deputy wrote, according to the report.

Cancio confessed to using a pellet gun that deputies found in his car to shatter the driver’s back passenger side window, according to the deputy’s report. The victims took a photo of Cancio’s tag.

Miami-Dade County corrections booked Cancio shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Doral, according to inmate records.

Cancio faced charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief. His bond was $5,500.

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

Or rather, a new Doug in town.

Thousands already have flocked to the Toronto park to catch a glimpse of a beaver sculpture, nicknamed Doug, that is part of a World Cup-themed contest. The Great Beaver Quest challenges participants to find 51 beaver statues on display in the city’s Old Town Toronto neighborhood.

“We expect that it’s going to be something that people who are coming in from out of town and looking for something to do and keep their kids busy will love to do. It’s easy to participate,” said Robyn Posner with the neighborhood’s Business Improvement Area.

Old Town is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from Toronto Stadium, which will host six World Cup matches, starting Friday when Canada — one of three host nations — takes on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

With city officials expecting 300,000 visitors to descend on Toronto over the course of three weeks, Posner said the Beaver hunt is intended as an enjoyable diversion and will encourage tourists to get to know the neighborhood and its businesses.

“The goal was to draw people to this area, to come and experience what it’s like being in Old Town and to meet up with some like-minded people,” she said.

Forty-nine of the nearly 4-feet-high (1.2-meter-high) resin fiberglass beavers represent the nations competing in the World Cup — including a pair for Canada — and the remaining two represent FIFA and all the nations combined. Each has been hand-painted by a different local artist.

One of the Canadian beavers is Doug, who sports a Canada-influenced soccer uniform layered beneath a red flannel shirt.

The other 50 beavers have been placed throughout the neighborhood, in parks, along sidewalks and even indoors. Norway’s beaver stares through a window from inside an office building lobby.

Each beaver is accompanied by a QR code that takes participants to a free digital scavenger hunt. Weekly prizes will be awarded to the competitors with the highest scores as well as the winner of a random drawing.

The contest runs until Aug. 16, and then the beavers will be auctioned off for charity. It officially went live June 1 and, as of Tuesday, 4,500 people had participated.

Still, why exactly did Old Town Toronto officials decide to center their contest around the dam-building rodents?

“Because it’s Canada’s national animal, and we thought they were super cute,” Posner said. “And they’re small enough. And so, we went with the beaver.”

Wemby likes it like that.

Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs thrived in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden and are undaunted by the hostile environment and the series deficit they face against the New York Knicks.

“I like lively crowds, active crowds,” Wembanyama said Tuesday, roughly 13 hours after his 32-point, eight-rebound, six-assist dominance to pick up his first career win in the finals. “At home, it’s an extra motivation because you want to give the people who support you a good show. On the road, you want to do the opposite.”

Fresh off silencing a sellout crowd of nearly 20,000, San Antonio now gets the chance to even things up in Game 4 on Wednesday night back at the Garden in what could be an even more intense situation as fans try to will their team to the verge of its first championship since 1973.

“We find a comfort playing on the road, knowing when you’re in this environment, it’s us versus them, and obviously everybody in the crowd,” Guard De'Aaron Fox said. “When you know that — everybody behind you has your back — it allows you to settle into these games.”

Backcourt mate Stephon Castle said he and the Spurs knew their season was on the line after falling behind 2-0 in the series and credited their connectivity for being 7-3 on the road in these playoffs. If Monday was a must-win game, Wednesday is nearly that because only one of 38 teams to fall behind 3-1 in the finals came back to win it.

“It’s something you can’t shy away from, especially with the goals and aspirations that we have,” Castle said. “Just focus on the things that matter throughout the game and not really paying too close attention to the crowd. They’re going to be there regardless, especially cheering on their team. You should want to play in those environments. I feel like that’s when we play at our best.”

Wembanyama certainly was, shaking off his buzzer-beating miss to turn in a performance fit for the bright spotlight at a place known as the world's most famous arena. But the 22-year-old big man from France did not do it alone.

Castle, who's 21, scored 23 points and did not look bothered by the ankle he injured in Game 2 on Friday night. Devin Vassell, who's 25, and Julian Champagnie, weeks away from his 25th birthday, each hit some big shots and got into double figures. Rookie Dylan Harper, who is 20, scored 13 off the bench.

Fox, who at 28 is among the elder statesmen, points to those young players' demeanor to explain why they don't shrink under pressure.

“They just don’t have the personalities that you would think that are just going to be overwhelmed by something,” Fox said. “I don’t know what they’re feeling on the inside, obviously. What you see out there on the court with them, just when you see it on their faces when New York is going on a run, you don’t see them panic.”

There does not seem to be any panic in the Spurs, no matter how inexperienced some of their core players are. Coach Mitch Johnson understands why there is so much talk about youth and age, but like Fox he thinks it's more about the makeup of guys like Wembanyama, Castle and Harper than how many years they've been alive and playing basketball.

Perhaps being a little naive helps. Harper said this is the first time he has been booed on the street walking out of a hotel in New York, though it only served to fire him and his teammates up — and could continue to do so.

"We just stay together in environments like this,” Harper said. “When we come to away games in the playoffs, for us at least, it’s been just staying together and holding each other accountable. I feel like with the level of desperation and desire that we played with (in Game 3), I feel like we’re pretty hard to beat when we do that.”

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

Madrid President Florentino Pérez had vowed to bring Mourinho back as part of his campaign promises that led to his re-election on Sunday.

In a note to shareholders, Benfica said that Madrid had formally agreed to pay Benfica 15 million euros ($17.3 million) for Mourinho with the Portuguese coach agreeing to the move.

Benfica added: "Thank you, José Mourinho."

Madrid has made no official announcement.

Benfica said it had agreed a two-year deal with former Fulham manager Marco Silva to replace Mourinho, with the option of an extra year.

Mourinho, who was featured in promotional material for Pérez during the campaign, would be back for a second stint at Madrid. He coached the club from 2010-2013.

Arbeloa’s departure was already expected and he had talked about it at the end of the season.

Madrid said Tuesday it was “deeply grateful” to Arbeloa, “who throughout his career at the club, from the time he joined our academy, has always demonstrated loyalty, commitment, and professionalism.”

Arbeloa took over the helm in January to replace Xabi Alonso amid the team's struggles.

Arbeloa was not able to put Madrid back on track and the club endured a second straight season without a major trophy.

Last month, Arbeloa gave his blessing to former boss Mourinho's return to Madrid, saying he would "be happy to see him back home.”

Arbeloa played for Madrid when Mourinho was in charge of the club — a tumultuous time in which Madrid won Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles but was overshadowed by Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona side. Mourinho’s abrasive attitude to opponents like Guardiola as well as some of his own players turned off many in Spain. He also had his faithful backers, like Arbeloa and some hardcore fans.

Arbeloa saw Madrid struggle toward the end of the season and watched some of his players get into altercations during training. The team was eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League and couldn't catch up with Barcelona in the Spanish league.

Pérez's campaign promises included a high-profile signing. On Tuesday, the club said that city rival Atletico Madrid rejected an offer of 150 million euros ($173 million) for Argentina forward Julián Álvarez.

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

His back hurt.

Not bad. Not enough to keep him out of the lineup. But it was one of those inexplicable moments that comes with being an aging Major League Baseball player — threatening to derail a hot streak for an eight-time All-Star who just turned 35.

“There's more aches and pains,” Arenado said. “There's just a little more work in the gym, getting prepared for the game, than there used to be. That's a learning curve.

"I've always been in the gym, always did that stuff, but there's definitely more maintenance.”

Arenado got past the minor back issue and is continuing a bounce-back season in the desert, batting .256 with eight homers and 30 RBIs through Monday's games. He's among a group of the 35-and-older crowd getting solid results at the plate, joining Los Angeles Dodgers veterans Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, along with Houston's Christian Walker.

But it's a small club that's become smaller over the past decade.

MLB hitters who are 35 or older have combined to provide just 5.6 WAR (Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs) through roughly the first 1/3 of the season, continuing a trend that's accelerated over the past decade.

In the early 2000s, older stars were the norm in the big leagues. It peaked in 2003 when older hitters combined for 71.3 WAR, with a group highlighted by Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas, Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez and Jeff Bagwell.

So what's changed?

Let's look at some of the reasons why MLB is skewing younger this days:

Analytics like younger players

Baseball's analytical era can be traced back to the work of Bill James in the 1970s and 1980s, but terms like WAR, wOBA, BABIP, and OPS+ didn't start to become widespread in the big leagues until at least the late 2000s.

Suddenly, the eye test wasn't enough for MLB general managers. Cold, hard numbers were in.

And — overwhelmingly — those numbers showed that the best years for a big league hitter usually come from their mid-20s to early 30s.

That's directly correlated to MLB teams locking up young players to long-term contracts. Arizona's Corbin Carroll, Detroit's Kevin McGonigle, Pittsburgh's Konnor Griffin, Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. and Seattle's Julio Rodriguez are among dozens of promising players who were signed to lucrative deals well before they reach free agency.

Spending on veterans is no longer in vogue. Walker — a three-time Gold Glove first baseman who has hit nearly 200 career homers — signed with the Astros for a relatively modest $60 million, three-year deal after the 2024 season when he was 33 years old.

“I think it has a lot to do with the ability to measure guys’ value on the field,” Walker said. “For a long time, WAR didn’t exist, wRC+ wasn’t a stat, right? So, you went off of the optics or this guy’s a good clubhouse guy or he’s got experience, he’s been to a World Series.”

Velocity has exploded during their careers

Today's young stars have come of age in a game where velocity is king, but it wasn't that way when Freeman and others broke through. The average MLB fastball in 2026 is north of 94 mph, with 18 qualified pitchers averaging at least 96. When Freeman debuted 17 years ago, the league-wide average was under 92 and no qualified pitchers averaged at least 96.

Arenado said that one of the first things that becomes tougher for MLB veterans is the ability to handle really good fastballs — particularly inside. It makes for tough matchups against pitchers like Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski, who routinely throws 100 mph.

“I feel like just the general age of the levels and the development is trending younger and younger,” Walker said. “And there might be something to that — like your best bullets might be when you’re 27 years old.”

Big league teams value flexibility more now, too

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has Freeman and Muncy in his lineup on nearly a daily basis. He also played in the big leagues until he was 36 years old, retiring in 2008, giving him some personal experience on the aging process.

“The hardest part is to expect and want the same output you've always had, but not be willing to change the equation,” Roberts said.

Roberts said the process is different for every player. Some need to work out more. Some less. Others need more sleep. Diet becomes more important. The tricky part is that the habits that brought you to the big leagues might not be the same ones that will keep you there in your mid-to-late 30s.

Walker, who didn't become a starter in the big leagues until he was 28, said he's embraced getting older and enjoys analyzing his blood tests that might signal what's causing vitamin deficiencies or inflammation. The tests also show how much alcohol might affect his body or the importance of a good night's sleep.

“For myself, no real magic recipe, just chalk it up to being a late bloomer,” Walker said. “My age is older than most guys, but service time isn’t. I haven’t been in the big leagues for 20 years or anything like that. Just fortunate that I still can help the team.”

Arenado embraces change

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he believed there were two main reasons Arenado was still having success in his 14th big league season. First, he gave credit to the D-backs' hitting coaches.

But maybe most importantly, Arenado has listened to those coaches, embraced change and found new ways to have success.

“There's an adjustment to work habits and mindset once you get to that level where things aren't as easy as they used to be,” Lovullo said. “Some say ‘I’ve had my career, it's not as easy as it once was, and I want to shut it down.'”

Later he added: "It's fun to watch Nolan Arenado have all this success, but he's worked his butt off. He's working as hard as any 22 or 23 year old we have on this team."

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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this story.

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

Shea Langeliers sent a shot 483 feet in the first sign of the madness to come in a 15-14, 12-inning game that introduced the city to its eventual MLB club.

The Milwaukee Brewers were the winners, but so too were the fans.

“It's the most bizarre game I've ever had in Major League Baseball in 11 years,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I never saw anything like it. So many things happened. There were 16 challenges in the game. Sixteen challenges in the game. I've never seen anything like it.”

Oh, yes, the challenges.

It wasn't just the pitchers who had a rough night. Home plate umpire Clint Vondrak had 11 of 16 challenges for ball and strikes overturned and, according to Umpire Scorecards, he missed three other calls that potentially impacted the game.

This series is being played at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the A's Triple-A affiliate. The A's play the Brewers again Tuesday and Wednesday and will host the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series beginning Friday as they begin to introduce themselves to the Las Vegas fan base. The club is scheduled to move to Las Vegas in 2028 and play in a $2 billion, 33,000-person capacity domed stadium on the Strip.

Team jerseys with VEGAS on the back and the No. 28 were given out to fans.

It's doubtful that new stadium will be the launching pad the minor league facility was in the opening game, a four-hour, 14-minute offensive onslaught. The teams combined for 34 hits and 11 home runs.

“Just an all-around crazy game,” Langeliers said. “Both teams battled all night. It was a great baseball game.”

This was the Brewers' second-ever victory after allowing at least 14 runs. Milwaukee defeated Washington by the same score on Aug. 17, 2019. The Brewers now are 2-88 in such games.

For the A's, this was the first time they have been in a game in which both sides scored at least 14 runs since a 17-16 loss at Texas on May 5, 2000.

There was not only a lot of scoring, but plenty of drama as well.

The A's took a two-run lead into the ninth inning, but Andrew Vaughn's two-run double with no outs sent the game to extras.

Milwaukee then scored four runs in the 10th before the A's answered with four of their own, including two-out homers by Nick Kurtz and Jonah Heim.

Brice Turang's fielder's choice grounder with one out in the 12th inning scored Christian Yelich for what turned out to be the winning run, and soon after perhaps the wildest game of the season was over.

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

Se tiene previsto un despliegue de más de 100.000 soldados, marinos, guardias nacionales y policías en las tres ciudades anfitrionas. Su presencia ya era notable el martes en el estadio de Guadalajara, el cual quedó totalmente rodeado por militares fuertemente armados, mientras que en Ciudad de México se multiplicaban los equipos antidisturbios.

Vallas metálicas protegían comercios y edificios en el centro de la capital mexicana, mientras las tiendas de campaña con manifestantes ocupan las calles bloqueadas en las inmediaciones de la plaza mayor. En tanto, la policía cerró el paso de las protestas de maestros que intentaban llegar el martes al estadio que recibirá la inauguración de la justa mundialista.

Las fuerzas policiales también mantuvieron un cerco alrededor del Zócalo, la plaza donde se encuentra la sede de la presidencia y que, a partir del jueves, alojará el festival futbolero más grande del país.

Ya hay manifestaciones de todo tipo previstas hasta que empiece a rodar el balón mundialista, pero la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum aseguró que “la inauguración está garantizada”. "No hay problema... el Mundial se va a disfrutar”.

El evento supone un desafío de seguridad sin precedentes para la FIFA y los tres países coanfitriones —Estados Unidos, México y Canadá—, pero México tiene un reto añadido: demostrar que puede evitar que se repitan situaciones de violencia como la que siguió a la muerte del líder del Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación en febrero o el inusual tiroteo en las pirámides de Teotihuacán de abril.

De hecho, la embajada estadounidense recordó el martes su alerta de reconsiderar los viajes a Jalisco, donde está Guadalajara, y de extremar precauciones en la Ciudad de México y Nuevo León, donde se encuentra Monterrey.

“Tiene que haber una estrategia muy puntual para no dejar de proteger algunas zonas (de alta actividad del crimen organizado)... y que haya seguridad en el entorno de la fiesta futbolera”, dijo Rogelio Barba, académico de la Universidad de Guadalajara.

Tanto el gobierno federal como los estatales aseguran que ese equilibrio se va a conseguir con el despliegue de efectivos y el uso de avanzada tecnología.

Pero algunos pobladores no lo ven así. “Para los turistas no es tan inseguro porque a ellos sí los están blindando, es más (peligroso) para los locales, que andamos por zonas de riesgo”, se lamentó Karina Rabago, vecina de la capital de Jalisco.

¿Tregua de los cárteles?

Los cárteles podrían ser un riesgo mucho menor del imaginado desde fuera de México.

En los últimos días han corrido mensajes en redes sociales en los que supuestos criminales piden no afectar el Mundial. Estos pronunciamientos no pueden verificarse, pero según Francisco Rivas, director del Observatorio Nacional Ciudadano —una ONG mexicana que aborda temas de seguridad—, tienen una lógica criminal: si un extranjero es secuestrado o desaparecido “el Estado mexicano estaría obligado por la presión internacional a hacer algo y hacer algo es poner en riesgo la estabilidad de un grupo delictivo”.

Sin embargo, Rivas enfatizó que hacer creer que la situación con los cárteles está bajo control puede generar una falsa sensación de seguridad y que algunos visitantes tomen riesgos evitables, como adentrarse en barrios o ciudades peligrosos, comprar droga o contratar servicios sexuales gestionados por criminales.

La fiscalía federal abrió un micrositio que indica cómo y dónde denunciar delitos y las prohibiciones que rigen en el país — como la de portar armas—, pero a juicio de Rivas falta informar, por ejemplo, de prácticas con la que se puede encontrar un turista como los secuestros virtuales o la corrupción policial.

Tecnología y entrenamiento

Equipos anti-drones, redes de cámaras de vigilancia, grupos especiales de gestión de multitudes y patrullas militares y policiales operarán durante los 39 días del Mundial en los estadios, festivales de aficionados, aeropuertos, sedes de las selecciones nacionales y otras instalaciones estratégicas en coordinación con FIFA, que es la que se hace cargo de la seguridad dentro de los estadios. Su presidente, Gianni Infantino, dijo en febrero tener “absoluta confianza” en México.

Parte de ese despliegue ya se vio en Tijuana, la violenta ciudad fronteriza con California reconvertida en lugar de acogida de la selección de Irán, cuya participación en el Mundial se complicó por la guerra con Estados Unidos. Sus futbolistas firmaban estos días autógrafos custodiados por la Guardia Nacional.

Desde la ciudad de Monterrey —la sede más cercana a la frontera estadounidense— el gobernador de Nuevo León, Samuel García, se jactó del entrenamiento que brindó el servicio secreto estadounidense, Israel y la policía británica.

El de Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, presumió vehículos tácticos blindados de última generación y ambos estados dijeron que cuentan con perros-robot con reconocimiento facial de personas buscadas y que pueden desactivar explosivos, entre otras capacidades.

Mientras tanto en Ciudad de México —una zona con el riesgo añadido de los sismos— la alcaldesa Clara Brugada intenta garantizar la movilidad mientras el gobierno federal suspendió por decreto todas la actividades administrativas públicas y privadas no esenciales durante el día de la inauguración.

Además, alentó el uso del transporte público y de bicicletas para evitar que los aficionados queden varados por las protestas, los bloqueos o incluso las lluvias.

Los simpatizantes no parecen preocupados y muchos visitan el emblemático estadio Azteca para sacarse fotos con la camiseta de su selección pese a los enormes charcos en algunas de sus puertas.

“Es una locura”, dijo Natividad Membrillo, una trabajadora que vive junto al estadio. “Toda la movilidad está afectada", indicó. "Y sí hay más seguridad, pero no se dan abasto".

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La periodista Diana de la Mora colaboró con esta nota desde Guadalajara.

The Los Angeles Police Department says Jackson was arrested after officers were called to his 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.

“We are aware of the incident regarding Alaric Jackson, and we take these matters very seriously,” the Rams said in a statement. “Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

Jackson's bail was set at $50,000, and he was released on bond early Tuesday morning, according to Los Angeles jail records. The case will be submitted to the district attorney's office to consider charges.

The 27-year-old Jackson has been in trouble with the law before during his five-year career with the Rams. The Canadian-American dual citizen began his tenure as a backup on the Rams' Super Bowl-winning team in the 2021-22 season.

Jackson was sued last year by a woman who alleged he recorded sexual acts with her on his phone without her consent. The incident led to Jackson being suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for an undisclosed violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, but the reason for the suspension was not publicly revealed until the unnamed woman filed her lawsuit.

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed in April.

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

The Food and Drug Administration says the ingredient, bemotrizinol, met the agency’s standards for protecting from dangerous ultraviolet rays while causing little irritation or absorption into the skin. The ingredient is safe for adults and children 6 months and older, the agency stated in a release.

Bemotrizinol will initially be sold in the U.S. by the Dutch manufacturer DSM Nutritional Products under the brand name Parsol Shield, which is expected to launch later in the year. After an 18-month exclusivity period, the ingredient will be available for use by other manufacturers.

Efforts to introduce new sunscreen products have been bogged down for decades by the FDA’s bureaucratic system for updating its lists of safe nonprescription drug ingredients. Bemotrizinol is the first ingredient to go through a streamlined process authorized by Congress in 2020.

Experts say bemotrizinol will fill an important niche in the U.S. market: protecting against both ultraviolet A and B rays while not leaving white streaks associated with mineral-based sunscreens.

"For decades, Americans have used outdated sunscreen tech while the rest of the world moved forward,” said David Andrews of the Environmental Working Group. “The approval of bemotrizinol will help change that.”

Andrews’ group has long pushed the FDA to tighten sunscreen standards and allow new ingredients on the market.

Under FDA rules, all sunscreens must protect against UVB rays, which cause most sunburn, as well as UVA rays that pose the greatest risk of skin cancer and wrinkles.

Currently available chemical-blocking ingredients only protect against one or the other. Companies generally mix the chemicals in combination to achieve “broad spectrum protection.”

Mineral-based ingredients, including zinc oxide, block both UVA and UVB but leave a chalky white residue.

Bemotrizinol was authorized by European authorities in 1999 and first filed with the FDA for review in 2005.

“The FDA is committed to ensuring the American consumer has access to the most effective and safe therapies, including over-the-counter products like sunscreens,” said Dr. Mike Davis, acting director of FDA’s drug center.

The FDA has been gradually updating its standards for sunscreens. In 2011, the agency banned terms like “waterproof,” which regulators said was misleading, and required that all sunscreens filter out UVA and UVB rays. Previously some formulas only protected against UVB.

In 2021, the FDA proposed additional measures — including capping SPF numbers and requiring stronger UVA protection — but those have not been completed.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The 44-year-old Williams hit service winners of up to 120 mph and some ferocious winners as she teamed up with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko to win their opening doubles match at the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament.

Williams and Mboko beat third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2), 6-2 in Williams’ first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open. They next face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals.

As if to punctuate that she’s back, Williams served out the first-round match with two aces followed by a service winner.

“It was so fun. I had so much fun playing with Victoria,” Williams said in an on-court interview. “We’ve never played together but it just felt so natural playing with her.”

Later, though, Williams gave herself a modest grade in her post-match news conference.

“A C-minus,” Williams said, before cutting herself some slack. “With all the elements, considering coming back on grass is probably not the easiest surface. ... Grass, four years. Overall, I think it was decent.”

Perhaps more than decent, given the quality of the opposition. Routliffe is a two-time U.S. Open champion in doubles and Melichar-Martinez has made the doubles final at both Flushing Meadows and Wimbledon.

Sure, Williams' performance was uneven, and at times it looked like she may have lost half a step. But it was clear she can still compete at a high level.

Even Williams seemed to be surprised at the quality of her rapid-reaction backhand winner at 4-4 in the first set, laughing as she high-fived Mboko.

Her teenage partner was clearly impressed.

“I thought she was moving great,” said Mboko, one of the rising stars on the WTA tour who is already ranked No. 9 in singles. “There was that one shot you hit, remember, you were on the run, on the backhand, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s got it.’”

The crowd loved it too, from the moment Williams stepped onto the court on a sunny but windy afternoon.

Williams received a standing ovation as she made her entrance, by far the loudest cheer of the day at the Andy Murray Arena, even from a crowd that had earlier watched British players Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter secure wins in the singles tournament at the HSBC Championships.

It was Williams’ first appearance at Queen’s Club, which is nestled among residential blocks near Hammersmith in west London. The club, which held its first championships in 1881, did not stage a women’s tournament for more than 50 years before the WTA tour returned to the venue in 2025.

‘Really special’

The men’s tournament, which starts next week, has long been one of the main grass-court warmup events for Wimbledon and counts Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker and John McEnroe among its former winners.

“I never got to play here, it was always just the men,” Williams said. “It felt really special to play some place so iconic.”

Aside from a sell-out crowd, Williams also drew some celebrity faces to Queen's Club. Her friend Lindsey Vonn, the skiing star whose own comeback ended in a crash at the Milan Cortina Olympics, watched on from one of the balconies.

Williams' two daughters, Olympia and Adira, were also in attendance. For Adira, who was born in 2023, it was the first time watching her mother play a match.

Not that their response to the win was overly enthusiastic, according to Williams.

“Adira wanted to go to the toy store, and Olympia wanted to know what was for dinner,” she said.

No Wimbledon decision yet

Williams is also set to play doubles at the Berlin Open in Germany next week. But even after a winning return, she remains undecided when it comes to whether to extend her comeback to Wimbledon, which starts June 29.

“It’s just a day at a time,” Williams said. “I still have a little time to decide, and they have been great about giving me that space and time to decide.”

Williams had not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis.

Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, including seven at Wimbledon, before stepping away from the game. She also added 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon — all with her older sister Venus Williams.

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

“El denominado ´voto fusil´ describe una práctica incompatible con cualquier democracia: obligar a los ciudadanos a votar bajo amenaza, presión armada o sometimiento territorial”, indicó De la Espriella en un comunicado.

La denuncia penal se basa en una revisión de 109 municipios de los convulsos departamentos de Cauca y Nariño, en el suroeste del país, y de Chocó, en el oeste, donde Cepeda superó el 70% de la votación y que, en su mayoría, coinciden con territorios clasificados en riesgo electoral por la estatal Defensoría del Pueblo, detalló De la Espriella.

Consultados por The Associated Press, Cepeda y su campaña no respondieron de inmediato sobre si tienen conocimiento de que los grupos armados ilegales hayan presionado para votar a su favor.

En la primera vuelta De la Espriella, del movimiento Defensores de la Patria, obtuvo el 43,73% de los votos, seguido de Cepeda, del oficialista Pacto Histórico, con el 40,91 %, tras concluir el escrutinio. Ambos se disputarán la presidencia en un balotaje el 21 de junio.

En medio de la puja política, los candidatos han acusado a su contrincante de irregularidades, incluyendo presunta compra de votos. Además, Cepeda denunció que De la Espriella “estaría fraguando un montaje para realizar un autoatentado” para “incidir en los resultados de la elección".

La campaña de De la Espriella admitió en el comunicado que las cifras por sí solas no son una “prueba definitiva de responsabilidad penal”, pero instó a que se investigue por su coincidencia con territorios sometidos a la influencia de los grupos armados ilegales.

El riesgo de violencia por parte de grupos ilegales en decenas de municipios del país fue advertido a lo largo de la campaña electoral tanto por la Defensoría del Pueblo como por la Misión de Observación Electoral, una organización no gubernamental dedicada a este tipo de veeduría hace dos décadas.

Durante la jornada las autoridades informaron que las votaciones transcurrieron de forma pacífica, aunque advirtieron de casos de presunta compra de votos y abrieron una investigación por presunta presión de armados en Nariño.

La Misión de Observación Electoral de la Unión Europea reportó denuncias de coacción a los votantes por parte de “autoridades y grupos armados ilegales, así como indicios de uso indebido de recursos públicos”, pero no lo relacionó con el favorecimiento a un candidato particular.

En paralelo, un juez ordenó el martes a De la Espriella que retire la propaganda política en sus redes sociales y medios de comunicación que utilicen símbolos del país como la bandera de Colombia, el escudo, imágenes alusivas a las instituciones militares y su oración “firmes por la patria”, como suele saludar a sus simpatizantes.

Se trata de una segunda decisión judicial que responde a una tutela —mecanismo rápido de amparo de derechos— que presentan ciudadanos en contra de su campaña. La semana pasada, un juez también le ordenó obstenerse de usar la camiseta de la Selección colombiana de fútbol, que se ha convertido un símbolo de su campaña criticado por Cepeda.

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EDITORES: retira cita de candidato reaccionando a decisión judicial por ser de una cuenta de X falsa.

He joined host Glenna Milberg on the latest episode of “This Week in South Florida”, and their conversation can be seen at the top of this page.

Deandre Pressley es un miembro “documentado” de la pandilla 700, una organización violenta asociada con los Gangster Disciples, una pandilla altamente organizada fundada en la década de 1960 en Chicago, según el informe.

El año pasado, una víctima en California reportó haber hablado por teléfono con una mujer y un hombre que le mintieron para convencerla de entregar más de $30,000 USD a Pressley, de acuerdo con el informe.

La víctima dijo que los estafadores la llamaron el 1 de mayo de 2025 haciéndose pasar por empleados de Bank of America que supuestamente la protegían de estafadores que podían incluir incluso a cajeros bancarios, según el informe.

“La víctima indicó que le proporcionaron un número de cuenta que no recuerda y que lo agregó a su billetera digital de Apple”, escribió un agente en el informe.

La víctima realizó retiros y depósitos en persona, además de transferencias digitales, antes de que Pressley transfiriera todo el dinero nuevamente a cuentas separadas, según el informe del agente.

Un agente de la MDSO arrestó a Pressley a las 6:45 p.m. del 5 de junio en Fifth Avenue y Davis Parkway, en Florida City. Posteriormente, fue ingresado poco después de las 2:25 a.m. del 6 de junio en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight.

Pressley, quien permanecía en el Centro de Detención Metrowest la tarde del martes, enfrenta nueve cargos en dos casos pendientes en el condado Miami-Dade, según registros judiciales y de reclusos.

En uno de los casos, Pressley enfrenta cuatro cargos: esquema organizado para defraudar, conspiración para cometer un esquema organizado para defraudar, lavado de dinero y uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación. Su fianza fue fijada en $10,000 USD.

En el otro caso, Pressley enfrenta cinco cargos: robo mayor en tercer grado, esquema organizado para defraudar, conspiración para cometer un esquema organizado para defraudar, lavado de dinero y uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación. Su fianza fue fijada en $12,500 USD.

Un juez ordenó a Pressley demostrar que los $22,500 USD utilizados para pagar su fianza no provenían de actividades delictivas.

Los agentes arrestaron a Daniel Cancio poco después de las 3:45 p.m. del lunes en 10855 SW 72 St., en Kendall, después de que las víctimas reportaran una balacera, según el informe de arresto de la MDSO.

Un conductor informó que se detuvo en un semáforo en rojo en Sunset Drive y Southwest 97 Avenue y habló con Cancio sobre haberlo visto conducir a exceso de velocidad en una zona escolar, según el informe.

El conductor “observó que [Cancio] se inclinó hacia la parte trasera de su vehículo y sacó lo que parecía ser un arma de fuego”, escribió un agente en el informe.

Según el informe, Cancio confesó haber utilizado una pistola de perdigones que los agentes encontraron en su vehículo para romper la ventana trasera del lado del pasajero del automóvil de la víctima. Las víctimas tomaron una fotografía de la placa de Cancio.

El Departamento Correccional de Miami-Dade ingresó a Cancio poco antes de las 9 p.m. del lunes en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, cerca de Doral, según los registros de reclusos.

Cancio enfrenta cargos de agresión agravada con arma mortal y daños criminales a la propiedad. Su fianza fue fijada en $5,500 USD.

Rising healthcare costs and government spending have contributed to a projected depletion date that is less than 10 years from now.

The looming challenge for the programs is a partial funding gap, not a collapse. Even after trust fund depletion, the system will continue issuing benefits, albeit at reduced amounts.

Last year, Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund go-broke date was pushed to 2033 from 2036 the year before that, according to the report from the programs’ trustees.

Meanwhile, Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, unchanged from the 2025 report. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said President Donald Trump's administration is “committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security” and “eliminating waste, fraud, abuse and ensuring program integrity.”

The new funding shortfall is mainly the result of lower projected birth rates, reduced immigration and reduced trust fund revenue due to the costs of Republicans’ massive tax and spending bill that Trump signed into law last summer, according to the report.

Nancy Altman, president of the Social Security Works advocacy group, said the latest report takes “Donald Trump’s second term policies into account: A tax bill that largely benefited the wealthy, economy-wrecking tariffs, a needless war with Iran, and hostility to immigrants. All of these have reduced the amount of money going into Social Security, weakening the system’s finances.”

The trustees, who include the treasury secretary, labor secretary, health and human services secretary and the Social Security commissioner, say the latest findings show the urgency of needed changes to the programs, which have faced dire financial projections for decades. But making changes to the programs has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare’s troubling math to the next generation.

AARP's CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement that the latest numbers “should be a wake-up call. Congress needs to act."

“Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,” she said. “No family should see any cuts to what they’ve earned in Social Security. ”

About 70.1 million people are enrolled in Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance that covers those 65 and older, as well as people with severe disabilities or illnesses.

Social Security benefits were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age of 65 has never changed for Medicare.

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The earthquake happened around 2 p.m. Monday about 65 miles west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, according to the USGS. Shaking reports came in from several parts of Florida, including South Florida, Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville and parts of the Panhandle.

The National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat for Florida or the Gulf Coast.

While the main earthquake is over, the USGS says aftershocks remain possible near the source region west of Cuba. If strong enough, another tremor could potentially be felt again in South Florida, especially in taller buildings.

According to the latest USGS aftershock forecast, there is a 98% chance of at least one magnitude 3 or greater aftershock over the next seven days. The chance of at least one magnitude 4 or greater aftershock is 67%, while the chance of at least one magnitude 5 or greater aftershock is 15%.

Over the next 30 days, the USGS forecast shows a greater than 99% chance of at least one magnitude 3 or greater aftershock, a 77% chance of at least one magnitude 4 or greater aftershock and a 22% chance of at least one magnitude 5 or greater aftershock.

The chance of at least one magnitude 6 or greater earthquake over the next month is 3%. The chance of a magnitude 7 or greater earthquake remains less than 1%.

Those higher 30-day probabilities do not mean the aftershock sequence is expected to get worse. In general, aftershock activity tends to decrease over time, but longer time periods naturally carry higher odds because there is more time for aftershocks to occur.

The USGS says aftershock forecasts are not earthquake predictions. Scientists cannot predict the exact time, location or magnitude of the next earthquake. Instead, the agency uses statistical models based on past aftershock sequences and updates the forecast as new earthquakes are detected.

The announcement came two months after Artemis II's record-breaking trip around the moon that surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13.

NASA's Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano won't fly to the moon or land on the surface. Instead, they’ll orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.

“To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to deliver the lunar landers. The two-week demo is targeted for 2027. Blue Origin suffered a recent setback when its massive rocket exploded during an engine-firing test on the launch pad in Florida, shaking nearby homes and illuminating the sky with an orange fireball.

NASA's Jeremy Parsons said the setback is a learning opportunity and that the space agency is confident Blue Origin's rocket will be ready in time.

NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since the 1970s. A recent revamp of the program announced by Isaacman aims to fast-track it similarly to the Apollo era, adding the upcoming spaceflight around Earth before eyeing a lunar landing in 2028.

“We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space,” said Bresnik, Artemis III commander.

Added Douglas, mission specialist: “My brain — it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full."

In May, NASA awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four companies, including Blue Origin, to build landers, rovers and drones for a future moon base. Isaacman said the goal of the moon base is to lay the foundation for a Mars expedition.

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El terremoto ocurrió alrededor de las 2 p.m. del lunes, a unas 65 millas al oeste-noroeste de Mantua, Cuba, de acuerdo con el USGS. Se recibieron reportes de temblores en varias partes de Florida, incluido el sur de Florida, el suroeste del estado, el área de Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville y sectores del Panhandle.

El Centro Nacional de Alerta de Tsunamis informó que no existe amenaza de tsunami para Florida ni para la costa del Golfo.

Aunque el terremoto principal ya pasó, el USGS indica que siguen siendo posibles réplicas cerca de la región donde se originó el sismo, al oeste de Cuba. Si alguna es lo suficientemente fuerte, otro temblor podría volver a sentirse en el sur de Florida, especialmente en edificios altos.

Según el más reciente pronóstico de réplicas del USGS, existe un 98% de probabilidad de que ocurra al menos una réplica de magnitud 3 o superior durante los próximos siete días. La probabilidad de al menos una réplica de magnitud 4 o superior es del 67%, mientras que la de una réplica de magnitud 5 o superior es del 15%.

Durante los próximos 30 días, el pronóstico del USGS muestra una probabilidad superior al 99% de que ocurra al menos una réplica de magnitud 3 o superior, una probabilidad del 77% de al menos una réplica de magnitud 4 o superior y una probabilidad del 22% de al menos una réplica de magnitud 5 o superior.

La probabilidad de que ocurra al menos un terremoto de magnitud 6 o superior durante el próximo mes es del 3%. La probabilidad de un terremoto de magnitud 7 o superior sigue siendo inferior al 1%.

Estas probabilidades más altas para el período de 30 días no significan que la secuencia de réplicas vaya a empeorar. En general, la actividad de réplicas tiende a disminuir con el tiempo, pero los períodos más largos naturalmente presentan mayores probabilidades porque hay más tiempo para que ocurran.

El USGS señala que los pronósticos de réplicas no son predicciones de terremotos. Los científicos no pueden predecir el momento exacto, la ubicación ni la magnitud del próximo sismo. En cambio, la agencia utiliza modelos estadísticos basados en secuencias de réplicas anteriores y actualiza el pronóstico a medida que se detectan nuevos terremotos.

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The traveler, who was not named by CBP, arrived Saturday on a flight from Istanbul International Airport and was referred for additional inspection, a routine process used by CBP officers to verify information and determine whether a person is admissible to the United States, authorities said.

After the inspection, CBP officers determined the individual was inadmissible and he was denied entry due to what the agency described as “vetting concerns.”

CBP officers did not provide additional details about the nature of those concerns.

The agency emphasized that all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including athletes, coaches and sports officials — are subject to inspection and screening upon arrival.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” CBP officials said in a statement.

Under U.S. law, CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections and determine whether an individual is permitted to enter the country.