Hudson, de Titusville, enfrenta cargos federales como adulto por la muerte de Anna Kepner, de 18 años.

Su cuerpo fue encontrado debajo de una cama en una habitación del Carnival Horizon que compartía con él y otro adolescente durante un viaje familiar en noviembre. El barco estaba en aguas internacionales y se dirigía a Miami.

La Oficina del Médico Forense de Miami-Dade determinó que la causa de su muerte el 6 de noviembre fue asfixia mecánica, lo que ocurre cuando un objeto o fuerza impide que alguien respire.

Hudson enfrenta cargos de asesinato y abuso sexual agravado. Ha permanecido en libertad bajo el cuidado de un tío desde su arresto en febrero, aunque los fiscales ahora quieren que un juez ordene su detención mientras avanza el caso. Ese asunto sigue sin resolverse.

La fiscal federal adjunta Alejandra Lopez dijo: “Lo siento. Sin comentarios. Puede llamar a nuestro oficial de asuntos públicos,” cuando se le preguntó sobre el caso.

Los registros y audiencias del caso estuvieron cerrados al público durante semanas porque Hudson fue acusado inicialmente como menor. Pero la jueza federal Beth Bloom aprobó la solicitud del gobierno para que fuera procesado como adulto. El caso fue desclasificado el 10 de abril.

Hasta el miércoles, Hudson permanecía bajo la custodia de su tío. Los fiscales han dicho que desean verlo tras las rejas, pero ese tema no fue abordado en el tribunal.

The police dog named Appie remained under veterinary care on Wednesday afternoon after undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone on Tuesday in Broward County.

“He is expected to make a full recovery,” Dr. Sagen Woolery, the emergency medicine vet caring for Appie, told Local 10 News.

Woolery said luck was on Appie’s side since the bullet that wounded him on Saturday night could have caused more damage than it did.

“We are excited to help him get back on his feet and back working again,” Woolery said.

On Monday, police officers identified the burglary suspect accused of shooting Appie in Lauderdale Manors as Christian Q. Bouie.

Appie’s K9 colleague helped police officers arrest Bouie, 30, after the shooting, and Bouie remained at the Broward County Main Jail on Wednesday.

Bouie faced four charges: Use of a deadly weapon on a police animal, interfering with law enforcement with violence, possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, and resisting arrest without violence.

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• Burglary suspect accused of shooting police dog faces charges in Broward
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Según la policía de Miami Beach, los agentes respondieron a la cuadra 1400 de Ocean Drive alrededor de las 9:14 p.m. del martes, donde el conductor dejó a los sospechosos.

Los sospechosos han sido identificados como Ashton Montanez, de 22 años, de Orlando, y Jefferson Mesidor, de 25 años, de Miami.

Según el informe de arresto de Montanez, es un influencer que actualmente vive en las calles de Miami.

La policía dijo que el conductor les indicó que es conductor de Lyft y que recogía un viaje el martes por la noche en Bay Harbor Terrace, en Bay Harbor Islands, cuando notó una gran presencia policial.

Dijo que luego vio a dos hombres corriendo hacia su vehículo y abriendo la puerta.

Según el informe, Montanez y Mesidor se recostaron dentro del vehículo en un intento de ocultarse antes de que Montanez le pasara lo que el conductor creía que era un arma a Mesidor.

La policía dijo que el dúo obligó a la víctima a conducirlos hasta Miami Beach.

La víctima dijo a la policía que en un momento consideró saltar del vehículo en movimiento, pero temía que le dispararan.

Según el informe, ambos sospechosos salieron del vehículo en la cuadra 1400 de Ocean Drive y entraron a un edificio residencial.

Testigos dijeron a Local 10 que el edificio está lleno de alquileres a corto plazo, incluidos Airbnbs.

“Regresamos alrededor de la 1 en punto y toda la calle estaba bloqueada, muchos policías. Seguían diciendo: ‘Oh, serán otros 40 minutos,’” dijo Andrew Galizia, quien visita desde Boston. “Dijeron eso como cuatro veces y luego esperamos. Había mucha acción aquí, así que nos movimos a este lado, y de repente ves al equipo SWAT completamente armado, perros y gafas infrarrojas … yo estaba como, ‘¿Qué está pasando realmente?’”

Las autoridades dijeron que Mesidor salió del edificio y fue localizado rápidamente por la policía en la cuadra 1500 de Ocean Drive, mientras Montanez permanecía atrincherado dentro.

Una persona que se hospedaba en una de las unidades de alquiler dijo que pasó horas esperando en el vestíbulo de un hotel cercano.

“Nos hospedábamos en un Airbnb y creo que había muchas personas en Airbnbs allí, así que fue una inconveniencia para mucha gente,” dijo.

Montanez fue finalmente detenido alrededor de la 1:08 a.m. del miércoles, confirmó la policía.

Familias que se hospedaban en el edificio dijeron que fueron tomadas por sorpresa por la presencia policial.

“No se acercaron demasiado al edificio, pero lo habían rodeado, y de repente entraron aquí y comenzaron a tocar las puertas diciendo que teníamos que evacuar,” dijo Tierra Esquerre.

Detectives fueron vistos recolectando evidencia, tratando de reconstruir exactamente qué llevó a que el conductor fuera amenazado con un arma.

“Estaba bastante asustada,” dijo Esquerre. “Llamé a mi abuelo. Lloré porque cuando llegaron con los hombres en la camioneta, eso fue bastante intenso, así que fue aterrador.”

La policía de Miami Beach dijo que la investigación continúa y está siendo liderada por el Departamento de Policía de Bay Harbor Islands.

“MBPD continuará apoyando a BHPD según sea necesario,” dijo un portavoz de MBPD en un correo electrónico a Local 10 News.

Tanto Montanez como Mesidor enfrentan cargos de secuestro.

Hasta la tarde del miércoles, ambos permanecían detenidos en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight. Los registros en línea de la cárcel indicaban que su fianza estaba “por establecer.”

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In the video, the suspect, Eduardo Rivero, is seen ramming a police car and then taking off in a vehicle with children inside.

The incident happened in October of last year.

Miami police said they noticed a driver in a car they had been searching for.

When police tried to pull him over, they noticed a woman and two children inside.

That’s when they say Rivero placed the car in reverse and intentionally rammed a detective in an unmarked police unit.

Police said Rivero then put the car in drive and hit two other police vehicles multiple times.

But when he couldn’t get the vehicle out of the area, he got out and started running, authorities said.

Police said when officers searched his car, they found two guns and a stolen license plate with Velcro on the back in order to quickly attach or remove it from different vehicles.

The video also shows the woman, who was in the car with her kids, talking to police.

Police said Rivero was identified as a sex offender and was already on probation until 2029 after being convicted of sexually battering a victim under the age of 12.

Because of that conviction, he’s not supposed to be within 1,000 feet of children.

Police said Rivero’s driver’s license had also been expired since 2023.

He faces numerous charges, including battery against a law enforcement officer and child abuse.

En el video, el sospechoso, Eduardo Rivero, es visto chocando contra una patrulla y luego huyendo en un vehículo con niños dentro.

El incidente ocurrió en octubre del año pasado.

La policía de Miami dijo que detectaron a un conductor en un vehículo que estaban buscando.

Cuando los agentes intentaron detenerlo, notaron que había una mujer y dos niños dentro.

En ese momento, según la policía, Rivero puso el vehículo en reversa y embistió intencionalmente a un detective en una unidad policial sin identificar.

La policía dijo que luego Rivero puso el vehículo en marcha y chocó contra otros dos vehículos policiales múltiples veces.

Pero cuando no pudo sacar el vehículo del área, se bajó y comenzó a correr, dijeron las autoridades.

La policía indicó que al revisar el vehículo encontraron dos armas y una placa robada con velcro en la parte trasera para poder colocarla o quitarla rápidamente de diferentes vehículos.

El video también muestra a la mujer, que estaba en el auto con sus hijos, hablando con la policía.

La policía dijo que Rivero fue identificado como agresor sexual y ya estaba en libertad condicional hasta 2029 tras ser condenado por agresión sexual contra una víctima menor de 12 años.

Debido a esa condena, no puede estar a menos de 1,000 pies de niños.

La policía dijo que la licencia de conducir de Rivero también estaba vencida desde 2023.

Enfrenta múltiples cargos, incluyendo agresión contra un agente del orden y abuso infantil.

El imputado fue identificado como Brayan Ferney Cruz Castillo, quien quedó detenido a disposición de un juzgado federal que intervendrá en el proceso de extradición, informó el miércoles Ministerio Público Fiscal de Argentina en un comunicado.

Cruz Castillo tenía una notificación roja de Interpol y un pedido de captura internacional emitido por Colombia por su presunta colaboración “en aspectos logísticos” del crimen del senador colombiano. Fue arrestado la víspera en la capital argentina por agentes de la división de investigación federal de fugitivos y extradiciones.

Uribe Turbay fue baleado en junio de 2025 cuando daba un discurso en un parque de Bogotá y falleció casi dos meses después a causa de las heridas. Tenía 39 años.

El ataque, que quedó grabado en video, conmocionó a un país que recordó las oscuras épocas en las que candidatos presidenciales y figuras de alto nivel eran secuestrados o asesinados por cárteles del narcotráfico y grupos insurgentes en las décadas de 1980 y 1990.

La justicia colombiana determinó que el magnicidio del senador fue ordenado por miembros de la Segunda Marquetalia, una disidencia de la antigua guerrilla Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), y perpetuado en complicidad con una red delictiva urbana.

La fiscalía a cargo del caso sostuvo que el asesinato de Uribe Turbay estuvo orientado a “generar un impacto sobre la democracia y los procesos políticos del país”.

Una decena de personas fueron capturadas, incluido el tirador que aceptó los delitos y que, por ser menor de edad, recibió una sanción en un centro especial, además de presuntos cómplices que ayudaron en la logística y la planeación.

Según la Dirección Nacional de Migraciones de Argentina, Cruz Castillo se encontraba en situación irregular en el país y tenía una orden de expulsión vigente por haber estado implicado en una causa por robo en la capital argentina.

Según un informe de arresto, Vanessa Caridad-Rodriguez fue detenida el martes tras una investigación sobre entregas desaparecidas entre el 16 y el 23 de febrero en el complejo Quantum on the Bay, ubicado en 1900 N. Bayshore Dr., en el vecindario Edgewater de Miami.

Los residentes comenzaron a reportar paquetes desaparecidos del cuarto de paquetes del edificio, lo que llevó al supervisor a revisar las cámaras de vigilancia tras múltiples quejas, indica el informe.

Los investigadores dijeron que el video del 16 de febrero muestra bolsas naranjas de entrega de Amazon dejadas fuera del cuarto de paquetes porque estaba “lleno” y colocadas cerca de una puerta trasera de carga que estaba defectuosa y no asegurada correctamente.

Según el informe, las cámaras de vigilancia muestran una camioneta pickup Ford blanca entrando al área de carga.

Una mujer, posteriormente identificada por la policía de Miami como Caridad-Rodriguez, salió del lado del conductor, mientras un pasajero masculino, identificado luego como Jose Luis Perez, salió del vehículo.

El informe indica que Perez, de 50 años, abrió una puerta de acceso trasera y retiró una bolsa de entrega naranja que contenía paquetes, colocándola en la caja de la camioneta, mientras Caridad-Rodriguez retiraba paquetes adicionales. Ambos luego abandonaron el lugar en la camioneta.

La administración del edificio informó a los investigadores que ninguno de los sospechosos tenía permiso para tomar los paquetes.

Caridad-Rodriguez fue identificada después de que los investigadores vincularan el vehículo a una parada de tráfico ese mismo día en West Miami, donde fue arrestada por conducir sin una licencia válida y la camioneta fue incautada, según el informe. La policía indicó que Perez era el pasajero durante esa parada.

Posteriormente, los investigadores recuperaron una peluca rubia del vehículo durante un registro, la cual, según dijeron, era “consistente con la peluca utilizada por la sospechosa durante el incidente.”

Un análisis de huellas latentes también vinculó a Caridad-Rodriguez con una huella recuperada de una caja de Grey Goose encontrada dentro del vehículo, según su informe de arresto.

Perez, quien fue arrestado anteriormente en la investigación, admitió tras Miranda que él y Caridad-Rodriguez ingresaron a la propiedad y retiraron paquetes “sin permiso,” según el informe.

También la identificó como su novia en ese momento y dijo que ella estaba familiarizada con la distribución del edificio debido a un empleo previo en un consultorio dental en ese mismo complejo.

Caridad-Rodriguez enfrenta cargos que incluyen robo a una estructura desocupada y hurto menor entre $150 y $750 USD, según los registros de la cárcel.

Hasta el miércoles, permanecía detenida en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “por establecer,” mientras que Perez permanecía detenido en el Centro de Detención Metrowest con una fianza de $10,100 USD.

Scott was Democrats’ ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee after having once served as the panel first Black chairman, despite most recently representing a metropolitan district around Atlanta. He was once a leading voice for his party on issues related to farm aid policy and food aid for consumers and a prominent Black member of the party’s moderate Blue Dog caucus.

But he faced criticism and concerns in recent years because of declining health, enduring a primary challenge in 2024 and facing another one at the time of his death.

Democrats on Capitol Hill praised the longtime lawmaker.

“The news of Congressman Scott’s passing is deeply sad,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.

“David Scott was a trailblazer who served district that he represented admirably, rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House Ag Committee,” Jeffries said. “He cared about the people that he represented. He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia, and he’ll be deeply missed.

The congressman was not especially active on the campaign trail in 2026. But had been dismissive of pressure to retire.

“Thank God I’m in good health, moving and doing the people’s work,” Scott said in 2024.

Scott’s death slightly widens Republicans’ narrow House majority going into the thick of this midterm election year.

State-funded preschool enrollment in the U.S. rose to 1.8 million kids, reaching 37% of 4-year-olds and about 10% of 3-year-olds, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the National Institute of Early Education Research. In total, states added 44,000 students to their preschool enrollment. But the report's authors noted that the gains were smaller than the year prior and said preschool access remains wildly uneven from state to state. Some states even lost ground.

“If providing high-quality preschool education to all 3- and 4-year-olds were a race,” the authors wrote, “some states are nearing the finish line, others have stumbled and fallen behind, and a few have yet to leave the starting line.”

Free preschool has expanded in California

More than half the nation's public preschool enrollment gain — some 25,000 students — came in California, which this year made every 4-year-old eligible for its “ transitional kindergarten ” program, or “TK.” The rapid rollout has had its tradeoffs. The national institute outlines 10 quality benchmarks for preschools, related to teacher training, class size and curriculum. California met just two of them last school year. And private preschool owners say the rush of 4-year-olds joining public schools threatens to cripple their businesses.

“Universal TK ... is a real win, but it’s also just the start of the work and not the end of it,” said Jessica Sawko of Children Now, which advocates on early childhood issues in California. She noted that the state will hit two more quality benchmarks in next year's report, by lowering its student-teacher ratio to 10-to-1 and by requiring lead teachers to have early education training.

The report illustrates some of the difficult tradeoffs states face when they scale up programs quickly or have limited funding. Hawaii is one of six states that meet all the institute's benchmarks. Its state preschool program also only serves 10% of 4-year-olds.

Evidence is mounting that the impact of high-quality preschool can follow children into adulthood, making them better prepared for kindergarten, more likely to graduate high school and more likely to find work. And it is increasingly seen as essential for success in kindergarten and beyond. Educators now also expect youngsters to start their first year of school already equipped to navigate kindergarten.

“We have a lot of kids who still do not fulfill their potential,” said Steven Barnett, founder and director of the early education institute. “We have evidence — very strong evidence — that preschool programs substantially improved the foundation for later success.”

Some states also recognize that free prekindergarten can make a difference for the wider economy, allowing parents to return to work at a time when private child care is becoming less affordable.

Preschool means confident kindergartners

Heather Sufuentes witnessed the impact of preschool when she was principal of Parkview Elementary in Chico, California, as it began its transitional kindergarten program. She said students who attended the program, which has a play-based curriculum and runs the length of a workday, arrived with more confidence and often volunteered to be class leaders.

“They're well prepared to transition into that big elementary school setting,” said Sufuentes, now director of elementary education for Chico Unified School District. Chico has more than doubled the number of TK seats it offers since 2022.

Marisol Márquez, a secretary who works for the state, sends her daughter to transitional kindergarten at 1st Street Elementary in Los Angeles. She had been sending her for free to a learning center underwritten by COVID-19 relief funding. But she would have had to start paying tuition this year, and she's not sure how she and her husband, a UPS driver, would have made it work. She was elated to hear 1st Street Elementary was offering free transitional kindergarten.

Educators there quickly discovered her daughter was bright and began sending her to kindergarten for math and reading lessons.

“If it hadn’t been for this program, we would have never found that out," Márquez said.

In some states, preschool is expensive. In others, it's free

Despite the raised expectations for 5-year-olds, no state mandates that children attend preschool, and only some cities and states make it accessible to every 4-year-old. Preschool offerings differ vastly. A family living in Wyoming, which has no state-funded preschool, could move to Colorado, where every parent can send their 4-year-old to part-time preschool without paying a dime in tuition. In the District of Columbia, even affluent families have access to two full years of prekindergarten, while neighboring Virginia has a far less robust program.

The uneven access across states can exacerbate disparities. Wealthier families can often afford private preschool tuition, regardless of what their state offers. In 2024, private child care centers, which often use preschool curriculum, averaged annual tuition of more than $12,00 for 4-year-olds, according to Child Care Aware of America.

For families that can't afford preschool tuition, the options can be limited. State-funded preschool programs often have waitlists.

If a family's earnings are low enough, they can qualify for programs like Head Start, which provides early education for the neediest Americans. But the number of children in Head Start is falling, in part due to staff shortages. Lower-income families may also qualify for state or federal child care subsidies that can help with private preschool, but those have growing waitlists, too.

Trump says states should pay

Federal support for expanding early education funding is sparse and shrinking. Recently, President Donald Trump said the federal government couldn’t afford to support child care while it was waging a war with Iran.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care,” Trump said. States, he added, “should pay for it. ... They’ll have to raise their taxes.”

The map of states that offer the highest-quality public preschool programs would surprise some partisans. Republican-led states have pioneered universal prekindergarten, with Oklahoma introducing it in the late 1990s. Alabama and West Virginia also have preschool-for-all programs that receive top marks. Wealthier, Democratic-led states have lagged behind, even as many blue-leaning cities have moved ahead with their own initiatives. New York state lost enrollment last school year, even as New York City, which already has universal prekindergarten, is charging ahead with a plan to make all child care free for younger children.

And Georgia, another state with Republican leadership, is the first to have a universal preschool program that meets all quality benchmarks set by the National Institute of Early Education Research.

Rebecca Ellis's son John Patrick, 5, attends the private Capitol Hill Child Enrichment Center in Atlanta free of charge, thanks to the state's preschool-for-all program. She said it saved her family a huge amount of money, and she is impressed by how much her son has grown socially and emotionally.

“They focus so much on just helping kids learn how to calm down, to make friends, to regulate their feelings, to solve problems,” Ellis said.

John Patrick and her older son, who attended the same preschool, have even given their parents advice. When they become agitated, the children urge them to take deep breaths.

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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.

Mario Bustamante Leiva did not recognize Noem when he grabbed her Gucci handbag from the floor of a restaurant where she was eating with her family in April 2025, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Noem’s purse had credit cards and about $3,000 in cash. Police recovered it from Leiva's motel room.

Bustamante Leiva, a 50-year-old native of Chile, is facing deportation after his sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden.

“Bustamante Leiva came to Washington illegally to prey on citizens of the district,” said Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in a statement. “His pattern of theft ends here.”

Noem, who is identified only by her initials in court filings, acknowledged the incident in a statement last year that referred to Bustamante Leiva as a “a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.”

He pleaded guilty in November to three counts of wire fraud and one count of first-degree theft. He was charged and convicted of robbing two other people and charging fraudulent purchases to their credit cards.

Bustamante Leiva was charged along with a second suspect, Cristian Montecino-Sananza, who was sentenced in March to 13 months of incarceration for his role in one of the other thefts.

Investigators said they identified Bustamante Leiva as a suspect in the thefts after he used a stolen gift card to make a purchase.

Event organizers said the five-day camps focus on skill development, teamwork and leadership.

Campers will also receive giveaways and have opportunities to meet Heat players and team alumni.

Locations include SLAM Miami High School, Cooper City High School, the Kaseya Center, Nova Southeastern University and a new site at Deerfield Beach’s Pick-A-Ball Sports Complex.

Camp prices start at $520, with an early-bird rate of $420 available through April 24. More information is available at HEAT.com/JrHEAT.

Read the full summer schedule here:

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According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, deputies responding to the crash at Northwest 72nd Avenue and 47th Street around 6 a.m. on Dec 30, 2025, found Martin “unsteady on his feet, with (bloodshot) watery eyes and slurred speech” and detected the odor of alcohol.

Local 10 obtained video that shows MDSO deputies arriving to the crash scene.

A garbage truck can be seen pushed off to the side of the road following the collision.

Ahead of it is Martin’s truck, with visible front-end damage as investigators work to determine what led up to the crash.

In the video, deputies can be seen speaking with Martin, 45, and asking if he is OK. He then informs them he is a Hialeah police officer.

The next video shows an interaction between a witness and investigators, who ask whether the witness saw Martin driving the truck.

Another clip shows Martin in handcuffs as he is placed into the back of an MDSO patrol car.

Authorities said Martin had been involved in a crash with a trash truck and was later handcuffed after becoming “belligerent” toward fellow law enforcement officers.

Deputies said medics transported Martin to Jackson West Medical Center, where a DUI investigator attempted to interview him.

According to the report, Martin was “uncooperative” and repeatedly responded “I don’t know” when asked basic questions, including whether he knew what was going on or if he had been in a crash.

Deputies said he refused field sobriety tests and also declined a blood draw, prompting investigators to seize his driver’s license under Florida’s implied consent law.

Martin had been placed on administrative leave following the crash.

A Hialeah Police Department spokesperson on Wednesday told Local 10 News that he “remains on administrative duties.”

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According to Miami Beach police, officers responded to the 1400 block of Ocean Drive at about 9:14 p.m. Tuesday where the driver dropped off the suspects.

The suspects have been identified as Ashton Montanez, 22, of Orlando, and Jefferson Mesidor, 25, of Miami.

According to Montanez’s arrest report, he is an influencer who is currently living on the streets of Miami.

Police said the driver told them that he is a Lyft driver who was picking up a fare Tuesday night on Bay Harbor Terrace in Bay Harbor Islands when he noticed a large police presence.

He said he then saw two men running toward his car and then opening the door to his vehicle.

According to the report, Montanez and Mesidor laid down in the vehicle in an attempt to conceal themselves before Montanez passed what the driver believed was a gun to Mesidor.

Police said the duo then forced the victim to drive them to Miami Beach.

The victim told police that he considered jumping out of his moving car at one point, but was scared they would shoot him.

According to the report, both suspects exited the vehicle in the 1400 block of Ocean Drive and entered a residential building.

Witnesses told Local 10 that the building is filled with short-term rentals, including Airbnbs.

“We come back around 1 o’clock and the whole road is blocked off, tons of cops. They kept saying, ‘Oh, it’ll be another 40 minutes,’” Andrew Galizia, who is visiting from Boston, said. “They said that like four times and then we waited. There was a lot of action going on down here, so we moved to this side, and then all of a sudden you see the SWAT team fully armed, dogs, and infrared googles ... I was like, ‘Damn, what is really going on?’”

Authorities said Mesidor then exited the building and was quickly located by police in the 1500 block of Ocean Drive while Montanez remained barricaded inside.

One person staying in one of the rental units said he spent hours waiting in the lobby of a nearby hotel.

“We were staying at an Airbnb and I think there were a lot of people in Airbnbs there, so it was an inconvenience for a lot of people,” he said.

Montanez was eventually taken into custody at about 1:08 a.m. Wednesday, police confirmed.

Families staying at the building said they were caught off guard by the police presence.

“They didn’t get too close to the building, but they had surrounded the building, and then all of a sudden, they had gotten in here and came in, and then they were knocking on the door, saying we had to evacuate,” Tierra Esquerre said.

Detectives were seen collecting evidence, trying to piece together exactly what led up to the driver being held at gunpoint.

“I was pretty scared,” Esquerre said. “I called my grandfather. I cried because when they pulled up with the guys in the truck, that was pretty intense, so it was scary.”

Miami Beach police said the investigation remains ongoing and is being led by the Bay Harbor Islands Police Department.

“MBPD will continue to support BHPD as needed,” a MBPD spokesman said in an email to Local 10 News.

Both Montanez and Mesidor face kidnapping charges.

As of Wednesday afternoon, both were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed their bond as “to bet set.”

Sheinbaum's comments come after days of contradictions of several authorities following the death of two U.S. officials in a vehicle crash over the weekend as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico. The CIA’s involvement was confirmed Tuesday to the AP by a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

“There cannot be agents from any U.S. government institution operating in the Mexican field,” the president stated during her morning news briefing. She noted that such activities are not part of the current security protocols or the formal understanding between the two nations.

Two Mexican investigators also were killed in the crash, which Mexican authorities said occurred while the convoy was returning from an operation to destroy drug labs of criminal groups. There have been discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened U.S. involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region.

Sheinbaum acknowledged Wednesday that the Mexican army participated in the operation — as its mandate includes supporting individual states. However, she emphasized that the federal government was unaware of the U.S. agents’ presence.

Sheinbaum ruled out the possibility that the incident constitutes a new strategy by the Trump administration — which has demanded greater action from Mexico in the fight against cartels.

However, she said she sent a letter to the U.S. ambassador to Mexico requesting that he provide all available information regarding the incident. She also said she plans to speak with the Gov. of Chihuahua, Maru Campos. “It is very important that something like this not be allowed to go unaddressed,” she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed to take action on Mexican cartels — an intervention that Sheinbaum has said is “unnecessary.”

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Associated Press writers David Klepper and Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington.

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

The National Guard joined the Florida Forest Service and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue in the firefight.

“This is the Everglades, it’s kind of hard to operate in, you have to stay on the levees ... We are doing the best we can," said Kevin MacEwen, the FFS Everglades District manager and forest area supervisor.

The crews had contained about 50% of the fire on Wednesday, according to the Florida Forest Service. The wind is blowing the smoke away from Broward County.

The massive fire comes as a historic drought has the Florida Forest Service fighting more brush fires than usual statewide.

Weather Authority at 12 p.m.

Related story: Brush fires join near U.S. Highway 27 in Broward

Hudson, of Titusville, is charged federally as an adult in the death of Anna Kepner, 18.

Her body was found under a bed in a Carnival Horizon room that she was sharing with him and another teen during a family trip in November. The ship was in international waters and bound for Miami.

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined the the cause of her Nov. 6 death to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or force stops someone from breathing.

Hudson is charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse. He has been free in the care of an uncle since his arrest in February, though prosecutors now want a judge to lock him up while the case unfolds. That issue is unsettled.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra Lopez said, “Sorry. No comment. You can call our public affairs officer,” when asked about the case.

Records and hearings in the case were closed to the public for weeks because Hudson was initially charged as a minor. But U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom granted the government’s request to have him prosecuted as an adult. The case was unsealed on April 10.

Hudson, as of Wednesday, was in the custody of his uncle. Prosecutors have said that they’d like to see him behind bars, but that matter was not addressed in court.

Royals owner John Sherman was joined by Hallmark chairman Don Hall Jr., Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, along with other local and state dignitaries, in making the announcement Wednesday near Hallmark headquarters.

While the finalized master plan has yet to be complete, Sherman said the $1.9 billion stadium would break ground next year in the middle of Crown Center as part of the first phase of an 85-acre project. Two-thirds of the funding will come from private sources and the remaining one-third from public partners, including money earmarked by the state for stadium projects.

“This is a partnership between two treasured Kansas City institutions,” Sherman said. “We are committed to creating a vision which honors our history, the rich past of both organizations, while reinvigorating and reimagining what our future can be together.”

The announcement came about a week after Kansas City officials passed an ordinance authorizing City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate a $600 million deal to help the Royals move downtown. Most believed the stadium would sit on Washington Square Park, which is next to Union Station, but it will instead be located just south of it, with the park featured in the development.

Hallmark intends to build a new headquarters in the area, which is connected by a streetcar to the Power & Light District, where the T-Mobile Center serves as its anchor. That part of downtown Kansas City will provide the backdrop beyond the outfield fence.

Officials touted the availability of public parking already in the area and convenient traffic flow from nearby highways.

Missouri's contribution comes from a law enacted last year that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums in the state, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.

“We think it's a great investment for our Missouri taxpayers, because this does not affect existing programs,” Kehoe said. “The ripple effect from this facility will truly be far-reaching into rural Missouri and other parts of the state.”

The Royals have insisted they would leave Kauffman Stadium when their lease expires at the Truman Sports Complex in 2031, and the intention of Sherman ever since purchasing the club in 2019 was to build a downtown ballpark as its replacement.

Yet reaching Wednesday's announcement did not come without plenty of pitfalls.

The biggest stumbling block came in April 2024, when the Chiefs joined the Royals in a plan to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and replace Kauffman Stadium. The plan hinged on the extension of a sales tax that had been paying for stadium upkeep, and voters in Jackson County, Missouri, overwhelmingly rejected the proposal, forcing the franchises to go their own way.

The legislature in neighboring Kansas aggressively pursued the Chiefs, committing last December to issuing $2.4 billion in bonds to cover 60% of the cost of a new $3 billion domed stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. The NFL franchise ultimately decided to move across the state line, where it also will build a new training facility in the nearby suburb of Olathe, Kansas.

Officials in Kansas briefly pursued the Royals, too, but their interest in the MLB franchise had always been lukewarm.

The Royals had been weighing several options in recent months. But they ultimately rejected an option in the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and allowed a deadline to pass for a site north of downtown and across the Missouri River in Clay County, Missouri.

Economists have long concluded that subsidizing stadiums isn’t worth the cost for communities because the venues pull economic activity away from other parts of the area, rather than expanding the overall economy. Yet states and cities continually provide money to renovate stadiums or build new ones — 49 of the 60 used by MLB or NFL teams are publicly owned or sit on public land.

One of the stadiums that Sherman has cited as an example of what's possible in Kansas City is Truist Park in Atlanta.

The stadium was a public-private partnership in which the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority issued up to $397 million in bonds, the county raised millions more from transportation taxes and businesses added millions in cash. The Braves contributed the remaining money for the park and The Battery, a mixed-used development, with a total cost of more than $1.1 billion.

“There are many great ballpark neighborhoods in Major League Baseball,” Sherman said, “but this is a bigger project with more land in downtown and in the heart of the city. We are bringing a modern, state-of-the-art ballpark experience to our fans, closer to our public transportation and where more people work and live.”

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Chelsea confirmed his departure on Wednesday, less than four months into the job and just four days before it plays in an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley.

Assistant Calum McFarlane will take charge on an interim basis until the end of the season.

“This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, however recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season,” Chelsea said in a statement.

The team that won the Club World Cup last year now looks likely to miss out on next season’s Champions League. That would mean a huge financial hit for a club that has spent billions of dollars under U.S. owners Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly.

The five-game losing streak is its worst since 1912 — the same year the Titanic sank.

Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton proved the last straw for Rosenior, an inexperienced coach at the highest level who was hired from Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg in January. It was a seventh loss in eight games in all competitions.

Chelsea has won one of its last nine in the league, is seventh in the standings and seven points adrift of the top five, who all qualify for the Champions League.

Rosenior, 41, turned on his players following the Brighton match, saying the performance was “indefensible” and that “something needs to change drastically.”

The club’s hierarchy clearly agreed, despite saying Rosenior had “always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism”.

Rosenior replaced Club World Cup-winning coach Enzo Maresca in January and only took charge of 23 games.

He started impressively with a run of six wins in seven games, but things unravelled quickly in recent weeks, including elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

His tenure was brought to an end despite Chelsea preparing for its FA Cup semifinal against Leeds on Sunday.

Rosenior becomes the fifth permanent manager to lose his job since Clearlake and Boehly bought one of English soccer’s most storied clubs in 2022. Now the search is on for a sixth to try to bring sustained success.

“As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea said.

Rosenior’s departure comes after fans of the two-time Champions League winner and six-time English champion began to protest against the U.S. owners.

While there have been trophies, the Club World Cup and Europa Conference League last season, this could be the third campaign out of four in which it has failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Under former owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea was one of the most dominant teams in Europe, winning a full set of trophies, including two Champions Leagues and five Premier League titles.

It last won the Champions League in 2021, the year before Abramovich was forced to sell the club after being sanctioned by the British government in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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

The shooting happened on Feb. 18 in the area of Southwest 76th Street and 152nd Avenue.

Dashcam video released by officials shows a black Honda Civic that investigators said contained then-16-year-old Adrian Negron Vega and 17-year-old Camilo Buritica.

The video shows two other teens outside of the vehicle, and detectives said there was some kind of argument between the suspects and the victims.

As the two teenagers turned to walk away, a gun is seen sticking out of the passenger window and authorities said several shots were fired.

They said one of the teens was struck in the shoulder and ankle, and remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The alleged shooter, Negron Vega, is being charged as an adult with attempted murder.

Investigators said Buritica was behind the wheel of that Honda Civic.

He faced a judge on Wednesday at the Miami-Dade Children’s Courthouse and pled guilty to a felony charge of accessory after the fact.

Buritica faces up to 15 years in a state prison.

Bearman was traveling at around 190 mph (306 kph) when he veered off track and slammed into the barrier while trying to avoid Franco Colapinto's slower-moving car at last month's Japanese Grand Prix.

The difference in speed between the two was around 30 mph (50 kph) because of key features of the 2026 cars. Bearman was using his “boost” mode for extra electrical power while Colapinto was low on electrical charge.

“We’ve got sometimes cases when one car is deploying too little power because it’s charging up its batteries and another one is trying to overtake and approaching at quite a fast speed. That has been obviously a safety topic and we’ve been discussing how to resolve it,” Nikolas Tombazis, who's overseen the development and changes to the 2026 rules as single-seater director at the FIA, said in a video statement Wednesday.

Restricting the impact of the boost mode and cutting the maximum allowed electrical power on “specific parts of the circuits maybe where we have corners or where they’re a bit more twisty” could prevent a repeat, Tombazis argued. Bearman had been using the boost on a curved section as he approached Colapinto.

“So, in that respect, it means that the sort of problem we saw with Ollie Bearman’s crash in Suzuka should basically be avoided from the next race onwards.”

Bearman said on the “Up To Speed” podcast last week that the big difference in speed between him and Colapinto was an “unfortunate result of these regulations”, and that the Argentine driver should have left him more space because of that.

“I was lucky not to hit him. It would have been much, much worse if I did,” said the British driver.

Tombazis said the FIA would see how upcoming races go and push for more changes if needed. That usually needs the agreement of teams and engine manufacturers, but the FIA can intervene on its own on urgent safety grounds.

“It’s not now job done, we can all go on holiday," Tombazis said. "We will keep monitoring. We’ll keep reviewing and analyzing and so on. And, if there’s any further interventions needed, of course we won’t hesitate to take them.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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According to an arrest report, Vanessa Caridad-Rodriguez was taken into custody on Tuesday following an investigation into missing deliveries between Feb. 16 and Feb. 23 at the Quantum on the Bay condominium complex, located at 1900 N. Bayshore Dr., in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.

Residents began reporting missing packages from the building’s package room, prompting the supervisor to review surveillance footage after multiple complaints, the report states.

Investigators said video from Feb. 16 shows orange Amazon delivery bags left outside the package room because it was “full” and placed near a rear loading dock door that was malfunctioning and not properly secured.

According to the report, surveillance footage shows a white Ford pickup truck entering the loading dock area.

A woman, who Miami police later identified as Caridad-Rodriguez, exited the driver’s side while a male passenger, later identified as Jose Luis Perez, got out of the vehicle.

The report states Perez, 50, opened a rear access door and removed an orange delivery bag containing packages, placing it in the truck bed, while Caridad-Rodriguez removed additional packages. Both then left the scene in the pickup truck.

Building management told investigators neither suspect had permission to take the packages.

Caridad-Rodriguez was identified after investigators linked the vehicle to a traffic stop the same day in West Miami, where she was arrested for driving without a valid license and the truck was impounded, according to the report. Police listed Perez as the passenger during that stop.

Investigators later recovered a blonde wig from the vehicle during a search, which they said was “consistent with the wig used by the female suspect during the incident.”

A latent print analysis also matched Caridad-Rodriguez to a print recovered from a Grey Goose box found inside the vehicle, according to her arrest report.

Perez, who was arrested earlier in the investigation, admitted post-Miranda that he and Caridad-Rodriguez entered the property and removed packages “without permission,” according to the report.

He also identified her as his girlfriend at the time and said she was familiar with the building layout due to prior employment at a dental office in that same complex.

Caridad-Rodriguez is facing charges including burglary of an unoccupied structure and petit theft between $150 and $750, jail records show.

As of Wednesday, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her bond was listed as “to be set,” while Perez was being held at the Metrowest Detention Center on a $10,100 bond.

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The incident occurred just before 3:30 p.m. at a Publix located at 15771 SW 152nd St. in the county’s Country Walk area, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said the suspect, Julio Rodriguez, is accused of accelerating his vehicle toward a man who was attempting to cross the parking lot to retrieve a shopping cart, nearly striking him.

The victim told deputies a verbal argument followed, during which Rodriguez allegedly reached into his vehicle’s center console, retrieved a bottle of pepper spray, exited the car and sprayed the man, as well as the man’s wife and another bystander, according to the report.

Deputies said Rodriguez then got back into his vehicle and fled the scene. The victim was able to provide officers with a photo of the vehicle’s license plate, according to the report.

Authorities later located Rodriguez, who lives near the Publix where the incident occurred, and took him into custody without further incident, the report states.

Deputies said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported Rodriguez to Jackson South Medical Center before he was taken to jail.

Jail records show he is facing one count of aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older and two counts of battery.

As of Wednesday, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed at $3,000. He was also ordered to stay away from the victims.

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Authorities said the suspect, Mauricio Jimenez, conducted at least 4,500 separate unauthorized orders totaling around $55 million worth of merchandise.

According to an arrest form, Jimenez, 48, of Hialeah, worked as a manager at the Home Depot located at 7899 W Flagler St. in west Miami-Dade and previously worked as a manager at the Home Depot located at 13895 W. Okeechobee Road in Hialeah Gardens.

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies said that Jimenez, over 28 months, “engaged in a deliberate, systematic and ongoing scheme to defraud Home Depot” by “applying unauthorized markdowns to merchandize, significantly reducing retail prices beyond permissible limits.”

According to deputies, the Home Depot Assurance & Advisory Management Program was alerted to orders by Jimenez, prompting an investigation in December.

It was then revealed that Jimenez had several sales in which “highly excessive markdowns” were “conducted to repeated customers,” according to official documents.

Further investigation by Home Depot Central Investigations found that Jimenez only provided the discounts to “a core of accounts” and that the “high markdown activity” at his old store stopped once he left, and “took a dramatic upturn” at his new store once he arrived, according to an arrest form.

Investigators also determined that “the merchandise was of the quantity and nature of that typically purchased by re-seller accounts” and that Jimenez placed and structured the orders in a deceptive way in order to try and conceal his actions.

In addition, deputies said Jimenez was “creating, registering or otherwise utilizing additional business entitles, shell companies or aliases to place orders and receive discounted merchandise,” according to his arrest form.

Authorities said Jimenez was spoken to by a regional vice president and district manager and told “to no longer sell to seven of his affiliated business” while he was “questioned about these types of sales and how they were not to be made,” but authorities said he “continued to conduct said fraudulent transactions after receiving said warnings.”

Of the $55 million in gross sales that Jimenez discounted, authorities said the net sales were around $30 million following markdowns of approximately $24 million, leading to a negative sales margin for Home Depot of $4.3 million.

According to an arrest form, “not only was no money made on these sales, but it cost the Home Depot over $4 million dollars to sell to these accounts.”

Jimenez was taken into custody on Tuesday at the Home Depot location on Flagler Street in Miami.

He is facing charges of organized fraud of $50,000 or more and first-degree grand theft.

As of Wednesday morning, Jimenez was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $15,000 bond.

Las autoridades dijeron que el sospechoso, Mauricio Jimenez, realizó al menos 4,500 órdenes no autorizadas por un total de alrededor de $55,000,000 USD en mercancía.

Según un informe de arresto, Jimenez, de 48 años, de Hialeah, trabajaba como gerente en el Home Depot ubicado en 7899 W Flagler St. en el oeste de Miami-Dade y anteriormente trabajó como gerente en el Home Depot ubicado en 13895 W. Okeechobee Road en Hialeah Gardens.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade dijeron que Jimenez, durante 28 meses, “participó en un esquema deliberado, sistemático y continuo para defraudar a Home Depot” mediante la “aplicación de descuentos no autorizados a la mercancía, reduciendo significativamente los precios minoristas más allá de los límites permitidos.”

Según los agentes, el programa Home Depot Assurance & Advisory Management fue alertado sobre las órdenes de Jimenez, lo que provocó una investigación en diciembre.

Luego se reveló que Jimenez tenía varias ventas en las que “descuentos altamente excesivos” fueron “realizados a clientes recurrentes,” según documentos oficiales.

Una investigación adicional de Home Depot Central Investigations encontró que Jimenez solo proporcionaba los descuentos a “un grupo central de cuentas” y que la “alta actividad de descuentos” en su antigua tienda se detuvo una vez que se fue, y “tuvo un aumento dramático” en su nueva tienda cuando llegó, según el informe de arresto.

Los investigadores también determinaron que “la mercancía era de la cantidad y naturaleza típicamente comprada por cuentas revendedoras” y que Jimenez organizaba y estructuraba las órdenes de manera engañosa para intentar ocultar sus acciones.

Además, los agentes dijeron que Jimenez estaba “creando, registrando o utilizando entidades comerciales adicionales, compañías ficticias o alias para realizar órdenes y recibir mercancía con descuento,” según el informe de arresto.

Las autoridades dijeron que Jimenez fue advertido por un vicepresidente regional y un gerente de distrito y se le indicó “que no vendiera más a siete de sus negocios afiliados” mientras era “cuestionado sobre este tipo de ventas y cómo no debían realizarse,” pero las autoridades dijeron que “continuó realizando dichas transacciones fraudulentas después de recibir esas advertencias.”

De los $55,000,000 USD en ventas brutas que Jimenez descontó, las autoridades dijeron que las ventas netas fueron de alrededor de $30,000,000 USD tras descuentos de aproximadamente $24,000,000 USD, lo que resultó en un margen de ventas negativo para Home Depot de $4,300,000 USD.

Según el informe de arresto, “no solo no se obtuvo ninguna ganancia en estas ventas, sino que le costó a Home Depot más de $4 millones USD vender a estas cuentas.”

Jimenez fue detenido el martes en la tienda Home Depot en Flagler Street en Miami.

Enfrenta cargos de fraude organizado de $50,000 USD o más y hurto mayor en primer grado.

Hasta la mañana del miércoles, Jimenez permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight con una fianza de $15,000 USD.

Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat, signed off on the change earlier this week. The primary election had been scheduled for Sept. 8, which is the day after the holiday weekend.

State and local officials had requested the change after raising concerns about having enough time to set up polls for voters. However, under the legislation enacted, the filing deadlines will remain the same.

“We have to set up over 400 polling places around the state on the day before the election,” Nick Lima, the registrar and director of elections for the city of Cranston, told lawmakers at a hearing in January. "That's very difficult to do on a holiday because many of our polls are schools, social halls and churches."

It's not unusual for states to change their election day. Lawmakers in neighboring Massachusetts changed the state's 2026 primary election day from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, arguing that doing so will help improve voter turnout.

Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.

Legislation seeking to move up Delaware's primary election by several months has been introduced in the statehouse, but previous attempts to do so have stalled.

“No puede haber agentes de alguna institución del gobierno de Estados Unidos operando en campo” mexicano, dijo el miércoles la mandataria durante su conferencia de prensa matutina. “Esto no es parte del protocolo de seguridad que hemos acordado, del entendimiento que tenemos con ellos”, agregó.

Los agentes de la CIA murieron el domingo cuando su camioneta supuestamente derrapó y cayó por un barranco al regresar de un operativo antidrogas en el que había participado el ejército. En el accidente también fallecieron dos funcionarios de la fiscalía de Chihuahua.

La confirmación de su participación llegó tras varios días de declaraciones cruzadas y contradicciones por parte de distintas autoridades sobre el papel que habían desempeñado los estadounidenses.

La presidenta reconoció el miércoles que la Secretaría de Defensa participó en el operativo, pero dijo que nadie del gobierno federal sabía de la presencia de los agentes estadounidenses, algo que sólo el Poder Ejecutivo puede autorizar.

“Defensa no sabía que había personas que estaban participando que no eran ciudadanos mexicanos y que no eran parte de las agencias de seguridad del estado de Chihuahua”, afirmó. “Cualquier relación que haya con el gobierno de los Estados Unidos en cualquier materia, y particularmente en la materia de seguridad, tiene que pasar necesariamente por el gobierno federal”.

Sheinbaum descartó que se trate de una nueva estrategia de la administración de Donald Trump —que ha reclamado más acción a México en el combate al narcotráfico—. No obstante, dijo que envió una carta al embajador estadounidense para que dé toda la información disponible sobre el evento y que prevé hablar con la gobernadora de Chihuahua, Maru Campos. “Es muy importante que no se deje pasar algo así”, sostuvo.

El hecho reabrió el debate sobre hasta dónde llega la actuación de Estados Unidos en territorio mexicano. Trump ha adoptado una postura más agresiva hacia América Latina que cualquier líder en la historia reciente de Estados Unidos, capturando al presidente de Venezuela, bloqueando envíos de petróleo a Cuba y lanzando operaciones militares conjuntas en Ecuador, un país también marcado por la violencia criminal.

Photos and video posted to social media Wednesday showed ice sitting inside living rooms after it busted through windows and doors. Homes, garages and sheds could also be seen surrounded by several feet of muddy, brown river and lake water.

Spring rains and winter snowmelt have swelled rivers and lakes, forcing torrents of water through Cheboygan County communities on its way to Lake Huron.

“Black Lake, Black River, Cheboygan River, Burt Lake, Mullett Lake, the Sturgeon River — and nearly every waterway in the county — have overflowed beyond their banks, swallowing docks, roads, yards, and in far too many cases, homes,” the Cheboygan County sheriff’s office told residents last week on its Facebook page. “What should be familiar shorelines are now unrecognizable expanses of water.”

Homes along Black Lake's west side were evacuated over the weekend, according to the sheriff's office.

“These are ice sheets. They’re massive,” said Christopher Narsesian, who took photos and video of the damage. “They’re mini glaciers, if you will. They just run down everything in their path. Nothing can stop that kind of weight.”

State and county officials are working to keep debris and ice from clogging the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex to allow water to flow on to Lake Huron.

If water levels were normal, lake ice would just break up in place as it melts, according to Patrick Bak, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord, Michigan.

The ice on Black Lake, more than likely, was pushed ashore by the wind, he added.

“The fact that the water was so high, the ice ... had more room to travel,” Bak said.

Ice chunks were also moving through nearby Mullett Lake. Both lakes feed into the Cheboygan River, with water flowing through the Cheboygan Dam.

“We've managed a little bit of ice issues on Mullett Lake,” said Patrick Ertel, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Incident Management Team.

Last week, crews added pumps, and power was restored to an old hydroelectric station to increase water flow through the dam. Cranes also were used to remove gates that hold back water.

A large chunk of ice snapped the safety cable at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex on April 9, forcing the natural resources department to close access points upstream and downstream of the dam.

“We can't have large chunks of ice flowing down blocking up the gates,” Ertel said. “Two marine vessels are kind of breaking up the chunks … on the Cheboygan River. The more water we can safely pass at the Cheboygan Dam, the faster we can bring relief to Mullet Lake. It's going as fast as it can. It is purely driven by gravity.”

The smaller Alverno Dam is between Black Lake and the Cheboygan River.

“Ice from Black Lake is not going to make it down to the Cheboygan River. It will be held up,” Ertel said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency in Cheboygan and more than 30 other Michigan counties due to flooding and other severe weather this month.

Narsesian lives near Cheboygan and grew up along Black Lake.

Slabs of ice, which he described as a “several-mile-wide sheet,” continue to float in the lake. He said the ice is “smashing into homes and taking them out, just leveling them.” He said some ice was pushed as high as rooftops.

“We’ve never seen it that high,” Narsesian said. “Typically, the ice would just come over the break walls in front of houses, like a couple of feet. People’s homes don’t typically flood. The ice just melts.”

Water is receding, but Narsesian said levels are still high and the ice still is out there.

“As long as the wind doesn’t pick up and move that around again, we should be OK,” he said. “If that ice does come back, it’s going to do more damage.”

It’s the aftermath that concerns him most for the community where it’s “all friends and family” and “everybody knows everyone,” Narsesian said.

“Most people don’t have any help — coverage,” he added. “ Flood insurance was never necessary. No one’s ever seen this here. It’s a lot.”

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The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect in an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News on Wednesday as 47-year-old Thomas Christopher Ball, of Coral Springs.

Deputies said the investigation began on March 10 after receiving a harassment complaint that involved AI-generated images.

The report states the victim, a 17-year-old girl, told deputies Ball contacted her through Instagram months earlier and their conversations escalated into inappropriate messages.

Investigators said Ball allegedly made sexual comments during a phone call while intoxicated and offered her money in exchange for oral sex.

According to the report, the victim later distanced herself, prompting Ball to send repeated messages questioning why she stopped speaking with him.

On March 8, 2026, Ball allegedly sent multiple messages, including one offering money and asking her to continue communicating with him, the report states.

Deputies said Ball then sent an AI-altered image depicting the victim nude, which was created using a prior social media post. According to the report, he threatened to “expose her if she did not resume being friendly with him.”

The report states Ball acknowledged the victim was a minor and continued messaging her, including statements investigators described as “grooming tactics,” such as offering money, expressing affection and attempting to manipulate her.

After the victim blocked him, deputies said Ball contacted her from another phone number asking if she had called police.

Investigators said they reviewed messages, images and financial transactions from the victim’s phone as evidence. The report states the AI-generated image showed the victim’s face on a nude adult body without her consent.

The victim later provided a sworn statement confirming her account and identifying Ball as the suspect, according to deputies. She told investigators the incident caused her significant fear and emotional distress.

According to the report, investigators also reviewed a separate incident in which a third party told police Ball had made threats while intoxicated, including statements about wanting to harm the girl. The report states Ball denied making those comments.

Deputies said a review of the victim’s phone showed messages in which Ball attempted to “groom” the minor, including offering money, making emotional appeals and continuing to contact her after being told to stop.

The report states detectives also documented AI-generated images and message exchanges, along with financial transactions sent by Ball.

Based on the victim’s sworn statement and the evidence collected, investigators said they established probable cause for arrest.

Jail records show Ball is facing one count each of transmission of harmful material to a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and altered sexual depiction.

As of Wednesday, he was not listed as an inmate in Palm Beach County jail records after posting a $75,000 bond.

La Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Palm Beach identificó al sospechoso en un informe de arresto obtenido por Local 10 News el miércoles como Thomas Christopher Ball, de 47 años y residente de Coral Springs.

Los agentes indicaron que la investigación comenzó el 10 de marzo tras recibir una denuncia por acoso relacionada con imágenes generadas por inteligencia artificial.

El informe indica que la víctima, una joven de 17 años, declaró a los agentes que Ball la contactó a través de Instagram meses antes y que sus conversaciones derivaron en mensajes inapropiados.

Según los investigadores, Ball presuntamente hizo comentarios sexuales durante una llamada telefónica mientras estaba ebrio y le ofreció dinero a cambio de sexo oral.

Según el informe, la víctima se distanció posteriormente, lo que llevó a Ball a enviarle repetidos mensajes preguntándole por qué había dejado de hablarle.

Según el informe, el 8 de marzo de 2026, Ball supuestamente envió varios mensajes, incluyendo uno en el que le ofrecía dinero y le pedía que siguiera comunicándose con él.

Según los agentes, Ball envió una imagen manipulada con inteligencia artificial en la que aparecía la víctima desnuda, creada a partir de una publicación previa en redes sociales. De acuerdo con el informe, la amenazó con “exponerla si no volvía a ser amigable con él”.

El informe indica que Ball reconoció que la víctima era menor de edad y continuó enviándole mensajes, incluyendo declaraciones que los investigadores describieron como “tácticas de manipulación”, como ofrecerle dinero, expresarle afecto e intentar manipularla.

Después de que la víctima lo bloqueara, los agentes dijeron que Ball la contactó desde otro número de teléfono preguntándole si había llamado a la policía.

Los investigadores indicaron que revisaron mensajes, imágenes y transacciones financieras del teléfono de la víctima como prueba. El informe señala que la imagen generada por IA mostraba el rostro de la víctima sobre el cuerpo desnudo de una adulta sin su consentimiento.

Según los agentes, la víctima prestó posteriormente una declaración jurada confirmando su versión de los hechos e identificando a Ball como el sospechoso. Declaró a los investigadores que el incidente le causó un gran temor y angustia emocional.

Según el informe, los investigadores también revisaron un incidente aparte en el que un tercero declaró a la policía que Ball había proferido amenazas estando ebrio, incluyendo declaraciones sobre su deseo de hacerle daño a la niña. El informe indica que Ball negó haber hecho esos comentarios.

Los agentes dijeron que una revisión del teléfono de la víctima mostró mensajes en los que Ball intentó “manipular” a la menor, incluyendo ofrecerle dinero, hacerle apelaciones emocionales y continuar contactándola después de que se le dijera que se detuviera.

El informe indica que los detectives también documentaron imágenes generadas por inteligencia artificial e intercambios de mensajes, junto con transacciones financieras enviadas por Ball.

Basándose en la declaración jurada de la víctima y en las pruebas recabadas, los investigadores afirmaron que existían motivos suficientes para la detención.

Los registros penitenciarios muestran que Ball enfrenta un cargo por cada uno de los siguientes delitos: transmisión de material dañino a un menor, uso ilegal de un dispositivo de comunicación bidireccional y alteración de una representación sexual.

Hasta el miércoles, no figuraba como recluso en los registros de la cárcel del condado de Palm Beach tras pagar una fianza de 75.000 dólares.

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Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies said George Henry Balboni, 61, hatched a plan to kill his roommate, whom he described as a “parasite,” after the 69-year-old “went through his trash” and “found vodka” two days prior to the Sept. 16 murder attempt in the 700 block of Largo Road.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that he pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree murder.

Investigators said Balboni “formulated a plan in advance and used a false medical complaint to lure the victim into a vehicle before carrying out the attack.”

“Once the victim was seated in the vehicle, Balboni fired a crossbow bolt at close range, striking the victim near the ear,” prosecutors said in a news release. “The victim sustained a head injury but survived the attack.”

The victim was able to disarm Balboni.

In the release, Monroe County Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield called the attack a “calculated and premeditated attempt to execute another person using a crossbow, carried out through deception and aimed directly at the victim’s head.”

“The only reason we are not discussing a homicide is because the defendant failed in his attempt and the victim fought back,” Mansfield said.

Balboni received a 78-month sentence with credit for 213 days served.

Agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff del condado Monroe dijeron que George Henry Balboni, de 61 años, ideó un plan para matar a su compañero de cuarto, a quien describió como un “parásito”, después de que el hombre de 69 años “revisó su basura” y “encontró vodka” dos días antes del intento de asesinato el 16 de septiembre en la cuadra 700 de Largo Road.

Los fiscales informaron el miércoles que se declaró no culpable mediante acuerdo (no contest) de intento de asesinato en primer grado.

Los investigadores dijeron que Balboni “formuló un plan con anticipación y utilizó una falsa queja médica para atraer a la víctima a un vehículo antes de llevar a cabo el ataque”.

“Una vez que la víctima estaba sentada en el vehículo, Balboni disparó un perno de ballesta a corta distancia, impactando a la víctima cerca de la oreja”, dijeron los fiscales en un comunicado. “La víctima sufrió una lesión en la cabeza, pero sobrevivió al ataque”.

La víctima logró desarmar a Balboni.

En el comunicado, el fiscal estatal adjunto principal del condado Monroe, Joseph Mansfield, calificó el ataque como “un intento calculado y premeditado de ejecutar a otra persona utilizando una ballesta, llevado a cabo mediante engaño y dirigido directamente a la cabeza de la víctima”.

“La única razón por la que no estamos hablando de un homicidio es porque el acusado falló en su intento y la víctima se defendió”, dijo Mansfield.

Balboni recibió una sentencia de 78 meses con crédito por 213 días cumplidos.

His death was confirmed by Mason's publicist Melissa Dragich. A cause was not immediately revealed. He had canceled his remaining tour dates last summer and announced his retirement months later, citing health issues stemming from an infection for “closing the curtain on 60 remarkable years of rock n’ roll.”

Mason was born May 10, 1946, in Worcester, England, and founded Traffic in 1967 with singer/multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood, drummer Jim Capaldi and keyboardist/saxophonist Chris Wood. The psychedelic band became celebrated for its pioneering and inventive spirit, along with Mason's songwriting and intricate guitar solos.

Mason wrote and performed many of Traffic's biggest singles. And even though “Feelin' Alright?” was not an immediate hit, it became one thereafter, covered by the likes of Joe Cocker, the Jackson 5, Gladys Knight, Paul Weller and Grand Funk Railroad.

Mason's relationship with the band was tenuous; he left and returned multiple times. In 1969, he launched a solo career that resulted in three albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (1970’s “Alone Together,” which produced his hit "Only You Know and I Know," 1974’s “Dave Mason” and 1978’s “Mariposa de Oro”) as well as one platinum title: 1977’s “Let It Flow.”

In addition, Mason played on a number of all-star sessions, The Rolling Stones’ “Beggars Banquet,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Venus and Mars" and Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” among them.

Mason was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 for his work with Traffic. His old bandmate shared a tribute to him Wednesday.

“Dave was part of Traffic during its earliest chapter, and played an important role in shaping the band’s sound and identity during that time," Winwood wrote on Instagram. "His songwriting, musicianship and distinctive spirit helped create music that has lasted far beyond its era, and continues to mean so much to listeners around the world.”

"Those years remain a special part of the band’s story, and Dave’s contribution to them is not forgotten. His place in that history will always be remembered, and through the music, his presence endures. At this sad time, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and all those who loved him and his music,” Winwood wrote.

Survivors include his wife Winifred Wilson, daughter Danielle, nephew John Leonard, niece Michelle Leonard and his brothers in law, Sloan Wilson and Walton Wilson.

SpaceX said that, alternatively, it could pay $10 billion to “work together” with Cursor.

SpaceX announced the deal Tuesday on the social platform X, which along with the AI chatbot Grok is part of a constellation of properties that Musk has merged into his rocket company.

Cursor, made by San Francisco startup Anysphere, is a popular AI coding assistant. What SpaceX describes as Cursor's wide “distribution to expert software engineers” is likely part of what makes it attractive to Musk's company, giving it access to a new customer base.

Cursor said its new partnership with SpaceX subsidiary xAI will enable it to build future AI products using xAI's massive AI data center complex Colossus, based in Memphis, Tennessee.

“We’ve wanted to push our training efforts much further, but we’ve been bottlenecked by compute,” Cursor said in a statement on X, which didn't mention the possibility of being acquired. “With this partnership, our team will leverage xAI’s Colossus infrastructure to dramatically scale up the intelligence of our models.”

Cursor, which started in 2022, helped sparked a trend called “vibe coding” as AI coding assistants have become increasingly capable of doing the work of computer programming.

Cursor competes with other coding tools like Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex but also has relied heavily on partnerships with those larger AI research companies for the foundations of its technology.

It was Cursor’s Composer, combined with Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet, that a prominent AI researcher was playing with for weekend projects when he coined the phrase “vibe coding" in early 2025.

Japanese electronics giant Sony built the robotic arm it calls Ace and pitted it against professional athletes. Ace proved a worthy adversary, though one with some non-human attributes: nine camera eyes positioned around the court and an uncanny ability to follow the ball's logo to measure its spin.

The robot learned how to play the sport using the AI method known as reinforcement learning.

“There’s no way to program a robot by hand to play table tennis. You have to learn how to play from experience,” said Sony AI researcher Peter Dürr, co-author of the study published Wednesday in the science journal Nature.

To conduct the experiments, Sony built an Olympic-sized table tennis court at its headquarters in Tokyo to give professional and other highly skilled athletes a “level playing field” with the robot, Dürr said in an interview with The Associated Press. Some of the athletes said they were surprised by Ace's prowess.

Sony calls it a first for a common competitive sport

Sony says it is the “first time a robot has achieved human, expert-level play in a commonly played competitive sport in the physical world — a longstanding milestone for AI and robotics research.”

The custom-built robot has eight joints that direct its movements, or degrees of freedom, enabling it to position the racket, execute shots and swiftly respond to its opponent's rallies.

“Speed is really one of the fundamental issues in robotics today, especially in scenarios or environments that are not fixed," said Michael Spranger, president of Sony AI, in an interview.

“We see a lot of robots that are in factories that are very, very fast,” Spranger said. “But they’re doing the same trajectory over and over again. With this technology, we show that it’s actually possible to train robots to be very adaptive and competitive and fast in uncertain environments that constantly change.”

Spranger said such technology could play a role in manufacturing and other industries. It's also not hard to imagine how such high-speed and highly perceptive hardware could be used in war.

Building parity with humans is a challenge

A humanoid robot ran faster than the human world record in a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday, but getting a machine to interact and compete at split-second speeds with skilled human athletes is in some ways a more difficult challenge.

Spranger said it was important for researchers to not give the robot too unfair of an advantage and make its speed, arm’s reach and performance comparable to a skilled athlete who trains at least 20 hours a week. It plays by official table tennis rules on a typically sized court.

“It’s very easy to build a superhuman table tennis robot,” Spranger said. “You build a machine that sucks in the ball and shoots it out much faster than a human can return it. But that’s not the goal here. The goal is to have some level of comparability, some level of fairness to the human, and win really at the level of AI and the level of decision-making and tactics and, to some extent, skill.”

That means, he said, that “the robot cannot just win by hitting the ball faster than any human ever could, but it has to win by actually playing the game.″

AI researchers have long used board games like chess as benchmarks for a computer’s capabilities. They later moved into more open-ended video game worlds. But moving AI from simulated environments to the physical world has long been the gold standard for robot makers.

The past year has marked a ″kind of ChatGPT moment for robotics,” Spranger said, with new, AI-driven approaches to teach robots about their real-world environments and task them with physically demanding activities, like backflips.

‘Ace’ pulled off shots pros thought were impossible

Sony is hardly the first to tackle robots in table tennis. John Billingsley helped pioneer such contests in 1983 in a paper titled “Robot Ping-Pong.” More recently, Google's AI research division DeepMind has also tackled the sport.

And while impressive, Billingsley said Sony’s all-seeing computer vision and motion detection capabilities make it hard for a two-eyed human to stand a chance.

“I would not want to belittle the achievement, but they have gone at the task mob-handed, and used sledgehammer techniques,” Billingsley, a retired mechatronics professor at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, said in an email to the AP.

He added, however, that it adds to the lesson that “true progress comes out of contests, whether they involve hitting a ball or setting foot on Mars.”

Japanese professional players Minami Ando and Kakeru Sone were among those who competed against Sony's robot. Two umpires from the Japanese Table Tennis Association judged the games.

After submitting the paper to peer review ahead of its publication in Nature, Sony researchers kept experimenting and said Ace accelerated its shot speeds and rallies and played even more aggressively and closer to the table edge. Competing against four high-skill players, Sony said Ace defeated all but one of them in December.

Another expert player, Kinjiro Nakamura, who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, told researchers after observing Ace play a shot that “no one else would have been able to do that. I didn’t think it was possible.”

But the robot now having done it “means that there is a possibility that a human could do it too,” he said, in remarks published in the Nature paper.

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AP journalists Yuri Kageyama and Javier Arciga contributed to this report.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a unanimous court that the Enbridge energy company waited too long to try to move the case to federal court.

The case is part of a messy legal dispute about a pipeline that has moved crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, since 1953.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued in state court in June 2019 seeking to void the easement that allows Enbridge to operate a 4.5-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Nessel, a Democrat, won a restraining order shutting down the pipeline from Ingham County Judge James Jamo in June 2020, although Enbridge was allowed to continue operations after meeting safety requirements.

Enbridge moved the lawsuit into federal court in 2021, arguing it affects U.S. and Canadian trade. But a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to Jamo in June 2024, finding that the company missed a 30-day deadline to change jurisdictions.

The pipeline at issue is called Line 5. Concerns over the section beneath the straits rupturing and causing a catastrophic spill have been growing since 2017, when Enbridge engineers revealed they had known about gaps in the section’s protective coating since 2014. A boat anchor damaged the section in 2018, intensifying fears of a spill.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revoked the straits easement for Line 5 in 2020. Enbridge filed a separate federal lawsuit challenging the revocation.

Enbridge won a ruling from a federal judge blocking the move, but Whitmer, a Democrat, has appealed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In March, the Supreme Court rejected Whitmer’s appeal claiming that she couldn't be sued in federal court.

It was unclear how the federal ruling blocking Whitmer’s revocation attempt would affect Nessel’s case in state court. The company said in a statement that the judge in the Whitmer case has already decided federal regulators, not the state, are responsible for Line 5 safety and they have found no issues that would warrant shutting it down.

Enbridge also is seeking permits to encase the section of pipeline beneath the straits in a protective tunnel. The Michigan Public Service Commission granted the relevant permits in 2023, but a coalition of environmental groups and Michigan tribes has filed a lawsuit seeking to void state permits for the tunnel. The state Supreme Court is weighing that case.

Enbridge also needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

The pipeline is at the center of a separate legal dispute in Wisconsin as well. A federal judge in Madison last summer gave Enbridge three years to shut down part of Line 5 that runs across the Bad River Band of Lake Superior’s reservation. The company has appealed the shutdown order to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but it started work in February to reroute the line around the reservation.

The Bad River and environmental groups have filed a state lawsuit seeking to halt the work, arguing regulators have underestimated the damage the reroute construction will cause. That case also is pending.

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Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report from Madison, Wisconsin.

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

“We don’t really get to experience this kind of energy and fandom in person very often,” Tierney told The Associated Press just after their joint appearance, a highlight of the weekend gathering of (mostly) young book fans. “It’s been a bit more of an amorphous online thing.”

Since the first episode of “Heated Rivalry” dropped last November, Tierney's adaptation of Reid's “Game Changer” series featuring star-crossed hockey greats Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov has become a phenomenon that boosted the sport's popularity, made Reid a leader of the thriving genre of sports romance fiction and made Olympic torchbearers out of lead actors Hudson Williams (Shane) and Connor Storrie (Ilya). Tierney expects to begin filming the second season this summer, based in part on the second of Reid's novels about Shane and Ilya, “The Long Game.” The author, meanwhile, is working on a third Shane and Ilya book, “Unrivaled.” Both are scheduled for 2027 releases.

“Heated Rivalry” fans know well the story of how the HBO Max show was born, and of Reid's jarring swing from despair to exhilaration. In August 2023, she learned that she had early onset Parkinson's disease. Days later, she received an Instagram message from a man she had never met, but would soon change her life in a very different way: Tierney.

The 46-year-old Tierney is a Montreal native, former child star and award-winning filmmaker whose credits include the TV series “Letterkenny.” In October, Little, Brown and Company will release a collection of Tierney's annotated scripts, “I'll Believe in Anything: The Making of Heated Rivalry Season 1.”

Reid, 44, is a longtime hockey fan. Born Rachel Goguen in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she chose her pen name for the practical reason that it's easier to pronounce and remember. She's been open about the impact of fame and her health, posting an Instagram announcement in February that she was pushing back the release date of “Unrivaled” from this fall to next summer. Onstage, she acknowledged it had been “tricky” to write since the series took off.

“I'm in a place where the whole world seems to care about what happens next to these characters,” she said. “I'm still determined to stick to what I've always done when I was writing, just kind of pretend I'm writing for me and I hope other people like it.”

During their AP interview, Reid and Tierney spoke of the joy of sex on the page and screen and how Shane and Ilya just won't leave them alone. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: Writers talk about writing the books they want to read, and filmmakers making the movies they want to see. With these books, it comes out of that?

REID: I really like a forbidden romance. I really like the rivals-to-lovers element. I just also like a queer love story with a happy ending. And I really like hockey, so I think there’s just a lot of elements in it that are just very much what I personally would like. I think if this show had come out and had nothing to do with me, I would be obsessed with it still.

TIERNEY: I did not grow up with stories like this. We don’t as gay men, as queer people. We do not get to have happy endings in media very often. I would definitely have watched it (even if he didn't direct it), that’s for sure. I’m sure I would have had notes. I'm a little picky.

AP: At what point for either of you did you realize that you had something big here?

TIERNEY: It was a kind of a series of increasingly surreal and overwhelming moments. And by the time the sixth episode aired, it really did feel like we were kind of at the center of a strange maelstrom. But I also was like, “Am I making this up? Is this actually happening?”

REID: I did a bookstore event the day after the trailer came out. They showed the trailer at the event, and everybody in the audience knew every word of the trailer and was saying it along with the trailer. So that was when I was like, “OK, this is going to be nuts.”

AP: Writers and filmmakers have talked about the difficulty of writing or filming sex scenes. Was that a challenge for either of you?

REID: Honestly, I love writing them and I’ve never found that to be the difficult part. I think it might be the easiest part for me. I actually really enjoy it. Not to praise myself too much, but I think maybe that’s why people like the scenes. They weren’t hard for me. It’s not a scary thing. It’s not the part that I have to close my eyes and write or anything. It's my favorite part.

TIERNEY: Sex is a language in this show, sex is a way that we watch this couple evolve over the course of a fairly long amount of time in terms of the story, eight years. And so the sex is different every time, a way of watching them evolve both separately and together. I think sex reveals a lot about yourself that you don’t even intend to reveal. And I find that quite fascinating as a storyteller.

AP: How real are Ilya and Shane for you? Do they live on in your heads?

REID: Yeah. That’s why I keep writing books about them, because they just keep talking. With other characters, I’ve written the books and they’ve left. But these guys just stick around.

AP: What is it about them that makes it that way?

REID: They're fun to write. I love it.

AP: You've talked about your struggles with getting the next book done. Any updates on that?

TIERNEY: It's a coloring book now.

REID: It’s 20 pages.

TIERNEY: Don’t tell the truth.

REID: The thing that hasn’t changed is how much fun they are to write. I find their voices very easy to put on the page. More than any other characters I’ve created, they arrived fully formed. They kind of just appeared one day.

AP: Were they based on anybody, at least loosely, who you know?

REID: There’s a lot of myself in Ilya, for sure. There’s a lot of, kind of hockey player archetypes — the flashy, cocky European superstar, that’s definitely a type. The uptight, very serious good boy-captain. And there’s been plenty of NHL players from decades of hockey. And I’ve been a fan for decades. And obviously there have been some really great rivalries. And we’re getting probably to the end of the (Sidney) Crosby-(Alex) Ovechkin rivalry right now. But that rivalry at its peak was so fun.

AP: What do you see of yourself in Ilya?

REID: A sense of humor, mostly. It's a little bit mean. I also kind of like to use humor to cover up emotions, you know, things like that. I think I also notice things about people a bit, but maybe stay quiet about it.

AP: I've heard a lot of writers talk about writing a book that gets made into a film. And the actors are just so good that when the writer comes back to writing about those characters, they’re seeing those actors in their head. Is it going that way for you?

REID: I told Jacob I wish I had never met them. (Laughing) It is challenge writing without thinking about somebody having to actually say or do what I’m writing, for sure. I’m trying to just block that out. I just need to pretend it definitely will never happen, because I think that’s the only way I can do it.

AP: And you still hope to have the next book out at some point next year?

RR: Yeah. That book will come out June 1. Hell or high water, it's coming out.

The court ruled 6-3 in favor of former Army Spc. Winston Hencely, who was wounded when he stopped a man on his way to detonate an explosive vest at a Veterans Day weekend 5K race at Bagram Airfield in 2016.

Ahmad Nayeb instead blew himself up when he was confronted, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, according to court documents.

The projectiles fractured Hencely's skull and tore through his brain, leaving him without the full use of much of the left side of his body. He also has abnormal brainwaves, seizures and traumatic brain injury, his lawyers wrote.

Hencely acted to sue the company, Fluor Corporation, under state law after an Army investigation faulted the company’s failure to supervise Nayeb, an Afghan employee who built the vest on the job site inside the base, court documents say.

The Irving, Texas-based engineering construction company argued that it could not be sued because it was working during wartime for the government, which is generally immune to lawsuits.

The high court disagreed. The majority said companies are protected when they are fulfilling government contracts, but that Fluor allegedly failed to carry out its duties in supervising Nayeb.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh dissented. Alito wrote that Hencely's lawsuit may intrude on the government's wartime powers and decisions, including a policy requiring contractors to maximize employment of Afghans.

Kevin MacEwen, gerente del Distrito Everglades y supervisor de área forestal del Servicio Forestal de Florida, dijo que había tres equipos todoterreno trabajando en el terreno. Señaló que los equipos y un helicóptero estaban trabajando para mantener el fuego alejado del tráfico en los carriles en dirección norte y sur de la autopista U.S. 27. “Afortunadamente, el viento sopla hacia el este y está empujando el fuego lejos de nosotros”, dijo MacEwen, y agregó que las ráfagas superaban las 20 mph en medio de una “sequía histórica”.

Un helicóptero de Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue respondió para arrojar agua sobre puntos calientes remotos al oeste de Weston, según el jefe de batallón Michael B. Kane.

BSFR solicitó asistencia del Servicio Forestal de Florida mientras las llamas ardían bajo líneas eléctricas al oeste de la autopista 27 y la milla 45, según Kane.

Florida ha estado enfrentando una de las peores sequías en 15 años, por lo que el Servicio Forestal de Florida ha tenido que lidiar con más incendios forestales de lo habitual.

“Probablemente todavía tengamos entre seis y nueve semanas más de esto”, dijo MacEwen.

Esta es una historia en desarrollo. El editor de asignaciones de Local 10 News, Carson Merlo, contribuyó a este informe.

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On Tuesday, commissioners were set to vote on whether to sign an interim agreement with the developer behind their proposed new building.

Ultimately, commissioners deferred the item until a meeting scheduled for June 2.

The reason why is because the project’s developer came up with a futuristic design that came with a hefty price tag.

The big question for city leaders is whether to spend $268 million on new construction or spend less on an older existing building in the city.

Commissioner Ben Sorensen told Local 10’s Aaron Maybin that the new building will cost taxpayers $24 million a year, adding up to around $724 million over the next three decades.

He wanted to delay Tuesday’s vote to find other options.

Commissioner Steven Glassman, meanwhile, said he supports building a new City Hall.

“The choice tonight is really whether or not we are going to move forward with something that meets our needs, and we have them really buttoned down,” said Glassman. “Or are we just going to go into the future and guess what those costs are going to be? I’m not one to guess on what the future might bring us on this structure. I want to make sure that we know exactly what is going to happen.”

El martes, los comisionados tenían previsto votar si firmaban un acuerdo provisional con el desarrollador detrás del nuevo edificio propuesto.

Finalmente, los comisionados pospusieron el tema hasta una reunión programada para el 2 de junio.

La razón es que el desarrollador del proyecto presentó un diseño futurista que conlleva un alto costo.

La gran pregunta para los líderes de la ciudad es si gastar $268,000,000 USD en una nueva construcción o gastar menos en un edificio existente más antiguo en la ciudad.

El comisionado Ben Sorensen dijo a Aaron Maybin de Local 10 que el nuevo edificio costará a los contribuyentes $24,000,000 USD al año, sumando alrededor de $724,000,000 USD en las próximas tres décadas.

Él quería retrasar la votación del martes para encontrar otras opciones.

El comisionado Steven Glassman, por su parte, dijo que apoya la construcción de un nuevo ayuntamiento.

“La decisión esta noche es realmente si vamos a avanzar con algo que satisfaga nuestras necesidades, y las tenemos bien definidas,” dijo Glassman. “¿O simplemente vamos a avanzar hacia el futuro y adivinar cuáles serán esos costos? Yo no soy de adivinar lo que el futuro podría traernos con esta estructura. Quiero asegurarme de que sepamos exactamente qué va a suceder.”

“The end of smoking, and the devastating harm it causes, is no longer uncertain — it’s inevitable,” Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said after a decades-long campaign in favor of legislation approved Tuesday.

Children born after Dec. 31, 2008 will be banned from ever buying cigarettes under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

The legislation that needs approval by King Charles III — a formality — before taking effect will also allow the government to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including flavors and packaging.

It is currently illegal to sell cigarettes, tobacco products or vapes to people under 18. But most youths today will continue to face a ban their entire life as the minimum age to buy cigarettes rises each year.

The passage gives the U.K. one of the toughest antismoking measures in the world. The law is similar to one New Zealand lawmakers passed in 2022 but that was then repealed by a subsequent government.

The number of people who smoke in Britain has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but some 6.4 million people — or about 13% of the population — still smoke, according to official figures.

Authorities say smoking causes some 80,000 deaths a year in the U.K, and remains the number one preventable cause of death, disability and poor health.

“Children in the U.K. will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” Health Secretary Wes Streeting said.

Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins said the company failed to uphold its commitment and should be held accountable.

“We welcome you to our community and Miami-Dade County,” Higgins said, addressing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. “If you enter into a contract with us, we are going to hold you to account.”

Higgins said the county expects Amazon to honor an agreement requiring a minimum of 325 full-time jobs at the South Dade facility for at least 17 years.

“Honor your contractual obligations, Mr. Bezos — the ask is not an extraordinary one,” she said.

According to Higgins, the closure comes just two years into the agreement.

“We hear, ‘Oh just kidding — we are going to lay off 1,000 hardworking South Florida residents,’ and they said it in a cavalier way,” she said.

But an Amazon spokesperson said in an email to Local 10 News that the company is not “laying off 1,000 employees.”

“The WARN filing itself is even reflective of that (~616 affected roles). Beyond that, more than 300 employees have already accepted transfers, and our teams are working daily with the remaining employees at this facility to find them suitable transfers,” the spokesperson said.

The commission unanimously approved Higgins’ sponsored resolution directing county administrators to take all necessary steps to enforce the agreement, including potential legal action.

“Listen, this was a no-bid contract. They acquired this land without competition under certain terms and conditions,” Higgins said. “They have to honor those obligations.”

Higgins added, “The county attorneys agree the language is clear — 325 minimum at $32,000 a year. That is their obligation contractually to Miami-Dade, and quite frankly for Amazon, as we know, that is less than a drop in a bucket for them financially. They need to honor their obligations to us.”

In a statement, Amazon said the closure is tied to planned renovations and that employees have the option to transfer.

“Our team is working closely with Miami-Dade County and its attorneys, and we’re hopeful we can find a cooperative path forward,” wrote Amazon spokesperson Amber Plunkett. “More than 300 employees from our facility in Homestead have already accepted transfers to stay with Amazon at other facilities, most of which are based in Miami-Dade County.”

The company said employees will be invited to return when the facility reopens in mid-to-late 2028.

“I think the best indicator of the future is the past,” Higgins said. “If you are not able to honor your contractual obligations that are written and negotiated, it is very hard to honor your verbal representations at this point — the best way for us to have faith in Amazon is to honor your obligations.”

The resolution also requires a report back to the commission within 30 days outlining the status of enforcement efforts.

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But behind the high-energy music and the electric moves known as “The LeBounce Experience,” the fitness coach is currently being lifted up by the very people he’s inspired for years.

“It’s nothing like it -- it is one-of-a-kind. It sets itself apart by simply the experience of being up on a trampoline,” Kendall Roach said.

In South Florida, Roach is the undisputed “Tramp King.” He teaches at Club Studio in downtown Miami, along with Ingraham Park in Coral Gables and South Pointe Park in Miami Beach.

Roach doesn’t just teach bounce classes, he creates an experience driven by pure energy.

“The music, the co-movement, the hype and the energy that comes with the territory of moving in sync in that way is really something that sets itself apart by nature,” he said.

“I had never met someone with such high energy all the time. The focus is always on, like, how other people feel,” Hanna Calvo, the regional studio coordinator for Club Studio, said.

And that focus on others meant Coach Kendall was constantly on the move, trucking his trampolines from Coral Gables, to Miami Beach, to downtown Miami, and as far north as West Palm Beach.

“I get in a truck, I stack up my tramps, and I get around,” Roach said.

But on March 1, Roach crashed full force into a concrete pole on the Don Shula Expressway after a long day.

His trampolines were left mangled on the ground.

“On the way home, I unfortunately fell asleep on the wheel. And I remember instances prior to the moment when it happened. I could feel myself getting tired on the road, and that moment when your eyes close for a little bit of a too long of a blink,” Roach explained.

That “too-long blink” nearly cost him his life.

Roach was pulled from his car and rushed to Jackson South Medical Center.

“I had this thought that I was done,” he said.

“He’s super lucky to be alive,” Dr. Steven Kalandiak said. “I assume you are going to show pictures of his crash, but the destruction of his vehicle is incredible and to think that he walked away is really remarkable.”

But he didn’t walk away uninjured.

Aside from a fractured clavicle, he also fractured his sternum and foot, and also sustained lung and hip contusions, bruising and other injuries.

“I think for somebody who makes his living off of physical activity, it’s going to be a long time before he can get doing what he was doing before,” Kalandiak said.

And for Roach, that road has been just as mental as it is physical.

“Being patient, being still, being in one place for so long,” he said.

For someone who lives in motion, stillness has been the real test.

“All the things that help me stay regulated, stay balanced, so without it, things get topsy turvy and I felt timeless in this phase where days just seem to last forever,” Roach said.

But the community he built never left!

The same people he lifted up are now lifting him.

And even now, his spirit still finds a way!

On the day we visited, he couldn’t help it -- he hopped on a trampoline for just a minute! A small step toward everything he’s working to get back!

“He’s just such a valuable human, and that’s very hard to find in any industry, someone that cares so much about what they do,” Calvo said.

After coming so close to losing his life, there’s one thing he wants people to understand.

“Driving tired is as bad as being under the influence,” Roach said. “In a moment, everything can really just change for you. It’s just not worth the risk.”

“If he had been 2 feet to the right, if his truck had been 2 feet to the right when he got hit, he wouldn’t be here,” Kalandiak said.

Coach Kendall has been a fitness instructor for 10 years, and while his recovery is far from over, he says he’s determined to get back to doing what he loves.

And his students say they’ll be right there waiting for him when he does.

Roach says he is also lucky to have his parents nearby living in Princeton, and during this recovery time, he has been staying with them.

If you’d like to help with his mounting medical bills, click here.

Pero detrás de la música de alta energía y los movimientos eléctricos conocidos como “The LeBounce Experience”, el entrenador fitness ahora está siendo apoyado por las mismas personas a las que ha inspirado durante años.

“No hay nada igual – es único. Se distingue simplemente por la experiencia de estar sobre un trampolín,” dijo Kendall Roach.

En el sur de Florida, Roach es el indiscutible “Tramp King”. Da clases en Club Studio en el centro de Miami, junto con Ingraham Park en Coral Gables y South Pointe Park en Miami Beach.

Roach no solo da clases de bounce, crea una experiencia impulsada por pura energía.

“La música, el movimiento conjunto, la emoción y la energía que vienen con moverse en sincronía de esa manera es realmente algo que se distingue por naturaleza,” dijo.

“Nunca había conocido a alguien con tanta energía todo el tiempo. El enfoque siempre está en cómo se sienten los demás,” dijo Hanna Calvo, coordinadora regional de estudio para Club Studio.

Y ese enfoque en los demás significaba que el entrenador Kendall estaba constantemente en movimiento, transportando sus trampolines desde Coral Gables, a Miami Beach, al centro de Miami, y tan al norte como West Palm Beach.

“Me subo a una camioneta, apilo mis trampolines y me muevo,” dijo Roach.

Pero el 1 de marzo, Roach se estrelló de lleno contra un poste de concreto en la autopista Don Shula después de un largo día.

Sus trampolines quedaron destrozados en el suelo.

“De camino a casa, lamentablemente me quedé dormido al volante. Y recuerdo momentos previos a cuando ocurrió. Podía sentir que me estaba cansando en la carretera, y ese momento cuando tus ojos se cierran por un parpadeo un poco demasiado largo,” explicó Roach.

Ese “parpadeo demasiado largo” casi le cuesta la vida.

Roach fue sacado de su vehículo y trasladado de urgencia al Jackson South Medical Center.

“Tuve ese pensamiento de que había terminado,” dijo.

“Es muy afortunado de estar vivo,” dijo el doctor Steven Kalandiak. “Supongo que van a mostrar fotos del choque, pero la destrucción de su vehículo es increíble y pensar que salió caminando es realmente notable.”

Pero no salió sin lesiones.

Además de una clavícula fracturada, también sufrió fracturas en el esternón y el pie, además de contusiones en los pulmones y la cadera, moretones y otras lesiones.

“Creo que para alguien que vive de la actividad física, va a pasar mucho tiempo antes de que pueda volver a hacer lo que hacía antes,” dijo Kalandiak.

Y para Roach, ese camino ha sido tanto mental como físico.

“Ser paciente, estar quieto, permanecer en un solo lugar por tanto tiempo,” dijo.

Para alguien que vive en movimiento, la quietud ha sido la verdadera prueba.

“Todas las cosas que me ayudan a mantenerme regulado, equilibrado, sin ellas, todo se desordena y sentí que el tiempo no pasaba en esta etapa donde los días parecían durar para siempre,” dijo Roach.

Pero la comunidad que construyó nunca lo dejó.

Las mismas personas a las que él impulsó ahora lo están apoyando.

¡Y aun ahora, su espíritu encuentra la manera!

El día que lo visitamos, no pudo evitarlo – se subió a un trampolín por solo un minuto. ¡Un pequeño paso hacia todo lo que está trabajando por recuperar!

“Es una persona muy valiosa, y eso es muy difícil de encontrar en cualquier industria, alguien que se preocupe tanto por lo que hace,” dijo Calvo.

Después de estar tan cerca de perder la vida, hay algo que quiere que la gente entienda.

“Conducir cansado es tan malo como estar bajo la influencia,” dijo Roach. “En un momento, todo puede cambiar. Simplemente no vale el riesgo.”

“Si hubiera estado 2 pies más a la derecha, si su camioneta hubiera estado 2 pies más a la derecha cuando chocó, no estaría aquí,” dijo Kalandiak.

El entrenador Kendall ha sido instructor de fitness durante 10 años, y aunque su recuperación está lejos de terminar, dice que está decidido a volver a hacer lo que ama.

Y sus estudiantes dicen que estarán allí esperándolo cuando lo haga.

Roach dice que también tiene la suerte de tener a sus padres viviendo cerca en Princeton, y durante este tiempo de recuperación ha estado viviendo con ellos.

Si desea ayudar con sus crecientes facturas médicas, haga clic aquí.

The writer, who lives in France, announced on X that the verdict was delivered on Tuesday. He said that he was also fined 5 million Algerian dinars ($38,000).

“Houris” (Virgins, in English) focuses of the victims of what Algerians call the “black decade,” when tens of thousands of people were killed as the army fought an Islamist insurgency. The conflict erupted in 1991 after Islamists won a first round of legislative elections, prompting the military-backed government to cancel the second round of voting.

It was awarded the Goncourt Prize, France's top literary award, in 2024.

Daoud said that he was convicted under what is known as the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, a text adopted by referendum in 2005 that offered widespread pardons to both armed Islamists and security forces.

“The text punishes any public mention of the civil war,” Daoud said. “Ten years of war, nearly 200,000 dead according to estimates, thousands of terrorists granted amnesty … and only one guilty party: a writer.”

In addition to the legal action brought by the court in the Algerian city of Oran, Daoud is the target of two international arrest warrants issued by Algeria in May 2025 and is also under threat of being stripped of his Algerian nationality.

Another French-Algerian writer, Boualem Sansal, has faced similar problems.

The author — whose works have been critical of Islam, colonialism and contemporary Algerian leaders — was convicted of undermining national unity and insulting public institutions and was sentenced to five years in prison under Algeria’s anti-terrorism laws.

He was granted a humanitarian pardon in Algeria after an appeal by Germany's president, and returned to France last year after serving a year in prison.

Daoud's book “Houris” tells the story of Aube, a young girl who miraculously survives a nighttime terrorist attack in her village of Had Chekala in western Algeria, despite having her throat slit. Following the novel’s publication, an Algerian woman, Saâda Arbane, accused Daoud of “stealing” her story and using it as the basis for his book.

Arbane previously had been treated by Aicha Dahdouh, Daoud’s wife, a psychiatrist at Oran University Hospital and a specialist in trauma linked to violence during the civil war.

“Kamel Daoud and his wife asked for my permission to use my story, and I refused every time,” she said during several appearances on Algerian television, adding that it constituted “an invasion of her privacy.”

A collective of lawyers was subsequently formed in solidarity to defend Arbane, invoking provisions of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which prohibits even the mere mention of this painful period in Algeria’s history.

Según un informe de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, los agentes que respondieron al choque en Northwest 72nd Avenue y 47th Street alrededor de las 6 a.m. del 30 de diciembre de 2025 encontraron a Martin “inestable sobre sus pies, con ojos rojos y llorosos y habla arrastrada” y detectaron olor a alcohol.

Local 10 obtuvo video que muestra a agentes de MDSO llegando a la escena del choque.

Se puede ver un camión de basura desplazado hacia un lado de la carretera tras la colisión.

Delante se encuentra la camioneta de Martin, con daños visibles en la parte frontal mientras los investigadores trabajan para determinar qué llevó al choque.

En el video, se puede ver a los agentes hablando con Martin, de 45 años, y preguntándole si está bien. Luego les informa que es policía de Hialeah.

El siguiente video muestra una interacción entre un testigo y los investigadores, quienes preguntan si el testigo vio a Martin conduciendo la camioneta.

Otro clip muestra a Martin esposado mientras es colocado en la parte trasera de una patrulla de MDSO.

Las autoridades dijeron que Martin estuvo involucrado en un choque con un camión de basura y luego fue esposado después de volverse “beligerante” con otros agentes del orden.

Los agentes dijeron que paramédicos trasladaron a Martin al Jackson West Medical Center, donde un investigador de DUI intentó entrevistarlo.

Según el informe, Martin fue “poco cooperador” y respondió repetidamente “no sé” cuando se le hicieron preguntas básicas, incluyendo si sabía lo que estaba ocurriendo o si había estado en un choque.

Los agentes dijeron que se negó a realizar pruebas de sobriedad en el lugar y también rechazó una prueba de sangre, lo que llevó a los investigadores a confiscar su licencia de conducir bajo la ley de consentimiento implícito de Florida.

Martin había sido puesto en licencia administrativa tras el choque.

Local 10 News trabaja para confirmar su estado laboral actual con el Departamento de Policía de Hialeah.

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The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office released the footage captured on the afternoon of Feb. 18 in the area of Southwest 152nd Avenue and 76th Street.

Authorities said the video was taken from inside a vehicle behind a black Honda Civic that the gunfire originated from.

Investigators say then-16-year-old Adrian Negron Vega and 17-year-old Camilo Buritica were in that sedan and arguing with two young men outside the vehicle.

Video shows the two juveniles walking away when police said Negron Vega pointed a black gun out of the passenger window and opened fire on the two before the car sped away.

Deputies said the 15-year-old victim was shot in the right shoulder and left ankle.

Negron Vega was ultimately arrested and charged as an adult with attempted murder.

Investigators said Negron Vega claimed he was home at the time of the shooting, but that Buritica confessed to driving the Civic and admitted that Negron Vega fired the shots.

La Fiscalía Estatal de Miami-Dade publicó las imágenes captadas la tarde del 18 de febrero en el área de Southwest 152nd Avenue y 76th Street.

Las autoridades indicaron que el video fue grabado desde el interior de un vehículo detrás de un Honda Civic negro desde el cual se originaron los disparos.

Los investigadores dijeron que el entonces joven de 16 años Adrian Negron Vega y el joven de 17 años Camilo Buritica estaban en ese sedán y discutiendo con dos jóvenes fuera del vehículo.

El video muestra a los dos menores alejándose cuando, según la policía, Negron Vega sacó un arma negra por la ventana del pasajero y abrió fuego contra ellos antes de que el vehículo huyera a toda velocidad.

Los agentes indicaron que la víctima de 15 años recibió disparos en el hombro derecho y el tobillo izquierdo.

Negron Vega fue finalmente arrestado y acusado como adulto de intento de asesinato.

Los investigadores dijeron que Negron Vega afirmó que estaba en su casa al momento de la balacera, pero que Buritica confesó que conducía el Civic y admitió que Negron Vega realizó los disparos.

El incidente ocurrió durante un evento de limpieza Baynanza en Haulover Park el 11 de abril, donde cientos de personas se reunieron para limpiar la playa y la bahía.

Weinsier intentaba cuestionar a la alcaldesa del condado Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, sobre más de $60,000,000 USD en fondos de contribuyentes gastados en autobuses eléctricos que fueron retirados de servicio.

Durante semanas, el equipo de comunicaciones de la alcaldesa rechazó solicitudes de entrevista, afirmando que no concedería entrevistas sobre el tema. Cuando la alcaldesa apareció en el evento público y completó una entrevista con el canal de televisión del condado, Local 10 News se acercó para hacer preguntas.

El video muestra a un hombre con chaqueta negra, posteriormente identificado como el agente de MDSO Lester Aguilar, interviniendo cuando Weinsier se acercó con un micrófono. Aguilar formaba parte del equipo de seguridad de la alcaldesa vestido de civil.

Durante la interacción, Aguilar no se identificó verbalmente como agente del orden ni tenía una placa o credenciales visibles. En ningún momento indicó quién era ni qué autoridad tenía.

Weinsier: “Alcaldesa, ¿nos dará cinco minutos por favor y abordar el teme de los autobuses Proterra? Es un gran tema para los contribuyentes.”

Aguilar: “Necesita retroceder.”

Weinsier: “No, no necesito hacerlo. No me empuje. No me empuje.”

Aguilar: “Sí, lo necesita, todos necesitan hacerlo. ¿Quiere ir a la cárcel?”

Weinsier: “¿Por qué? ¿Por estar de pie e intentar entrevistar a la alcaldesa?”

El video del encuentro muestra a Aguilar empujando físicamente a Weinsier. A pesar de decir que todos debían retroceder, el contacto parece dirigido únicamente a él.

El abogado de la Primera Enmienda Thomas Julin revisó el video y expresó preocupaciones tanto por la conducta como por la falta de identificación.

“Veo que usted simplemente está allí con el micrófono haciendo una pregunta,” dijo Julin. “No estaba amenazando a la alcaldesa de ninguna manera. Simplemente estaba haciendo una pregunta.

“No lleva ninguna indicación de que sea un agente del orden. Usted no sabe quién es esta persona,” continuó Julin. “Tiene a una persona desconocida empujándolo literalmente fuera del camino. No sabe con quién está tratando y luego es amenazado con arresto. Esa es una situación muy mala.”

Julin dijo que el encuentro plantea dos cuestiones clave relacionadas con posible agresión e interferencia con derechos constitucionales.

“Es una violación de sus derechos de la Primera Enmienda hacerle una pregunta a un funcionario público,” dijo Julin. “No está haciendo nada que justifique un arresto, por lo que amenazar con arrestarlo presenta muchos problemas.”

Durante el enfrentamiento, Aguilar acusó a Weinsier de hacer contacto.

Aguilar: “La próxima vez que me ponga la mano encima irá a la cárcel. Solo estaba tratando de hacer mi trabajo.”

Weinsier: “Y yo también.”

Julin abordó esa afirmación tras revisar el video.

“No atacó al hombre. Usted dijo: ‘No me ponga las manos encima.’ No sé qué más realmente puede hacer,” dijo.

Las prácticas estándar de las fuerzas del orden generalmente requieren que los agentes de civil se identifiquen y muestren credenciales al interactuar con el público. En este caso, no hubo identificación visible ni verbal durante el encuentro inicial.

La Oficina de Cumplimiento Profesional de MDSO ha abierto una investigación interna sobre el incidente.

Local 10 News ha solicitado información sobre las políticas y procedimientos de la agencia para agentes de civil y está a la espera de una respuesta. La oficina del sheriff indicó que no puede comentar más debido a la investigación interna en curso.

El enfrentamiento ocurrió después de semanas de preguntas sin respuesta sobre el programa de autobuses eléctricos. Los autobuses, comprados con fondos de contribuyentes, han sido retirados de servicio, con muchos ubicados en la Base de Reserva Aérea de Homestead.

Tras el incidente en Haulover Park, Levine Cava accedió a responder preguntas sobre los autobuses.

La investigación sobre el uso de fondos públicos y las circunstancias del enfrentamiento continúa.

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The incident happened during a Baynanza cleanup event at Haulover Park on April 11, where hundreds gathered for a public beach and bay cleanup.

Weinsier was attempting to question Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava about more than $60 million in taxpayer funds spent on electric buses that were taken out of service.

For weeks, the mayor’s communications staff declined interview requests, stating she would not do an interview on the issue. When the mayor appeared at the public event and completed an interview with the county’s own television channel, Local 10 News approached to ask questions.

Video shows a man in a black jacket, later identified as MDSO Deputy Lester Aguilar, stepping in as Weinsier approached with a microphone. Aguilar was part of the mayor’s plainclothes security detail.

During the interaction, Aguilar did not verbally identify himself as a law enforcement officer and had no visible badge or credentials. At no point did he indicate who he was or what authority he had.

Weinsier: “Mayor, will you give us five minutes please and just address the Proterra buses? It’s a huge taxpayer issue.”

Aguilar: “You need to back away.”

Weinsier: “No, I don’t need to. Don’t push me. Don’t push me.”

Aguilar: “Yes, you do, everyone needs to. You want to go to jail?”

Weinsier: “For what? Standing and trying to interview the mayor?”

Video of the encounter shows Aguilar physically pushing Weinsier. Despite saying everyone needed to move back, the contact appears directed only at him.

First Amendment attorney Thomas Julin reviewed the video and raised concerns about both the conduct and the lack of identification.

“I see you’re just standing there with the microphone asking a question,” Julin said. “You weren’t threatening the mayor in any way. You were simply asking a question.

“He’s not wearing any indications that he is a law enforcement officer. You don’t know who this guy is,” Julin continued. “You have an unknown person pushing you literally out of the way. You don’t know who you’re dealing with and then you’re threatened with arrest. That’s a very bad situation.”

Julin said the encounter raises two key issues involving potential assault and interference with constitutional rights.

“It’s an infringement of your First Amendment rights to ask a public official a question,” Julin said. “You’re not doing anything that warrants an arrest, so his threatening to arrest you has a lot of problems.”

During the confrontation, Aguilar accused Weinsier of making contact.

Aguilar: “The next time you put your hand on me you go to jail. I was just trying to do my job.”

Weinsier: “And I as well.”

Julin addressed that claim after reviewing the footage.

“You didn’t attack the guy. You said, ‘Don’t put your hands on me.’ I don’t know what else you really can do,” he said.

Standard law enforcement practices generally require plainclothes officers to identify themselves and display credentials when engaging with members of the public. In this case, no such identification was visible or stated during the initial encounter.

MDSO’s Professional Compliance Bureau has opened an internal affairs investigation into the incident.

Local 10 News has requested information regarding the agency’s policies and procedures for plainclothes officers and is awaiting a response. The sheriff’s office says it cannot comment further due to the ongoing internal affairs investigation.

The confrontation followed weeks of unanswered questions about the electric bus program. The buses, purchased with taxpayer funds, have been taken out of service, with many located at the Homestead Air Reserve Base.

Following the incident at Haulover Park, Levine Cava did agree to answer questions regarding the buses.

The investigation into the use of taxpayer funds and the circumstances surrounding the confrontation is ongoing.

A continuación se muestra una lista de restaurantes que acumularon 30 o más infracciones en una inspección reciente.

Cuando los empleados no se lavan las manos, cuando los alimentos se almacenan de forma inadecuada, cuando se ignora la higiene, esos son riesgos que pueden afectar directamente a su salud.

Treinta o más infracciones no deberían ser normales. Indica que la cocina ha perdido el control de sus propios estándares. Esto no solo es decepcionante, sino inaceptable. Deben mejorar.

Los establecimientos que se ordenaron cerrar y que se detallan a continuación pudieron reabrir tras una limpieza ordenada y una posterior reinspección.

**COCINA DEL SEGUNDO PISO DEL CLUB NÁUTICO KEY BISCAYNE

1800 HARBOR DRIVE

KEY BISCAYNE

FECHA DE INSPECCIÓN 17/4

Se detectaron 31 infracciones.

“Alimentos cocinados/calentados que requieren control de tiempo/temperatura para su seguridad, no enfriados de 135 grados Fahrenheit a 41 grados Fahrenheit en 6 horas. Sopa de cebolla francesa dentro de una cámara frigorífica, enfriada desde el día anterior a 56 °F. Sopa de cangrejo dentro de una cámara frigorífica, enfriada desde el día anterior a 56 °F.”

“El lavavajillas no desinfecta correctamente. Suspenda el uso del lavavajillas para desinfectar y realice la desinfección manual hasta que el lavavajillas sea reparado y desinfecte correctamente. Se observó cloro en el lavavajillas con una solución de cloro de 0 ppm.”

“El empleado no se lavó las manos antes de ponerse los guantes para comenzar una tarea que implicaba manipular alimentos. Se observó que el empleado se puso los guantes sin lavarse las manos en el área de la barra.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding), crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding) inside walk in cooler in main kitchen area. As per chef was prepared the day before.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed in different unit throughout the kitchen(49F - Cold Holding); grouper (46F - Cold Holding); white fish (44F - Cold Holding); Mac and cheese (42F - Cold Holding); octopus (42F - Cold Holding); French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding); conch chowder (44F - Cold Holding); crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding); raw beef (44F - Cold Holding); raw chicken (42F - Cold Holding); liquid egg (47F - Cold Holding) second walk in cooler-butter (33F - Cold Holding); shredded cheese (42F - Cold Holding); Cuban sandwich (42F - Cold Holding); lettuce (48F - Cold Holding) mahi (42F - Cold Holding); shrimp (175F - Cooking); skirt steak (159F - Cooking); lettuce (62F - Cold Holding); cut tomato (52F - Cold Holding); pineapple pickles (52F - Cold Holding); cabbage (51F); lobster (137F - Hot Holding); garlic in oil (77F - Cold Holding); butter (69F - Cold Holding); breaded steak (42F - Cold Holding) risotto (62F - Cold Holding) on top of prep table in 3 floor.”

“Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. Observed hose Bibb in main kitchen wall behind grill station no vacuum breaker.”

“Food being cooled by nonapproved method as evidenced by inadequate rate of cooling during time of inspection. Food products under the cooling process covered inside the walk in cooler.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed knives that was soiled was stored inside holster in cook line.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed a Bain Mary inside hand washing sink located next to walk in cooler in the kitchen located in second floor.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed no paper towel in handwashing sink located in bar area- second floor.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed no handwashing washing sign in second floor at handwashing sink at bar area, coffee area and 3 floor kitchen.”

“Water treatment device has not been inspected or serviced according to manufacturer’s instructions. Ice machine water filter with a 2023 replacement date.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Observed both ice machine with the interior soiled with mold like substance. Observed ice integrated ice buckets in the bar area with mold like substance.”

“Accumulation of debris on exterior of ware washing machine. Observed top of dishwasher machine soiled with dust.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a single used container used as a scoop inside sea salt container.”

“Clean equipment/utensils not stored at least 6 inches above the floor. Observed several cutting boards stored on the floor on main kitchen.”

“Clean ice scoop stored on a wall holster that was soiled.”

“Clean utensils or equipment stored in dirty drawer or rack. Observed pizza peel stored on top of pizza oven.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed yellow cutting boards stored with cut marks and is no longer cleanable across salad station.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed employee drink container stored on top of prep table next to salad station.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed employee personal phone stored on top of prep table across cook line.”

“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside. Observed a gap on exit kitchen door in main kitchen area.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed bag of flour on the kitchen area floor.”

“In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment. Observed knives store between two prep table across cooking line.”

“In-use tongs stored on equipment door handle between uses. Observed tongs on oven handles in kitchen area.”

“In-use utensil stored in standing water less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed throughout kitchen area utensils in standing water 79F.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.”

“No handwashing sign provided at a hand sink used by food employees. Observed no handwashing sign at handwashing sink in second floor kitchen bar area, and 3 floor kitchen area.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed the top of pizza oven, and kitchen oven-soiled with dust.”

“Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses. Observed wet wiping clothes throughout entire kitchen not stored in sanitizer solution.”

“Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Container with Flour no labels.”

**CALUSA RESTAURANT-BAKER’S CAY RESORT KEY LARGO

97000 S. OVERSEAS HIGHWAY

KEY LARGO

INSPECTION DATE 4/8

32 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Dented/rusted cans present. See stop sale. Observed a dented can of tomato sauce.”

“Dish machine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed high temperature at dishwasher was 154.7°F Operator was advised to discontinue the use of dishwasher and set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee removed bracelets and then engaged in food preparation without washing hands. Employee was coached and washed hands.”

“Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed temperature at dishwasher aching reached 154°F . Operator was advised to discontinue the use of the dishwasher until it reach 160°F-180°F. The will set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Live, small flying insects found . Observed 5 live flies flying around the storage of the sodas by the ice machine.”

“Nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed cooked octopus stored u dear raw shrimp inside the walk in cooler. Chef placed octopus on top.”

“Shell eggs in use or stored with cracks or broken shells. See stop sale. Observed 3 shell eggs with cracks stored inside the walk in cooler.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Clam/mussel/oyster tags not maintained in chronological order according to the last date they were served in the establishment.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed can opener soiled by the production area. Repeat Violation.”

“Manager or person in charge lacking proof of food manager certification. Observed Eddie Hernandez (2 months) did nit provided manger certificate.”

“No currently certified food service manager on duty with four or more employees engaged in food preparation/handling.”

“No plan review submitted and approved - bar area added. Must submit plans and plan review application to DBPR H and R Plan Review office... Observed a coffee station was added to this license... They have a small truck with not hand wash sink serving coffees and 2 tables, one with a hot box serving empanadas and a reach in cooler with fruit salad and yogurt. Operator needs to add this location to plans review.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a plastic container used as scoop inside the flour.”

“Carbon dioxide/helium tanks not adequately secured. Observed carbon dioxide tank not secured next to the ice machine. Employee removed it.”

“Ceiling tile missing. Observed 1 ceiling tile missing above mop sink.. Repeat Violation.”

“Cold holding equipment not maintained in good repair. Do not store time/temperature control for safety food in this unit until the unit is repaired. Observed reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line is not working properly. Ambient thermometer was at 56°F.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed white cutting board no longer cleanable across from the grill at the front line.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed 2 employee beverages on preparation tables.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed 2 employee lunch bags stored above preparation tables in the kitchen.”

“Employee wearing jewelry other than a plain ring on their hands/arms while preparing food. Observed employee wearing multiple bracelets.”

“Equipment and utensils not properly air-dried - wet nesting. Observed metal containers not properly air-dried - wet nesting stored on shelf by production area.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor soiled with accumulation of grease behind the grill at the cook line.”

“Ice buildup in walk-in freezer.”

“In-use wet wiping cloth/towel used under cutting board. Observed a wiping cloth under green cutting board at production area.”

“No conspicuously located ambient air temperature thermometer in holding unit. Observed no ambient thermometer in reach in coolers at the front line.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed reach in cooler door gaskets soiled. Also observed hood filters soiled.”

“Utensils in poor condition. Observed reach in cooler door gasket torn at the cook line.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall behind grill at cook line soiled with accumulated grease.”

**DON CAMARON GRILL & MARKET

501 NW 37TH AVE

MIAMI

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 4/16

33 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Seafood prep area: 2 live roaches crawling on the floor by the prep sink and underneath a table by the prep sink.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Seafood prep area: 2 dead roaches on the floor: Back area cookline: 1 dead roach on the floor. By the large mixer nearby the walk in cooler: 1 dead roach on the floor behind the large mixer Prep table in front of the main cookline: 1 dead roach by on the table by a container without wrapped utensils. Small cook area: 1 dead fly inside the reach in cooler with bottled sodas and water bottles.”

“Live, small flying insects found. Dining room: 2 live flies landed on tables. Ceviche area, by the glass display: approximately 4 live flies on flying throughout the area and 1 on the glass display case. Seafood prep area: 4 live flies resting on the prep table and 2 live flies on the prep sink. Main kitchen: 2 live flies flying throughout the ware wash and cook line area.”

“Employee has not received adequate training related to their assigned duties as evidenced by lack of general knowledge in performing their assigned duties. Observed employee by the cookline touch raw fish place on the flat top grill and grabbed a plate put a container in the plate to hold tortillas for soft tacos without removing gloves and washing hands. Observed employee scraping a pot at the three compartment sink and then pick up strainer to take out cooked pasta noodles without removing gloves and washing hands.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. All food storage containers soiled, dry storage area. Cutting boards on the flip-top reach in cooler soiled.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Throughout the prep kitchen.

Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment. Back area by the dry goods storage container outside."

“Raw in-shell clams/mussels/oysters received at greater than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Delivery, left in the kitchen: oysters (57-58F - Cold Holding), as per operator, received 30 minutes before the inspection, Operator placed inside the walk cooler, second temperature 20 minutes later, oysters (49-51F - Cooling).”

“Outer openings not protected during operation and vermin and/or environmental cross contamination present. Observed the bay doors by the small cookline/seating area at the seafood market open during operation. Advised the manager to keep the doors closed, observed fans in the outside, not on.”

**CASAVANA CUBAN CUISINE

13600 SW 152ND ST.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI DADE

INSPECTION DATE 4/15

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Date marked combined ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food not consumed/sold within 7 days of preparing/opening the earliest ready-to-eat time/temperature for safety ingredient. See stop sale. Observed container of cheese label with date mark 4/02/2026 at meat walk in cooler.”

“Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Observed food employee began preparing coffee. No handwash.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed food employee put on gloves to prepare fries no handwash. Observed food employee put on gloves and then began preparing tortillas eggs.

“Employee touched soiled apron/clothes and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employees at cook line.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employee touched soiled reach in cooler door handle. And then began preparing eggs. No handwash.”

“Alimentos colocados en recipientes/equipos sucios. Se observó harina almacenada en un recipiente sucio con restos de comida junto a las verduras en la cámara frigorífica.”

“El operador no cumple con los procedimientos establecidos en la exención de procesos o el plan HACCP aprobado por la División de Hoteles y Restaurantes. Se observó que el establecimiento no etiquetaba los productos (carne cocida, carne cruda, pollo marinado crudo) en la línea de cocción, todos en envases ROP, después de haber sido retirados de las cajas etiquetadas. Se observó que el registro de temperatura del establecimiento no estaba completo para enero de 2026. Se observó que el establecimiento no cortaba las bolsas al colocar los productos para descongelar en el refrigerador de la línea de cocción.”

“Alimento listo para consumir, que requiere control de tiempo/temperatura para su seguridad, con fecha de caducidad superior a 7 días después de su apertura/preparación. Se observó un envase de queso con la fecha 4/02/2026 en la cámara frigorífica de carne. “Infracción reiterada.”

“Control de tiempo/temperatura para alimentos seguros, excepto asado de carne entera, mantenido caliente a menos de 135 grados Fahrenheit. Se observaron cebollas cocidas (112 °F - Mantenimiento en caliente) en la línea de cocción. Según el cocinero, durante menos de 2 horas. Se le indicó al cocinero que recalentara el producto. Infracción reiterada.”

“El empleado se lavó las manos en un lavabo que no era uno de los autorizados. Se observó que el lavabo del mostrador principal no estaba en uso.”

“Superficie en contacto con alimentos sucia con restos de comida, una sustancia parecida al moho o una sustancia viscosa. Se observó que el abrelatas estaba sucio.”

“El lavamanos se usa para fines distintos al lavado de manos. Se observó que el lavamanos del mostrador principal se usaba para tirar café.”

“No se proporcionan toallas de papel ni secadores de manos mecánicos en el lavamanos. Observado en el lavamanos del mostrador principal.”

“No hay jabón en el lavamanos. Se observó en el lavamanos del mostrador principal.”

“Óxido superficial no corrosivo en equipos en contacto con alimentos.”

“Alimentos envasados ​​con oxígeno reducido sin texto en negrita sobre fondo contrastante u otra información requerida. Se observó carne de res cocida, carne de res cruda y pollo marinado crudo en la línea de cocción, todos envasados ​​con oxígeno reducido.”

“Acumulación de una sustancia negra/verdosa similar al moho en el interior de la máquina/contenedor de hielo. Se observó que el interior del contenedor de hielo, al abrir la tapa, estaba sucio con una sustancia similar al moho.”

“Recipiente sin asa utilizado para servir alimentos. Se observó un recipiente sin asa en el contenedor de harina cerca de la cámara frigorífica.”

“Acumulación de restos de comida/residuos de tierra en las manijas de las puertas de los equipos. Se observó manipulación de las manijas de las puertas de los refrigeradores en la línea de cocción. Infracción reiterada.”

“El cartón utilizado en el suelo como medida antideslizante no se reemplaza a diario ni cuando está muy sucio, lo que ocurra primero. Observado en la línea de cocción y en la cámara frigorífica de carne.”

“Se observó un recipiente de bebida de un empleado sobre una mesa de preparación de alimentos o encima/junto a equipos/utensilios limpios. También se observó un vaso de agua de un empleado almacenado en una mesa de preparación al otro lado de la línea de cocción.”

“Equipos y utensilios no secados al aire adecuadamente: apilados húmedos. Se observaron recipientes metálicos en los estantes cerca del fregadero para fregar.”

“Utensilio en uso almacenado en agua estancada a menos de 57 grados Celsius (135 grados Fahrenheit). Se observó el utensilio en agua estancada junto al lavamanos en la línea de cocción a 19 grados Celsius (67 grados Fahrenheit). Se le indicó al empleado que desechara el agua.”

“El interior del horno/microondas presenta acumulación de una sustancia negra/grasa/restos de comida. Se observó que el interior del microondas estaba sucio a lo largo de la línea de cocción con restos de comida vieja.”

“No hay cartel de ‘no se debe lavarse las manos’ en el lavamanos utilizado por los empleados de la cocina. Observado en el lavamanos del mostrador principal.”

“Se observó que el abrelatas estaba oxidado. Se observó que el imán del cuchillo estaba oxidado.”

“Se utilizó un paño de limpieza seco y sucio. Observado en la línea de cocción.”

“Agua estancada en el fondo del refrigerador. Se observó agua estancada en el refrigerador debajo de la máquina de café en las estaciones de servicio de camareros.”

“Se observó helado sin tapar en el congelador cerca de la estación de camareros. Se observó tomates cortados sin tapar en la cámara frigorífica de verduras. Infracción reiterada.”

**CAFÉ DE SUSHI

7917 CALLE 2 NO

WESTCHESTER

ORDEN DE CIERRE 15/4

Se detectaron 31 infracciones.

Se detectó actividad de roedores, como lo demuestran los excrementos encontrados. Se observaron aproximadamente 35 excrementos de roedores a lo largo de la pared debajo del mostrador de sushi, junto a, detrás y entre los refrigeradores en el área del bar de sushi.

“Se detectó actividad de cucarachas, como lo demuestra el hallazgo de cucarachas vivas. Se observó una cucaracha viva arrastrándose debajo del refrigerador ubicado frente a la línea de cocción.”

“Cucarachas muertas en el local. Se observaron 8 cucarachas muertas debajo del mostrador de la barra de sushi. Infracción reiterada.”

“Acumulación de aves, insectos, roedores u otras plagas muertas o atrapadas en los dispositivos de control. Se observaron cucarachas muertas pegadas a una trampa adhesiva debajo de la barra de sushi.”

“Se encontró en el establecimiento un pesticida/insecticida etiquetado para uso doméstico únicamente. Se observó una lata de pesticida doméstico almacenada debajo de un estante en la barra de sushi.”

“Acumulación de una sustancia negra/verdosa similar al moho en el interior de la máquina/contenedor de hielo. Infracción reiterada.”

“Acumulación de restos de comida/residuos de tierra en las manijas de las puertas de los equipos. Se observó que todas las manijas de los refrigeradores estaban sucias.”

“El techo/las baldosas del techo presentan daños o están en mal estado. Se observó que el techo estaba en mal estado encima de la cámara frigorífica.”

“El suelo está sucio y tiene acumulación de residuos. Se observó que el suelo estaba muy sucio con restos de comida vieja en las juntas de las baldosas y debajo de la línea de cocción/freidora.”

“El interior del horno/microondas presenta acumulación de una sustancia negra/grasa/restos de comida. Se observó suciedad en el interior del horno y del microondas en la barra de sushi. Infracción reiterada.”

Superficie que no entra en contacto con alimentos sucia de grasa, restos de comida, suciedad, lodo o polvo. Se observaron todas las juntas del refrigerador sucias. Se observó una gran acumulación de grasa entre la freidora y la parrilla en la línea de cocción.

“El interior y los estantes de los refrigeradores presentan acumulación de residuos de tierra. Se observó que el interior de todos los refrigeradores estaba muy sucio con restos de comida vieja. Infracción reiterada.”

Pared sucia con grasa acumulada, restos de comida y/o polvo. Se observó una pared muy sucia de grasa en la barra de sushi, debajo del mostrador y del lavamanos. Se observó una pared muy polvorienta en la cocina, junto a la campana extractora.

“El desinfectante de cloro del lavavajillas no tiene la concentración mínima adecuada. Suspenda el uso del lavavajillas para desinfectar y realice la desinfección manual hasta que el lavavajillas sea reparado y desinfecte correctamente. Se observó en el lavavajillas (cloro 0 ppm).”

“La superficie en contacto con los alimentos estaba sucia con restos de comida, una sustancia parecida al moho o una sustancia viscosa. Se observó la cuchilla de la cortadora de fiambres muy sucia con restos de comida vieja frente al área de lavado.”

“El empleado no se lavó las manos antes de ponerse los guantes para comenzar una tarea que implicaba el manejo de alimentos. Se observó que el empleado se cambió de guantes y comenzó a manipular equipos limpios y alimentos sin lavarse las manos entretanto.”

Hitting 30 or more violations in a single inspection isn’t a minor slip or a busy shift gone wrong. It’s a pattern. It’s breakdown after breakdown in the most basic food safety practices.

Leer en español

Below is a list of restaurants that racked up 30 or more violations on a recent inspection.

When employees aren’t washing their hands, when food is stored improperly, when sanitation is ignored, those are risks that can directly impact your health.

Thirty violations or more should never be normal. It signals a kitchen that has lost control of its own standards. That’s not just disappointing, it’s unacceptable. Do better.

The places ordered shut below were allowed to re-open following an ordered cleanup and then a re-inspection.

**KEY BISCAYNE YACHT CLUB 2ND FLOOR KITCHEN

1800 HARBOR DRIVE

KEY BISCAYNE

INSPECTION DATE 4/17

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. French onion soup inside walk in cooler cooling from the previous day at 56°F. Crab chowder soup inside walking cooler from the previous day at 56°F.”

“Dish machine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed chlorine Dishwasher machine no with o ppm chlorine solution.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed employee put on gloves no handwashing on bar area.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding), crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding) inside walk in cooler in main kitchen area. As per chef was prepared the day before.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed in different unit throughout the kitchen(49F - Cold Holding); grouper (46F - Cold Holding); white fish (44F - Cold Holding); Mac and cheese (42F - Cold Holding); octopus (42F - Cold Holding); French onion soup (56F - Cold Holding); conch chowder (44F - Cold Holding); crab chowder (56F - Cold Holding); raw beef (44F - Cold Holding); raw chicken (42F - Cold Holding); liquid egg (47F - Cold Holding) second walk in cooler-butter (33F - Cold Holding); shredded cheese (42F - Cold Holding); Cuban sandwich (42F - Cold Holding); lettuce (48F - Cold Holding) mahi (42F - Cold Holding); shrimp (175F - Cooking); skirt steak (159F - Cooking); lettuce (62F - Cold Holding); cut tomato (52F - Cold Holding); pineapple pickles (52F - Cold Holding); cabbage (51F); lobster (137F - Hot Holding); garlic in oil (77F - Cold Holding); butter (69F - Cold Holding); breaded steak (42F - Cold Holding) risotto (62F - Cold Holding) on top of prep table in 3 floor.”

“Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. Observed hose Bibb in main kitchen wall behind grill station no vacuum breaker.”

“Food being cooled by nonapproved method as evidenced by inadequate rate of cooling during time of inspection. Food products under the cooling process covered inside the walk in cooler.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed knives that was soiled was stored inside holster in cook line.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed a Bain Mary inside hand washing sink located next to walk in cooler in the kitchen located in second floor.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed no paper towel in handwashing sink located in bar area- second floor.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed no handwashing washing sign in second floor at handwashing sink at bar area, coffee area and 3 floor kitchen.”

“Water treatment device has not been inspected or serviced according to manufacturer’s instructions. Ice machine water filter with a 2023 replacement date.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Observed both ice machine with the interior soiled with mold like substance. Observed ice integrated ice buckets in the bar area with mold like substance.”

“Accumulation of debris on exterior of ware washing machine. Observed top of dishwasher machine soiled with dust.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a single used container used as a scoop inside sea salt container.”

“Clean equipment/utensils not stored at least 6 inches above the floor. Observed several cutting boards stored on the floor on main kitchen.”

“Clean ice scoop stored on a wall holster that was soiled.”

“Clean utensils or equipment stored in dirty drawer or rack. Observed pizza peel stored on top of pizza oven.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed yellow cutting boards stored with cut marks and is no longer cleanable across salad station.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed employee drink container stored on top of prep table next to salad station.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed employee personal phone stored on top of prep table across cook line.”

“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside. Observed a gap on exit kitchen door in main kitchen area.”

“Food stored on floor. Observed bag of flour on the kitchen area floor.”

“In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment. Observed knives store between two prep table across cooking line.”

“In-use tongs stored on equipment door handle between uses. Observed tongs on oven handles in kitchen area.”

“In-use utensil stored in standing water less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed throughout kitchen area utensils in standing water 79F.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.”

“No handwashing sign provided at a hand sink used by food employees. Observed no handwashing sign at handwashing sink in second floor kitchen bar area, and 3 floor kitchen area.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed the top of pizza oven, and kitchen oven-soiled with dust.”

“Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses. Observed wet wiping clothes throughout entire kitchen not stored in sanitizer solution.”

“Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Container with Flour no labels.”

**CALUSA RESTAURANT-BAKER’S CAY RESORT KEY LARGO

97000 S. OVERSEAS HIGHWAY

KEY LARGO

INSPECTION DATE 4/8

32 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Dented/rusted cans present. See stop sale. Observed a dented can of tomato sauce.”

“Dish machine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed high temperature at dishwasher was 154.7°F Operator was advised to discontinue the use of dishwasher and set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee removed bracelets and then engaged in food preparation without washing hands. Employee was coached and washed hands.”

“Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed temperature at dishwasher aching reached 154°F . Operator was advised to discontinue the use of the dishwasher until it reach 160°F-180°F. The will set up 3 compartment sink.”

“Live, small flying insects found . Observed 5 live flies flying around the storage of the sodas by the ice machine.”

“Nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded.”

“Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed cooked octopus stored u dear raw shrimp inside the walk in cooler. Chef placed octopus on top.”

“Shell eggs in use or stored with cracks or broken shells. See stop sale. Observed 3 shell eggs with cracks stored inside the walk in cooler.”

“Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cheese (46 F - Cold Holding); green beans (53 F - Cold Holding)inside the reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line. As per employee foods were placed yesterday night. Food has been out of temperature more than 4 hours. Stop sale was issued.”

“Clam/mussel/oyster tags not maintained in chronological order according to the last date they were served in the establishment.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed can opener soiled by the production area. Repeat Violation.”

“Manager or person in charge lacking proof of food manager certification. Observed Eddie Hernandez (2 months) did nit provided manger certificate.”

“No currently certified food service manager on duty with four or more employees engaged in food preparation/handling.”

“No plan review submitted and approved - bar area added. Must submit plans and plan review application to DBPR H and R Plan Review office... Observed a coffee station was added to this license... They have a small truck with not hand wash sink serving coffees and 2 tables, one with a hot box serving empanadas and a reach in cooler with fruit salad and yogurt. Operator needs to add this location to plans review.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed a plastic container used as scoop inside the flour.”

“Carbon dioxide/helium tanks not adequately secured. Observed carbon dioxide tank not secured next to the ice machine. Employee removed it.”

“Ceiling tile missing. Observed 1 ceiling tile missing above mop sink.. Repeat Violation.”

“Cold holding equipment not maintained in good repair. Do not store time/temperature control for safety food in this unit until the unit is repaired. Observed reach in cooler across the grill at the cook line is not working properly. Ambient thermometer was at 56°F.”

“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Observed white cutting board no longer cleanable across from the grill at the front line.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed 2 employee beverages on preparation tables.”

“Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Observed 2 employee lunch bags stored above preparation tables in the kitchen.”

“Employee wearing jewelry other than a plain ring on their hands/arms while preparing food. Observed employee wearing multiple bracelets.”

“Equipment and utensils not properly air-dried - wet nesting. Observed metal containers not properly air-dried - wet nesting stored on shelf by production area.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor soiled with accumulation of grease behind the grill at the cook line.”

“Ice buildup in walk-in freezer.”

“In-use wet wiping cloth/towel used under cutting board. Observed a wiping cloth under green cutting board at production area.”

“No conspicuously located ambient air temperature thermometer in holding unit. Observed no ambient thermometer in reach in coolers at the front line.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed reach in cooler door gaskets soiled. Also observed hood filters soiled.”

“Utensils in poor condition. Observed reach in cooler door gasket torn at the cook line.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall behind grill at cook line soiled with accumulated grease.”

**DON CAMARON GRILL & MARKET

501 NW 37TH AVE

MIAMI

INSPECTION BASED ON COMPLAINT

ORDERED SHUT 4/16

33 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Seafood prep area: 2 live roaches crawling on the floor by the prep sink and underneath a table by the prep sink.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Seafood prep area: 2 dead roaches on the floor: Back area cookline: 1 dead roach on the floor. By the large mixer nearby the walk in cooler: 1 dead roach on the floor behind the large mixer Prep table in front of the main cookline: 1 dead roach by on the table by a container without wrapped utensils. Small cook area: 1 dead fly inside the reach in cooler with bottled sodas and water bottles.”

“Live, small flying insects found. Dining room: 2 live flies landed on tables. Ceviche area, by the glass display: approximately 4 live flies on flying throughout the area and 1 on the glass display case. Seafood prep area: 4 live flies resting on the prep table and 2 live flies on the prep sink. Main kitchen: 2 live flies flying throughout the ware wash and cook line area.”

“Employee has not received adequate training related to their assigned duties as evidenced by lack of general knowledge in performing their assigned duties. Observed employee by the cookline touch raw fish place on the flat top grill and grabbed a plate put a container in the plate to hold tortillas for soft tacos without removing gloves and washing hands. Observed employee scraping a pot at the three compartment sink and then pick up strainer to take out cooked pasta noodles without removing gloves and washing hands.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. All food storage containers soiled, dry storage area. Cutting boards on the flip-top reach in cooler soiled.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Throughout the prep kitchen.

Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment. Back area by the dry goods storage container outside."

“Raw in-shell clams/mussels/oysters received at greater than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Delivery, left in the kitchen: oysters (57-58F - Cold Holding), as per operator, received 30 minutes before the inspection, Operator placed inside the walk cooler, second temperature 20 minutes later, oysters (49-51F - Cooling).”

“Outer openings not protected during operation and vermin and/or environmental cross contamination present. Observed the bay doors by the small cookline/seating area at the seafood market open during operation. Advised the manager to keep the doors closed, observed fans in the outside, not on.”

**CASAVANA CUBAN CUISINE

13600 SW 152ND ST.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI DADE

INSPECTION DATE 4/15

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Date marked combined ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food not consumed/sold within 7 days of preparing/opening the earliest ready-to-eat time/temperature for safety ingredient. See stop sale. Observed container of cheese label with date mark 4/02/2026 at meat walk in cooler.”

“Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Observed food employee began preparing coffee. No handwash.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed food employee put on gloves to prepare fries no handwash. Observed food employee put on gloves and then began preparing tortillas eggs.

“Employee touched soiled apron/clothes and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employees at cook line.”

“Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed food employee touched soiled reach in cooler door handle. And then began preparing eggs. No handwash.”

“Food placed in soiled container/equipment. Observed flour stored in soiled container with food residue next to vegetables walk in cooler.”

“Operator not complying with the procedures stated in the Process Waiver or HACCP plan approved by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. Observed establishment not labeling products cook beef, raw beef, raw marinaded chicken at cook line all in ROP. after being removed from labeled boxes. Observed establishment temperature log not completed for January, 2026. Observed establishment not cutting the bags while putting the products to thaw at reach in cooler in the cook line.”

“Ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food marked with a date that exceeds 7 days after opening/preparation. Observed container of cheese label with date mark 4/02/2026 at meat walk in cooler. “Repeat Violation.”

“Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cooked onions (112F - Hot Holding) at cook line. As per cook for less than 2 hours. Advised cook to reheat product. Repeat Violation.”

“Employee washed hands in a sink other than an approved handwash sink. Observed handwash sink at front counter not in used.”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed can opener soiled.”

“Handwash sink used for purposes other than handwashing. Observed handwash sink at front counter used to dump coffee.”

“No paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at handwash sink. Observed at front counter handwash sink.”

“No soap provided at handwash sink. Observed at front counter handwash sink.”

“Non-pitting surface rust on food-contact equipment.”

“Reduced oxygen packaged food lacking bold type on contrasting background, or other required information. Observed cook beef, raw beef, raw marinaded chicken at cook line all in ROP.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Observed interior of ice bin when open the top soiled with mold like substance.”

“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Observed bowl with no handle at flour bin near the walk in cooler.”

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Observed reach in cooler door handles at cook line. Repeat Violation.”

“Cardboard used on floor as anti-slip measure not replaced every day or when heavily soiled, whichever comes first. Observed at cook line, and meat walk in cooler.”

“Employee beverage container on a food preparation table or over/next to clean equipment/utensils. Observed employee cup of water stored at prep table across cook line.”

“Equipment and utensils not properly air-dried - wet nesting. Observed metal containers at shelves near mop sink.”

“In-use utensil stored in standing water less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed utensil in standing water next to handwash sink at cook line 67F. Advised employee to discard water.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris. Observed interior of microwaves soiled across cook line with old food debris.”

“No handwashing sign provided at a hand sink used by food employees. Observed at front counter handwash sink.”

“Observed can opener rusted. Observed knife magnet rusted.”

“Soiled dry wiping cloth in use. Observed at cook line.”

“Standing water in bottom of reach-in-cooler. Observed standing water at reach in cooler under coffee machine at waitress stations.”

“Observed ice cream not covered at reach in freezer near waitress station. Observed cut tomatoes not cover at vegetables walk in cooler. Repeat Violation.”

**SUSHI CAFE

7917 NW 2ND STREET

WESTCHESTER

ORDERED SHUT 4/15

31 VIOLATIONS FOUND

“Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 35+ rodent droppings along wall underneath sushi counter next to, behind, and in between reach in coolers in sushi bar area.”

“Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed 1 live roach crawling underneath reach in cooler across from cook line.”

“Dead roaches on premises. Observed 8 dead roaches under sushi bar counter. Repeat Violation.”

“Accumulation of dead or trapped birds, insects, rodents, or other pests, in control devices. Observed dead roaches stuck on glue trap under sushi bar.”

“Pesticide/insecticide labeled for household use only present in establishment. Observed can of household pesticide stored under shelf in sushi bar.”

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Repeat Violation.”

“Buildup of food debris/soil residue on equipment door handles. Observed all reach in cooler handles soiled.”

“Ceiling/ceiling tile shows damage or is in disrepair. Observed ceiling in disrepair above walk in cooler.”

“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris. Observed floor heavily soiled with old food debris inside of tile grouts and underneath cook line/fryer.”

“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris. Observed interior of oven and microwave soiled at sushi bar. Repeat Violation.”

“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed all reach in cooler gaskets soiled. Observed heavy grease buildup in between fryer and grill on cook line.”

“Reach-in cooler interior/shelves have accumulation of soil residues. Observed interior of all reach in coolers heavily soiled with old food debris. Repeat Violation.”

“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Observed wall heavily soiled with grease in sushi bar underneath counter and hand sink. Observed wall heavily dusted in kitchen next to hood.”

“Dish machine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dish machine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dish machine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed Dishwasher (Chlorine 0ppm).”

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed deli slicer blade heavily soiled with old food debris across from dish area.”

“Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Observed employee changed pair of gloves and began to handle clean equipment and food without washing hands in between.”

Ahora es una mujer trans pero al nacer fue identificada como varón en San Pedro Jicayán, una comunidad indígena del sur de México donde es mal visto que un hombre quiera tejer.

Merino tendría que haber cuidado del ganado o trabajado la tierra, pero su abuela desafió esas estrictas normas de género para enseñarle a usar el telar de cintura.

“Ella me comienza compartir del saber del telar de forma oculta,” dijo Merino. “Me enseñó a hacer el hilo desde cero, a sentir las texturas y respetar a la naturaleza.”

El linaje materno de Merino proviene del pueblo mixteco, donde relatos preservados en códices rastrean el nacimiento de dioses y dinastías a paisajes sagrados. Su ascendencia paterna es zapoteca, donde la vida religiosa sigue entretejida en lo cotidiano, desde la cosecha hasta el matrimonio y la muerte.

Una de las lecciones más valiosas que aprendió de su abuela fue devolver a la tierra lo que tomes de ella. Los tejedores de su comunidad, dijo Merino, hacen herramientas para tejer con el árbol de tamarindo pero encuentran modos de retribuir lo prestado.

“Dentro de nuestra cosmovisión está siempre tener respeto a la tierra”, señaló Merino. “Porque es la que nos brinda todo lo que tenemos”.

Tanto su legado ancestral como su identidad de género hoy juegan un papel decisivo en su vida.

Además de identificarse como una mujer trans, Merino también se reconoce como “muxe”. El término está arraigado en la cultura zapoteca y se refiere a personas indígenas nacidas con sexo masculino que asumen roles femeninos. También puede considerarse un tercer género.

Merino dedica la mayor parte de su tiempo a la confección de textiles y a ofrecer talleres que no sólo enseñan a tejer, sino a emplear el telar como acto de resistencia.

“Todas las personas somos capaces de aprender a tejer y no solamente se trata de crear una pieza, sino de tejer nuestras propias historias,” dijo Merino durante un taller que ofreció recientemente en Ciudad de México para personas LGBTQ+. “También en el telar nos conocemos.”

El precio de desafiar las normas

Hubo un tiempo en que Merino fue castigada por tejer. Tenía unos 15 años cuando algunos vecinos la sorprendieron frente a su telar mientras iban de camino a una fiesta patronal.

El resto del a tarde siguió como si nada. Los devotos rezaron y compartieron alimentos. Pero al día siguiente, en los altavoces dispersos por la comunidad, una voz llamó a los hombres a reunirse para discutir un asunto serio y urgente: un chico se había atrevido a tejer.

Los hombres hicieron un círculo y ordenaron a Merino que se quedara en medio. Junto a ella estaban su madre y abuela.

Alguien preguntó a esta última por qué le estaba enseñando a tejer si no era una actividad propia de los varones. “¿Qué le estás enseñando a las demás infancias?”, siguió.

Merino recuerda que la respuesta de su abuela fue simple: Lo que hizo no tenía nada de malo. Simplemente le enseñó cómo ser una persona creativa y mantener su cultura viva a través del vestido.

Un distanciamiento

El castigo de Merino por su atrevimiento fue barrer la iglesia local. Después de eso siguió tejiendo de manera ocasional a escondidas, pero la experiencia le dejó un mal sabor de boca y la distanció de su telar.

“Me surgió un resentimiento muy fuerte con el textil y con los usos y costumbres,” dijo Merino. “Tener la habilidad de crear y que no se te permita hacerlo era como tener ojos y me los quitaran. Ya no podía ver.”

Se reconcilió con los hilos unos cuatro años después, cuando se mudó a Ciudad de México para estudiar la universidad.

Ahí cursó la carrera de Comunicación, donde abordó materias como gestión cultural, estudios textiles y enfoques poscoloniales sobre la resistencia de los pueblos originarios.

“Me ayudó a hacerme entender que podía ocupar mi realidad para un bien”, dijo Merino. “Y para mí el telar fue un método de sanación”.

Lecciones del telar

Durante su último taller, una alumna que ya había tomado clase con Merino contó a sus compañeros que el telar es un espejo de su tejedor. La dicha y la calma — al igual que el enojo y la angustia — se transmiten a los hilos al tejer.

“Me gusta mucho la manera de enseñar de Xan porque es muy relajada, muy humana y nos va enseñando con paciencia”, dijo más tarde Emilia Freire, una mujer trans al igual que Merino, a The Associated Press. “Me hizo ver que todas las cosas que yo traía de mi semana, el día que llegaba el taller podía sacarlas”.

Otro estudiante, Kristhian Cravioto, explicó que era su primer taller de telar de cintura. Celebró que existiera un espacio seguro para personas LGBTQ+ interesadas en textiles y que Merino desafiara los prejuicios de que los hombres no deben tejer.

“Es muy importante para las disidencias”, dijo Cravioto, un diseñador que se siente fascinado por las artes indígenas de México. “Saber que como disidencia, sin importar si eres hombre o si eres mujer, sirves de algo”.

El telar como legado

Un telar de cintura tradicional está compuesto por cuerdas, hilos y varas de madera ensambladas en una estructura portátil. Las mujeres suelen trabajar sentadas en el suelo, con un extremo del telar atado a un árbol o poste y el otro sujeto a su cintura.

Inclinándose hacia atrás y hacia adelante, controlan la tensión de los hilos con el cuerpo, convirtiendo el movimiento en un ritmo constante de tejido.

Terminar cada pieza toma tiempo. Merino suele tejer por más de un mes, unas ocho horas al día, sólo para terminar un “huipil” corto, como se denomina a una túnica tradicional que usan las mujeres Indígenas de México.

Algunos tejedores que migraron de sus pueblos a las ciudades usan hilos y madera disponible en sus nuevos hogares. Merino, en cambio, viaja de vuelta a casa para traer su materia prima. Entre esos recursos destaca un tinte púrpura obtenido de un caracol que habita en la costa, un recurso que se ha vuelto cada vez más difícil de recolectar a medida que la especie disminuye.

La nostalgia por su comunidad nunca se apaga, pero Merino se siente confortada por el hecho de que, siguiendo su ejemplo, miembros más jóvenes de la comunidad LGBTQ+ de San Pedro Jicayán se han atrevido a tejer.

“Hay otras cinco mujeres trans y dos hombres tejiendo”, dijo Merino. “Ya estamos siendo visibles a partir del tejido y para eso ha sido esta lucha”.

___

La cobertura religiosa de The Associated Press recibe apoyo a través de una colaboración con The Conversation US, con fondos del Lilly Endowment Inc. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido.

American authors take four of the six places on the shortlist for the 30,000 pounds ($40,000) prize, announced Wednesday by a judging panel led by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Among them are bestselling writer Lily King’s campus-set romance “Heart the Lover” and Susan Choi’s twisty family saga “Flashlight,” a finalist for last year’s Booker Prize.

First novels making the list include U.S. writer Virginia Evans’ “The Correspondent,” a novel told in letters with an older woman as protagonist that became a slow-burn hit after its release in 2025; and Addie E. Citchens’ “Dominion,” a story of power and patriarchy centered on a Black church in Mississippi.

Rounding out the list are two debut novels by British writers: Marcia Hutchinson’s “The Mercy Step,” a girl’s coming-of-age story set in northern England, and Rozie Kelly’s tale of love and grief, “Kingfisher.”

Gillard, who was Australia’s leader between 2010 and 2013, said the books are all page-turners with intriguing characters that explore “power — where it lies, where it doesn’t lie. How you find the ability to chart your own life course, what it means to potentially have others that are pushing you in different directions as you try and chart that life course.”

The number of debut novelists doesn’t mean the authors lack experience. Hutchinson is a former lawyer in her 60s, while Evans wrote seven unpublished novels before finding international success with “The Correspondent.”

“I think the way the publishing industry is working now, there are quite a number of authors coming to the fore for whom being a fiction author is well and truly a second act in a life that has brought other careers,” said Gillard.

“I’m delighted to see that,” Gillard told The Associated Press — though she is not in a rush to join them. While former leaders including Bill Clinton in the U.S. and Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland have written or co-written political thrillers, Gillard says she is not working on a novel.

“Never say never, but I’m not sure about that,” said Gillard, who has written a memoir and nonfiction books about women and leadership. “But I’m a fiction lover, a fiction reader, and it’s been just fantastic to have this experience” as a Women’s Prize judge.

Next, the five judges will meet to choose a winner. Previous winners of the fiction prize, founded in 1996, include Zadie Smith, Tayari Jones and Barbara Kingsolver. A sister prize for nonfiction was founded in 2024.

Winners of both prizes will be announced June 11 at a ceremony in London.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defense Minister Dong Jun are visiting Cambodia to hold talks with their counterparts, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Defense Minister Tea Seiha.

These talks are an initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his state visit in April last year, aimed at boosting relations and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. China has worked to increase its sphere of influence in Southeast Asia, and initiated the ministerial-level “2+2” dialogue format with Indonesia last year.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that Wang Yi will also visit Thailand and Myanmar following his stop in Cambodia.

While in Cambodia, both Chinese ministers are also to hold separate meetings with Senate President Hun Sen and Prime Minister Hun Manet. Following the joint “2+2” meeting, Wang Yi on Thursday is scheduled to have in-depth discussions with Prak Sokhonn to discuss the implementation of existing cooperation frameworks and contributions to regional peace, security and stability.

No details of any of the meetings were immediately available from Cambodian officials.

China is the largest investor and aid donor for Cambodia, which stands as Beijing’s closest political partner in Southeast Asia. Their bilateral trade reached $19.73 billion last year, overwhelmingly in China’s favor.

The close relations fuel suspicions among analysts and the U.S. government that a Chinese-funded project to upgrade Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base will be used as a strategic military outpost by China. Construction at the base, located on the Gulf of Thailand, last year saw the completion of a new pier to accommodate larger ships, a dry dock for repairs and other features.

Washington has publicly expressed the concern that Beijing has been secretly granted exclusive privileges to use the base, though Cambodian officials have repeatedly denied the accusations. At the opening of the base expansion in April last year, Prime Minister Hun Manet specifically denied these allegations, declaring that the expansion wasn't hidden from other countries.

Three months ago, the USS Cincinnati, with a crew of about 100, became the first U.S. Navy warship to dock at the facility since its Chinese-funded renovation was completed.

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That bill is now on the desk of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, awaiting his signature before it becomes law.

When you’re rung up at the register and pay with cash, if your total ends in 1 or 2 cents, they’ll round down to zero, and 3 or 4 cents will get rounded up to a nickel.

Florida’s change would mostly affect businesses like convenience stores that often deal in cash.

Mario, a cashier at a Shell gas station in Hollywood, says he only sees maybe a few pennies an entire day; it’s pretty rare, so he’s not surprised.

“Lots of people don’t have pennies,” he said. “When I give back the pennies, they leave it here for some other customer who needs it. No there’s no more pennies anymore.”

A customer who said he understands the change, gave his two cents on the matter.

“I got the silver pennies, I got the wheat pennies, regular pennies, and Indian heads,” said customer Dara. “I kinda saw it coming. Things are getting more expensive and pennies are gonna be useless soon.”

Last year, the U.S. Mint officially stopped making new pennies because they cost more to make than they’re worth at this point.

Albert Williams is an economics professor at Nova Southeastern University’s Huizenga School of Business.

He said it costs almost 4 cents to make a single penny.

“We’re gonna make transactions a little bit easier, I think,” he said. “It’s kinda a no-brainer. Why would you want to make something that’s worth one penny that’s costing nearly four pennies to make?”

Now a transgender woman, she was identified at birth as a boy in San Pedro Jicayán, an Indigenous community in southern Mexico where men are largely barred from becoming weavers.

Merino was expected to tend cattle or work in the fields. Yet her grandmother defied those rigid gender norms, passing on to her the ancestral practice of the backstrap loom — an ancient, portable device operated using a strap secured around the weaver’s waist.

“She began sharing her knowledge with me in secret,” said Merino, who used to hide in her grandmother’s adobe home to weave at age 13. “She taught me how to make the thread from scratch, to feel the textures and respect nature.”

Merino’s maternal lineage comes from the Mixtec people, where origin stories trace the birth of gods and dynasties to sacred landscapes. Her paternal ancestry is Zapotec, where religious life remains woven into everyday moments, from harvest to marriage and death.

Giving back to the land

One of her grandmother’s most cherished lessons was to give back to the land whatever you take from it. Weavers in her community, Merino said, make the rods that they use to control thread tension out of branches from tamarind trees and find ways to restore what they borrow.

“To care for nature is part of our worldview,” Merino said. “Because it provides us with what we need to walk this world.”

Both her ancestral legacy and her gender identity now play a decisive role in her life. In addition to being a trans woman, Merino identifies as a “muxe.” The term is rooted in Zapotec culture and refers to Indigenous people identified at birth as male who take on women’s roles. It can also be regarded as a third gender.

Merino makes a living as a weaver and instructor, hosting workshops on how the backstrap loom can serve as a craft and an act of resistance.

“Everyone is capable of learning how to weave, and it’s not just about creating a piece,” she said during a recent class she led in Mexico City for LGBTQ+ people. “It’s also about weaving our own stories, as we can come to know ourselves through the loom.”

Defiance bears a cost

Merino was once punished for weaving. She was around 15 when neighbors spotted her kneeling, threads in her hands, on their way to a patron saint feast.

That afternoon went by without incident. Parishioners prayed, laughed and shared a meal. But the following morning, through loudspeakers across the community, a voice called on all men to gather and discuss an urgent matter: There was a boy who dared to weave.

The men sat in a circle while Merino was commanded to stand in the middle, next to her mother and her grandmother.

As Merino recalls, one of the men asked her grandmother, “Why would you allow him to weave, if it’s not something boys are supposed to do? Do you realize what kind of example you’re setting for other children?”

Merino said that her grandmother’s answer was simple: She was merely teaching a child how to be creative, to find a path to keep her culture alive through clothing.

A punishment that lingered

Merino’s punishment for her defiance was sweeping the local church. She occasionally wove in hiding after that. But the experience cast a shadow over her craft and she practically abandoned her loom.

“I developed a deep resentment toward textiles and the customs around them,” Merino said. “Having the ability to create and not being allowed to use it was like having eyes and having them taken away — I could no longer see.”

Reconciliation came a few years later, when she moved from her hometown to Mexico City for college. She majored in communications; her coursework included cultural management, textile studies and postcolonial perspectives on Indigenous resistance.

“That made me see how I could use my reality for a greater good,” she said. “My loom became a means to healing.”

A space to be seen

During her latest workshop, one of Merino’s students who had previously taken another course with her told her classmates that a loom mirrors oneself. The joy and the calmness — as much as the anger and stress, she said — are passed on to the threads.

“I love Xan’s way of teaching because she is very human and patient,” Emilia Freire, a trans woman like Merino, told The Associated Press. “She made me realize that once I had my weaving set up and began to work, everything I carried with me through the week would come out.”

Another student, Kristhian Cravioto, said that this was his first backstrap loom workshop. He celebrated finding a safe space for LGBTQ+ people interested in crafts, and also Merino’s defiance against the preconception that men shouldn't weave.

“This is very important for us dissidents,” said Cravioto, a designer and enthusiast of Mexico’s Indigenous crafts. “To know that no matter whether you are a man or a woman, what you do matters.”

Threads that endure

A traditional backstrap loom is made up of cords, threads and wooden rods assembled into a portable frame. Women often work seated on the ground, with one end of the loom tied to a tree or post and the other secured around their waist. Leaning back and forward, they control the tension of the threads with their bodies, turning movement into a steady rhythm of weaving.

Crafting each piece takes time. Merino often weaves for about a month, eight hours a day, to finish a short “huipil,” a tunic traditionally worn by Indigenous women in Mexico.

Weavers who migrated from their hometowns often employ threads and wood available in the cities where they relocate. But Merino travels back home to procure her raw materials. Among them is a purple dye drawn from a sea snail found along the coast, a resource that has become increasingly difficult to gather as the species declines.

The nostalgia for her hometown never leaves her, but Merino takes comfort in the fact that younger LGBTQ+ people in her community have followed her example and become weavers in San Pedro Jicayán.

“At least five trans women and two men are weaving,” she said. “We have gained visibility through the loom and that’s what this fight has been about.”

___

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.

A majority on the three-judge panel from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said the Florida-run facility wasn’t under federal control and didn’t need to comply with federal law requiring an environmental impact review.

“Florida, not federal, officials constructed the facility,” a majority of the judges wrote. “They control the land and ‘entirely’ built the facility at state expense.”

At the time of U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ preliminary injunction, Florida had received no federal reimbursement, the appellate majority wrote. Williams concluded that a reimbursement decision already had been made.

The appeals court paused Williams’ order just days after she issued it last August, pending a hearing. The hearing was held earlier this month in Miami.

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, two of the environmental groups that had brought the lawsuit, said they would continue fighting as the case returns to the district court for further litigation.

“This fight is far from over,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “Alligator Alcatraz was hastily erected in one of the most fragile ecosystems in the country without the most basic environmental review, at immense human and ecological cost.”

State officials opened the Everglades detention center last summer to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Earlier this month, a lawyer for two people detained there said in court papers that guards severely beat and pepper-sprayed detainees.

In a dissent to the appellate panel’s ruling, Judge Nancy Abudu wrote that immigration is a federal responsibility, and just because Florida built an immigration detention facility, it doesn’t allow the federal government to abdicate its authority.

“The facility would not, and could not, have been built and used as an immigration detention center without the federal defendants’ request,” Abudu said. “The evidence of federal control perhaps is most apparent when we acknowledge that immigration remains uniquely and exclusively within the federal government’s domain.”

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

Calling his father and uncle gusanos — or worms, a Spanish-language term coined by Castro to denigrate those fleeing the island — the agent seized the bank and in an instant dispossessed a family that arrived from Spain in the 16th century.

“They told them this was now the people’s bank,” said Valdes-Fauli, an attorney and former mayor of the Miami suburb of Coral Gables. “They couldn’t even take family pictures off the walls of their office.”

Seven decades later such traumatic episodes are resurfacing with urgency, as President Donald Trump’s threats of military intervention, backed by a naval blockade of fuel shipments that has brought the island’s already-anemic economy to its knees, have spawned negotiations between Washington and Havana. Many Cuban Americans are convinced that 2026 could — finally — be the year of regime change on the communist-run island.

But that cautious optimism among exiles is tempered by concern they could be cut out. Their nightmare scenario: a repeat of what happened recently in Venezuela, where Trump ousted Nicolás Maduro only to join forces with his former allies in a partnership where demands for democracy are taking a back seat to oil industry dealmaking.

“I hope that he doesn’t do what he did in Venezuela, which is keep the thieves in power,” said Valdes-Fauli, who married a Venezuelan.

An emotional element of the talks, and one of the toughest to resolve, is the potential for hundreds of thousands of legal claims by Cuban Americans whose homes, businesses and land were seized after Castro took power in 1959.

New hope for getting compensation

Nick Gutiérrez’s home is full of fading land titles, black-and-white photographs and obscure books including one torn-apart tome — “The Owners of Cuba, 1958” — that describes the 550 biggest fortunes taken over by the revolution.

As president of the National Association of Cuban Landowners in Exile, Gutiérrez advises Cuban exile families on how to seek compensation for the forced collectivism. For decades that was a lonely mission relegated to the legal fringes, because there was never any hope of getting Cuba to pay.

“A lot of it just fell on deaf ears,” Gutiérrez said.

But with rising speculation about possible regime change, real interest in the issue has exploded among those who previously saw costly litigation as a fool’s errand, as well as younger Cuban American entrepreneurs eager to help rebuild a country they barely know but whose heritage they proudly carry.

“Now we’re talking about the existential issue of whether the Cuban dictatorship will survive until next month,” said Gutiérrez, whose parents fled the island two years before he was born.

Resolving the claims

Untangling property claims in Cuba is akin to battling a multiheaded hydra, said Robert Muse, a Washington attorney who specializes in U.S. laws relating to Cuba.

In the hierarchy of property losses, those with the strongest standing under U.S. law are the 5,913 claims certified by the Justice Department in 1972 for $1.9 billion. They include corporations like ExxonMobil and Marriott International whose assets were seized as part of Castro’s nationalization drive of everything from oil refineries and the telephone system to hair salons and shoeshine stands.

Under U.S. law those claims — worth $10 billion today — must be resolved for a full restoration of economic and diplomatic relations. In practice, however, the executive branch is authorized to assume control of private losses for a lump-sum payment and fold the dispute into any settlement with Havana.

In a break from the past, Cuba has signaled a willingness to discuss the claims — as part of a broader conversation over its demand for compensation for damages wrought by the U.S. trade embargo, enacted in 1962.

A thornier issue is Title III of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act. The law allows exiles to sue any company deemed to be “trafficking” in property confiscated by Cuba.

All past U.S. presidents suspended Title III because of objections from U.S. allies doing business in Cuba. Similarly, many exiles viewed the legislation as an empty threat because of the remote prospect of ever collecting from a bankrupt government.

But Trump lifted the suspension in 2019, and about 50 lawsuits have since been filed. The floodgates to more claims could open soon depending on two cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this year.

One of the cases, brought by Exxon, seeks $1 billion from Cuban state-owned entities. The other was filed by the Delaware-based company, Havana Docks, against four cruise liners that paid Cuba’s government to disembark nearly 1 million tourists at a port it once operated after President Barack Obama reestablished diplomatic relations.

Will Trump strike a deal?

Muse likened the legal risks of doing business in Cuba to a “stalactite” formed over several decades, deterring investment and political compromise.

“You can’t have a restitution remedy for hundreds of thousands of claimants,” Muse said. “It’s unworkable.”

However if Havana’s stated aim to attract foreign capital is sincere, it has incentives to cut deals with Cuban Americans willing to invest in the country, Gutiérrez said. A model for that would be the former Communist states in Eastern Europe that compensated for property seizures at the conclusion of the Cold War, helping their economies surge ahead.

Trump, Muse said, may have the right mix of business sense, impatience with convention and political freedom as a second-term president to work through the complex mess. A signal that he is unlikely to be bogged down by legal haggling, Muse added, was when he hosted oil executives at the White House following Maduro’s ouster and told them they would have to write off any unpaid claims from asset seizures in Venezuela.

Gutiérrez worries that Trump’s eagerness for a trophy that has evaded 12 Democratic and Republican presidents could get the better of him. But he is reassured by the president’s longstanding friendship with Cuban Americans who are among his most ardent supporters.

“Trump doesn’t have moral qualms of doing business with bad guys,” Gutiérrez said. “But he knows how important this is to us, and that gives us some comfort he won’t sell us out.”

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The fire is about 25 percent contained.

Kevin MacEwen, the Florida Forest Service’s Everglades District manager and forest area supervisor, said there were three crews in all-terrain carriers on the ground.

“It has got a tank with 500 gallons of water on it,” MacEwen said. “It has got wide tracks, it’s a fairly light vehicle, and it’s made to go within the Everglades.”

MacEwen said the crews and a helicopter were working to keep the fire away from the traffic on the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 27.

“Fortunately, the wind is flowing east, and it’s pushing the fire away from us,” MacEwen said, adding the wind was gusting over 20 mph amid a “historical drought.”

A Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue helicopter responded to drop water over remote hot spots west of Weston, according to BSFR Battalion Chief Michael B. Kane.

BSFR requested assistance from the Florida Forest Service, as flames burned under power lines west of Highway 27 and mile marker 45, according to Kane.

Local 10 News Weather Authority meteorologist Brandon Orr warned drivers that the fire’s smoke could impact visibility on Alligator Alley.

Florida has been enduring one of the worst droughts in 15 years, so the Florida Forest Service has had to deal with more wildfires than usual.

“We probably still have another six to nine weeks of this,” MacEwen said.

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

Afternoon reports

Weather Authority report

They were activists meeting to figure out how to better fight against worsening climate change, a cause usually associated with failure, sacrifice and doom.

Across the world, groups of activists, teachers and psychologists are tackling one of the planet's most daunting problems with laughter, dancing, hugs and most especially joy. With a heavy emphasis on what works psychologically, seminars, books and college classes are trying to change how people approach climate change, by talking more about community and happiness than sacrifice. Earth Day, founded in 1970, has become a day of both protest and celebration, its founders say.

“I believe that joy is all the more necessary and maybe all the more holy in difficult times,” said Katharine Wilkinson, an activist who led the Hudson Valley seminar that got the other groups' notice. “Joy is like, how do we take part in the shimmy and the shimmer even as the world lurches?”

People like Wilkinson want to harness happiness to power those fighting to curb the burning of coal, oil and gas and the heat-trapping gases they emit, causing Earth to warm. In a recent speech at American University, Wilkinson called power and joy “a really potent portal to the gifts that we want to offer in this time of immense trouble and yet also immense possibility.”

Some psychologists call such thinking healthy and helpful.

“Joy is what made our species survive in the first place,” said Jiaying Zhao, a professor of psychology and sustainability at the University of British Columbia. “If we’re rewarded, reinforced by it, then we continue doing it. We spill over. We become contagious. We get others on board.”

Often that's with a laugh.

“Laughter is really one of the best strategies for coping with stress,” said Julia Kim-Cohen, a clinical psychology professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “So there are physiological benefits to laughter. The science shows that it reduces blood pressure and relaxes people’s nervous systems. And so when we’re relaxed through laughter, I think that helps us feel our hearts open to one another. Sharing laughter I think is this ancient, evolutionarily wired thing that humans do to connect.”

First, face some hard realities

But reality is still key, said Christiana Figueres.

Figueres was the United Nations climate chief in 2015 when she helped shepherd the groundbreaking Paris climate deal that sought to limit Earth's warming. At that summit, Figueres said she felt she succeeded because she listened to everyone “deeply with an open heart and an open mind to what people are saying and especially what they're not saying” to find some common ground. And at night she and her staff danced to feel joy.

Figueres later founded Global Optimism, an activist group that put its mindset in its name, and she also runs seminars across the globe that involve joy, dancing and reality.

“We cannot turn our back to the suffering and the grief and the eco-anxiety and all that family of emotions because they are very there,” Figueres said. “Not to deny reality, not to deny the challenges that we have — that's step No. 1.

Figueres said the trick is “to anchor ourselves precisely in the pain and the suffering, embrace the pain, and the suffer” and then turn it into something good. She likened it to converting nasty kitchen waste into compost and fertilizer for a beautiful garden.

In this case it's accepting these emotions and converting them to “a sense of agency” so people can try to the change the world, she said.

Wilkinson, who runs seminars called Climate Wayfinding and a has an upcoming book of the same name, said she invites the darker emotions into her seminars because “when those come in then we also open space for the pendulum to go to the other side.”

And that's where laughter, joke-telling, hugging and dancing happen.

Joy is a message that works better than sacrifice

For years, governments and activists have talked about consuming less — such as energy and meat — to save the planet.

“If we have to win the fight against climate change by getting people to give up the things they enjoy, I don’t think we’re going to win the fight,” said University of British Columbia psychology professor Elizabeth Dunn.

Emphasizing sacrifice “is counterproductive,” said Zhao, who teamed with Dunn to write the book “Leave the Lights On.”

“Instead of asking people to sacrifice the things that bring them joy, our book is making the exact opposite claim: Do more of the stuff that brings you pleasure but also have a low carbon footprint,” she said.

“We’re actually trying to get people to change their behaviors. And joy is the missing ingredient here,” Zhao said. “All we’re saying is give this a shot.”

Dunn, using biking to work as an example, said, “If we enjoy doing something, it is a lot easier to stick with it.”

From ‘eco-pooper’ to making students happy talking about climate disasters

Even though she teaches psychology, including a class on the psychology of climate change, Kim-Cohen said she used to approach fighting climate change all wrong.

“I was that person at the cocktail party bringing up, you know, have you have you heard about the latest wildfire? Have you seen the flood in Spain?” Kim-Cohen said. “It was such a downer. I was such a pooper. There’s actually a term called ‘eco pooper.’ I was that person. And it didn’t work. People would just shut down.”

After a few years she burned out and got angry, Kim-Cohen said. But then Wilkinson's seminar changed that: “I came out with my heart filled with love.”

Senior Leah Glaser said she signed up for Kim-Cohen's class this semester thinking it would be a downer. It isn't.

“I leave every class feeling empowered to do something,” Glaser said. “I definitely leave with a smile on my face. It just really uplifts me in ways that other classes really don't.”

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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.

While there are gonzo versions of full-size trucks available, your best bet for maximizing value and capability is a midsize truck. Edmunds’ auto experts have identified the five best off-roading midsize trucks right now. They all tackle off-roading a little differently, but each delivers a blend of trail-readiness and everyday usability that makes them easy to recommend. All of the following pricing includes destination fees.

Chevy Colorado ZR2

The Chevy Colorado ZR2 is the stoic overachiever of this group. When the terrain gets technical — think rocks, ruts and tight trails — it feels right at home. A big reason for that is its specialized suspension system that provides precise damping control coupled with a simple, durable design. A 3-inch suspension lift over the standard Colorado, lockable front and rear differentials, and big all-terrain tires give the ZR2 obstacle-clearing talents.

But it also strikes a usable balance between off-road capability and daily comfort. Its ride is not as harsh as some rivals, allowing you to drive it to work during the week and hit the dirt on weekends. With 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, it offers solid towing capability, too. This is the truck for someone who wants serious off-road ability without sacrificing drivability.

2026 Colorado ZR2 starting price: $52,795

GMC Canyon AT4X

The GMC Canyon is a close relative of the Chevy Colorado. The two share mechanical underpinnings, including their powertrains and most fundamental off-road hardware. But the Canyon leans into luxury and comfort more than the Colorado. It also costs a bit more.

Inside, the Canyon looks and feels different. Standard multi-color leather front seats include heating and ventilation functions. And the leather theme continues on the dash and doors with red stitching and other highlights. You also get more standard features such as a premium Bose sound system and a surround-view camera system. Think of the Canyon as the luxury-like off-roader of the group.

2026 Canyon AT4X starting price: $59,395

Ford Ranger Raptor

If the Colorado ZR2 is about precision, the Ford Ranger Raptor is about speed. With electronically controlled suspension dampers, the Raptor is designed for high-speed off-roading on sandy washes and wide-open terrain. The Raptor also gets an engine upgrade over other Rangers thanks to a turbocharged V6 that produces 405 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. Despite its desert-shredding ability, it remains comfortable and surprisingly refined for everyday driving.

That dual personality — fast and fun off-road, calm on-road — makes it an impressively capable pickup. If your idea of off-roading includes covering ground quickly, this Raptor is the truck for you.

2026 Ranger Raptor starting price: $58,965

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon

The Jeep Gladiator Rubicon is different. While the others are trucks first, the Gladiator is related to the iconic Jeep Wrangler, and that shows in how it performs off-road. Features like front and rear locking differentials and a disconnecting front stabilizer bar help the truck crawl over obstacles that would challenge most pickups. For now, the Gladiator is only available with a 285-horsepower V6, but rumors suggest Jeep will introduce a V8-powered Gladiator soon.

The Gladiator also offers something none of the others do — an open-air driving experience. You can remove the doors and roof, which makes the experience much more immersive. The trade-off is less on-road refinement. It’s not as smooth or quiet as the others, but that’s part of its character. If you prioritize trail capability above all else, the Gladiator Rubicon can’t be beat.

2026 Gladiator Rubicon starting price: $54,515

Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

The Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro has long been a go-to choice for off-road buyers, and today’s Tacoma pushes that reputation even further. Its standard hybrid powertrain delivers 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. It also features a specialized suspension and shock-absorbing front seats that help smooth out rough trails. The Tacoma may be the most well-rounded off-roader here. It doesn’t limit itself to any single off-road category.

Beyond capability, the Tacoma stands out for its usability. It boasts easy-to-use controls, plenty of technology features, and a reputation for reliability that continues to attract buyers. It is, however, the priciest truck in our group.

2026 Tacoma TRD Pro starting price: $66,045

Edmunds says

All five of these trucks are exceptionally capable, but they cater to slightly different buyers. There isn’t a single best option — just the one that best matches how you plan to use it.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. Josh Jacquot is a contributor at Edmunds.

Buzos de la Fuerza Aérea de Estados Unidos “utilizaron un dron submarino operado a distancia para registrar el interior de la embarcación” y recuperaron el cuerpo el martes, informó la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos en un comunicado de prensa.

Otros buzos de la Guardia Costera de Japón inspeccionaron más a fondo el carguero. No encontraron a ningún otro tripulante, indicó la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos.

“Las tripulaciones aéreas de la Guardia Costera continúan buscando a los cinco tripulantes desaparecidos y una balsa salvavidas naranja para 12 personas en las inmediaciones de la Mancomunidad de las Islas Marianas del Norte”, añadió el comunicado.

La tripulación del barco, llamado el Mariana, notificó a la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos el 15 de abril que la embarcación, de 145 pies (44 metros) y registrada en Estados Unidos, perdió el motor de estribor durante el supertifón Sinlaku y necesitaba asistencia. La Guardia Costera indicó que perdió contacto con el barco al día siguiente.

“Nuestros corazones están con las familias de los tripulantes del Mariana y con las comunidades afectadas por este trágico incidente. Seguimos buscando en estrecha coordinación con nuestros socios, utilizando todos los recursos disponibles para apoyar la respuesta en curso”, dijo en un comunicado el comandante Preston Hieb, coordinador de la misión de búsqueda y rescate del Distrito Oceanía de la Guardia Costera.

El fuerte viento dificultó los esfuerzos iniciales de búsqueda, pero finalmente se avistó el barco volcado el sábado a unos 64 kilómetros (40 millas) al noreste de Pagan, una de las islas que conforman las Marianas del Norte, que es un territorio de Estados Unidos.

La Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos informó el lunes que se habían desplegado embarcaciones y buzos y que intentarían usar un dron submarino para registrar el barco volcado. Se avistaron escombros, incluida una balsa salvavidas inflable parcialmente sumergida, a unos 177 kilómetros (110 millas) del barco.

El supertifón Sinlaku azotó las Islas Marianas del Norte, causando daños por el viento e inundaciones.

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

The bunker emerged in the Trump administration's court fight against the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is challenging the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom project in Washington. A federal appeals court last week permitted the president to continue with construction of the project at the site of the former East Wing, which was demolished last fall.

That ruling put on hold a lower-court judge's order blocking aboveground construction but exempted work to ensure the safety and security of the White House. The Republican administration’s appeal cited materials that would be installed to make a “heavily fortified” facility, including adding bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom.

The bunker’s role in presidential history

The history of a bunker beneath the East Wing dates to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, when an underground bomb shelter was installed in 1942 after the United States had entered World War II. Beyond that, detail is obscured by secrecy resulting from concerns about presidential safety.

Garrett Graff, a historian and national security author, said the Presidential Emergency Operations Center beneath the East Wing was always intended to be for short-term use.

“The whole point of the sort of presidential evacuation and continuity of the presidency is you want to get the president out of the place where everyone knows that he is and get him into a place where people don’t know where he is,” Graff said.

High-profile flights to an underground bunker at the White House include Vice President Dick Cheney being taken there because of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

A Secret Service agent burst into the West Wing room, grabbed Cheney by the belt and shoulder and led him to a bunker underneath the White House. “He didn’t say, ‘Shall we go?’” Cheney told NBC News years later. “He wasn’t polite about it.”

More recently, Trump was rushed to a White House bunker in 2020 amid protests stemming from the death of George Floyd. At the time, there were chants from protesters at Lafayette Park that could be heard in the building, and Secret Service and law enforcement officers struggled to control the crowds.

Why a ballroom matters to a bunker

Matthew Quinn, deputy director of the Secret Service, wrote in court filings that it's important for the ballroom project to go forward for security at the White House.

“An above-ground slab and topping structure is needed to ensure that key underground structures with a security purpose are properly protected and strengthened,” Quinn wrote.

He added: “Leaving the project site unfinished imperils the ability of the Secret Service to meet its statutory mission to protect the President.”

Trump last month offered a list of what’s being done to enhance security while the ballroom is built.

“The roof is droneproof. We have secure air-handling systems. You know, bad things happen in the air if you have bad people,” the president said. “We have biodefense all over. We have secure telecommunications and communications all over. We have bomb shelters that we’re building. We have a hospital and very major medical facilities that we’re building.”

The president took to social media to criticize the lower-court ruling and said the underground portion wouldn’t work without the aboveground facility as well.

What's next in the legal battle over the ballroom

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has argued that Trump overstepped his authority by moving forward with the project without getting approval from key federal agencies and Congress.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled in favor of the nonprofit group at the end of March but put his decision on hold briefly while allowing underground work to continue. The administration appealed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has a hearing for June 5 to review the case.

Taxpayer dollars will pay for the security aspects of the project, though Trump has said the ballroom costs will be covered by donations from wealthy people and corporations. He's said it's a long-overdue addition to the White House complex.

“The underground portion is wedded to, and serves, the upper portion,” the president said in a social media post.

What that means in practice is unclear and hinges in part on the outcome of litigation.

U.S. Air Force divers used an underwater drone on Tuesday to search inside the overturned ship, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release. Divers from Japan's coast guard further examined the ship, called the Mariana, but didn't find any of the other five, it said.

“Coast Guard aircrews continue to search for the five missing crewmen and an orange 12-person life raft in the vicinity of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” the news release said.

The National Weather Service said Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the strongest tropical cyclone this year, was packing sustained winds of up to 150 mph (241 kph) when it made landfall on the Northern Mariana Islands, which, like Guam to the south, are a U.S. territory.

The Coast Guard and partnering agencies from Guam, Japan and New Zealand have covered more than 99,000 square miles (256,000 square kilometers) in their search for the crew, the guard said this week. That's an area roughly the size of Oregon.

The ship notified the U.S. Coast Guard on April 15 that the U.S.-registered vessel lost its starboard engine during the typhoon and needed assistance. The guard said it lost contact with the ship the next day.

“Our hearts are with the families of the Mariana crew members and the communities impacted by this tragic incident,” Cmdr. Preston Hieb, the search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard Oceania District, said in the statement.

Heavy wind hindered initial search efforts, but the overturned ship was eventually spotted Saturday about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Pagan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that debris including a partially submerged inflatable life raft was spotted about 110 miles (177 kilometers) from the ship.

While specific safety requirements for the 145-foot (44-meter) ship were not known, federal and international codes call for cargo ships to have life rafts stocked with food and water. The rafts have to be able to withstand exposure for 30 days, according to a code put out by the International Maritime Organization.

Sinlaku battered the Northern Mariana Islands, causing wind damage and flooding. Island ports reopened to commercial traffic this week, and the Coast Guard delivered pallets of water and supplies to areas that had been cut off.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russia struck a residential building, killing a woman and a child, Russian officials said Wednesday.

Kyiv has asked Turkey to help facilitate top-level talks and has reached out to other capitals as potential hosts, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that Ukraine would consider any venue outside Russia and Belarus.

“We are … advocating for a (summit) meeting now to bring new momentum to diplomacy,” Sybiha told reporters on Tuesday. His remarks were embargoed until Wednesday.

U.S.-mediated talks over the past year between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv have made little or no headway on key issues, such as the future of four Ukrainian regions Moscow is trying to capture but doesn’t fully control. With Washington’s attention now gripped by the Iran war, the talks are on ice.

Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Putin has refused. Putin thinks that time is on his side, that Western military and financial support will fade and that Ukraine’s resistance will eventually collapse, analysts say.

Meanwhile, a grim war of attrition continues along the about 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line that snakes along eastern and southern areas of Ukraine. Western officials and analysts claim Russia is suffering several tens of thousands of battlefield casualties each month, drawing comparisons to the carnage of World War I.

Independent verification of battlefield casualties and which side has the upper hand is not possible.

Ukraine has developed a domestic arms industry which is increasingly producing long-range drones and missiles capable of striking deep inside Russia. It has taken aim at Russia’s oil production and manufacturing plants that supply the Russian military.

In Syzran, a city in Russia’s Samara region that is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the border with Ukraine, a drone attack caused the collapse of a section of a residential building, local authorities said.

The bodies of a woman and a child were pulled out from under the rubble and 12 others were injured, local officials said.

Images from the scene showed a part of a four-story building reduced to a massive pile of rubble, with emergency workers on top of it.

Russian media reports said a Rosneft oil refinery — a frequent target of Ukrainian drone attacks — is located on the same street as the damaged building.

Ukraine’s aerial attacks on Russia increased by nearly four times last year, from 6,200 in 2024 to more than 23,000 in 2025, Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said last month.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

The operator of the Druzhba pipeline in Ukraine, Ukrtransnaft, told the two countries that Russian oil was on its way and should arrive early on Thursday. Unlike most of the rest of the EU, Hungary and Slovakia still depend on Russia for their energy needs.

EU envoys, meanwhile, launched a political procedure to endorse the loan. National governments have 24 hours to raise objections in writing, and if none of the 27 member nations do, the loan could be approved by Thursday afternoon, just as EU leaders are gathering for a summit in Cyprus.

A new raft of sanctions against Russia could also be approved on Thursday.

Money runs short in Ukraine

Ukraine desperately needs the 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan package, originally agreed in December, to prop up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay for the next two years.

Hungary has insisted that it must start receiving the oil again before it will unblock the funds, while Slovakia refused to endorse new sanctions.

For months, the two countries have accused Ukraine of failing to repair the pipeline. Ukraine and most of its European backers oppose imports of Russian oil which have helped to fund President Vladimir Putin’s war, now in its fifth year.

In a post on social media on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “Ukraine is fulfilling its obligations” and that “we expect that the European side will also deliver.”

He welcomed movement on the loan, saying that “the unblocking is the right signal under the current circumstances. Russia must end its war. And the incentives for that can arise only when both support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia are sufficient.”

Cautious optimism after months of delay

The 27-nation EU had originally intended to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for the loan. But that option was blocked by Belgium, where the bulk of the frozen assets are held.

In December, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia agreed not to stop their EU partners from borrowing the money on international markets as long as the three countries did not have to take part in the scheme.

But Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has repeatedly blocked EU aid to Ukraine, angered the other 24 countries by later reneging on that deal over the pipeline dispute and as campaigning heated up ahead of an April 12 election that he lost in a landslide.

New sanctions on Russia

The EU has also been trying since February to push through a new raft of sanctions against Russia, which Hungary and Slovakia have blocked. The EU envoys also set in train a procedure to have them approved on Thursday.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico repeated on Wednesday that his government would not approve the new EU measures “unless the Druzhba oil pipeline is really reopened.” Fico said that “trust between Slovakia and Ukraine has been badly damaged” by the dispute.

But Economy Minister Denisa Saková confirmed that Slovakia expects oil supplies to resume early on Thursday. Saková said Ukrtransnaft had informed the government that oil began entering the Druzhba pipeline again on Wednesday.

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Associated Press journalists Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

The pathways are located nearly 9,700 kilometers (6,000 miles) apart but share a notable feature: they were designed for visitors to use without wearing socks or shoes.

Barefoot trails exist around the world, inviting people to get closer to nature through sounds and sensations. Feeling cool mud squish between toes, stepping on pine needles and exploring meditation caves, scent stations and dark rooms transform a routine walk into an immersive experience.

Walking shoeless on varied surfaces also may contribute to emotional well-being and overall foot health, according to podiatrists and barefoot enthusiasts.

Below, more about where and why some people are bringing themselves down to earth one step at a time.

Barefoot trails as an environmental and health movement

Theories about the benefits of going barefoot have gained popularity among runners and other athletes in recent decades, as well as with environmentalists and as an alternative mental health treatment, but the idea has been around for well over a century.

Sebastian Kneipp, a 19th century German Catholic priest and early pioneer of naturopathy, promoted nature exposure, water therapy and barefoot walking as exercise and a way to stimulate circulation and support overall health, including immune function. He recommended walking barefoot over “dew-wet grass” or snow and is said to have called shoes “foot-bending machinery.”

His philosophy inspired trails and paths across Europe, where they are sometimes known as Kneipp paths, and to a lesser extent in the United States. In Asia, reflexology trails made of stones, pebbles and grass are intended to stimulate acupressure points on the soles of the feet, a concept linked to traditional medical therapies.

Germany's Park mit allen Sinnen, which in English translates to “park with all senses,” reflects a broader focus on wellness tourism in the Black Forest, which covers more than 6,000 square kilometers (2,317 square miles) and where visitors can breath mountain air, soak in thermal baths and visit spas offering treatments that incorporate local plants and herbs.

The park charges an admission fee. Its website says that meandering barefoot over the 2 kilometer-long (1-mile-long) trail's different surfaces "is ideal for exercising your back and spine, and at the same time, it’s a perfect foot reflexology massage in the fresh air.”

Leah Williams, the owner of The Barefoot Trail park near Flagstaff, Arizona, opened a manicured trail of the same length near Route 66 two years ago after a family trip in Europe. Tickets are required, though Williams operates the park as a nonprofit charitable foundation.

Williams said her mother, who is from Germany, encouraged her to go barefoot as a child climbing trees and playing in the forests and creeks around Seattle — a practice Williams carried into adulthood and passed on to her own children. While living in the Netherlands, her family visited a barefoot trail in Belgium.

“I loved everything about it. I saw all ages, and I loved seeing older people at the park because you don’t see that here in the United States," Williams said. "I thought, ‘Wow, when I get back to the United States, I’m going to build one of these parks myself.'”

She offers educational materials for schools, summer programs and camps to children who visit the park.

“Being good stewards of nature is really our job as human beings, and we have taken 13 acres (5 hectares) of land at our park for our community enjoyment, ... for local, statewide and regional enjoyment,” Williams said, her eyes moist with emotion.

A sensory experience

Most people don't walk outside barefoot regularly, and exposing their tender feet to different textures, temperatures and types of contact can take getting used to.

“You should see people’s faces when they start walking,” Williams said, chuckling at the thought.

While many parks with barefoot trails encourage users to walk the paths sans shoes, naked feet are not required. Guests with neuropathy, diabetes or other foot conditions are welcome to keep their shoes on at the parks in Arizona and Germany.

Some barefoot trails are designed to engage multiple senses.

At Park mit allen Sinnen, a sign that reads “Please be quiet” in German identifies a spot described as a meditation cave. Inside, a long bench faces tall windows overlooking the forest, and soft music plays through hidden speakers.

Elsewhere at the park, visitors can squeeze red bulbs to release the scent of papaya or apricots, or place their hands inside a box filled with wild boar fur.

Ditching the shoes step by step around the world

Austria, Denmark, France, Hungary, Switzerland and the U.K. are among other European countries with barefoot trails. Some are meant for local residents and not tourists, so finding them can prove difficult. Searching the terms “barefoot” or “barefoot paths” in the local language might help.

In Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, some public parks have pebble trails, which are walkways with smooth stones cemented into place that can be used for reflexology and foot massage.

Similarly, there are so-called wellness parks and informal barefoot hikes on regular trails in the United States. But because of how rare they are in the U.S., Williams plans to expand the The Barefoot Trail concept elsewhere.

The foundation recently received about 8 hectares (20 acres) of land in a commercial and residential area of college town Lawrence, Kansas, to develop a park similar to the one she opened in Arizona.

“The park will be one of the components of a larger commercial space being developed,” Williams said. “It’s about integrating those natural environments into people’s daily lives and providing those safe spaces for people to enjoy.”

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Mumphrey reported from Flagstaff, Arizona.

Researchers have spent decades developing potatoes for chip makers that can grow in all kinds of climates, avoid diseases and pests, sit in storage for months and still deliver a satisfying crunch. They've also kept an eye on consumer trends; a shift to snack-size portions has increased the demand for smaller chipping potatoes, for example.

“The potato industry is dynamic," said David Douches, a Michigan State University professor who leads the school’s Potato Breeding and Genetics Program. “The needs change, the costs, the pressures that they have, and the markets change. So we have to adapt to that with our varieties.”

Douches has developed five new potato varieties for chips in the the last 15 years. His latest breakthrough is a bioengineered potato that can maintain a proper sugar balance when stored at colder temperatures, which can help keep potatoes from rotting. He is currently growing seeds for commercial testing of the potato, which is not yet on the market.

Douches' work helps fight world hunger; he has developed disease-resistant varieties for farmers in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Bangladesh. But he's also helping U.S. chip makers, grateful snackers and Michigan's $2.5 billion potato industry. While Idaho leads the U.S. in potato production, Michigan is the top producer of potatoes for chips.

There are around 50 unique potato varieties grown for chips in the U.S. right now, according to the National Chip Program, a cooperative that brings together Michigan State and 11 other university breeding programs with growers, companies that make chips, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Efforts to improve those varieties are constant. The National Chip Program evaluates around 225 new potato varieties each year and selects 100 for further trials, said Tim Rendall, the director of production research at Potatoes USA, a trade group that oversees the chip program.

The close partnership between researchers, farmers and potato chip companies is unusual in the food industry, said Phil Gusmano, the vice president of purchasing at Better Made Snack Foods, which has produced potato chips in Detroit since 1930. Better Made worked closely with Douches when he was developing two of the varieties the company uses now, Gusmano said.

“We were able talk about size profile and different needs that make a really good chip,” Gusmano said. “And the great thing is, they’re willing to listen to what we have to say, because if they put together a potato that doesn’t really meet the needs for the end processor, it doesn’t do them any good.”

Breeding a new type of potato can take up to 15 years, Douches said. The simple potato has a surprisingly complicated genetic structure, with four chromosomes in each cell compared to two in most species, including humans. That makes it harder to predict which traits that cross-bred plants will inherit, he said.

“We’re never able to fix a trait and carry that over to the next generation, so it’s very difficult to find a potato that has all the traits that we want,” Douches said.

Douches became fascinated with potato breeding and genetics while in graduate school. At Michigan State, he focuses on chipping potatoes, since Michigan is a leading producer. Around 70% of the state’s potato crop is destined for chip processing, according to the Michigan Ag Council. The trade group estimates that one of every four bags of potato chips produced in the U.S. contains Michigan potatoes.

Breeding potatoes that can sit in storage for nearly a year has been one of the biggest challenges in Douches' 40-year career. Historically, farmers harvested potatoes and then stored them in huge piles at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Temperatures any colder cause sugar levels to rise in the root vegetables, and higher sugar content leads to darker potato chips. But warmer storage conditions can lead to rot.

“You think they’re just these inanimate objects, but they actually are respiring and breathing,” Douches said. “When you do that to them, you’ve got, like, a two- to three-day window where they’re happy.”

His Manistee variety, which was released in 2013, can be safely stored until July at 45 F (7.2 C) degrees. His new bioengineered potato can be stored at 40 F (4.4 C).

Gusmano said Better Made used to source potatoes from outside of Michigan for half the year because the Michigan potatoes it harvested in the fall only could be stored until February. The company now uses newer varieties, like Douches' Mackinaw potato, which can be stored until July and is resistant to several common diseases.

“We’re not shipping potatoes from all over the country to be fried here in Michigan,” Gusmano said. “Instead, they’re being shipped from an hour and a half away all year long.”

The annual consumer price inflation rate increased to a three-month high of 3.3%, from 3% the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics. The rise was in line with market expectations.

The main reason behind the inflation spike was higher motor fuel, which increased by a monthly 8.7% — the largest increase since June 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Airfares and food prices, both related to the spike in energy prices, were also higher.

Treasury chief Rachel Reeves, whose hopes over the cost-of-living have been blown off course by the crisis in the Middle East, said this is “not our war, but it is pushing up bills for families and businesses” as a result.

The economic fallout has put paid to any expectations that the Bank of England would cut borrowing costs. Prior to the start of the war on Feb. 28, there had been an expectation in financial markets that the bank would cut its main interest rate from 3.75% given that inflation was predicted to fall back toward its 2% target during the spring.

Inflation is set to rise further in coming months, possibly to 4%, as higher energy prices impact household bills. No economist at present thinks inflation will get anywhere near the four-decade highs above 11% in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, partly because oil and gas prices have not spiked as much and partly because interest rates are higher.

But Bank of England policymakers will be keeping a beady eye on whether the evident inflation spike starts to spread through the economy, via higher wages for example. For now, economists think the bank will keep interest rates on hold at the next policy meeting on April 30.

Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at asset management firm Aberdeen, said that it will be “hard” to see workers and firms being able to push through higher wages and prices, given the relative weakness of both the labor market and the British economy.

“That should ultimately limit the size and extent of the coming inflation shock,” he said. “For now though, the Bank of England is likely to remain in wait-and-see mode, keeping policy on hold next week and maintaining maximum optionality about whether interest rates ultimately end up increasing or decreasing later this year.”

How inflation develops will depend on what happens in the war and the crucial waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed to oil tanker traffic since the onset of hostilities, stoking fears over oil and gas supplies in many parts of the world.

A resolution sooner rather than later will limit the long-term impact. With the current ceasefire seemingly uncertain, financial markets remain on edge and energy prices will stay volatile. Over the past couple of weeks, oil prices have oscillated between the $90-$100 a barrel range, having gone even higher during the conflict.

Before the war, oil prices were pretty stable around $60 a barrel.

Leo’s visit to the prison in the Central African port city of Bata followed in the tradition of Pope Francis, who frequently met with inmates on his foreign visits to give them a message of hope.

But Leo’s stop, at the end of his four-nation African tour, took on added significance after it emerged that Equatorial Guinea was one of several African nations that have been paid millions of dollars in controversial deals with the Trump administration to receive migrants deported from the U.S. to countries other than their own.

While none of those migrants are being held at Bata, the visit put the spotlight on Equatorial Guinea’s overall human rights record and its judiciary, which rights campaigners have criticized for its lack of independence, arbitrary detentions and other abuses.

“You are not alone. Your families love you and are waiting for you. Many people outside these walls are praying for you,” Leo told the inmates in Spanish. “If any of you fear being abandoned by everyone, know that God will never abandon you, and that the Church will stand by your side.”

The inmates, all dressed in new neon orange and beige uniforms, had gathered in a central courtyard of the prison, which appeared to have been recently painted salmon pink.

In his remarks, Leo also reminded authorities that justice is meant to protect society, but that incarceration is not meant to be punishment alone.

“To be effective, it must always promote the dignity and potential of every person,” he said. “True justice seeks not so much to punish as to help rebuild the lives of victims, offenders and communities wounded by evil.”

'Greater room for freedom'

Leo began the day with Mass in Mongomo, an eastern city on the border with Gabon that has experienced major development since Equatorial Guinea’s oil boom in the 1990s.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism in his four-decade rule, comes from Mongomo and the city has benefited from government investment and infrastructure, even though no official institutions are located here.

While more than half of Equatorial Guinea’s population lives in poverty, Mongomo boasts opulent buildings, curated gardens behind gilt-tipped gates, an 18-hole golf course and is the starting point of the lone highway in the country, linking the city to Bata on the west coast.

Obiang and his wife were on hand for Leo’s Mass, as was their son, Teodoro “Teddy” Nguema Obiang, the country’s vice president who was convicted of embezzling millions of euros by a French court, which handed him a three-year suspended sentence, a 30 million euro ($35.2 million) fine and ordered the seizure of his luxury homes and cars in France worth tens of millions of euros. The country has protested the seizures at the International Court of Justice.

Last year, the United States gave the younger Obiang a temporary waiver on U.S. corruption sanctions so he could travel to a U.N. gathering and visit other American cities. Obiang also met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

The Vatican said an estimated 100,000 people attended the Mass, most standing in the grand entryway to Mongomo’s Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The monumental church was consecrated in 2011 and is modeled on St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Before Mass, Leo greeted the crowd and the presidential family. With the Obiangs by his side, he blessed the cornerstone of a future cathedral to be built in the country’s new capital, Ciudad de la Paz, or City of Peace.

In his homily, Leo urged all citizens to work together to build a society “capable of engendering a new sense of justice,” where there is “greater room for freedom” and where “the dignity of the human person always may be safeguarded.”

He urged everyone, according to their roles, to work to “serve the common good rather than private interests, bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged.”

“My thoughts go to the poorest, to families experiencing difficulty and to prisoners who are often forced to live in troubling hygienic and sanitary conditions,” he said.

‘Troubling disregard for human life’

Equatorial Guinea’s prisons and justice system have been repeatedly faulted by the United Nations and condemned by human rights groups and the U.S. State Department.

In its 2023 report on the country, the U.S. listed a host of abuses, including arbitrary or unlawful killings and arrests, political detentions, torture, life-threatening prison conditions and “serious problems” with the judiciary’s independence.

The government has denied rights abuses.

On the eve of his prison visit, 70 human rights organizations published an open letter to Leo, urging him to speak out especially about the U.S. deportation of migrants here and encourage African nations to not be complicit.

“These practices circumvent humanitarian protections, expose refugees to detention and coercion, and subject individuals to refoulement, in direct contravention of international law,” they wrote.

In the run-up to Leo’s arrival, the government released nearly 100 people who had been arrested in a 2022 crackdown on street violence, according to a local lawyer, who requested anonymity given the country’s human rights record.

The lawyer termed the releases one “positive outcome” of the visit but also noted that the government still hasn’t taken action on releasing jailed activists and politicians.

EG Justice, a rights group which has repeatedly denounced the detention of political prisoners in Equatorial Guinea, urged Leo to use his moral authority to speak out about abuses and the detention of activists and politicians especially.

“There are individuals — prisoners of conscience, and human rights activists — in detention whose cases raise serious humanitarian and due process concerns,” said Tutu Alicante, a U.S.-based activist who runs the EG Justice group.

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Monika Pronczuk contributed to this report from Malabo.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

And since then, chaos. Road teams figured out how to avoid being pushovers.

Of the six first-round series that have completed two games, only two higher-seeded teams — Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers — have managed to hold serve at home and take 2-0 series leads. Oklahoma City could join the Cavaliers and Lakers in that club if it beats Phoenix in Game 2 of that series on Wednesday.

Otherwise, that home-court advantage teams spent 82 games of regular-season basketball trying to obtain? It's already gone, meaning a whole bunch of Game 3s are coming up later this week with lower-seeded teams feeling pretty good about their chances at springing an upset.

— East No. 8 Orlando beat No. 1 Detroit in Game 1 of their series on Sunday. The Pistons will try to salvage a split when the series resumes Wednesday.

— East No. 6 Atlanta beat No. 3 New York on Monday, while West No. 6 Minnesota beat No. 3 Denver later that night.

— And on Tuesday, East No. 7 Philadelphia beat No. 2 Boston, and West No. 7 Portland beat No. 2 San Antonio in a game in which the Spurs saw Victor Wembanyama depart with a concussion in the first half.

Cleveland is up 2-0 on Toronto, while the Lakers are up 2-0 on Houston.

“It's the playoffs,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said after his team — which beat the 76ers by 32 points in Game 1 — lost by 14 points in Game 2. “They've got ballplayers over there and they came to play. On any given night, you can lose a game if you don't come out with the right mindset.”

Road teams getting wins isn't uncommon. It's been a trend in recent years.

Over the last six postseasons, not counting the 2020 playoffs held inside the bubble at Walt Disney World because of the pandemic, home teams have won only 58% of playoff games — a steep dip from what used to be the norm. In the 15 seasons before that, home teams won playoff games at a 69% rate.

“Whatever story you told yourself during the regular season, that story is done,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “And now it’s the playoffs, so it's an entirely new season.”

It's not like the Pistons, Celtics, Spurs — with or without Wembanyama — or Nuggets will be intimidated by the notion of now having to win at least one road game if they're going to eventually prevail in these opening-round series. They all made road wins look routine this season.

Oklahoma City had the best road record in the NBA. The next four winningest road teams, in order, were San Antonio, Detroit, Denver and Boston.

“You have to just keep your temperament where it's at, understand these games ebb and flow," Denver coach David Adelman said after the Game 2 loss to Minnesota. “And we can play better. We know that.”

And Houston's 30 home wins tied for the fourth-most in the league, so the Lakers — even after they were one of the clubs defend home floor and take a 2-0 lead — know their matchup with the Rockets is far from over.

“It's the postseason. So, it's the first to four," Lakers forward LeBron James said. “It's never the first to one. It's never the first to two. Our whole mindset now is focused on Game 3. We know we're going into a hostile environment. Guys tend to play better at home than they do on the road, so we have to be ready for that.”

In the current playoff format, higher-seeded teams win conference quarterfinals series 77.4% of the time, and that goes up to 92.5% of the time when those higher-seeded clubs start with 2-0 series leads. The road warriors so far — Orlando, Atlanta, Minnesota, Portland and Philadelphia — have at least put a good-sized dent in those odds.

That said, they all know there's a ton of basketball left to be played.

“It's 1-1. Who cares?” 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said. “Now we've got to go home and try to protect home court.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Pakistan had planned to host a second round of talks, but the White House suspended Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad as Iran rebuffed efforts to restart negotiations. Iran acknowledged the ceasefire extension but didn't say Tehran was ready to attend a new round of talks to end the war, state television reported Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Iran’s semiofficial news agencies are reporting that the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has attacked a third ship on Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, throwing into question efforts to end the war. Nour News, Fars and Mehr all reported the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria. They said the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, without elaborating. The Guard has seized the other two ships that were attacked, Iranian state television separately reported.

Here is the latest:

Firm says over 10M barrels of Iranian oil left Persian Gulf since US blockade of Iran’s ports

An analytics firm focusing on global energy and freight markets says it recorded 34 movements of sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf in the week after the U.S. imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The firm, Vortexa, says it identified 19 outbound and 15 inbound movements of such vessels between April 13 and Monday.

Six of those outbound movements were “confirmed laden with Iranian crude, representing about 10.7 million barrels,” it said in an email to The Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear whether all those barrels reached markets overseas.

Lebanese journalist missing after Israeli strike on southern Lebanon

Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, called on the international community on Wednesday to immediately pressure the Israeli army into allowing the rescue of journalist Amal Khalil, who works for the daily Al-Akhbar.

RSF added that Khalil is currently trapped near the southern Lebanese village of al-Tiri following an Israeli airstrike close to her vehicle.

“Her life is in danger right now! Continued Israeli airstrikes are preventing rescuers from reaching her,” RSF said.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun called on the Lebanese Red Cross to work on the rescue of Khalil, along with another journalist, Zeinab Faraj, who was with her.

Aoun requested the Lebanese Red Cross to coordinate with the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers “to carry out the rescue operation in the shortest possible time.”

Crew of a ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz is safe, management company says

The management company of a container ship that was fired upon in the Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday says the Liberian-registered Epaminondas was “approached and fired upon by a manned gunboat” while transiting the strait about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Oman.

The Technomar company said all crew were “safe and accounted for” and no injuries were reported, but that preliminary inspections indicated the ship’s bridge had been damaged.

“Technomar remains in close contact with the crew and relevant authorities. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our crew as we work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure their continued safety and investigate the incident,” the company said. It did not provide further details, but said more information would be released “when there are material developments.”

Iranians have long sought work and relative stability in Turkey. The war could force some to return

Sadri Haghshenas spends her days selling borek — a layered, savory pastry — at a shop in Istanbul, but her mind is on her daughter in Tehran.

The family had to send her home to Iran after they ran into difficulties renewing her visa, despite fears that a shaky ceasefire could soon collapse.

For years, short-term residency permits have allowed tens of thousands of Iranians to pursue economic opportunities and enjoy relative stability in neighboring Turkey. But it’s a precarious situation, and the war has raised the stakes.

“I swear, I cry every day,” Haghshenas said, raising her hands from behind the counter of the pastry shop. “There is no life in my country, there is no life here, what shall I do?”

Turkey hasn't seen an influx of refugees, as most Iranians have sought safety within their country. Many who've crossed the land border were transiting to other countries where they have citizenship or residency.

▶ Read more

Israeli strike kills two people in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire

The strike targeted a vehicle in the town of Tayri on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

No further details on the identities of the victims were immediately available.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

The strike comes despite a 10-day ceasefire that went into effect Friday. Since then, several Israeli strikes have been reported, while Hezbollah has claimed a couple of attacks since Tuesday.

A second French soldier has died after an attack on peacekeepers in Lebanon

On Saturday, a U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon came under attack with small arms fire leaving one French peacekeeper dead and three others wounded, two of them seriously.

French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X that a wounded soldier, who was repatriated Tuesday from Lebanon “where he had been seriously wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning from his injuries.”

Hezbollah had denied is was behind the attack.

Iran says it has yet to decide whether to join a new round of talks with the US

“We entered the negotiations in good faith and with seriousness, but the negotiating party (the United States) has shown disregard and lack of good faith,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, said Wednesday, according to Iran’s State TV.

A second round of negotiations, expected in Pakistan’s capital later this week, has not yet been confirmed. On Tuesday, President Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, leaving the next steps for resuming talks unclear.

“Iran has not yet decided whether it will participate in the new round of peace negotiations with the United States scheduled for later this week,” Baqaei said.

US stocks climb, but so do oil prices with uncertainty rising about the war with Iran

GE Vernova, Boston Scientific and Boeing are leading the U.S. stock market toward another record after joining the list of companies reporting fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected.

But caution is still hanging over Wall Street on Wednesday, and oil prices are also rising on uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and was on track to top its all-time high set Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 360 points and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil briefly topped $100.

▶ Read more

Energy agency head says energy crisis will trigger major response by governments and industry

Talking about the repercussions of the Iran war, the head of the International Energy Agency said Wednesday that “we are facing the biggest energy crisis in the history.”

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin that what ”we lost in the this war is much bigger than all the crises put together in terms of oil and gas. Plus, plus, there are vital commodities that we are losing — petrochemicals, fertilizers, helium, sulfur.”

However, Birol also pointed out that “there will be a major response to this crisis as well” and that “it is now the job of the governments to design their energy policies in terms of industrial sector, while keeping the competitiveness of the existing industries, preparing the next steps for the tomorrow’s industries.”

He said he also expects that “there will be a similar response in all parts of the economy, car manufacturing industry, electric industry and in the industry sector.”

“And this is a wonderful opportunity,” he added.

Dozens of Israeli civilians attempt to enter Syria

The Israeli military said it intercepted around 40 Israeli civilians that attempted to enter Syria on Wednesday afternoon. The military said the civilians gathered at the border and then were able to infiltrate several hundred meters into the Israeli-military controlled buffer zone in Syria before being returned to Israel and taken into police custody.

The Israeli media identified the infiltrators as part of the right-wing group “Pioneers of Bashan,” which calls for establishing Jewish settlements in Lebanon and Syria.

Hezbollah says it fired a drone at Israeli post in southern Lebanon

The group added in a statement that its attack on the post in the southern village of Bayada on Wednesday came in retaliation for Israeli violations of the 10-day ceasefire that went into effect Friday.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah is violating the ceasefire adding that the Iran-backed group launched “a hostile aircraft” toward Israeli soldiers operating in the area of southern Lebanon.

The military said the aircraft was intercepted by Israel’s air force and did not cross into Israel.

The Iran war could drive up costs for petroleum-derived products like clothes and crayons

It might be hard to imagine the Iran war weighing on stuffed toys with names like Snuggle Glove, Bizzikins and Wobblies, but even plush playthings aren’t immune when oil shipments from the Middle East are constrained.

Like many soft toys, the creatures developed by a manufacturer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are made with polyester and acrylic, synthetic fibers derived from petroleum. Three weeks after the war started, suppliers in China notified Aleni Brands that getting the materials already was costing them 10% to 15% more, CEO Ricardo Venegas said.

“I think this situation demonstrates how much oil permeates throughout our system, and we can’t get away from it,” said Venegas, who founded Aleni Brands last year and is in the process of adding product lines. “Who would have thought that the price of a toy would have a direct relationship with oil?”

It’s not just toys. Petrochemicals derived from oil and natural gas go into making more than 6,000 consumer products, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

▶ Read more

Lebanon’s president says contacts ongoing to extend ceasefire

President Joseph Aoun’s comments on Wednesday came a day before a second meeting is scheduled to take place in Washington between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors.

Aoun said in comments released by his office that preparations are ongoing for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.

He said the aim of the future talks is to “fully” stop Israeli attacks, withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, release of Lebanese prisoners in Israel, deployment of Lebanese troops along the border and beginning the reconstruction process.

Aoun said the support to Lebanon that was promised by U.S. President Donald Trump and other countries “provided us with an opportunity that we must not miss, as it may not come again.”

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war was halted by a 10-day ceasefire that went into effect Friday.

Iranian news agency suggests undersea cables vulnerable in Strait of Hormuz

A semiofficial news agency close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard again raised the idea Wednesday that Gulf Arab states remained vulnerable to having their undersea data cables being cut in the Strait of Hormuz.

The report by the Tasnim news agency suggested that “simultaneous damage to several major cables — whether through accidents or deliberate action — could trigger severe outages across the Persian Gulf.”

Multiple cables run through the strait. Already, the region has faced outages after undersea cables were cut multiple times in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels had threatened cables in the past.

Iranians waited tensely overnight to learn if ceasefire would continue

With uncertainty over whether the ceasefire lasts, residents of Tehran say they are anxious about what comes next.

“Last night my family all stayed awake, waiting for the clock to show 3:30 a.m. and see who really has the upper hand,” said Reza Tehrani, a 34-year-old resident of Tehran.

Tehrani said Trump is making a series of false claims, including that Iran will give up its enriched uranium. “It’s obvious that he will eventually take his warships back and nothing will happen. We will win, rest assured,” he said.

One resident voiced frustration with the uncertainty.

“We should know where we stand. Is it going to be a ceasefire, peace or the war is going to continue?” said Tehran resident Mashallah Mohammad Sadegh, 59. “The way things currently are, one doesn’t know what to do.”

EU energy chief warns war could hit prices for years to come

The European Union’s top energy official is warning that the massive energy crisis sparked by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is set to hit prices for months, even years, to come.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said Wednesday that “this is not a short-term, small increase in prices. This is a crisis that is probably as serious as the 1973 and the 2022 crises combined.”

Jørgensen says the war is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($600 million) each day and that “we are looking into some very difficult months, or maybe even years” ahead. “Even in a best-case scenario, it’s still bad,” he told reporters.

Iran acknowledges ceasefire extension

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei acknowledged the ceasefire extension in comments reported Wednesday by Iranian state television.

Baghaei did not specifically say Tehran was ready to attend a new round of talks with the United States in Islamabad.

“Diplomacy is a tool for securing national interests and security, and whenever we reach the conclusion that the necessary and reasonable conditions exist to use this tool to achieve national interests and to consolidate the achievements of the Iranian nation in thwarting the enemies’ malicious objectives, we will take action,” he reportedly said.

2 of 8 Iranian women whose release Donald Trump called for are already out on bail, rights center says

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said an emergency doctor, Golnar Naraqi, and an Iranian citizen of the Bahai faith, Venus Hossein Nejad, have been out on bail since late March.

The two women were arrested separately during the January anti-government protests. The protests across Iran were met with a bloody crackdown that left thousands killed and arrested.

In a social media post Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump reposted a photo of six women and two teen girls that a conservative activist said are facing prosecution by the Iranian government.

Iran’s judiciary swiftly responded, saying some of the women have already been released without naming them. It said none of them face the death sentence. Internet restrictions have limited the flow of information out of Iran.

Rights groups say at least two of the other women still in detention are facing charges that carry the death sentence. There have been multiple executions during the war against alleged spies and protesters, mostly accused of links to Israel.

Revolutionary Guard attacks a third ship in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has attacked a third ship Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.

Nour News, Fars and Mehr all reported the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria. They said the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, without elaborating.

The Guard has seized the other two ships that were attacked, Iranian state television separately reported.

Iranian state TV says 2 vessels attacked by Revolutionary Guard are in the force’s custody

Two ships earlier attacked Wednesday by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard now are in the force’s custody and are being taken to Iran, Iranian state television reported.

It identified the vessels as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas. The ship’s owners could not be immediately reached for comment.

The seizures represent an Iranian escalation after the U.S. earlier seized two Iranian vessels as ceasefire talks were due to take place in Islamabad.

The Guard said in a statement the ships “allegedly operated without authorization, repeatedly violated regulations, manipulated navigational aid systems and sought to covertly exit the Strait of Hormuz, endangering maritime security.”

The strait had been considered an international waterway open to all before the war, even though it sits in Iranian and Omani territorial waters.

Israel urges Lebanon to cooperate in order to dismantle Iran-backed Hezbollah

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Lebanon to work with Israel to disarm the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah ahead of negotiations in Washington on Thursday.

The meeting follows a similar gathering last week in Washington, and is the first time in decades the two countries are speaking directly.

“We don’t have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. There are a few minor border disputes that can be solved,” Saar said during Independence Day remarks to Israel’s diplomatic corps.

“The obstacle to peace and normalization between the countries is one: Hezbollah,” he said, adding that Lebanon could have “a future of sovereignty, independence and freedom from the Iranian occupation.”

Israel’s military has currently established a buffer zone stretching around 10 kilometers (6 miles) into southern Lebanon to remove the threat of short-range rockets and anti-tank missiles toward northern Israel.

Pakistani analyst says Trump likely views Iran port blockade as more effective than force

An independent Islamabad-based analyst, Syed Mohammad Ali, says U.S. President Donald Trump has apparently concluded that a blockade of Iranian ports is a more effective way to pressure Iran’s already fragile economy than the continued use of force.

“As far as Trump’s war strategy is concerned, this blockade appears to be less expensive and more effective,” he said Wednesday.

Ali said prospects for a second round of talks between the United States and Iran have not faded, as Pakistan, with support from regional countries, continues efforts to prevent the collapse of negotiations.

He said securing an extension of the ceasefire for an indefinite period from Trump is an achievement for Pakistan.

China says it’s ‘imperative’ to prevent conflict from reigniting

China said after the announcement of an extension of the ceasefire that it is “imperative” to keep the conflict from reigniting.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Wednesday that the current situation in the Middle East is at “a critical stage.” He said China “is ready” to work with the international community to maintain peace, following four principles President Xi Jinping proposed a few days earlier, including peaceful coexistence and adherence to international law.

“It’s imperative to prevent the recurrence of the conflict with utmost efforts,” he said.

Iranian diplomat says country ‘won’t negotiate under threat’

The United States must end its blockade on Iran as a prerequisite for any further ceasefire talks in Islamabad, an Iranian diplomat said Wednesday.

Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, told The Associated Press that communications with Pakistani mediators are underway “to implement Iran’s conditions.”

“We won’t negotiate under threat,” he said. “We won’t go to Islamabad before the lifting of the blockade.”

He accused the U.S. of using the ceasefire to build up more forces for a possible resumption of military action against the Islamic Republic.

“Behind the scenes, they say something, but in public, they say and do something else,” he said.

Pakistan focuses on keeping talks alive

Pakistan’s top political and military leadership has worked to prevent talks from collapsing and to persuade the U.S. to extend the ceasefire over the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday.

Two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press that authorities will keep security arrangements in place in Islamabad in case U.S. and Iranian delegations ultimately arrive.

Pakistan is also still waiting to hear from Tehran on when it will send a delegation for a second round, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

In Islamabad, police and troops remained on alert along key roads, manning checkpoints.

Residents were forced to take longer routes as authorities restricted access to parts of the city.

“We have not received any instructions to remove these barricades,” said police officer Mohammad Aslam as he directed commuters to turn back and use alternative routes.

— By Munir Ahmed

The standoff between the U.S. and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the strait — where 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime — with no end in sight. Iranian media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was bringing the two ships to Iran, marking a further escalation.

The conflict has already sent gas prices skyrocketing far beyond the region and raised the cost of food and a wide array of other products. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, nosed over $100 per barrel, marking a 35% increase from prewar levels, but stock markets still appear to be shrugging it off.

The European Union energy commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, warned of lasting impact for consumers and businesses, likening it to other major energy crises over the last half-century. He said the disruption is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($600 million) each day.

Iran holds firm in apparent tit-for-tat with US

Iranian media said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas were being escorted to Iran. The U.S. had earlier seized two Iranian vessels as the ceasefire talks were due to take place in Pakistan.

Technomar, the management company behind the Liberian-registered Epaminondas, said it was “approached and fired upon by a manned gunboat” off the coast of Oman. It said the ship's bridge had been damaged.

A second cargo ship came under fire hours later, with no report of damage, though the vessel was then stopped in the water. No injuries to the crew of either vessel were reported. The MSC Francesca's owner could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported, without elaborating.

There have been more than 30 attacks on ships in the Mideast since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28 with a surprise attack on Iran. Before then, the strait was open for all traffic.

Vortexa, an analytics firm focusing on global energy and freight markets, said it has recorded 34 movements of sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf in the week after the U.S. imposed its blockade on April 13.

The firm identified 19 outbound and 15 inbound movements. Six of the outbound movements were “confirmed laden with Iranian crude, representing about 10.7 million barrels,” it said in an email.

It was not immediately clear whether all those barrels reached markets overseas.

It's not clear when talks will restart

Iran’s ability to restrict traffic through the strait — which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean — has proved a major strategic advantage.

While the ceasefire means that American and Israeli airstrikes have stopped in Iran — and Tehran’s missiles no longer target Israel and the wider Middle East — the maritime standoff continues and could escalate further.

Without any diplomatic agreement, the attacks will likely deter ships from even attempting to pass through the waterway, further squeezing global energy supplies.

The night before, hard-line supporters of Iran’s theocracy held rallies in which the Guard showed off missiles and launchers — a sign of defiance to Israel and the U.S., which devoted much of their airstrike campaign to destroying the country’s ballistic missile arsenal.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state TV that Iran has not decided whether to take part in a new round of negotiations with the U.S. scheduled for later this week. He accused the United States of a “disregard and lack of good faith” in the negotiations.

Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, had earlier told The Associated Press that no delegation would go to Pakistan until the U.S. lifts its blockade.

In the Iranian capital, Tehran, many grappled with the uncertainty.

“We should know where we stand. Is it going to be a ceasefire, peace, or the war is going to continue?” said Mashallah Mohammad Sadegh, 59. “The way things currently are, one doesn’t know what to do.”

Another French peacekeeper dies after weekend attack in Lebanon

In Lebanon, an Israeli drone struck the village of Jabbour, killing one person and wounding two others, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. Israel’s military denied that it had attacked the area.

A separate Israeli strike targeting a vehicle in the southern town of Tayri killed two people, NNA reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on that strike.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel from Lebanon days after the outbreak of the wider war, sparking heavy retaliatory strikes and an Israeli ground invasion. A 10-day ceasefire went into effect on Friday, but there have been several Israeli strikes and Hezbollah claimed its first attack on Tuesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said a French peacekeeper who was wounded in an attack in Lebanon over the weekend had died of his wounds. Another French peacekeeper was killed in the attack on Saturday, in which the force came under small-arms fire in southern Lebanon.

Macron blamed the attack on Hezbollah, which denied involvement.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said contacts were ongoing toward extending the ceasefire. Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors plan to meet again on Thursday in Washington.

Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. More than 2,290 people have been killed in Lebanon, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen have died in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Epaminondas container ship.

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Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% and was on track to top its all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 317 points, or 0.7%, as of 1:13 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was also heading for a record with a jump of 1.3%.

GE Vernova flew 12.1% higher after the company, whose products help generate about a quarter of the world’s electricity, reported profit for the first three months of the year that blew past analysts’ expectations.

Much like the broader stock market, GE Vernova is benefiting from the rise of artificial-intelligence technology, and its electrification business booked more equipment orders for data centers during the quarter, $2.4 billion, than it did during all of last year. The company also raised its forecasts for revenue and other financial measures over the full year.

The vast majority of companies in the S&P 500 have so far been delivering results for the start of 2026 that have topped analysts’ expectations, even with the war in Iran driving up oil prices and uncertainty for the global economy. Such strong performances have helped the S&P 500 power higher, and the index is on track for a 13th gain in its last 16 days.

Boston Scientific rallied 8.6%, Boeing climbed 5.7%, and Philip Morris International rose 6.9% after likewise delivering results for the latest quarter that were stronger than analysts expected.

Still, another rise in oil prices helped keep enthusiasm in check on Wall Street. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, added 3.6% to $102.04 on uncertainty about when the war with Iran could let up and allow petroleum to flow freely to customers from the Persian Gulf again.

The war has restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s coast that oil tankers typically use to exit the Persian Gulf. Iran fired on three ships in the strait and seized two of them on Wednesday.

A day earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire but also said he was maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports. The blockade keeps Iran from making money by selling its own crude oil.

The standoff over Iran’s closure of the strait and the U.S. blockade raised doubts about when or if talks would resume to end the crisis.

Brent crude has shot up from roughly $70 per barrel since before the war on worries about a long-term disruption to the flow of oil. But moves in both the oil and stock markets have become much more modest in recent weeks, following vicious swings where Brent’s price briefly topped $119 and the S&P 500 dropped nearly 10% below its prior all-time high.

On the losing end of Wall Street Wednesday was Best Buy, which fell 5.2% after the electronics retailer announced the departure of CEO Corie Barry. She will be replaced by longtime insider Jason Bonfig, the company’s chief customer, product and fulfillment officer.

Cannabis company stocks rose amid reports that the Trump administration is preparing to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Trump signed an executive order in December meant to speed up the Drug Enforcement Administration’s process for reclassifying the drug, a move that would not make it legal for recreational use by adults nationwide, but could change how the drug is regulated and reduce a hefty tax burden on the cannabis industry.

Tilray Brands jumped 14.8% and Canopy Growth surged 17.9%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased despite the gain in oil prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.30%.

That gave back some of its gain from the prior day, when Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, said he never promised Trump he would cut interest rates even though Trump has been angrily calling for lower rates.

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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Roy put the winner through the legs of defenseman Brandt Clarke and into the net to set off a wild celebration.

“Just trying to chip in as much as I can, to help these guys out,” said Roy, who was acquired in a deal with Toronto on March 5. “Getting that goal was big.”

The game was halted for roughly 17 minutes in the second period when a pane of glass shattered behind the Kings bench, sending pieces raining on interim coach D.J. Smith. The incident occurred right after Quinton Byfield was stopped on a penalty shot by Wedgewood and fans began to celebrate by pounding on the glass. It gave way as Smith covered his head and then brushed the glass off his suit.

The Kings had the game plan to steal a road win — clog up the middle of the ice and disrupt the flow of the fast-flying Avalanche. They lost both games by a 2-1 score, but kept the highest-scoring team this season largely in check.

“Played two good games,” Smith said. “We had every opportunity, got a lead with whatever to go. You have to be able to close it out.”

Colorado is 17-2 in playoff series when taking a 2-0 lead since relocating to Denver before the 1995-96 season. Los Angeles is 3-12 in postseason series when facing an 0-2 hole, according to NHL Stats.

The Kings took the lead on Artemi Panarin’s power-play goal with 6:56 remaining. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog tied it up with 3:35 left when he got loose in front of the net.

It set the stage for Roy, who scored his second career OT winner in the playoffs. He also had one while with Vegas in 2021.

“He’s been awesome,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. “He’s a great player, a really smart player.”

Game 3 is Thursday night in Los Angeles.

This was a showdown between Wedgewood and Anton Forsberg, who both turned in sensational saves. Forsberg stopped 34 shots.

It was a physical game, too, that featured 52 hits, 52 blocks, 11 penalties, plenty of skirmishes and lots of hard feelings.

“Playoffs are going to be hard. It’s a really good team over there,” MacKinnon said. “They’re playing hard. We’re playing hard. It’s low scoring, but it’s fun hockey."

Colorado thought it had a goal after a shot from Sam Malinski seconds into the third. The horn went off and the fans erupted, but it was quickly ruled that the puck stuck into the side of the net and never went in.

Forsberg and his defensive teammates did their part. Mikey Anderson broke up a 3-on-1 with a slide across the ice in the second when Martin Necas elected to pass, and Drew Doughty made a similar sliding play later in the period.

“We believe in our way of playing and we’re right there with one of the best teams in the league,” Forsberg said. “You just have to stick with it and find a way.”

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Marcus Smart had 25 points with five 3-pointers and seven assists for the Lakers, who have twice overcome the absences of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves with a comprehensive team effort led by the 41-year-old James. Los Angeles did it in Game 2 despite the return of Kevin Durant, who scored just three of his 23 points in the second half against the Lakers' tenacious defense.

“We executed the game plan offensively and defensively, shored up some of our mistakes from Game 1, and just got into a dogfight,” James said. “When we have two big guns out like we have, we've all got to pick up our play, and that's all it's about. We're all just trying to make contributions on offense and seize the opportunity.”

Luke Kennard scored 23 points for Los Angeles, which nursed a small lead throughout the fourth quarter of Game 2. Smart found James streaking down the lane for a theatrical two-handed dunk with 55 seconds left, and Kennard added two late free throws to ice it.

Game 3 is Friday in Houston.

Alperen Sengun had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who again struggled offensively even with Durant making his Houston playoff debut. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 18 points and Amen Thompson had 16, but the Rockets made only 40.4% of their shots and managed just seven 3-pointers.

Three days after he missed the series opener with a right knee bruise, Durant took only 12 shots and had nine turnovers to begin his fourth career playoff matchup against James. The superstars previously met in the NBA Finals in 2012, 2017 and 2018.

“They started doubling me from possession one,” Durant said. “I’ve got to do better and not put my teammates in bad positions when I’m swinging the ball. ... We're just not making shots, to be honest. We're not shooting the ball well. We're missing a lot of layups. I just think that's the difference in the game. They're making shots. Smart was the guy that knocked down shots for them today. Kennard, too.”

Durant blocked Kennard’s shot on the first possession of Game 2, but then got in early foul trouble while the Lakers again streaked to a large first-half lead.

The Lakers are getting exceptional postseason play from Smart, the longtime Celtics guard who joined Los Angeles this season. Although he missed much of the regular-season stretch run due to injury, Smart has immediately added toughness and playmaking acumen to the Lakers' supporting cast.

“He just had a killer game tonight,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Smart. “He did a great job defensively. He made shots. He's an unbelievable player.”

Both Smart and Kennard went 8 for 13 from the field, combining for eight 3-pointers..

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

The price of Brent crude edged 1 cent higher to $98.51 a barrel. U.S. benchmark crude fell 0.4% to $89.29 a barrel.

Lower oil prices help bring down costs for all kinds of businesses. President Donald Trump said he was extending the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran. The U.S. military was keeping its blockade of Iranian ports

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 59,653.56 and the Kospi in South Korea edged 0.2% lower to 6,374.46.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9% to 8,866.20.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.3% to 26,137.59, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.1% to 4,090.24.

In Taiwan, the Taiex was up 1.1%.

On Tuesday, U.S. shares initially were lifted by signs that diplomats were working through back channels to arrange a new round of talks between the United States and Iran.

The S&P 500 erased an early rise to fall 0.6% after U.S. Vice President JD Vance called off a trip to Pakistan, where he had been expected to lead U.S. negotiators in talks with Iran to extend the ceasefire.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, erasing an earlier gain of 400 points, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.6%.

On Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude inched up 1 cent to $91.29 a barrel. Brent crude added 48 cents to $95.27, or less than 1% after falling 4.6% the day before. While that’s still above its roughly $70 price from before the war began in late February, it’s well below the peak level of $119.

Asian nations, including resource-poor Japan, depend on access to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that’s the main avenue for crude oil produced in the Persian Gulf area to reach customers worldwide. Blockages there have kept oil off the global market, helping to drive up its price.

Global inflation this year looks set to accelerate to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, which had earlier thought inflation would slow to 3.8%. The IMF on Tuesday also downgraded its forecast for global economic growth to 3.1% this year from the 3.3% it had forecast in January.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as the fall for oil prices took some of the pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.30% late Monday.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 159.27 Japanese yen from 159.38 yen. The euro cost $1.1746, down from $1.1744.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Fuera de los formalismos de las reuniones protocolares, Türk percibió de primera mano la desesperación de un grupo de las llamadas “madres buscadoras” que se presentó fuera del lugar donde el funcionario sostuvo un encuentro con distintos colectivos.

La visita de Turk a México se produce en medio de las fricciones que surgieron entre el gobierno de la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum y el Comité de la ONU contra la Desaparición Forzada (CED por sus siglas en inglés) debido a un informe en el que el organismo solicitó que se llevara el caso de México ante la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas para sopesar medidas de prevención, investigación, castigo y erradicación de desapariciones forzadas.

En su reporte del 2 de abril, el CED reconoció que existen “indicios fundados” de que en México se han cometido, y se siguen cometiendo, desapariciones forzadas como “crímenes de lesa humanidad”.

Sheinbaum rechazó el informe y afirmó que el organismo no tomó en cuenta las acciones de su gobierno para hacer frente a la crisis, asegurando que el análisis del CED se basó en casos ocurridos en cuatro estados del país entre 2009-2017 y que los resultados “los extrapolan hasta 2025”.

La mandataria anunció que se reunirá con Türk el miércoles para darle a conocer las labores que ha emprendido su gobierno en el apoyo a víctimas y la atención a la problemática de las desapariciones.

La oficina del alto comisionado de los derechos humanos y el CED forman parte del sistema de la ONU, pero responden a mandos distintos y tienen plena independencia, por lo que no se prevé que la visita de Türk pueda influir en la postura del comité sobre la situación de México.

Madres buscadoras alzan su voz

“Si de verdad quiere entender, comprender la crisis que estamos viviendo, que se junte con las familias, con los colectivos, porque en México sí hay desaparición sistematizada y permitida, en parte y por omisiones del Estado”, afirmó la activista Vanessa Gámez quien se acercó el martes a Türk para pedir la ayuda internacional para localizar a su hija Ana Ameli, de 19 años, quien desapareció el pasado 12 de julio luego de acudir a un parque al sur de la capital mexicana.

Gámez le entregó a Türk una carta y la ficha de otras cuatro personas que desaparecieron en el último año en la Ciudad de México, donde se han acumulado casi 6.000 casos.

El gobierno mexicano ha limitado durante años los esfuerzos para dar con los desaparecidos, por lo que las “madres buscadoras” y otros voluntarios deben realizar sus propias búsquedas en fosas clandestinas de los cárteles, a menudo actuando a partir de pistas anónimas.

“Le pedí que nos escuchara. Que por favor necesitamos la ayuda del mundo porque en México no se hace investigación real, solo es burocracia”, dijo Gámez al plantear que las autoridades mexicanas necesitan apoyo internacional porque “están rebasados” y “les hace falta mucha capacitación y, sobre todo, seguir procesos y protocolos”.

Esa postura fue respaldada por la activista María Luisa Lazarín, quien busca a su hijo desde hace casi 17 años, luego de que desapareció junto a otros cinco compañeros después de ser detenidos por una patrulla municipal en el estado de Coahuila, en el norte del país.

Lazarín forma parte del colectivo Fuerzas Unidas por Nuestros Desaparecidos en Coahuila y en México, el cual acudió el año pasado a la oficina central de la CED en Ginebra para solicitar la activación del procedimiento internacional para atender la crisis de desaparecidos en México.

“Nos estamos jugando esta carta y esperamos que, con la unión de la sociedad y todas las demás organizaciones y colectivos, sí se escuche y se tome una buena decisión”, expresó Lazarín al plantear que espera que el alto comisionado apoye el proceso de la CED, tal como le solicitaron algunos colectivos locales esta semana.

El apoyo de la ONU

Después de reunirse con colectivos y activistas, Türk se mostró solidario y admitió en un mensaje en la red social X que le resultaba “difícil comprender la profundidad de su dolor y sufrimiento” en la búsqueda de sus familiares.

“Su inquebrantable valentía, fortaleza y resiliencia me inspiran profundamente; su búsqueda de verdad y justicia debe ser atendida”, sostuvo.

La problemática de desaparecidos en México se remonta al último tercio del siglo XX, pero fue a partir del inicio de una guerra frontal contra el crimen organizado en 2006 que las cifras se dispararon, sin que se hayan logrado contener hasta la fecha.

En un intento por hacer frente a esta crisis, Sheinbaum anunció el año pasado una serie de reformas para agilizar las búsquedas, y a finales de marzo presentó una revisión del registro nacional de personas desaparecidas. Organizaciones humanitarias locales criticaron la revisión, asegurando que las deficiencias en los registros revelan la enorme impunidad que existe en el país sobre esos casos.

Like many soft toys, the creatures developed by a manufacturer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are made with polyester and acrylic, synthetic fibers derived from petroleum. Three weeks after the war started, suppliers in China notified Aleni Brands that getting the materials already was costing them 10% to 15% more, CEO Ricardo Venegas said.

“I think this situation demonstrates how much oil permeates throughout our system, and we can’t get away from it,” said Venegas, who founded Aleni Brands last year and is in the process of adding product lines. “Who would have thought that the price of a toy would have a direct relationship with oil?”

It's not just toys. Petrochemicals derived from oil and natural gas go into making more than 6,000 consumer products, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Computer keyboards, lipstick, tennis rackets, pajamas, soft contact lenses, detergent, chewing gum, shoes, crayons, shaving cream, pillows, aspirin, dentures, tape, umbrellas and nylon guitar strings are just a few of them.

So far, the war's most tangible and immediate effect for many people outside the conflict zone has been spiking gasoline prices. Travelers also are seeing higher airfares and flight fees as airlines respond to the rising cost of jet fuel. Consumers may find themselves paying more for food, furniture or any of the myriad of goods transported by trucks that run on diesel.

But crude oil isn't just refined as fuel. It gets turned into chemicals, waxes, oils and other mixtures that appear in a vast array of everyday items, including most made with plastic and rubber. Petroleum derivatives also are used in a lot of packaging. With disruptions to global oil supplies now in their eighth week, higher production costs also could make things more expensive for shoppers, according to trade groups and some companies.

Venegas, a 30-year toy industry veteran, said he would absorb higher material costs for now but expects to increase prices for customers by early 2027, if the war goes on another three to six months.

From crude oil to T-shirts and rugs

While 85% of global oil consumption is in the form of fuel, the rest goes into a wide range of consumer products, according to Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia University's School of Business.

Crude oil is mostly a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, which are compounds made of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Refineries and chemical plants separate and break them down to convert them into smaller chemical building blocks known as petrochemicals.

Six petrochemicals — ethylene, propylene, butylene, benzene, toluene and xylenes — are the major foundations of plastics and synthetic materials like nylon and polyesters, which manufacturers in turn use to design and deliver products. More from the Department of Energy: Automobile parts, ballpoint pens, curtains, dice, eyeglasses, fertilizer, golf balls, hearing aids, insect repellant, kayaks, luggage, mops and nail polish.

Materials account for a big share of production costs for many manufacturers, including those that supply carpets, clothing and tires, according to Andrew Walberer, partner and global lead in the chemicals practice of global strategy and management consultancy Kearney.

Take a button-down shirt, for example. Walberer estimated that materials account for 27%-30% of how much it costs a manufacturer to make one. Labor costs contribute 10% to 30%. Business expenses tied to marketing, distribution and administration comprises the rest, he said.

The ripple effect

Experts say if oil holds above $90 per barrel for the next several months, cost pressures will accelerate throughout the supply network.

Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America CEO Matt Priest said most of the trade organization's members keep a two- to three-month inventory of finished products, providing a temporary cushion against higher materials costs.

Roughly 70% of the materials in synthetic shoes are petrochemical-based, and 30% of the costs for those materials are directly tied to oil price rate swings, according to a report the organization published last month on the U.S. footwear industry's “exposure to oil prices & the impact on shoe costs.”

The FDRA analysis estimated that between materials, factory energy and transportation, companies paying more for petroleum could translate into a 1.5% to 3% increase in the price shoppers pay for a pair of shoes by late summer and the fall.

By the end of April, U.S. shoe and clothing manufacturers need to start signing contracts with suppliers, mostly outside the U.S., for orders of polyester staple fiber and polyester filament yarn to get their designs on retail shelves and online for the holiday shopping season, according to Nate Herman, executive vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association.

One kilogram, or a little over two pounds, of the materials used in polyester textiles, has increased in price from an average of 90 cents before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran to $1.33 per kilogram, Herman said. He estimated that each garment will cost 10 cents to 15 cents more to produce as a result.

Another cost for importers

Some businesses are looking for ways to offset rising costs.

Lisa Lane is the founder of Rinseroo, which sells portable shower head, bathtub and sink attachments for cleaning, pet grooming, and bathing. She recently tripled the number of the slip-on hoses she procures from China each month after her manufacturer said the cost would be 30% higher in another 30 days. She had a few days to decide whether to place a three-month advance order.

The components of Rinseroo's products include petroleum derivatives like polyvinyl chloride, Lane said. After purchasing 240,000 units instead of her usual 80,000, she is also evaluating cost-cutting options.

Lane said she wants to hold off on increasing prices for retailers that sell the attachments since Rinseroo did that last year to offset higher U.S. tariffs on imports from China. For example, a hose for washing pets in a bathtub went up to $33.95 from $29.95 on retail websites, she said.

“We want to stay at that sweet spot where people want to continue to buy from us and feel like they’re getting a good value," Lane said.

Another company, which sells wound care products like bandages, dressings, pads and sponges to nursing homes and other medical facilities, plans to raise its prices by 15% in a matter of weeks. Gentell CEO David Navazio noted that adhesives in the products rely on several petrochemicals.

Including energy for production and materials, Navazio estimated the company's costs are going up by 20%.

Gentell, which is based in Yardley, Pennsylvania but has its main manufacturing location in Toronto, also makes private label products for other companies, including a medical technology firm that supplies retail stores like CVS.

Because bandages and dressings are necessities, Navazio said he doesn't think his business will suffer if it raises customer prices. Less certain is whether prices will come down once the war ends and oil shipments stabilize.

“In the past, I’ve seen transportation costs come down, but I’ve never seen prices of raw material come down,” he said.

In an exclusive interview on Tuesday, President Nikos Christodoulides said EU leaders will discuss “giving substance” to Article 42.7 of the bloc’s treaties, which oblige all 27 member states to assist each other in times of crisis.

The article states that if a nation is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, its partners should provide “aid and assistance by all the means in their power.” It has never been used before so there’s no hard and fast rules on how EU members should respond to any call for assistance.

“We have Article 42.7 and we don’t know what is going to happen if a member state triggers this article,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press ahead of an EU-Mideast summit he is hosting later this week, expected to focus on the Iran war and its fallout. “So we’re going to have a discussion and prepare, let’s say, an operational plan of what is going to happen in case a member state triggers this article, and there are a number of issues.”

The issue resonates particularly with Christodoulides, who appealed for help from fellow EU countries last month when a Shahed drone struck a British air base on the island’s southern coastline. Cypriot officials said the drone was launched from Lebanon whose capital is just 207 kilometers (129 miles) away from Cyprus’ southern coast. Greece, France, Spain, The Netherlands and Portugal dispatched ships with anti-drone capabilities to help defend the island.

Clarification needed on countries that are also NATO members

Christodoulides said since many EU countries are also members of NATO, the playbook should clarify how those countries would respond to a call for help from an EU partner without conflicting with their obligations under the military alliance.

NATO’s own security guarantee, Article 5, states an attack on one ally is deemed an attack on them all, requiring a collective response.

“So what is going to happen in this situation if a member state is both NATO member state and an EU member state? What is going happen?” Christodoulides said.

Another issue that needs to be addressed under the Article 47.2 is whether a response would be a collective one in the NATO mold or just one for states neighboring the country in distress. There’s also the issue of what means would need to be used to deal with varying types of crises.

Christodoulides said he’s pleased to see that fellow EU leaders now “understand the importance” of bringing the bloc closer to the Middle East with such initiatives as the Mediterranean Pact that implements specific projects on a range of issues including health, education and energy in Middle Eastern countries.

Closer EU ties to the Middle East has been a key priority for Cyprus’ EU presidency, which Christodoulides said offers a “very good opportunity...to give substance” to that objective. Attending the informal EU leaders’ summit later this week will be the leaders of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, affording the opportunity “not just to exchange ideas but to see in action how we elevate our cooperation in a strategic level.”

“We can represent the interest of the countries of the Greater Middle East to Brussels, but at the same time, and this is very, very important, the countries in the region, they trust Cyprus to represent them in the European Union,” he said.

'A win-win situation'

Christodoulides is a strong proponent of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a trade, energy and digital connectivity corridor that would link the continent with the world's largest democracy and is hoped to usher peace and stability in the Middle East.

Christodoulides said under the Cypriot EU presidency, a “Friends of IMEC” group has been set up to promote the initiative, which still lacks what he said are more specific projects. One such project is the Great Seas Interconnector, an electricity cable connecting the power grids of Greece and Cyprus and eventually Israel that has been plagued by delays.

“We can work together with the Americans, with the U.S. Government, with President Trump in order to give substance because it will be a win-win situation for both the European Union and the United States” with additional concrete projects, Christodoulides said.

New energy sources

The Iran war again brought the need for the EU to diversify its energy source into sharp relief. Christodoulides said he’s in talks with the EU’s executive arm on how Cyprus’ own offshore natural gas deposits can help the bloc find alternative energy sources and routes.

He said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will unveil on Friday “very specific proposals” regarding energy costs and how the bloc can become more energy independent.

Christodoulides said the EU has made significant strides in hastening its decision on making mechanisms but has failed to deliver on its pledge to add new members in the last two years, diminishing the trust that prospective member nations have in the union.

“So we have a strong geopolitical tool that we are losing mainly because of our mistakes. The situation today is much better. We are deciding in a much faster, let’s say, pace,” said Christodoulides. “And enlargement is one of the geopolitical tools that, as a European Union, we need pretty soon to have specific decisions.”

The Los Angeles interim coach had shattered glass fall on him after a pane broke behind the Kings bench Tuesday night in Game 2 against Colorado.

It happened right after Quinton Byfield was stopped on a penalty shot by Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood with 16:48 remaining in the second period. The glass began to sway as fans pounded on it in excitement and then gave way, with pieces raining on Smith. He covered his head and then brushed the glass off his suit before heading down the tunnel to the locker room. He returned a few minutes later.

“Whoever the guy (was) just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Smith recounted. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.”

The Avalanche cleanup crew brought out shovels and buckets to clean up the fragments from the LA bench. The Kings players mingled on the ice as they waited for a new pane to be brought in and installed.

Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog told ESPN hockey analyst Erik Johnson he's never seen something like that happen before. Landeskog added: "It was loud there when ‘Wedgy' made that save and fans got a little too excited."

The delay took more than 15 minutes. The score was 0-0 when play was halted. Colorado won 2-1 in overtime on Nicolas Roy's winner to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series heading into Game 3 on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

“There's nothing you can do to control it. There's nothing you can do about it, so you just deal with it," Landeskog said of the delay. “I think maybe the only thing was that there were so many bodies on the ice that it (wore) the ice out a little bit for the rest (of the period).

“I thought the ice crew did a good job and they did their best to fix it as fast as possible. Doesn't happen every day.”

It was a first for Avalanche coach Jared Bednar.

“That’s a different one," Bednar said. "But, I mean, stuff happens. Fans get excited. Our guys were excited, competing hard. There was a bunch of melees on the ice today. It felt like playoff hockey.”

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Krueger, 86, and her daughter were on a specialized zoo tour last month for people who live with dementia that was organized by Malteser Deutschland, part of the international Catholic aid organization Malteser Order of Malta.

On the tour with Krueger, Ingrid Barkow watched from her wheelchair as the elephants roamed their habitat, while Monika Jansen balanced on her tiptoes to get a better view of a rhinoceros.

“When I get home, I’ll still be thinking about it,” said Jansen, 85. “Maybe even at night, while I’m sleeping and dreaming about it.”

The three women are among roughly 1.6 million people living with dementia in Germany, according to the Office of the National Dementia Strategy. The figure is expected to rise to 2.8 million by 2050.

Specialized tours grow worldwide

Museums and other cultural institutions across the globe have added specialized, barrier-free tours and guides to their repertoire in recent years, some made possible by advances in technology.

These include sign-language tours for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, touch-based events for those with blindness or low vision and programs for people on the autism spectrum.

The Berlin chapter of Malteser Deutschland last year designed a cultural program in the capital catering to people with dementia.

“People with dementia aren’t very visible in our society. It’s still a major taboo subject, yet it actually affects a great many people and it’s important that they continue to be at the heart of society," project coordinator Christine Gruschka said. "They have a right to participate, just like everyone else.”

Millions of people around the globe have some form of dementia, a progressive loss of memory, reasoning, language skills and other cognitive functions. People can experience changes in personality, emotional control and even visual perception. Alzheimer’s is the most widely recognized type, but there are many others, with their own symptoms and underlying biology.

Malteser Berlin's tours for people with dementia occur at the zoo, the Museum of Natural History, Britzer Garden and Charlottenburg Palace, with hopes of expanding to other locations.

“‘Normal’ tours — so-called normal tours — are often too fast, too loud, with too many people and too many distractions," Gruschka said. "That’s why we’ve made it our goal to create programs specifically for people with dementia: Where they still feel seen, where they feel comfortable, and where they can still show that they’re still here and can still be part of it.”

Dementia-specific tours are key for caregivers and families

Krueger, Jansen and Barkow followed Malteser Berlin tour coordinator Carola Tembrink around the Berlin Zoo, accompanied by their daughters and a caregiver.

Tembrink skipped the majority of the zoo's vast offerings to focus on the hippo, rhino and elephant habitats so the participants would not get too tired or overwhelmed.

“The zoo is a wonderful place for tours like this because almost everyone who grew up in Berlin has been here as a child," Tembrink said. "And especially for people with dementia, childhood memories are often still present — they just need to be jogged a bit — and that happens naturally when they see the animals, smell the air as they enter the zoo, or when they go into the rhino house and catch a different scent.”

For the caregivers and families, the tours are a lifeline. During long and sometimes frustrating days of caring for someone with dementia, a specialized tour lets them connect with others who understand the journey.

Krueger was formally diagnosed last year with dementia, but her daughter, Kerstin Hoehne, said the symptoms appeared more than two years ago.

“What’s nice is that it’s also with, let’s say, like-minded people, that you’re not alone, but that you have a sense of belonging because everyone else might have the same problem,” Hoehne said.

Barkow's daughter, Manuela Grudda, said the tour brought them closer together. Grudda pushed Barkow's wheelchair through the zoo, her hands caressing her mother's shoulders or pointing out the animals.

“I can’t really communicate with her in a normal way, of course, but I see that when I show her something, she looks at it, she’s paying attention, and that’s important,” Grudda said. “And it just makes me happy that she’s not just in her own world, but also in this one.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The Louisiana Republican chairs one of the Senate committees that oversees Kennedy's department and sits on another, giving him two chances to interrogate the secretary about his plans for an agency responsible for public health programs and research. As a doctor, Cassidy has clashed with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine ideas even though he provided crucial support for the health secretary's nomination last year.

At the same time, Cassidy is fighting for his political future in next month’s primary in Louisiana, where President Donald Trump has endorsed one of his opponents in an unusual attempt to oust a sitting senator from his own party.

How Cassidy handles the hearings could affect his chances at a pivotal moment of his reelection campaign and set the tone for how Congress oversees the nation's health agenda at a time of rampant distrust and misinformation.

“He’s taken a risk showing any sort of resistance to RFK,” said Claire Leavitt, an assistant professor at Smith College who studies congressional oversight. “He may pay an electoral price for that.”

Cassidy hasn't faced Kennedy in public since September. In the subsequent months, Kennedy has attempted a dramatic rollback of vaccine recommendations that, if not blocked by an ongoing lawsuit, could undermine protections against diseases like flu, hepatitis B and RSV.

After a backlash, Kennedy has also pivoted to spending more time talking about less controversial topics like healthy eating — albeit with his own spin, including sharing exaggerated claims that various ailments can be cured by diet alone.

Cassidy will have to decide on Wednesday whether to grill Kennedy on vaccines, an issue deeply important to him, or put their differences aside and prioritize loyalty to the Trump administration.

In his first opportunity to question Kennedy on Wednesday morning, Cassidy didn't bring up vaccines at all. Instead, he focused on health care affordability and rooting out fraud in federal health care systems, both of which have been priorities for him in Congress.

Cassidy has long advocated for vaccines

Cassidy has spent years walking a political tightrope. He's one of the few Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during an impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

As a liver doctor, he advocated for babies to receive hepatitis B vaccines shortly after birth, a step that could have prevented the disease in his patients. But when Trump nominated Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, Cassidy supported him. He did so after securing various commitments, including that Kennedy would work within the current vaccine approval and safety monitoring system and support the childhood vaccine schedule.

The vote for Kennedy did not appear to mollify Trump. The president endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, one of Cassidy's two primary opponents.

Cassidy also faces opposition from Kennedy's allies in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, a group that includes both anti-vaccine activists and a wide variety of other crusaders for health and the environment. The MAHA PAC, aligned with Kennedy, has pledged $1 million to Letlow’s campaign. While the organization hasn't publicly said so, some have questioned whether the support is partly in retaliation against Cassidy for criticizing Kennedy's vaccine policy agenda.

“I’m not really sure what MAHA’s beef is," Cassidy told reporters earlier this month. “Let me point out that I am the reason that Robert F. Kennedy is now the secretary of HHS. He would not have gotten there otherwise."

Cassidy argues that he has “strongly supported” the MAHA agenda, especially when it comes to the fight against ultraprocessed foods. However, the physician-turned-senator acknowledged that he and MAHA have “disagreed on vaccines."

“We’ve seen, frankly, that I am right," Cassidy added, pointing to recent measles-related deaths of children who were not vaccinated.

At a hearing in September, he slammed Kennedy’s decision to slash funding for mRNA vaccine development. He interrogated Kennedy over his attempt to replace members of a vaccine committee, suggesting the new members could have conflicts of interest. He also raised concerns that Kennedy's vaccine policy decisions could be making it harder for Americans to get COVID-19 shots.

Later that month, Cassidy convened a hearing featuring former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez, who was ousted by Kennedy less than a month into her tenure after they clashed over vaccine policy, and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who resigned in August citing an erosion of science at the agency.

“I want to work with the president to fulfill his campaign promise to reform the CDC and Make America Healthy Again. The president says radical transparency is the way to do that,” Cassidy said at the time.

Experts say Cassidy's vaccine stance might not hurt him

Political consultants said they expect Cassidy’s primary opponents, Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, to seize on any sound bites from Wednesday’s hearings that can make Cassidy seem at odds with the Trump administration.

But Dorit Reiss, a vaccine law expert at UC Law San Francisco, said the political risk of advocating for vaccines may not be as strong among Republicans as some people assume.

“He’s probably not alienating voters by focusing on the issue and calling it out,” she said.

Louisiana political consultant Mary-Patricia Wray said she thinks most diehard MAHA voters already know who they are voting for, and it’s probably not Cassidy.

Instead, she said, he may still be able to appeal to Democrats who switch their party registration to vote in the primary, as well as a wide swath of still-undecided Republican voters who care about the same health care affordability issues he advocates for every day in Congress.

“If I was advising Bill Cassidy, I would tell him your goal here is not to get out unscathed,” Wray said. “Your goal is to prove that your consistency on issues regarding public health is an asset in your campaign, not a detriment.”

Election outcome will shape future oversight of HHS

Also at stake if Cassidy doesn’t make it to November’s general election is what will happen to his responsibility to oversee the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee.

Leavitt, the Smith College professor, said seniority typically plays the most important role in who chairs Senate committees. She said another Republican in today’s increasingly hyperpartisan Congress may not be as willing as Cassidy to check Kennedy’s power.

Reiss, the vaccine law expert, said she wishes Cassidy had done more hearings or introduced legislation to rein in Kennedy. And she said the senator bears the blame for allowing Kennedy to bring unfounded vaccine fears into the government in the first place.

“His original sin, of course, was voting for Kennedy at all,” Reiss said.

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Associated Press writer Sara Cline contributed to this report.

The Monday shooting, carried out by a lone gunman on top of one of the Teotihuacan pyramids — a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of Mexico's most frequented tourist attractions — killed one Canadian tourist and injured a dozen more.

It also set off a flurry of questions the next morning by reporters to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum about what security protocols her government was taking ahead of the sports competition, which Mexico will jointly host with the United States and Canada over the summer.

About an hour from Mexico City, Teotihuacan was slated to be a key site for visitors during the festivities. Just days before the shooting, local lawmakers even pushed forward an initiative to revive a nighttime interactive light show projected on the pyramids for World Cup visitors, which was previous suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The unexpected act of violence comes as Sheinbaum's government has gone to great lengths to project an image of safety ahead of the soccer competition, following a surge of cartel violence February in the World Cup host city of Guadalajara.

"Events like this only further magnify the negative images that Mexico has on security issues, undermining the narrative that President Sheinbaum is trying to build that Mexico is a safe country," said Mexican security analyst David Saucedo.

‘An isolated incident’

On Tuesday, Sheinbaum acknowledged that the archaeological site lacked security filters to prevent the attack in part, she said, because the shooting “was an isolated incident" that hasn't occurred before in such a public space.

While Mexico suffers from cartel violence, especially in strategic and rural areas, mass shootings in public spaces are rare in Mexico compared to the U.S., where it is much easier to legally obtain a gun.

She noted that the shooter appeared to be motivated by “outside influences," particularly the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado.

“Our obligation as a government is to take the appropriate measures to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again. But clearly, we all know — Mexicans know — that this is something that had not previously taken place,” Sheinbaum said Tuesday morning.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, the face of the government's crackdown on cartels, said on Tuesday that security forces had been ordered to “immediately strengthen security" at archaeological sites and major tourist destinations across the country.

He said the government will increase the presence of Mexican National Guard, boost security checks at key sites and fortify surveillance systems to “identify and prevent any threats” against citizens and visitors.

Security concerns ahead of World Cup

The announcement was an effort by Mexican authorities to assuage ongoing concerns about violence in Mexico ahead of the tournament.

Sheinbaum's government has touted security successes under her leadership. Homicides have dipped sharply since she taken office to the lowest levels in a decade, government figures show. The government has also taken out a number of top capos and highlighted a dip in fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border.

But they have hit hurdles in recent months, namely a burst a violence in Guadalajara in February, triggered by the killing of Mexico’s most powerful cartel boss. The bloodshed was met with a wave of concern by people in and outside of Mexico. Sheinbaum vowed there would be “no risk” for fans coming to the tournament and FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he had “full confidence” in Mexico as a host country. Sheinbaum later met with FIFA representatives to assess security for the World Cup matches to be played in Mexico.

Mexico’s government doubled down on security measures, which include deploying 100,000 security forces across the country, particularly concentrated in the country’s three host cities, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Officials said it would deploy more than 2,000 military vehicles, as well as dozens of air crafts and drones, and establish security perimeters around areas like stadiums and airports in key cities.

"As you can see, we are very prepared for the World Cup," Sheinbaum said in early March.

Despite the rare nature of the Monday shooting at the pyramids, the extreme act of violence reignited scrutiny by some about the government's capacity to prevent violence during the soccer tournament, and once again boosted pressures on the government.

FIFA was approached for comment about the pyramid shooting, but the soccer body typically does not address security issues and incidents that happen away from tournament venues.

Saucedo, the security analyst, said that pressures to concentrate security in host cities and tourist areas like Teotihuacan may come at the expense of other more crime-torn areas in greater need of police and military.

"Events like the one that took place yesterday in Teotihuacan clearly show that public safety agencies are overwhelmed," he said.

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Associated Press reporter Graham Dunbar contributed to this report from Geneva.

Jose Serrano, un soldado en servicio activo que cumplió tres misiones en Afganistán, contó que agentes de inmigración arrestaron a su esposa el pasado 14 de abril mientras asistían a una cita de con los Servicios de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos (USCIS por sus iniciales en inglés) como parte de su proceso para obtener la residencia permanente.

“Una persona abrió la puerta, nos escoltó por el pasillo y, al final del pasillo arrestaron a mi esposa”, relató Serrano. “La arrestaron sin ninguna orden, sin una orden judicial... Se llevaron a mi esposa. No me dicen nada”.

Desde entonces, Deisy Rivera Ortega, originaria de El Salvador, ha impugnado su detención ante un tribunal federal de distrito y solicitó una orden para bloquear su deportación a México --un país con el que no tiene ningún vínculo y que restringe la visita de miembros en activo de las fuerzas armadas estadounidenses.

El abogado Matthew James Kozik indicó que Rivera Ortega tenía un permiso de trabajo válido y que anteriormente se le concedió una suspensión de expulsión a El Salvador.

El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS por sus iniciales en inglés) señaló en un correo electrónico que Rivera Ortega ingresó ilegalmente a Estados Unidos en 2016 y que un juez emitió una orden final de deportación en diciembre de 2019.

“La autorización de trabajo no confiere ningún estatus legal para estar en el país. Rivera Ortega permanece bajo custodia del ICE a la espera de su expulsión”, afirmó la agencia. El DHS no especificó si Rivera Ortega podría ser deportada a México.

Rivera Ortega permanecía detenida en el Centro de Servicios de Procesamiento en El Paso, donde Serrano la visitó el domingo, comunicándose con su esposa a través de un panel de acrílico.

Ella solicitó que su caso y el de su esposo fueran considerados bajo la política de "permiso de permanencia temporal en el país", el cual ofrecía anteriormente la posibilidad de una vía acelerada hacia la residencia permanente para cónyuges de miembros de las fuerzas armadas.

Pero el DHS eliminó en abril pasado una política de 2022 que consideraba el servicio militar de un familiar inmediato como un “factor atenuante significativo” al momento de decidir si proceder o no con la aplicación de las leyes migratorias. La nueva política del gobierno establece que “el servicio militar por sí solo no exime a los extranjeros de las consecuencias de violar las leyes de inmigración de Estados Unidos”.

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

Commissioners are getting pushback from residents on those plans.

There was a notary on hand, taking paperwork signed by residents one-by-one, giving them what may be the best fighting tools yet for people living there.

“We do hope the judge will be looking at these affidavits,” said resident Carl Kuveri. “We’re not all dead, we’re alive. We’ve paid top dollar for our condos. We didn’t inherit them, so we’re trying to protect what is ours.”

That protection, in place since 1985, has been a longstanding covenant that runs with the land.

It’s a standing legal agreement with a density cap that limits the number of units at Palm Aire to its current 10,000-plus units.

But a company that has since purchased the property has been pushing to build more condos and apartments.

“And yet they have their developing arm right out front and now they are trying to chip away and they’re working with the city, saying that this agreement is something old and that they’re entitled to build something new,” said resident Anne Bosworth.

Longtime residents appreciate the open greenspace that gives Palm Aire its tranquil vibe, with three golf courses, parks and an open trail to match.

“I am very concerned about the possibility of continuous real estate development that I believe will impair the property values of the unit owners,” said resident Norman Arnoff.

Tuesday night’s meeting aimed at drawing support for a class action suit to move forward and updating a weary community about what’s at stake.

Wembanyama was diagnosed with a concussion after he tumbled face-first when he was fouled by Jrue Holiday and his jaw slammed into the floor. He did not return after the injury in the second quarter and entered the NBA’s concussion protocol, which raises the possibility the versatile 7-foot-4 center could miss multiple games.

The second-seeded Spurs looked like they could win without Wemby, building a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter before their offense stagnated.

Portland held San Antonio without a field goal for the final 3:37 as the Blazers closed the game on an 11-2 run. Robert Williams III converted an alley-oop dunk with 12 seconds left for a 104-101 lead after Deni Avdija muscled through the paint and fed him the ball.

“As a team, as a unit, I think that was our goal — to be aggressive,” Henderson said. “Hit everybody that comes through the paint, box out and play fast. I think that was all of our success and that kind of opened the floor for all of us.”

Holiday had 16 points and nine assists, Avdija scored 14 and Williams finished with 11.

Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 18 points and De’Aaron Fox added 17. Devin Vassell, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining.

Game 3 is Friday at Portland.

After scoring 35 points in the Spurs' Game 1 win, Wembanyama had five points, four rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist in 12 minutes.

Under league guidelines, a player in the concussion protocol must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery and then hit several benchmarks without symptoms before being cleared to play. A player must undergo neurological testing and receive a final clearance from a team doctor in consultation with the league’s concussion protocol director.

The Spurs had won 76 straight playoff games when leading by 14 points or more in the fourth quarter. The last time they lost under those circumstances was on May 19, 2003 against Dallas.

San Antonio built that big lead with a 13-0 run to start the fourth. Backup center Luke Kornet, who replaced Wembanyama, punctuated that burst with a reverse slam for a three-point play.

Kornet finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Henderson shot 11 of 17 from the field and 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.

“(Henderson) has been shooting the ball really well,” Vassell said. “Got to be more physical with him. No catch-and-shoots, no easy off-the-dribble pullups. I think he made ... I don’t know how many he made today. We’re going to make it a lot harder for him because he’s feeling way too comfortable.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The series shifts to Montreal for two games, with Game 3 set for Friday night. Game 4 is Sunday.

Brandon Hagel had a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, assist and a fight, and teammate Nikita Kucherov also scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots.

The Lightning had lost four consecutive home playoff games and 10 of the past 11, dating to Game 4 against Colorado in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and 11 of the previous 12 playoff games that went to overtime.

Lane Hutson and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens. Jakub Dobes finished with 31 saves.

Moser scored his first career playoff goal following an icing call, taking the puck off a faceoff win by Anthony Cirelli, skating around a stick check attempt by Kirby Dach and beating Dobes with a wrist shot from inside the left faceoff circle.

“We worked on faceoff plays and the puck kind of squirts out,’’ Moser said. “I tried to keep it in, skate with it and all of a sudden it opens up. I took it down and take a shot.’’

Kucherov forced overtime at 12:33 of the third period, collecting a deflected puck off the stick of Hagel and scoring on a wrap-around. The goal was the first playoff goal for Kucherov since April 19, 2023, a span of 17 postseason games.

“(Hagel) had a puck, shot the puck on the net,’’ Kucherov said. “I picked it up behind the net and put it in.’’

Hagel sparked the Lightning, scoring the opening goal 8:40 into the first period, assisting on the tying goal and fighting Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky — who had a hat trick in first game of the series — in the second period.

“Whatever it takes to win,’’ Hagel said. “Sometimes it’s going to take fighting, and sometimes it’s going to take scoring goals. I was lucky enough to squeak one by and then (Kucherov) made a good play. Obviously a good feeling just that we won tonight.’’

After taking the first game in overtime, Montreal took a lead into the third period, getting a power-play goal from Hutson – the fourth power-play goal of the series for the Canadiens – at 16:11 of the first period and a go-ahead goal from Anderson with 1:24 left in the second.

But the Canadiens were unable to capitalize on a power play chance with 2:15 left in regulation and Tampa Bay carried that momentum into overtime where the Lightning outshot Montreal 9-0.

“It would have been nice to get two (wins),’’ Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis said. “I felt like, after two periods, I felt we were so close of getting two (wins), especially the way we were playing. It just kind of got away from us a little bit. We didn’t play with the puck a lot. And I feel we carried that into overtime, too. When you keep giving them the puck, you’re just rolling the dice a little bit.’’

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

The Mets' skid is their longest since they dropped 12 straight from Aug. 10-23, 2002. No team has made the playoffs after a season in which it lost 12 in a row.

Matt Wallner followed Keaschall by drawing a bases-loaded walk off Williams (0-1), who didn’t retire any of the five batters he faced before being booed off the mound. Williams has allowed seven runs while recording four outs in his last three appearances.

The Mets were in position to end their streak when Nolan McLean retired the first 15 Twins batters and Francisco Lindor hit a three-run homer in the third to give the Mets their biggest lead since April 5, when they beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2.

The homer was Lindor’s first with a man on base since last Aug. 15 — one day before McLean’s debut.

Wallner led off the sixth with a single off McLean and Byron Buxton homered with two outs. Keaschall tied the game with an RBI single in the seventh.

A quartet of Twins pitchers retired the final 14 Mets in order. Cole Sands (1-1) tossed the last two innings.

McLean allowed three runs and struck out 10 in 6 2/3 innings. Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson gave up three runs and struck out two in five innings.

Up next

LHP Connor Prielipp will make his major league debut on Wednesday for the Twins in place of Richardson, who was moved up in place of the injured Mick Abel. RHP Clay Holmes (2-2, 1.96 ERA) is set to pitch for the Mets.

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

“It was so ridiculous I couldn't say no,” Jenks said.

The proposal by his Canadian buddy Seth Scott, a fellow lover of cars and crazy adventures, was for them to drive a decades-old British-made Reliant Robin car from London to the southern tip of Africa — a 14,000-mile (22,500-kilometer) journey through 22 countries — to set a record for the longest trip in a three-wheeled vehicle.

Reliant Robins have cultlike status in the U.K. as humble three-wheelers that, in Jenks' words, were designed to go to the shops and back in 1970s Britain. They went out of production in the early 2000s but remain loved in British culture, especially after a Reliant appeared as the Trotter brothers' trusty but battered yellow van in the hugely popular sitcom “Only Fools and Horses.”

Yet you couldn't find a less suitable vehicle to take thousands of miles through tropical jungles, mountain ranges and deserts down the west side of Africa. And that's precisely why Jenks went for the absurd plan.

Sheila the three-wheeler

Sheila, the silver three-wheeler — one of the last Reliant Robins to be built — was acquired specifically for the adventure. Jenks and Scott set off in October with a can of fuel and a few essential supplies strapped to Sheila's small roof, and a large amount of blind hope that they would somehow make it to Cape Town, South Africa, near the bottom of the world.

“No power steering, no air con, and it doesn’t do well up hills or down them. It is the most unsuitable car for probably any journey,” Jenks said in an unkind assessment of Sheila's abilities. “We made friends with the designer of this car, and he’s scared to take it any more than 20 miles.”

Jenks and Scott ignored all the advice and took Sheila on the epic journey over four-and-a-half months that cost in the region of $40,000 to $50,000, Jenks said. They had help from sponsors and crowd funding, and documented the journey on an Instagram page that pulled in nearly 100,000 followers under the title: “14,000 miles, 3 wheels, 0 common sense.”

Attempted coups and airstrikes

They arrived in Benin during an attempted coup. They skirted through northern Nigeria as the U.S. launched airstrikes on Islamic State targets. They were given a military escort for about 300 miles (480 kilometers) through a region of separatist violence in Cameroon.

“Imagine this car in a military convoy,” Jenks said.

And there were many brushes with traffic-related danger, including when an overtaking bus almost flattened Sheila against a cliff face in Congo.

True to form that Reliants are sometimes not so reliable, there were also countless breakdowns on the punishing roads.

Sheila needed her wheel springs replaced in the first two weeks. The gearbox broke in Ghana, leaving them with only fourth gear. In Cameroon, there were clutch and distributor problems and then the big one: the engine blew up.

Through all the technical problems, the kindness of strangers and the intrepidness of Jenks and Scott kept them going. One man got a new gearbox shipped to Ghana. Reliant enthusiasts in the U.K. helped find a new engine to send to Cameroon.

After one breakdown, people helped load Sheila onto a cattle truck so she could be taken to a garage. Mechanics across the continent screwed, hammered and welded Sheila to keep her together, sometimes shaking their heads at the madness of it all.

Where no Reliant Robin has gone before

But there were also majestic moments, the kind that Jenks and Scott had envisioned to make it all worth it.

Sheila cruised through stunning mountain ranges and vast deserts — where surely no Reliant Robin has gone before. She went on safari, driving alongside galloping giraffes, spotting endangered rhinos, and posing for a picture next to a giant elephant.

More than 120 days after setting off, she rattled into Cape Town last month on an engine that began badly overheating in the Namibian desert and had been touch and go for about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers).

“This is a great underdog story,” said Graeme Hurst, a South African car lover who followed them on Instagram and came to see Sheila. “I see the farcical kind of comical nature of it ... but also the sheer admiration. I mean, they have utter tenacity.”

In South Africa, Sheila was put on temporary display in a showroom for high-end cars and was the center of attention ahead of the glittering Porsches and Mercedes, showing off her broken side window, her gas-stained windshield, her bent tire rims, and her countless dents and scratches.

She will rest now and be given the thorough service she deserves, Jenks said. Eventually, she'll be driven to Kenya, put on a ship to Turkey, then make one last trip back to the U.K. to find a home at the London Transport Museum.

Jenks said he felt triumphant after reaching Cape Town, but relieved to have survived and finally be out of the tiny two-seater.

“It was like driving a motorized coffin,” he said.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

The remains of U.S. Army Cpl. Joshua Corruth, of Pompano Beach, were returned to South Florida this week for honor and burial after authorities were able to confirm his identity through DNA testing.

Corruth served in the Army after enlisting in 1947 and was reported missing in action in Korea in 1950. His remains were recovered three years later, but he was not positively identified at the time.

For decades, his family waited for answers. Most of those who knew him have since died.

The Army later asked several family members to submit DNA samples, which ultimately led to a positive identification.

“Finally we identified my uncle and we are going to bring him home and we are going to honor him the best way we can,” said Myron Johnson, Corruth’s nephew.

Johnson, a veteran himself who was born about a decade after his uncle went missing, said the family is focused on honoring his service.

“I feel like he gave his all for this country and I just want everyone to honor him like he honored us,” he said.

Corruth’s flag-draped casket arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport aboard an American Airlines flight, where an honor guard was waiting to receive him.

His remains were then transported to the James C. Boyd Funeral Home in Broward County, where community members lined the streets holding American flags to pay their respects.

Avis Boyd-Gaines, president and funeral director at the funeral home, said the return of Corruth is a solemn duty.

“We leave no person behind, it is an honor to be able to provide this final resting place for this soldier,” she said.

Among those who came to honor Corruth was Lindsay Hinds, who said he felt compelled to show his respect.

“I want to show my respects for everything he believed in and fought for,” Hinds said.

Corruth’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday.

Edgecombe made six of the 76ers' 19 3-pointers. Maxey also had nine assists as Philadelphia bounced back after getting blown out 123-91 in Game 1. Edgecombe is the first rookie to record at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since Tim Duncan on May 5, 1998.

The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday.

“I think we knew where the shots were going to come from," Edgecombe said. "We kept trusting each other. Everyone can make a play on the court. ... They wanted me to shoot the ball.”

The Celtics cut a seven-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to 91-89 before an 11-0 run put the 76ers back in front 102-89 with just over four minutes to play. The Celtics pulled their starters with a little more than a minute remaining.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 36 points. Jayson Tatum added 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

“I thought Edgecombe was just too comfortable,” Brown said. “He's a rookie, but he can play. We've got to be better on him.”

After struggling from the field in Game 1, the 76ers needed much more from Maxey and Edgecombe. They got it, with the pair carrying the load for a team that shot 47.8% from the field, including 19 of 39 from the 3-point line.

“I grab (Edgecombe) and Tyrese together a lot and remind them to be super aggressive,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. "Fire it up there, like keep shooting no matter what.”

Boston was only 13 of 47 from the 3-point line and shot 39.3% from the field overall, while committing 13 turnovers leading to 16 points by the 76ers.

Philadelphia, which was again without center Joel Embiid for Game 2 as he continues to go through a strength and conditioning program following an appendectomy on April 9, was twice without Edgecombe for brief stretches Tuesday.

Edgecombe limped off in noticeable pain and went straight to the locker room for treatment in both the first and third quarters.

He returned each time and kept scoring to help the 76ers build as much as a 13-point lead in the third.

The intensity was high throughout the game.

It hit a high point in the opening minutes when Brown was assessed a technical foul after his emphatic one-handed dunk over Adem Bona that sent the 76ers big man to the floor.

Replays appeared to show that Brown’s momentum after the jam carried him into contact with Bona, who fell to the floor and left Brown in a hovering position over him.

But referee Marc Davis didn’t see it that way and called Brown for the tech.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

“He has a concussion. He’s in the protocol,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after San Antonio fell 106-103 to even the Western Conference first-round series at one game apiece. “We’ll take the proper and appropriate steps.”

Any extended absence by Wembanyama would be a massive blow to San Antonio, which finished with the league’s second-best record behind the versatile 7-foot-4 center from France.

Under league guidelines, a player in the concussion protocol must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery and then hit several benchmarks without symptoms before being cleared to play. A player must undergo neurological testing and receive a final clearance from a team doctor in consultation with the league's concussion protocol director.

Game 3 is Friday in Portland. It seems improbable that Wembanyama would be cleared by then, but Johnson wouldn't speculate about his status.

“The protocol is the protocol,” Johnson said. “We’ll just follow it as everyone else does and plan accordingly.”

The Spurs went 12-6 during the regular season without Wembanyama.

“We’ve all got to step up,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “We know what Vic brings to the table. We’ve played without him for a couple games this year. It’s going to be next man up. Everybody’s going to have to step up. That’s a huge void to fill. We can’t get bogged down by it.”

Wembanyama was fouled by Jrue Holiday after he spun around the Trail Blazers point guard in the paint. He was not able to brace himself on the fall, and his jaw hit the court with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter.

Wembanyama remained on the court for about 30 seconds before rising to a seated position for about a minute and speaking to teammate Stephon Castle. Johnson called timeout to check on Wembanyama, who immediately ran through the tunnel after getting to his feet.

Wembanyama had five points, four rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist in 12 minutes. Veteran Luke Kornet replaced Wembanyama and started the second half at center, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes.

“It was scary. I saw the images. It was not good,” Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter said of the play where Wembanyama got hurt. “With him out, Kornet, I think he did a tremendous job. We still have to figure out how to play better when Kornet is on the court.”

San Antonio is in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and beat Portland in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series behind 35 points from Wembanyama. Without him, the Spurs blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in the playoffs for the first time since 2003, a span of 76 games.

On Monday, Wembanyama became the unanimous winner of the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award. He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-best 3.1 blocks this season.

Vassell said he didn’t have a chance to talk with Wembanyama immediately after the game.

“We’ll definitely check in on him. Our prayers are with him,” Vassell said. “We just want him to be good.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The tone changed once it became clear the skid was going to last at least another night.

Embattled closer Devin Williams allowed a tiebreaking RBI single to Luke Keaschall in the ninth inning and New York lost its 12th straight, falling 5-3 to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

With an opening-day payroll of $352.2 million that tops the majors, the Mets have baseball's worst record at 7-16. The skid is their longest since they dropped 12 straight from Aug. 10-23, 2002. No team has made the playoffs after a season in which it lost 12 in a row.

New York is hitting .194 during the losing streak while being outscored 67-22. The Mets didn’t have slugger Juan Soto for any of that stretch, but he is expected to come off the injured list Wednesday after missing the last 16 games with a strained right calf.

“I’ve never been a part of something like this,” Williams said. “I think we just need to get the one win out of the way and I think everything else will take care of itself. But it’s obviously proving pretty difficult right now.”

Williams, who failed to record an out, was booed off the mound by what was left of the announced crowd of 32,798. The actual crowd appeared far smaller on a night when the temperature at first pitch was 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 Celsius).

At least a few spectators showed their displeasure with the time-honored tradition of wearing paper bags over their heads.

Fans began chanting “Fire Mendy!” as Williams loaded the bases. Austin Warren relieved Williams and received an ovation when he struck out Royce Lewis. The crowd then chanted his name after he struck out the next two batters, Brooks Lee and Byron Buxton.

The mood was far lighter a few hours earlier.

Patrick Heaney, the only person in section 524 at Citi Field shortly before the start of the game, grinned as he gazed at a sea of empty seats.

“You wouldn’t be here tonight if you weren’t a Met fan,” Heaney said.

Shortstop Francisco Lindor said following Sunday’s 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs that he expected it to “get very loud” Tuesday night. But the fans didn’t make much noise until the third inning, when Lindor hit a three-run homer to open the scoring and give the Mets their biggest lead since a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on April 5.

“I think if they can get it going today, I think the fans will rally around them,” said Josh Hudson, a Tennessee resident in town for business who was sitting in section 509 with a $15 ticket he bought on the secondary market.

Heaney, a resident of Malverne on Long Island who wore a Mets hat and 2022 playoff sweatshirt, grinned as he recalled how he ended up buying a $12 ticket and heading to the game alone.

“I couldn’t get my wife to come,” Heaney said. “I couldn’t get my kids to come. I couldn’t get my friends to come. I bought one ticket, the cheapest one I could find, and I’m going to see if I can help them turn it around.”

Mendoza, in his third season as manager after six seasons on the Yankees’ coaching staff, said before the game he wouldn’t mind a frosty reception because he knows how fans will react if the team fares better.

“They’re also going to be right behind you when we flip it around,” Mendoza said. “We’ve seen that before, too, so it’s nothing new for us that have been here. We expect those guys to continue to support us, but we’ve got to do better for them, too.

“It’s all part of it. It comes with the territory. Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

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This story has been corrected. A previous version reported erroneously that Soto had a strained left quad.

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

On Apr. 25, Galleria Fort Lauderdale will host the 21st annual “Flip Flops on the Boardwalk,” presented by The Daly Family. The fundraiser will be held at Lauderdale Yacht Club in Fort Lauderdale and benefits the Jack & Jill Center.

“Our goal is to help ensure brighter futures for the children and families served by Jack & Jill Center,” said Event Co-Chairs Lauren Atlass, Rebecca Baughman, Kristi Quarles and Jennifer Swercheck.

Voted the Best Nonprofit Fundraiser by Fort Lauderdale Magazine for three years, it’s Jack & Jill’s signature, largest and most popular event. It will feature vintage boardwalk-inspired décor, interactive carnival style experiences, and live music by Les Greene & The Swayzees.

It will offer panoramic Intracoastal views and specialty food stations, along with live and silent auctions. The money raised will provide innovative education and support programming for every child to reach their full potential.

Since 1942, Jack & Jill Center has served more than 30,000 children and families in South Florida. It’s located at 1315 West Broward Blvd in Fort Lauderdale.

Flip Flops on The Boardwalk will run from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. For more information, visit FlipFlopsonthedocks.com.

Devin Nunes, a former California congressmen in Donald Trump's first term, is being replaced temporarily by digital media executive Kevin McGurn as chief executive officer. The company, Trump Media & Technology, didn't give a reason for Nunes leaving or provide a timeline for his permanent replacement.

After soaring shortly before Trump's re-election in November 2024, stock in the company plunged 67%, wiping out more than $6 billion in investor wealth.

Trump Media was formed by the Trump family as an alternative to social media giants that had barred him from posting on their platforms after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots. It said it would not only take on Facebook and Twitter as a “free speech” alternative, but eventually could become a media giant competing with streaming services such as Netflix.

The stock soared, but it never gained traction with a wide audience despite the president's frequent use of it for major political announcements, slammed by government ethics experts as a conflict of interest with the presidency.

Since it went public two years ago, Trump Media has lost more than $1.1 billion. Nunes got total compensation of $47 million in 2024, the last year for which figures are available.

The new CEO McGurn said in statement that the company was “poised to take off."

“In carrying President Trump’s unique, singular vision and message, Truth Social stands for the most powerful brand and voice in history of social media and beyond,” he said.

The Trump Organization didn’t immediately responded to a request for comment.

The company has recently branched into cryptocurrency and another hot business, prediction markets. The latter are online betting venues where people can wager on sports, entertainment and political events.

Both cryptocurrencies and prediction markets have gotten boosts from the Trump administration, in terms of lighter regulation and outright promotion. Last year, for instance, the Trump established a national bitcoin reserve, pushing up the value of that currency.

McGurn, has worked at NBC Universal, Hulu and DoubleClick, among other companies, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is also the CEO of a new shell company that Trump’s two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, joined last year to buy U.S. manufacturers. That company originally stated in regulatory filings that it would be targeting businesses hoping to tap federal contracts, which would be awarded by the same government run by their father.

The Trump Organization and the White House have repeatedly denied that there are conflicts of interest between Trump's role as president and the family business.

Richard Horne, the head of the NCSC — part of the U.K's signals intelligence agency GCHQ — warned that the U.K. is living through “the most seismic geopolitical shift in modern history.” British businesses, he said, need to prepare themselves to defend against cyberattacks because the U.K. could be targeted “at scale,” if it became involved in an international conflict.

In recent months, authorities in Sweden, Poland, Denmark and Norway have all warned that hackers linked to Russia have targeted their critical infrastructure including power plants and dams.

Horne said the NCSC currently handles around four “nationally significant” cyber incidents a week and while criminal activity, such as ransomware, remains the most common problem, the most serious threat comes from cyberattacks carried out directly or indirectly by other states.

Dan Jarvis, the U.K. security minister, said the NCSC handled more than 200 nationally significant incidents last year — more than double the year before. Jarvis and Horne spoke at the CyberUK conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow.

Cyber operations become more sophisticated

In December, Blaise Metreweli, the head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, said the world is more dangerous and contested now than it has been for decades and that the U.K. is operating in a space between peace and war.

“Let’s be clear, cyberspace is part of that contest,” Horne said.

China's intelligence and military agencies display an “eye-watering level of sophistication in their cyber operations,” while Iran is “almost certainly using cyber activity to support the repression of British individuals on our streets who are seen as a threat to the regime,” he said.

Moscow, meanwhile, is using tactics and techniques honed during its war in Ukraine and is “moving them beyond the battlefield,” Horne said, pointing to “sustained Russian hybrid activity” targeting the U.K. and Europe. Companies, he said, must learn how cyber operations have been used in conflict situations in order to boost their own resilience.

Hostile states, Jarvis said, know the most effective way to act is “not to confront us directly, but to quietly hollow us out,” by hacking logistics systems which move goods, for example, or compromising businesses.

He compared a cyberattack at Britain's biggest automaker Jaguar Land Rover — that dented Britain's economic growth late last year — to masked criminals turning up at car dealerships, breaking glass, smashing computers and stealing vehicles from the parking lot.

AI, Jarvis said, is also making it easier for adversaries to attack by finding vulnerabilities in systems “faster than any human team can patch them.” He called for AI companies to work with the U.K. government to develop bespoke programs to boost Britain's cyber defenses.

European countries report cyber attacks on infrastructure

In a conflict situation, Horne said, the U.K. would likely face cyberattacks at scale but — unlike with ransomware — companies will not be able to pay their way out in order to recover data and access to systems. For that reason, he said, every organization needs to understand the “full extent” of the risk they face and improve their cyber defenses before it is too late.

On Friday, Swedish authorities said that a pro-Russian group with links to Russia’s security and intelligence services was behind a cyberattack on a heating plant last year.

Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Sweden's minister for civil defense, compared it to incidents in Poland in December, when coordinated cyberattacks hit combined heat and power plants supplying heat to almost 500,000 customers, as well as wind and solar farms. Poland later said evidence indicated hackers were “directly linked to the Russian services.” Norwegian authorities also warned that a hack in April 2025 which affected water flows from a dam was linked to Russia while in December, Danish authorities said another attack on a water utility company in 2024 left some houses without water.

The four cyberattacks are among more than 155 incidents of disruption — including arson, sabotage and espionage — linked to Russia or its proxies by Western officials and tracked by The Associated Press since Moscow's full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Other incidents linked to Russia by European officials include an attack on German air traffic control, attempts to gain access to Signal and WhatsApp accounts belonging to officials and journalists and attempts by hackers linked to Russian military intelligence to steal users' sensitive data by exploiting a weakness in some internet routers.