According to shelter officials, Smoke came to BCAC as a stray and is considered a long-term dog, meaning he has been there for more than 100 days. Broward County Animal Care currently has more than 20 long-term dogs in need of adoption.

Staff describe Smoke as a moderately energized, treat-motivated dog who loves attention and cuddling. He weighs about 45 to 50 pounds, is potty trained and has finished teething.

Shelter officials say long stays can be stressful and boring for dogs, so they provide regular walks, time outside and mental stimulation.

For more information about Smoke and other dogs available for adoption, visit petadoptions.broward.org.

La policía dijo que Eli Brown fue visto por última vez el miércoles alrededor de las 4:30 p.m. cerca de la intersección de Northwest 38th Street y 115th Avenue.

Indicaron que mide aproximadamente 5 pies y 6 pulgadas de estatura y pesa alrededor de 170 libras.

Según los investigadores, Eli fue visto por última vez vistiendo una camisa negra de manga larga y pantalones deportivos negros. Dijeron que salió del área en una bicicleta eléctrica negra y blanca.

Se pide a cualquier persona que vea a Eli o tenga información sobre su paradero que llame al Departamento de Policía de Coral Springs al 954-344-1800.

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Police said Eli Brown was last seen Wednesday at about 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of Northwest 38th Street and 115th Avenue.

They said he is approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs about 170 pounds.

According to investigators, Eli was last seen wearing a long-sleeve black shirt and black sweatpants. They said he left the area on a black and white e-bike.

Anyone who sees Eli or has information about his whereabouts is urged to call the Coral Springs Police Department at 954-344-1800.

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Her presence is felt throughout Music City, where people are mourning the loss of a country music icon they say gave so much to the world.

“I thought she was going to live forever,” said Joann Kirkman.

“Now she’s up in heaven with God’s angels singing to us all and it’s true, we will always love her,” said Emily Tansill.

Flowers and messages from fans surround Parton’s star outside the Country Music Hall of Fame.

A few blocks away sits her latest project, the Songteller Hotel. It’s not yet open, but fans have still built a memorial.

“The kind of person she is, it’s so rare that people want to do such good in this world like Dolly does,” said Mandy Madson.

Outside her home is a mountain of flowers and tributes as a nonstop stream of people take a moment to pay their respects.

“She was just a global treasure that everybody loved and I don’t think anyone disagreed on,” said Garrett Webb.

In East Tennessee, Dollywood opened the day after her passing, with the theme park saying the show must go on as Dolly would have wanted.

The show also went on at the Grand Ole Opry, where Parton made her debut at just 13 years old when it was still at the Ryman.

One fan reminisced about the times her church choir sang with Parton.

“Our choir backed up Dolly twice on the Country Music Awards in 1989 and then in 1990 on the Dove Awards,” the fan said.

Parton’s bright smile is painted on the sides of buildings all over Music City.

Across the river in East Nashville is another mural where fans have left notes and flowers to remember a woman who gave so much to the world.

And she still has more to give. There’s a secret song locked away in Dollywood that won’t be released until 2045. Parton has said it’s a really good song.

Su presencia se siente en toda la Ciudad de la Música, donde la gente lamenta la pérdida de un ícono de la música country que, según dicen, dio tanto al mundo.

“Pensé que iba a vivir para siempre”, dijo Joann Kirkman.

“Ahora está en el cielo con los ángeles de Dios cantándonos a todos y es cierto, siempre la amaremos”, dijo Emily Tansill.

Flores y mensajes de fanáticos rodean la estrella de Parton afuera del Salón de la Fama de la Música Country.

A unas cuadras de distancia se encuentra su proyecto más reciente, el Songteller Hotel. Todavía no está abierto, pero los fanáticos ya han creado un memorial.

“El tipo de persona que es, es muy raro que la gente quiera hacer tanto bien en este mundo como lo hace Dolly”, dijo Mandy Madson.

Afuera de su casa hay una montaña de flores y homenajes mientras un flujo constante de personas se toma un momento para presentar sus respetos.

“Era simplemente un tesoro mundial que todos amaban y creo que nadie estaba en desacuerdo con eso”, dijo Garrett Webb.

En el este de Tennessee, Dollywood abrió el día después de su fallecimiento, y el parque temático dijo que el espectáculo debe continuar como Dolly hubiera querido.

El espectáculo también continuó en el Grand Ole Opry, donde Parton hizo su debut con apenas 13 años cuando todavía estaba en el Ryman.

Una fanática recordó las ocasiones en que el coro de su iglesia cantó con Parton.

“Nuestro coro acompañó a Dolly dos veces, en los Country Music Awards en 1989 y luego en 1990 en los Dove Awards”, dijo la fanática.

La brillante sonrisa de Parton está pintada en los costados de edificios por toda la Ciudad de la Música.

Al otro lado del río, en East Nashville, hay otro mural donde los fanáticos han dejado notas y flores para recordar a una mujer que dio tanto al mundo.

Y todavía tiene más para dar. Hay una canción secreta guardada en Dollywood que no será lanzada hasta 2045. Parton ha dicho que es una canción realmente buena.

Early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center upped development odds to 90% that 96L will become the Atlantic hurricane season’s next system.

The missing piece of information to give 96L the upgrade is whether its circulation is closed off, something not easily gleaned from traditional nighttime satellite. Daytime satellite should help in this determination, along with satellite wind estimates that arrive from occasional passes of certain polar-orbiting satellites.

Whether 96L becomes Tropical Depression Four or Tropical Storm Dolly, it looks to have a short shelf life thanks to a wall of wind shear it will run into this weekend as it approaches the easternmost Caribbean islands, something we’ve covered extensively in newsletters this week.

This ribbon of wind shear – anchored across the Caribbean and into the Atlantic’s Main Development Region – has been a thorn in the side of wannabe storms all season and is courtesy of the historic Super El Niño that’s developed over the eastern equatorial Pacific.

Intensity models show the most likely outcome, which is at most a weak and short-lived tropical storm.

Though 96L or what develops from it will move near or over parts of the Lesser Antilles starting this weekend followed by Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti for early next week, it won’t pose a serious widespread wind or heavy rain threat.

Re-development next week unlikely

The big question earlier this week was whether 96L would survive the shear zone and try to stage a second act over the southwestern Atlantic for the middle part of next week. That question appears to have a decided answer today.

The one-two combo of high shear and interaction with the Caribbean islands early next week should keep 96L sufficiently disorganized and weak that it won’t be able to recover on the other side. The already low odds of a comeback have continued to trend lower and that scenario is off the table for now.

So it appears this year’s Super El Niño will claim another victim with 96L, extending the Atlantic’s hurricane drought into September and ensuring any storm contenders have an uphill climb as we approach the traditional peak of the hurricane season.

Williams, de 27 años, se encontraba allí como recluso después de que la policía de Miramar lo acusara de atacar a su prometida en el apartamento de ambos en Southwest 45th Court, cerca de Red Road.

No tuvo nada que decir cuando Local 10 News le preguntó sobre los cargos.

Según un informe de arresto, un amigo llevó a la víctima al apartamento. Ella dijo a la policía que Williams se molestó cuando llegó a casa, la insultó y la golpeó, provocando que cayera por las escaleras.

El informe de arresto continúa diciendo que Williams se colocó encima de ella y le dio un puñetazo en el rostro, y cuando la víctima se volteó para protegerse la cara, él la golpeó en la parte posterior de la cabeza y le jaló el cabello.

La policía dijo que la víctima contó a los agentes que Williams colocó su mano derecha debajo de su cuello y apretó, luego la levantó del suelo por el cuello.

Según el informe, la víctima se defendió y dijo a la policía que Williams amenazó con matarla, por lo que metió la mano en su bolso para sacar su arma.

Ambos forcejearon por el arma antes de que Williams se la arrebatara y huyera, dijeron las autoridades.

Un juez le ordenó a Williams “no tener armas de fuego ni municiones” y no regresar “a ningún lugar donde la víctima viva, trabaje o frecuente”.

Fue arrestado el lunes y compareció el martes ante un juez del tribunal de fianzas.

Williams se encuentra de licencia sin sueldo desde su arresto.

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Williams, 27, was there as an inmate after Miramar police accused him of attacking his fiancee at their apartment along Southwest 45th Court, near Red Road.

He had nothing to say as Local 10 News asked him about the charges.

According to an arrest report, the victim was dropped off to their apartment by a male friend. She told police Williams was upset once she got home, called her names and hit her, causing her to fall down the stairs.

The arrest report goes on to say that Williams was on top of her and punched her in the face and as the victim turned over to protect her face, he punched the back of her head and pulled her hair.

Police said the victim told officers that Williams put his right hand under her neck and tightened his grasp, then lifted her off of the ground by her neck.

According to the report, the victim fought back, telling police Williams threatened to kill her and she reached into her purse for her gun.

They struggled for the weapon before Williams snatched it from her and took off, authorities said.

A judge ordered him to have “no firearms, weapons, or ammunition” and to not return “to any place the victim lives, works, or frequents.”

He was arrested on Monday and faced a bond court judge on Tuesday.

Williams has been on unpaid leave since his arrest.

UEFA said Thursday it filed documents in a Manhattan court requesting discovery of potential evidence from the New York investment fund, Thrive Capital Management, founded by Joshua Kushner.

Thrive and Kushner were to be the anchor investors intending to pay FIFA $4.2 billion for a 20% stake in a subsidiary that would run the soccer body’s commercial events, including the World Cup.

“UEFA and its counsel are contemplating a Swiss criminal proceeding against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code,” UEFA’s lawyers state in a 56-page document seen by The Associated Press.

The document suggests the $4.2 billion figure could be a “fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.”

Infantino dropped the sell-off plan on Aug. 1 after a furious backlash by global soccer leaders, including UEFA.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

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According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue officials, the crash was reported just after 7 a.m. in the 3800 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard.

First responders said the bus and another vehicle collided.

Seven people who were involved in the crash were evaluated at the scene before being transported to local hospitals for further treatment.

Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies said the people injured included the driver of the vehicle, five bus passengers and a man who was retrieving his bicycle from the front of the bus.

First responders said all injuries were believed to be non-life-threatening.

The circumstances leading up to the crash remain under investigation.

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Head to the beach and look to the east-southeast to see the moon rise and the beginning of the eclipse at 9:24 p.m. Then track the moon and the eclipse as it moves west overnight, peaking at 12:12 a.m.

The eclipse ends at 3:01 a.m.

Even though the moon will take on a reddish tint, you don’t need to take any safety precautions when viewing -- just sit back and enjoy as the Earth passes in between the sun and moon for a few hours.

Weather should be good for viewing, although it might be a little cloudy at the beginning.

Diríjase a la playa y mire hacia el este-sureste para ver salir la luna y el comienzo del eclipse a las 9:24 p.m. Luego siga la luna y el eclipse mientras se desplazan hacia el oeste durante la noche, alcanzando su punto máximo a las 12:12 a.m.

El eclipse termina a las 3:01 a.m.

Aunque la luna adquirirá un tono rojizo, no es necesario tomar ninguna precaución de seguridad para observarlo, simplemente siéntese y disfrute mientras la Tierra pasa entre el Sol y la Luna durante unas horas.

El clima debería ser favorable para observarlo, aunque podría estar un poco nublado al principio.

Según funcionarios de Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, el accidente fue reportado poco después de las 7 a.m. en la cuadra 3800 de West Oakland Park Boulevard.

Los socorristas dijeron que el autobús y otro vehículo chocaron.

Seis personas involucradas en el accidente fueron evaluadas en el lugar antes de ser transportadas a hospitales locales para recibir tratamiento adicional, dijeron funcionarios de BSFR.

Indicaron que se creía que ninguna de las lesiones ponía en peligro la vida.

Las circunstancias que llevaron al accidente siguen bajo investigación.

Los científicos aún están reuniendo información a partir de datos satelitales y a nivel del terreno para determinar con exactitud qué ocurrió y qué causó la inundación.

El Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos informó de un colapso glaciar de magnitud 5,2 que envió escombros río abajo con un impacto catastrófico en las comunidades. Señaló que su determinación se basó en datos de estaciones sísmicas cercanas, ondas sísmicas de período largo e imágenes satelitales.

“Realmente se ha desprendido una parte baja de un glaciar", declaró Jakob Steiner, geocientífico de la Universidad de Graz, en Austria, que actualmente está radicado en Bangladesh. "Si miras las imágenes, es como si alguien hubiera cortado con un cuchillo enorme toda la parte inferior y se hubiera caído”.

Steiner explicó que una masa de hielo glaciar cayéndose desde gran altura podría sentirse como una bomba, lo que habría derivado en el caos posterior.

Los científicos indicaron que es demasiado pronto para establecer una conexión directa entre el calentamiento global y la catástrofe. Sin embargo, señalaron que, a medida que aumenta la temperatura de la Tierra por actividades humanas como la quema de petróleo, gas y carbón, crecen las probabilidades de desastres de este tipo, especialmente en las montañas del Himalaya, que se están calentando considerablemente más rápido que muchas otras partes del mundo.

“Tenemos que ser cautelosos y no establecer una conexión todavía. Sin embargo, el aumento de las temperaturas está cambiando la región del Hindu Kush Himalaya y derritiendo los glaciares”, explicó Saswat Sanyal, especialista en reducción del riesgo de desastres del grupo de investigación climática International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, con sede en Katmandú.

Cientos de personas han perdido sus hogares en toda la región del Himalaya, y las autoridades informaron de daños a gran escala en infraestructura crítica, incluidas represas hidroeléctricas, carreteras, edificios y puentes en la región.

Aumento repentino del nivel del agua no dio oportunidad de escapar

Los niveles de los ríos en toda la región subieron hasta 9 metros en 30 minutos como resultado de la crecida provocada por el desprendimiento glaciar aguas arriba, indicaron expertos del grupo de investigación climática con sede en Katmandú.

“Fue un aumento enorme, una crecida enorme de agua que ocurrió de repente”, indicó Sanyal.

La evidencia preliminar sugiere que un gran volumen de hielo y roca pudo haberse precipitado en el Lhende Khola, un afluente del río Bhote Koshi. Los investigadores señalaron que el colapso pudo haber desplazado agua y arrastrado sedimentos sueltos y rocas, produciendo una potente crecida río abajo. También están examinando si los escombros represaron temporalmente el río antes de que el agua embalsada rompiera el bloqueo, lo que habría magnificado la inundación.

Steiner indicó que la zona tiene un historial de peligros montañosos destructivos. Inundaciones originadas en un lago glaciar golpearon el mismo valle en 2025, mientras que una avalancha de hielo y roca ocurrió en otra parte del área en 2024. La región más amplia de Langtang también fue afectada por avalanchas devastadoras durante el terremoto de Nepal de 2015.

El cambio climático aumenta los riesgos en el Himalaya

El Hindu Kush Himalaya se está calentando rápidamente, lo que impulsa cambios importantes en los glaciares, la cobertura de nieve, el permafrost y las laderas montañosas, según científicos del clima.

Las montañas contienen el mayor volumen de nieve y hielo fuera de las regiones polares. Más de 63.000 glaciares en el área alimentan al menos 10 grandes sistemas fluviales asiáticos y sostienen la seguridad alimentaria, hídrica, energética y de medios de sustento de miles de millones de personas.

Sin embargo, alrededor del 78% del área glaciar, ubicada entre 4.500 y 6.000 metros sobre el nivel del mar, está altamente expuesta al calentamiento.

“Lo que pasó ayer es, por desgracia, la nueva normalidad. A partir de aquí va a empeorar”, señaló Steiner.

La última década fue el período de varios años más caluroso a nivel mundial desde que comenzaron los registros, y 2024 fue el año más cálido jamás registrado. Informes de las Naciones Unidas han determinado que, entre 2000 y 2019, los glaciares perdieron 267 gigatoneladas de hielo por año, aproximadamente equivalente a la masa de 46.500 Grandes Pirámides de Guiza.

Debido al calentamiento, expertos proyectan la pérdida de hasta el 50% de todos los glaciares —excluidos los de Groenlandia y la Antártida— para 2100, incluso si el calentamiento global puede limitarse a 1,5 grados Celsius (2,7 grados Fahrenheit).

Las políticas globales actuales ponen a la Tierra en una trayectoria de calentamiento de alrededor de 2,8 grados Celsius (5 grados Fahrenheit) por encima de los niveles preindustriales para finales de siglo.

Investigaciones del grupo con sede en Katmandú han encontrado que los glaciares en estas montañas se están derritiendo a un ritmo acelerado, con tasas de pérdida de hielo que se han duplicado desde 2000.

El derretimiento de los glaciares puede alimentar y agrandar los lagos glaciares, aumentando el potencial de inundaciones repentinas.

A medida que los glaciares retroceden, la roca de montaña que antes estaba aislada y sostenida por el hielo queda expuesta a temperaturas más cálidas, a la lluvia y a ciclos repetidos de congelación y deshielo. El permafrost —suelo que ha permanecido congelado durante años— también puede descongelarse, debilitando paredes rocosas y laderas.

“Aumentan las probabilidades de que el material empiece a desplazarse montaña abajo”, apuntó Steiner.

Sanyal dijo que ese podría ser el tipo de peligro en cascada detrás de lo ocurrido en Nepal: una avalancha o colapso glaciar que se convierte en un flujo de escombros, bloqueo del río e inundación repentina y devastadora.

El rápido crecimiento y la falta de alertas agravan el desastre

Steiner señaló que alrededor del 10% de la producción eléctrica de Nepal estaba ubicada en el valle afectado. Añadió que las pérdidas repetidas plantean interrogantes sobre si se ha hecho lo suficiente para instalar sistemas de alerta tanto para residentes como para visitantes tras inundaciones y avalanchas anteriores.

El paisaje ha sido durante mucho tiempo un atractivo para los turistas, con más de un millón de personas que visitan el país cada año en los últimos años.

Los científicos afirman que sistemas de alerta temprana más sólidos, un mejor monitoreo y un intercambio transfronterizo de información más rápido serán cada vez más importantes a medida que suban las temperaturas y los paisajes montañosos se vuelvan menos estables.

Pero monitorear miles de glaciares, laderas empinadas y valles fluviales a lo largo del arco del Himalaya es extremadamente difícil.

Y cuando comienzan los desastres en cascada, puede haber solo minutos para actuar.

“No tenemos horas. A veces tenemos unos pocos minutos para realmente prepararnos”, sostuvo Sanyal.

Steiner aseguró que ya se ha alcanzado una “línea roja” en la que algunas regiones de Nepal son simplemente demasiado riesgosas para vivir.

“Esperábamos que desastres similares anteriores fueran una llamada de atención para los gobiernos de la región del Himalaya, pero es un poco frustrante que los daños nunca parezcan ser lo suficientemente horribles”, aseveró Steiner.

“No soy muy optimista en que a partir de mañana haya soluciones claras", agregó. "Sabemos lo que hay que hacer, pero varios actores necesitan coordinarse y hacer que las cosas sucedan”.

__________________________________

Puede seguir a Arasu en X en @sibi123. Puede contactarlo en sarasu@ap.org.

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

The allegations were presented Tuesday by attorney David Winker, who is representing community activist Bonnie Bolton in her effort to preserve the Garden of Our Lord.

“We can’t have people coming in and just manufacturing support for these projects,” Winker said.

Bolton called the allegations “massive corruption” that she believes tainted the process surrounding the preservation fight.

The issue began with observations made by Coral Gables resident Omar Packard, who said he became suspicious after watching people speak in favor of the development project.

“We started noticing these people that they seemed to need to look at their cellphone to recite their addresses,” Packard said.

Packard said he began writing down the addresses provided during public comment and checking them.

“I found a lot of them didn’t even exist or were commercial buildings,” he said.

He then began visiting some of the addresses in person.

According to Packard, the people he spoke with said the speakers did not live there.

“They came here, they took these addresses, they misrepresented themselves, and they stole our voices,” Packard said.

Packard shared his findings with Bolton, who then provided them to Winker.

Winker presented the allegations to commissioners and requested that the vote on the development project be deferred.

“Every single address that we checked was fraudulent,” Winker told the commission.

Winker said he believes the allegations should be investigated by law enforcement.

“You can’t take an oath and say something that’s false,” he said. “That’s a crime.”

He later added, “I think that law enforcement really needs to take a hard look at this. Who are these people?”

Despite the request for a delay, commissioners moved forward with the development item, approving it in a 3-1 vote.

Commissioner Melissa Castro voted against the project and said the allegations raised serious questions about the integrity of the process.

“As soon as I saw this presentation, I was floored,” Castro said.

Castro said she already had concerns about the project itself, arguing that it does not fit with the surrounding neighborhood and is out of character with the historic area.

But she said the allegations of false testimony gave her another reason to oppose moving forward with the vote.

“I don’t believe that vote should have taken place that day,” Castro said. “I believe that really messed with the integrity of the record.”

“If there was false testimony, what else was false?” she added. “Now it’s questionable.”

The commission also unanimously approved a motion by Mayor Vince Lago, seconded by Castro, calling for the allegations to be referred to the appropriate authorities.

“If people showed up here and lied to the commission saying they are residents of the City Beautiful, I want to make sure that goes to the necessary authorities,” Lago said during the meeting.

Castro said she wants to know who may have been behind the alleged misrepresentations.

“When you have fictitious people, or impersonating people that live in the area, it’s a huge deal,” she said.

She added that if the investigation does not involve the appropriate agencies, she plans to continue pursuing the issue herself.

“It hinders democracy,” Castro said.

A spokesperson for the developer connected to the agenda item said in a statement that the company was surprised by the allegations.

“We were surprised and deeply disappointed by the actions alleged by Mr. Winker,” the statement read in part. “They do not reflect who we are or how we operate.”

A spokesperson for the City of Coral Gables told Local 10 that police will investigate some of the claims raised during the commission meeting.

Winker said the issue goes beyond one development project.

“I think that it’s so fundamental to our democracy,” he said. “We can’t have people just coming in and lying in official proceedings.”

Read the full statement from the developer below:

“We were surprised and deeply disappointed by the actions alleged by Mr. Winker. They do not reflect who we are or how we operate.

“For 40 years, Fifield has built its reputation on trust and true partnership with the communities we serve. This project is no exception.

“At the heart of it is a promise to Crystal Academy and its students: a permanent, rent-free home for the next 99 years. We remain fully committed to fulfilling it, and to full transparency with the City Commission and the Coral Gables community as this process moves forward.”

Fifield spokesperson

City of Coral Gables official statement:

“To clarify, the City Commission did not vote to open a criminal investigation by the Coral Gables Police Department. The Commission requested that the Police Department investigate the claims of one of the parties and refer any appropriate allegations regarding the speakers’ addresses to the appropriate authorities for review. The Coral Gables Police Department will investigate some of the claims that were raised.

“Because the matter is being referred for review, the city cannot speculate as to whether a law may have been violated or characterize the allegations as fraud, perjury or another potential offense. Those are matters for the appropriate authorities to determine.

“The Commission separately approved the various related items by a 3-1 vote. Commissioner Ariel Fernandez did not attend the meeting.

“The Commission’s land-use decision was based on the competent substantial evidence in the record; therefore, the referral of the separate allegations does not prevent the items from moving forward.”

City of Coral Gables

To see Winker’s full presentation to the city commission, click here.

There will be plenty of dry time in between, but storms could interrupt any outdoor plans at times. Some could be strong with frequent lightning, brief heavy rain, gusty winds, and even some small hail. High temperatures will be in the low 90s with a heat index between 100-105 degrees, which is just below heat advisory criteria.

This pattern will last into the weekend with rounds of showers and thunderstorms. This is a welcomed sight considering the severe to extreme drought that is ongoing.

Here’s the Latest:

HHS responds to AP report on Kennedy’s letter about measles vaccine

The Department of Health and Human Services said in response to questions from the AP that the Samoa visit “was unrelated to vaccines.”

“Any claim or insinuation based on these letters that Secretary Kennedy lied under oath or to Congress is not only false but outright defamatory,” the department said in a written statement.

Kennedy was not under oath during his confirmation hearing. Knowingly giving material false testimony to Congress is a crime that carries a possible prison sentence regardless of whether a person is under oath, though it is rarely prosecuted.

HHS did not make Kennedy available for an interview. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Samoan prime minister’s office and the former prime minister who corresponded with Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit Kennedy led.

AP exclusive: RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly told lawmakers who held the key to his confirmation last year that his 2019 visit to Samoa before a deadly measles outbreak had “ nothing to do with vaccines.” New documents obtained by The Associated Press and The Guardian refute that testimony.

Kennedy, then a prominent anti-vaccine activist, preceded the visit with a letter to the Samoan prime minister requesting to study the Pacific island nation’s measles, mumps and rubella vaccines after the deaths of two children who had received them. In the letter, he used the words vaccine or vaccination eight times.

The letter raises questions about how truthful Kennedy was in testimony before Congress. During an arduous confirmation process where he needed the support of some skeptical Republican lawmakers to advance, Kennedy also pledged to maintain vaccine policies that, once in office, he moved to change.

▶ Read more, including the letters from Kennedy and Samoa’s prime minister

Outgoing White House press secretary talks Texas and her replacement

Karoline Leavitt says there’s “no shortage of applications” to replace her.

“I’ve given my advice to the president on what he should look for, and I’ll continue to do that until he makes a decision,” she told “Fox and Friends” on Thursday that the pick needs to be someone Trump “trusts fully.”

In what Fox hosts billed as her last official interview on the network, Leavitt teased a trip Trump is taking to Houston Thursday evening to attend a Republican National Committee fundraiser in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign. Trump will visit NASA’s Johnson Space Center on Friday.

White House says some Americans have been rescued from flooding in Nepal

The U.S. has rescued a handful of Americans in the wake of devastating flooding in Nepal, outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview on “Fox and Friends” on Thursday morning.

Leavitt said the U.S. has offered its help to local authorities and will prioritize Americans in its response. “We’re focused on rescuing every American that we possibly can,” she said.

Rescue teams searched Thursday for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border, where the collapse of a glacier sent a catastrophic and deadly torrent of water and mud several stories high sweeping through communities.

Videos of the disaster showed people running before the floodwaters swallowed them up. At least 353 people were killed, police said, and more than 1,300 are missing. Melting glaciers have become more common because of human-caused climate change.

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid slips to 203,000 as layoffs remain low

The Labor Department numbers released Thursday show layoffs are rare and most Americans enjoy job security, but that doesn’t point to a great job market for workers.

Scarred by the worker shortages that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are reluctant to let go of staff. But they aren’t hiring much either. So times are tough for Americans seeking to break into the job market as well as people who lost their jobs and are looking for new work. Economists describe a “no hire, no fire″ job market.

So far this year, employers — companies, nonprofits and government agencies — have added an average 61,000 jobs a month. It’s better than the 9,700 they averaged last year as high interest rates and Trump’s erratic trade policies discouraged companies from hiring. But it’s well below historic hiring patterns.

ICE officer charged in Minneapolis shooting is released from Texas jail

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis was released from a Texas jail Thursday, after a judge refused to order his return to Minnesota.

Christian Castro was released from a detention center in Brownsville, Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino said in an email.

A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote in an order that said he couldn’t prevent a county sheriff from releasing Castro or order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign his extradition warrant.

Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.

Minnesota officials believe Castro could flee to Mexico.

New Fed chair Kevin Warsh under pressure to clarify views on inflation, interest rates

New Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh has brought sharp change in how the central bank communicates by saying much less than his predecessors about the economy and inflation.

But so far, many economists and Wall Street investors haven’t been thrilled with that approach.

On Friday, Warsh has a high-stakes opportunity to address those concerns and underscore his inflation-fighting bona fides when he gives his speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, during the Fed’s annual economic symposium.

What many economists and Wall Street analysts are hoping for is a clear signal on how he thinks the Fed should handle the stubbornly elevated inflation that has caused pervasive gloom among many consumers. At his last press conference, he sowed confusion by ducking repeated questions on whether the Fed would hike its benchmark interest rate if inflation stays high.

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After six months of Iran war, US goals have shifted. The Strait of Hormuz is now a top concern

When Trump launched the war with Iran in late February, he initially forecast it would last four to five weeks. Six months later, there’s still no off-ramp in sight despite Trump’s repeated assertions that the war has been won or a deal to resolve it was nearly complete.

A June memorandum of understanding designed to pave the way to end the war has fallen by the wayside.

One of the prime goals now — reopening the Strait of Hormuz — was not one of Trump’s original objectives. The waterway had been a vital shipping lane through which about 20% of the world’s oil passed.

But Iran seized on it as a chokepoint for the global economy and it has been largely closed since the war started, driving up prices for fuel and fertilizer needed for farms and creating economic and political pressure in the U.S.

The U.S. has had tactical success on its goals to degrade Iran’s military capabilities. But some of the other key objectives Trump laid out at the start of the conflict remain unfulfilled.

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Judge denies Minnesota’s bid to compel the extradition of an ICE officer from Texas

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to order Texas to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote in an order that he couldn’t prevent a county sheriff from releasing Christian Castro or order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign his extradition warrant.

The Cameron County sheriff said he would release Castro on Thursday morning.

Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.

After a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant for Castro’s arrest in May, authorities, including Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, arrested Castro in Cameron County on May 29. Minnesota authorities have sought his extradition since his arrest, but he remains in custody in Brownsville, Texas, a city bordering Mexico.

Under Texas law and barring extradition, Castro must be released after 90 days of detention, which is Thursday.

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Republicans face a midterm verdict as Iran war drags on months longer than Trump promised

The Iran war has reshaped the rapidly approaching midterm elections, undermining Trump’s campaign pledge to steer clear of foreign conflicts and challenging Republicans who would rather focus on their tax cuts as they cling to narrow majorities in Congress.

While the president’s supporters are undeterred, the war’s unpopularity and economic ripple effects could tilt the scales in tightly contested U.S. House districts.

Midterm elections are always difficult for the party in power in Washington. But interviews with voters around the country show how a war that Trump expected to end with a swift victory could undermine the final years of his presidency.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war with Iran has not been worth fighting, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That includes the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as more than one-third of Republicans.

In Congress, Republicans have shifted from initially cheerleading Trump’s moves in Iran to expressing concern about the toll of the war.

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Faltering diplomatic efforts to end Iran war continue

Pakistan said Thursday that it was continuing diplomatic efforts to help resolve the crisis between the United States and Iran, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a news briefing that Field Marshal Asim Munir’s recent visit to Tehran was aimed at reviving the June memorandum of understanding to reopen the strait.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is expected in Tehran on Thursday for talks with Iranian officials on “ways to de-escalate tensions & create the conditions conducive to dialogue,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on X.

The discussions, confirmed by Tehran, will also address “freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz and the need to return to the prewar status quo, according to Majed Al Ansari, an agency spokesperson.

But U.S. President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera by phone on Wednesday that he has “no time schedule” to wrap up the conflict that will reach the six-month mark on Friday. Trump told the Qatar-based broadcaster that he believes the United States is “winning very big.”

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“For every ransom that is paid for a kidnapping incident, you are simply birthing another kidnapping incident,” Kehinde Giwa, a security analyst at SBM Intelligence, told The Associated Press.

SBM Intelligence said in a report on Wednesday that 7.78 billion naira ($5.8 million) was paid in ransom for releasing people who had been kidnapped between July 2025 and June 2026. The group said that 7,825 people were kidnapped in that time, a 66% increase from the previous year.

Abductions are common in Nigeria, where militant groups target schoolchildren and other civilians to put pressure on the government and extract ransoms.

Last week, dozens of people were kidnapped from a mosque in a spate of abductions at several villages in Nigeria's north-central Niger state.

Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country. Authorities have said the bandit groups include mostly former herders who took up arms against farming communities, after clashes between them over increasingly strained resources.

There is also an insurgency by Islamic militants in the country’s northeast that has lasted more than a decade.

“Nigeria is not winning the war,” said Giwa, from SBM Intelligence. “There are close to 21 kidnapping incidents that happen on a daily basis.”

Abba Bukar, a resident of Maiduguri, in the northeastern state Borno, said Thursday that he was abducted in June close to a university and spent around four weeks in captivity.

“My father paid around 2 million naira (about $1,500). He had to sell my house and belongings and borrow money,” Bukar said, adding that the family is still struggling to recover economically from the ordeal.

The United States and Nigeria recently formed a military partnership to tackle the West African country's multifaceted security crisis.

The U.S. in February sent troops to Nigeria to help advise its military, and in March, the U.S. also deployed drones there after Trump’s allegations about Christians being targeted in Africa's most populous country.

The reports said that Mladic died in a U.N. prison hospital in The Hague, Netherlands. A family member of Mladic, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, confirmed the reports for the AP and said Mladic’s son, Darko Mladic, was on the way to The Hague.

U.N. court officials told the AP in a statement that they could not immediately confirm Mladic’s death.

The U.N. tribunal for war crimes committed during the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s sentenced Mladic to life in prison in 2017 in what was considered a key step toward bringing justice to the victims. He had been in custody since 2011 after many years on the run.

The ruthless, blue-eyed former communist officer-turned nationalist warlord was one of the most notorious figures of the conflict that left more than 100,000 people dead and over 1 million homeless. He commanded his troops to “scorch the brains” of the Bosnian Muslims and boasted of being a “Serbian God.”

When the ethnic war in Bosnia started in 1992, Mladic became the commander of the Bosnian Serb troops and took control of large swaths of the country to form a Serb mini-state.

Serbs under Mladic’s control laid siege to the capital, Sarajevo, and other cities and villages, established concentration camps for detained non-Serb civilians and enemy soldiers, and systematically killed prisoners.

In Sarajevo, Serb troops kept the city isolated while killing civilians with snipers. In 1995, Mladic’s troops slaughtered more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica — the only post-World War II case of genocide in Europe.

But Mladic himself and his admirers among the Serbs have never repented. He was seen by many as a patriot fighting for the first pan-Serbian state. Defiant, Mladic acted bullishly during his trial and yelled at the judges when sentenced to life in prison.

Mladic was born March 12, 1942, in the tiny Bosnian village of Bozinovici, in the hills 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Sarajevo. Like other protagonists in the Yugoslav conflict, he imbibed nationalism from his family’s fate in World War II — his own father was killed by Croats.

A communist-era officer, Mladic sided with the Serbs as Yugoslavia disintegrated in the war. Mladic first led a Serb insurgency in Croatia before taking over the Bosnian Serb army that was backed by Serbia and then-President Slobodan Milosevic, who also died in the custody of the Hague court in 2006 while on trial for genocide.

Mladic was known for his obsession with his nation’s history. He saw Bosnia’s war as a chance for revenge against the onetime 500-year-long Ottoman occupation of Serbia. He often referred to Bosnia’s Muslims as Turks and boasted of revenge when his troops overran the protected U.N. enclave of Srebrenica in 1995.

Carried away by Serb dominance in firepower and international ignorance, Mladic was convinced of his final victory.

“The time has come ... for revenge against Turks in these regions,” Mladic said after taking over Srebrenica.

A U.N. “safe haven” for Muslims, Srebrenica ended up overrun by Serbs who separated the men and boys, forced them to strip, killed them and bulldozed their bodies into mass graves in a brutal rampage that lasted for over a week.

The Srebrenica survivors said one image forever will be imprinted in their minds: Mladic handing out candy to Muslim children who had been rounded up on the town’s square and reassuring them that everything would be all right — even patting one child on the head.

Convinced of the power of his army, he used to tell his soldiers: “When I give you guarantees, it’s as if they are given by God.” To clear the way for his helicopter to land, he would tell air traffic controllers: “Here speaks Ratko Mladic — The Serbian God.”

Sarajevans still remember his commands to the Serb gunmen pounding the Bosnian capital in early 1992. He issued his orders through a military radio system, not bothering to scramble the signal, which was picked up and taped by the Sarajevo police.

“Turn toward Velesici, there are no Serbs there,” Sarajevans could hear Mladic ordering his artillery to pound the Sarajevo suburb.

“Scorch their brains,” he told his gunmen.

Faced with the U.N. tribunal’s genocide indictment, Mladic in 1996 began his fugitive years in Han Pijesak, a military compound in eastern Bosnia built for former Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito and designed to withstand a nuclear attack.

With his wife, Bosa, Mladic settled down to imposed domesticity, passing the time caring for bees and goats. His 23 goats reputedly bore the names of foreign dignitaries he despised, such as Madeleine Albright, the former U.S. secretary of state.

Surrounded by security guards, he occasionally ventured out of the dense pine forest to mark events such as the anniversary of the Bosnian Serb army and St. Vitus Day, a religious festival marking the 1389 Serb defeat by the Turks at Kosovo.

When in the late 1990s his trail grew too hot in Bosnia, Mladic moved with family into a suburban villa in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

In Belgrade, he was seen attending his son’s wedding. He showed up at soccer games, dined in plush restaurants and frequented elite cafes, refusing to give interviews and smiling quizzically when photographed.

When Milosevic was ousted from power in October 2000, and Yugoslavia’s new pro-democracy authorities signaled they might hand Mladic over to the tribunal, tabloids reported that he had left Belgrade for Bosnia.

But true to his style, Mladic countered those rumors and others that said he was terminally ill in Belgrade. Before going underground in 2002, he was repeatedly seen in public, sometimes with his guards and sometimes alone, driving a boxy Yugo car on the streets of the capital.

He completely disappeared from public view in 2008 and was finally arrested in May 2011 in a village near Belgrade where he was hiding in a relative’s modest house.

In court in The Hague, a frail-looking old man was far from an image of Mladic from the war days. But his unrepentant nature and defiance were intact.

“Everything you said is pure lies. Shame on you!” he yelled at the U.N. judges when they handed down the conviction.

Already in poor health upon arrest in 2011, Mladic is believed to have suffered multiple strokes during his years on the run and was hospitalized on several occasions while in custody.

The number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining at historic lows as layoffs are rare and most Americans enjoy job security.

Jobless claims slipped to 203,000 last week from a revised 207,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, ticked up slightly to 205,500.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can provide early clues of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week.

The U.S. economy and job market have proved resilient in the face of high gasoline prices caused by the fighting with Iran. The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%. That is partly because President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the ongoing retirement of baby boomers mean that fewer people are competing for jobs: More than 1.3 million people have dropped out of the U.S. labor force over the past year.

Companies, scarred by the surprise worker shortages that followed the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, are reluctant to let go of staff. But they aren’t hiring much either. So times are tough for Americans seeking to break into the job market and those who lost their jobs and are looking for new work. Economists describe a “no hire, no fire″ job market.

So far this year, employers — companies, nonprofits and government agencies — have added an average 61,000 jobs a month. That is an improvement on the 9,700 they averaged last year — the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002 — when the lingering effects of high interest rates and Trump’s erratic trade policies discouraged companies from hiring.

When the Labor Department puts out the August jobs report next week, it’s expected to show that employers added another 65,000 jobs, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

Hiring this year remains well below the 166,00 monthly jobs created, on average, in 2023 and 2024, let alone the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed pandemic lockdowns.

Christian Castro was released at the break of dawn from a detention center in Brownsville. He motioned his hand toward a few camera operators and a reporter crowding around him and quickly got into an SUV that drove off.

A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote in an order that said he couldn't prevent a county sheriff from releasing Castro or order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign his extradition warrant.

Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.

Castro is accused of firing gun through door of home

Castro is accused of firing a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, shooting Sosa-Celis in the leg. Prosecutors say Castro also falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.

After a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant for Castro's arrest in May, authorities, including Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, arrested Castro in Cameron County on May 29. Minnesota authorities have sought his extradition since his arrest, but he remained in custody in Brownsville, a city bordering Mexico.

Under Texas law and barring extradition, Castro had to be released after 90 days of detention, which was Thursday.

Minnesota officials believe Castro could flee to Mexico.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a request for a temporary restraining order last week seeking to block Castro’s release or to order his return to Minnesota.

Abbott waiting for internal state investigation about Castro

Texas attorneys on Tuesday argued the judge could not rule on a decision that’s still pending. Abbott has not denied the extradition. Instead he is waiting for the outcome of an internal state investigation considering whether Castro was legally a “fugitive” under the Extradition Clause, the lawyers said.

The judge wrote in Wednesday’s order that the court couldn't yet step in.

“The Court concludes that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the case is not ripe for adjudication,” the order read. “Minnesota cannot premise its causes of action on the allegation that Governor Abbott may violate those authorities in the future; it must prove that a violation has already occurred.”

The judge said in his order that the extradition laws do not outline how long the Texas governor can take to make that decision.

Abbott said last week he would not respond to the extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.

Abbott directs ‘bad lawyers’ comment at Minnesota attorney general

After the judge's decision, Ellison posted online that the Texas governor had an obligation to extradite Castro. And by refusing to extradite him, “Greg Abbott is turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals.”

Abbott responded to Ellison.

“You guys are such bad lawyers. You showed up unprepared, uninformed & unpersuasive,” Abbott wrote online. “You don’t know the law & it showed.”

The Texas governor accused Minnesota of refusing to enforce immigration laws and threatened to send immigrants in the future to their state as he did with New York City, when thousands were released into Texas under President Joe Biden's administration.

A message seeking reaction from Ellison was sent to his office Thursday.

Minnesota officials say Castro could flee the country, citing calls he made from jail to a woman in Mexico, talking “about marrying her and buying a house in Mexico when he is released,” according to the lawsuit.

The judge conceded that Castro could flee the country but added that “the threat of injury by itself does not create an issue ripe for adjudication.”

___

Valerie Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas. Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this story.

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A criminal complaint filed earlier in August reveals a $20 million criminal enterprise operating in South Florida.

The 29-page complaint says the FBI began investigating “money mule networks” last year.

Federal agents identified a group called the Honeybun Boyz.

The complaint describes the group as a major metropolitan criminal enterprise made up of financial fraudsters who flaunt $100,000 bankrolls tied to account takeovers that target vulnerable victims.

The term “honeybun” in certain circles means $100,000, a term also used by music artists like Pop Smoke.

The three-tiered network is made up of controllers, the bosses, handlers and mules who move the money.

Federal agents identified as many as 30 victims in South Florida, many of them elderly, including a widow who was convinced to withdraw $95,000 in cash.

The report says businesses were defrauded too. One victim was told the bank had a security breach.

Through a phishing link, fraudsters allegedly obtained the victim’s login information for an American business bank account, and a fraudulent wire transfer for $82,000 was initiated, according to investigators.

They said the fraudsters used phishing links, fake bank phone calls and stolen banking information to get the cash.

A complaint obtained by Local 10 News on Wednesday lists luxury purchases the suspects allegedly made in April, with thousands spent on high-end goods at Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton and a high-end Miami watch store.

Two of the suspects are accused of using the money to purchase a home in Miami Lakes worth close to $1 million.

Twelve defendants are listed in the complaint. They face charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The report says Honeybun Boyz groups have also been identified in other major cities, including Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York.

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The proposed deal called for five years of probation with no jail time in exchange for a guilty plea. But the judge denied the deal after the victim said five years of probation was not enough.

According to police, a Miami Southridge Senior High School student told investigators Infante made inappropriate comments to her, including, “If I was only 30 years younger... You’re so beautiful... I’ve been thinking about you... I can’t wait to be with you.”

He is accused of hitting on the student, inappropriately touching her and allegedly kissing her chest. The teen told police she felt afraid.

Infante was charged with four counts of battery and one count of offenses against students by authority figures.

The case will continue. There will either be a new plea deal or a trial.

“We are going to eliminate police checkpoints in the cities,” Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said in Spanish.

“What we hope is that it is carried out,” Diego Casanova, with the Committee for Political Prisoners, said in Spanish.

Casanova said he hopes the change is implemented, but he is skeptical.

His brother, Jose Gregorio Perez, was arrested at a checkpoint in 2024 and was only freed in January of last year. Casanova has continued to lead protests calling for the release of all political prisoners.

Casanova said removing the roadblocks would “prevent further police abuses,” adding that these checkpoints have been used as points for extortion and places of repression.

Javier Tarazona with Fundaredes monitors human rights in Venezuela. He spent nearly five years in jail and said he welcomes the announcement, but wants to see how it plays out.

Tarazona said he wants to see it as “the starting point for a process of reconciliation.”

He is now calling for a new amnesty law to free those still jailed and considered political prisoners.

An original amnesty law was passed in January, shortly after the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro, but human rights groups maintain that around 400 political prisoners remain. The Venezuelan government denies that it holds any political prisoners.

The handyman and father of a U.S. Navy sailor was released from ICE custody after being arrested over the weekend by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

“I can’t say nothing bad, because I say thank you for giving me freedom to come back to my home,” Aviles said.

Federal authorities told Local 10 News that Aviles entered the United States illegally from Nicaragua nearly 20 years ago and that his son’s military service has no bearing on his status.

Aviles was asked Wednesday about his arrival those years back, but he declined to give details.

“I got very scared,” he said. “I don’t want to remember that situation.”

His arrest came in the midst of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Border Patrol agents, as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, are targeting convicted criminals in operations around South Florida.

But federal authorities are also arresting those without legal immigration status, who are subject to deportation in the eyes of the government.

Aviles’ case garnered national attention after his son Josh, who is in his ninth month onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, made an outcry on social media.

Aviles says he has pending paperwork, and the process doesn’t deter him.

“I’m waiting for everything,” he said. “I believe in this country. I believe that everything is good. It’s good. I believe in the people of the United States too. I have a lot of friends I say thank you (to) for taking care of my family.”

Following the global star’s passing, members of South Florida’s LGBTQ community are both mourning her and looking back to honor her incredible career.

“I am not gay, but if I were I would be the first one running out of the closet,” Parton said.

While Parton may have steered away from politics and controversy, she always spoke up for her queer fans, telling the Hollywood Reporter in 2023, “I have some of everybody in my own immediate family and in my circle of employees. I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians.”

That’s why for people like Marcy Miller, the loss is so painful.

“Because she represents hope and love and joy and the sparkle that’s missing a lot,” said Miller.

Miller’s home is filled with Dolly Parton gear, honoring the sparkly country music star as a tribute to a legacy of love and inclusion.

“She can be Christian and still stand for the trans community, the LGBT community,” said Miller.

A meeting of the Chama cha Mapinduzi, or CCM, party decided to punish Emmanuel Nchimbi for indiscipline, and it nominated Energy Minister Deogratius Ndejembi to become President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s deputy, CCM Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told reporters late Wednesday.

The maneuver is believed to be part of the ongoing fallout from Hassan’s contentious election in October, when the security forces were deployed to put down riots over the disqualification of the president’s main rivals. The internet was shut down for days, a move that Hassan later apologized for and promised would never happen again.

Hassan's main rival, Tundu Lissu, is jailed over treason charges he says are politically motivated.

Nchimbi said that his resignation would take effect Sept. 4 and that he would remain “a good citizen” of his country. His decision has shocked many in a country where stability is prized under the one-party rule of CCM. Some analysts say he disagreed with Hassan over governance and other issues stemming from the government’s brutal crackdown on protests during and after the Oct. 29 election.

A postelection inquiry showed 518 people were killed in the violence. The leader of the commission that investigated the violence, Mohamed Chande Othman, said during the release of his report in April that the number of deaths was likely higher, because some families buried their loved ones without taking their bodies to morgues. He recommended an investigation into the use of firearms, as some of the witnesses told the commission that their loved ones were shot while sitting inside their houses.

A version of CCM has ruled Tanzania since independence from Britain in 1961. CCM is fused with the state, effectively in charge of the security apparatus and structured in such a way that new leaders emerge every five or 10 years.

Hassan herself was able to rise to the presidency as vice president in 2021 without incident when her predecessor, John Pombe Magufuli, died suddenly after the start of his second term.

The orderly transition sustained Tanzania’s reputation as an oasis of political stability and relative peace, a major reason for CCM’s considerable support, especially among rural voters.

___ Rodney Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda. An Associated Press reporter in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who can't be named because of security concerns, also contributed reporting.

Kennedy, then a prominent anti-vaccine activist, preceded the visit with a letter to the Samoan prime minister requesting to study the Pacific island nation’s measles, mumps and rubella vaccines after the deaths of two children who had received them. In the letter, he used the words vaccine or vaccination eight times.

The letter raises questions about how truthful Kennedy was in testimony before Congress. During an arduous confirmation process where he needed the support of some skeptical Republican lawmakers to advance, Kennedy also pledged to maintain vaccine policies that, once in office, he moved to change.

“I am writing this letter to you in the hope that we might be helpful to the people of your great nation,” Kennedy wrote, adding that he believed the deaths of the two children could have resulted from manufacturing issues.

“I would propose my team conduct detailed health informatics assessment in Samoa of what happened with your MMR vaccines,” he continued.

The Department of Health and Human Services said in response to questions from the AP that the Samoa visit “was unrelated to vaccines.”

“Any claim or insinuation based on these letters that Secretary Kennedy lied under oath or to Congress is not only false but outright defamatory,” the department said in a written statement. Kennedy was not under oath during his confirmation hearing. Knowingly giving material false testimony to Congress is a crime that carries a possible prison sentence regardless of whether a person is under oath, though it is rarely prosecuted.

HHS did not make Kennedy available for an interview. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Samoan prime minister’s office and the former prime minister who corresponded with Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment.

Kennedy’s Samoa visit has become one of the most contentious events in his career. At the time, he was leading a nonprofit known for its anti-vaccine activism. Critics said the visit emboldened anti-vaccine activists in Samoa, which later experienced the measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children under 5.

Lawyers with expertise in Senate procedure said that if lawmakers choose, they could use Kennedy’s statements as grounds for hearings, an impeachment inquiry or creating other obstacles for him. But such action is unlikely under the current Republican-led Congress, which is aligned with President Donald Trump's administration.

Under repeated questioning, Kennedy insisted vaccines weren’t the reason for the trip

At the start of Trump’s second term, Kennedy — a leader in the anti-vaccine movement before entering politics — faced an uphill battle as he sought to become the nation’s health secretary. Lawmakers from both parties had criticized his anti-vaccine rhetoric, and during his confirmation hearings, he tried to assure them that he supported childhood vaccination.

The Samoa trip also came under scrutiny.

Kennedy told the senators that his Samoa visit did not influence people’s decisions on whether to vaccinate.

Several times, he flatly denied that his reason for the trip had anything to do with vaccines.

When it came up during questioning by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Kennedy replied: “I went there, nothing to do with vaccines. I went there to introduce a medical informatics system that would digitalize records in Samoa and make health delivery much more efficient.”

The following day, when Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., asked, Kennedy said: “My purpose in going down there had nothing to do with vaccines.”

Upon further questioning, Kennedy again denied it had anything to do with vaccines before adding: “My purpose in the trip was not to — I ended up having conversations with people, some of whom I never intended to meet.”

In the end, Kennedy won crucial support from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana physician who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and has strongly advocated vaccination. The Senate confirmed Kennedy on a 52-48 vote.

Cassidy said he voted to confirm Kennedy because he received commitments that as health secretary, he would not change certain vaccine policies and guidance. For example, Cassidy said in a speech announcing his vote, Kennedy pledged to maintain a federal vaccine advisory committee “without changes.” Once in office, Kennedy ousted all 17 members of the committee and named his own advisers.

Cassidy has acknowledged his trust in Kennedy was broken.

“The commitments that were made to me have been violated,” Cassidy said on CBS's “Face the Nation” in June.

Letters show Kennedy wanted to study Samoa’s use of MMR vaccine

Kennedy for years was chair and chief legal counsel of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit group known for its anti-vaccine activism. The group turned its attention to Samoa in July 2018, when two young children died after being given a tainted MMR vaccine that had been improperly prepared. The two nurses involved were criminally charged the month after the children died. The nurses ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The Samoan government halted all vaccinations for 10 months, until April 2019. Vaccination rates plummeted.

During that time, CHD started contacting the Samoan government, according to emails previously obtained by the AP and the Guardian as the result of a lawsuit against the State Department brought with the aid of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

In the newly obtained letter from Kennedy, also revealed through the lawsuit and dated Jan. 20, 2019, he addressed then-Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and described his desire to study Samoa’s use of the MMR vaccine.

Kennedy speculated that the deaths in Samoa may have been caused by issues with different vaccine lots. Writing on CHD letterhead, he said his team wanted to evaluate whether that was the case through a “detailed health informatics assessment.”

He expressed his belief that it was difficult and time-consuming in most of the world to investigate “adverse health events associated with vaccines” and said health information systems are rarely designed to quickly study links “between diagnoses and specific vaccination events.”

The letter did not specifically discuss anti-vaccine activism.

The prime minister responded a month later, saying Samoa could benefit from CHD’s assessment of MMR vaccines.

“It is certainly beneficial for Samoa to have the benefit of your Team’s independent health assessment of our MMR Vaccines and I would welcome with much anticipation your Team’s proposed visit to our islands,” he wrote, including a representative from the U.S. Embassy on his communication.

CHD did not respond to a request for comment.

Kennedy, his wife, actor Cheryl Hines, and Michael Graven, a CHD colleague, took their trip to Samoa in May and June of that year. By then, vaccinations had resumed and Samoa’s top health official had publicly announced that human error, not a vaccine issue, was responsible for the children's deaths.

While Kennedy was there, he met with anti-vaccine activists, including one who helped arrange the trip with a U.S. Embassy employee, the AP and the Guardian previously reported.

Months later, with vaccination rates still dangerously low, measles broke out, sickening thousands.

Public health experts have said their efforts to address the outbreak were hampered by anti-vaccine activists, some of whom they claim were emboldened by Kennedy’s visit.

The AP and the Guardian previously reported that officials with the State Department and UNICEF privately discussed that the trip was about vaccines. In response, some Democratic politicians, including Wyden and Markey, have said Kennedy lied or misled the Senate.

The Tates have remained in a federal detention center in Miami since making a brief court appearance after their July 18 arrest. Their attorneys have argued that their high profile and active social media presence makes it nearly impossible for them to flee.

U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis will have a chance to question their defense and prosecutors before determining if the brothers, who have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, should be released during what could be a monthslong extradition process.

The Tates have become among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities by promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire. The new allegations are the latest in the Tates’ long-running international legal saga spanning the U.S., Britain and Romania.

No date for an extradition hearing has been set. The U.K. has until mid-September to provide evidence to the State Department.

Defense claims government hasn’t shown Tates are a flight risk

Federal prosecutors have urged the court to keep the brothers in custody, citing the strong presumption against bail in international extradition cases. The Tates’ claims of having multiple passports and access to wealth and influence in numerous countries demonstrate a heightened risk of flight that no amount of bond could overcome, prosecutors argued.

Attorneys for the Tates say they largely exaggerated their claims of wealth to boost their social media personas, their claims of multiple passports were satirical and a “$50-million-dollar superyacht” featured in one of the brothers’ videos does not actually belong to them. The expensive luxury cars, including a $2.1 million Aston Martin, that were featured in other videos were rented, the defense says.

The Tates’ attorneys also argued in court filings that the brothers proved they won’t flee by complying with pretrial restrictions over a separate case in Romania, where they are accused of luring women for sexual exploitation.

Tates face legal troubles in several countries

The brothers have long claimed that their violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.

The former professional kickboxers, who have dual U.S. and U.K. citizenship, have millions of social media followers and are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump. The White House has said the brothers shouldn’t expect any help from the president.

Andrew Tate, 39, became famous a decade ago when he was a contestant on the U.K. reality television show “Big Brother.” He was ejected from the show when a video appeared to show him assaulting a woman.

He has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from other platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, for violating hate speech guidelines. He has made widely condemned comments, such as saying women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for the attacks and sharing graphic descriptions of how he might attack women.

Tristan Tate, 38, has worked with his brother on multiple businesses, including the production of online webcam pornography.

Parents, families, coaches and high school athletes are invited to submit their favorite sports photos to Local10.com as part of Local 10’s High School Spotlight.

Whether it’s a game-winning touchdown, a big save on the soccer field, a volleyball celebration, a cheerleading routine, a cross-country finish or a memorable moment with teammates, we want to see it.

High School Spotlight is a chance to showcase the athletes representing schools and communities across Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.

Photos don’t have to capture a championship moment, either. From first games and senior nights to team traditions and celebrations with coaches, some of the best memories happen away from the scoreboard.

When submitting a photo, be sure to include information about the athlete, team and school so we know who we’re cheering for.

Your photo could be featured on air as part of Local 10’s High School Spotlight coverage.

So, parents, get those cameras ready. And student-athletes, send us your best shots from the season.

The 31-year-old Columbian-born entertainer, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was convicted by a District Court of Western Australia jury last month of assaulting a woman in a Perth hotel room in September 2024.

The jury acquitted him on three counts of raping her. But prosecutors said last week they would retry him on another three rape charges on which jurors could not agree.

Barrientos returned Thursday to the court, where Judge Linda Black agreed to change his bail conditions so he can return to London while he waits for his second trial.

Black said although the retrial would be expedited and likely happen in 2027, there could be a delay.

“It seems to me it is appropriate to return to his home country until he is needed for his retrial,” Black said.

The revised bail conditions include that Barrientos return to Britain by Aug. 31 and stay there until he flies back to Perth for the trial. He will be required to return to Australia 10 days before his retrial and must surrender his passport within 24 hours of returning.

Barrientos is not allowed to contact the alleged victim or a key prosecution witness, who both cannot be named. Barrientos also cannot publicly comment on the case in any way.

He will be sentenced on his two convictions for assault occasioning bodily harm after the second jury reach their verdicts on the outstanding rape charges. The assault convictions each carry a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison. Rape convictions would each carry a potential maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Barrientos was touring Australia and had already performed in Sydney and Melbourne before he encountered his alleged victim in Perth. Prosecutors alleged the woman initially agreed to have sex but withdrew her consent because she feared for her safety. He was arrested several days later in the east coast city of Brisbane, where the tour was to end.

Barrientos has been free on bail since he was charged and was allowed to return to Britain for several months before his first trial.

Scientists are still piecing together information from satellite and ground-level data to figure out exactly what happened to cause the flood, which killed at least 353 people and left more than 1,300 missing, including foreigners and pilgrims.

The U.S. Geological Survey on Wednesday reported a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse that sent debris flowing downstream with catastrophic impact on communities. It said its determination was based on data from nearby seismic stations, long period seismic waves and satellite imagery.

“A lower part of a glacier has really come off,” said Jakob Steiner, a geoscientist at the University of Graz in Austria who is currently based in Bangladesh. “If you look at the imagery it’s like someone cut with a huge knife through the whole lower part and it fell off.”

Steiner said a mass of glacial ice dropping from a great height could have felt like a bomb exploding, resulting in the chaos that followed.

Scientists said it is too early to draw a direct connection between global warming and Wednesday’s catastrophe. However, they said that as Earth’s temperature rises because of human activities such as burning oil, gas and coal, the chances of such disasters increase, especially in the Himalayan mountains, which are warming considerably faster than many other parts of the world.

“We have to be cautious and not draw a connection yet. However, rising temperatures are changing the Hindu Kush Himalaya region and melting glaciers,” said Saswat Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the Kathmandu-based climate research group International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

Hundreds have lost their homes across the Himalayan region, and officials reported large-scale damage to critical infrastructure, including hydropower dams, roads, buildings and bridges in the region.

Sudden rise in water levels gave no chance to escape

Water levels in rivers across the flood-affected region rose by as much as 9 meters (29.5 feet) in 30 minutes as a result of the surge from the glacial detachment upstream, researchers at the Kathmandu-based climate research group said.

“It was a huge rise, a huge surge of water that happened suddenly,” said Sanyal.

Preliminary evidence suggests a large volume of ice and rock may have plunged into the Lhende Khola, a tributary of the Bhote Koshi River. Researchers said the collapse could have displaced water and picked up loose sediment and boulders, producing a powerful surge downstream. Researchers are also examining whether debris temporarily dammed the river before the impounded water burst through, magnifying the flood.

Steiner said the area has a history of destructive mountain hazards. Floods originating from a glacial lake struck the same valley in 2025, while an ice and rock avalanche occurred elsewhere in the area in 2024. The broader Langtang region was also hit by devastating avalanches during Nepal’s 2015 earthquake.

Climate change increasing risks in the Himalayas

The Hindu Kush Himalaya is warming rapidly, driving major changes in glaciers, snow cover, permafrost and mountain slopes, according to climate scientists.

The mountains contain the largest volume of snow and ice outside the polar regions. More than 63,000 glaciers in the area feed at least 10 major Asian river systems and support the food, water, energy and livelihood security of billions of people.

However, around 78% of the glacier area, located between 4,500 and 6,000 meters above sea level, is highly exposed to warming.

“What happened yesterday is unfortunately the new normal. It’s going to get worse from here onwards,” Steiner said.

The last decade was the hottest multi-year period globally since records began, and 2024 was the warmest year ever recorded. United Nations reports have found that between 2000 and 2019, glaciers lost 267 gigatons of ice per year, roughly equivalent to the mass of 46,500 Great Pyramids of Giza.

In a warming world, the reports project the loss of up to 50% of all glaciers — excluding those in Greenland and Antarctica — by 2100, even if global warming can be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Current global policies put Earth on a trajectory to warm by about 2.8 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels by the end of the century.

Research by the Kathmandu-based group has found that glaciers across these mountains are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice-loss rates doubling since 2000.

Melting glaciers can feed and enlarge glacial lakes, increasing the potential for sudden floods.

As glaciers retreat, mountain rock that was previously insulated and supported by ice becomes exposed to warmer temperatures, rain and repeated freezing and thawing. Permafrost — ground that has remained frozen for years — can also thaw, weakening rock faces and slopes.

“The chances that material starts to move down from mountains increase,” Steiner said.

Sanyal said that may be the kind of cascading hazard behind what happened Wednesday in Nepal: An avalanche or glacier collapse that turns into a debris flow, river blockage and devastating flash flood.

Fast growth and lack of warnings compound disaster

Steiner said about 10% of Nepal’s power production was located in the valley affected by the latest disaster. He said the repeated losses raise questions about whether enough has been done to install warning systems for residents and visitors alike after previous floods and avalanches.

The country's landscape has long been a draw for tourists, with more than a million people visiting the country annually in recent years.

Scientists say stronger early warning systems, better monitoring and faster cross-border information sharing will be increasingly important as temperatures rise and mountain landscapes become less stable.

But monitoring thousands of glaciers, steep slopes and river valleys across the Himalayan arc is extremely difficult.

And when cascading disasters begin, there may be only minutes to act.

“We don’t have hours,” Sanyal said. “We have sometimes a few minutes to actually prepare.”

Steiner said a “red line” has already been reached where some regions of Nepal are just too risky to live in now.

“We expected previous similar disasters to be a wake-up call for governments in the Himalayan region, but it’s a bit frustrating that the damages never seem to be horrible enough,” Steiner said.

“I’m not super optimistic that from tomorrow onwards there will be clear solutions,” he added. “We know what can be done, but various stakeholders need to coordinate and make things happen.”

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Arasu can be followed on X at @sibi123. Reach him at sarasu@ap.org.

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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.

The violent assault in April on a nun walking in her habit in Jerusalem’s Old City sent shock waves across Israel and its many Christian communities.

Clergy and advocates say verbal abuse and spitting have grown increasingly common in the densely packed historic heart of Jerusalem. There, Christians, Jews and Muslims daily cross paths, mostly uneventfully, as they visit some of the holiest sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

But the violent beating of the nun was seen as a rare and worrisome escalation in the volatile environment that people of all faiths have been experiencing in nearly three years of war.

On Wednesday, a judge ruled that there was evidence that a Jewish man from a settlement in the occupied West Bank committed the actions he was charged with, but he was entitled to an insanity defense after the district psychiatrist found he was psychotic at the time of the attack.

The director of The French Biblical and Archeological School of Jerusalem, where the nun is a researcher, told The Associated Press that he hoped the psychiatric hospitalization would be carried out in full “so that public safety can be assured, our colleague can recover psychologically, and people can live in and visit Jerusalem without fear, regardless of their belonging to any community.”

But Friar Olivier Poquillon added he regretted the decision not to impose a criminal penalty.

“At the moment of the incident, his judgment was nevertheless sufficient for him to deliberately choose a Catholic nun as his victim from among all the people present,” he said.

Yisca Harani, who founded the organization Religious Freedom Data Center to track harassment of Christians, said even mentally unstable people can be influenced to act by the prevailing discourse around them.

“He is still someone who is the product of either the ignorance or the incitement that is around him,” she said. “Even if he is mentally unstable, he was fed with all that anti-Christian material that is around us now.”

Harani’s organization has tracked a near-tripling of incidents in Jerusalem from four years ago to the last three months recorded — about one a day now — virtually all by Jewish religious nationalists.

Their hostility to Christians is grounded in the history of persecution of Jews in Christian-majority European countries, in faith practices they see as idol-worshipping, and in seeing their presence as an affront near areas historically sacred to Jews, like the Western Wall, experts say.

Ambassador George Deek, Israel's new special envoy to the Christian world, said that earlier this month, Israeli police appointed an English-speaking officer to be a first point of contact for Christians in case of incidents, “so there will be a rapid response.”

“We are going to come up with practical solutions to how we can minimize or stop, if possible, the phenomenon,” Deek said. “We take these issues very seriously.”

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Associated Press journalist Koral Saeed contributed from Herzliya, Israel.

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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.

That is not his plan this year.

The 33-year-old restaurant server in this eastern Pennsylvania town that once housed one of the world's largest steelmakers is eager to vote for any Democrat he can in November. As the war with Iran that Trump initially said would last weeks surpasses six months on Friday, Gibbons is feeling the fallout every time he fills his tank at nearly $1 per gallon more than last year.

“The price of gas affects the price of everything and the price of everything's up and my pay hasn't gone up,” he said. “I'm doing blue no matter who this time.”

The Iran war has reshaped the rapidly approaching midterm elections, undermining Trump's campaign pledge to steer clear of foreign conflicts and challenging Republicans who would rather focus on their tax cuts as they cling to narrow majorities in Congress.

While the president's supporters are undeterred, the war's unpopularity and economic ripple effects could tilt the scales in tightly contested U.S. House districts like the one in Bethlehem, where Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie is one of this year's most vulnerable incumbents.

Midterm elections are always difficult for the party in power in Washington. But interviews with voters around the country show how a war that Trump expected to end with a swift victory could undermine the final years of his presidency.

Many US adults say the war has not been worth fighting

About two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war with Iran has not been worth fighting, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That includes the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as more than one-third of Republicans.

Although Trump has long criticized Iran's leadership, he did little to prepare Americans or allies for such a lengthy conflict. Republican President George W. Bush, for instance, spent more than a year making a case for launching a war in Iraq through speeches and attempts to build an international coalition. Trump did none of that.

Trump has refused to acknowledge the war's cost, saying this month he would “never apologize” for higher prices stemming from it and insisting he did “the right thing" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. His administration announced new sanctions this week in an attempt to further isolate Tehran.

In Congress, Republicans have shifted from initially cheerleading Trump's moves in Iran to expressing concern about the toll of the war. But the party has largely unified to block measures that would curb Trump's war powers and leaders have shown no interest in cutting off money for the war, preferring to portray Democrats as extremists who cannot be trusted to govern.

Democrats who were blamed just two years ago for presiding over high prices see an opportunity to turn the issue back on their opponents. As part of his comeback U.S. Senate bid in Ohio, Sherrod Brown released an ad this week filmed at a gas station as he said “the cost of gas is out of control and we're the ones paying for it.”

Speaking to a group of older adults recently in a Republican-dominated swath of western Maryland, Democratic U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks blamed higher prices on the war. Heading into November, she encouraged fellow Democrats to stay focused on the war's impact and what it says about Trump's leadership.

“We ought to be saying what is obvious, which is our country is heading in the wrong direction,” she said in an interview.

That resonates with voters such as Brandon Bane, a fast-food worker in Bakersfield, California, where Republican Rep. David Valadao is also in a competitive congressional race. Bane, who described himself as a political independent, said he often has to balance paying rent and groceries, noting high gas prices have only added to the challenge.

“It hasn’t been worth it at all,” he said of the war, adding that he plans to vote for Valadao’s challenger, Democrat Randy Villegas.

Melissa Wegman, a Democratic retiree who is also from Bakersfield, said she was shocked when the pump recently whirled to $128 to fill the tank on her SUV.

“I have to manage a budget," she said.

Some voters are sticking with Republicans

But there is a risk, too, that the war does not provide Democrats with the political boost they are expecting.

While there is plenty of frustration about prices, there are also voters willing to make adjustments without blaming Republicans. Many remain aligned with Trump and are not interested in seeing Democrats return to power.

North Carolina is a top pickup opportunity for Democrats hoping to flip a U.S. Senate seat. But at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh, North Carolina, Lucienda Lowe of Sugarloaf Orchards said her faith in Trump is solid.

“There has to be a reason why they’re over there,” she said. “They wouldn’t be over there doing that if there wasn’t something more going on than what we’re seeing.”

She has not raised her prices on apples even as fuel and fertilizer costs soar. Her family has been farming since 1846 so she feels resilient to weather the next rough patch and tells others to do the same.

“Suck it up, buttercup," she said.

Similarly in Iowa, where Democrats are bullish on their prospects of flipping everything from a U.S. Senate seat and the governor's mansion to several U.S. House races, Larry Cole said higher gas prices as a result of the war are just the “nature of the beast.”

The 66-year-old Republican service manager from Perry, Iowa, said he will back Republicans in this midterm elections and does not want to see Democrats gain control in either chamber. He said Trump has taken action that other presidents were not willing to do to keep Iran in check.

Trump “hit them where they need to be hit,” Cole said.

Mark Duffy, 65, of Scottsdale, Arizona, said he did not expect the Iran war to go on as long as it has, but it has not had material effects on his life.

“I didn’t think it would go this long,” said Duffy, who retired a year ago from his career selling electronic components. “I don’t think anybody did, but now the next wave is the economic sanctions, so we’ll see if that works and maybe that is a way for other people to join.”

For others, the war has only reinforced a sense that neither political party is responsive to the needs of voters.

As he left a tattoo parlor in Ashland, Virginia, 26-year-old Evan Mise said he feels the increase in gas prices and worries about whether his mom will be able to retire or whether he will someday be able to.

But he had not decided whether to support Democrats or Republicans in November.

“I feel like our government is pretty corrupt through and through," he said. “It’s kind of just a sit-back-and-watch thing. And I think my generation especially feels helpless."

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Sloan reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed in Raleigh, N.C., Michael R. Blood in Bakersfield, Calif., Sarah Rankin in Ashland, Va., Jonathan J. Cooper in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

• Local artists continue to remember Dolly Parton, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 80
• Burglars ransack home of Gables couple killed in Kenya chopper crash
• Hundreds missing as floods caused by a glacial collapse devastate parts of the Nepal-China border

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Ukraine is desperately short of U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles that can counter Russia’s ballistic missiles, and Moscow’s fast-flying jet-powered drones have brought another challenge since the Russian military's full-scale invasion began 4½ years ago.

Ukrainian officials say Russia builds up missile stocks and launches major attacks every few days, hoping to exhaust Ukrainian defenses through the sheer weight of numbers. In response, Ukraine has hit high-profile targets on Russian soil as the countries inflict mutual destruction.

Russia says attack targeted war-related facilities

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces carried out a “massive” strike on targets in nine Ukrainian cities that began after nightfall on Wednesday. It described the targets as military-related, including industrial facilities, oil refineries, logistics hubs and port infrastructure.

Civilian areas, including apartment buildings, suffered damage. The barrage killed a 78-year-old woman in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and another person in the northern Kharkiv region, with at least 14 people reported wounded elsewhere, Ukrainian officials said.

“Russia continues to invest in missiles and in expanding its war, and that means more countermeasures are needed,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media, noting promises earlier this week by European countries to provide more air defense assistance.

“It is important that these (measures) are also supplemented by additional ballistic missile defense packages” through European purchases of weapons from the United States, he said.

Though the Russian Defense Ministry insisted only war-related targets were attacked, Russia appears determined to hurt Ukrainian businesses and dent the country's economy through attacks on private enterprise after Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes caused financial difficulties for Moscow.

Russian drones hit three major distribution centers, destroying depots belonging to a toy store chain and a confectionery company, and damaging another run by an electronics retailer, the companies said.

In addition, Moscow continued its efforts to wreck the Ukrainian power grid before the freezing winter months.

Four powerful glide bombs destroyed generating equipment at the southern Kherson region’s combined heat and power plant, forcing it to shut down, its operator Naftogaz said.

Zelenskyy expected on official visit to neighboring Moldova

Zelenskyy was due to visit neighboring Moldova on Thursday to mark its national day commemorating its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. Ukraine announced its independence the same year.

Russia’s neighbors in Eastern Europe are concerned its invasion of Ukraine could trigger a wider conflict, and drones flying into its airspace have fueled jitters.

Moldova’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday that five drones breached its airspace overnight, but it didn’t specify who fired them.

Ukraine’s air force said defenses shot down or suppressed seven Russian ballistic missiles, though it didn’t say how they achieved that.

Four districts of Kyiv were hit during the night, damaging residential buildings, a school and a medical facility, though no casualties were reported, city police said.

Russian forces struck industrial facilities as well as energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s central Poltava region, said Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the Poltava regional military administration.

The southern Odesa region also came under a major Russian attack lasting more than seven hours, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional military administration.

The barrage damaged a 16-story residential building and two educational facilities as well as a grain elevator, he said. Odesa is a key port for Ukraine’s vital exports of grain and other agricultural products.

Some trains were delayed by more than 17 hours following the attack, according to Ukrainian state rail company Ukrzaliznysia.

Ukraine takes aim at another Russian online retailer

Ukraine has also fired hundreds of long-range drones almost nightly at targets in Russia.

Ukraine’s General Staff said that plane-launched missiles hit Russia’s main and backup command posts near the eastern city of Donetsk, where Ukrainian defenders are under pressure from a Russian push.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its air defenses shot down 267 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

After razing huge warehouses in recent months belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer, Ukrainian drones are now taking aim at Ozon, the country's second-largest e-commerce company.

Ozon initially said that its logistics facilities in the cities of Orenburg and Ufa were attacked, but neither of the premises caught fire. A later alteration to the company statement said that only the Ufa site was attacked, while the Orenburg facility was evacuated because of an alert, but resumed normal operations.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel continued its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon even as the country's strikes on Gaza drew a sharp rebuke from the top diplomat overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the territory.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Diplomatic efforts by Qatar

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was in Tehran on Thursday as part of Qatar's efforts to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a post on X that the meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi included talks on “the efforts being made to reduce escalation,” as well as a proposed plan between Iran and Oman to allow ships safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and clear the vital commercial waterway of dangerous mines.

Al Thani’s office said the prime minister emphasized the “necessity of respecting the sovereignty of neighboring countries and the freedom of navigation” on the strait.

Pakistan said Thursday that it was also continuing diplomatic efforts to help resolve the crisis. Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Tehran recently with the aim of reviving the June memorandum of understanding to reopen the strait, the country’s foreign ministry said.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that he has “no time schedule” to wrap up the conflict that will reach the six-month mark on Friday. He said he believes his country is “winning very big.”

Oil tanker attacked in Strait of Hormuz

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said Thursday that it had received a report of an oil tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz.

The monitoring agency, run by the British military, said that local authorities reported that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile on Tuesday in the waters between Oman and Iran, causing it to catch fire.

The crew was reported to be safe and there have been no reports of environmental damage, the UKMTO said.

Iran’s foreign ministry criticizes US sanctions

Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, wrote late Wednesday in a social media post that the U.S. had made a coalition with Bahrain, calling it a country with “virtually no meaningful economic exchange with Iran.”

In another social media post on Wednesday, Iran’s top negotiator and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf thanked China for rejecting the U.S. “economic D-Day” policies against Iran.

“We welcome China’s principled statement rejecting illegal sanctions against Iran,” Qalibaf said.

Earlier this week, Tehran had warned that it would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions, including measures against countries it sees as cooperating with Washington. Iran has repeatedly targeted Bahrain and other Gulf countries with missiles and drones since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

Israel continues strikes on Gaza

An Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza killed one person and wounded others on Thursday, according to health officials at Nasser hospital. Israel’s military said they carried out a strike against a Hamas militant.

An earlier strike in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp wounded at least two people, including one critically, according to Shifa hospital.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The attacks come after Nickolay Mladenov, head of Trump’s Board of Peace, admonished Israel during a United Nations gathering over Israel's continued attacks.

“Israeli strikes have continued since the road map was accepted, and Palestinian civilians are still being killed,” Mladenov said.

Israel’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Noa Furman, told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that Israel is committed to Trump’s peace plan, but that Hamas’ “disarmament must come first” before Gaza’s reconstruction can begin.

Dutch diplomats removed from Gaza ceasefire efforts

Israel's foreign ministry is removing two Dutch diplomats from the Gaza ceasefire coordination center, the Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement.

The agency said Thursday that the order covers two diplomats at the embassy in Tel Aviv and the Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that the decision was in response to “a series of anti-Israel measures taken by the Dutch government,” including next month's implementation of a ban on the trade of Israeli products from the occupied West Bank and other areas.

Tom Berendsen, the foreign minister of the Netherlands, told The Associated Press in an email that he felt the Israeli step was “unnecessary” but that his country stood by its decision “to ban products from illegal settlements.”

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon kill 1 woman

The strikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday afternoon came after Israel blamed the militant Hezbollah group for firing two explosive drones.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an airstrike on the village of Arab Salim killed one woman and wounded others inside a home.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired two explosive drones at Israeli troops near the southern city of Nabatiyeh earlier Thursday. The drones did not inflict any casualties among troops and one was shot down, it said.

Here’s what to know about the mountain and its centuries-old role as a pilgrimage site.

A sacred mountain for several religious traditions

Mount Kailash is a Himalayan peak in southwestern Tibet, near China’s borders with Nepal and India. It rises more than 6,400 meters (21,000 feet) above sea level and lies close to Lake Manasarovar. Both have long been part of Sanskrit religious and literary traditions.

Mount Kailash holds sacred significance for Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and the Tibetan Bon tradition. Each associates the mountain with different beliefs and sacred histories.

According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, the mountain is considered the home of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, and Parvati, a Hindu goddess associated with marriage, fertility and motherhood.

Followers of the Tibetan Bon tradition regard it as a seat of spiritual power and associate the region with Tonpa Shenrab, the tradition’s founder.

Geographer Emily Yeh, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, who has conducted research in Tibet, wrote in 2017 that Kailash is associated with the mythical Mount Meru, considered the center of the world in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.

The surrounding landscape also figures in local legends and Himalayan traditions. “Shared Sacred Landscapes,” a book published by ICIMOD in 2017, gathers some of them.

One story tells of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, who visits villagers longing to make the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. Nanak teaches them that the true pilgrimage is a spiritual journey within themselves.

Pilgrims travel to Kailash for a journey of purification

India’s government operates an official Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage from June through August or September each year, with routes through the states of Uttarakhand and Sikkim. Private operators also organize pilgrimages through Nepal.

Pilgrims traditionally walk around Mount Kailash rather than climb it, completing a roughly 33-mile (53-kilometer) circuit around the mountain.

The journey around the peak is believed to cleanse pilgrims of their sins and can take about three days to complete. Hindus and Buddhists traditionally circle the mountain clockwise, while followers of Bon travel counterclockwise.

At nearby Lake Manasarovar, some Hindu pilgrims bathe in its waters as a ritual of spiritual purification.

Yeh wrote that Tibetan pilgrims stop at monasteries and other sacred sites along the route, touching prayer beads or their foreheads to features believed to bear sacred imprints. Other rituals are meant to test a pilgrim’s merit, sin or fortune.

Pilgrims among hundreds missing after floods

The disaster has left at least 165 dead and 826 people missing in Nepal, and three dead and 558 missing in Tibet, authorities said. Hundreds of those missing were foreigners.

Nepal’s tourism board said 179 of those missing were from India. Officials said most were on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash. Also missing were 65 from the United States, 35 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.

Indian spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev, also known as Sadhguru, said in a post on X that 77 people returning from the mountain with groups organized by his Isha Foundation were at an immigration center in Gyirong, Tibet, when the floods struck.

The floods followed a glacier collapse that sent debris rushing downstream through communities on both sides of the border. Similar flash floods have struck the region as warming temperatures increasingly destabilize Himalayan ice.

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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.

The number of missing from Wednesday's disaster may vary across agencies because of differences in how they collected data, when it was reported and how it was verified, as well as gaps in coordination between those assembling data and those conducting rescue efforts in the affected area.

Nepal

Police reported at least 353 dead and 826 missing. Local reports cited the National Emergency Operation Center as saying Thursday the missing included 113 Nepali tourists, 85 security personnel from the army and police as well as 161 residents from the Rasuwa district and one from the Nuwakot district.

The National Tourism Board later Thursday said 517 foreigners were missing.

China

State media reported at least three people died and 558 were missing in Gyirong County, Tibet. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that 260 of the 558 missing people were foreigners. In addition, nearly 100 Chinese citizens were missing on the Nepal side, China’s foreign ministry said.

India

India's External Affairs Ministry said 288 Indian nationals remain uncontactable. They included 73 people who were working on a power project. Nepal officials have said many Indian tourists were on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus.

United States

The board said 65 of the missing were from the United States.

Malaysia

The board said 51 Malaysians were missing.

Ukraine

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said that 55 Ukrainians are missing. The number includes two tourist groups of 47 and seven people, in addition to one Ukrainian woman traveling with a foreign tour group, the ministry said.

Australia

The board said 35 Australians were missing.

Britain

The board said 33 of the missing were from Britain.

Canada

Nepal's tourism board said 25 of the missing were from Canada.

South Korea

South Korean government officials said nine citizens working on building a hydropower plant in Nepal were missing.

Singapore

Eight Singaporeans were missing, according to Nepal tourism board.

Germany

Nepal's tourism board said eight tourists from Germany were missing.

Russia

The Russian Embassy in Nepal said eight of its citizens were missing.

South Africa

The board said six South Africans were missing.

Latvia

The board said six tourists from Latvia were missing.

Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed worry about five Japanese nationals whom local media reported were missing.

New Zealand

Five people from New Zealand were missing, said Nepal's tourism board.

France

The board said four French citizens were missing.

Belgium

The board said three from Belgium were missing.

Spain

The board said three visitors from Spain were missing.

Others

The board said two people each from Italy, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Ireland and Netherlands were missing. It said 10 others — one each from Belarus, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Philippines, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Serbia and Sweden — were also missing.

Wang Yi met with U.S. ambassador to China David Perdue on Wednesday and called on both sides to “focus on the positive agenda, properly manage differences, remove interference and overcome obstacles to high-level exchanges between the two countries,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Thursday.

China-U.S. relations “still face various risks and challenges,” he acknowledged in a statement released by CCTV.

Trump and Xi met in May in Beijing and pledged to keep the relationship stable and maintain the fragile trade truce. Trump invited Xi to meet Sept. 24 in the U.S., but the exact date of the Chinese leader's visit has not been confirmed.

Since then, however, the U.S. and China have continued to take targeted economic action against each other, including the U.S. banning imports of new Chinese-made humanoid robots and China banning American entities engaging in trade and other activities in China.

Also on Thursday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference that China and the U.S. were maintaining communication about the two leaders' upcoming meeting “within the year.”

China-U.S. tensions had been elevated since Trump's return to the White House last year, with the U.S. at one point saying tariffs on China would be up to 145%, although the tariff levels came down substantially later. Tensions have eased in recent months and several agreements were made during the leaders' May meeting, including the setting up of boards of trade and investment between the two countries.

However, the Trump administration has recently been deliberating new tariffs of 7.5% on China as a result of an ongoing U.S. probe against 16 economies on excess industrial capacity and production. An official decision has not yet been finalized or made public. The U.S. also said last month that it was imposing a 12.5% tariff on China as a result of a U.S. probe on forced labor against 60 economies.

In response to the potential 7.5% new tariffs by the U.S., China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday told reporters that China “firmly opposes” the U.S. probe on excess capacity, adding that the U.S. was “politicizing economic and trade issues.”

Beijing will continue to closely monitor developments and “reserves the right to take all necessary measures” if needed, the Commerce Ministry added.

Last month, China also hit back against Western criticism of overcapacity in a report titled “China’s Position on the So-called Excess Capacity Issue,” saying China never sought a large trade surplus.

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AP writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

It was an abandoned church, in rural Tennessee where she grew up, that had become known as a haven for sex, drugs and violence. Rather than see the used condoms on the floor, the out-of-tune piano left behind or the explicit drawings on the walls as a hindrance to her religious encounter, Parton spoke fondly of the setting where she went to pray as a young girl.

“I would sing hymns to God for a while and look at dirty pictures for a while and pray for a while, and one day as I prayed in earnest, I broke through some sort of spirit wall and found God,” she wrote.

“Here in one place was God, music and sex.”

The country music icon was known for blurring the line between Sunday morning and Saturday night, a window into her theology that captivated people across political and denominational lines.

As news broke this week that the 80-year-old country music icon died of cancer, social media was flooded with quotes and interview clips of Parton proclaiming her Christian faith, something she wore on her sleeve even when her relationship to church was complicated.

But for many Christian members of the LGBTQ+ community who struggled to reconcile their sexuality and gender identity with the intolerant beliefs they were taught, Parton’s public support helped them keep their faith in some cases, and transformed their understanding of how God sees them in others.

“Her approach to solidarity was inspiring for me as a young, queer Christian girl realizing I was gay,” said Ciarra Jones, a 32-year-old workplace consultant from Oakland, California. “For queer Christians, experiencing another queer Christian — or another queer-affirming person that is Christian — is important to your journey. Dolly, for me, was one of those lights.”

Parton was a trailblazer in LGBTQ+ acceptance

Long before same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide, Parton made acceptance a recurring theme of both her music and public persona, which has contributed to long-running support from the LGBTQ+ community.

“I got a huge gay following and some really macho-looking women,” Parton told Andy Warhol for a 1984 cover story for Interview Magazine.

When Warhol told her she would make a great preacher, Parton responded: “What do you mean? I am a great preacher.”

American Christianity spans the theological spectrum on sexuality and gender identity, with some remaining firmly committed to a conservative view. As society has shifted, so have some Christians' beliefs on things like same-sex marriage, though there is a widening partisan divide on certain issues, particularly regarding transgender people.

Parton, whose grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher, said her support for LGBTQ+ people was rooted in her Christian faith. “We are all God’s children,” she told Larry King in 2016. But she also did not try to convince others of her beliefs, sometimes to the frustration of fans who thought she ought to be more vocal.

“Some are preachers, some are gay / Some are addicts, drunks and strays / But not a one is turned away / When it’s family,” Parton sings on the song, “Family,” from her 1991 album “Eagle When She Flies.”

“I don’t condemn nor condone anything,” Parton once told The Associated Press regarding the song. “I just love and accept people where they are for who they are.”

Some queer people who were raised in religiously conservative homes push back against the notion that Parton was not political enough.

“It’s very, very hard to grow up and know who you are and have that be described as deviant and to be afraid that what you are is totally wrong,” said Duncan Teater, a film student at the University of Southern California, as his voice broke.

Teater, who is gay and grew up in Kentucky, was raised as a conservative Christian and has a complicated relationship to the faith as an adult. But, he said, Parton’s support was meaningful and he appreciated how she thinks about religiosity.

“For someone with the credibility and respect that Dolly Parton had, to be confident about the worth of every human being and to say that out loud and without hesitation and in such simple and loving words was a pretty radical act and a pretty political act,” he said.

Parton was vocal about faith in unexpected places

Parton’s faith, and her relationship with the gay community, spread beyond her music and interviews.

On the website for Dollywood, the East Tennessee theme park Parton opened decades ago after seeing families like hers unable to afford to go to Disneyland, there is a mission and values statement, which includes a commitment to live them out “in a manner consistent with Christian values and ethics.”

The park has a chaplain and a chapel — the Robert F. Thomas Chapel, named after the doctor who delivered Parton — that hosts weekly Sunday services.

Patrick Burrows, a 38-year-old scholar of theology and ethics, grew up going to Dollywood and has been more than 100 times.

“Any time there was a church outing in the Southern Baptist church that I grew up in or a day off from school or needing a mental health break in high school,” said Burrows, who grew up outside of Asheville, North Carolina.

The theme park was so formative for him that he wrote a chapter about it in his dissertation while studying theology at Harvard Divinity School.

“You should not see gay and lesbian couples standing next to people with ‘Jesus saved me from my sin’ shirts. And yet you see it” in what Burrows refers to as the “Dollyverse."

"Dolly created this space for people who are very different from one another to be different from another,” he said.

Burrows recalled writing dozens of pages before one line sparked an epiphany, prompting him to rewrite his entire thesis chapter: “Though I only know it in retrospect, Dolly Parton, through Dollywood, taught me how to be gay and how to be a Christian.”

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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.

The fire early Wednesday was confined to the third-floor nursery and did not affect the rest of the facility. Hospital officials said the fire spread so quickly the two doctors, two nurses and other staff present were able to rescue only one baby among the 15 in the nursery.

The scene at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad was somber Thursday as doctors, staff, patients and relatives mourned the newborns. Access was restricted to the third-floor area where the fire occurred.

Witnesses, including relatives of other patients, said they saw the family of the only baby to survive the fire leave the hospital with him after the blaze broke out.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed the investigating committee, led by retired federal secretary Shahid Khan. They are expected to take statements from hospital staff, witnesses and families. The committee is expected to make urgent recommendations to Sharif within 48 hours and deliver a comprehensive report within five days.

Hospital and district officials initially said an exploding air-conditioning unit caused the fire. In its preliminary report, however, the hospital said a blast involving a nebulizer sparked the blaze, which spread within minutes because of the high concentration of oxygen in the nursery. The committee has not reached its own conclusion and will independently determine the cause, the city administration said.

Officials said authorities handed over the bodies of all 14 newborns to their families for burial Wednesday night. Witnesses saw the families leaving the hospital with them in ambulances which were arranged by the government.

The Pakistani Taliban, a militant group also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, expressed grief over the newborns’ deaths and offered condolences to their families. The group has been behind numerous deadly attacks on security forces and civilians across the country in recent years.

The deaths prompted authorities to order broader reviews of fire-safety measures and firefighting equipment at hospitals. In Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, the government instructed the Health Department to immediately review fire-safety systems and emergency-response facilities, according to a government statement.

Sharif dismissed Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri, the Health Ministry’s highest-ranking civil servant, after the fire. Grieving parents and members of civil society have demanded answers about how the fire began and whether the nursery had adequate firefighting equipment.

The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said it was saddened by the deaths and called for an urgent review and strengthening of fire-prevention and safety standards at health facilities.

The fire was among Pakistan’s deadliest recent tragedies involving children. In June, 14 schoolchildren were killed when the roof of a tutoring center under construction collapsed in the eastern city of Lahore.

The S&P 500 added 0.2% and inched closer to its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 12 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

Nvidia was the strongest force pulling the market higher and rose 6% after the chip giant once again delivered much stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. More importantly, it also gave forecasts for upcoming revenue growth that topped analysts’ estimates, pointing to continued demand for chips to power artificial-intelligence projects.

“AI has reached its inflection point,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said. “It’s doing useful work. Its tokens are productive and profitable.”

That helped calm some of the worries that have built around AI stocks generally, which have been under pressure recently. After rocketing higher for years in the frenzy around AI, stocks in the industry are confronting skepticism that they shot too high and that booming demand for AI chips may fade if the AI revolution does not produce as much profit as promised.

Another big tech company, Salesforce, jumped 14% after it said that AI helped it deliver one of its best quarters in history. It reported stronger profit than analysts expected, and CEO Marc Benioff said it’s “seeing incredible demand for our AI and data products” and that it’s “turning AI into customer success at unprecedented scale.”

Salesforce, which helps companies manage their customers’ data, also raised its forecast for revenue over the full year. It’s notable because Salesforce’s stock struggled earlier on worries that competitors powered by AI could ultimately steal away customers from Salesforce and other software companies.

Elsewhere, though, trends were more mixed across big U.S. companies.

HP fell 8.2% even though it topped analysts’ expectations for profit and spring in the latest quarter. Analysts pointed to worries about its sales of personal computers, as well as how higher prices for computer memory and other commodities are pressuring its profit margins.

Best Buy and some other retailers also sank amid continued worries that U.S. shoppers could be stretched because of high inflation and discouragement about the economy. Best Buy sank 8.3% even though it topped analysts’ expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter.

One potential winner from high inflation could be dollar stores, which could see higher-income households become new customers as they look for less expensive places to shop.

Dollar General rose 5.6% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But rival Dollar Tree sank 3.3% despite blowing past profit expectations. More attention may have been on its forecasted range for an important underlying measure of revenue, whose midpoint fell short of analysts’ expectations.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following a report suggesting the U.S. job market remains solid. Fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, an indication that layoffs could be remaining low.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.66%, where it was late Wednesday.

Yields have been largely climbing through the summer on worries about high inflation, the U.S. government’s gargantuan and growing debt and other factors. They got so high that the U.S. Treasury Department made a surprise announcement last week to intervene in the bond market, though analysts say its effect could be limited.

The next big event for the bond market will be a speech coming Friday from the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh. He has been adamant about giving financial markets fewer clues about what the Fed will do in the future with interest rates to control inflation. But the pressure is on him to give clearer guidance.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia. Stocks jumped 1.5% in Seoul and 1.1% in Shanghai but fell 1.5% in Paris.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

One attendee chided U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten for failing to support Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

“Your inflammatory rhetoric has nothing to do with creating a better economic future for the people of West Michigan, and everything to do with protecting the pipeline of our tax dollars to Israel,” the woman said.

The exchange captured a problem confronting Democrats as they head toward November. Party leaders believe concerns about the economy have given them an opening to win control of Congress, but internal divisions are making it harder to keep the focus there.

Nowhere is that tension more pronounced than Michigan, where Democrats are trying to regroup after a bruising Senate primary that El-Sayed won over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens earlier this month. Disputes over Israel, antisemitism and El-Sayed’s association with controversial online commentator Hasan Piker have complicated the party’s effort to turn its attention to Republican Mike Rogers.

With the election fast approaching, Scholten and some other Democrats have withheld their support for El-Sayed for now.

“I think it’s up to the top of the ticket to unify the top of the ticket,” Scholten said Tuesday.

Democratic divisions haven’t disappeared

El-Sayed, who would be the country's first Muslim senator, has denounced antisemitism while fiercely criticizing Israel for its military operations in Gaza.

Some members of his party have balked at his rhetoric.

Michigan state Rep. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee for a House seat outside Detroit, has also withheld his support. In an interview with The Atlantic’s David Frum released Wednesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, said El-Sayed should not “make excuses” for domestic terrorism.

She was referencing a video statement he put out in March following an attack on Temple Israel synagogue outside Detroit when he said “hurt people hurt people.”

Some Democrats outside Michigan have gone further in criticizing El-Sayed.

“There’s no way I’m ever coming out for El-Sayed, right now,” New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer said on CNN, adding that El-Sayed has “refused to back off his views towards Jewish Americans.”

El-Sayed’s appearances on the campaign trail with Piker have become a particular flashpoint in the disagreement. Piker is a popular streamer with a history of controversial remarks that include saying America “deserved 9/11.”

Piker recently became embroiled in controversy again when he argued against the idea that opposing Israel is antisemitic. American Jews are not uniformly supportive of Israel, he said, but many “Jewish institutions” are “teaching people the idea that Jews are monolithic” and “it's a very dangerous mode of propaganda.”

“If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel mind you, but against American Jews,” he said.

The backlash was swift among Democrats, with critics saying Piker was suggesting that American Jews who support Israel were inviting violence.

"Hasan Piker’s dangerous and hateful language targeting Jewish Americans has no place in our civic discourse," Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, wrote on social media. “Suggesting that Jewish Americans bear responsibility for hatred or violence directed against them is wrong, dangerous, and antisemitic.”

Piker rejected that interpretation in a phone interview, saying he was warning that associating American Jews broadly with Israel’s actions could fuel antisemitism, much as Muslims in the United States have been associated with Islamic terrorist groups.

He said he was never particularly close with El-Sayed’s campaign — despite appearing with him at various events during the primary — and said that he did not want the race to become a conversation about him. He said he did not regret the remarks, however.

“I’m just a platform, I’m just a megaphone for people’s anger and frustration,” Piker said. “Even if I was going to go away tomorrow, I don’t think this problem would go away for our politicians.”

While El-Sayed has put some distance between himself and Piker amid the controversies, he has refused to cut ties completely. In a statement, he said “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokesperson.”

Republicans see an opportunity in the continued dispute.

“It’s great,” said Republican strategist Jason Roe. “You can tell these Democrats are not going to distance themselves. Piker is to Democrats what Trump is to Republicans. You embrace him, it’s not helpful, and distance is also not helpful.”

Democrats try to turn toward November

Democrats who have rallied behind El-Sayed are increasingly eager to move beyond the fight.

“I am done. So don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker. It’s not what November is about,” Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell said Wednesday. “I don’t agree with Hasan Piker on a lot of stuff.”

She appeared alongside El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland at a campaign event in Ann Arbor on Wednesday. The day prior, El-Sayed stood beside Eli Savit, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, the party’s nominee for secretary of state, at a press conference.

Democrats who have backed El-Sayed argue that the party is largely unified and that the remaining disagreements are a natural part of moving beyond a contentious primary. Raskin, who is Jewish, described it as a “process that we go through” after the primary.

“The Democratic Party is a big, sometimes an unruly family, but we’re all going to be together in the end,” Raskin said.

Michigan Democrats from across the state are expected to gather this weekend for a convention in Lansing to finalize the party's November ticket. Ahead of the convention, all the party's nominees and party chair, Curtis Hertel, sent a letter saying that “disruptive behavior or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated."

“This convention is our moment to celebrate our candidates,” the letter read.

El-Sayed at Wednesday's event in Ann Arbor expressed frustration with the continued focus on Piker.

“You would think if you turn on any media that this whole campaign is about a streamer in California,” El-Sayed said at the Ann Arbor event. He added that he’s “less interested in going to the sort of tabloid version of our politics where we cover this like, who’s in, who’s out, who’s up, who’s down, who’s talking to who?”

But El-Sayed acknowledged that some Democrats have yet to put the primary behind them.

“There are a few people who are still nursing wounds or grievances from the primary,” El-Sayed said. “I get it. Losing is hard.”

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Associated Press reporter Jesse Bedayn contributed to this report.

A June memorandum of understanding was designed to pave the way to end the war but has fallen by the wayside. U.S. stockpiles of key weapons have diminished and the Republican administration has pivoted to pressuring Iran economically rather than conducting more strikes.

“No negotiations are happening right now, and this will continue until the president feels that maybe they come to the table in a meaningful way,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told “Fox and Friends” on Thursday.

As the shape of the war has morphed over the past half year, so, too, have the goals.

One of the prime goals now — reopening the Strait of Hormuz — was not one of Trump's original objectives. The waterway, which had been a vital shipping lane through which about 20% of the world's oil passed, was open and free to all.

Iran seized on it as a chokepoint for the global economy. The strait has been largely closed since the war started, driving up prices for fuel and fertilizer needed for farms and creating economic and political pressure in the U.S.

The U.S. has had tactical success with its goals to degrade Iran's military capabilities. But some of the other key objectives Trump laid out at the start of the conflict remain unfulfilled and others have shifted.

Here is a look at the objectives and what we know about where they stand:

Stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon

In June 2025, Trump declared that the U.S. had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. But when the war started, his aides justified the strikes by warning that Iran had been just weeks away from developing a bomb.

One of the most pressing questions has been what will be done with a stockpile of about 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium that Tehran could potentially use for a weapon. The material is believed to be buried under three sites bombed by the U.S. and Israel last year. Trump said in a May 29 social media post that it would be retrieved by the U.S. “in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”

Iran has not said whether it would consent. Without permission from Iran, experts have said seizing it would be a dangerous mission requiring a sizable deployment of U.S. troops into the country.

Officials said that Tehran reaffirmed in the June memorandum of understanding that it would not procure or develop nuclear weapons. The deal called for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. But many other details about Iran's program were left for future negotiations, and it's unclear how much progress, if any, was made before talks quickly fell off.

Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Trump has said that a proposed deal with Iran would include the reopening of the strait and the U.S. ending its blockade of Tehran’s ports, but at other times he has suggested the international waterway would somehow become American territory and indicated the U.S. could impose a toll on passing ships.

Trump also has repeatedly said that the strait is open, including during an interview on Wednesday on conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s radio show.

“It’s a functioning strait. Yes, every once in a while, there’ll be a drone or a rocket or something shot, but it is a very functioning strait,” Trump said.

Destroy Iran's ability to fire missiles

One of the prime objectives laid out by the administration was to “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground."

Trump said in late March that Iran's missiles “are mostly decimated" and that 90% of their missiles and launchers were knocked out.

By mid-May, that shifted to a more conservative estimate, with the president saying that 82% of Iran's missiles were gone.

Iran has shown its ability to still launch attacks in the region, including drone strikes on ships sailing through the strait.

As recently as July, the U.S. military still had Iranian military targets to strike, with its Central Command announcing it was striking “Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks.”

Destroy Iran's defense industrial base

Early in the war, the president and his administration sometimes listed this as a standalone objective. Other times, it has fallen off their list.

U.S. Central Command has said its targets for strikes in Iran have included weapons production and missile and drone manufacturing facilities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in early June that Iran has had “massive destruction” of its defense industrial base and “80 to 90% of attrition. It will take years for them to rebuild it.”

Eliminate Iran's navy and air force

The U.S. and Israel quickly established air superiority in the skies above Iran, where they flew largely unchallenged.

Rubio told lawmakers that Iran still has drone capabilities, but it lacks the ability to use swarms of drones to attack targets, as it did at the start of the war. He also said Iran does not have a navy anymore, and relies on small craft outfitted with machine guns that harass ships and sometimes drop mines in the water.

Trump on Wednesday said that Iran's navy and air force are “totally gone."

Protect America's Middle Eastern allies

Trump, in a March social media post, added another objective for the U.S.: “Protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern Allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others."

The U.S. maintains thousands of troops on bases and other installations in the region, but Trump has been unclear on how far he'd be willing to go to protect Middle East allies from threats in the long term. In June, when the U.S. said Iran fired missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, the U.S. launched strikes on Iran in response.

But one ally — Oman — has notably not been feeling the warmth of Trump's offer of protection, and instead has grappled with Trump's wrath over the deal it was negotiating with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. In mid-August, he threatened in an interview that the U.S. would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way," using an expletive for emphasis.

Cut off support for Iranian proxy groups

In March, Trump and his administration repeatedly said degrading Iran's proxy terrorist networks was a key goal.

As time has gone on, administration officials have offered fewer updates about this objective, which the president described as ensuring that “the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces” and “ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”

Early on, the U.S. struck Iranian-aligned militia groups in Iraq. But the biggest focus has been Israel's war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which Iran backs. Iran has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon must be stopped as part of any deal with the U.S. Israel and the Lebanese government announced a deal, which was mediated by the U.S., for Israeli forces to leave southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament — something an administration official described as a “huge step,” speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to address the issue on the record. But the militant group has refused direct talks and its leader has said it will not disarm.

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Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

Besides the money, which will be paid out over a decade, Meta has agreed to strengthen its age estimates to keep kids under 13 off its platforms and teens in age-appropriate accounts, enact a hard limit of two hours a day for users under 18, block kids from the apps from midnight to 6 a.m., and hide “like” counts, among other changes.

Meta said the new safeguards will only apply in the United States, with most in place for 10 years.

While acknowledging the changes go further than Meta has ever gone when it comes to child safety, critics and children's advocates cautioned it will not solve its myriad problems overnight.

Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineering director, said the settlement is a “significant milestone,” but parents should not see Instagram as suddenly safe for children.

“The agreement has a big problem in that it allows Meta to define harm,” Béjar said in an interview Wednesday. "It’s one thing to say, ‘Yeah, you only get like two hours of alcohol or two hours of cigarettes a day,’ but it’s still as bad for you because of what’s getting delivered.”

Béjar, the first witness to testify during the federal trial cut short by the settlement, would like to see Meta address the effect of content recommendations to teens, which he says can prove addictive. While teens might put their phone down when they hit the two-hour limit, they can be distressed about it because the way the platform is designed leaves them craving more.

Meta said people over 18 also can adopt versions of the new controls individually, such as daily time-limit reminders, but there will not be an option for them to opt into the overall settings for what teens experience on the platform.

Stronger age checks

To protect kids, first Meta has to know who they are. While the company has already been using artificial intelligence to determine if kids are lying about their age — either to sign up if they are under 13, which is not allowed, or to use adult accounts when they are 13 to 17 — it did not always work.

Under the proposed settlement, Meta agreed to strengthen its technology to check kids’ ages, using its own as well as third-party tools, with regular outside audits on how well it is working. The agreement also includes specific goals around false positive rates — that is, minors who are identified as over 18. And if a user is identified as under 13 and kicked off the platforms, Meta will check the ages of their friends, too.

“The age assurance section is reasonably good because it has measurement, has independent testing, has goals,” Béjar said. “Because I think Meta should be measured on effectiveness, not effort.”

Meta requires users to be at least 13 years old to create an account, in line with federal child privacy law.

In his testimony last week, Béjar said Meta took a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach on kids under 13 on its platforms.

“Meta has one of the most sophisticated infrastructures in the world to detect fake accounts,” he said. But despite that, he added, there were “no goals, no metrics” to detect and check kids’ ages who were suspected to be under 13.

Some safety features will be on by default

Critics have faulted Meta over many of its safety features that users have to manually turn on, or opt into themselves.

Of the host of safeguards listed in the settlement, many are on as a default. This includes the two-hour time limit, which can only be turned off with a parent’s permission, as well as the night mode that blocks use between midnight and 6 a.m.

Still, under the agreement other features, such as turning off video autoplay or showing posts in chronological order rather than having algorithms decide what to show kids scrolling through their feeds, will be opt-in.

Josh Golin, executive director of online safety nonprofit Fairplay, said the deal appeared to be too focused on offering tools to parents rather than restricting harmful features altogether.

“We are disappointed that the settlement does not turn off by default recommendation algorithms that connect kids to predators and send young people down dangerous rabbit holes,” Golin said.

Questions around default settings came up at the trial earlier this week when a lawyer for the states suing Meta pressed Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, on the low adoption rate among teens for the “take a break” feature, which prompts users to step away if they have been scrolling a while.

Very few teens used the feature when Instagram first introduced it, but since launching separate teen accounts in 2024, Meta has made it the default setting for teenage users. Still, if a teen didn't want to take a break, they could simply swipe away the notification.

It may take time to see the results

Some researchers have found that many past protections Meta has rolled out are ineffective or don’t work as advertised.

“It is a little premature, unfortunately, to tell if exactly all the changes we want to see are going to happen,” said Yaël Eisenstat, director of policy and impact for the Cybersafety Research Center, which recently audited dozens of safety tools offered by both Meta and other social media companies and said most fell short.

Still, Eisenstat said, Wednesday’s settlement is monumental in showing that alternative approaches are possible.

For years, Meta “decided to go against the advice of some of their own internal employees and continue to ignore the fact that these design features were unsafe in search of profit,” said Eisenstat, who also previously worked at Meta, then Facebook, before leaving the company in 2019. The measures outlined Wednesday at the very least show that there are technically-feasible options that can make the platform safer, she said — something whistleblowers and others have already “been saying very loudly.”

Like others, Eisenstat stressed that there was a lot of work left to be done — and that it will require a combination of technical solutions, market forces and government regulation.

“There’s no singular silver bullet for fixing all of this,” she said. “I’m just glad that at least we are catching up a little bit now.”

The settlement, which also includes the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, must still be approved by a judge.

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Grantham-Philips reported from Chicago.

Simon & Schuster will on Thursday publish Arday’s memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things,” which tells the story of how an autistic boy who was non-verbal as a child and illiterate until his late teens grew up to be the youngest Black professor in the history of Cambridge University.

The book’s release comes less than two weeks after Arday, 41, was found dead at his apartment in London following relentless media coverage about allegations that his academic work was bolstered by plagiarism and that he exaggerated his athletic and fundraising achievements. The memoir was published earlier this month in the U.S.

Simon & Schuster said it decided to publish the book in accordance with his family’s wishes. The publisher said it would have no further comment about the book at this time.

“To the very end, Jason was clear that he wanted his memoir to be published, and it is only right that we honor his wishes,” the family said in a statement released by Simon & Schuster.

“There has been so much that has been written and said about our beloved brother, son, father, partner and uncle, mostly by people who don’t know the truth of what he experienced, and we experienced as a family, or what an extraordinary person he was.”

Arday’s death on Aug. 14 has sparked recriminations over who was responsible.

Cambridge has been criticized for elevating Arday too quickly in a rush to promote diversity, despite red flags about his qualifications. The news media has been targeted for driving the professor to despair with a barrage of coverage that his supporters say was out of proportion to what a white scholar charged with similar mistakes would have faced.

Scrutiny of the memoir increased following the controversy, with British newspapers noting that some of the running and fundraising accomplishments he previously touted had been left out of the book. For example, an advance copy of the book doesn’t mention his claim that he once ran 600 miles in six days to raise money for charity.

In an interview with the Times of London that was published July 31, Arday acknowledged that he had made mistakes, which he attributed to his autism and a lack of oversight early in his career. But he rejected accusations that he was “a liar and a fantasist and an academic fraud,” saying they were motivated by “racism and ableism.”

Arday, a sociologist, first rose to prominence when Cambridge announced his appointment in 2023, saying he was a “respected scholar” whose work focused on increasing the number of people from minority ethnic backgrounds who pursued higher education.

Questions about his academic qualifications began attracting public attention in mid-July after British newspapers picked up plagiarism allegations published by a white researcher who has been critical of “diversity, equity and inclusion programs.”

Cambridge initially stood by Arday, saying the plagiarism allegations had been investigated and determined to be unfounded. But on Aug. 5, the university announced that it had opened an investigation into Arday’s appointment after receiving “new information” about his qualifications and honorary appointments.

News coverage of Arday’s story didn’t stop, and he died nine days later.

“We are happy to allow the book to speak for itself and won’t comment further on its content,” the family said in their statement. “The family is still in shock and we are grieving. We call upon the media to give the family the space it needs to come to terms with this terrible loss.”

It can be a challenge for parents to figure out how to help children stay focused when using these devices. That can be especially complicated with school-managed devices, where parents may have limited control over settings and restrictions.

Helpful options can include using built-in tools and settings on devices, creating routines and introducing time-management techniques.

Here are some tips for parents to help children stay on task.

School-issued devices vs. personal devices

The strategies parents choose may depend on whether their children are working on their own devices or ones issued and managed by schools.

Parents have more control over personal tablets or computers, and are able to restrict pop-up notifications from programs, block websites or remove apps entirely. But school-issued devices often come with preloaded software and apps, and schools might manage those devices' settings.

Parents can talk with school administrators about what controls and restrictions are already in place and what options may be available to families concerned about screen time. Parents can also ask whether assignments or homework can be completed on paper. But reducing students’ use of technology entirely can also involve tradeoffs, particularly when some tools offer individualized instruction or help students develop technology skills increasingly expected in the workforce.

In some cases, schools are giving parents additional tools to monitor and manage devices outside of school hours. Battle Ground Public Schools in Washington, for example, introduced overnight login restrictions last year for elementary and middle school students on school-issued Chromebooks, while also allowing exemptions for some families. The restrictions were put in place as a result of parent concerns about device usage late at night and possible interruptions to sleep.

Make devices less distracting

Students can be distracted by notifications that pop up from apps, messages and other services. One simple way to quiet those interruptions is to put up a digital Do Not Disturb sign.

Apple devices, including MacBooks, have focus modes that let users silence some or all notifications, calls and texts. Do Not Disturb is one of the preset modes, and users can also set up their own. On Android devices, a standalone Do Not Disturb feature does the same thing while a separate focus mode, available through Digital Wellbeing in settings, can pause selected apps and gray out their icons so they are harder to open.

Parents can also use built-in controls on Apple and Android devices to regulate screen time, either on their own phone or on a child’s linked device. Depending on the device and how it is set up, parents can restrict access to categories of apps, such as games or entertainment, or set a daily time limit for an individual app.

Google users can use Family Link to manage settings and screen-time limits on a child’s Android device or Chromebook. Apple users can manage these controls for a child’s iPhone, iPad or Mac through Family Sharing.

Keep in mind that screen-time limits aren’t foolproof. Depending on the device and settings, children may be able to request additional time or override some restrictions.

If a setting is unavailable, parents may need to check the school’s device policy or ask the school or district’s technology department what controls are available.

There’s also a decidedly low-tech solution to a distracting app: Delete it. If a particular app is consistently pulling a child away from schoolwork, removing it from the device eliminates the temptation to open it in the first place.

Help kids manage their attention

Device settings can remove some distractions, but experts say parents should also help children learn how to manage their own attention and technology use.

“Everybody has individual rhythms of attention,” said Gloria Mark, professor emerita at the University of California, Irvine, and author of “Attention Span.”

Experts recommend paying attention to when students are most alert, and scheduling work that requires the most concentration during those periods. Those rhythms can vary throughout the day and depend partly on whether someone naturally functions better earlier or later in the day. A quiet or dedicated workspace can also help, as can avoiding multiple devices at once, such as texting while reading or switching to another screen during homework.

To learn and retain information, Mark said, students need to actively engage with material and avoid frequent distractions: “So quick attention shifts are not conducive for learning and retaining information.”

“When people become more conscious of what they’re doing, they can also become more intentional. And when you’re more intentional, you can form a plan,” she said, adding that setting goals and rewarding accomplishment helps people focus on their tasks.

Children should also start homework as early as possible after taking time to decompress from the school day, experts say. Waiting until late at night can interfere with sleep.

The goal isn’t necessarily to eliminate every distraction or monitor every move, Mark said. Parents can instead help children understand when and how they focus best and develop strategies for staying with one task. They don’t need to “helicopter” their children, she said, but should help them understand the importance of focusing and staying with one thing.

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AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.

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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.

Half the Senate gathered for the closed-door meeting. Senators set their mobile phones down and focused their attention. Along with representatives from the House, they listened as Zelenskyy fielded questions about his country's strategy in the long war against Russia.

Zelenskyy told them how Ukraine was repelling the Russian invasion, taking the fight to Moscow, but in need of U.S. help with Patriot interceptor missiles and licensing agreements, expanded access to Elon Musk's Starlink internet — and most immediately ahead of a Senate vote that July night — a punishing Russia sanctions package to deprive President Vladimir Putin of the oil and gas revenue fueling the war machine.

“He said, ‘We need this legislation,’” recalled Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in an interview. “Both the troops and the Ukrainian people need this for morale.”

“You could feel palpably in the room a sense that — Zelenskyy’s confidence of their ability to hold and to persevere,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a former Democratic leader. “There was a sense in the room that, look, we can be successful.”

The massive Russian sanctions package from the late Sen. Graham represented the most ambitious effort to support Ukraine since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. After two years of legislative inaction, it would be one of the few moves from Congress since lawmakers sent supplemental aid funding to Ukraine in 2024.

The Senate advanced the sanctions bill that night, with Zelenskyy taking a rare seat in the chamber to watch the proceedings — senators waving and flashing a thumbs-up as they cast votes. Days later, it sailed to passage, on a vote of 86-11, sending the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act to the House.

But next steps are highly uncertain. House Speaker Mike Johnson helms a Republican majority reluctant to tangle itself in U.S. affairs overseas. And many Democrats supportive of Ukraine warn the bill would hand Trump too much tariff authority with no real checks from Congress.

Daniel Balson, of the pro-democracy advocacy group Razom for Ukraine, is pressing Congress not to lose momentum.

“It’s important not to underestimate symbolically what this would mean,” Balson said. “It would show Ukrainians that, hiccups and all, there is still an international alliance that stands behind Ukraine’s fight.”

Zelenskyy was welcomed, but at times has been turned away

It wasn’t the first time Zelenskyy arrived to a hero’s welcome in Washington, and may not be the last.

But in between there have been moments of grave uncertainty in what has become a long war, longer than World War I.

Zelenskyy first appeared on a private video call with lawmakers in March 2022, days after the start of the war, when he urged the U.S. to send planes to help Ukraine defend its skies from the Russian bombardment. That winter, Zelenskyy delivered a dramatic Christmas-time address to Congress, giving thanks to “every American” in a speech evocative of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's own visit during World War II.

But Congress abandoned another round of Ukraine funds in 2023 as Republicans aligned themselves with Trump, who was on track as the Republican Party's front-runner to retake the White House.

And once Trump returned to power in 2025, action on Ukraine aid ground to a halt. Trump berated Zelenskyy during a high-profile Oval Office meeting, deriding Zelenskyy’s “hatred” for Putin as a roadblock to peace.

“This has largely hinged on President Trump,” said Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a former Air Force brigadier general, who explained that more Republicans would publicly stand with Ukraine if Trump gave the nod.

Still, Zelenskyy kept Congress close, meeting with lawmakers abroad and returning to the U.S. Capitol as he did after Graham's funeral in Washington on July 28.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Zelenskyy has endured a “kind of a baptism by fire since he’s been president in the middle of war, trying to manage confusing messages coming out of Washington.”

Next steps for the bill are uncertain, despite Graham's efforts

It took Graham essentially a full year to bring Trump on board with the Russia sanctions package, and when he did he immediately shared the news with Senate colleagues last month at the NATO summit in Turkey. Graham, who then flew on to Kyiv, died days later back in Washington, likely of a torn aorta.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who had partnered with Graham during the lengthy process, said Graham told him that winning Trump's approval was a “BFD,” slang for a really big deal.

At its core, the bill seeks to deprive Moscow of oil and gas revenues by pressuring China, India and other customers not to buy Russian energy. It would allow Trump to impose sweeping tariffs up to 100% on goods from those countries entering the U.S.

Liberal Democrats have misgivings — not with Zelenskyy or Ukraine — but with the bill's tariff powers, which they worry Trump will deploy in ways Congress cannot control.

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, have raised objections to the bill. More than 30 senators had supported a failed amendment to limit Trump's tariff powers.

“This is not so much a sanctions bill as it is a massive backdoor authority for President Trump to impose more tariffs, including on our European allies, that hurt American families," Meeks said in a statement.

Hoyer, who partnered with Meeks on a separate Ukraine security act that cleared the House earlier this year over Johnson’s objections, is imploring his colleagues not to let this moment pass. He believes Congress and the courts will keep the president in check.

“You know there was so much negative vibes that we were sending,” Hoyer said. “We’ve got to send a letter to these courageous Ukrainians that we’re with them.”

So it was a shock when she found out in 2024 that she had been enrolled in hospice, a specialized end-of-life care usually provided to people with six months or less to live. A Medicare worker told her the system said she had heart failure.

Henry was a victim of rampant fraud in the hospice industry, a problem that's been especially extreme in California, where scammers have taken advantage of historically weak government oversight. Fraudsters have created fake hospices and tricked people into enrolling, or stolen people's identities to bill Medicare for hospice services.

California's been a focus of the Trump administration's crackdown on fraud in federally-funded health programs, with more than 1,000 California hospices removed from Medicare since early 2025. Federal officials estimate LA County alone accounts for an estimated $3.5 billion in fraudulent hospice claims.

The state says it's doing its part to tackle the issue. California has revoked nearly 500 licenses since putting a moratorium on new hospices in 2021 and in June adopted long-awaited emergency regulations that set more stringent criteria for approving new licenses.

Since hospice is a form of palliative care meant for terminally ill patients, once someone enrolls in it, Medicare will not pay for additional medical treatment outside of it, leaving vulnerable seniors to miss out on appointments and be denied crucial care. Meanwhile, millions of taxpayer dollars are being funneled to fraudsters every year, and those who truly need hospice care might not get it if they enroll with a fraudulent hospice operator.

Advocates say they don’t have a clear estimate of how many people like Henry have been unwittingly caught up in fraud, but urge state and federal cooperation.

Hospice fraud has been a major problem in California

In 2026, the state had about 2,100 hospice organizations, down from 2,800 four years prior. New York, which has far more stringent rules for registering a hospice, has just 39, according to its state health department.

A 2022 state audit found rampant fraud and abuse in the system, particularly in LA County. It found dozens of hospice agencies were often clustered in the same building as well as a rapid increase in the number of hospices being established and abnormally high rates of patients being discharged. Hospice is often provided at patients’ homes, meaning one registered hospice can serve patients in numerous locations.

In April, federal prosecutors made arrests in five cases involving hospice fraud in the LA area. A week later, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said 21 people were arrested for a multimillion scheme to use stolen identities to charge for hospice services. His office has filed more than 100 hospice-related criminal cases and secured over 50 hospice-related convictions since 2021.

“This is a California problem,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at a press conference announcing the federal arrests in April. “I call California the kingdom of fraud, and Gavin Newsom reigns over this kingdom here.”

Critics have accused the Trump administration of basing its fraud-busting efforts on politics, with the harshest penalties placed on states run by Democrats. Those efforts have at times contained errors. In April, the administration acknowledged to The Associated Press it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe in New York.

“This isn’t a political game for us. This is about protecting taxpayer dollars, protecting programs sick and vulnerable Californians rely on, and protecting our state,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement a few days later.

Woman spent months proving she was victim of fraud

Fraud might begin with a robocall, or a knock on the door asking someone to sign a form giving away their personal information and Medicare number. They might offer gift cards and vitamin supplements, or even weekly cash deliveries in exchange for signing up for hospice.

Henry believes her Medicare number was stolen after a healthcare payment portal that services insurances was hit by a cyberattack.

She found out about her hospice enrollment in September 2024 after her doctor billed Medicare for an allergy test and was denied. Soon, other claims were being returned unpaid.

For months, she made dozens of calls and wrote emails to Medicare. Her doctor wrote a letter stating that she was in good health.

She was allegedly enrolled at Fortuna Hospice Inc., which did not pick up the phone or return her messages. At one point, Henry drove to the listed address and found only a seemingly empty office building. She spoke with FBI investigators, the state health and human services agency, and a nonprofit advocacy group for Medicare patients.

“I delayed physical appointments and my colonoscopy and all this stuff because I knew that we were going to fight about this and it wasn’t going to get paid,” she said.

Eight months later, Medicare recognized that she was a victim of fraud. One year after she lodged her complaint, she finally began seeing doctors again.

Federal government increases oversight

Some of the enhanced oversight began under the Biden administration, when the federal government said it would place newly Medicare-enrolled hospices in California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas under a period of enhanced oversight. The agency added Georgia and Ohio in December 2025, and CMS announced in May a nationwide six-month moratorium on all new Medicare enrollments by providers of hospice and home care.

The Trump administration's fraud crackdown has invited criticism for its focus on providers with immigrant backgrounds. In January, Dr. Mehmet Oz of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services blasted rampant fraud in Los Angeles County while standing outside an Armenian bakery and alleging the “Russian Armenian mafia” was behind the scams. That prompted a civil rights complaint by Newsom. An investigation into daycare fraud in Minnesota centered on facilities run by immigrants from Somalia.

Beyond hospice, the Trump administration has deferred more than $2 billion in Medicaid payments to the state because of “suspected fraud and noncompliance.” Medicaid is the government-funded healthcare program for low-income people. State officials say the federal government hasn't provided details about why they suspect fraud.

In June, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against fraudsters responsible for $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare programs across the country.

Sheila Clark, CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, testified at an April congressional hearing about a woman who couldn’t get her cataract surgery approved by Medicare because she was falsely enrolled in hospice.

The woman fell while trying to go to the bathroom at night because she couldn’t see and broke her hip.

“She died two months later in a skilled nursing facility. That did not need to happen,” Clark said. “These scammers here are going to do whatever they have to do to try and survive, and we need to work at the state level and the federal level to make sure that we are going to clean house.”

Thousands of pilgrims gathered late Wednesday and Thursday at the Church of St. Fanourios, 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Athens, with their baked offerings. They were seeking solace for different forms of loss: misplaced keys, an estranged partner, courage still needed to face an ordeal, and more.

Priests blessed the cakes of supplicants, who then shared them with their fellow churchgoers for the feast of St. Fanourios, which culminates on Thursday.

The saint of lost-and-found

Among those arriving was Maria Chanioti, 66. She has attended services dedicated to the patron saint of lost-and-found since her youth.

“People go to him for help with pain in their hearts. But St. Fanourios is generous. He helps people,” Chanioti said in her godparents' kitchen a few blocks from the Church of St. Fanourios, while she beat the cake's ingredients with a whisk.

She prepared her cake as her family always has: with fresh-squeezed orange juice and a pinch of nutmeg, in front of an icon of the saint and a simple vigil candle.

Wishes conveyed to Fanourios go beyond mere custom: Each year’s petition is held in earnest and usually not shared even with loved ones.

Chanioti said her friends in the past have asked for a grandchild or for young relatives to finish school with good grades. Loss is understood broadly, including things lacking from one's life.

“The important things in life are love, understanding, to have optimism and to be free of sadness,” she said. “That’s more important than money.”

Orthodox saints are regarded as spiritual companions – models of bravery and faith who channel prayer and provide protection. Saint Nicholas traditionally watches over sailors and fishermen; worshippers offer prayers to Saint Paraskevi for eye ailments.

Fanourios (pronounced fa‑NOO‑ree‑os) is known as “The Revealer." He is also the patron saint of the main town in Rhodes, the Greek island where an icon depicting his suffering as a Christian martyr was discovered more than 500 years ago. Celebrations honoring him are held mostly in Greece and Cyprus.

A cake fit for a saint

Every Greek family may have its own recipe for the cake – called Fanouropita – and priests bless all versions. But the Church of St. Fanourios offers some culinary counsel:

1. 4 cups self-rising flour or equivalent.

2. 1 tsp. cinnamon.

3. 1 cup vegetable oil.

4. 1 cup, plus 2 tbsp sugar.

5. 12 tbsp. orange juice

6. 1/2 cup water.

7. Add lemon zest to taste.

8. 1/2 cup golden raisins, plus 1/2 cup black raisins.

9. 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts.

10. Mix the flour and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, orange juice, water and lemon zest for a few minutes. Add the flour mix, raisins and walnuts to the liquid mixture and stir well. Grease a 12½ inch wide baking tin with oil and dust lightly with flour, shaking off any excess. 11. Pour the batter into a pan and bake at 170-180 Celsius (about 350 Fahrenheit) for 45 minutes. Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar if preferred and slice into squares. The cake is best enjoyed after 24 hours.

Faith built on ‘moments of revelation’

Father Nikolaos Vlavianos greeted parishioners and blessed their cakes at the Church of St. Fanourios on Wednesday night, where thousands gathered around outdoor tables set up for the ceremony and attended a church fair where vendors sold toys, clothes and grilled meat.

Most keep their wishes private, though Father Nikolaos has heard everything from illness and bankruptcy to parking woes and soccer slumps. He says that confronting loss in the church gives worshippers moral clarity and steadfast faith.

“If someone prayed to win the lottery, that would have no spiritual benefit and would not go anywhere,” he said.

“Moments of revelation – everyday ones and extraordinary ones – are often rationalized or dismissed as coincidence. But they still speak to us. The real question is: What experience will we have? How open and receptive are we to living a miracle, to seizing an opportunity to come a little closer to Christ."

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Associated Press videojournalist Lefteris Pitarakis contributed to this report.

Before attorneys addressed the jury for the final time, Judge William Sullivan read instructions for the jury in Plymouth Superior Court. The prosecution and defense will each have an hour to make their final case before the jury begins deliberating.

Clancy did not testify during the trial, which is in its fifth week. Prosecutors called more than 70 witnesses, including Clancy’s then-husband, while the defense called 10 witnesses, including some of Clancy’s friends and relatives.

Multiple psychologists and psychiatrists also testified about Clancy's mental health, which is the central issue in the case. Outside the court before closing arguments began, Clancy supporters wearing pink gathered to call attention to women’s mental health issues.

“I do hope that it has opened a discussion, and people realize how serious this is,” Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said before going into the courthouse.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, with her lawyers arguing she was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she killed 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy at the family’s home in coastal Duxbury in January 2023 before attempting suicide. Postpartum psychosis is a rare mental illness that is linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth.

Prosecutors say Clancy planned the killings and understood her actions were wrong.

If convicted of murder, Clancy faces a mandatory life prison sentence. If jurors find her not guilty because she lacked criminal responsibility, she would not face prison time but could be committed to a psychiatric facility.

Testifying Wednesday as the final rebuttal witness for the prosecution, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of Virginia and a senior psychiatrist for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit said he did not believe Clancy’s account that a voice ordered her to kill the children.

Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague asked Dr. Gregory Saathoff a series of questions about Clancy’s account: Did the voice tell her where to kill the children? How to kill them? What to use? In what order? Saathoff answered no each time.

All three children were strangled with exercise bands in the family’s basement before Clancy jumped from a second-floor window while her husband went to pick up takeout and medication on Jan. 24, 2023. Saathoff said her ability to accomplish everything she did without direction indicated Clancy “had control, control of the sequence of what she was doing throughout.”

Clancy's defense attorney asked Saathoff about Clancy’s attempts to search online for information about postpartum depression, her visits to multiple maternal and mental health providers, disclosures to her mother and then-husband that she was suicidal and feared that she would harm her children, and calls to a suicide hotline — all attempts that Reddington contends establish that Clancy realized something was seriously wrong and made a sincere effort over time to get help.

Reddington, referencing the prosecutor's opening statement, asked whether Saathoff believes that Clancy decided to kill her children because she “no longer liked the life she thought she wanted” and was making “a selfish choice” to “manipulate her providers, seek out a quick and easy fix when she was feeling depressed and anxious.”

“I think that statement that you read really minimizes what she was going through,” Saathoff responded.

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Willingham reported from Boston.

The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air skidded off the runaway at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into a concrete structure and bursting into flames.

Authorities have found traces of bird strike in the plane’s engines and the plane’s two black boxes stopped recording about four minutes before the crash. Many experts say the concrete structure, which housed a set of antennas called a localizer that guides aircraft during landings, must be blamed for the crash as well, as they should have been built with more easily breakable materials.

Police said Thursday the seven officials were involved in the production of media statements that stated the localizers were installed in accordance with relevant domestic and international regulations, though that was not true.

Police said they referred the cases to prosecutors, asking for the seven officials to be indicted on a criminal charge of falsifying official documents. The penalty upon conviction could be up to seven years in prison. The Transport Ministry said it had no comment on the police announcement.

Police said they were investigating nearly 70 other people, including those involved in installation of the localizers or operations of the Muan airport.

The crash was South Korea's deadliest aviation disaster since 1997. But no exact, formal cause of the crash has been announced and no one has been legally prosecuted yet.

Last year, the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board had planned to announce initial investigation results showing both of the plane's engines sustained bird strikes and the pilots turned off the less-damaged one just before the crash-landing. The initial finding, which implied human errors, drew vehement protests from bereaved families and fellow pilots who accused authorities of trying to shift responsibility to the dead pilots. The investigation board later canceled the announcement.

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According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened at around 7:30 p.m. on June 24 at a home in the 2900 block of Southwest 57th Avenue, in the unincorporated Coral Terrace area.

The MDSO report states that Allen Matis, 67, of Coral Gables, was driving a Cadillac Lyriq on Palermo Avenue when he ran a stop sign and slammed the SUV into the home, crashing through the wall and hitting Henri Bezy as he slept inside.

Bezy “became trapped underneath (the) vehicle” and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews pronounced him dead at the scene, the report states.

According to the report, a deputy saw Matis behind the wheel and “observed signs of impairment.” It states that toxicology results taken from blood samples hours after the crash showed Matis’ blood alcohol content ranging from 0.245% to 0.29%, more than three times the legal limit.

Deputies said they later obtained vehicle data showing that Matis accelerated to 43 mph and never hit the brakes “during the seconds leading up to the crash.”

Matis was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on charges of DUI manslaughter and reckless vehicular homicide. His bond was listed as “to be set” as of Wednesday afternoon.

Matis will see another judge on Thursday in order to see if he should be released on house arrest.

Like the beloved children’s book “The Little Engine That Could,” Parton created the Imagination Library to inspire kids to learn, dream and achieve.

In 2026, the nonprofit sends books to children around the world. Two of those children are right here in South Florida.

Lauren Dieppa enjoys reading with her two little ones, Max and Ava. They have each received a book every month from the Imagination Library since they were newborns.

“Every time we get a book in the mail that night they’re reading it,” Dieppa said.

Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 as a tribute to her father. It began in her home county of East Tennessee before expanding to several states and eventually other countries.

The program has thousands of community partners that help bring it to their own cities. The city of Miami Lakes is one of them.

“We started partnering with the Imagination Library since 2004,” said Clarissell De Cardenas, communications and community affairs director for the city of Miami Lakes.

Here’s how it works: Parents register their child on the Dolly Parton Imagination Library website. The town covers the cost of the book and the mailing.

“The parent registers their child on the Dolly Parton Imagination Library website,” De Cardenas said.

“The town covers the cost of the book and the mailing.”

The Imagination Library selects the books, making sure they are age-appropriate, and handles mailing them directly to the children’s homes.

It’s a partnership that delivers plenty of benefits while helping ensure Parton’s dream and legacy as the “Book Lady” will continue to empower generations to come.

Peters and Munetaka Murakami are also the only rookies in club history to hit home runs in five consecutive games in the same season.

Peters connected on a two-run drive in the fifth inning that put the White Sox ahead of the Texas Rangers 6-2. The 26-year-old Canadian now has 12 homers on the season.

The streak matches the longest by a rookie, accomplished 13 times before — including by teammate Murakami this year. Ron Kittle in 1983 was the only other White Sox rookie to do so, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Eight times previously the White Sox have had a player hit homers in five straight.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Kusama died Aug. 14 at a hospital in Tokyo, Yayoi Kusama Studio said, without specifying the cause of death.

“She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul,” the studio's statement said. “We will carry forward Kusama’s wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world.”

Kusama, one of Japan’s most respected contemporary artists, was widely exhibited around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Museum Ludwig in Germany.

Repetitive motifs were her trademark, in various shapes, resembling netting, swirls or worms, but most often dots, dancing proudly on her canvases, or as sparkling balls or dots of light in her installations, in all their vibrant psychedelic glory.

“Polka dots are fabulous,” Kusama said in a 2012 interview with The Associated Press, appearing in her signature orange bob wig and polka dot attire.

“I want to create a thousand paintings, maybe two thousand paintings, as many as I can draw,” she said in her childlike but matter-of-fact tone. “I will keep painting until I die.”

Pursuing her vision of art over a lifetime

Kusama insisted she drew the way she saw the world: covered with spots, part of the hallucinations she said she had from childhood. She was in and out of psychiatric institution for decades, although her sickness did not hold her back as she was one of the first Japanese women to go to New York to pursue her art, in 1957.

Although soft-spoken and shy in her mannerisms, Kusama was always unabashedly bold in the assertion of her dotty vision, not only in sticking to the style for decades but also in making it accessible to the masses.

In her later years, as the times caught up with her art, she enjoyed fame. She signed on with fashion brands like Louis Vuitton as well as other licensed products like teacups, T-shirts and key chains with her illustrations, including replicas of her likeness that were used in show windows and other marketing.

In 2008, Christie’s auctioned her work for $5.8 million. In 2016, she won the most prestigious award Japan gives its artists, the Order of Culture.

Upon receiving the award, she told reporters she was more determined than ever to pursue her art, stressing that the sincerity and devotion she had demonstrated in her personal life were crucial parts of her artistic legacy.

“I feel there is little left in my life, but I am now still fighting to the death for my art,” she said. “I am giving all I have so that many people will continue to be interested in my art, even after I am dead.”

Categories were not enough to represent her art

Kusama was called pop, avant-garde, feminist, just to name some of the categories thrown at her, most of which Kusama brushed off as not quite representative of her art.

She was born in a middle-class family but felt misunderstood, as her parents wanted her to simply get married. They wanted to buy her kimono, not paints and brushes. She knew she had to get away. She chose America.

When she arrived in New York, the fad was “action painting,” characterized by dribbles, swooshes and smears, not dots. She suffered years of poverty and obscurity. But she kept painting dots.

She put circles of paper on people’s bodies, and once a horse, in “happening” anti-war performances in the late 1960s, which got some people arrested for obscenity but helped get media attention for her art. While in New York, she befriended artists like Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe and Joseph Cornell, who praised her innovative style.

Over the years, Kusama made quirky but stunningly celebratory works like “Macaroni Girl,” a female figure plastered with macaroni, which expresses the fear of food; “The Visionary Flowers,” giant sculptures of twisting tulips, and “Mirrored Corridor,” a room with mirrors that delivers an illusion of a field of phallic protrusions speckled with dots.

Kusama, who has also made films and published several novels, said she wasn’t sure where she got her ideas. She just picked up her brush and started drawing. The process was so mysterious sometimes she surprised herself, she told AP.

“I think, ‘Oh, I drew that? I was thinking that,’” she said.

But she appeared happy to have her art be the focus of media attention and praise, reading one of her poems to a reporter or tackling her artworks with gusto for photos.

But she was also a charmingly disarming mix of vulnerability and defiance, at one moment declaring herself “an artistic revolutionary,” and then the next, mumbling: “I am so afraid, all the time, of everything.”

Fans around the world share messages of loss

The news of her death was met with an outpouring of sadness from around the world, including museums that had exhibited her works.

Fans and artists alike praised her courageous persistence in vowing to continue creating art that, she said, will be recognized thousands of years after her death.

Messages recognizing her death were sent from people throughout Japan including Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and Yoshitomo Nara, a younger Japanese artist who has exhibited widely abroad.

“RIP Kusama-sensei,” Nara wrote on his X account, respectfully calling her a teacher in Japanese.

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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Esa apuesta se articula ahora bajo la nueva “Marca País” y con el lema “Anfitrión del Mundo”, que integra bajo una misma visión cinco aspectos: inversión, exportaciones, turismo, logística y sostenibilidad. El miércoles fue presentada en un acto por el gobierno panameño.

El vicecanciller Carlos Arturo Hoyos reconoció que Panamá ha enfrentado retos en materia de reputación, aunque considera que la percepción internacional ha evolucionado.

“Es innegable que nosotros hemos tenido retos reputacionales importantes”, señaló, en alusión a los esfuerzos del gobierno para sacar al país de las listas grises en materia financiera. Sin embargo, aseguró el vicecanciller que en sus misiones oficiales ha encontrado que “la visión y la opinión que yo encuentro de Panamá afuera es excepcional”.

Hoyos agregó a The Associated Press que mejorar la reputación del país ha sido uno de los objetivos del actual gobierno y que se han logrado avances.

La ministra de Turismo, Gloria De León, planteó que contar con una identidad común permitirá al país controlar mejor la narrativa con la que se presenta internacionalmente. “Cuando un país no define quién es, otros lo definen por él”, sostuvo a la AP durante el lanzamiento de la iniciativa en en centro de conveciones en Ciudad de Panamá.

En materia turística, De León señaló que el objetivo es que esa identidad se mantenga de forma consistente para fortalecer el reconocimiento de Panamá frente a otros destinos. A su juicio, una de las diferencias que ha observado frente a países vecinos es precisamente la “continuidad en su comunicación”.

La expectativa, explicó, es que esa permanencia contribuya a posicionar al país para “atraer más turistas, más visitantes y más inversiones”.

Los promotores dijeron que la Marca País se construye sobre cuatro atributos: generosidad, conexión, diversidad y confianza, y parte de la idea de Panamá como punto de encuentro de personas, culturas y negocios.

El presidente José Raúl Mulino destacó el desafío de sostener esa estrategia: “Ahora tenemos la responsabilidad de darle a esta marca el tiempo, la consistencia y la continuidad que necesita para crecer, posicionarse y que se reconozca en el mundo”.

Just weeks after Miami-Dade unveiled its zero waste master plan, Broward has approved a master plan of its own.

After 10 years of planning and pitching, the Broward Solid Waste Authority finally has something to celebrate.

Its solid waste master plan has won approval from a supermajority of cities and is moving forward, with the potential to reshape recycling and waste reduction across the county.

“We were able to reach the 80% threshold,” said Mike Ryan, chair of the Solid Waste Authority governing board. “We need to reduce, reuse and recycle. And it’s not just for the environment, landfill. It’s good economics.”

The Solid Waste Authority was formed in 2023 but had been meeting and strategizing for the past 10 years, trying to get to this exact point: a standardized approach to recycling and composting with an ambitious goal of diverting at least 60% of its waste from landfills in a way cities can afford.

“Right now, this is not economically viable, where every city’s been on their own,” Ryan said.

“We’re generating 5 million tons of trash a year. Much of that has value and can be extracted. Much of that should not be going to the landfill or waste of energy. And so that’s our job now, to break these waste streams up and create long-term contracts to achieve our goals,” Ryan said.

So now the hard work really begins, securing and reviewing proposals in the next few months that can be enacted countywide at the best price.

“This is a pretty aggressive timeline, but we hope by the end of 2027 that we will be able to have created a system that will last for the next 25 to 40 years,” Ryan said.

“Many cities stopped recycling because it just didn’t feel that it was being done or could be done. And that’s costing them more in the long run. So for us, how we look at this is not just about what is it going to cost. It’s also, what did we ultimately save?” Ryan said.

Another cornerstone of the master plan is education. The Solid Waste Authority is working with the county on a K-12 curriculum aimed at teaching students better waste reduction habits from an early age.

“We are going to start in our schools so that when we are educating our students they will be bringing the message home and then that message will get out in a broader, have a broader outreach,” said Maura Bulman, a Broward County School Board member.

The long-term goal is to have active recycling and composting in every county school, like here at Driftwood Middle School in Hollywood.

“The recycle team, what we do is we try to recycle so it reduces the trash in the landfills, lowers pollution, lowers greenhouse gases, and we just try to make the environment safer for our life and encourage others to do the same,” said Tanner, a member of the Driftwood Middle School recycle team.

“Broward is just one teensy tiny part of what makes up everything that gets polluted. So if we help and other people see us helping, they should help too,” said Emory, another member of the Driftwood Middle School recycle team.

Linda Gancitano, a Driftwood Middle School happiness studies teacher, said the students can help spread the message at home.

“The kids can recycle, they can educate, they can bring it home, now they can start. It just has a ripple effect of going home. Educate them here, let them take it home, right? And then we’re going to see the impact all the way across the district,” Gancitano said.

The School Board understands just how critical it is for the county to get this right and the integral role schools will play in making the new master plan a success.

“This is the most important thing we can be doing,” Bulman said. “To have our students and the young people engaged and having the buy-in now and understanding how important it is for their future is amazing for us.”

For the county, the school partnership is essential because ultimately, making this master plan work will take all of Broward working together.

“This has been an entire team effort, and it’s a model of what we can do as cities when we work together with the county and industry and environmentalists to achieve the goals that we have to achieve,” Ryan said.

The Solid Waste Authority has an aggressive timeline, hoping to have a countywide standardized system in action by the end of 2027 that they hope will last for the next 25 to 40 years.

Videos of the disaster showed people running before the floodwaters swallowed them up and washed out buildings and bridges. More than 350 people were killed, police said, and more than 1,300 were missing, including scores of foreigners and pilgrims. Hundreds of others have been displaced across the Himalayan region.

The steep slopes and lush valleys below the Himalayan mountain range — home to many of the world’s highest peaks and remaining glaciers — are especially vulnerable to flooding and landslides. Melting glaciers have become more common because of human-caused climate change.

Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in Nepal’s hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and some stunned survivors were caked in mud.

Nirajan Paudyal, a journalist based in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu, worried for his parents and other relatives in the district's village of Soley.

“I fear there won’t be any update,” Paudyal said.

Helicopters deployed for rescue because of damaged roads

The disaster has left at least 826 people missing in Nepal. Authorities in Tibet, an autonomous region of China, reported at least three dead and 558 missing.

Nepalese officials said that dozens of bridges were destroyed and nearly 40 kilometers (25 miles) of roads were damaged, complicating search efforts.

The Nepalese army has rescued more than 100 people by helicopter, army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said. Army teams also evacuated people trapped inside facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project, he added.

Dozens of injured people have been transported to Kathmandu for medical care.

Rescuers found bodies in Chitwan district hundreds of kilometers (miles) downstream from the hardest-hit areas.

Bishal Kumar Bhandari, chairman of the Nepal Red Cross Society, said the agency has shifted its focus from rescue to large-scale relief operations in the flood-hit districts. He said that around 1,200 people were displaced from at least three villages.

In Tibet, a mudslide that struck Wednesday near the land border crossing of Gyirong Port left mud in the surrounding areas that was more than 1½ meters (5 feet) deep on average, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. Roads leading to the crossing were all damaged, while secondary collapses or landslides might occur as rain continued in the area, it added.

China's premier, Li Qiang, arrived Thursday in Gyirong to direct rescue efforts, alongside 500 military and paramilitary personnel.

Chinese authorities also warned that a lake at the confluence of the Tsogyal and the Purupqiangzangbu rivers is overflowing and may burst.

The United Nations' humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, announced Thursday on X that he has ordered the release of $2 million from the U.N.'s Central Emergency Response Fund to help with medical care, shelter and water. He called the floods “horrifying.”

More than 1,300 are missing, including hundreds of foreigners

Many are still waiting to hear if their loved ones are alive.

Shova Shrestha, 33, has spent more than a day seeking word of her husband, Rajan Shrestha. She said his phone rang when she first called after the floods, but it later became unreachable. Since then, she has watched every helicopter that landed in Bidur, the capital of Nuwakot district, hoping he might be among the survivors.

“I keep looking at each helicopter, hoping he will step out of it,” Shova said.

Among the missing are 517 foreigners, according to Nepal’s tourism board.

They include 178 people from India, more than 60 from the U.S. and people from 30 other countries, including Ukraine, the U.K., South Africa and Japan, the board said.

Many of the missing may have been on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and others.

Seventy-seven people from one pilgrimage group were caught in the floods at the immigration office at the border, according to a post on X from Indian spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

A visibly emotional Sadhguru said in a video that the group included 22 Americans and others from various countries. He said that there was no official information on their whereabouts.

The U.S. has rescued a handful of Americans, outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday in an interview on “Fox and Friends.”

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said Thursday that 288 of their nationals, including some workers on a power project, were missing.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said that nearly 100 Chinese citizens were missing in Nepal. He said that according to preliminary information, 260 of those missing in Tibet were foreigners.

A glacier collapse may have caused floods

The U.S. Geological Survey first reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border.

The agency later updated its analysis to say the seismic event was instead a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse that sent debris flowing downstream.

Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday’s flash flood.

In an emailed statement, they said water levels at one point on the Trishuli River rose by as much as 9 meters (27 feet) in half an hour.

The increasingly unstable Himalayan ice system threatens communities, infrastructure and water supplies across one of the world’s most densely populated regions.

The region saw similar flash floods in August 2025, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed because of high temperatures. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China, was damaged.

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Kafle reported from Kathmandu, Nepal. Associated Press journalists Upendra Mansingh in Nuwakot District, Nepal; Kanis Leung in Hong Kong; Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India; Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia; Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ali Swenson in New York; and Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not confirmed the agreement. ESPN reported that Kuminga's contract includes a player option for the second season, which would give the seventh overall pick from the 2021 draft an opportunity to hit the free agent market in a year.

Kuminga will fill an obvious need in the frontcourt for the Timberwolves, who traded Julius Randle and Naz Reid as part of their offseason acquisition of point guard LaMelo Ball.

Kuminga, who will turn 24 on Oct. 6, averaged a career-best 16.1 points during the 2023-24 season for the Golden State Warriors, who drafted the Congo native but never found the right fit for him before ultimately trading him to the Atlanta Hawks in February. Kuminga fell out of favor with Warriors coach Steve Kerr and out of the rotation last season, making his departure an inevitability. He played in only seven of his last 38 games with the Warriors.

He'll have a fresh start with the hungry Timberwolves, who'll have the challenge of finding enough shots for Kuminga and fellow forward Jaden McDaniels in a lineup that will revolve around Ball and superstar Anthony Edwards. In 278 NBA games, Kuminga has averaged 12.5 points and 22.1 minutes. He's a 50.2% shooter from the floor.

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See AP’s full NBA coverage here

En un mensaje grabado difundido al país, el gobernante admitió que Fernando Cerimedo, ex asesor del presidente argentino Javier Milei, trabajó en su campaña por la segunda vuelta que ganó y al inicio de su gobierno como “estratega de orden internacional”, pero que su presencia o la constancia en Bolivia “no era la que necesitábamos para poder trabajar y tener un sólido formato de trabajo. Por eso nunca hubo un contrato” o relación directa.

“Jamás tuvo la autorización de representar a este boliviano, a la Presidencia, al gobierno o a mi familia”, aseguró Paz, quien enfrentó críticas y pedidos para que explicase la relación del asesor argentino con su administración, en medio de una fuerte crisis económica en el país.

Un juez envió el viernes a Cerimedo a prisión preventiva por 180 días en Santa Cruz por el caso de presunto feminicidio en grado de tentativa contra su expareja Nadia Beller, quien fue atacada a tiros por personas vestidas de repartidores afuera de un hotel en esa región oriental boliviana. La mujer sobrevivió al ataque y culpó a Cerimedo, al tiempo en que denunció presuntos casos de corrupción en los que implicó al estratega y a la familia de Paz.

La Fiscalía boliviana abrió investigaciones adicionales por un posible caso de enriquecimiento ilícito contra el argentino al encontrar más de 40.000 dólares en moneda local y tarjetas de presentación.

Tras defender a su familia, el presidente señaló en su mensaje que “no puede ser que generando escándalos quieran dañar nuestra forma de convivencia y de comportamiento; por eso soy el primero en defender en nuestra democracia la transparencia de los procesos de investigación no sobre escándalos sino sobre pruebas”.

Beller es una abogada que militó en el izquierdista Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), el partido que gobernó Bolivia durante casi 20 años, aunque posteriormente algunos sectores la relacionaron con la oposición regional en Santa Cruz. Ella ha sido declarada recién testigo protegida después que fue convocada a ampliar sus declaraciones en el caso por supuesto enriquecimiento ilícito contra el estratega argentino.

But name, image and likeness has changed the landscape of college football, bringing more teams into the mix.

And the odds reflect that.

Seven teams are, depending on the sportsbook, 11-1 odds or greater to win the national title when it's played Jan. 25 in Las Vegas.

No. 1 Ohio State, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Texas are each +650 or better to win it all at the major sportsbooks, with No. 6 Indiana, No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Georgia not far behind. No. 7 Miami is 10-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook and 11-1 at BetMGM Sportsbook.

“I think it was kind of evident even last year where it was more parity,” said Joey Feazel, Caesars' head of football. “I don't think going in that everybody thought Miami and Indiana were going to be playing for the national championship, and that's spilled over into this season as well, where it's a little bit more wide open.”

Sportsbooks have to keep up on player movement thanks to the transfer portal, which can seriously affect odds. There also have been a handful of court cases that have determined if some players are eligible to play and others are not.

“It's harder in this offseason,” BetMGM sports trader Seamus Magee said. “If you're up to date on the news faster than — forget just us — anywhere else on the market, you can find a really good number before the season. But then a lot of variance comes into play."

Easier path for the Irish

One reason Notre Dame is +650 at BetMGM and 6-1 at DraftKings and Caesars is because the independent doesn't have the gauntlet of a schedule Big Ten and Southeastern Conference schools tend to face.

The Fighting Irish don't play a ranked team until they visit No. 14 BYU on Oct. 17. No. 7 Miami on Nov. 7 and No. 19 SMU on Nov. 21, both at home, are the other ranked opponents.

Johnny Avello, director of race and sports for DraftKings, pushed back some on the notion Notre Dame has an easy path, pointing out the Irish two years ago lost to Northern Illinois.

“Their path's not bad,” Avello said. “If you're in the SEC, certainly you've got a tough game almost each and every week. You're in the Big Ten, you've got a tough game each and every week. Being an independent, they have a schedule with a couple of decent teams. They should win at least 10 this year.”

Longhorns and Ducks in similar situations

If Ohio State or Notre Dame don't win the national championship, Texas is the team most likely to capture the title, if the odds are to be believed. The Longhorns are +650 at three major sportsbooks.

Oregon is close behind at +750 at DraftKings and Caesars and 8-1 at BetMGM.

Both programs have been among the nation's best, but haven't been able to close the deal in recent seasons.

Magee, however, said a credible case can be made this season is different, saying both rosters are championship level. Bettors agree.

“I think they're No. 3 and 4 in most-bet teams to win the title,” Magee said. “I don't think a lot of bettors are looking at what's happened in the past at these schools.”

Is there another Hoosiers team out there?

Gamblers often like to look for big payoffs in futures bets, and Avello said a good amount of money has come in on Oklahoma State (400-1), Kentucky (450-1) and UCLA (750-1), the hope being they will be the next Indiana.

The Hoosiers were 100-1 at one point last season winning the title.

“We all overlooked them,” Avello said. “They had better players than we thought. You’re not going to get a team like an Illinois or a Kansas State to win it all ... because you’ve got to have the horses to get it done. The playoff, it’s not a one-game affair. Once you make it, you have to win (three or) four games and that’s not easy.”

Carr and Manning favorites for the Heisman

Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr is slightly favored over Texas QB Arch Manning to win the Heisman Trophy.

Bettors might remember last season, however, when then-Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza seemed to come out of nowhere to win the Heisman, defying preseason odds where he was as high as 60-1.

“We'll see a lot of action those first couple of weeks as that market starts to shape up and you start to see one candidate start to pull away a little bit more,” Feazel said. “Right now, 7-1 being the favorite, that's still pretty high until the first couple of weeks where we'll start to see a 3- or 4-1.”

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Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here.

Now they look like a million bucks.

Muchova and Mensik won the title Wednesday night in their first time playing together, beating Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 1-6 (10-6).

The Czech duo, wearing the same pink tops and maroon bottoms they settled on Monday, pulled out match tiebreakers in both matches on the second night of the two-day event, fueled by Mensik's powerful serve combined with some good hands near the net. He put away the final with an ace to earn $1 million for him and Muchova to share.

“I think at the end, really the matching outfit made the difference for us,” Muchova said.

They were a point from losing in the semifinals, erasing two match points and running off the final four to edge Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev 5-4 (6), 3-5 (11-9).

Quite a performance, considering Mensik said he had never played in a mixed doubles event.

“My first mixed doubles, 100% win rate,” he said.

Bencic and Cobolli rallied to end the run of spouses Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in the first semifinal with a 4-5 (7), 4-1 (10-5) victory.

They appeared headed toward a matchup with Andreeva and Rublev, who were smiling and pumping their fists after opening the lead in the match tiebreaker. Muchova flung her racket to the court in disgust after missing a volley that gave the Russians a 7-5 lead.

But the Wimbledon women’s runner-up never lost belief, thanks in part to her hard-serving partner, who will turn 21 next week.

When Mensik first asked Muchova to play, she told him to improve his ranking. When the U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament was revamped last year, the ability to directly qualify was based on the combined singles rankings of the two players.

Mensik then did his part by reaching the semifinals of the French Open.

“I put a little pressure on him, but in a fun way. It worked,” Muchova said. “I’m happy we managed and we got in, that we are here now.”

The final was the only match of the tournament that resembled a regular match, with standard sets to six games and a tiebreaker at 6-all. Through the first three rounds, sets were to four games, with a tiebreaker at 4-all.

Bencic and Cobolli knocked Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz out of the tournament Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

Then they dropped a set for the first time in the tournament in the semis, but began to dominate midway through the second set, winning the final 11 points to force the match tiebreaker. But they couldn't win their second one in the final.

“This year is already the second final. I never expected in my life to play a Grand Slam,” said Cobolli, this year's French Open runner-up. “This is mixed but still something that you never forget.”

It was the second year of the new format in mixed doubles, with the event shortened and moved to the week before the singles main draw begins, with the U.S. Tennis Association hoping that would get top singles players to compete.

Plenty of top names did compete but much of the star power, including Williams and Alcaraz, went out early. Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic lost their opening match, as did Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz.

That could explain a good number of empty seats in Ashe, particularly after both semifinals went the distance and pushed the start of the final back toward nearly 11 p.m. EDT.

None of the teams featuring doubles specialists survived to the final four, leaving an opening for some players still seeking Grand Slam glory such as Rublev, who has fallen 10 times in major quarterfinals.

Svitolina and Monfils, who have both reached the U.S. Open singles semifinals, accepted a wild card to team up for the first time. Married since 2021, they were trying to win a championship in the final appearance in a Grand Slam tournament for Monfils, who will turn 40 on Sept. 1, before he retires.

They pulled out a back-and-forth tiebreaker in the first set in which they blew a 4-0 lead, then erased two set points. They went ahead 8-7 when Bencic tried to hit a cross-court backhand but nailed Cobolli, who had strayed into the middle. Cobolli then double-faulted to lose the set.

Bencic and Cobolli recovered, but then had a poor start to the final after a long break between matches. The Czechs pounced quickly, then finished well late.

Their biggest challenge may have been the outfit selection. Mensik apparently wasn't familiar with the word maroon.

Now he knows and loves it.

“My favorite color right now is pink and maroon, that’s for sure,” he said.

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See AP’s full tennis coverage here

The trial is scheduled to begin June 5, 2028, 18 months later than the January 2027 start that prosecutors had requested. The additional time is needed to resolve pretrial disputes, including disagreements about what evidence can be presented at trial, Air Force Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama wrote in his ruling.

The U.S. military and successive administrations have struggled for more than two decades to bring to justice the man charged with planning one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States.

The 2028 trial depends on the case meeting deadlines and milestones along the way and it could again be delayed. A trial was previously scheduled in 2021 but later canceled.

Mohammed is accused of developing and directing the plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another of the hijacked planes flew into a field in Pennsylvania. He faces trial alongside three alleged accomplices: Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

They are among the last of the detainees held at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A federal appeals court last year threw out an agreement that would have allowed Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal sparing him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s 2001 attacks.

That deal stipulated life sentences without parole for Mohammed and two of his co-defendants. It also would have obligated the men to answer any lingering questions that families of the victims have about the attacks. But after negotiating the deal for two years, former President Joe Biden's administration repudiated it.

May was hit in the upper back by A.J. Ewing’s 106 mph line drive leading off the bottom of the first inning. The ball ricocheted off May as he whirled in an attempt to get out of the way. It caromed on one hop right to third baseman David Hamilton, who threw out the speedy Mets rookie at first.

May grimaced as he bent forward, favoring the area around his right shoulder blade and armpit.

“In the moment, didn’t feel great,” he said. “Took my breath away. Was just trying to get my breath back.”

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy and an athletic trainer went to the mound to check on May, who was surrounded by Brewers infielders.

After a long consultation, May threw several warmup pitches, raising his arm and shaking his right hand between tosses. Murphy then motioned to the dugout and May followed him off the mound.

“When I threw it, it felt fine,” May said. “But sitting there for a couple seconds after — threw the next one and it didn’t feel right. They were more on the cautious side of, better to be safe now and protect you for later.”

May still hopes to make his next scheduled start.

“I think it all just depends on how I feel (Thursday),” he said after the Brewers pieced together an 8-1 win. “Right now, with motions and movements and stuff, feel better now that I know nothing is structurally wrong.”

Left-hander Robert Gasser replaced May and got the win by tossing 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Grant Anderson and Bryse Wilson combined to allow three hits over the final 3 1/3 shutout innings.

“We planned just using May as an opener,” Murphy said with a grin. “Parts of six (innings for Gasser) — great, really great. Made big pitches at big times.”

It was the first relief outing of Gasser’s three-year big league career and just his sixth as a professional.

“Definitely something I haven’t had to experience before,” Gasser said. “I didn’t even sit down out there.”

May is a significant member of the starting rotation for the Brewers, who are a major league-best 82-51 as they chase a fourth consecutive NL Central title.

He was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at the Aug. 3 trade deadline and is 6-8 with a 4.56 ERA in 25 outings this season. Making his fourth start for Milwaukee, he became the first major league starter to exit after one pitch since Pablo López with the Miami Marlins on July 2, 2021.

Murphy agreed that May remains a candidate to start for the Brewers early next week.

“We’re hopeful,” the manager said.

The 6-foot-6 May, who turns 29 next month, has undergone Tommy John surgery twice and also required life-saving surgery after he suffered a tear of his esophagus while eating dinner in 2024 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

May said he didn’t think about his injury-plagued past after being struck by the line drive.

“Not in the moment,” he said. “I’m thinking about trying to stay in the game at that point.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

La medida se produce luego de un caso de suicidio vinculado a la plataforma el mes pasado. El gobierno de Brasil presionó a Discord hace unas semanas para que suspendiera sus transmisiones en vivo relacionadas con el incidente.

La Abogacía General de la Unión, un órgano gubernamental, señaló en un comunicado que la indemnización que reclama a Discord se debe al presunto daño psicológico colectivo que ha permitido.

La oficina de Discord en Brasil indicó en un comunicado que la medida del gobierno es “desproporcionada” y “no refleja con precisión el enfoque de Discord en materia de seguridad y el cumplimiento de la legislación brasileña”.

La demanda de 25 páginas, a la que The Associated Press tuvo acceso, sostiene que existen graves deficiencias en los sistemas de verificación de edad y en las protecciones de seguridad que ofrece Discord a los usuarios.

La empresa cometió “violaciones directas a una serie de obligaciones y normas protectoras del derecho brasileño, relativas a las protecciones especiales y a la seguridad de grupos vulnerables, incluidos niños y adolescentes”, indicó la Abogacía General de la Unión.

La demanda también solicita al tribunal que ordene a Discord reforzar de inmediato sus controles parentales, ampliar la cooperación con las fuerzas policiales locales y desplegar herramientas automatizadas para detectar y retirar contenido peligroso.

También señala que Discord enfrenta presiones similares a nivel mundial, incluidas demandas activas en estados de Estados Unidos como Texas, Nevada y Nueva Jersey.

El presidente de Brasil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, quien busca la reelección en octubre, y el Supremo Tribunal Federal han intentado regular el uso de internet entre los menores de edad, con resultados dispares hasta ahora. Países como Australia, Canadá e Indonesia emprenden esfuerzos similares.

La primera dama de Brasil, Rosângela Lula da Silva, conocida como Janja, afirmó el 6 de agosto que la plataforma debería dejar de operar debido al caso de suicidio. Cinco adolescentes han sido arrestados en relación con la muerte, según el Ministerio de Justicia de Brasil.

Discord tiene más de 90 millones de usuarios activos a diario en todo el mundo, según su sitio web.

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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.

Los registros muestran que la casa, ubicada en Valencia Avenue, pertenecía a Henry Parra, de 55 años, y Adam Hlavaty, de 42, quienes murieron en el accidente del miércoles pasado junto con otras cinco personas, incluidas otras con vínculos con el sur de Florida, en el condado Samburu, en el norte de Kenia.

La policía de Coral Gables dijo que el robo ocurrió en algún momento entre el jueves y el sábado, después del accidente.

Identificaron a los sospechosos del robo como Geybert Alexander Garcia, de 40 años, y Melany Perdomo, de 24, quienes viven juntos cerca del área no incorporada de Palm Springs North, en el noroeste de Miami-Dade.

Según los investigadores, la pareja “saqueó la residencia y se llevó numerosos artículos pertenecientes a los fallecidos, como documentos personales y comerciales, joyas, aparatos electrónicos y obras de arte”.

También robaron el Land Rover 2023 y el Porsche Taycan 2020 de la pareja, según un reporte de arresto. El reporte menciona el accidente, pero no indica si los investigadores creen que Garcia y Perdomo se enteraron de la muerte de la pareja antes del robo ni cómo lo habrían hecho.

La policía dijo que la empleada doméstica de Parra y Hlavaty descubrió el robo el domingo.

Las autoridades dijeron que una señal emitida por la MacBook robada de la pareja, junto con la ubicación del Range Rover robado, situó los artículos sustraídos en la casa de Garcia y Perdomo, en la cuadra 8300 de Northwest 195th Terrace.

Según el reporte, después de confirmar que los vehículos estaban estacionados afuera de la casa, la policía de Coral Gables y agentes de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade ejecutaron allí una orden de registro el martes.

Los investigadores dijeron que Garcia se escondió en un clóset mientras los agentes encontraron a Perdomo en un dormitorio del piso superior.

Durante el registro, “los agentes localizaron e identificaron numerosos documentos robados” pertenecientes a la pareja, así como el control de la llave del Range Rover, según el reporte de arresto.

“Además, varias obras de arte valiosas fueron recuperadas del interior de la residencia, incluida una escultura de arte perteneciente a las víctimas y valorada en más de aproximadamente $500,000 USD”, señala el reporte. “Los agentes también localizaron varios artículos e instrumentos compatibles con la producción y/o alteración de documentos de identificación fraudulentos e información de identificación personal”.

Además, los investigadores dijeron que encontraron una Ford F-250 con un VIN alterado que resultó haber sido robada en el condado Indian River.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Garcia y Perdomo fueron arrestados cada uno por múltiples cargos de delitos graves, incluidos robo y robo mayor de vehículo.

En corte el miércoles, el abogado de Garcia, Paul Basile, presentó un documento al tribunal indicando que había sido firmado y notarizado y que otorgaba a Garcia “permiso para tener posesión de esos vehículos y entrar a la propiedad”.

Sin embargo, Lauren Bailey, amiga de la familia de las víctimas, también estaba en corte y dijo que eso no puede ser cierto.

“No hay manera de que ellos pudieran haber firmado ese documento”, dijo Bailey. “En primer lugar, no estaban en el país. En segundo lugar, nunca habrían hecho algo así. Tenían a otras personas. Tienen una empleada doméstica que va a la casa todos los días. No habría necesidad de hacer algo así”.

Continuó: “La casa fue dañada; entraron por la fuerza. La puerta fue destruida. Arrancaron la cámara, y le hemos entregado al fiscal las fotos de eso. Su familia vino desde Indiana y llegó a una casa en la que habían entrado por la fuerza y de la que habían robado sus pertenencias, y no se sienten cómodos si dejan ir a esta persona”.

La fiscal Nessa Eth preguntó al detective del Departamento de Policía de Coral Gables, Wilfredo Diaz, si creía que los documentos eran legítimos.

“No”, testificó Diaz. “Creo que es un documento fraudulento”.

La jueza de Miami-Dade Mindy Glazer también pareció mostrarse escéptica sobre la validez del documento, especialmente considerando que Garcia tiene antecedentes de arrestos en el condado, y ordenó que tanto él como Perdomo permanecieran detenidos sin derecho a fianza.

Perdomo, a pesar de que su reporte de arresto indica que nació en Florida, también quedó detenida bajo una retención migratoria, según muestran los registros de la cárcel.

“It’s being reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” Goodell said Wednesday at the owners' meetings in Atlanta. “We’ll do that and when there’s something to be reported we’ll talk.”

York was arrested in a mobile home park by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force after police said he was attempting to pay $160 for sex with a woman he believed to be a prostitute.

York was booked into jail and was released after posting a $5,000 bond. York was initially charged with engaging in prostitution, but prosecutors amended that to disorderly conduct. He pleaded no contest to that charge and to possessing criminal tools for using his phone to respond to the an undercover online prostitution advertisement.

He was sentenced to one day in jail for both offenses to be served concurrently and was credited with one day served when he pleaded no contest. He also was fined $1,150. Police seized the $160 from York and that was later given to the human trafficking task force as part of the plea. York also completed an online course.

York has spent most of the summer in Ohio, where he grew up near Youngstown. He had filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle, in May, according to court records.

Owners have been previously punished for violating the personal conduct policy. The late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was suspended for six games and fined $500,000 following a guilty plea to driving while impaired in 2014.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was investigated but not punished by the league after he was arrested in Florida in 2019 for allegedly paying for sex with a woman at a massage parlor. The charge was later dropped after a court ruled that police violated the rights of Kraft and the other customers when they secretly installed video cameras inside massage rooms at the spa.

York was arrested on Sunday in East Palestine, Ohio, and pleaded guilty on Monday to two misdemeanors.

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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Trump first sought to fire Cook a year ago over allegations that she commited mortgage fraud, which she denies. The charge has not been proven or considered in court. The Supreme Court ruled that Cook could remain in her position while the case is litigated. The justices also said Trump could try to fire her again if he provided proper notice and a chance to contest it.

A White House aide earlier this month had given Cook until Wednesday to respond.

“For the second time in a year, we have explained why there is no legal basis for President Trump to remove Governor Cook for cause,” her attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norman Eisen, said in a statement. “An inadvertent error is not fraud, as the President and a third of his cabinet should know because they reportedly did the same thing. These attacks on Governor Cook are not about real estate paperwork; they are an attempt by President Trump to force the Federal Reserve to bend to his will."

Officials in the Trump administration have accused Cook of declaring two homes as “primary residences” in mortgage applications. Primary residences can sometimes receive lower mortgage rates or down payments than second homes.

Cook on Wednesday said she had referred to one of those two homes in some documents as a “vacation home” and had not sought to deceive lenders. She said any errors were unintentional and did not rise to a level that justified her firing.

If Trump is able to remove Cook, he could name a replacement and his appointees would gain a majority on the Fed’s board. Trump has long attacked the Fed for not cutting its benchmark interest rate quickly enough.

A Big 12 ruling later Wednesday, however, made it uncertain if Castellanos would be able to play for the defending league champion Red Raiders.

Castellanos told ESPN earlier in the day that he had committed to Texas Tech. On the quarterback's verified X account, in which the bio included the phrase professional athlete, there was a photo posted with him in a Texas Tech uniform.

The Big 12, after similar decisions by the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences, also is banning players who were on NFL rosters from returning to college. The rule unanimously adopted Wednesday by the Big 12 also makes ineligible any player that declared for the NFL draft and didn't timely withdraw before the draft.

Castellanos, who played last season at Florida State, went undrafted four months ago before a tryout as a receiver with the Miami Dolphins during their rookie minicamp. He was never on an NFL roster, but went through the draft process.

He had declared for the NFL draft last December after dropping his appeal for another year of college eligibility. The NCAA had denied his waiver request to play another season.

Castellanos was granted 5th season of eligibility by a court last week

Last Friday, Castellanos was among 10 athletes granted a temporary restraining order by a Kentucky judge to get a fifth season of college football. The NCAA announced a rule change in June allowing players who began college in 2023 or later to have five years to play five years of sports in college.

Castellanos, whose college career began at UCF in 2022, transferred last season to Florida State following two at Boston College. His fifth game at UCF as a freshman was the American Athletic Conference championship game after the starter got hurt.

In 38 college games, Castellanos completed 477 of 816 passes (58.5%) for 6,449 yards with 48 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. He was 180-of-309 (58.3%) for 2,760 yards, 15 TDs and nine interceptions last year in his 12 games for the Seminoles.

Hammond was in line to be 2026 start before getting hurt

Hammond played in eight games for Big 12 champion Texas Tech behind graduated Behren Morton last season before an ACL injury on Oct. 25. After no setbacks in his recovery, Hammond has been part of fall camp. The Red Raiders open the season at home Sept. 5 against FCS team Abilene Christian.

Sorsby transferred to Tech in January after two seasons at Cincinnati, and was expected to start instead before an NCAA gambling investigation and since-dropped lawsuit over his eligibility.

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The move comes in the wake of a July suicide case linked to the platform. Earlier this month, Brazil’s government pushed Discord to suspend its live broadcasts in relation to the incident.

The Solicitor-General's office for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement the damages it is seeking from Discord are due to alleged collective psychological harm it has allowed.

Discord in Brazil said in a statement that the move by the country’s government is “disproportionate” and “does not accurately reflect Discord’s approach to safety and compliance with Brazilian law.”

Brazil’s government’s 25-page long lawsuit, which was obtained by The Associated Press, says there are severe gaps in its age-verification systems and user safety protections.

The company has committed "direct violations to a number of obligations and protective norms of Brazilian law, regarding the special protections and safety of vulnerable groups, including children and teenagers,” Brazil's Solicitor-General's office said.

The office is also asking the court to order Discord to immediately strengthen parental controls, expand cooperation with local law enforcement, and deploy automated tools to detect and remove dangerous content.

The filing also notes that Discord faces similar legal pressure globally, including active lawsuits in U.S. states like Texas, Nevada and New Jersey.

Lula, who is seeking reelection in October, and Brazil's Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts.

Brazil’s first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the suicide case. Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to Brazil’s justice ministry.

Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website.

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Stubbornly high prices are shaping up to be a key issue in the midterm elections, now just 10 weeks away, particularly as the Iran war keeps gas prices high, President Donald Trump is threatening new tariffs on Canada and China, and spending on AI infrastructure has pushed up the cost of computers, gaming consoles, and semiconductors.

Inflation remained high in July even as gas prices fell, partly because the cost of services, including health care, utilities, and financial services, jumped. Yet the government plans to change the way it calculates the cost of some services starting with next month’s figures, which could lower measured inflation.

Inflation remains elevated and above the Federal Reserve’s target

The Commerce Department’s Wednesday report showed that prices rose 3.7% in July compared with a year earlier, the same as June. Inflation has worsened since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, when it stood at 2.9%. It’s noticeably above the Fed’s target of 2%.

Wednesday’s figures are from the personal consumption expenditures price index, a separate gauge from the more widely followed consumer price index, which was reported earlier this month. The PCE index is running hotter than the CPI, partly because it puts much less weight on rental costs, which have been cooling steadily in recent months.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation was also unchanged at 3.3% in July. It had fallen to 2.6% before President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April 2025.

On a monthly basis, overall prices rose 0.2% from June to July, after declining 0.1% the previous month and jumping 0.5% in May. Core prices also moved up 0.2% from June to July, up from 0.1% in the previous month. Some Fed officials have said that core inflation running at about 0.2% a month would be a reassuring sign that inflation is heading back to the 2% target.

The inflation gauge will be revised lower next month

Many economists have noted that the PCE index has been pushed higher by the way it calculates the cost of financial advice, as well as how it measures prices for software and computer accessories. When stock markets rise, that translates into bigger gains in what the government calls “portfolio management services.” Yet that measure doesn’t always fully capture what Americans actually pay for financial services.

At the same time, the PCE also likely captures some business-related spending on software, even though it should only focus on consumer spending, analysts say.

As a result, the Commerce Department has said it plans to adjust those measurements, among others, starting next month. Economists, who largely agree with the changes, forecast that they will reduce annual PCE inflation by 0.2 percentage point or so.

Why do things still feel expensive?

Even as inflation has cooled from its post-pandemic highs — it topped 7% according to the Fed’s preferred gauge in 2022 — consumer sentiment surveys show that most Americans are still gloomy about the economy and their finances.

A key reason is likely that inflation, even at lower levels, has eroded incomes. Wednesday’s data show that compared with a year ago, inflation-adjusted incomes have risen just 0.2%, after several months of decline.

And gas prices have rebounded this month, which will likely push up inflation when the August figures are reported next month. Prices ticked up again overnight to $4.10 per gallon on average nationally, according to AAA.

Consumers did boost their spending at a robust pace in the April-June quarter, according to a separate report released Wednesday, and businesses also strongly increased their investments, largely on the AI infrastructure buildout. The economy grew just 1.5% during the second quarter, however, as much of the business spending went towards imports.

But Americans may be turning more cautious as inflation stays high. Consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, was unchanged in July, the government said Wednesday.

How will this affect the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve?

The new inflation data is unlikely to fully resolve a split at the Fed, where most officials are willing to hold interest rates steady to see if inflation can cool on its own. But many Fed officials have supported raising rates in a bid to slow borrowing and spending to combat higher prices.

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will deliver a high-profile speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that will be closely watched by Wall Street for any signs of his thinking about next steps.

Persistent inflation has contributed to higher long-term interest rates, which have lifted borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. Many Wall Street analysts say that a lack of clarity from Warsh about how the Fed will respond to persistent inflation has also pushed up those rates. The yield on 30-year Treasury bonds briefly reached a 19-year high earlier this month, prompting an unusual intervention by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Bessent said the Treasury would double its buybacks of longer-term bonds — those lasting for 10 to 30 years — starting next month. Such a move would theoretically raise Treasury prices and lower yields. The announcement initially had little effect, though yields have since declined slightly.

The top diplomats of the two countries met to discuss managing commercial shipping traffic in the vital waterway, which remains largely shut down nearly six months after the Iran war began.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in Gaza continued, testing the already fragile ceasefire with Hamas.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

No military vessels in the strait, Iran says

Iran and Oman have reached a potential agreement for managing ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz that would exclude military vessels from traversing the vital waterway.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television late Tuesday that commercial shipping traffic into the Persian Gulf would pass through Iranian waters, while the outbound route would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s waters.

He said the routes would be temporary, and that Iran and Oman must discuss a permanent maritime traffic plan within 30 to 60 days. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way,” as his administration opposes parts of the evolving deal.

Qatar’s prime minister heads to Iran

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is expected in Tehran on Thursday for talks with Iranian officials on “ways to de-escalate tensions & create the conditions conducive to dialogue,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on X.

The discussions, confirmed by Tehran, will also address “freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz and the need to return to the pre-war status quo, according to Majed Al Ansari, an agency spokesperson.

Trump isn’t in a hurry to resume talks with Iran

The U.S. president told Al Jazeera over the phone on Wednesday that he believes the United States is “winning very big” as the conflict with Iran nears the six-month mark.

“I have no time schedule; whatever it takes,” he told the Qatar-based broadcaster.

In another interview Wednesday, Trump said he thinks Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Motjaba Khamenei, is “very seriously wounded,” but not dead.

Motjaba Khamenei became supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed at the start of the war. The younger Khamenei was badly wounded in the attacks and has remained out of public view.

Israel launches a deadly strike in Gaza, health officials say

An Israeli strike on a tent for displaced people on Wednesday in southern Gaza killed one person and wounded at least four, the territory’s Health Ministry officials said. The Israeli military said that it struck a “military operative,” without elaborating.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have reported a surge in deadly Israeli strikes, despite a fragile ceasefire in the nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war. Israel has said that it targets Hamas and other militants.

Gaza peace board chief criticizes Israeli strikes

Nickolay Mladenov, head of Trump’s Board of Peace, told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the gap between what has been agreed by both sides and what is happening on the ground is the biggest risk to the peace process in Gaza.

“Israeli strikes have continued since the roadmap was accepted, and Palestinian civilians are still being killed,” Mladenov said.

While the ceasefire is holding and casualties have fallen sharply, he added, a ceasefire where “civilians are still buried is not yet one that the people of Gaza can really feel.”

Israel insists Hamas must disarm first

Israel’s deputy U.N. ambassador Noa Furman told the Security Council on Wednesday that Israel is committed to Trump’s 20-point peace plan but that Hamas’ “disarmament must come first” before Gaza’s reconstruction can begin.

She added that Israel was working closely with the U.S. and the Board of Peace to achieve this.

Children’s kites in Gaza dismantled over Israeli threats

Some parents said children in Gaza are dismantling their kites after Israel threatened to ramp up strikes as the toys keep flying into southern Israel.

In the past, kites and balloons have been set aflame and launched across the Gaza border, igniting fields and property in Israeli communities. The Palestinian militant group Hamas has downplayed the danger the kites pose.

In tents near the Mediterranean Sea in southern Gaza, kids dismantled the plastic, cloth and wood contraptions as adults looked on.

“They’ve lost their simple dreams, their education, their childhood, the simple things they used to enjoy,” lamented resident Atiya Abu Samhan.

Israel has legalized more than 100 settlements since 2022

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his government, in an effort to ensure Israel’s existence, has legalized more than 104 settlements and established 160 farming outposts in the West Bank since he took office again in 2022.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are largely considered illegal, but Netanyahu has made their expansion a priority in the lead-up to Israel’s upcoming election. About 3 million Palestinians live alongside more than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the occupied territory, which has seen a recent spike in violence as the Israeli presence expands.

Dubai airport traffic dropped sharply during Iran war

Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest travel hubs, said Wednesday that it saw a sharp drop in passengers as the Iran war disrupted air travel across the Middle East.

The airport recorded 13 million passengers in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the total to about 31.5 million passengers for the first half of the year. That’s down 31.3% compared to last year at the halfway mark.

Iran’s top diplomat slams new US sanctions threat

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a letter to the United Nations on Tuesday urged the world body to condemn the latest U.S. move to cut off Tehran from the rest of the global economy.

The “ economic onslaught ” that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared this week amounts to the deliberate targeting of Iranian civilians with the “intentional deprivation of access to food, medicines, medical equipment, energy and other necessities,” according to Araghchi.

“Silence in the face of such systematic coercion risks further normalizing violations of the U.N. Charter and principles of international law,” Araghchi wrote in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press.

USS Lincoln stopping in Thailand after long deployment

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln will make a stop in Thailand after its grueling deployment in the Middle East, Thai officials said Tuesday, without specifying a date or port for security reasons.

The Lincoln’s lengthy record-setting deployment during the Iran war has raised concerns about deteriorating mental health among the crew.

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Records show the home, along Valencia Avenue, belonged to Henry Parra, 55, and Adam Hlavaty, 42, who were killed in last Wednesday’s crash along with five other people ― including others with South Florida ties ― in northern Kenya’s Samburu County.

Coral Gables police said the burglary happened sometime between Thursday and Saturday, after the crash.

They identified the burglary suspects as Geybert Alexander Garcia, 40, and Melany Perdomo, 24, who live together near the unincorporated Palm Springs North area of northwest Miami-Dade.

According to investigators, the pair “ransacked the residence and removed numerous items belonging to the decedent such as personal and business documents, jewelry, electronics, and artwork.”

They also stole the couple’s 2023 Land Rover and 2020 Porsche Taycan, an arrest report states. The report mentions the crash, but doesn’t state whether or how investigators believe that Garcia and Perdomo became aware of the couple’s deaths before the burglary.

Police said Parra and Hlavaty’s housekeeper discovered the heist on Sunday.

Authorities said a ping from the couple’s stolen MacBook, along with vehicle location from the stolen Range Rover, placed the stolen items at Garcia and Perdomo’s home in the 8300 block of Northwest 195th Terrace.

According to the report, after confirming the cars were parked outside of the home, Coral Gables police and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies executed a search warrant there on Tuesday.

Investigators said Garcia hid in a closet while officers found Perdomo in an upstairs bedroom.

During the search, “officers located and identified numerous stolen documents” belonging to the couple, as well as the key fob to the Range Rover, the arrest report states.

“Additionally, several valuable pieces of artwork were recovered from inside the residence, including an art sculpture belonging to the victims and valued in excess of approximately $500,000,” it states. “Officers also located several items and instruments consistent with the production and/or alteration of fraudulent identification documents and personal identifying information.”

Additionally, investigators said they found a Ford F-250 with an altered VIN that turned out to be stolen out of Indian River County.

Jail records show Garcia and Perdomo were each arrested on multiple felony charges, including burglary and grand theft auto.

In court on Wednesday, Garcia’s attorney, Paul Basile, presented a document to the court stating that it had been signed and notarized and that granted Garcia “permission to have possession of those vehicles and to enter the premises.”

Lauren Bailey, a family friend of the victims, was also in court however, and said that can’t be true.

“There is no way that they could possibly have signed that document,” Bailey said. “They were not in the country, first of all. Secondly, they would have never done so. They had other people. They have a live-in maid that comes to the house every day. There would be no need to do such a thing.”

She continued, “The house was damaged; it was broken into. The door was destroyed. They ripped off the camera, which we’ve given the prosecutor the photos of that. His family came from Indiana and came home to a house that had been broken into and their things stolen, and they don’t feel comfortable if you let this person go.”

Prosecutor Nessa Eth asked Coral Gables Police Department Detective Wilfredo Diaz whether he believed the paperwork was legitimate.

“No,” Diaz testified. “I believe it is a fraudulent document.”

Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer also appeared to be skeptical about the document’s validity, especially considering that Garcia has a history of arrests in the county, and ordered that both he and Perdomo be held without bond.

Perdomo, despite being listed in her arrest report as being born in Florida, was also detained on an immigration hold, jail records show.

Thursday will feature a mix of sun and clouds with gentle southeast winds. There may be some showers along the east coast during the morning. Afternoon showers and storms will tend to favor inland areas. Temperatures will reach the low 90s.

The incident happened Sunday evening in the area of the 1000 block of Southwest Third Avenue, according to Hallandale Beach police.

Police said the suspect entered the home through a rear window. When the family returned, the suspect pointed a gun at two children, ages 10 and 12, before fleeing the home.

Video captures the children crying as the suspect runs away.

Police later arrested Rashad Randzell Corouthers, 36, whom investigators said was tracked down using a GPS monitor he was wearing.

Authorities said Corouthers is a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

“The idea that a man sick could point a gun at a child is horrifying,” Hallandale Beach resident Eve Mart said. “You gotta be a sick individual.”

Jail records show Corouthers is facing one count each of home invasion with a firearm or deadly weapon. He is also facing two counts of aggravated assault wit a deadly weapon without intent to kill in an unrelated case.

As of Wednesday, he was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.

Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler, who sentenced Kohberger to life in prison without parole after Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders last year, set out the guidelines for how the case will proceed in a written order Wednesday morning.

The judge did not grant Kohberger a hearing on his claims that his guilty plea should be withdrawn. Instead, Hippler scheduled in a date for next June in case he determines an evidentiary hearing is warranted.

Kohberger, 31, is serving four consecutive life sentences for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in a rental home near the Moscow, Idaho, campus in 2022. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Kohberger filed a handwritten petition last month asking the court to let him take back his plea, saying his attorneys manipulated him into making the deal by promising him better prison conditions and scaring him about the quality of life on death row.

Kohberger offered only a few details in elaboration, saying they failed to disclose or review evidence that might have helped his case during plea discussions. Kohberger has since been appointed a new attorney, Greg Rauch, who said he couldn't immediately comment on the case.

In Wednesday's order, Hippler told prosecutors and Kohberger's attorney that they must “strictly adhere” to the Idaho Rules of Court Procedure, particularly the sections detailing what evidence is admissible in court. The judge also detailed how both sides should object to evidence that they feel is not admissible.

Anyone who doesn't comply with the court's order could be subject to sanctions, Hippler wrote.

Hippler said both sides should disclose any potential witnesses, including experts, by the start of February. He also set a status conference for next June.

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Torrasha Monique Smith was previously arrested in January 2024 for operating an unlicensed post-surgery ALF located at 18132 NW 91st Court in Miami-Dade County, and then again in June 2025 for opening another facility at 21480 SW 132nd Court.

In January, deputies said they received an anonymous tip regarding an illegal recovery house for post-surgery patients was being run by Smith.

Investigators discovered it was at the same 132nd Court location that deputies had previously encountered, determining that Smith never ceased operations despite her previous arrest.

According to an arrest warrant, patients advised deputies that they had paid Dream Body Retreat via Zelle for the services, and investigators determined that Smith was the sole proprietor of Dream Body Retreat.

Additionally, one of the patients told deputies they had used the facility previously in June 2025, which was after Smith’s arrest in May of that year after she was ordered to close the facility, according to official documents.

Authorities said they ultimately discovered that Smith ran the facility for 274 days after being issued a Notice of Unlicensed Activity on April 30, 2025, and during that time, she accepted Zelle payments exceeding $200,000.

According to investigators, Smith ceased operations at the facility sometime in February, but she continued to book appointments and receive deposits “without any intention of providing services.”

Multiple police reports were filed in Miami-Dade County over the following months from patients who had paid deposits to Dream Body Retreat only to discover the business had been closed, and then were unable to reach Smith when they tried to obtain refunds.

Ultimately, a warrant was issued for Smith’s arrest on July 20 after an attorney representing Smith told authorities he couldn’t advise as to when she would surrender herself.

According to an arrest form, Smith was taken into custody on Tuesday at the Harris County Jail Facility in Houston.

Officials did not indicate why she was arrested in Texas or how she was apprehended, but she has since been brought back to South Florida.

Smith is facing three charges of grand theft, a charge of organized fraud of $50,000 or more, and 274 charges of failure to cease operations of an assisted living facility.

As of Wednesday afternoon, she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Official documents indicate that Smith was already out on felony bond at the time of her arrest for charges stemming from the illegal disposal of hazardous, biomedical waste.

The NFL and the NFLPA said in a statement that they have agreed to place a greater emphasis on five health and safety rules violations: the hip drop tackle; horse collar tackle; launching; hit on a defenseless player; and blindside block.

The goal is to make the game safer by focusing discipline on the infractions most likely to leave players injured.

“There are some player safety fouls that really put the defender and his opponent at really high risk,” said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations.

“We don’t like to remove people from the team or the roster,” he added. "But we’ve had to put some measures in place to hold the player to greater accountability for himself and for his opponent.”

NFL players voted on the changes at a Board of Player Representatives meeting Tuesday and owners were briefed on the new safety rules violations standards during a meeting Wednesday in Atlanta.

The violations in those categories will carry forward into subsequent seasons but the league and union said all players will start the upcoming season with a clean slate.

Players who commit only one violation will receive 50% of their fine back at the end of the season.

Coaches will also be required to join players in meetings with the NFL to review video of the violations when a player has accumulated two infractions and is on the threshold of a suspension.

Clubs with excessive health and safety rules violations will face increased financial penalties.

Former Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera, who also played nine seasons in the NFL, will join the group of former players who oversee the on-field discipline appeal hearings.

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Tua Tagovailoa is returning to Hard Rock Stadium.

The former Dolphins starting quarterback is set to face his former team for the first time Friday night when Miami hosts the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason finale.

There are still plenty of good feelings toward Tagovailoa from his former teammates, including Dolphins EDGE Chop Robinson. But that doesn’t mean Robinson plans to take it easy on his former locker mate.

“It’s going to be fun,” Robinson said. “Especially since, you know, in practice we couldn’t hit him. But now it’s game time, and I’ll be able to hit him. I hope I get close to him.”

Robinson has plenty of fond memories of Tagovailoa, and the two grew closer during Tagovailoa’s final months in Miami.

“He was my locker mate my last year,” Robinson said. “Honestly, I feel like getting to know him, talk to him every day, just after practice, before practice. He was asking about my family and stuff like that. So really a great dude, and I miss him.”

Tagovailoa’s first season in Atlanta has been a struggle. One NFL insider said his performance has made it difficult for the Falcons to name him their Week 1 starter.

Tagovailoa also admitted it was “hard” seeing his time in Miami come to an end.

“You can try to trick yourself into thinking it’s not as hard as what you’re thinking, but it’s hard to go through something like that,” Tagovailoa said.

Robinson said Friday’s game will be personal, as any matchup against a former team would be.

“But at the end of the day, when the game is over, when the clock hits zero, it’s all love,” he added. “That’s still my brother.”

Dolphins backup quarterback Quinn Ewers also referred to Tagovailoa as his “brother” and said he doesn’t expect the reunion to be awkward because Tagovailoa helped him a lot last season.

For Tagovailoa, the return to Miami will be a chance to face the team and city where his NFL career began.

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Her name is etched on the city’s Walk of Fame, which sits right outside the Country Music Hall of Fame.

It wasn’t long ago when the hall opened a new exhibit showcasing her amazing career.

The gate to Parton’s Brentwood home was full of flowers and notes that people have left over the past day.

Fans also were seen at Dollywood, showing up and paying tribute in different ways, with the theme park opening the day after her passing, saying the show must go on as Parton would have wanted.

Just a few blocks away is the Songteller Hotel, one of Parton’s latest projects that is still under construction.

Outside, there were flowers and a note that said, “I hope life treats you well.”

Parton was a legend on stage, screen and in the community.

She was a girl from east Tennessee who lived a life that has left a lasting impact on the entire world.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled that prosecutors failed to properly explain their motivations for seeking the dismissal of Bannon's indictment. However, the judge said the government is free to renew its request in a manner that follows the law.

Nichols ruled several months after the U.S. Supreme Court — at prosecutors' request — threw out an appellate ruling upholding Bannon’s conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol riot.

In a February court filing, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her Washington-based office determined “in its prosecutorial discretion” that dismissing Bannon's criminal case is “in the interests of justice.” Pirro, a Trump appointee, didn't elaborate.

Dismissing the case would be largely symbolic. Bannon already served a four-month prison term after a jury convicted him of contempt of Congress in 2022. A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the conviction before the Supreme Court overruled its decision.

Trump, a Republican, appointed Nichols to the bench during his first term in the White House.

Los Angeles County Judge John Lonergan Jr. sent Jeanine John Taele, 38, to a mental health court in Hollywood based on statements he made in a pretrial evaluation indicating he wasn't mentally fit to stand trial. In the evaluation, Taele falsely insisted he had been a State Department official for 14 years.

When Taele was arrested earlier this month, he was seen wearing an earpiece and taking pictures of the golf course where Trump was scheduled to attend a Republican National Committee dinner. The event was at Trump National Golf Course Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, just south of LA.

A search of his pickup truck in the golf course parking lot at the time turned up a loaded 9 mm pistol, binoculars and a badge that read “security protection agent,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

Lonergan expressed particular concern over the 200 pages of Taele’s writings that investigators found following his arrest. The writings included schedules for first lady Melania Trump and members of the president’s Secret Service, as well as detailed lists for surviving “off the grid.” The judge did not say whether the writings included any specific political motives or ideologies.

“This case itself is alarming in this day and age with the violence that is creeping into our everyday lives, especially with our partisanship in the political environment" ahead of the midterms, Lonergan said.

The judge also cited a previous arrest in November 2025 at an AT&T store where Taele accused an employee of spying on him with Meta Glasses, stole the glasses, and was found muttering to himself in the parking lot. He was charged with second-degree robbery following that incident.

Taele was charged with several felonies including possession of a short-barreled rifle or shotgun and receiving a large-capacity magazine. He was also charged with carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, a misdemeanor.

Taele appeared in the Torrance, California, courtroom Wednesday, weeks after his Aug. 5 arrest, wearing a vest designed to prevent self-harm or suicide attempts. Nearly a dozen family members and friends tearfully watched from the courtroom.

Lonergan declined to set bail for Taele, who will remain in jail until a Sept. 9 hearing at the Hollywood Mental Health Court.

Taele's attorney, public defender A.J. Bayne, said it was too early to tell whether Taele's mental health would play a role in his legal defense.

“He's a veteran, he served our country, and I don't know enough right now, but he has a family that loves him, that has huge support for him,” Bayne said, adding that “people assume too much" about Taele's motives on the day he was arrested at the golf course.

Taele is a decorated U.S. Marine who served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2008 and 2016, according to a Marine Corps spokesperson. He was a corporal who received countless accolades, including two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, a Navy Unit Commendation, a National Defense Service Medal, and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

The game wasn't played in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was the only pause in the postseason event.

“It's OK to be the first league to walk away from a competitive all-star game,” NFL executive vice president Peter O'Reilly said at the owners' meeting in Atlanta.

The league said 88 players will still be named as Pro Bowlers and honored in Los Angeles after this season. Several flag football events also will take place at that time.

“The Pro Bowl has always been about recognizing the players who distinguish themselves as the very best in the NFL,” O’Reilly said in a statement. “A Pro Bowl selection will return to its original purpose, honoring the best of the best. We want that distinction to carry even greater meaning for the players, their families, their clubs and our fans.”

O'Reilly said the decision was “a shift from the game to the honor.”

Troy Vincent, the league's executive vice president of football operations, said he heard from players that they “don't want competitive play” after the playoffs.

“You come off the championship games and the viewers see the physicality of the game and you try to replicate that,” Vincent said. “Frankly, it just doesn't sit well. This isn't a good representation.”

The Pro Bowl has waned in popularity in recent years. Once a staple in Honolulu, the NFL has moved the event to various cities and even switched from tackle to flag football in 2023.

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The ruling on Wednesday followed a three-day trial involving council members Kassandra Timothe, Mary Estime-Irvin and Pierre Frantz-Charles.

The lawsuit, filed in June 2024 by North Miami resident Eileen Bicaba, accused the council members of privately coordinating city business outside a public meeting in an effort to remove former City Manager Rasha Cameau.

The Sunshine Law generally requires certain government business to be discussed in public and prohibits elected officials from privately conducting public business outside properly noticed meetings.

During the trial, Timothe was questioned about whether she had discussed a motion to terminate Cameau with an attorney before bringing it before the council.

“I don’t recall,” Timothe said while testifying.

She also denied having the three votes needed to pass the motion before the meeting.

“You are asking me if I had three votes prior to the meeting. No,” she said.

Bicaba alleged the council members also interfered with Cameau’s management of city employees.

“We are alleging that they interfered with her ability to manage employees,” Bicaba said, adding that Cameau wanted to discipline the head of the public works department and that the council members tried to intervene through third parties.

The judge ultimately declined to find a Sunshine Law violation, saying there was not enough evidence.

The judge did, however, find a violation of Section 19 of the North Miami city charter. According to attorney David Reiner, the judge determined the council members conveyed a threat to Cameau that she would be terminated.

A violation of the city charter is a misdemeanor. Whether the matter will lead to additional legal action is up to the plaintiff, and there was no immediate word on whether she plans to pursue it.

Una denuncia penal presentada a principios de agosto revela una empresa criminal de $20 millones USD que operaba en el sur de Florida.

La denuncia de 29 páginas dice que el FBI comenzó a investigar “redes de mulas de dinero” el año pasado.

Agentes federales identificaron a un grupo llamado Honeybun Boyz.

La denuncia describe al grupo como una importante empresa criminal metropolitana compuesta por estafadores financieros que presumen de fondos de $100,000 USD vinculados a apropiaciones de cuentas que tienen como objetivo a víctimas vulnerables.

El término “honeybun” en ciertos círculos significa $100,000 USD, un término también utilizado por artistas musicales como Pop Smoke.

La red de tres niveles está compuesta por controladores, los jefes, manejadores y mulas que mueven el dinero.

Agentes federales identificaron hasta 30 víctimas en el sur de Florida, muchas de ellas de edad avanzada, incluida una viuda que fue convencida de retirar $95,000 USD en efectivo.

El informe dice que empresas también fueron defraudadas. A una víctima le dijeron que el banco había sufrido una brecha de seguridad.

A través de un enlace de phishing, los estafadores presuntamente obtuvieron la información de inicio de sesión de la víctima para un banco comercial estadounidense, y se inició una transferencia bancaria fraudulenta por $82,000 USD, según los investigadores.

Dijeron que los estafadores utilizaron enlaces de phishing, llamadas telefónicas bancarias falsas e información bancaria robada para obtener el dinero en efectivo.

Una denuncia obtenida por Local 10 News el miércoles enumera compras de lujo que los sospechosos presuntamente realizaron en abril, con miles de dólares gastados en artículos de alta gama en Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton y una tienda de relojes de lujo de Miami.

Dos de los sospechosos están acusados de utilizar el dinero para comprar una casa en Miami Lakes valorada en cerca de $1 millón USD.

Doce acusados aparecen en la denuncia. Enfrentan cargos de conspiración para cometer fraude bancario y conspiración para cometer lavado de dinero.

El informe dice que grupos de Honeybun Boyz también han sido identificados en otras ciudades importantes, incluidas Los Ángeles, Atlanta y Nueva York.

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Jail records show Orlando Armin Villasmil Noriega, 37, was arrested Tuesday by the Hallandale Beach Police Department.

Police said Noriega worked as a manager at the South Florida chain’s location at 4 N. Federal Highway.

According to an arrest report, he was responsible for depositing the previous day’s cash revenue at a nearby Bank of America when he opened the business each morning.

Police said Noriega opened the restaurant on April 18 and removed deposits containing nearly $9,000 in revenue from the previous two days. Surveillance video showed him leaving the business with the money, according to the report.

The deposits were never received in the business’ Bank of America account, and the bank found no record of Noriega attempting to make the deposits, police said.

They said Noriega was again captured on surveillance video on April 19 removing a deposit bag containing just over $5,000. Police said he was not seen making a deposit at the bank.

From April 23 through April 26, Noriega worked as the closing manager and was responsible for preparing deposits and placing them in the business’ safe for the next day’s opening manager, according to investigators.

Deposits from those days, totaling more than $19,000, were never deposited, police said.

When questioned by police about what happened to the money, a witness told investigators that Noriega said the deposits were made at night, the report states.

Police said making nighttime deposits was not authorized at that Bank of America location and investigators were unable to locate surveillance video showing Noriega making the deposits.

They said Noriega was scheduled to work April 27 but called in sick and told the business he was “terminating his employment” with Flanigan’s. He reportedly said he was moving to North Carolina in May.

According to police, Noriega deprived the business of $33,091.06. The business is now seeking incarceration and restitution.

Records show that Noriega is facing one count of grand theft involving more than $20,000 but less than $100,000. He posted a $10,000 bond and was ordered not to return to any Flanigan’s locations.

As of Wednesday morning, he was no longer listed as an inmate in Broward County jail records.

The decision by the Big 12 came a day after rulings by the SEC and Big Ten. Earlier Wednesday, the NFL made it clear that players who leave the NFL to return to college won’t be allowed to come back to the league this season.

NFL executive Troy Vincent reiterated the longstanding policy at the league’s meetings Wednesday, saying any player who returns to college would not be eligible to play in the NFL until 2027.

Atlantic Coast Conference leaders were also discussing the topic this week.

Big 12 and SEC rules go beyond football

The rule unanimously adopted by the Big 12 bars its schools from adding professional athletes in football or any other conference-sponsored sport. The league said its rule would apply independently of the status of NCAA eligibility determinations.

According to the Big 12 decision, athletes would be ineligible if they declared for the draft or supplemental draft of any professional sports league and did not timely withdraw before the draft, have been listed on a professional roster or signed a contract to provide athletic services with any sports league.

The SEC’s rule approved Tuesday banned players who have been drafted by NFL, NBA or WNBA teams or listed on rosters in those leagues. The Big Ten only included football in its decision and is expected to later address other sports.

Two players seek to go from NFL back to former college coach

At least two players who signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents this offseason were hoping to return to college and play at No. 11 LSU.

Tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents after playing last season at Mississippi for Lane Kiffin, now the coach at LSU.

Wright initially signed with Philadelphia, but was waived Aug. 10 and claimed by Cleveland, which waived him Monday. Harris signed with the New Orleans Saints in May, went through their offseason program and was let go Aug. 8 after being on the non-football injury list.

Both players entered the NFL draft because they had used up their four years of eligibility. The NCAA announced a rule change in June allowing players who began college in 2023 or later to have five years to play five years of sports in college.

That rule didn’t apply to Wright and Harris, who entered college in 2022 but they are among the players who have sued the NCAA, arguing they’re being deprived of education and potential name, image and likeness benefits by being excluded from the rule.

Cal football general manager Ron Rivera said Wednesday he hopes the ACC joins the Big Ten and SEC in turning away former pros.

“I think when somebody makes a decision, goes in a certain direction, I think they’ve made their decision,” said Rivera, a former NFL player and coach. “I’m disappointed that people are looking for ways to cheat the system or beat the system.”

NCAA gets a win in Tennessee basketball eligibility case

Meanwhile, in Tennessee, the state’s Court of Appeals put on hold an order that would have given former Vanderbilt player Jalen Washington and 18 other basketball players a fifth year of eligibility.

The ruling gives the NCAA a win in ongoing litigation across the nation in federal and state courts involving college athletes who contend they should get a fifth year of competition under revised NCAA eligibility rules adopted in June.

Washington, who transferred to Tennessee, and the other plaintiffs are now ineligible, pending resolution of the NCAA’s appeal of the lower court’s ruling.

Washington was the lead plaintiff in a complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction. Others included Chendall Weaver, last at Texas; A.J. Storr of Mississippi; Jason Edwards of Providence; and Daniel Egbuniwe of St. Bonaventure.

The NCAA also has won stays of injunctions in Ohio and New Jersey state courts and in a federal court in Colorado.

Castellanos commits to Texas Tech after Dolphins tryout

The Big 12 decision Wednesday came shortly after quarterback Tommy Castellanos said he has committed to Texas Tech for this season. The 12th-ranked Red Raiders are the defending Big 12 champions and among the favorites again this season.

Castellanos, a freshman at UCF in 2022, went undrafted by the NFL four months ago before a tryout as a receiver with the Miami Dolphins during their rookie minicamp. He never made an NFL roster, but he also never withdrew from the draft, making it unclear if he will be able to play for the Red Raiders.

Castellanos, who played last season at Florida State, last Friday was among 10 athletes granted a temporary restraining order by a Kentucky judge to get a fifth season of college football.

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AP Sports Writers Josh Dubow, Charles Odum and Eric Olson contributed to this report.

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And it is because of that deep devotion that Parton's death has been profoundly personal to rural Sevier County. To the world, Parton was one of the world's best-known country music stars. To her neighbors, she was Tennessee's favorite daughter.

“It hit me hard. It hit me really hard,” said James Gambrell, a former chef at Dollywood, the signature theme park that Parton opened decades ago after seeing families like hers unable to afford to go to Disneyland.

“If it don’t affect you, then something’s wrong,” Gambrell said of Parton's death, adding that he became so close to her family that they adopted him as a kind of nephew.

Mourners flocked to a bronze statue of Dolly in the center of her hometown of Sevierville Tuesday night, exchanging stories and shedding tears. The town is set in the hills of the Smoky Mountains just minutes from Dollywood. Many brought flowers and drawings and other tributes to the late singer.

By Wednesday morning at Dollywood, the scent of cinnamon bread filled the air and long lines formed at a theater featuring biographical stories narrated by Parton. The park is closed Tuesdays, so Wednesday was the first chance for many to visit, including Carla Potts, who flew in from Seattle a few days earlier.

“She just consistently spread joy and hope and light, really” Potts said after entering the park on her first visit.

One of 12 children, Parton grew up in a two-room cabin with no electricity and no running water. In her music, she described life in East Tennessee as “peaceful as a baby’s sigh,” a place where “crickets sing in the fields nearby.” She moved to Nashville shortly after finishing high school, but she once joked to the Knoxville News Sentinel that she may be the “only person that ever left the Smoky Mountains and took them with her.”

It started largely with Dollywood

While the Smoky Mountains had long attracted outdoor enthusiasts to the region, Parton made a strategic decision to become co-owner of the amusement park in Pigeon Forge in 1986 and name it Dollywood. The park quickly became Tennessee’s most visited tourist attraction, with Parton often opening each new season with a performance and a parade. State officials say Dollywood generates $1.8 billion each year and is the county's largest employer.

“We had Great Smoky Mountains National Park since the '30s, and Gatlinburg was a huge destination for years, but Dollywood helped the county take that next step,” said Amanda Marr, a member of the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. “Having that business has made such an impact because it’s drawn even more people to the area.”

Parton didn't stop with Dollywood

By the early 1990s, Parton created The Dollywood Foundation with the goal of decreasing the high school drop out rate in Sevier County, which was hovering around 30%.

David Wear, former mayor of Pigeon Forge, said he was in 8th grade when the Buddy Program launched with the promise that students and the buddies they were matched with would receive $500 to help cover college expenses for completing the program.

“If you and your buddy made it through high school, The Dollywood Foundation would give money to those high school graduates,” he said. “I personally got the experience of her charitable giving.”

According to the foundation, dropout rates eventually plummeted to 6% in Sevier County after the program was in place.

Separately, the international phenomenon that is her Imagination Library started as a local initiative to get more children to start reading. To date, kids across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia have received more than 330 million books since the program began.

Still, many folks get choked up the most over her response to a deadly 2016 wildfire. The fire, which began in Great Smoky Mountains National Park before invading nearby Gatlinburg, killed 14 people and caused an estimated $2 billion in losses, including to about 2,500 buildings that were damaged or destroyed.

Parton directed her foundation to distribute funds to displaced families and provided scholarships to students impacted by the fire.

“She single-handedly, through her generosity and raising of money, changed the trajectory of our recovery,” Wear said. “Her star power brought us back.”

Through her work, Parton also helped shatter stereotypes often associated with Appalachian communities, said Ted Olson, a professor of Appalachian studies at Eastern Tennessee State University.

“She understood how people viewed the region, but she defied them to hold on to those negative images after talking to her and after encouraging them to travel to the region,” Olson said. “And she did so graciously.”

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Kruesi, a former Tennessee correspondent, reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

Alan Smith, 44, killed his grandmother, his parents, his younger sister and her children before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound just after police arrived, authorities said. Multiple fires were set inside the suburban home on the outskirts of Billings. Smith had lived there before being asked to move out weeks earlier, according to accounts from police and surviving relatives.

“There’s many questions that will come from this investigation,” Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell said during a Wednesday news conference. “Some of those questions we probably won’t ever be able to answer, because all the parties that will have those answers are not here to answer them for us.”

The victims included Owen and Chloe Ireland and their stepsiblings, Landon and Charlotte Ghekiere. Owen, 13, was described by his father as the “perfect big brother” and 12-year-old Chloe’s protector. Landon, 15, planned to get his driver’s license this week. Charlotte, 12, was a lover of nature, particularly insects, said Jennifer Mercer, a neighbor and family friend.

A candlelight vigil was planned Thursday night.

Police had no prior contact with the shooter

The attack happened at the home of Smith's parents: Dana Smith, who was retired from the Air Force and Boeing, and Barb Smith, a retired teacher.

The Smith family was originally from the Seattle area. Brad Ireland, the father of Owen and Chloe, said that after he and Megan Ghekiere divorced six years ago, she moved to Montana with their children. That’s where she met the man who would become her second husband, Adam Ghekiere, who was at work when the shooting occurred.

Her parents soon followed to Billings, buying a house near their daughter, and her brother moved in. Police had not been called to the home before and had no previous contact with Alan Smith, the sheriff said.

Megan Ghekiere, 39, worked in healthcare, Mercer said. The eighth victim was Dana’s mother, Evelyn Smith, 92, who used a wheelchair and lived in a nearby retirement community.

Arriving officers heard shots and saw smoke

Smith showed up in the neighborhood at 5:49 p.m. Sunday, O'Donnell said, and just after 6 p.m., one of the females in the home called 911. He said he couldn't confirm who made it. But Mercer identified the caller as 12-year-old Charlotte, saying she tried to save her family.

The first arriving officers confronted Smith, and he ran back inside. The officers heard gunfire and saw smoke in the home, O'Donnell said. Smith then ran into the backyard and shot himself, authorities said.

The home quickly became engulfed in flames. The neighborhood homes operate on wells, and there were no hydrants required there, so firefighters had to truck in water.

Autopsies were still being conducted, O’Donnell said.

The sheriff said police had recovered weapons from the scene but he did not describe them or say what type of gun or guns Smith used. Investigators had “some idea” of what might have prompted the shooting, but said law enforcement is focused on the crime scene for now, adding, “Some of this is the family's story to tell.”

Brad Ireland described Smith as a “hermit” who spent most of his days on the computer. “There were many red flags and many people spoke out,” he told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “No one listened.”

Alan Smith had attended Eastern Washington University but had been unable to find or hold a job, Ireland said.

Memorial features teddy bears and touching messages

At the mailboxes in the neighborhood, a makeshift memorial has grown with teddy bears, family photos, flowers, balloons and a notebook to leave messages. One classmate wrote they were “sorry that they wouldn’t see them in school this year,” O’Donnell said.

Among the items investigators found in the home were a photo album, largely intact, and a family Bible, almost entirely unscathed, O'Donnell said. Neighbors have offered law enforcement at the scene water and food as they dig through the wreckage of the fire.

“There are rays of good and sunshine that come through this,” O’Donnell said.

Billings Mayor Mike Nelson said it would be hard to find someone in the city of 120,000 who did not have some connection to the victims or feel an impact from their deaths.

“There was shock at first and now there are people who are deeply upset, and they should be. There are people who are angry, and that's OK too,” he said. “We'll come together and we'll support the family.”

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Johnson reported from Seattle, Schuettler from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Michael Biesecker in Washington, D.C., contributed.

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Schuettler is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The deal cut short a landmark trial in federal court in Oakland, California, where the Instagram and Facebook parent company was fighting claims that it deliberately designed features that get children addicted. The agreement calls for Meta to pay out up to $18 billion and make a changes to how their platforms are operated, with new guardrails for kid safety.

It is one of many courtrooms around the country where Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube have been defending themselves against allegations their platforms have negatively impacted children’s mental health or otherwise hurt them.

Here is a look at some of the biggest cases against social media companies.

California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey's joint case

The settlement hit during the second week of what was expected to be a six-week trial in Oakland, with testimony from witnesses that would have likely included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

It featured four states as plaintiffs: California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. They were among dozens of states that filed a lawsuit three years ago targeting Meta’s design features and the subsequent harm to children on its platforms. The other 25 states were expecting to have trials later, but the settlement also stops those from going forward.

The states were seeking extensive financial damages that could, in theory, total billions of dollars, plus changes to how the company operates Facebook and Instagram.

Tennessee argued Instagram harms kids’ mental health

The settlement also resolved a trial that was underway in Tennessee against Meta.

The Tennessee attorney general’s office was a part of the multistate investigation into social media companies that resulted in the 2023 filing against Meta by dozens of states, but opted to file in its own local court.

“We took Meta to trial because Instagram was hurting kids and misleading parents. Now we’re ending the trial with a settlement that imposes unprecedented protections for kids and delivers record-setting money for Tennessee’s Children’s Digital Protection Fund,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said.

Skrmetti, and several other attorneys general, said the settlement addressed Meta's role in an “industrywide problem" and implored other social platforms to follow suit in implementing similar safety measures.

New Mexico's case resulted in hefty fine, outlined changes to Meta platforms

New Mexico was not among the 48 states involved in the settlement because it already won a court case against Meta.

The state argued the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. A jury sided with the state in March, finding there were thousands of violations, each counting separately toward a penalty of $375 million.

In early August, the judge in the case ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of the trial. The judge also outlined new safety measures he ordered as a part of the ruling, including a time limit of 90 hours per month for users under 18, AI chatbot restrictions, and mandatory warnings on the platforms. Meta has said it disagrees with the verdict.

The other state that did not join the settlement was Florida, where the attorney general said the settlement was not tough enough on Meta.

School districts across the country have sued social media companies

Hundreds of school districts in the U.S. have filed lawsuits against the major social media companies seeking compensation for costs they say they incurred dealing with harms to children’s mental health from social media addiction.

A lawsuit brought by a small, rural Kentucky school district was set to go to trial this summer in federal court in California, but defendants Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube each settled before the trial began.

The Kentucky case was also selected as a bellwether out of 1,200 similar cases. The plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a statement that their “focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases.”

Jury in Los Angeles trial found Meta, YouTube liable for harms

Earlier this year, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable in a case that centered on social media addiction and claims the companies designed their platforms to hook young users without concern for their well-being.

The plaintiff, known by her initials KGM, testified at trial that she became addicted to social media as a child and that it exacerbated her mental health struggles. After more than 40 hours of deliberations, a majority of jurors agreed and awarded $6 million in total damages.

It was a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that was randomly selected as a bellwether trial, or a test case for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury, and thus could influence the outcome of similar lawsuits.

TikTok and Snapchat were named as defendants in the lawsuit, but settled before the trial began. Meta and YouTube have each appealed the verdict.

Individual plaintiffs have filed similar lawsuits

The Los Angeles trial was the first of its kind, but there are thousands of similar lawsuits filed against social media companies by individuals.

Many allege the platforms' design features addicted them to social media, which led to adverse mental health outcomes. But there are also other harms plaintiffs say stemmed from young people's use of social media.

Some lawsuits have been filed by families of children and young adults who died by suicide after problematic use of social media, and families whose kids died from accidental overdoses from drug purchases facilitated by social platforms.

Schwarber drove a 98-mph fastball off Seattle starter Bryan Woo approximately 425 feet into right-center field, a three-run shot that gave the Phillies a six-run lead over the Mariners in the second inning.

Schwarber finished with two hits, including a lead-off double in the first in the Phillies' 6-0 win.

Schwarber's homer tied a Phillies record for the most 40-plus homer seasons, matching former first baseman Ryan Howard. The 33-year-old Schwarber, who hit 56 homers last season, is also tied for the most 40-plus homer seasons among active players with Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

“Obviously it's a good thing because that means hopefully you're producing runs for your team,” Schwarber said. “It's not more about going out there and trying to achieve or attain a certain number. It's more trying to stack as many at-bats as you can to keep trying to help the team win.”

Schwarber's 227 homers with Philadelphia are the second-most in a player's first five seasons with a club. He trails only Babe Ruth, who had 235 homers with the New York Yankees. Schwarber, who spent six years with the Chicago Cubs, has 380 career homers.

Matt Olson (Braves) and Yordan Alvarez (Astros) trail Schwarber in homers with 36 each.

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

Larger-than-life at 5-foot-nothing, the country star, actor, philanthropist, entrepreneur and theme park enthusiast who died Tuesday, transcended celebrity in rhinestones and fringe. She was embraced by fans across gender, race and class, embodying a mythology typically inaccessible to even the most influential historical figures.

It’s hard to name a more adored artist — one who could deliver a perfectly timed dirty joke seconds before a folk classic of her own composition. (This is where, if Parton were reading along, a self-deprecating quip would come in — lest anyone forget she was a whip-smart jokester, too.)

Throughout her endeavors, Parton worked to build a better world, while becoming inextricable from the American imagination. It is one of her greatest legacies: to take what you have and help someone with it.

One of the most beloved artists of all time

In 2015, when Parton returned to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry announcer Bill Cody introduced her as “the most beloved artist of all time,” quickly amending it to “female artist.” As history has proven, he was correct the first time.

Parton’s legacy starts with the immortality of her music: songwriting as solace, an exercise in creativity and an unwavering ability to write experience into art. Across her career, Parton wrote and performed perennial hits (“Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Little Sparrow,” take your pick) and others that took on a life of their own (most famously, “I Will Always Love You,” made immortal by Whitney Houston ).

Parton grew up in poverty, one of 12 kids in East Tennessee’s rural Sevier County, where she started writing songs as a toddler. By 10, she was on the radio and TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. By 13, she had made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. At 21, she joined “The Porter Wagoner Show,” her star power quickly eclipsing its host.

The accomplishments — and the trials and tribulations that came with them, which she let roll off her shoulders with enviable resiliency — came fast and furious, as they do with once-in-a-lifetime talents. There are the 10 Grammys, the numerous Hall of Fame inductions, and the fact that she revolutionized the world of country music for women alongside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, creating a path for crossover artistry. But there are also her Hollywood forays. It’s telling that her first feature film, “9 to 5,” celebrated women in the workplace and messed with their devious bosses.

One of her superpowers was rooted in a kind of irony: Everything about Dolly Parton is truly Dolly Parton or else she wouldn’t partake — down to the false eyelashes and big wigs. She built an economic empire with down-home sensibilities. If authenticity is currency in popular culture, Parton showed the world how it was done.

An honest-to-goodness iconoclast

There’s a moment in her 1983 television special, “Dolly in Concert,” where Parton calls herself “the original punk rocker.” It’s a fitting description: Armed in a uniform of high heels, acrylic nails (the better to write songs with), tight clothes and a big blond beehive, the image of Parton was enough to scandalize. Jokes about her breasts were prevalent for decades; she wielded them like a weapon.

Her first big break came in 1967 with a single, ironically titled “Dumb Blonde.” It’s a clever admonishment of a man who calls a woman stupid. It was fabulously misunderstood and misconstrued, forecasting the wonderful hypocrisy inherent in many public appreciations of Parton: She had full autonomy; make a low-brow pass at her and she’ll have the last laugh. Always.

That spirit was inherent in her business ventures as well. Too poor to travel to Disneyland as a child, Parton opened her Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, amusement park, Dollywood, in 1986. Many thought it was a bad idea; it proved to be her most lucrative business venture. It’s also, crucially, a blessing for the local economy. According to a 2021 study by the Tennessee Aviation System Plan, Dollywood brings in $1.8 billion each year.

A great unifier

Parton’s career kicked off in the transformative ’60s, perfectly aligning with the emergence of the women’s liberation movement. Though she didn’t use the word herself, much of Parton’s career — and in particular, her songwriting — has been viewed as a kind of feminism. Take the early hit, 1968’s “Just Because I’m a Woman.” Parton’s sweet soprano and idiosyncratic tremolo are on full display as she reminds her male partner that he need not judge her for having previous sexual partners because he has done the same. “My mistakes are no worse than yours,” she sings, “Just because I’m a woman.”

Or consider 1970’s “Down from Dover,” a tearjerker about a pregnant teenager abandoned by her family and the child’s father. She gives birth to a stillborn baby, alone, without medical treatment. “I guess in some strange way she knew she’d never have a father’s arms to hold her,” Parton sings. “And dying was her way of telling me he wasn’t coming down from Dover.” It’s evocative then and now.

Still, across political divides, Parton is welcomed with open arms. It may have something to do with the fact that, when it came to capital-P party line, Parton valued apoliticism. During the 2016 presidential election, she said a woman would do a great job in office. When it was viewed as an endorsement of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, she said her words were taken out of context. She never said who she voted for. And she declined the Presidential Medal of Freedom three times, twice from President Donald Trump and once from President Joe Biden so as to not appear biased. As a result, she was beloved by all — even in periods of unmitigated division.

A fantastic philanthropist

With the same resolve she exhibited in her performances, Parton was dedicated to charity work.

In 1988, she launched the Dollywood Foundation, originally designed to combat high school dropout rates. Its early ’90s Buddy Program paired junior high students in Sevier County and gave $500 to each if they both finished high school. In 2016, when wildfires ravaged her native Great Smoky Mountains, the foundation announced it would give $1,000 each month for six months to families who lost their homes. The following year, it was revealed the foundation’s My People Fund helped 900 families with roughly $9 million in the first six months after the fires.

In 1991, she launched a sanctuary for bald eagles that couldn’t survive in the wild; in 2000, she started a college scholarship giving $15,000 to five high school seniors in Sevier County. In 2020, she donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund Moderna’s vaccine.

Best known is her Imagination Library, founded in 1995. Parton’s father was illiterate; it inspired her to launch an organization providing books to those without resources. By 2025, she had given away over 200 million books to children in need.

Parton was truly one of one — a generous country music heroine from the small-town South turned global phenomenon.

“I hope I’ll be remembered as somebody that tried to do some good in the world,” she told The Associated Press in 2024. “And left, you know, a few good things behind.”

“Este no es un gabinete en la sombra, es un gabinete en la luz”, indicó Petro en un evento político en Bogotá durante el cual calificó al gobierno del conservador De la Espriella, en el poder desde principios de agosto, de representar la “muerte” y la “oscuridad”.

El nuevo equipo incluye a figuras destacadas del gobierno de Petro (2022-2026) como la excanciller, Yolanda Villavicencio; la exministra de Minas, Irene Vélez; el exministro de Hacienda, Germán Ávila, y el exministro de Trabajo, Antonio Sanguino.

Durante la presentación no se detalló si cada exfuncionario fiscalizará la cartera que antes dirigía, en una propuesta de oposición novedosa en Colombia, aunque aplicada en otros países.

Yann Basset, profesor de Ciencia Política de la Universidad del Rosario, explicó a The Associated Press que el “gabinete a la sombra”, como suele conocerse, es usado en el parlamentarismo, por ejemplo en Reino Unido, donde el gobierno de turno puede “caer por falta de mayoría en el parlamento” y ese equipo que ha estado fiscalizando al Ejecutivo y proponiendo políticas alternativas puede pasar a ser gobierno.

Sin embargo, en el caso de un país presidencialista como Colombia, no se trata de que el gabinete alterno esté listo para sustituir al actual, que fue elegido para cumplir un periodo de cuatro años.

“Es un ejercicio de control político y de preparación para las próximas elecciones”, acotó Basset. “Se está instalando en Colombia un sistema de alternancia entre derecha e izquierda y justamente por esta vocación de poder se hace este gabinete en la sombra”, agregó.

El senador progresista y excandidato presidencial Iván Cepeda, vencido en las urnas por De la Espriella, dijo durante el evento político en Bogotá que el gabinete estará preparado “intelectual, política y técnicamente para asumir, como lo haremos, la responsabilidad de conducir el Estado en el 2030”.

Cepeda indicó que ese equipo trabajará en conjunto con la bancada del Pacto Histórico, —movimiento político liderado por Petro—, que es la más numerosa en el Congreso, aunque no configura la mayoría.

“No solamente señalará lo que está mal, sino que contribuirá a lo que viene en nuestro país”, aseguró Cepeda, quien perdió el balotaje del 21 de junio por un estrecho margen de aproximadamente 250.000 votos.

Petro desconoció la victoria de De la Espriella alegando presunto fraude, pese a que la autoridad electoral declaró los resultados y misiones electorales internacionales no hallaron inconsistencias.

The company reported on Wednesday net income of $59.69 billion, or $2.46 per share, for the May-July period. That compares to net income of $26.42 billion, or $1.08 per share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding certain items, earnings were $2.22 per share, well above the $2.09 per share consensus forecast by Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue more than doubled from a year earlier to $96.22 billion, surpassing analysts’ average forecast of $92.27 billion.

“AI has reached its inflection point. It’s doing useful work. Its tokens are productive and profitable. Now, compute is revenue,” said CEO Jensen Huang in a statement.

The Santa Clara, California, company's results have regularly cleared the bar set by analysts in the past three years, often by a wide margin, since Nvidia’s high-end chips emerged as AI’s best building blocks.

Along with higher profit and revenue, however, Nvidia’s operating expenses surged 55% to $8.41 billion.

For the current quarter, Nvidia forecast revenue of about $108 billion. Analysts are forecasting $104.86 billion.

If Nvidia hits its revenue target for the August-October period, it will translate into a roughly 89% increase from last year — an indication that Nvidia’s phenomenal growth rate is still accelerating. The company said it’s not assuming any data center compute revenue from China in its outlook.

Nvidia expects to grow its revenue in its fiscal year ending January 2028 by about 70%, citing surging demand for its AI-powering chips. In fact, the company's growth outlook would be closer to double, based on its customers' own forecasts, if it weren't for challenges in sourcing enough supplies to meet the chip production demand, noted CFO Colette Kress in a call with Wall Street analysts.

Huang also emphasized the supply limitations the company is grappling with.

“Our entire supply chain is challenged,” he told analysts. “At this point we have supply for 70%. ... Our demand is much higher than that.”

Nvidia’s data center segment, which includes its AI data centers and factories business, as well as chip demand from hyperscalers — operators of huge cloud-computing data centers such as Amazon, Meta and Google — reported revenue of $89 billion, up more than twofold from a year earlier.

Capital spending by the top five hyperscalers is expected to reach nearly $800 billion this year and $1.3 trillion in 2027, Kress noted.

On Wednesday, Nvidia and Amazon Web Services announced a plan to deploy 2 million additional Nvidia graphic processing units, and will incorporate Nvidia chips to power its fleet of warehouse robots.

Kress also said the company expects that its computer processing unit revenue will more than double in fiscal 2028, “positioning us as one of the world’s leading server CPU suppliers.”

Nvidia’s shares rose 4.1% in after-hours trading following the earnings call. The stock ended the regular trading session 1.6% lower and is up 12.4% so far this year.

The company’s edge computing segment, which includes chips bringing AI-powered features to computers, game consoles and robotics, among others, posted revenue of $7.2 billion, up 27% from the same period last year.

Despite the stellar results and still-rosy outlook, many investors worry about a jarring comedown after a three-year boom that has seen Nvidia’s market value soar from $400 billion at the end of 2022 to roughly $5.2 trillion now.

While AI has powered stock market gains and U.S. economic growth in recent years, there’s been growing skepticism about whether AI will justify the trillions of dollars that are being spent to develop the technology.

The AI industry is also increasingly facing pushback amid objections to the expansion in data centers and fears that the speed with which AI is being adopted could lead to widespread job losses for many Americans.

Según un reporte de arresto de la Oficina del Sheriff de Miami-Dade, el accidente ocurrió alrededor de las 7:30 p.m. del 24 de junio en una casa ubicada en la cuadra 2900 de Southwest 57th Avenue, en el área no incorporada de Coral Terrace.

El reporte de MDSO señala que Allen Matis, de 67 años, de Coral Gables, conducía un Cadillac Lyriq por Palermo Avenue cuando no respetó una señal de alto y estrelló la camioneta SUV contra la casa, atravesando la pared y golpeando a Henri Bezy mientras dormía en el interior.

Bezy “quedó atrapado debajo del vehículo” y equipos de Bomberos y Rescate de Miami-Dade lo declararon muerto en la escena, señala el reporte.

Según el reporte, un agente vio a Matis al volante y “observó señales de que estaba bajo los efectos del alcohol”. El reporte señala que los resultados toxicológicos de muestras de sangre tomadas horas después del accidente mostraron que el nivel de alcohol en la sangre de Matis oscilaba entre 0.245% y 0.29%, más de tres veces el límite legal.

Los agentes dijeron que posteriormente obtuvieron datos del vehículo que mostraban que Matis aceleró hasta 43 mph y nunca frenó “durante los segundos previos al accidente”.

Matis fue ingresado en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight por cargos de homicidio involuntario por conducir bajo los efectos del alcohol y homicidio vehicular por conducción imprudente. Hasta la tarde del miércoles, su fianza figuraba como “por determinar”.

Leer en español

Jail records show Ricindy Seaphin was arrested Tuesday evening by the North Miami Police Department.

North Miami police said officers responded just before 6:45 p.m. to an apartment near the 13000 block of Memorial Highway after receiving a report that a 6-year-old boy had been left unattended.

Police said Seaphin and the boy are stepfather and stepson and previously lived together as a family. They determined Seaphin was responsible for the boy’s care and supervision.

The report states Seaphin picked the boy up from school and drove him to his apartment complex. Police said the boy’s mother had previously told Seaphin that she would not be home.

Police allege Seaphin then “intentionally” dropped the boy off in front of the apartment complex and left without walking him to the apartment or confirming that a responsible adult was there.

They said the boy then walked to the apartment and knocked on the door, but no one answered.

He then left the complex and walked to the Family Dollar at 280 NE 135th St., where he approached people and asked for help and for someone to contact police, according to the report.

The report states that a witness located the boy and helped him back to the apartment.

After determining that no one was inside, the witness stayed with the boy, provided him with food and care, and contacted law enforcement, according to the report.

Police said Seaphin later arrived at the scene, and he was read his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with officers.

According to the arrest report, Seaphin admitted he was “in a rush” and intentionally dropped the boy off without verifying that anyone was home.

The report states Seaphin also told officers that he normally walks the boy to the apartment door and turns him over to his mother but failed to do so that day.

Seaphin told police he dropped the boy off at about 3:20 p.m. The report states the boy was not found by the witness until approximately 4:15 p.m.

Seaphin was arrested and taken to the North Miami Police Department for processing before being transported to TGK.

Jail records show Seaphin is facing one count of child neglect with no great bodily harm.

As of Wednesday, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Ricindy Seaphin fue arrestado la tarde del martes por el Departamento de Policía de North Miami.

La policía de North Miami dijo que los oficiales respondieron poco antes de las 6:45 p.m. a un apartamento cerca de la cuadra 13000 de Memorial Highway después de recibir un reporte de que un niño de 6 años había sido dejado sin supervisión.

La policía dijo que Seaphin y el niño son padrastro e hijastro y anteriormente vivían juntos como familia. Determinaron que Seaphin era responsable del cuidado y la supervisión del niño.

El reporte señala que Seaphin recogió al niño de la escuela y lo llevó en automóvil a su complejo de apartamentos. La policía dijo que la madre del niño le había dicho previamente a Seaphin que no estaría en casa.

La policía alega que Seaphin luego dejó “intencionalmente” al niño frente al complejo de apartamentos y se marchó sin acompañarlo hasta el apartamento ni confirmar que hubiera un adulto responsable allí.

Dijeron que el niño caminó hasta el apartamento y tocó la puerta, pero nadie respondió.

Luego salió del complejo y caminó hasta el Family Dollar ubicado en 280 NE 135th St., donde se acercó a varias personas y pidió ayuda y que alguien contactara a la policía, según el reporte.

El reporte señala que un testigo encontró al niño y lo ayudó a regresar al apartamento.

Después de determinar que no había nadie dentro, el testigo se quedó con el niño, le proporcionó comida y cuidados y contactó a las autoridades, según el reporte.

La policía dijo que Seaphin llegó posteriormente a la escena, donde le leyeron sus derechos Miranda y aceptó hablar con los oficiales.

Según el reporte de arresto, Seaphin admitió que “tenía prisa” y dejó intencionalmente al niño sin verificar que hubiera alguien en casa.

El reporte señala que Seaphin también dijo a los oficiales que normalmente acompaña al niño hasta la puerta del apartamento y lo entrega a su madre, pero que ese día no lo hizo.

Seaphin dijo a la policía que dejó al niño alrededor de las 3:20 p.m. El reporte señala que el testigo no encontró al niño hasta aproximadamente las 4:15 p.m.

Seaphin fue arrestado y llevado al Departamento de Policía de North Miami para ser procesado antes de ser trasladado a TGK.

Los registros de la cárcel muestran que Seaphin enfrenta un cargo de negligencia infantil sin lesiones corporales graves.

Hasta el miércoles, permanecía detenido en el Centro Correccional Turner Guilford Knight, donde su fianza figuraba como “por determinar”.